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

“Maybe.” Daniel didn’t sound as enthusiastic as I felt he should be. Myself, I couldn’t wait to talk to the doctor. I felt he must be able to shed light on some aspect of this complicated thread. I was already standing up as the train pulled into the Jersey terminus.

We rode the ferry across to Manhattan, then Daniel set off in one direction for Mulberry Street while I went home to Patchin Place. My motherly instinct told me I should stop in first to see that Liam was all right, then I reminded myself that my mother-in-law was perfectly capable. Bridie never let him out of her sight, and besides, it was still in the middle of his afternoon naptime. And I was anxious to get Dr. Werner’s address so that Daniel could question him. Actually I would have liked to talk to the doctor myself, but I knew that would not go down well with Daniel and the New York police.

I tapped on Sid and Gus’s door and was relieved when I heard footsteps coming down the hall toward me. They were rarely home on fine days. Sid opened the door, which was also unusual, as Gus seemed to be the designated greeter.

“Molly!” She looked almost startled to see me.

“I’m sorry. I hope I’m not disturbing something. If you have visitors, I could go away and come back later.”

“No. You’d better come in. You may be able to help, since you have more experience with this kind of thing than we do.” She almost yanked me inside and shut the door, taking me through to the drawing room, which was in itself unusual, as they lived in the kitchen and conservatory most of the year. As I came in I saw two people sitting together on the sofa. One was Gus and the other was Minnie Hamilton. Gus was holding her hand, which surprised me even further.

“Oh, Molly, it’s you. Thank God,” Gus said as they looked up at me.

“What’s wrong? What’s happened?” I asked.

“Sit down, do. We’ll need your help,” Gus said.

I perched on an upright chair across from them.

“It’s Mabel,” Mrs. Hamilton said. “She’s gone.”

“Gone? Where? Did you decide to send her to Europe after all?”

Minnie Hamilton shook her head, and I could see she had been crying. “Just gone. When I went into her room this morning she wasn’t there. I let her sleep as late as she likes, because her nights are so often disturbed. But when she wasn’t awake by ten I decided to peek in on her. There was no sign of her. I don’t understand it. Where can she be? Did she decide to run away and slip out during the night?”

“Is there any reason she might have wanted to run away?” I asked.

“I thought she felt safe with us,” Minnie said. “But she was upset when we talked of sending her to Switzerland. She should have known we’d never do anything like that against her will.”

“Where might she go if she ran away?” I asked. “Has she friends in the city?”

“No bosom friends that I know of. She attended an academy for young ladies on the Upper East Side and must have had friends there, but nobody has come to visit her since the tragedy, apart from her schoolmistress.”

“Was she fond of this teacher?” I asked. “Might she have run to her?”

“Mabel didn’t seem particularly overjoyed to see her. Thanked her politely for coming, but seemed relieved when she went again.”

“Was her bedroom window open?” I asked.

Minnie Hamilton’s eyebrows shot up. “You don’t think she’d have climbed out of her window? I know there is a creeper on the back wall of the house, but it would be foolish…”

“Have you spoken to the police yet?” I asked.

“No. Not yet. I was in such a tizzy. Frankly I didn’t know what to do.”

“We must tell them right away,” I said. “It’s possible she’s been kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped? By the man who killed her parents?” Minnie put her hand to her mouth. “I never thought … I never believed. You’re right. I must tell the police right away.”

“Tell me. Has she seen Dr. Werner again?”

“A couple of days ago. He came to the house briefly to say good-bye, and to give us his address in Germany and the name of the clinic in Switzerland. He said he would make all the arrangements if we changed our minds and decided to send her.”

“Did he say when he was sailing?”

“I believe it was yesterday.”

“That’s too bad,” I said. “Daniel very much wanted to speak with him.” I was about to add that the doctor had been connected to Edward Deveraux, but then I remembered I had kept the details of the case from Sid and Gus, at Daniel’s request. “I should probably take down his address anyway,” I added. “Although I can’t see what good it would do now. Daniel will have to wait and write to him when he is back in Vienna. How annoying.”

Gus stood up. “I’ll find his address for you,” she said. “I’m only sorry he couldn’t do more for Mabel on the spot. These alienists are always so cautious. I just wish I was more experienced and had been able to do more. I still feel that Mabel’s dreams are the key to all of this.”

“Has she had any more dreams with vivid symbols in them recently?” I asked.

Minnie shook her head. “It’s always the snake.”