The Edge of Dreams (14 page)

Mother Sullivan looked around. “It seems as if you have most things you need here. Enough for me to get started on dinner anyway. What had you in mind?”

“My supplies haven’t arrived yet from the apartment so I thought we’d keep it simple tonight with ham and mashed potatoes. I’m sure you’re tired after traveling and I can manage,” I started to say but she held up a hand. “Enough of that. You’ve been in a terrible train crash,” she said. “I’m here to make sure you have a chance to heal. Now, let’s see to dinner.”

She had dinner on the stove and Bridie had fed Liam by the time that Daniel arrived home. He looked around the kitchen and beamed. “Well, isn’t this nice? My family and my home back together. I can’t think of anything that would make me more happy.”

“Your wife has been doing too much, Daniel. Trying to get the dinner herself with her poor ribs all bandaged up. I told her she’s to rest and let Bridie and me take care of the house.”

Daniel seemed to have noticed Bridie for the first time. “Oh, so you brought young Bridie too. That will be nice company for Molly and Liam.”

We sat down to the simple meal of ham, mashed potatoes, and pickles. Daniel ate with such relish that I had to believe it was his first decent meal in days. I watched him as he ate, noticing how his hair still curled boyishly across his forehead and how handsome he was. And how tired he looked. I wondered if Mother Sullivan was right and this job was killing him, and I wondered what I should do about it.

*   *   *

“You seem quite glad that my mother is here after all,” Daniel said as we undressed in our new bedroom. “I have always sensed that you resented her and didn’t want her to interfere.”

“I truly am glad she’s here this time, Daniel. And Bridie too.”

“Yes, she’s a good little helper now, isn’t she? My mother has trained her well. But I can’t see her ending up as a maid, can you?”

I laughed. “No, it won’t happen. More likely your mother will marry her off to a local landowner and brag to her friends about the good match she has made.” I was about to say something to him about Bridie staying on with us after his mother had gone home, so that she could attend school, but I decided this wasn’t the moment. Let him become fond of her and enjoy having her around the place first, I thought. So I went on, “I simply couldn’t have managed on my own. It still hurts me to breathe, let alone pick up Liam, and I’m sure my ribs will heal more quickly if I don’t have to do too much work.”

“Of course. And far better for you to heal in your own home than with those friends across the street. All that coming and going and painting and women’s meetings is not conducive to rest and recuperation, I’m sure.”

“They are very kind and look after me well, Daniel, but as it happens they have a lot on their plate at the moment.”

“Oh, really? What are they up to now?” He sounded amused.

I couldn’t mention the suffragist meeting, but I said, “You remember Gus told us she had been studying the interpretation of dreams with Professor Freud in Vienna.”

“A lot of bunkum if you ask me,” he interjected.

“We’ll have to see about that. Personally I thought it made sense as Gus explained it. But anyway, she’s been asked to help a young girl who has been through a tragedy and is now having horrible nightmares.” I climbed into bed, enjoying the feel of clean sheets and a new soft mattress.

“Your friend believes she is qualified to help in such a case?” Daniel asked.

“No, she expressed the belief that she should not try to help, because she was not qualified. She intends to write to Dr. Freud to ask for his recommendations, but in the meantime the child’s guardian begged her to come. It’s a very strange and sad case, Daniel. Perhaps you’ve heard about it—one of the men in your department is handling it.” And I briefly gave him the facts as they had been told to me.

“I believe I did hear something about it,” he said. “About a month ago, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right. When Mrs. Hamilton told us the story, nobody else seemed to think it strange that the parents were both found dead in their beds, while the girl and most of the servants escaped safely. But surely that raises a red flag, doesn’t it, Daniel?”

“The investigating officer obviously thinks so. Do you know which officer is handling the case?”

“No, we weren’t told his name, but apparently he thinks the girl started the fire and then got out.”

“And you think she might have killed her parents first, and then started the fire to cover up the crime?”

“It did cross my mind, I confess. I asked if there had been an autopsy and Mrs. Hamilton got quite shirty with me. She said the bodies were charred beyond recognition, and it was quite obvious how they died. But I was wondering, what if they had been drugged or poisoned first?”

I looked up at him as he lowered the gas and climbed into bed beside me. “Is there any way you could order an autopsy?”

“I can’t interfere in another officer’s case,” he said, “and besides, they will have been buried long ago. An exhumation order is something that is never taken lightly.” He slipped an arm under my neck and drew me toward him so that my head rested on his shoulder. “You mustn’t worry at the moment, or get involved in such things, Molly. Your job is to heal.”

“But what if the police are trying to accuse this child of something she didn’t do?”

“Molly,” he whispered. “If this girl is deranged and wanted to get rid of her parents, what does it really matter whether she drugged them first or not? This is out of your league, and Gus Walcott’s as well, if you want my opinion. You should let the police do their job and stay well away.”

“But you wouldn’t object if I went to see the girl with Gus? We have been invited by the aunt. And it would satisfy my curiosity.”

“Your insatiable curiosity,” he said, stroking my hair. “But please warn your friend that she is playing with fire if she acts in the capacity of a qualified alienist when she is not. If it turns into a case of criminal insanity, she may find herself in the witness box, and she would be torn apart by a prosecuting attorney. She could even be prosecuted herself for practicing medicine without a license.”

“I think she knows that, Daniel. But we’ve been asked to meet the girl, and Gus values my opinion, so I think we should go.”

Daniel sighed. “I’m finally back in my own bedroom with my beloved wife, and all we do is talk about criminal cases. I should have opted for a young miss who embroidered samplers.”

“You’d have been bored with her in ten minutes.” I went to give him a mock slap and he caught my wrist, holding me close to him. I felt my pulse quicken at his nearness, then reminded myself rapidly about the state of my ribs.

“But it is lovely to finally be back here. I was ungrateful the last time we spoke, Daniel. You did a tremendous job and it’s all perfect. I’m so glad to be home and in bed with you beside me.”

“It’s a pity you have damaged ribs or I’d take that as an invitation,” he said with a smile, “but given the circumstances, I think a kiss will have to suffice.”

And he planted his lips firmly on mine. I waited for the usual arousal I felt in such circumstances, but my head was still buzzing with too many worries. As Daniel draped an arm over me and fell asleep, I found myself thinking about Bridie, and a brilliant idea came to me. Bridie’s father’s family lived somewhere in the Lower East Side. Her father’s cousin Nuala was one of the most unpleasant women you’d ever meet, and her sons were the worst sort of ragamuffin. There was even a rumor that they were now affiliated with one of the street gangs. Not the sort of relatives you’d want. But it came to me that these boys might be ideal for getting information out of a younger child. If I paid them well enough, perhaps they could do what Daniel thought impossible, and find out who gave a note to a street urchin to be delivered to police headquarters.

I gave a little smile of satisfaction at the thought of delivering such news to Daniel. Then I snuggled up against him, feeling the comforting warmth of his body against mine, and fell asleep.

Thirteen

Mrs. Hamilton lived in a comfortable neighborhood just east of Gramercy Park. I looked out of the hansom cab with interest as we passed that square, with its gardens surrounded by elegant homes, and fond memories came back to me.

“I was once locked in the gardens here,” I said to Sid and Gus.

“When you were working on a case and chasing a criminal?” Sid asked, her eyes lighting up.

“When I was pushing an old woman in a bath chair,” I replied. “I worked for a while as a companion to a crotchety old woman, Miss Van Woekem. She lives in that house over there. I grew quite fond of her, after that rocky start. I hadn’t realized you needed to bring a key to let yourself out of the gardens. She wasn’t at all amused at being locked in there for hours.”

Sid and Gus chuckled. “You’ve had a colorful life, I’ll say that for you,” Gus said.

“Oh, I’ve had a colorful life? I like that,” I retorted. “What about you two? I’ve never turned my living room into a Mongolian yurt.”

“We just play at things,” Gus said. “We’ve never taken anything too seriously, until now. I think what we went through in France rather shook us up and sobered us a little. I took my studies in Vienna seriously enough, didn’t I, Sid?”

“You did. I rather wish you’d stayed on. You might have made a major contribution to the study of diseases of the mind.”

“There is still time to pursue my studies over here,” Gus said. “I’m now realizing how little I actually learned in such a vast field. I have to confess I’m having serious misgivings about seeing this young girl. I’m not a doctor. Could I be doing more harm than good?”

“I mentioned it to Daniel. He was concerned that if it ever came to a court case, you could be called as a witness, and even prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license, he said.”

“A court case?” Gus said. “I’d hate to think of a young girl being dragged into court, especially after what she’s already gone through.”

“We don’t know the circumstances yet, do we, Gus?” I said gently as the cab passed the square and proceeded along Twentieth Street. “We have to consider that she could be guilty of setting the fire. I’m sure we’ll make a better judgment after we’ve spoken with her.”

“We’ve written to Professor Freud asking for advice,” Sid said. “Gus will meet the girl and is certainly capable of making a preliminary assessment as to whether she has deep-seated mental problems that are beyond her capabilities.”

The cab came to a halt outside a row of well-kept brownstones. To me they epitomized comfortable middle-class prosperity, and the thought crossed my mind that Mrs. Hamilton hadn’t done too badly for herself. If she hinted that her deceased sister-in-law had taken a step down in the world by marrying Mr. Hamilton’s brother, then Susan must indeed have come from the realms of the Four Hundred.

We were helped down from the cab and mounted the flight of steps to a green-painted front door. It was opened by a maid, and we were led through into a front parlor. Here the air of elegance and obviously good furniture was spoiled by subtle hints that this was a household of four boys. The carpet and sofa were a little the worse for wear. There were lead soldiers lying under one of the chairs. Before we could take a seat Mrs. Hamilton herself appeared. She looked flustered, with wisps of hair escaping from her bun.

“Miss Walcott, Miss Goldfarb, Mrs. Sullivan. How very good of you to come, and so rapidly too. I must apologize about the state of the place. The boys were playing at war and I’ve just had to banish them to the nursery with threats of dire consequences if they dare to make a noise or show their faces.”

We smiled with understanding as she went on, talking quickly and with agitation. “Mabel had another of her nightmares last night and I insisted that she keep to her bed today. So perhaps you wouldn’t mind coming upstairs to see her?”

“Does she know we are coming, and why we are here?” Sid asked.

“I informed her that some ladies wanted to see if they could help her with her bad dreams and she put up no resistance. In fact she has been no trouble since she came here. She has always struck me as such a sweet child, which is why…” She broke off as her voice choked up.

We went up a broad flight of carpeted stairs, then a second flight, narrower and not carpeted. Mrs. Hamilton went ahead of us. “I’ll just make sure she is not sleeping,” she said in a low whisper. She tapped on the door, then put her head around it. “Mabel, dear, are you awake?”

“Yes, Aunt Minnie,” we heard a little voice say.

“I’ve brought some ladies to see you,” Mrs. Hamilton said gently and ushered us into the room.

My first impression of Mabel was that I was looking at a French bisque doll with enormous blue eyes and corn-colored hair. She was so pale that she almost merged into the whiteness of the pillows behind her head. She sat up and looked at us with apprehension as we crowded into her small bedroom.

“Hello, Mabel.” Gus took the initiative. “I’m Miss Walcott, and these are my friends Miss Goldfarb and Mrs. Sullivan. Your aunt asked us to come because of the nightmares you’ve been having since the awful tragedy. Your aunt wondered if I could help you, as I’ve been learning how to interpret dreams.”

“My aunt told me,” Mabel said.

“May I sit down?” Gus said, pulling up a chair beside the bed. “And my friends can sit on the window seat in the sun, unless you’d prefer that they wait in another room while we have our talk?”

“It’s all right. They can stay,” Mabel said in a resigned voice.

We sat. Shafts of sunlight painted stripes on the flowered wallpaper, highlighting the only color in the otherwise white room.

I could tell that Gus didn’t know how to begin.

“Mabel,” I said. “We were so sorry to learn about your parents. What an awful thing to have lived through. It’s no wonder you are having bad dreams. I did too, after my house burned down.”

She turned to look at me, trying to sum up whether my words were genuine.

“Your house burned down too?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Did anyone die? Anyone not get out?”