In Like Flynn (Molly Murphy Mysteries, #4)

Then I remembered why she had looked vaguely familiar. The flower grrl from outside the restaurant who had fumbled with the change.

“You sat at the open window,” she went on. ‘1 was able to over-hear most of your conversation.’

I eyed her warily, wondering what might be coming next. Had she found out that Daniel was engaged to another woman and wanted money to keep quiet about our assignation?

“It isn't polite to eavesdrop,” I said. “And anyway, I don't see what interest our conversation could be to you.”

“It was of great interest to me,” she said. “In fact, it was like a miracle. Then, when I found out who you were and where you lived, I knew you must have been sent from heaven in answer to my prayers.

“I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about, Miss …?”

“Lomax,” she said. “Annie Lomax. You talked about the Flynn baby’s kidnapping. You see, I was the child’s nanny.”

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph,” I muttered. In spite of years of being a heathen and missing mass, my hand went toward my forehead to cross myself.

“I was not blamed at the hearing,” she went on, as if a dam had broken and the pain and injustice of the past years was spilling out, “but I haven't been able to get another job since then. Everyone believed that I must have had something to do with it, you see, because the child was taken from his nursery in broad daylight, and because I was sweet on Bertie Morell. I've been reduced to begging on the streets and I don't think I'll make it through another winter. I've tried everything, miss, except I refused to consider prostitution, because I was raised to be God-fearing. Now I wouldn't have the chance to be a prostitute, even if I wanted to, the way I look.”

“I'm very sorryforyou,” I said, “but I don't see what I can do.”

She stared at me as if I was the simple one. “That man you were ivith, he’s a top policeman, isn't he? And you're some kind of in/estigator. I want you to clear my name,” she said. “Prove to them that I didn't do it.”

I took a deep breath. ‘You'd better come inside.’

I took her into the kitchen and seated her at the table with a :up of tea and some bread and jam. She must have been starving, 3ut she ate like a lady, chewing each morsel daintily.

“You must be something of an investigator yourself, Miss Lonax,” I said as she ate. “How did you manage to track me down?”

She looked up and smiled. “Oh, that wasn't too hard. I heard four gentleman friend give the address to the cabby when you came out of the restaurant.”

I gave her a decent time to finish eating. “Now, Miss Lomax,” I said, “I don't want to dash your hopes, but how do you think I can brove you innocent after all this time?”

“The police asked me lots of questions,” she said, “but they never found anything I did wrong, except they said I was negligent for not checking on the boy more often. He always had a good long sleep after lunch and I'd have disturbed him if I kept opening his door to check on him, wouldn't I?”

I nodded. “But you were friendly with the chauffeur who kiddapped the child?”

“We stepped out together a few times. Bertie was a likable enough fellow. Good-looking, too. But I never imagined in my wildest dreams that he'd do anything like this. In fact, I still have trouble believing that he did it.”

“But surely the police established that he was the kidnapper? They shot him when he went to collect the ransom money.”

A tired smile crossed her face. “Oh, I can believe that Bertie would help himself to money that wasn't his, all right. I'm not dening he wasn't entirely straight. He liked gambling and he got him self involved in a few shady schemes in his life. If he had found out where a large sum of money was to be left for the taking, he might well have decided to help himself to some of it. But kidnapping little Brendan? No, I can't believe it. He loved children. Little Brendan loved him. The prosecution said that was why die kidnapper had been able to take Brendan out of the house without a fuss—because Brendan was comfortable with him. Or because I was in on it too and I was the one who delivered the child to the kidnapper.”

Then if Bertie didn't do the kidnapping, who did?”

She shook her head. “I have no idea. That’s what I want you to find out for me.”

“It’s been many years and the police investigated it thoroughly,” I said. They must have proved beyond doubt that Bertie carried it off alone.”

“They proved it to their own satisfaction,” she said. The public was clamoring for justice. A dead body solved it very neatly for them, wouldn't you say?”

“So you believe that someone else was involved and let Bertie take the rap?”

She nodded. “If Bertie had thought up any scheme to extort money, it would never have involved putting a child in danger.”