In the Still of the Night

back in Poughkeepsie when he wakes up to hear what he does remember.”
    Grace and Favor was dark and silent when they returned. Robert showed Walker where the rope had been hung in the garage, and Walker merely nodded wearily and headed for the mansion.

    Lily had assigned Walker a room on the third floor since he was determined to stay at Grace and Favor until Mrs. Ethridge’s murder was solved. He was so exhausted that he had to stop at each landing and work up the energy to tackle the next. While he paused, he glanced down the hallways. No lights showing anywhere. Maybe everybody would have the good sense to stay where they belonged all night long.
    He’d sent one of his deputies to his home with a key to get fresh clothing, a razor and a toothbrush for him and was relieved to see the items laid out on a chair by the window. He undressed and put on his ratty old dressing gown and went down the hall to the gents to brush his teeth. When he came back, he set his alarm for seven-thirty, turned out the light and tried to review everything about the case.
    After all the interviews, the observance of the people, the conversations he’d overheard, he should know more than he did. He couldn’t keep these people here forever. They were due to leave the next day and he’d have to let them all go their separate ways.
    And with that thought, he fell fast asleep.

    Mr. Prinney was in his small office at Grace and Favor at eight-thirty when Howard Walker knocked on the door.
    “Come in. I’ve been hoping to talk to you, but didn’t want to disturb you. You and Robert must have come home very late.“
    “Around three,“ Howard said, all but collapsing in the guest chair.
    “I’ve made some calls to bankers I know to get an introduction to the president of the bank where Mrs. Ethridge lived. The man was willing to cooperate.“
    “And ?“
    “Mrs. Ethridge had a very small income from a family trust. Enough to live on, barely. She made a quarterly deposit of a check from an attorney in Chicago. She had consulted with the banker I spoke with about getting a pension as surviving spouse of a Great War veteran, but there must have been some sort of snarl up because she never deposited a government check. But she made other regular deposits. In cash.“
    “Blackmail?“ Howard asked.
    “Possibly. One was for twenty dollars, another for twenty-five dollars and another for thirty dollars. Every month since her husband died. The banker I spoke to had never had occasion to look at her account carefully and was surprised. He knows her very slightly socially, and couldn’t explain these regular deposits. Apparently she had no other means of support except the trust. She didn’t work in a shop or take in sewing or anything like that. He didn’t mention blackmail, of course. But I could tell it was probably on his mind.“
    “You told him that she had died?“
    “Just that she had died. Not how she died. Oh, he also gave me the name of the funeral parlor the body should be sent to. I have it here somewhere.“ He rummaged in a drawer in his desk and produced a scrap of paper.
    “She also had a safety deposit box at the bank,“ Mr. Prinney said, “but you’ll have to get the proper authorization to open it. The banker can’t do that.“
    “Did she have a will?“
    “There might be one in the box, but as far as he knew she had no attorney. Otherwise she wouldn’t have asked his advice about the pension. He suggested two names of attorneys in the town and said she might have dealt with one of them over the pension matter.“
    “Didn’t Miss Brewster give me a New York address for her?“ Walker said, checking his notebook. “Yes, here it is.“
    “Maybe it’s her brother’s apartment,“ Mr. Prinney said. “I think Lily told me Mrs. Ethridge arrived in a car with a driver her brother had loaned to her, which was why she arrived early. She might visit him often and use his address.“
    “Who is her brother?“ Walker asked.
    “I have no idea,“ Prinney said. “Somebody Pratt, I presume. If they’re full siblings.“
    “There are going to be a lot of Pratts in New York City. I’ll get one of my people find a phone book and try to reach the right one. Didn’t Raymond Cameron say something about working in his attorney uncle’s office and having seen her name on paperwork?“
    “Yes, and I called his uncle as well. He said that some years ago, she had come to him to consult about various run-down