training?â
âI donât think Iâd be as good at it as you are at detective work,â he said with a small smile. She loved that smile. âBut if you ever have a crime with one of your babies, just let me know.â
âOh, my,â Sarah said in surprise, âI do have a crime to deal with. How could I have forgotten?â
Malloyâs face creased into a frown. She didnât love that frown. âIt better not be a murder.â
âDonât be silly, of course itâs not a murder,â she said. âIf it was, youâd probably already know about it. But I could use your advice. Do you have a few more minutes?â
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, âWhat kind of a crime is it?â
âA rape, I think,â she said, making him wince. He didnât like to think of her even knowing about such things. That was one thing on which he and her family would agree. âItâs a seventeen-year-old girl in Lenox Hill. Sheâs expecting a child in about three months, and her parents just realized it. But as far as her parents can determine, sheâs never even been alone with a man.â
âA seventeen-year-old girl can do a lot of things her parents donât know about,â Malloy said. âEven one from Lenox Hill.â
âGrace is seventeen physically, but mentally, sheâs 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
âEven a simpleton would remember being attacked,â Malloy said.
âI questioned her very carefully, but she insists no one ever hurt her in her entire life. I even . . .â Sarah hated to admit this, although she and Malloy had dealt with this very situation. âI even asked if her father had ever done anything to her, but all heâs done is kiss her on the cheek.â
âWhat about servants?â
âAll female, and she only leaves the house to attend church and go on visits with her mother to other women.â
âDo you think itâs a miracle?â he asked with a hint of irony. âYouâd need a priest for that, not a detective.â
âOf course I donât think itâs a miracle. Someone took advantage of this poor girl, and he shouldnât get away with it.â
âAnd what if you do find him? Will her family charge him?â
âI doubt it,â she admitted. âEven if they would, Grace would be a poor witness.â
âWhy try to find him, then?â
âThere are other ways to punish someone besides putting him in jail,â Sarah said. âIâve 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. Heâd never be welcomed at any respectable home again.â
Malloy stared at her as if heâd never seen her before. âYou never cease to amaze me, Mrs. Brandt. I suppose youâd be willing to use your social connections to help ruin this manâs reputation, too.â
âOf course. What good is it being a member of one of the oldest families in New York if you canât stomp out evil now and then?â
âJust be sure you get the right man.â
âWhat do you mean by that?â
âI mean donât jump to conclusions. And donât overlook the obvious.â
âI havenât been able to find anyone obvious,â she reminded him.
He shook his head and gave her a pitying look. âYou already told me thereâs only one man who has contact with her.â
âAnd I also told you her father isnât
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