“You said she was poisoned. How did it happen?”
“Someone put laudanum in . . . in her drink.”
Mr. Porter stared at him, dumbfounded for a moment, and then his eyes grew wide. “In her flask, you mean? Oh, dear heaven, of course that’s what you mean.”
“You knew about her flask?”
“Oh, yes, we all did. All of us who worked with her, that is. We pretended we didn’t, or at least we never said anything to her about it. Who am I to judge, after all? Any woman who had to live with Gregory Van Orner could be excused for just about anything that helped her through the day.”
Frank’s brief encounter with Van Orner confirmed that opinion. “I know Mrs. Van Orner had made a lot of enemies in the city, but none of them would have had access to her flask yesterday.”
“Oh, my, you’re absolutely right. But that means someone who . . . Are you saying someone in the rescue house poisoned her?”
“Someone who had access to her flask at some time yesterday,” Frank corrected him.
Porter nodded. “I see. So it might have been someone at her home, too.”
“I have to consider all the possibilities. Her husband asked me to investigate, though.”
“He did? I wonder why.”
“Maybe he wants the guilty person punished.”
“So I guess that means he’s not the guilty person. More’s the pity, although I don’t suppose you’d arrest a man like Gregory Van Orner no matter what he did, would you?”
They both knew the answer to that question, so Frank saw no reason to respond. “Do you have any idea who might want to harm Mrs. Van Orner—either in her home or the rescue house?”
“Besides Gregory, I don’t know—not that he really cared enough to murder her, of course, but I’m sure he’s not particularly grieved at her death either. Maybe one of the women we’d rescued. Sometimes they get very angry. Vivian did what she could for them, but she couldn’t keep them forever. They have to learn to make their way in the world.”
“Do you know of one in particular who was unhappy?”
“Not really. I don’t even know who’s living at the rescue house now. I haven’t seen Vivian in over a week, at least.”
“Was that unusual?”
“Oh, no. I’m very busy with my business and my family responsibilities. She only called on me when she had a rescue at a brothel, and that rarely happened, I’m afraid. It’s very dangerous, you see.”
Frank took a chance. “What do you know about Miss Yingling?”
“Miss Yingling? Why do you ask?”
“I just thought it was strange that she lived with the Van Orners.”
Mr. Porter smiled slightly. “I thought it was strange, too, considering the rumors about Gregory.”
“What rumors?”
Porter leaned forward and lowered his voice conspiratorially. “That he enjoyed the company of harlots.”
“What does that have to do with Miss Yingling?”
“Oh, didn’t you know? Tamar Yingling was the first whore Vivian ever rescued.”
SARAH ARRIVED HOME TO FIND MRS. ELLSWORTH HELPING the girls with supper. They were full of questions about her day spent helping Mr. Malloy, but she couldn’t answer them fully until they’d tucked Catherine into bed for the night.
Sarah took the opportunity to read Catherine a bedtime story. When she came back downstairs, Mrs. Ellsworth and Maeve were sitting around the kitchen table, chatting while they awaited her return.
“I already told Mrs. Ellsworth all about how Mr. Malloy came to get you this afternoon,” Maeve said as Sarah took a seat at the table with them.
“He must have been desperate indeed,” Mrs. Ellsworth said. “I know how much he hates having you involved in his cases.”
“He wasn’t happy about it this time either, but he needed to question the women who live in the rescue house, and they don’t allow men inside.”
“Is that the place where they take the fallen women after they’ve gotten them out of the brothel?” Mrs. Ellsworth asked.
“Yes, they let the women stay there for a period of time. I’m not sure how long, but until they can find a job, I suppose.”
“That must be difficult. I mean, if they could find honest work, they wouldn’t have had to sell themselves in the first place.”
“If only everyone understood that,” Sarah said, feeling grateful that she had a friend who was as open-minded as Mrs. Ellsworth. “So many people think these women are immoral or wicked when they’re really just desperate.”
“So did you get in to interview the women?” Maeve asked.
“Yes, but I don’t think I was much help. I did speak with Miss Biafore, the young woman who manages the house, and two of the rescued girls, but the one I really wanted to speak with was Amy, and she’s gone.”
“Gone! Where did she go?” Maeve asked.
“Nobody knows. She just packed up her baby and left.”
“Is this the girl whose baby you delivered?” Mrs. Ellsworth asked.
“Yes, and I’m very worried about her. I don’t know how she can take care of herself and a child, too.”
“Do you think she’s the one who poisoned Mrs. Van Orner?” Maeve asked. “That would explain why she ran away.”
Sarah had been struggling with the same question all afternoon. “We don’t have any reason to think she did, at least not yet. We do know she and Mrs. Van Orner had some sort of discussion yesterday, and Mrs. Van Orner was upset afterwards, but nobody else knows what they talked about.”
“And a few hours later, Mrs. Van Orner was dead, and Amy has disappeared,” Mrs. Ellsworth mused.
“Exactly. As Maeve pointed out, it doesn’t look good for her.”
The front doorbell rang, and Sarah sighed. She should be happy at the prospect of a delivery. She had a family to support, after all. But she was even happier to see Malloy standing on her front stoop.
“I thought you were coming tomorrow,” she said as he stepped inside.
“I found out something very interesting, and I thought you should know it right away. Hello, Mrs. Ellsworth. Maeve.”
Maeve and her neighbor had come out to see who’d arrived.
Mrs. Ellsworth was equally happy to see Malloy. “It’s always nice to see you, Mr. Malloy. Are you hungry? We can heat up something from supper for you.”
“No, thanks, I already ate. I could use some coffee, though.”
Mrs. Ellsworth insisted on preparing the coffee, and the rest of them sat around the table.
“What did you learn?” Sarah asked as soon as they were settled.
“Before I tell you, did you find out anything interesting from Mrs. Spratt-Williams?”
“Who’s that?” Mrs. Ellsworth asked over her shoulder as she put the coffee on to boil.
“She’s one of Mrs. Van Orner’s helpers. I went to see her this afternoon, too.” Sarah turned back to Malloy. “She told me that she and Mrs. Van Orner were talking about Amy just before Mrs. Van Orner left the house. She said she told Mrs. Van Orner she should be more patient with Amy and not put her out just because she was difficult. Mrs. Van Orner refused to discuss it.”
“That’s all they talked about?”
“That’s what she said, but I had a feeling she wasn’t being entirely truthful with me. I did ask her who knew about Mrs. Van Orner’s drinking habits.”
“Oh, my, this is getting very interesting,” Mrs. Ellsworth said, taking her seat at the table while she waited for the coffee to boil. “Don’t stop to explain, though. Just keep going.”
Sarah thought Malloy wanted to roll his eyes, but he just smiled politely and said, “Who did she say knew?”
“Just herself, Mr. Van Orner, and Miss Yingling.”
“Who is Miss Yingling?” Mrs. Ellsworth whispered to Maeve.