who lay dying, and any scrap of sympathy vanished.
“Thank you, Mrs. Tate, you’ve been very helpful,” I said. I reached into my purse to give her money, but her defiant, proud stare stopped me.
“Nothing to thank me for, honey,” she said in her scratchy voice. “What did you want to know all this for?”
“For his sweetheart, Emily,” I said, not wanting to hurt her with the truth. “She was curious about Ned’s father and he would never speak of him.”
“Oh, I see. Well, she would be, wouldn’t she, if she’s thinking of marrying him. I told him, boy, you could do a lot worse than this one. Got a good head on her shoulders, she has, and anyone can see she’s a lady.”
I thought of Ned, bringing Emily home as his sweetheart when he had already given her the preparation that was going to kill her. And I looked at this broken wreck of a woman who had obviously done everything she could to make sure her son was raised with an education and prospects. It would break her heart when she learned the truth.
Thirty-one
I fussed and fumed as my transportation crawled back to the Upper East Side, driven by my anger and a sense of urgency. Was there a cure for thallium poisoning? Would the doctor believe me and would he know how to treat her if he did? And would Daniel have received my message yet? I now realized we were dealing with a cold-blooded and ruthless killer who was even prepared to kill the girl he professed to love. I hoped that Emily’s door had a strong lock on it and that we could hold out until Daniel got there. I ran all the way from the El station. I was gasping for breath by the time I had climbed all those flights of stairs. I went to tap on Emily’s door and it swung silently open. The room was in complete darkness with the heavy drapes drawn. I could make out the figure of a man bending low over the bed.
“Oh, Doctor,” I said breathlessly, “I’m sorry, I wanted to be here when you arrived but—”
The man started at the sound of my voice and straightened up. Then I saw that it wasn’t a strange doctor at all. It was Ned. In a flash I also saw the pillow he had been holding over Emily’s face. I rushed at the bed, and the pillow fell to the floor. Emily gave a mighty gasp and started coughing.
“You—you animal!” I screamed at him. “You pretended to love her and you do this? You couldn’t even wait for her to die slowly.” I lifted Emily’s head and gave her a sip of water. “You’re going to be all right,” I said. “Lie still.”
“Molly, he—he,” she started to say.
“I know. I know everything.”
Ned had backed away from me and was now standing by the door. At first I thought he was going to make a run for it, but then I watched him turn the key in the lock and give me a triumphant smile. “You’re right,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it when I found out that her best friend was my own half sister. How perfect a chance. But Emily was too smart for her own good. No good ever comes of educating women. She should have kept her nose out of my business. And so should you. Now you’ve sealed your own fate.”
I actually laughed. “Don’t be stupid,” I said. “Emily might be lying sick in bed and easy to smother, but in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a strong, healthy woman. And what’s more, a doctor is due here any second, and my young man, Captain Sullivan of the New York police, has been testing that face cream and will be here any moment as well.”
“No problem,” Ned said, reaching into his pocket. “It will only take me a moment to get rid of you.” I was half expecting a gun, and I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw instead that he had brought out a small glass bottle. He opened it and a sweet, sickly smell filled the room. Suddenly I knew what that smell was. It was chloroform. As I watched, fascinated like a rabbit confronted by a snake, he reached into the other pocket and produced a gauze pad.
“And where do you think you’d go if you kill us?” I demanded. “They’re going to find you soon enough. They already know