12 The Family Way (8 page)

I jumped as there was a knock at the front door again. Who could that be now? Maybe Mr. Wilkie regretted what he had just asked me to do and was returning to apologize. And to think that two days ago I had complained about being bored. I smoothed down my skirt and opened the front door.

Standing before me was the most welcome sight in ages.

“Molly, we’re back!” said my dear friend Augusta Walcott, usually known as Gus, as she wrapped me in a hug.

“I’m so delighted to see both of you,” I said, turning to hug my other friend, Elena Goldfarb, nicknamed Sid, in turn. “Come on in. I’ve lemonade or iced tea.”

“Just what we hoped,” Sid said. “We’re parched after that long uncomfortable train journey. We had to wait for the connection in Providence for over an hour. Some sort of trouble on the line.”

They followed me through to the kitchen and sat at my kitchen table.

“So how was Newport?” I asked as I put a kettle on the stove. “I kept thinking of you enjoying that ocean breeze.”

“The breeze was fine,” Gus said. “And the sea bathing was delightfully cool, and we went for a sail or two. Those were the good parts.”

“And the not so good?” I asked.

Sid grinned. “Nonstop social functions—croquet and tennis parties and luncheons, dinners, formal balls. Also Gus’s cousin was determined to set her up with a young man.”

“A ghastly young man,” Gus added. “He talked with a lisp and sprayed when he said his esses. And he talked about himself all the time and how wonderful he was and how brilliantly he played tennis.”

“Sounds delightful,” I said dryly.

“Oh, and he came from the best of families, as Gus’s cousin kept reminding us,” Sid said. “And when Gus told her cousin that she was quite happy in her current situation and saw no reason to change, the cousin was frightfully huffy.”

“She said that friendships such as ours were quite acceptable among young girls, before they knew the way of the world and were ready for a husband, but quite unacceptable thereafter,” Gus added with a grin at Sid.

“So we packed up and escaped,” Gus said, giving Sid a conspiratorial glance. “I don’t really know what made us accept the invitation in the first place. We knew how unbearably snobbish and conniving my cousin would be and how she’d keep trying to make a suitable match for me.”

“Hurray for your cousin. I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’re home again,” I said.

“You’ve been dying of boredom, I knew it,” Sid said. “What did I tell you, Gus. I said we should have spirited Molly with us to Newport.”

I put a plate of cookies on the table and took down the best china from the cupboard. “Until two days ago that was true,” I said. “But things have been happening thick and fast.” And all details of the letter and Sarah and the kidnapped baby came spilling out and I finished by telling them about bumping into Liam and Mr. Wilkie’s visit. I should probably have kept quiet about the latter, but I had come to rely on my friends and their good sense, and I needed to tell someone. Also I’ve never been good at holding my tongue.

“Goodness me,” Gus said. “You’ve been having far too much excitement without us.”

“I feel rather shaken up by all of it, if you want to know,” I said. “Seeing that poor woman so distraught when her child was kidnapped really upset me.”

“Well it would, given your current condition,” Gus said.

“And then running into my brother like that, only to find that the Secret Service is on the lookout for him. I really want to warn him, but I don’t see how I can risk going anywhere near him without putting him in even greater danger.” I got up as the kettle began to sing on the stove.

“Molly,” Gus said carefully, “you say your brother is in great danger and you want to warn him, but if he’s really part of some kind of anarchist plot, should you really stand in the way of the authorities and tip off these people that the Secret Service is onto them? I mean, what if they plan to assassinate the king of England or our president? I know blood is thicker than water, but…”

“I don’t want you to think that I condone anything like that. If I try and warn Liam it will be to go back to France and have nothing to do with this plot. I can’t believe he’d want to be part of something that involved innocent lives.”

I saw my friends exchange a hurried glance.

“I thought maybe I could write him a letter, telling him that he should leave the country right away. Maybe Sarah could keep an eye out for him to deliver the letter for me. I saw him on the corner of Elizabeth Street, not too far from her settlement house. But Daniel doesn’t want me going to that area. Do you think you’d be able to deliver the letter to her?”

“Of course,” Gus said.

“Better than that,” Sid said. “You can enlist us, Molly. We can scour the Lower East Side looking for your brother, can’t we, Gus.”

“I can’t ask you to do that for me,” I said quickly.

“Nonsense, we’d love to do it. You know we always jump at the chance to help you with your sleuthing.”

“Yes, I know,” I said with slight hesitation. Sid and Gus had always been keen volunteers, but the trouble was that to them life was a great and glorious game.

“Oh, come on, Molly, do say yes,” Gus said. “We’re itching to do something useful after all those days of mindless chatter and tea parties.”

“I don’t think you understand how serious this is,” I said. “The police are looking for him. If you approach him and say anything that anyone could overhear, you’re sealing his death warrant.”

Sid looked rather haughty as she said, “Molly, I think we can be trusted to show a little common sense. We are women of the world, after all. And our work with the suffrage movement has required guts and diplomacy.”

I realized this was true. They took terrible risks for the cause and had been to jail on at least one occasion. “Of course. Forgive me,” I said. “I’d be most grateful if you undertook this task for me. I’ll write the letter today.”

“What does your brother look like—do you have a photograph?”

“No, but he looks like me,” I said. “His hair is even brighter red and he’s thinner and rather gaunt looking now, but the resemblance is very strong. You’d recognize him if you saw him.”

“Well then, that’s settled,” Sid said. “You write the letter. We’ll get unpacked and sorted out and then we’ll be at your disposal.”

“You’re the tops,” I said. “I’ll never be able to repay all the kind things you’ve done for me.”

“Nonsense,” Gus said. “Our life would be awfully boring if you didn’t live across the street. We love a little spice and danger from time to time, don’t we, Sid?”

“Just a little,” Sid said.

I poured each of them a glass of iced tea and put the sugar bowl in front of them.

“Then can I also ask you to keep your eyes open for more potential kidnappings when you’re going through the Lower East Side?”

“More kidnappings? Are you expecting more?” Gus sounded shocked.

“I’m afraid so. The one I witnessed, or almost witnessed, was the fifth recently that the police know about. Daniel thinks that a gang has found taking babies an easy way of making money.”

“That’s despicable,” Sid said. “We shall certainly keep our eyes open and if we do witness one, then heaven help the kidnapper.”

“Oh, do be careful,” I said hurriedly. “These gangs are quite ruthless.”

Gus put her hand over mine. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she doesn’t do anything too daring or stupid. But I have to confess I’m a teeny bit excited about apprehending a possible kidnapper myself. Do you have any description?”

“None at all. The police have nothing to go on. I’m afraid snatching a baby is all too easy in those crowded streets.”

“We’ll just do our best then,” Gus said. “You can rely on us, Molly.”

And she saluted. I laughed. “Now I can concentrate on the other matter,” I said. “That letter about the missing Irish girl.”

“I thought you promised Daniel no more detective work.” Sid wagged a finger at me. “What does he think about this?”

“She hasn’t told him, naturally,” Gus said with a smirk at me.

“Actually I have his blessing,” I said. “At least I have his blessing to ask our friends if they have come across a family called Mainwaring, which was the name of the family where the girl from Ireland found employment.” I took a sip of my own tea, then looked up at them. “You don’t happen to have come across anyone called Mainwaring in your travels, I suppose?”

“The name doesn’t ring a bell.” Sid looked at Gus for confirmation.

Gus shook her head. “I don’t think I know anyone called Mainwaring. Did you say she lives in New York?”

“I don’t know where she lives,” I said. “I made that assumption because the girl found a job so quickly after landing here. I’m writing to employment agencies to see if any of them remember placing the girl.”

“Why don’t you just put an advertisement in the
Times
?” Sid said. “Wishing to contact a Mrs. Mainwaring who recently employed Maureen O’Byrne as a domestic.”

“I could do that,” I said doubtfully. “Would it be very expensive?”

“I shouldn’t think so,” Sid shrugged, money to her being no object.

Money was an object to me, but I didn’t want to admit this. “I thought of going to see Miss Van Woekem,” I said. “She knows everybody who matters.”

“It depends if this Mrs. Mainwaring matters or not then,” Gus said. “Most people can afford a maid or two.”

“So what would you do if you wanted to locate somebody?”

“Go to City Hall and take a look at the electoral roll. That is if there is a Mr. Mainwaring; women, of course, not being on anyone’s electoral roll.”

“Yet,” Gus finished for her.

“That’s a good idea,” I said, cheering up immensely. “I can do that.”

“Providing the Mainwarings are citizens and can vote in elections,” Sid pointed out.

“Sid, you’re making difficulties,” Gus said. “If they are not on the electoral roll, they’ll be on some other kind of list. If they own a house, they’ll pay property tax. City Hall will have them listed somewhere.”

“And then there are the electoral rolls in the other boroughs too,” Sid added. “People with money are moving out of the city these days to the new suburbs.”

“Other boroughs,” I said. “I don’t think Daniel would want me to go charging off to the Bronx.”

“Molly, you’re beginning to sound like the dutiful little wife,” Sid said. “Where is that spunky girl we used to know? Surely Daniel doesn’t monitor your every movement.”

“No, but…” I began.

“She did agree not to take on any more cases, Sid,” Gus added for me. “And she shouldn’t get too tired, rushing all over the place.”

I shot her a grateful smile.

“Maybe we can take on that for you too,” she added.

“I really can’t expect you to run all over the place for me,” I said. “I’ll go to City Hall and if the Mainwarings don’t show up there, I’ll hand over the case.”

“We’ve made the offer, Molly. We’re at your disposal, but I really don’t think you should take on too much to worry you at the moment. I read something recently in a journal of medicine, written by a professor of psychology that claimed unborn children can pick up all kinds of stimuli in the womb that may affect their later life. They recommend mothers think kind and beautiful thoughts all the time.”

I laughed. “Oh, dear. I don’t think I’m the sort of person who only thinks beautiful thoughts. But you’re probably right about taking on too much. I’m certainly feeling the heat this summer.”

“Why don’t you go out to your mother-in-law?” Gus said. “It’s lovely and leafy out in Westchester.”

“For the same reason that you returned from those cool ocean breezes in Newport,” I said. “A day or so of my mother-in-law and I’d rather endure the heat. Besides, it’s cooler today. I think it’s going to rain.”

“Then we should get going, Gus,” Sid rose to her feet. “We have to buy food or we’ll starve tonight.”

“I’d invite you to dine here,” I said, “but I’ve only two pork chops and I don’t think they’ll stretch to four.”

“We need to stock up the pantry anyway,” Sid said. “The larder is bare and the poor dog will have nothing if we don’t get going. Come over for a glass of wine later. Thank God we still have a well-stocked cellar awaiting us.”

I escorted them to the front door and watched them cross the alleyway to their own house. Then I went to the desk in the front parlor and thought carefully before I composed a note to Liam. Sid was right. It had to contain nothing that might implicate me, but he had to know that it came from me. Something from our childhood … Then I remembered that my brother Joseph always teased him by calling him Freckle Face. Liam hated it. Our mother told him to stop and threatened the strap if he used the words again, so he resorted to calling Liam FF.

Dear FF,
I wrote.

They know you’re here. They are looking for you. Leave the city immediately. God be with you.

There. Nothing that could tie it to me, but would make it quite clear to him. I put the letter into an envelope and carried it across the alley to Sid and Gus who promised to set out on their quest the next morning. I felt as if a great load had been lifted from my shoulders. My friends were home and everything was going to be all right from now on.

Nine

The rain started that evening and when Daniel came home he was drenched to the skin. Then in the middle of the night there was a thunderstorm with lightning flashing and rain drumming hard on the roof. I lay awake, waiting for the next flash and crash while my mind raced with so many worrying thoughts. Would Liam be caught before Sid and Gus could find him and deliver my warning? What if they called his name out loud and thus gave him away? And what if that woman couldn’t come up with the money to ransom her kidnapped baby? Would the kidnappers kill it? In the end I went downstairs and made myself some warm milk, and drank it sitting in the cold empty kitchen while the thunder raged outside and Daniel slept on peacefully.

In the morning it was still raining and I decided to wait to pay my visit to City Hall. No sense in getting crushed in a crowded El train. By afternoon the sun was out again and when I set off the sidewalks were steaming. Little boys took great delight at stomping in puddles and when a carriage went past me at a great clip it sent up a spray of muddy water, spattering my skirt. I made it down to City Hall on the trolley and then was made to wait while clerks decided if I was important enough to be helped, before one of them disappeared into the cavernous filing rooms, only to return empty-handed. It became clear that there were no Mainwarings of note living in the borough of Manhattan—at least not able to vote or be affluent enough to own their own homes.