In a Gilded Cage - By Rhys Bowen Page 0,30

until Daniel was financially stable again, I should be able to expect at least one servant, presumably one who could cook. So I applied myself to making a good dinner. I had a nice piece of beef that I roasted with potatoes and sprouts. Daniel stood in my hallway, sniffing appreciatively as he took off his hat.

“My, but that smells good,” he said.

“Roast beef,” I said with a certain amount of satisfaction.

I insisted that he carve. He made rather a hash of it, but I wisely kept silent. Then we sat and ate.

“So how was your client this afternoon?” he asked. “Satisfied with the progress you are making?”

I knew he was curious to find out more about the case, but since he was sharing no details of his own work, I merely gave an enigmatic smile. “Very satisfied, thank you. Recommended me to other women at the gathering in the Dakota.”

“The Dakota. So your client moves in high circles.”

“She does.”

“Fascinating.”

I laughed at the expression on his face.

“You’re not going to tell me more, are you?” he asked.

“No, I’m not. Not until you tell me about your work.”

“Ah, but I’m a police officer. My cases are criminal ones. If I talked about them, I might give a defense attorney grounds for dismissal.”

“It’s not as if I’ll go blabbing to all and sundry,” I said. “And a problem shared is a problem halved.”

“Nothing you could do, my dear,” he said. “Completely outside of your sphere. Gang wars among the Chinese over the opium trade. Bodies in back alleys. Large quantities of opium being brought in under our noses. That’s my major concern at the moment, and if that’s not enough, I’ve got cases of apparently random poisonings on my hands.”

“What kind of poisonings?”

“Arsenic.”

“You’re right. Out of my sphere,” I said. “And my own case sounds rather boring in comparison. Trying to find out the truth about my clients’ parents.”

“Interesting,” he said, but he didn’t sound very interested. “Anyway, enough of work. Tell me something amusing.”

So I related my afternoon’s experience at the Dakota. “I don’t ever want to end up like that,” I finished.

Daniel laughed. “No, I can’t see you lounging on your chaise, discussing ball gowns. But don’t worry, my dear. That will never happen to you.”

“Thank you, Daniel.” I beamed at him. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear you say that.”

“Well, it’s obvious, really, isn’t it,” he said. “On a policeman’s salary you won’t be able to afford ball gowns and jewels. You’ll be out hanging the laundry and scrubbing the floors.” He ducked as I went to throw a potato at him.

The next morning’s post brought a reply from Isaac C. Ketler in Pennsylvania.

My dear Miss Murphy:

I am in receipt of your interesting letter of the 12th inst. I personally am not connected with the mission field, although I am personally acquainted with the Simcox family, whose brutal massacre was the impetus for me to write this book. Their parents live close by in Pennsylvania and turned over years of correspondence for my use. I am founder and principal of Grove City College, a small liberal arts institution based on a firm Christian foundation.

I should like to help your friend in her quest for knowledge of her parents and am forwarding to you the names and addresses of each of the missionary organizations active in China. This pre-supposes that your friend is of American heritage, as there are also missionary societies based in London equally active in Asia.

When you have ascertained with which of the missionary organizations they were affiliated, you may wish to contact some of those names I cite in my book, for more personal details on her parents and their life in China.

If I can be of further service, please do not hesitate to write.

Isaac C. Ketler, Ph.D.

Wonderful. I now had a start. Of course I was a little daunted when I saw the number of missionary societies he had included for me: American Baptists, Bible Society, Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Methodists, Presbyterians, Reformed, Protestant Episcopal, and so on. A whole page of them. I had no idea so many people had a burning desire to convert the heathen Chinese!

Well, I had my work cut out for me. I took out a pad of paper and sat down to write to each of the missionary headquarters. Dr. Ketler mentioned in a postscript the large numbers of Catholic missionaries also operating in China. I saw little point in contacting any Catholics,