The Edge of Dreams (Molly Murphy Mysteries, #14)

“You shouldn’t have done that. I grabbed a bite to eat at an Italian place on Mulberry. I’m acquiring quite a taste for spaghetti and meatballs. You’ll have to learn how to cook it.” He grinned as he sat on the bed and started to unlace his boots.

“I stayed awake because I’ve come up with something.” I sat up, propping myself up with pillows. “First of all, I might have come up with proof that the Hamiltons’ murder was linked to the others. One of the firemen remembered seeing Mabel carried away with a piece of paper clutched in her hand. I tried to look at the burned house, but I decided it was too dangerous for me to be clambering over burned-out ruins.”

“Very wise,” Daniel said. “But that’s certainly interesting.”

“And there’s more,” I said, inching toward him down the bed. “I was reminded today that Mabel Hamilton’s father worked in his father-in-law’s bank.”

“That’s right. Her mother was Susan Masters. Of Deveraux and Masters—important merchant bankers.”

“It didn’t occur to me before,” I went on, excitedly now, “but Miss Willis mentioned that her former employer owned a bank. It’s our first connection, isn’t it?”

“A tenuous one,” Daniel said. “There are plenty of banks in the city, and I don’t really see what Miss Willis’s former employer had to do with her sister’s death. Did the Willis woman mention her employer’s name?”

“She did. But called him Mr. Cornelius. So not the same bank, but at least we’re in the same field for once.”

He looked up at me sharply. “Cornelius Deveraux?”

“Oh.” I sat up straight, staring at him as I digested this. “You are suggesting that Cornelius was his first name?”

“It’s not a very usual name, is it? And two banks owned by someone called Cornelius really would be strange.”

I was trying to recall all the details of my conversation with Miss Willis. “His son was called Marcus, I believe.”

“Then we are talking about the same person. Marcus Deveraux. He inherited when his father was killed, years ago. I remember him now. Arrogant little prig he was too.”

“So there is a real connection,” I said. “We finally have a real connection, Daniel.”

“Or a remarkable coincidence.” He still didn’t look as excited as I felt.

“I don’t believe in coincidences. You must go and see Marcus Deveraux first thing tomorrow.”

“You are suggesting that Marcus Deveraux might somehow be behind this?”

“As the killer?” I paused to consider this, as that hadn’t been what I’d meant at all. “No, probably not,” I said. “It doesn’t seem that a man who owns a bank would have any reason to kill the sister of a former employee—although he did fire her after his father died. Why would he do that?”

“I thought we discussed this and concluded he probably thought he was doing her a favor—he knew of her loyalty, and he wanted to make sure that she had the freedom to enjoy her inheritance.”

“And yet you called him an arrogant little prig. And from the way Miss Willis described him, he didn’t sound like a particularly kind-hearted person.” I was warming to my subject now. “And Mabel’s aunt and uncle would know if there was any kind of feud or falling out between Marcus Deveraux and his partner’s daughter. Maybe…” I wagged an excited finger. “Listen, Daniel. Maybe there was some provision in the partnership that left everything, including Mr. Masters’s share, to Marcus Deveraux if Susan died. Maybe that was the real murder—the one he wanted to accomplish and disguised with the other, random killings. That’s why there was no note at the beginning of August.”

“I’m glad you don’t work for the police department,” Daniel said, half smiling. “You’ve built yourself a perfect scenario to have Marcus Deveraux hauled in and arrested.”

“Well?”

“All on supposition, Molly. We’ve investigated these murders quite thoroughly—except for the Hamilton couple, and we’re still working on that—but no mention, no hint of Marcus Deveraux came up when we spoke to friends and family.”

“You see!” I said excitedly. “You’re still working on the Hamilton case. Perhaps you haven’t asked the right questions yet. Before you speak to Marcus Deveraux, you can see Mabel’s aunt and the family lawyer, and find out whether the Masters’s fortune would go to Marcus Deveraux if Susan and her father died. Then you’d have a motive.”

“What about the other murders? Can you come up with a motive for them?” He looked almost amused. “If you have nailed Marcus Deveraux as your suspect, then why would he want to shut a butcher in his meat safe? Because he delivered bad meat?”

“You don’t ever take me seriously,” I snapped. I was tired and it had been a long day, and I had been so excited at the thought of providing the missing link for my husband.