Free Death in Saratoga Springs by Charles O'Brien Page B

techniques.
    â€œI confess to the crime. What brings you here?”
    She explained Francesca Ricci’s predicament, then showed a sketch of the girl. “Would you help me investigate her situation in Saratoga Springs? I apologize for this short notice.”
    He stared at the portrait. “She’s a beautiful young woman. When did you learn to sketch?”
    â€œIn school,” she replied. “I sketched scenes when I traveled abroad and also portraits for friends. I stopped when Jack died and my life fell apart. Recently, Francesca encouraged me to take it up again. She wanted a portrait of herself to give to her mother.”
    â€œThat speaks well of her. She sounds like a good daughter and might be unjustly accused.”
    He hesitated, apparently torn between his precious hours of study and this opportunity to save a person from a fate he himself had once suffered. His years in Sing Sing left raw wounds in his spirit.
    Finally, he said, “We’ll take the first train tomorrow to Saratoga Springs, speak to Francesca, and assess her situation. Charged with murdering a rich man, you say? Clearing her won’t be easy.”
    Â 
    In the coach to Grand Central Station the next day, Harry asked, “Is your ward Francesca Ricci a likely murderer?”
    â€œI doubt it. She’s sixteen, poor, and foolish at times, but she’s not violent. Her father died in an accident at a construction site shortly after her birth. Poverty and illness overwhelmed his widow, and she couldn’t give Francesca a proper upbringing. Still, she grew up to be a bright, musical, and beautiful girl.”
    â€œAny criminal inclinations?”
    â€œA few. She often skipped school to sing for pennies on the street and to indulge in petty shoplifting. Several months ago, Macy’s detective caught her stealing a bracelet and handed her over to the police. I managed to save her from prison, but the arrest went into her record. A court placed her in my custody with the warning that if she failed to reform, she would be sent to a house of detention.”
    â€œDoes she take that warning seriously?”
    â€œI believe she does. Some of her friends have gone to prison, so she knows what it’s like. She has told me that she detests the police for their roughness and disrespect toward her and other Italians.”
    Harry grimaced. “So, what’s new?”
    â€œI must admit she might have provoked them. Since she moved into my apartment, her behavior has improved, especially her attendance at school and her grade reports. I tutor her. We sing Italian songs together and she sings in church. So, when she had an opportunity to work at the Grand Union Hotel for the summer, I recommended her to the management.”
    A skeptic through training and experience, Harry shook his head. “Nonetheless, we can’t declare that she’s innocent of this crime. Before living with you, she seemed vain and undisciplined, even willful. True, you’ve straightened her out. But, in Saratoga, she might have fallen back into her old ways and robbed Crake, then impulsively killed him to escape going to prison.”
    Pamela inwardly shuddered. Harry could be right. Under certain circumstances, anyone could fall from grace. Nonetheless, she would trust her own reading of Francesca’s character and rely on the law’s presumption of innocence.
    As they boarded the train for Saratoga Springs, Pamela remarked to Harry, “I’m anxious about this trip. We’ll have to contact Francesca promptly. She’s virtually alone in that bustling town—the journalist Nellie Bly calls it Sin City.”
    â€œWhat’s worse,” Harry added, “the hotel will want a quick, simple resolution of the case. The police will hold her previous poverty and delinquency against her, and will pressure the girl to confess. She might soon face the prospect of years in a state prison—or