The Missing Heiress

Chapter 26

The case against Sofia Jurek ended up generating lots of headlines and photographs. First for the murder itself, of course, but then for the trials — plural. For many of the courtroom reporters, Sofia became a tragic figure, one who had been driven to violence by forces beyond her control and who was seen by some to be an accidental murderess.

Gambling took center stage at her first trial, with some social reformers demanding that parimutuel horse racing be banned in New York State because of the harm it does to working families. For good or ill, that campaign got nowhere.

The district attorney’s office had first planned to charge Sofia with first-degree murder, but they decided premeditation would be too hard to prove, so they went to a second-degree charge. Sofia was represented by one of the best trial lawyers in the city. He was hired by Maureen Carr — despite the defendant having killed Maureen’s brother.

The courtroom drama garnered plenty of coverage, on the radio and in magazines as well as in print. However, the trial was aborted when a reporter from Lon Cohen’s Gazette discovered that one of the jurors was a recovering gambler — mainly on horse racing. A second trial is currently underway, and Lon has told me his reporters think this one could drag on for weeks, particularly with Sofia being portrayed as a martyr and a victim.

Inspector Cramer’s “Your day will come” threat to Miles Hirsch came to pass a little over a week ago when the gambler and horse breeder was charged with the doping of one of his own horses in a race at a track in Florida. Lon is certain that Hirsch will go to trial, which could result in his being permanently banned from horse racing, to say nothing of a possible prison sentence.

As far as I am aware, nothing more has been heard from or about Hirsch’s dubious sidekick, Harley Everts. Maybe the tough has found himself a new boss for whom he can perform questionable duties.

Maureen Carr and Eric Mason are still being seen together at various social events around town, although Lily Rowan tells me that the lady still cannot make up her mind about marrying the creative advertising ace. I don’t have strong feelings on the subject one way or the other, and neither does Lily.

In case you are the type who likes to keep track of details, Maureen did indeed pay Nero Wolfe for solving the murder of her brother, and the fee Wolfe charged, forty thousand dollars, was acceptable to his deep-pocketed client. It was acceptable to me as well, because when Wolfe gets his fee and the bank balance gets an infusion, he is easier to put up with. I am all for a peaceful household, and on that topic, Fritz Brenner and Theodore Horstmann are in total agreement with me.