“What ghost?”
Bo Kei looked up at me as if she didn’t want to go on. “When she reached the roof of Lee Sing Tai’s house, he was not there but the door that led to the stairs was open. She plucked up courage and started to go down the stairs to his bedroom. As she stood at the top of the stairs she looked down and what do you think she saw? She saw a ghost floating up toward her. That’s when she knew that Lee Sing Tai was already dead.”
“So what did she do then?”
“Everyone is afraid of angry ghosts. She ran. She jumped across to the next roof and almost didn’t make it. When she came back to me she was crying and couldn’t breathe. She made me promise that I would tell nobody what she had done.”
“This ghost?” I said. “What did it look like?”
“It was a white floating head in the darkness,” she said. “It stared up at her with an open mouth but no sound came out. And it had lots of arms and legs, like a demon or a monster.”
“And she thought it was Lee’s ghost and he was already dead?”
She nodded. “What else could it be?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t believe in ghosts myself. I’m afraid we’ll have to tell this story to the police, Bo Kei. At least it should make them release Frederick.”
She gave me a watery smile. “All right. I will tell your good policeman.”
“I’m going to see him now,” I said. “I will bring him back here to talk to you and you will tell him everything you know.”
“I will get in trouble?”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so. If what you say is true, then Annie did nothing wrong—except for trespassing on someone’s property.”
“And they will now believe that Frederick did nothing wrong either and they will set him free?” she asked hopefully.
“Yes, I believe they will set him free.”
The smile of relief that flooded her face reassured me once and for all that she had not been involved in the killing herself. And for the third time that day I set off back to Mulberry Street. When Daniel and I were married, I thought, there would be a telephone in the house so that the police could get in contact with him whenever he was needed. Such a useful instrument. It would have saved me a fortune in shoe leather!
Thirty
As I took the trolley southward yet again I rehearsed what I was going to say to Daniel. I had uncovered valuable information, so he should be pleased with me. On the other hand, I had continued my involvement in this case when he had expressly forbidden me to. The knot in the pit of my stomach returned. He was going to shout at me. Be furious with me. Then suddenly I decided that this wasn’t like me at all. I wasn’t usually the sort of person who cowered before men. I was turning into the kind of female I despised, the kind who lost her individuality and gumption when she married. What sort of a life would I have if my sole purpose on this Earth was to defer to my husband and make sure I didn’t upset him?
Enough is enough, I said to myself. If I didn’t stand up to Daniel now, he would dominate me for the rest of my life. He was going to have to accept that I was not prepared to turn into a helpless little wife. I could understand that he didn’t want me to continue my career as an investigator because that could be seen as compromising his position in the police department. And he did feel the need to protect me, which was nice. And God knows I’d been in need of protection several times in the past couple of years. But I wasn’t going to let him bully me or dictate to me.
Having come to that decision I strode out from the trolley with more confidence. But I have to confess that as I went up the steps into that austere building, that confidence did waver a little. Still, I held my chin high as I approached the front desk.
“I wish to speak to Captain Sullivan,” I announced to the constable who was manning the front desk. “It’s most urgent.”
“I’m afraid Captain Sullivan’s not here at the moment,” he said. “Will one of the other officers do instead?”
“No, thank you.” I felt the relief of reprieve and had to force myself to continue, “You don’t know where I might find him?”
“No, miss. I couldn’t tell you that,” he said.
“Even if you did know, you mean?” I stared at him. “Look, I have some facts for him. It’s important that he gets them as soon as possible. If you won’t tell me, may I write a note and you can ask one of your men to deliver it to him?”
“What’s this concerning, miss?” he asked warily.
“A murder case he’s working on.”
He was still looking at me most suspiciously. “And you say you have important information for him?”