“Yes,” she said cautiously.

“That was his game. He played the Old Gentleman.”

Sarah didn’t know what to say to that.

“Mrs. Gittings was right about it, too. It can be dangerous,” Maeve continued. “And not just when a mark gets suspicious.”

“A mark?”

“A sucker, the ones who come to buy the green goods. Sometimes the operators argue among themselves. That’s what happened. One of them thought Grandpap was cheating him. He wasn’t, Mrs. Brandt. I swear he wasn’t!”

“Of course he wasn’t,” Sarah said. “I’m so sorry you lost him. Was he your only family?”

“He was all I had left. My father… I never knew him at all. He ran off before I was born, and my mother died when I was twelve. Grandpap, he always took care of both of us.”

“I’m sure he did. Was that when you came to the Mission, after he died?” Sarah had first met Maeve when she was living at the Prodigal Son Mission, a refuge for young girls with no place to go.

“Yes, and I was so grateful. Grandpap had some money put away, but it wouldn’t have lasted forever, and a girl alone… Well, people will do terrible things if you don’t have somebody to look out for you.”

Sarah nodded, understanding only too well the terrible things that could have happened to her. “You did the right thing, going to the Mission, even though that wasn’t such a safe place after all.”

“It was always safe for me,” she reminded Sarah. “And I met you there, and Catherine.”

“I’m very glad you did. And I’m also glad you trusted me enough to tell me about your family.”

“You really don’t mind?” Maeve asked, still uncertain.

“Not at all. I only care about the person you are today, and you are a good person, Maeve.”

“I am, aren’t I?” she asked in surprise.

“Yes, you are. And I want you to be very careful tomorrow. Catherine needs you and I need you.”

Maeve’s eyes misted a bit. “Don’t worry about me. Nothing’s going to happen. And maybe I’ll get to talk to Grandpap,” she added with a grin.

Sarah grinned back. “I’m sure if you mention it to Serafina, she’ll manage to contact him.”

“Oh, I’m not going to make it easy for her. She’s already been asking me about my family and if there’s someone I want to ask a question.”

“What did you tell her?” Sarah asked in surprise.

“Nothing true,” Maeve replied with another grin. “She’ll just have to find out from the spirits.”

15

THE NEXT MORNING, AS SOON AS BREAKFAST WAS OVER, Mrs. Ellsworth came to take Catherine. The two of them were going to the market and then were going to bake something very special at Mrs. Ellsworth’s house while everyone else attended the séance on Waverly Place.

Mrs. Decker’s carriage arrived soon after Mrs. Ellsworth and Catherine had left, and Sarah followed Maeve and Serafina out and climbed in behind them. Serafina was once again dressed in her flowing black gown, but her expression was more determined than Sarah had ever seen it.

“Maeve,” Mrs. Decker said when they were settling themselves. “You look lovely.”

Maeve blushed prettily at the compliment. Sarah had searched her closet to make sure Maeve’s outfit marked her as someone Mrs. Felix Decker would know. They had decided she would be Mrs. Decker’s niece, and she looked every bit the part in a suit Sarah hadn’t worn in a while and a hat her mother had given her but which Sarah had judged too fancy for her life as a midwife. Maeve touched the hat self-consciously and Mrs. Decker nodded her approval.

Serafina distracted them from their approval of Maeve’s clothes. “What did Mrs. Burke say when she read my note?”

Mrs. Decker smiled. “She got very flustered and kept saying she couldn’t, she just couldn’t, but then I mentioned that you said you wouldn’t charge her anything, and she finally decided she would try.”

“Good. I have been thinking what we should do,” she told them as the carriage lurched away from the curb. “Mrs. Brandt, I think you should not come inside with us. I do not want everyone else to know you are there.”

“I’m not going to wait in the carriage until the séance is over,” Sarah declared.

“Oh, no, that is not what you will do,” Serafina assured her. “I will unlock the back door, and you will come inside that way when we are all in the séance room.”

“How will I know when that happens?”

Serafina thought for a moment. “I will go to the front window and move the curtain just before I take everyone into the room.”

“I could do that for you,” Mrs. Decker said. “No one would think it peculiar if I looked out to check on my driver.”

“Yes, thank you,” Serafina said. “That would be better.”

“What about Mr. Malloy?” Maeve asked. “He’ll probably be there when we arrive.”

“I will speak with him and ask him to pretend to leave,” Serafina said. “I do not want the killer to be frightened by the police. But Mr. Malloy can return with you, Mrs. Brandt.”

Sarah nodded her approval. “You said you’d show me where I could listen to what’s happening in the séance,” Sarah reminded her.

“I won’t be able to show you, but it is easy to find. A picture is hanging on the wall in the kitchen. An ugly picture of a cow. If you lift it down, you will see two small holes stuffed with cotton wool. You can look through them into the séance room, but you will see nothing once the room is dark. They are really for listening. And you must stand in front of them, closely, so no light comes into the séance room once the light is out.”

“Why are they there?” Maeve asked.

“For the Professor. He usually listens in case something happens. I call for him and he comes.”

“Or when you fainted at that séance I attended, the others called him,” Sarah recalled.

Serafina smiled. “Yes, that is right. The Professor will be in the kitchen when you come in, so Mr. Malloy will tell him he must stand aside so you can listen. He will be angry, but do not let him interrupt us.”

“I’m sure Mr. Malloy can handle the Professor,” Mrs. Decker said with a small smile.

Sarah was sure of it, too.

“Whose spirit will you call for today?” Maeve asked.

“I will call for Mrs. Gittings,” Serafina said grimly.

“What if she doesn’t know who killed her, though?” Maeve pressed. “What about Nicola?”

Serafina’s eyes grew bleak. “I will not call for him. It is too soon. But Yellow Feather will know if she does not. He was there when it happened.”

The other three had no answer for that, although Sarah couldn’t help wishing she believed in Yellow Feather. If he really existed, he could be very helpful.

They spent the rest of the trip answering Maeve’s questions about what would happen at the séance. When the carriage rattled to a stop, Serafina sat up straighter, as if bracing herself.

“I know this must be difficult for you, my dear,” Mrs. Decker said.

“I will not be afraid,” Serafina told her, although she sounded as if she were trying to convince herself. “I am doing this for Nicola.”

The driver opened the door, and the three of them climbed out.

“Mrs. Brandt is going to wait here for a while,” Mrs. Decker said to the driver. “Please do whatever she tells you.”

He nodded his understanding and closed the carriage door. When the others had gone inside, he climbed back up to the seat and moved the carriage about halfway down the block. Sarah positioned herself so she had a good view of the front window and settled back to wait.

MALLOY HADN’T BEEN THERE LONG WHEN HE HEARD someone coming in the front door. He and the Professor had been staring at each other across the kitchen table for far too long, and the Professor jumped to his feet at the first sound. “She’s here,” he said and hurried out of the kitchen.

Malloy followed him into the hallway and saw Serafina coming through the front door. Mrs. Decker and Maeve were behind her. Where was Sarah?