Maeve and Catherine went to answer it, and Sarah couldn’t help the small thrill she felt when she heard the rumble of Malloy’s deep voice. She was already smiling when Maeve came back to the kitchen, but Maeve was alone and the expression on her face sobered Sarah instantly.

“Mrs. Brandt, Mr. Malloy is here, and he said he needs to see Serafina.”

Serafina rose quickly to her feet, but the blood had drained from her face, and her lovely eyes were enormous.

“Does he want to see her alone?” Sarah asked with an anxious glance at Serafina.

“He asked would you come with her,” Maeve reported.

Serafina turned to Sarah, and her eyes were terrified.

“Mother, would you make sure Catherine stays in the kitchen?” Sarah asked, taking Serafina’s arm. “Perhaps he has some news about who killed Mrs. Gittings,” she said encouragingly as she led the girl out of the kitchen and toward the front of the house.

“Of course,” her mother said. “Come here, Catherine, and help me finish my peaches.”

Sarah could feel Serafina trembling as they made their way into the front room that served as Sarah’s office. Malloy was standing at the window, looking out into the street, but he turned when he heard them enter. His expression was too serious to mean he had brought good news.

“Malloy,” she said in greeting.

“Mrs. Brandt,” he replied. “Serafina, maybe you should sit down.”

The girl made a small sound, but she stiffened her spine. “Just tell me,” she begged him.

Malloy glanced at Sarah, who shrugged. She didn’t know what his news was, so she couldn’t judge what Serafina’s reaction might be.

“We’ve found the body of a young man,” he said as gently as he could, although the words themselves were so harsh, no amount of kindness could soften them. “We think it might be DiLoreto.”

“No,” she protested desperately. “That is impossible!”

“What do you mean, you think it might be him?” Sarah asked. “Couldn’t you identify him?”

“He was beaten pretty badly,” Malloy said.

Serafina cried out, and her knees buckled. Sarah grabbed hold of her, but she would have fallen if Malloy hadn’t caught her and half carried her to one of the chairs that sat by the front window. “I told her to sit down,” he grumbled as he set her in the chair.

“But you do not know it is Nicola,” Serafina said, clinging desperately to his sleeve. “You said this yourself.”

“That’s right, I don’t, but Donatelli is the one who found him, and he saw him in person. He’s the right size and hair color, and Donatelli found him not too far from Waverly Place.”

Serafina was shaking her head in silent denial.

“Why are you telling her this if you aren’t sure?” Sarah asked, not bothering to hide her annoyance at him.

He gave her an apologetic look. “We need to see if she can identify him.”

Serafina made a moaning sound.

Sarah glared at him. “But you said his face…”

“The body,” he quickly explained. “See if she can recognize the body. They were lovers,” he added. “She should be able to tell if it’s him.”

Tears were streaming down the girl’s face now, and her expression was painful to behold. “He killed him! He killed my Nicola!”

“Who did?” Malloy asked in surprise. “Who killed him?”

“The Professor. I know he did it.”

“Why would he kill Nicola?”

“For stealing the money.”

“And maybe to avenge Mrs. Gittings,” Sarah suggested. “He was the one who thought Nicola had killed her.”

“He would have had to find him first,” Malloy pointed out.

“Maybe he came back to the house looking for Serafina,” Sarah said.

“Maybe,” Malloy allowed. “Serafina, will you come with me to see if this is him?”

Serafina looked beseechingly at Sarah.

“It might not be him,” Sarah said reasonably. “You’d want to know if it isn’t him, wouldn’t you?”

“And if it is him?” she asked in a small voice.

Sarah patted her shoulder. “You’ll want to know that, too.”

The girl covered her face and wept for a few minutes before pulling herself together. When she looked back up at Sarah, her eyes were red-rimmed but determined. “I will go.” She pushed herself to her feet.

“And I will go with you,” Sarah said.

Sarah had to explain to Maeve and her mother what had happened. They both expressed their sympathy to Serafina, who somehow managed to hold herself together.

“Take my carriage,” Mrs. Decker offered, and she went out and instructed the driver.

Sarah was grateful that they didn’t have to find a cab or, even worse, take the Elevated Train, where they would be an object of curiosity, especially if the body really was Nicola and Serafina was grieving when they returned.

When they were securely inside the carriage and on their way to the morgue, Sarah knew they couldn’t just sit there in silence during the whole trip, letting Serafina’s imagination conjure visions of her beaten lover. She caught Malloy’s eye, sent him a silent message, and asked, “Did you find out anything useful today?”

He understood her instantly and played along. “Not much, except that everything Serafina told us about Sharpe and Cunningham was true.”

“I would not lie to you, Mr. Malloy,” the girl said, surprising them both. Plainly, she was willing to be distracted.

“Do you think either of them could have killed Mrs. Gittings?” Sarah asked him.

“I’m sure either one of them could have, but I’m not sure either of them did. They didn’t like her much, but from what I gathered, Cunningham didn’t know she was the one behind the phony investment scheme where he got cheated. He didn’t even know he’d gotten cheated.”

Serafina smiled grimly. “Mrs. Gittings would be happy to know that. She thought he could be cheated at least three times before he realized it.”

Sarah gasped in outrage, but Malloy chuckled his appreciation.

“She might’ve gotten him even more times than that. He’s not very bright.”

“But if he didn’t know he’d been cheated, why would he have wanted to kill Mrs. Gittings?” Sarah asked.

“Because she wouldn’t give him Serafina,” Malloy said baldly. “He wanted her, and he was angry because Mrs. Gittings wanted him to give her money. After he lost what money he had on the phony investment, he was starting to feel desperate.”

“Did you ask him about freeing his hands during the séance?” Sarah asked.

“Yes. He pretended he didn’t know the trick, but he’s not a very good liar. That still doesn’t prove he did it, though.”

“What about Mr. Sharpe?” Sarah asked with a glance at Serafina. She was staring blankly out the window now. Sarah wasn’t sure she was even listening to them anymore.

“He was just as angry at Mrs. Gittings. She wasn’t going to let him take Serafina either. She wasn’t going to lose her meal ticket.”

“Was he angry enough to kill Mrs. Gittings?”

“If he was, he didn’t let on. He’s too smart for that. So what about you? Did you find out anything from Mrs. Burke?”

“Just that she hated Mrs. Gittings, too. And she was terrified that her husband was going to find out she’d been selling her jewelry to pay for the séances.”

“We already knew that,” Malloy reminded her.

“Yes, but we didn’t know she was actually giving the jewelry to Mrs. Gittings to sell for her. She said she thought Mrs. Gittings was cheating her.”

“She probably was,” Malloy said. “Did she say anything else?”

“Not much before she fainted,” Sarah said dryly.

“She fainted?” Malloy and Serafina echoed in unison. At least Serafina was listening again.

“Yes, she did. Apparently, talking about Mrs. Gittings’s murder upsets her, although Mother thinks she might have been pretending. According to her, ladies often use a fainting spell to end an unpleasant scene.”

“Really?” Serafina asked with credible disbelief, but when Sarah looked at her, she saw a knowing gleam in her eye. That’s when she remembered how Serafina had fainted at the séance she’d attended.