Deadly Proof: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery (42 page)

And he lifted up the bottle of whiskey and the lamp over his head.

Laura found herself roughly jerked around by Seth, who pulled her out into the hallway and buried her face in his chest, so that all she heard was the scream and felt the sudden blast of heat on her back. 

Friday, evening, August 6, 1880

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“The information of grand larceny against William F. Reil was dismissed on mention of the District-Attorney.”
San Francisco Chronicle
, August 6, 1880

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A
nnie sat waiting for Nate. She stood up and went over to the small parlor’s front window, twitching back the heavy velvet curtains so she could look out at the street. At slightly past eight in the evening, the sun had long set, and there was only an occasional carriage that passed along towards Market. The day had been warm, for San Francisco, but she could see by the light of the gas lamps that the fog was insinuating its cool wet fingers down along the city streets.

What was taking him so long? She sighed and went back to the table where she’d spread out the evening
Chronicle
and started reading through the stock reports. She heard the skitter of Dandy’s feet coming down the stairs and Jamie and his mother’s voices in the hallway, and she almost got up and went to say something to them. Maybe ask to accompany them on their evening walk with Dandy.

No, she also heard David Chapman’s voice, and she didn’t want to intrude on what was becoming a nightly courtship ritual. At least Mr. Chapman got to see the object of his affection every day.

Much as she’d wanted to, she hadn’t been able to see Nate since Monday night, when the two of them arrived at Rashers with Chief Jackson to find the place in flames. When she closed her eyes, all she could see was the image of that poor man. She got up again to go over to the sideboard and poured herself some cool water.

Thank goodness, Seth’d had the presence of mind to keep Laura’s head buried up against his chest until Annie could come and take her down the hallway. Then she sent Laura down to the porter to raise the fire alarm, while she raced upstairs to tell the engineers on the third floor and then on to the fourth floor to the cigar box factory to get everyone out. Fortunately, the Niantic was a modern brick building with indoor plumbing and a reserve tank of water on the roof, so the fire in Rashers hadn’t spread beyond its premises. The fire engines had made good time as well.

But according to the extensive news coverage of the fire, the damage to the wooden floors and furniture in the shop was extensive. And some of the smaller machines were warped from the heat. From her financial audit, Annie knew that Rashers had good insurance. And, since the papers incorporating the new partnership were already signed, they would be able to use the Neppier shop and equipment until everything was repaired and replaced.

But some people were going to lose their jobs, if at least temporarily, and that was unfortunate. Seth wasn’t going to be one of them. Laura told her that he’d been able to save the large Babcock steam engine from being damaged in the fire and was working in the interim at Neppier’s to keep the German paper in circulation.

The news about Franklin Griggs was much sadder. Despite heroic efforts by Nate and Chief Jackson, his burns were too extensive, and he died the next day at St. Mary’s hospital.

Joshua Rashers and his wife, between them, had a great deal to answer for. Mrs. Sullivan blamed the alcohol, and no doubt that contributed to his insane behavior. But one newspaper report said that Griggs, who’d worked for twelve years as the foreman for Rashers’ Printing Company, was told the day of the fire that the foreman at Neppier’s was going to replace him in the newly organized company. She wondered if that is what his
old friend
Joshua Rashers had told him the day of Rashers’ murder—the day that Franklin Griggs took up his bodkin and stabbed him to death.

A flurry of movement in the hallway caught her attention, and her spirits suddenly lifted.

Kathleen opened the door to the parlor and cheerily announced, “Ma’am, Mr. Dawson is here.”

Scarcely waiting for him to walk into the room, Annie threw herself into his arms, saying, “Finally, I thought you’d never get here.”

“Whoa, Annie love, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing...I just missed you.” As she stepped away, Annie noticed that there were bandages on his left hand. “Nate, you were hurt!”

“Just a couple of small blisters. Almost healed. The Chief and I were able to throw our coats on him...then Timmons came with the first bucket of water...course didn’t do any good in the long run. Probably a blessing he didn’t linger.”

Annie sighed and thought again about the tragedy of it all. She gave him another tight hug and said, “Come sit down. Shall I pour you something to drink?”

“Actually, what I would love is a nice glass of cold cider and...”

“Some of Mrs. O’Rourke’s oatmeal cookies. I’ll ring for Kathleen.” Annie smiled as she went to the pull by the fireplace.

When she sat down next to him on the settee, Nate said, “I am sorry I am so late, but I needed to meet with Mrs. Pitts Stevens first, and she wasn’t available until seven. Forgive me?” He leaned over and was about to kiss her when Kathleen came into the room. So, instead, he snaked his arm around her waist while she told her maid about the cider and cookies.

As soon as Kathleen left, pulling the door slightly closed behind her, Nate tilted her head up and kissed her with a fervor she welcomed. Some time passed before she leaned away and said, “Now you can tell me what you had to report to Mrs. Pitts Stevens that was more important than kissing me.”

“Mrs. Florence Sullivan walked out of the city jail this afternoon, a free woman.”

Annie smiled and said, “Nate, that’s wonderful. The district attorney finally dismissed all charges?”

“Yes, although it took long enough. Dart was being stubborn, didn’t want to look bad in the press—after he’d given those interviews saying what a dangerous woman Mrs. Sullivan was.”

“That is just outrageous. He had Seth and Laura’s testimony that Griggs told them he’d killed Rashers. Plus the evidence about Florence not having typeset or pulled the proof for the invitation.”

“Well, as you might suspect, he wasn’t about to believe anything Mrs. Sullivan said. Besides, I don’t think he really understands how printing works—so I don’t think he understood that part.”

Annie chuckled. “I confess until Laura started working at the Women’s Cooperative, I didn’t understand it very well either. But what about the evidence that Orrie was blackmailing Griggs? Didn’t that count?”

“That’s what convinced Chief Jackson. Griggs’ bank confirmed that he’d taken all of his savings out in the weeks after Rashers’ murder—all three hundred dollars. He was tapped out, which means that, if she was still pressuring him for money, killing her might have seemed the only alternative to him.”

“Your friend Newsome’s article said the police found some threatening notes from Orrie in Griggs’ rooms. The notes said that she discovered Rashers’ body right after Griggs left with Seth and Dunk—said this proved Griggs was the one who attacked and killed him.”

“Yes. Tim did a good job of putting the whole story together in a way that made sense—and made it clear that Mrs. Sullivan wasn’t involved.”

“I don’t suppose he had any help in doing that, did he, Nate?” Annie flicked him lightly on his cheek. She knew he’d felt so bad about his inability to do what Mrs. Pitts Stevens hoped he could do—keep Mrs. Sullivan from being tried in the local press. She was glad he’d been able to use the newspapers to get the real story out in the end.

“I might have given him a few suggestions on who to interview. Frankly, I think it was Newsome’s article, and a few of the other reporters who began to look into the new partnership, that got Dart to finally dismiss the charges. Jackson said that Jack Neppier spoke pretty sharply with Dart about letting the whole affair drag on all week. Said the sooner Mrs. Sullivan was free, the sooner the story would die down and that this is what Mrs. Rashers wanted.”

“I imagine she is regretting her first hasty accusations. I must say I am hoping she will look elsewhere for an accountant for the new firm.”

“You won’t believe this, but she tried to get Mrs. Sullivan to come back and work for her—to show no hard feelings. However, I am quite confident that Mrs. Sullivan is going to take up Iris Bailor’s long standing offer of employment.”

“That is wonderful.” Annie stood up and took the tray from the Kathleen, who had just arrived, and she said, “Thank you. Laura wanted me to remind you that she may be in late tonight...but said you are under no circumstances to wait up for her.”

After Kathleen left them alone again, and Annie noticed with a smile that this time she’d almost closed the door to the hallway completely, she said to Nate, “Laura also wanted me to tell you that the exam results came out this afternoon. Kitty went over to the University of California campus—they post the results there—to find out how everyone did. All four of them passed! Laura, Kitty, Ned, and his fiancé are out celebrating.”

“Not Mr. Timmons?” Nate said, idly twirling one of the curls that framed her face.

“No. He’s busy at work at Neppier’s shop. I just hope they give him a raise.”

After a pause, Nate said, “What are we going to do about Laura and Mr. Timmons?”

“
We
aren’t going to
do
anything. They are going to be attending the university at the same time, probably taking many of the same classes. They will see each other daily. What will happen...will happen.”

“But shouldn’t I at least speak to him?”

“And say what? I can assure you that, from what Laura has confided in me, the poor man is beside himself with regret over what happened and the possible blot on her reputation.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. But what does Laura have to say for herself? And what does she expect me to say to our parents?”

“She expects you to keep quiet—just as you expected your Uncle Frank to do when you got into one of those scrapes with Tim Newsome that you always talk about.”

Nate looked startled and then began to laugh.

Annie took up his bandaged hand and smoothed out the gauze. She said, “I really don’t think you need to worry. She is very adamant about not letting anything, or anyone, get in the way of her obtaining her bachelor’s and eventually her law degree. And she seems equally determined to make sure Seth stays on a career path as well.”

“That sounds rather daunting. I wonder how he feels about that?”

“I suspect he will find it charming, when she tells him. Which she plans on doing this Sunday when she has arranged to ride horses with him in Golden Gate Park.”

Annie laughed at the look on Nate’s face but refrained from repeating Laura’s unsettling comment that “riding horses together seemed by far the safest strategy for maintaining
friendly
relations.” Instead, she took advantage of the moment to kiss him.

After another satisfactory interlude, they were interrupted by a knock on the parlor door and Kathleen’s soft voice asking if they needed anything else from the kitchen before she and Mrs. O’Rourke retired for the night.

When Annie told her no and looked at the clock to see it was already nine-thirty, she was reminded of her earlier grievance about Nate’s late arrival. She said, “You never did tell me how your meeting with Mrs. Pitts Stevens went. Was she satisfied with the way the case turned out?”

“Oh yes. You know from the start she wanted to be able to avoid a trial...so even though I hadn’t been able to forestall the earlier scandal-mongering, she was pleased—particularly because no one discovered the role she played in hiring me.”

“It’s not as if you could control the bad press. And Mrs. Sullivan certainly didn’t help...being so uncooperative for so long...but that is water under the bridge.” Annie couldn’t help but feel slightly aggrieved on Nate’s behalf.

“No, no she was quite fair, and Annie, darling, she gave me another two thousand dollars on top of the initial thousand. Not as much as I might have made if the case had gone to trial, and I did read somewhere that Laura Fair’s lawyers got a fifteen-thousand dollar retainer.”

“Now don’t be greedy,” Annie said, shaking her finger at him. “Three thousand dollars is very generous, and I can’t help but be glad Mrs. Sullivan didn’t have to go through the trauma of actually being tried for murder.”

Nate nodded. “I know, but it is frustrating that we postponed the wedding thinking I would be in the midst of the trial next week. But with this infusion of income it means that we can certainly afford that big wedding you want.”

“But I don’t want a big wedding. I want to be married to you...right now...not in two or three months.”

There, she’d said it. Holding her breath, she looked to see what his response would be.

Nate embraced her tightly, his mouth warm on her cheek, and he murmured, “Oh, I so wish we were...married...right now...”

Annie pulled away and said, “Well why don’t we?”

“Why don’t we what?” Nate asked rather distractedly as he tried to nibble her ear.

“Listen to me.” Annie moved away and saw that the tone in her voice had gotten his attention. “Why not get married this Sunday? Surely your uncle can find some justice of the peace to do the job. We can have the ceremony and a reception here in the boarding house in the late afternoon when most of our friends will be free.”

“I thought you said that there wasn’t room...”

Annie put her hand up alongside his face and said, “Nate. Tell me truthfully, how important is it that you invite your law clients?”

“Hang my law clients!”

Annie laughed out loud and said, “And hang my clients. Laura will be my bridesmaid, and we will invite your uncle and Tim Newson and his wife, and everyone from the boarding house, and Kathleen and her little brother, and Patrick MeGee, and, Miss Pinehurst, because I’ve already invited her, and I will hire Tilly and her cousin Biddy to help out in the kitchen, and it will be perfect.”