Deadly Proof: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery (26 page)

“I think there are a couple of explanations for that,” said Laura.

She told them about Iris’ belief that Mrs. Sullivan felt a responsibility to stay to protect the younger workers from being seduced by him. She also told them about her conversation with the cigar factory forewoman, who agreed with Iris on that point.

“Now don’t scold me, Nate. Miss Von Klepp was quite helpful—I even got the feeling that if you really wanted her to, she would testify that Rashers was not an entirely model Christian and that Florence didn’t appear the least bit jealous. She said that Florence mentioned recently that she was worried that he’d been tempted to ‘try it on’ with someone else. And she clearly meant something more than the ‘little bit of fun,’ that Von Klepp said she had with him.”

Nate leaned forward. “Someone working for Rashers?”

Laura didn’t answer him right away, and he could tell she was debating about whether or not to tell him something. He said gruffly, “Look, Laura. I’ve said I am not happy about you going around asking people questions. But clearly my wishes don’t matter to you. So if you are going to involve yourself in a case where there is a murderer still on the loose, you have to promise to tell us everything.
No secrets
.”

Annie put her hand on his arm, and he leaned back and tried to stop glaring.

Laura looked startled. Then she said, “You’re right. I guess I was thinking about how important it was for you to win the case. I didn’t think about what it would mean to the real culprit, who won’t feel safe until someone else has gone to prison for their crime.”

Nate, feeling that he’d woken her up to the potential dangers, said more quietly, “Now, who do you think this other woman might be who is having an affair—if it isn’t Von Klepp?”

“Seth told me there were two women in particular who seemed to be involved with Rashers. One was Von Klepp, the other was a woman who provides the illustrations for a number of Rashers’ clients. It turns out I know the illustrator. She is Nellie Granger, and she actually lives upstairs above the WCPU shop. Nell is only in her mid-twenties, but she is an amazing artist, trained back east at Cooper Union, and she has her own engraving company. Iris took a real shine to her, and about six months ago, she let her move into her apartment upstairs.”

Annie said, “And so you think that this Nell Granger might be the person Florence Sullivan was worried about? I could see that. Given the friendship between Iris and Florence, Florence would certainly try to keep Rashers from seducing Miss Granger the way she’d been seduced.”

Laura nodded, sat up straighter, and said, “What if Nell was the reason Mrs. Rashers believed he was starting up his old behavior but mistakenly thought it was with Florence?”

“Which is why, years after the fact, she insisted he fire Mrs. Sullivan,” replied Annie, with rising excitement. “Well that does make some sense. Because that is another thing that’s been bothering me. I can understand—barely—why Florence might stay on at Rashers if she was no longer infatuated with him. She certainly was making enough money to make it worth her while. I can also understand that she would want to protect other young women as a form of expiation for her own fall from grace. But I couldn’t understand why Mrs. Rashers would insist Florence be fired now if there hadn’t been anything going on for years.”

Nate tried to envision how all this could be used by him in the court room—the trial was only a week away. “So you are saying that even though the affair was long over, Mrs. Sullivan stayed working because of some misguided belief that she could protect other female workers from making the same mistake she did?”

“Miss Von Klepp said she thought Florence also believed that she could convince him to change his ways,” chimed in Laura.

Nate heard Annie make a scoffing sound next to him. He said, “Really Annie, some of us fellows are capable of change.”

She patted his arm, and he continued. “In any event, in this version of events, Rashers recently starts up with another woman—this Nell Granger, perhaps. But his wife mistakenly thinks the other woman he is having the affair with is Mrs. Sullivan. So she insists they take this trip away and that he fire Florence. But he doesn’t want to fire Florence—she is too important to the success of the firm.”

Laura broke in, “What if he then tells the
other
woman, whoever she is, that they are through? He can’t risk his wife’s continued displeasure. Maybe that
other
woman is the one who killed him.”

“I’m sorry to disagree,” said Seth Timmons, startling them all. “As I said to you before, Mr. Dawson, I just don’t see a woman being able to kill a big man like Joshua Rashers. More importantly, would Mrs. Sullivan be willing to go to prison to protect this other woman? That seems to be the crucial question.”

*****

A
nnie watched with amusement as Dandy, who’d been the only one to notice Seth’s quiet approach, continued to bark sharply at the sound of Seth Timmons’ voice. Given that the tiny terrier wasn’t even as tall as the man’s boots, his ferocious demeanor appeared absurd. But Annie knew that Dandy was a brave little soul, who unerringly recognized when anyone posed a danger to his people. And smart, because with one sniff he identified that he’d met Seth before and that the tall man fell in the category of friend. Consequently, Dandy stopped barking and stretched upwards, putting his front paws on Seth’s legs, his little crooked tail waggling joyfully.

Nate rose to shake Seth’s hand, and Laura ran into the kitchen to get another chair, placing it next to hers in the shade of the tree when she returned. While Annie had gotten a glimpse of Seth at Rashers on Thursday, she’d only met him twice before, the second time under very unusual circumstances. She was glad to get the chance to observe him more closely.

He was taller and a bit leaner than Nate, with the slight bow to his legs produced by years in the saddle. While the formal suit he was wearing was obviously worn, the burgundy and silver vest under the black jacket looked new, as did the black necktie, and his white shirt cuffs and collar were starched and pressed and his boots polished. Seth Timmons had made an effort.

Although Laura had said he was about the same age as her brother, Seth appeared much older than Nate, probably because of the weathered state of his skin, another legacy of his earlier career driving cattle to market. When he took off the battered stetson he wore, placing it on the chair Laura was trying to get him to sit down on, Annie saw that there was a faint sprinkling of silver in his thick, closely cropped black hair. However, there was no silver in the full mustache that bracketed his mouth. His eyes were a dark grey, framed by long lashes, and they were looking at her with a distinct twinkle.

Annie smiled, held out her hand, and said, “Welcome, Mr. Timmons. We appreciate you taking time off on your Sunday to come help us out. Do sit down and let Laura pour you some lemonade.”

“Thanks, ma’am,” Seth responded with the slightest hint of a twang, picking up his stetson. Then, only after she and Laura sat, did he take his place on the wooden chair next to Laura. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation,” he said. “But it does seem to me that we should be looking for a man as the killer––a man who Mrs. Sullivan would be willing to go to prison to protect.”

“You mean her husband—don’t you? Really the only man who fits the bill,” said Nate. “He as good as told me he knew something had happened between her and Rashers. Maybe before they married, she promised him that everything was over. But, like Mrs. Rashers, he could have gotten suspicious that his wife and Rashers had started up again.”

Annie saw Seth glance over at Laura, then he said, “I can’t speak to what Mrs. Sullivan’s relationship with Rashers was before I started working there, but I find it hard to believe that there was anything untoward going on now.”

“We agree,” said Laura. “But what we were speculating about when you arrived is the possibility that if Joshua Rashers was starting up something serious with some other woman, his wife might have jumped to the conclusion it was Florence.”

Seth frowned and shook his head, and Laura lifted up her chin and said, “I don’t agree with you that a woman couldn’t have been the killer. Who better to get close enough to him to take him unawares? Even one of the female apprentices—if he cornered them—or that Orrie Childers. She seems like the sort who might attract the attention of someone like Joshua Rashers.”

Annie saw Seth’s frown deepen, and she intervened. “After seeing how badly paid the young apprentices are and the terms of the contract they are working under, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that one of them attacked him. But I do think that we should look more carefully at her husband. Nate, you did say that he really didn’t have an alibi.”

“No, he didn’t. And their servant said the two of them argued before he left the house that night. If Alan Sullivan thought Rashers was trying to rekindle an affair with his wife, this would certainly give Sullivan the motive to confront Rashers. And, maybe in the heat of the moment, kill him.”

Laura added, “While the Niantic has porters at both doors, it seems to me from what I saw on Thursday that it would be easy for someone to slip into the building and out again without being noticed. Not just Alan Sullivan, but even Mrs. Rashers. Maybe she came into the shop to make sure her husband carried out her demand to fire Florence, discovered he wasn’t going to do it, and struck out at him.”

Annie said, “What we really need to do is come up with evidence that Nate can use in court, evidence that would at least suggest to the jury that there are other people who might have a reason to kill him.”

Nate nodded and said, “Since Mrs. Sullivan is not being helpful at all, I really could use help from all of you. Laura, since you started this line of inquiry, do you think you could find out if this Nellie Granger has an alibi for the time between six-thirty, when Franklin Griggs left the shop with Seth and his apprentice, and seven-fifteen when Mrs. Sullivan got to work?”

“Yes, I will try. I don’t want to ask Iris directly. She’s already given me one tongue lashing when she thought I was suggesting that Florence was guilty. Just think how she’d react if I said I thought it possible that her friend Nell was having an affair with Rashers, much less that I thought she might have murdered him. But I will think of something.”

Nate smiled at his sister and then turned to Seth. “I expect you will be called to testify by the prosecution, and I have a pretty good idea of what you will say if asked if you saw any sign that Mrs. Sullivan was romantically involved with her boss. But I was wondering if you could have an informal word with the porters, see if any of them saw someone, like Mrs. Rashers, come in or out of the Niantic that evening.”

“Would be glad to,” Seth said. “Could be that they’ve only been asked about Mrs. Sullivan’s comings and goings by the police.”

Nate thanked him and said, “I will check with the police to see if they have found any confirmation of Alan Sullivan’s alibi. Also see what they found out about some of Rashers’ business rivals. I already asked them where the widow was at the crucial time, but it sounds like they are taking the word of her servants that she was home. I’m not sure how to go about verifying if she really never left the house.”

“Nate, that reminds me,” said Annie. “I happened to mention to Miss Minnie Moffet the other day that I was working for Catherine Rashers. She said the widow is an old customer and they are working on a black silk for her right now. I could ask her if there was any way they could discreetly ask the servants if anyone actually saw their mistress during the crucial times.”

“Are you sure you should get those two sweet ladies involved?” Nate asked, amazed at Annie’s suggestion.

“Nate Dawson, when did you ever think of Miss Minnie as sweet!” Annie laughed at him, and he had to admit she was right.

Then she said, “I can assure you, they will be delighted to help. They are a lot more wide awake to the realities of life than you would think possible, and if Catherine Rashers has something to hide, you can be sure they will wrinkle it out.”

*****

S
eth listened quietly from his seat in the corner of the parlor as Laura asked her friends a series of quick questions about the roots of the U.S. Constitution in English common law. Kitty Blaine’s attempts to answer kept dissolving into a fit of embarrassed giggles at Ned Goodwin’s constant stream of puerile jokes about Henry VIII and his wives. Goodwin didn’t even seem to care that he had the wrong Henry.

Agreeing to sit in on this study session had been a very bad idea.

Not much impressed with Goodwin when he attended classes with him at San Jose, he could say after today that he positively disliked him. A braggart in a hundred-dollar suit who just liked to shoot his mouth off. He dropped the name of his “father the judge” every chance he got. No wonder he wasn’t taking this study session seriously; the oral entrance exams for the university were probably just a sham for a well-connected fellow like him.

Damn shame he was wasting Laura and her friend’s time, though. Maybe Miss Blaine didn’t care either. Laura said her friend was a serious scholar...but the way the girl was blushing and carrying on at Goodwin’s teasing made him wonder. With a carriage sitting outside waiting at her pleasure and a diamond pin at her neck, she might see going to the university as just a way to pass the time until she got hitched to someone like Ned.

But not Laura. He knew how set she was on getting a university degree. He’d heard they were especially hard on women. And no doubt she’d probably volunteer that her ultimate plan was to study law. That alone could get her disqualified––given all the hard feelings after those two women, Foltz and Gordon, fought the law school all the way to the state Supreme Court. And won.

“Seth, would you please explain why Henry II was considered the father of English common law? And Ned, do be serious,” Laura said.

Seth did as he was asked, but he was glad to hear a knock on the parlor door as he finished his recitation. Laura had mentioned they would break at seven for supper. He would come up with some excuse and slip away. He never planned on coming today anyway. When Laura showed up on the stairs of the Niantic on Thursday, he saw it as a chance to make some excuse to bow out. Problem was, Orrie turned up and insisted on walking all the way to Kearney with the both of them, so he didn’t get an opportunity to say anything.