challenged, not liking her theories at all. “You can’t think he doesn’t want the killer found.”
To his surprise, she didn’t protest. “It’s not that so much as... He might be afraid of the scandal.”
“How much more scandal could there be? His kid was murdered.”
“Does anyone know that? Anyone except you and I and the police, I mean? I haven’t seen anything about it in the papers, have you?”
Frank really hadn’t had time to look. “So?”
“So he’s been able to keep the circumstances of her death a secret. He probably has a story he’s been telling to explain her death, a tragic accident perhaps, since the truth would be too awful to admit. The funeral will be private and no one will ever know the truth... unless the killer is caught.”
This made absolutely no sense to Frank. “What’s the shame in getting murdered?”
“The shame is in the circumstances. She had run away from her home, which is bad enough, but the reason she ran away is even worse. I’m assuming that she really was with child.”
Frank nodded grudgingly. The medical examiner had confirmed that at once.
“How far gone was she?”
Frank shifted uneasily in his chair. He’d never get used to discussing such topics with a female he hardly knew. “Almost six months, they said.”
“Then her family must have known. That’s why they sent her to Long Island, to keep her out of sight since her condition would soon be obvious.”
“But they wouldn’t’ve been able to keep it a secret once she had the baby,” Frank pointed out.
“Of course they would. They’d simply spirit the child away someplace and return Alicia to society as if nothing had happened.”
“Their own grandchild?” Frank scoffed. Nobody could be that heartless. “What would become of it?”
“Maybe a servant would adopt it, or maybe they would give out some story about a distant relative who died and left her child in their care. Who knows? The important thing is that no one would ever know the truth. Alicia’s reputation would be safe so she’d still be able to marry well, and the family wouldn’t lose their place in society. But with her running away, they’d have a much more difficult time making up a story. They’d have to invent excuses for her disappearance, which would be hard to explain, and now with her death, the situation is even more delicate. If the truth came out, that she was pregnant and living in a boardinghouse alone and her parents didn’t even know where she was, they’d become a laughingstock. I’m very much afraid they might think that was too high a price to pay for justice.”
“Are you saying they’d let their daughter’s killer go free just to protect their reputation?” She must be exaggerating, he thought. “I know rich people are a little strange, but that’s not human.”
For a long moment, she didn’t speak, and Frank thought his skepticism must have shown her how ridiculous her theories were, but then she said, “In some ways, rich people aren’t human, at least some of them aren’t.”
“You know this for a fact?” He very much doubted it, but she nodded.
“From my own personal experience. With my own father. He’s a close friend of Cornelius VanDamm.”
Well, he’d known she came from money. He’d known she and Mina VanDamm were friends. This shouldn’t be a surprise, but still, he had a difficult time believing she’d come from the same stock as the VanDamms. “What’s his name?”
“Felix Decker.”
Frank tried not to show his surprise. Felix Decker was definitely one of the Four Hundred socially elite in the city. His family had been here since before the flood, and he was probably richer than God. Was it possible Decker’s daughter could be sitting here with him in a filthy room in the basement of police headquarters? “Felix Decker’s daughter is a midwife ?” he asked in disbelief. Surely, that alone proved the lie.
She leaned back in her chair and smiled at
To his surprise, she didn’t protest. “It’s not that so much as... He might be afraid of the scandal.”
“How much more scandal could there be? His kid was murdered.”
“Does anyone know that? Anyone except you and I and the police, I mean? I haven’t seen anything about it in the papers, have you?”
Frank really hadn’t had time to look. “So?”
“So he’s been able to keep the circumstances of her death a secret. He probably has a story he’s been telling to explain her death, a tragic accident perhaps, since the truth would be too awful to admit. The funeral will be private and no one will ever know the truth... unless the killer is caught.”
This made absolutely no sense to Frank. “What’s the shame in getting murdered?”
“The shame is in the circumstances. She had run away from her home, which is bad enough, but the reason she ran away is even worse. I’m assuming that she really was with child.”
Frank nodded grudgingly. The medical examiner had confirmed that at once.
“How far gone was she?”
Frank shifted uneasily in his chair. He’d never get used to discussing such topics with a female he hardly knew. “Almost six months, they said.”
“Then her family must have known. That’s why they sent her to Long Island, to keep her out of sight since her condition would soon be obvious.”
“But they wouldn’t’ve been able to keep it a secret once she had the baby,” Frank pointed out.
“Of course they would. They’d simply spirit the child away someplace and return Alicia to society as if nothing had happened.”
“Their own grandchild?” Frank scoffed. Nobody could be that heartless. “What would become of it?”
“Maybe a servant would adopt it, or maybe they would give out some story about a distant relative who died and left her child in their care. Who knows? The important thing is that no one would ever know the truth. Alicia’s reputation would be safe so she’d still be able to marry well, and the family wouldn’t lose their place in society. But with her running away, they’d have a much more difficult time making up a story. They’d have to invent excuses for her disappearance, which would be hard to explain, and now with her death, the situation is even more delicate. If the truth came out, that she was pregnant and living in a boardinghouse alone and her parents didn’t even know where she was, they’d become a laughingstock. I’m very much afraid they might think that was too high a price to pay for justice.”
“Are you saying they’d let their daughter’s killer go free just to protect their reputation?” She must be exaggerating, he thought. “I know rich people are a little strange, but that’s not human.”
For a long moment, she didn’t speak, and Frank thought his skepticism must have shown her how ridiculous her theories were, but then she said, “In some ways, rich people aren’t human, at least some of them aren’t.”
“You know this for a fact?” He very much doubted it, but she nodded.
“From my own personal experience. With my own father. He’s a close friend of Cornelius VanDamm.”
Well, he’d known she came from money. He’d known she and Mina VanDamm were friends. This shouldn’t be a surprise, but still, he had a difficult time believing she’d come from the same stock as the VanDamms. “What’s his name?”
“Felix Decker.”
Frank tried not to show his surprise. Felix Decker was definitely one of the Four Hundred socially elite in the city. His family had been here since before the flood, and he was probably richer than God. Was it possible Decker’s daughter could be sitting here with him in a filthy room in the basement of police headquarters? “Felix Decker’s daughter is a midwife ?” he asked in disbelief. Surely, that alone proved the lie.
She leaned back in her chair and smiled at
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