Murder on Lenox Hill

Murder on Lenox Hill by Victoria Thompson Page B

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Authors: Victoria Thompson
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training?”
    â€œI don’t think I’d be as good at it as you are at detective work,” he said with a small smile. She loved that smile. “But if you ever have a crime with one of your babies, just let me know.”
    â€œOh, my,” Sarah said in surprise, “I do have a crime to deal with. How could I have forgotten?”
    Malloy’s face creased into a frown. She didn’t love that frown. “It better not be a murder.”
    â€œDon’t be silly, of course it’s not a murder,” she said. “If it was, you’d probably already know about it. But I could use your advice. Do you have a few more minutes?”
    He was still frowning, but he followed her to the two overstuffed chairs that sat by the front window.
    When they were seated, he said, “What kind of a crime is it?”
    â€œA rape, I think,” she said, making him wince. He didn’t like to think of her even knowing about such things. That was one thing on which he and her family would agree. “It’s a seventeen-year-old girl in Lenox Hill. She’s expecting a child in about three months, and her parents just realized it. But as far as her parents can determine, she’s never even been alone with a man.”
    â€œA seventeen-year-old girl can do a lot of things her parents don’t know about,” Malloy said. “Even one from Lenox Hill.”
    â€œGrace is seventeen physically, but mentally, she’s more like a five-year-old, and she probably always will be. She still plays will dolls, and she has absolutely no understanding of what happened to her or what is going to happen.”
    â€œEven a simpleton would remember being attacked,” Malloy said.
    â€œI questioned her very carefully, but she insists no one ever hurt her in her entire life. I even . . .” Sarah hated to admit this, although she and Malloy had dealt with this very situation. “I even asked if her father had ever done anything to her, but all he’s done is kiss her on the cheek.”
    â€œWhat about servants?”
    â€œAll female, and she only leaves the house to attend church and go on visits with her mother to other women.”
    â€œDo you think it’s a miracle?” he asked with a hint of irony. “You’d need a priest for that, not a detective.”
    â€œOf course I don’t think it’s a miracle. Someone took advantage of this poor girl, and he shouldn’t get away with it.”
    â€œAnd what if you do find him? Will her family charge him?”
    â€œI doubt it,” she admitted. “Even if they would, Grace would be a poor witness.”
    â€œWhy try to find him, then?”
    â€œThere are other ways to punish someone besides putting him in jail,” Sarah said. “I’ve been thinking about this, and I realized that gossip can be a powerful tool of punishment. No one would ever believe a girl like Grace was involved in a romance of any kind. The man must have forced her. Most people would consider that despicable, and the word would pass very quickly in society. He’d never be welcomed at any respectable home again.”
    Malloy stared at her as if he’d never seen her before. “You never cease to amaze me, Mrs. Brandt. I suppose you’d be willing to use your social connections to help ruin this man’s reputation, too.”
    â€œOf course. What good is it being a member of one of the oldest families in New York if you can’t stomp out evil now and then?”
    â€œJust be sure you get the right man.”
    â€œWhat do you mean by that?”
    â€œI mean don’t jump to conclusions. And don’t overlook the obvious.”
    â€œI haven’t been able to find anyone obvious,” she reminded him.
    He shook his head and gave her a pitying look. “You already told me there’s only one man who has contact with her.”
    â€œAnd I also told you her father isn’t

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