Murder On Mulberry Bend

14

FRANK SUPPOSED HE WAS GOING TO BE ANGRY every minute for the rest of his natural life. He didn’t see any other possibility as long as he continued his acquaintance with Sarah Brandt. The worst part was that the thing he was angriest about was something he didn’t have any right to even feel. That thing was, of course, jealousy of Richard Dennis.

Why should he be surprised to find Dennis at her house on a Sunday afternoon? He was exactly the kind of man she deserved – a man with money and social position and good manners. Frank supposed he should be grateful for the good manners. In Dennis’s place, Frank would’ve thrown a scruffy police detective out into the street for speaking to Sarah the way Frank had spoken to her today. Not that she didn’t deserve it, of course, but still, he’d been pretty rude.

On the other hand, Frank would have preferred being beaten senseless to hearing Sarah accept Dennis’s dinner invitation. The man might be well bred, but he knew how to inflict exquisite pain just the same. Frank would carry the bitter memory of her “delighted” acceptance for a long time to come. His mother would tell him he’d gotten no more than he deserved for trying to get above himself. Even worse, she’d be right.

Fortunately, Frank had the trip from Bank Street down to Mulberry Bend to get himself back under control again. He even managed to give some thought as to how he would approach Mrs. Donato. Remembering how dangerous the Italians could be with their knives – and their hat pins – Frank picked up a couple patrolmen at Headquarters to accompany him. He left one downstairs at the front door, and the other he instructed to wait in the hallway outside their flat.

When they had reached the top of the stairs, however, Frank saw that he needn’t have worried. The door stood open, and Frank could see Mrs. Donato sitting alone at her kitchen table. The remains of the family’s Sunday dinner still sat, untouched, and she was simply staring at nothing, oblivious even to her visitor.

“Mrs. Donato?” Frank said, startling her.

She looked up, not recognizing him at first. “We pay rent,” she said, hardly able to work up any indignation.

“I’m Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy from the police,” he said. Her eyes widened in alarm, but he hurried on, “I want to ask you some more questions about your daughter.”

She seemed to shrink into herself at the mention of Emilia. “I know nothing. No can help you.”

Frank went into the flat and pulled out a chair. He turned it and straddled it, resting his arms on the back and leaning in close to Mrs. Donato. He could see her eyes were bloodshot, as if she hadn’t been sleeping, and her face was gray. She had been suffering the torment of the damned, but Frank was going to give her an opportunity to bare her blackened soul.

“You didn’t like your daughter much, did you, Mrs. Donato?” he began.

She stiffened. True or not, such a thing would be difficult to admit. “She bad, all a time bad. No listen. No good.”

“Maybe she just wanted her mother to love her,” he suggested.

The woman drew back, eyeing him warily. He was dangerous. She could see that now. “She be good, I love then,” she tried.

“She could never be good enough to make you forget the sailors, though, could she?” he prodded.

Even the gray drained out of her face, leaving her white. “How you know?” she demanded in an agonized whisper.

“You hated Emilia because of the sailors, because of what they did to you,” he said ruthlessly. “You thought one of them was her father, because she had yellow hair.”

She was staring at him as if he were a poisonous snake ready to strike. She couldn’t stop him, so she simply braced herself for the pain.

“Poor Emilia, she never did anything wrong,” Frank lamented. “She didn’t know why you hated her, but you hated her from the minute she was born, didn’t you?” He didn’t wait for an answer. The woman was too terrified to speak. “Now that’s the sad part. That’s really sad, because there was something you didn’t know about Emilia. Something your husband didn’t tell you.”

“Antonio know nothing!” she insisted.

“He knows Emilia isn’t your baby,” Frank said.

Her face wrinkled in confusion. “Emilia my baby.”

Frank shook his head sadly. “Your baby died.”

She shook her head frantically. She knew this couldn’t be true.

“Your baby died,” Frank repeated relentlessly. “But the midwife had another baby, a baby nobody wanted. She was going to take her to an orphanage, but Antonio took it instead.”

She was shaking her head harder now. She didn’t want it to be true.

“Antonio didn’t want you to be sad because your baby died. He didn’t know about the sailors. He didn’t know you wanted the baby to die. So he took the baby girl that nobody wanted, and he gave her to you. The baby with yellow hair. Emilia.”

“Vi trovate!” she cried. “Lies!”

“You know it’s the truth. That’s what Antonio would do, isn’t it? He’d do anything to make you happy, even take a bastard child nobody wanted. Did he ever ask you why Emilia had yellow hair? Did he ever wonder? Did he ever suspect you had betrayed him?”

She was moaning and still shaking her head, but he could see the horror in her eyes. She knew it was true, and now she had to face what she had done to that poor child.

“You hated her for no reason. She was innocent, and all she wanted was her mother’s love, but you hated her instead. You drove her out, and when she tried to come back, you killed her!”

She threw her arms over her head and screamed, slumping to the floor.

Behind him, Frank heard doors opening and feet running. He turned to see several women rushing to rescue their neighbor.

“Police,” he announced loudly, stopping them instantly. They eyed him cautiously, torn between fear of him and a desire to help their friend.

Mrs. Donato was writhing on the floor, babbling in Italian.

“What’s she saying?” he demanded, wondering if any of them spoke English.

They hesitated, afraid of him but afraid not to answer him, too.

“Something about Emilia,” the youngest of them finally said. Then she looked at Frank in amazement. “She says she killed Emilia!”

Sarah couldn’t believe she was back at The Tombs again so soon. Less than three weeks ago, she’d visited another woman here. Another woman who had confessed to murder. She still wasn’t sure why she’d come today. When she received Malloy’s message this morning that Mrs. Donato had confessed yesterday, she should have felt relieved. Emilia’s murder was solved, and justice would be done. If Malloy was satisfied, she should be, too.

Except she wasn’t. For some reason, she had to see the woman herself, just to make sure. Maybe she simply couldn’t accept the idea of a woman killing her child. Even if Emilia wasn’t really her flesh and blood, Mrs. Donato hadn’t known it then. No matter how painful their relationship had been, murder was a drastic solution. Sarah supposed she needed to know exactly what had happened that morning to compel the woman to take her daughter’s life.

Or maybe she was simply nosy. Too nosy for her own good, Malloy would have said.

The City Jail had been designed to look like an Egyptian tomb, hence its nickname. The interior was kept immaculate, although the stench from the sewers permeated the building no matter how clean it was. The women’s section was just as she remembered. The female prisoners were free to leave their cells during the day, and they sat around the central courtyard area, visiting and doing needlework or knitting. A few enjoyed visits from family or friends, and others just sat and stared, perhaps contemplating their fates.

Sarah told the matron she was looking for Mrs. Donato, and the woman frowned.

“There’s a priest with her right now,” she said.

“A Catholic priest?” Sarah asked in amazement. Was it possible one of the Irish priests had overcome his prejudice enough to visit an Italian woman in prison?

“I expect that’s the only kind there is,” the matron told her humorlessly. She was a large woman with pitted skin and a hairy mole on her chin. “Better give ‘em a few minutes. We had to send for him ’cause she almost died last night. She probably needs whatever mumbo-jumbo they do.”

“Is she ill?” Sarah asked in alarm. “Does she need a doctor?”

“No, she ain’t ill,” the matron said mockingly. “She tried to hang herself. A lot of ’em do when they get in here and see what it’s like. You ask me, they should’ve let her. Save Old Sparky the trouble,” she added.

Sarah shouldn’t have found the reference so distasteful. She’d been instrumental in getting Mrs. Donato arrested in the first place, after all. “If you don’t mind, I’ll wait until the priest is finished,” Sarah said, moving off to find a place where she could wait without disturbing anyone. She tried to imagine the kind of despair that would cause someone to put a noose around her neck and choke herself to death. She imagined killing one’s child could produce it.

Sarah had to wait only a few more minutes before she saw a black-clad figure emerge from the cell the matron had indicated. She recognized the young priest from St. John’s, the one who had been so hostile to her request for money to bury Emilia. His expression was grave, and he started when he saw Sarah looking at him so expectantly.

Plainly, he couldn’t place her.

“I’m Sarah Brandt,” she reminded him. “I came to the church to ask for help to bury Emilia Donato.” She saw the recognition in his eyes, but his expression didn’t lighten. “How is Mrs. Donato?”

“She’s alive,” he said grimly.

“Did she really try to hang herself?”

He pressed his lips together. “She made a noose out of her undergarments. I guess she didn’t realize that she wouldn’t die instantly. Someone heard her choking, and they were able to cut her down. Thank God they did. Suicides can never see the face of God, Mrs. Brandt. They can’t even be buried in consecrated ground.”

The priest was acting as if Sarah were responsible for this outrage. “Can murderers see the face of God?” she countered.

The color rose on his neck, but he managed to control his temper. “Repentant sinners can, and we are all sinners. But if you’re referring to Mrs. Donato, she isn’t a murderer.”

“She told the police she killed her daughter,” Sarah reminded him.

“No, she didn’t.”

Sarah stared at him in amazement. “She wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t confessed.”

“I have no idea what happened when the police arrested her, or what they forced her to say, but she didn’t kill her daughter.”

“But she confessed!” Sarah insisted. She knew Malloy would have made sure of her guilt before he put the woman in jail.

The priest gave her a pitying look. “Not to me. I’ve heard many confessions in my life, Mrs. Brandt. People seldom lie to a priest – what would be the point? My job is to absolve them of their sins, and I can’t do that unless I know what they are. People also know I can’t reveal their secrets, and those who are dying are especially careful to bare their souls before facing the final judgment.”

“Is Mrs. Donato dying?”

“She will most likely be executed for murder,” he reminded her impatiently. “She was very anxious to confess after attempting suicide. As a priest, I can’t reveal the secrets of the confessional, but I can tell you what she didn’t say. She didn’t confess to killing her daughter.”

“She might be too ashamed to admit it,” Sarah tried, as dread formed a hot lump inside her. “And why else would she have tried to kill herself?”

“I don’t speak Italian, so I didn’t understand all of it, but she did something to the girl, treated her badly. I couldn’t understand the reason, but she’s sorry for it now. She blames herself because the girl is dead, but she didn’t kill her. Although what that will matter now, I have no idea. The police have her, so they aren’t likely to keep looking for the real killer. Why should they bother?”

“I need to speak with Mrs. Donato,” Sarah said, knowing Malloy would bother if he knew Mrs. Donato was innocent.

“Why?” he asked, losing control of his temper at last. “So you can force her to say she’s guilty?”

“Father… O’Hara, is it?”

“Ahearn,” he corrected.

“Father Ahearn, I’m not interested in seeing an innocent person convicted of murder. I wanted justice for Emilia, and falsely accusing her mother won’t accomplish that.”

“And what good will it do if she does manage to convince you she didn’t kill the girl?” he scoffed.

“It could get her out of jail, for one thing,” Sarah snapped back, losing her own temper. “Have you forgotten I came to you for help – help you refused to give me? You’ve got no more right to judge me falsely than I do to judge Mrs. Donato. I’m surprised that you are here.”

He sighed. “You judge me too harshly, Mrs. Brandt. As to Mrs. Donato, speak to her, then,” he said, “for all the good it will do. I don’t know what she can tell you that will save her. Everyone in this place claims to be innocent. Proving it is another matter entirely.”

“I’ve had some experience doing that, Father,” she informed him.

“Have you had experience convincing the police they’ve arrested the wrong person?” he challenged.

“As a matter of fact, I have.”

She’d shocked him. He stared at her for a long moment, probably trying to judge whether she was lying or not. Apparently, he decided that she wasn’t. “I wish you good fortune, then, Mrs. Brandt.”

“Perhaps you should pray for me instead,” she countered.

He nodded solemnly. “I will.”

“And let me know if you learn anything that might help Mrs. Donato.”

“You mean if the real killer confesses to me?” he asked with the ghost of a smile.

“I know you couldn’t tell me that, but any other information you find, anything at all…”

“Of course,” he promised. “I’ll speak to Father O’Brien, too.”

“Thank you.”

He hesitated a second, and then he made the sign of the cross over her. “A blessing,” he explained. “Now see what you can learn from Mrs. Donato.”

Sarah felt a chill when she entered the narrow cell, which had been literally carved out of the stone. The single window high in the wall let in little light, and Sarah could barely make out the figure sitting huddled on the thin straw mattress covering the bed.

“Mrs. Donato?”

She was rocking back and forth, probably to comfort herself, and she gave no sign that she had heard.

“Mrs. Donato, I’m Sarah Brandt. I knew Emilia at the mission. I brought you some food after she died,” she reminded her.

“Go away.” The woman’s voice was hoarse, but whether from weeping or from the near-hanging, Sarah didn’t want to guess.

“I spoke to your priest outside, Father Ahearn. He asked me to help you.” This wasn’t exactly true, but Sarah figured the blessing would cover a few white lies.

Mrs. Donato didn’t say a word, but at least she turned to look at Sarah. “Why you help?”

A fair question. “I don’t want to see an innocent person punished, and I don’t want to let a killer go free,” she explained.

“Why you care?”

A better question. “Because I liked Emilia.”

She was studying Sarah more closely. “I tell you about sailors,” she remembered.

“Yes, you did. You told me that Emilia was the child of the devil.”

Mrs. Donato closed her eyes and moaned, a sound drawn from deep in her soul. Almost instantly, the matron appeared in the doorway. She’d probably get in trouble if Mrs. Donato tried to harm herself again. Sarah gave the woman a reassuring wave, and she withdrew.

Mrs. Donato was rocking more vigorously now, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

“That isn’t true, Mrs. Donato,” Sarah said. “Emilia wasn’t your daughter at all.”

She didn’t speak for a long moment. Then she said, “Poliziotto, he say this. Then Antonio, he come, last night. He say my bambino die. He say midwife bring Emilia.”

“That’s right. Emilia wasn’t your child. Your husband didn’t want you to be sad because your baby died.”

Tears were running down the older woman’s face, but she didn’t make a sound. She just kept rocking back and forth.

Finally, Sarah forced the issue. “Mrs. Donato, did you kill Emilia?”

“She die,” she said bleakly. “My fault.”

“Why was it your fault?” Sarah prodded.

“I no want. Never want. She run away. My fault.”

“Where were you the morning Emilia was killed?”

“Sell flowers.”

“Where?” Sarah asked. “Were you at the park?”

“Si, park. Sell flowers.”

“Did you see Emilia that day?”

“No, no see,” she insisted.

“City Hall Park isn’t that large,” Sarah reminded her. “And she went there looking for you.”

But Mrs. Donato was shaking her head. “No City Hall. Sell flowers, Washington Park.”

“Washington Square?” Sarah asked.

“Sì, sell flowers. Washington. No City Hall. No there, long time.”

“You sell your flowers in Washington Square now, but you used to sell them in City Hall Park?” Sarah asked.

Mrs. Donato nodded, obviously not understanding the significance of this.

“Why would Emilia have thought you’d be at City Hall Park that morning? Did she know you’d changed the place where you sell them?”

Mrs. Donato shrugged.

“Did anyone see you at Washington Square that morning?”

“Much people see,” she said. A flower seller would have spoken to many potential customers, but how could any of them say they’d seen her on a particular day over a week ago?

“Would anyone remember seeing you on that day? Someone you know, maybe?”

“Signora Tomasetti. We go together. Always together.”

The lump of dread in Sarah’s stomach began to dissolve. “Where can I find Mrs. Tomasetti?”

Sarah was exhausted by the time she reached the mission that afternoon. Unwilling to subject Malloy to yet another round of harassment by leaving him a message at Police Headquarters, she had decided to ask one of the girls from the mission to take it over this time. She also felt obligated to update Mrs. Wells on what was happening. She must be getting anxious.

When she reached the front door of the mission, she heard the sounds of an argument coming from inside. She opened the door without knocking and hurried inside to find Maeve and Gina screaming at each other in the parlor. Maeve was wearing Sarah’s old hat, the one Emilia had worn the morning she died.

“It’s mine now!” Maeve was telling her. “You don’t have any right to it!”

“The lady gave it to me!” Gina screamed back.

“Mrs. Wells would’ve given it to me! Ask her!”

“I don’t have to ask her! It’s mine!”

“I’ll tell Mrs. Wells you stole it from me!”

“Give it back!” Gina screamed and lunged.

Maeve ducked out of reach and grabbed the hat. Or at least that’s what Sarah thought she was going to do. Instead she jerked out the hat pin and raised it as if to strike.

“No!” Sarah shouted, and the girls jumped apart. Maeve dropped the hat pin and clutched the hat, which she was still holding in her other hand, to her thin chest.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Sarah demanded, stooping to snatch the pin up from the floor.

“She took the hat you gave me,” Gina complained.

But Sarah was looking at Maeve, who was glaring back, unrepentant. “I’m the top girl now. It should be mine!”

“I mean what were you doing with this?” She held up the pin.

Maeve looked only a bit chagrined. “I was going to stick her with it. I had to defend myself, didn’t I?”

“What’s going on here?” Mrs. Wells demanded as she appeared in the parlor doorway.

Sarah turned to face her, and Mrs. Wells blanched when she saw the hat pin in Sarah’s hand. She quickly lowered it to her side. “The girls were arguing over this hat. I’d given it to Gina, but Maeve seems to think she deserves it instead.”

With visible effort, Mrs. Wells turned her attention to the girls. “Maeve, I’ve spoken to you before about pride and selfishness. If Mrs. Brandt gave the hat to Gina, then it belongs to her.”

Maeve had paled, too. She obviously hated being corrected by Mrs. Wells, especially in the presence of others. Grudgingly, she handed the hat to Gina, who snatched it eagerly and clutched it to her own chest, probably afraid it would be taken from her again.

“You girls have made a spectacle of yourselves in front of Mrs. Brandt. I think you owe her an apology.”

The girls muttered something unintelligible, then hurried out. Maeve was scarlet with humiliation, while Gina glowed with triumph.

“I’m sorry you witnessed that,” Mrs. Wells said. “We try so hard, but…”

“Don’t worry about me,” Sarah said, although she was still shaken from seeing Maeve with the hat pin. “I know girls argue. My sister and I fought all the time.”

A slight movement caught Sarah’s eye, and she saw Aggie peering at her around the door frame. “Hello, Aggie,” she said, giving the child a reassuring smile.

Aggie returned the smile and rushed to Sarah, throwing her arms around her skirts. Sarah still held the hat pin in the folds of her skirts so as not to alarm Mrs. Wells, so she led Aggie over to the sofa and sat down. She laid the pin down on the seat and spread her skirt over it. Aggie climbed into her lap as she had before and settled in happily.

“Aggie seems very fond of you,” Mrs. Wells said. Sarah couldn’t tell if Mrs. Wells approved or not. She remembered how concerned Mrs. Wells had been that Sarah’s interest in the mission was only temporary. Probably, she was concerned that Aggie would become too attached to Sarah, only to have her disappear from her life.

“I’m very fond of Aggie, too,” Sarah assured her, earning another smile from Aggie.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Mrs. Wells said, taking a seat in one of the chairs. “We heard about poor Mrs. Donato.”

“Do you know that she tried to…?” Sarah glanced at Aggie and changed what she had intended to say. “Did you hear what happened last night? What she did to herself?”

“Yes, the entire neighborhood was buzzing with the news this morning. I understand they sent for a priest from St. John’s for her.”

“Father Ahearn. I saw him at the jail this morning.”

“You visited the jail?” Mrs. Wells asked in surprise.

“I know it sounds strange, but I just had to see Mrs. Donato.”

Mrs. Wells folded her hands in her lap and sighed. “I suppose I should go to see her, too. The Lord commands us to forgive whatever wrongs are done to us, and it’s my duty to speak to her about her immortal soul. She still has the opportunity to save herself from the fires of hell.” She looked up, her eyes bright with the fervor of her faith. “We should always be ready to face our judgment at any time. I trust you have made your own peace with God, Mrs. Brandt.”

“I believe that I have,” Sarah answered, unwilling to get into a discussion on the subject at the moment.

“I’m glad to hear it. Of course, Mrs. Donato’s need is much more urgent. I suppose they’ll execute her for Emilia’s death.”

“They will if she’s guilty,” Sarah said. “I have good reason to believe she isn’t, however.”

Mrs. Wells’s face reflected understandable shock. “I understood that she had confessed.”

“No, she didn’t, and Father Ahearn and I believe she’s innocent.”

Now Mrs. Wells was truly confused. “But you were so certain when you left here… And then she confessed to the police…”

“I spoke with Mrs. Donato myself. She couldn’t have killed Emilia. She was selling her flowers at Washington Square that day.”

Mrs. Wells smiled sadly. “Mrs. Brandt, I can’t believe you don’t realize a woman like that would lie to protect herself. Of course she’d claim she was someplace else.”

“I did think of that, but she has a friend who sells dolls, and they go to the park together. I spoke with the woman today, and she verified that they were both at Washington Square every day for the past several months.”

Mrs. Wells considered this for a long moment. “What will this mean?” she asked finally. She looked crushed, as if she could not bear yet another disappointment.

Sarah hated to add to her burdens, but she had no choice. “I’m afraid it means we still haven’t found the person who really killed Emilia.”

Mrs. Wells lowered her head and rubbed her forehead with the tips of her fingers. The strain she was suffering must be awful. When she looked up again, her face was white. “Mrs. Brandt, I’m afraid we will never learn who took Emilia’s life.”

Sarah reached under the spread of her skirt and slid the hat pin out to rest on the sofa where Mrs. Wells could see it. The other woman’s eyes grew wide as she stared at it.

“The last time I was here, I suggested that one of the girls might have done it,” Sarah said gently. “Just a moment ago, I caught Maeve trying to stab Gina.”

Mrs. Wells was shaking her head in silent denial. “Maeve couldn’t have done it,” she said in a hoarse whisper.

“Someone did,” Sarah pointed out.

Mrs. Wells sighed wearily. “This quest has caused so much pain, and nothing can bring Emilia back. Can’t we just… let her rest in peace?” she tried.

“I’m afraid I’m not as forgiving as you, Mrs. Wells. I can’t rest until Emilia’s killer is caught.”

Mrs. Wells sighed in resignation. “May God help you then, Mrs. Brandt.”