Free Maids of Misfortune by M. Louisa Locke

Suicide based on financial grounds just doesn't make sense. Not for someone like Matthew Voss."
    Annie stopped, noting Nate’s frown. She sighed. She knew she was being too argumentative and that men found this unbecoming. Mr. Dawson had seemed less concerned than most about issues of female conversational propriety, but perhaps she had gone too far.
    Surprisingly, he also sighed and then said, "All right, I will admit that what you are saying makes sense. But if we are to convince the police that Matthew Voss didn't kill himself because of financial difficulties, we need proof. Malcolm Samuels did say that the business was on sound footing, but he also said that keeping the company afloat the last few years had depleted both of their savings. And he didn't know of any new investments on Matthew's part."
    Elated at his concession, she said with more confidence, "So that simply means that Mr. Voss didn't confide in his partner. What about his son? Didn't you say he had proof?"
    "Well, that's interesting," said Nate. "Now that I think of it, he never did go on to tell us why he was so sure that his father was well-off. Let's see. He was shouting at Uncle Frank, and his mother rose to try and calm him down. Then she felt ill and asked him to fetch her some water. That's it. By the time he came back, Mrs. Voss had decided that she wanted to leave and off they went. So he never did finish what he wanted to say."
    "Well, you really must talk to him,” she replied. “Perhaps when you show him the list of assets I gave you, he will be able to shed some light. And what of Mr. Voss’s sister? What did she think about it all?"
    Nate put the list away, and they turned and resumed walking. "She didn't say a word the whole time. Just sat and glowered at us all."
    Annie frowned, thinking back to Miss Nancy's expression at the funeral and what Beatrice's nephew had said. Musing out loud, she said, "I think she knows something. Patrick said she insisted that her brother had been murdered."
    “Where did you hear that? Who is this Patrick?" said Nate.
    She tossed her head and laughed. "Don't sound so suspicious. Patrick is my housekeeper's nephew, and he just happened to be the patrolman on duty the morning Mr. Voss’s body was discovered. I assure you that I have no first-hand knowledge on the subject. Or, Mr. Dawson, do you still think Sibyl was directly involved in Mr. Voss’s death?"
    Nate turned toward her and said, "Mrs. Fuller, I am harboring no suspicions about you whatsoever. However, since you persist in making a mystery of Mr. Voss’s death, let me repeat what I said last night. According to the police surgeon, after writing the suicide note, Voss drank a glass of whiskey laced with the poisonous substance called cyanide. He then evidently convulsed, falling forward, cutting his temple against the edge of a sharp object on his desk. This cut bled freely for a short while. Perhaps this was what caused Miss Voss to conclude that her brother had been killed by someone."
    "Oh," said Annie, feeling rather deflated. Then another idea occurred to her, and she suggested, "Couldn't it have happened the other way around? Couldn't someone have knocked Mr. Voss unconscious, poured the poison down his throat, and then taken any money or assets he had in the house?"
    "You are just grasping at straws." Nate shook his head vigorously. "Supposing it was even possible to pour poison down an unconscious person's throat, who would have done it? A burglar who just happened to have the cyanide with him? Anyway, the police are convinced it was impossible for an intruder to enter the house. Uncle Frank insisted that they look into this thoroughly. When Mr. Voss was discovered Sunday morning, all the windows and both the front and back doors were locked. There are only four keys to the house. One was on Mr. Voss’s person, one was in his son’s possession, one hangs beside the back door, and the fourth hangs by the front door. It was that key that