“Well, I'll be—” He broke off before he uttered a profanity.
“Daniel, those photos—did you get a chance to look at them? Did they mean anything to you? I know Paddy took the pictures of Leon with Ryan O'Hare when he overheard Leon telling Ryan his plans. But there was also that picture of Sergeant Wolski, talking to a man I didn't recognize. Is it possible he was involved in the plot too?”
Daniel sighed. “Paddy had been working for me for quite a while. But nothing to do with this. We've known for some time that someone in the police force was in the pay of one of the biggest gangs. Information was being leaked to them too often so that they could keep one step ahead of us. I asked Paddy to look into it. I had my suspicions about Wolski all along. And to be frank with you, I suspected that Wolski had a hand in Paddy's killing. That's why I was so adamant about keeping you out of it.
If it had been a gang killing, as I thought, and they caught you snooping around, then your life wouldn't have been worth a brass nickel.”
“So that's why Wolski seemed so disinterested in solving the case,” I said. “He must have suspected that Paddy was on to him.”
“Hopefully your photo will give us proof to nail him,” Daniel said. “How did you manage to get hold of the pictures, instead of the police?”
“I found Paddy's camera in a room which the police had already searched,” I said, giving him a triumphant grin. It was amazing how quickly I had perked up. I felt positively alive and glowing again, but maybe that was just because I was sitting beside Daniel in a darkened carriage while the world slipped by us.
As if to answer this thought, the carriage came to a stop. “We're at the station, boss,” the cabbie called down.
Daniel reached up and handed the driver a dollar bill. “Drive around a little longer, will you? We haven't finished our conversation yet.”
The driver tipped his hat and we were off again.
“So you did it.” Daniel was gazing at me with interest. “You completely disobeyed me when I told you to stay out of this case?”
I nodded. “Someone had to find Paddy's killer and Sergeant Wolski was going to make sure that the police didn't.”
Daniel shook his head, smiling. “You said you were going to become an investigator, and you have. Of course, it was unfortunate that Wolski was put in charge of the police investigation, but you got here ahead of us.”
“But not in time, regrettably,” I said. “I feel so terrible that we couldn't have stopped the President from being shot.”
Daniel nodded. “A great tragedy. He's a good man.
But he's also a strong man. There's a good chance that he'll pull through.”
“I do hope so. If only someone had listened to us at the door and let us speak to the head of security, but they brushed us off every time we tried.”
“You did everything you could,” Daniel said. “In the police force we know that you can't win‘em all. Sometimes we let the biggest crooks get away or they stand trial and are acquitted. It's all part of the game. You'll learn that if you stay in the business.”
“Don't worry,” I said. “After this, I'm going to keep well away from criminal cases. Paddy made good money from divorces or embezzlement. I'll stick to those.”
Daniel took my hands in his. “You are a remarkable woman, Molly.” Then his expression changed. “I can't tell you how much I've missed you. Life has been hell without you. I can't live without you, you know.”
“Are you still engaged to Miss Norton?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then you have your own answer, don't you.” I pulled my hands away from his. “You can't have us both, Daniel. You'll have to make your choice.”
“But you don't understand what is at stake, Molly.”
“Oh, I do. She is rich and beautiful. I'm poor and ordinary. When you put it that way, there is an obvious choice, isn't there?”
“You judge me very badly if you think I would be swayed by wealth,” Daniel said. “It's more than that. If you'll let me explain.”
“Please do. I have all the time in the world,” I said.
He sighed. “My parents came to this country starving from the Great Famine in Ireland. They grew up poor. My father moved up the ladder in the police force by hard work and by making the right connections at Tammany Hall. One of the New York politicians who was most helpful to him was Arabella's uncle. He's a very influential man. How else do you think I made captain before I turned thirty?”
Street lamps illuminated Daniel's face as we drove along a boulevard still brightly illuminated for the fair.
“So I have known Arabella for most of my life,” Daniel went on. “My parents always hinted that she would be a great match for me and I had to agree with them. After all, she is beautiful as well as coming from a powerful family. What more could a man want in a wife?”