Love for Sale

Richard’s late mother’s name,“ she said, her voice breaking and a tear running down her face.

    Mr. Prinney sat awhile when Mrs. Towerton had left. He was thinking, somewhat guiltily, that she might be better off if this Taughton person who died really was her husband. She was a pretty young woman, with long blond hair in a braid around her head. She had two pretty children and was obviously well educated, judging by her grammar. She was talented and knew how to take care of money. If she were widowed, she could make a much better second marriage to a man of her own quality, instead of being saddled with an illiterate, seemingly unattractive husband who might have simply walked out on his responsibilities.
    He certainly wouldn’t charge her for helping. This was a moral dilemma just as much as a legal one. And there was nothing he could do about it today. The nearest telegraph office was in Poughkeepsie, which was also the only place he might be able to get the photograph copied.
    Meanwhile, there was a dead man upstairs to be dealt with.

    “What was the purpose of this secret meeting?“ Chief Howard Walker was asking Edward Price at the same time.
    “It’s in the nature of a palace coup.“
    “What does that mean?“ Walker asked.
    “It’s complicated. Brother Goodheart is under attack, and rightly so, in my opinion. You know those film things he does where he hauls a bedraggled family up to the podium and they thank him effusively for his ‘divine help’ with their medical or financial troubles? The man is toothless, the woman is skinny, and the kids are cute as buttons?“
    “I’ve seen that on the newsreels at the movie house,“ Walker acknowledged.
    “Well, these people are carefully picked, carefully rehearsed. And he leads people to think they’re just a few of the unfortunate multitude she’s helped out. But it’s not true. He’s making a fortune on these preaching campaigns.“
    “So it’s a money matter,“ Walker said, nodding. “Not surprisingly.”
    Price ran his hand through his hair, messing it up. Lily looked at him and thought once again that he was strangely familiar. Had she seen him before, or did he simply remind her of someone else? She’d been vaguely aware of this since she first saw him.
    Price went on, “The man who’s caused this meeting is the only important one to the Institute who isn’t here.“
    “Hold up. What institute? That’s the second time you’ve used that term,“ Walker said.
    Price looked disgusted. “That’s what Good-heart calls his outfit. The Institute of Divine Intervention.“
    “How pretentious,“ Lily muttered.
    Walker looked at her. “Please just take notes, Miss Brewster.”
    It was a fair shot, Lily had to admit. She was here to do a job. Not to make comments. She was feeling a bit smug anyway about this note taking. A month earlier she’d checked out a book from the library to learn shorthand and she was certainly no expert, but she was able to put what little she’d already learned to good use.
    “So who is behind this meeting?“ Walker continued.
    “Big Jimmy Rennie. He’s the treasurer of the Institute. He knows, as almost everyone with any brains does, that Brother Goodheart is using a lot of the money he collects for his own uses. Fancy cars, expensive hotels, and inappropriate women he hires for his own pleasure.“ Price actually blushed.
    He went on. “I suspect, but don’t have proof, that Big Jimmy himself has a hand in the till as well. In the last year he’s bought a new car, much bigger and more expensive than he had before, and he’s dressing a lot better. But that’s beside the main point. Rennie’s been subtly suggesting to Brother Goodheart that his conscience, such as it is, might force him to reveal Goodheart’s spending habits. This would leave Rennie in charge of the whole bundle.”
    Lily was again tempted to comment, but Walker said what she was thinking.
    “Wouldn’t that bring the whole outfit down in a heap? Put everybody out of a job?“ Walker asked.
    “Probably so. But both of them are already rich and can go on to another scam, I presume. But they’re both greedy bastards—pardon my language, Miss Brewster—and the rest of us involved know we have to support Goodheart to keep our salaries. Goodheart is—or was—a very stupid man. When we all disappeared at the same time, Big Jimmy certainly figured out what was happening.“
    “And may have known where you were going for