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

But I believed it as I left his house. Terrence Daughtery had said that Edward had delighted in inflicting pain. What more pain could he have caused than killing Terrence’s mother, or Mary Willis’s sister, or presumably Judge Ellingham’s wife? Now I only hoped they could catch him quickly, before he did any more damage.

I wasn’t sure what to do next. If Edward had been bent on inflicting pain, he had taken revenge by killing the nearest and dearest of those he thought had betrayed him. In which case Dr. Grossman must also have somehow been involved in Edward Deveraux’s trial, and been punished by the killing of his only son. Which led me to think about the Hamiltons. Who was being punished by killing Susan and Albert Hamilton? Surely not Mabel, who wasn’t even born when Edward killed his father and was shut away for life. Maybe Mr. Masters, his late father’s partner? Had Mr. Masters too testified at the trial? Had Susan been an adored only child? But why would her husband have had to die as well, when presumably he had no connection to Edward or the murder of Cornelius Deveraux?

I decided that Daniel could find out what connection Dr. Grossman might have had to Edward Deveraux, and instead went to see Minnie Hamilton. I had to know how Susan Hamilton fitted into the picture.

Minnie Hamilton looked flustered and a little unkempt when I was shown into her drawing room.

“Oh, Mrs. Sullivan, I wasn’t expecting visitors,” she said. “I’m afraid two of the boys are down with some kind of grippe, and I was up all night with them.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” I said. “How are they now?”

“Much better, thank you; in fact, Frank has been insisting he feels well enough for a pork chop, and doesn’t want gruel and broth.” She bade me sit, clearing away magazines and a toy automobile from the sofa. “If you’ve come to see Mabel, I’m afraid this might not be a good time. She’s been so upset lately, what with the police and then the doctor.”

“I hope she won’t be disturbed by the police any longer, now that it has been established that she couldn’t have killed her parents.”

She gave a disgusted sniff. “As if anyone could have believed that in the first place. A sweeter child you’d never see. And she worshipped them both. But I gather that your own husband is now taking over the investigation. Thank God for that.”

“I didn’t come to see Mabel,” I began. “I came about a different matter. I wondered what you could tell me about Edward Deveraux.”

Her head shot up in surprise. “Edward Deveraux? What an extraordinary question. Why should I know anything about him, apart from the name? I believe I met him once. He must have been at Susan’s wedding, but then you probably heard what happened soon after that. He killed his father and was sent to an institution. Locked away for life.”

“I wondered what possible connection he might have had to your sister-in-law and brother-in-law.”

“None at all, apart from the family business partnership with Susan’s father,” Mrs. Hamilton started to say, then I could see that she had thought of something. “There was one thing,” she said. “He used to be sweet on Susan. More than that. Obsessed with her, perhaps. Susan never said much, she was not the most open of individuals and didn’t confide easily, but I got the impression that she had been afraid of Edward Deveraux and abhorred his advances.” She glanced toward the door, then leaned closer to me, lowering her voice. “In fact, I always suspected that contributed to her decision to accept Bertie’s proposal so suddenly. It was a complete change of heart. She’d shown no interest in him before, and then suddenly she had him invited to a party she was attending, and just like that they were engaged.”

“I see.” I paused to digest this. “You think she wanted to get out of a life in which she had to socialize with the Deveraux family? Or was it worse than that? Do you suspect that Edward actually forced himself upon her?”

She could not meet my gaze. “I’ve always wondered,” she said. “She was such a delicate, sheltered little thing. I think it quite possible that he had at least tried to molest her.”

“You don’t think that Mabel might be his child?” I blurted out the words without giving due thought.

She looked shocked. “My dear Mrs. Sullivan, certainly not. Mabel was born a year after they married. And she resembles my husband’s family in facial features. Would you mind telling me why you are digging up this painful subject just now?”

“Because it’s possible that Edward Deveraux might have been responsible for the death of Mabel’s parents.”

“But he was sent to an insane asylum,” she exclaimed. “And that was years ago. Long forgotten.”

“Not for a man who had nothing to do but brood,” I said. “I may be quite wrong and I’m sorry if I’ve upset you, but I want to find out the truth as soon as possible, and it seems as if the fire was one in a long string of deaths, all linked to Edward Deveraux.”

“How extraordinary,” she said. “How did he get out? That’s what I’d like to know.”