Free Murder on Amsterdam Avenue by Victoria Thompson Page B

later?”
    â€œOf course,” he lied.
    She turned back to Frank. “Thank you, sir. You are truly a gentleman.”
    Frank nodded his acknowledgment and watched Adderly guide her down the stairs and out of the house with his two thugs at his heels.
    Now wasn’t that interesting. Adderly claimed to have helped Oakes get his patronage appointment at the Manhattan State Hospital, and maybe he had, but who was this woman Ella and how did she know Charles Oakes? She was obviously not quite right in the head either, so he also had to wonder if she might have poisoned poor Charles when she realized he didn’t want anything to do with her. In his police work, he’d dealt with women who had developed an unhealthy—and unrequited—attachment to some man, and this looked like another version of that malady.
    Of course, she would have had to have access to Charles in his home, which didn’t seem likely, but Frank had learned not to jump to conclusions where murder was concerned.
    â€œMr. Malloy?” the butler said. “Thank you very much for your assistance, sir.”
    â€œOh, you’re welcome. I was glad to help.”
    â€œWould you like to go back into the service now?”
    He really wanted to go after Adderly and find out more about this mysterious female, but he’d have time for that later. “I suppose so.”
    â€œPlease follow me, then, sir.”
    â€¢Â Â Â â€¢Â Â Â â€¢
    A fter the funeral and the meal, Gino and Maeve were waiting for them back at Sarah’s parents’ house, which was only a few blocks from the Oakeses’ house. The Deckers greeted the young people and made everyone comfortable in the rear parlor, the room the family used most often.
    â€œWho on earth was that woman who fainted?” Mrs. Decker asked when they were settled.
    Frank noticed that Gino had taken a seat beside Maeve on the sofa. She was no longer clinging to his arm, and they seemed more comfortable together than they had been.
    â€œHer name is Ella,” Frank said. “Adderly and his friends were waiting for her to arrive.”
    â€œIs Adderly the rough-looking fellow with the two, uh, companions?” Sarah asked.
    â€œYes. I got the feeling they had been expecting her to arrive and make a scene, and they all seemed to know each other very well. She was upset about Charles Oakes’s death and wanted to pay her respects, whatever she thought that meant, but Adderly was determined she wasn’t going to make a fool of herself in front of everyone.”
    â€œShe managed to make a spectacle of herself in spite of him, though,” Mrs. Decker said.
    â€œIt wasn’t as bad as it would’ve been if Adderly hadn’t gotten her out of there,” Frank said.
    â€œBut what relationship does she have with Charles Oakes?” Sarah asked.
    â€œShe’s apparently in love with him or thinks she is, and according to what Adderly said, Oakes didn’t want anything to do with her. I’d like to get her side of the story, though.”
    â€œAnd find out where she was when Oakes was poisoned,” Gino added grimly.
    â€œSo, enough about Miss Ella. Gino, did you notice anything suspicious?”
    Gino glanced at Maeve. “Maeve did.”
    â€œWhat was it?”
    Maeve frowned. “Charles’s wife. She never shed a tear.”
    â€œI think we already decided she didn’t care much for her husband,” Sarah said.
    â€œBut did you notice all the men—the young ones, I mean—were giving her a lot of sympathy, but not the women?”
    â€œI saw women going up to her to express their condolences,” Mrs. Decker said.
    â€œYes, but they didn’t really talk to her. They just said how sorry they were and then walked away. The men, they took her hand and looked into her eyes and told her how she could always count on them and a lot of silly stuff that didn’t mean anything except