One
New York, Sunday, October 6, 1907
“So, what is this big surprise?” I asked as I pinned my hat onto my head, checking that it was straight in the entryway mirror.
“Ask me no questions, I’ll tell you no lies.” Daniel wrapped his arms around me from behind and gave the back of my neck a little kiss.
“Well, it can’t be a romantic surprise or we wouldn’t be bringing Liam,” I mused. “And we are walking so it can’t be too far away. Unless we were walking to a train station?” I shook my head. “But we haven’t any baggage.”
“Molly Sullivan, this is not a case and you are not detecting.” Daniel gave me a mock reproving look. “You will find out soon enough.” He pushed the pram out of the front door while I lifted Liam, carried him out, and set him in the pram.
“You are getting too heavy to be carried, little man,” I said, rubbing the small of my back as I straightened up.
It was a gorgeous day, one of those clear October afternoons with bright sunshine and a cool, clean breeze. We had made it to church that morning, an occurrence that had become rare since Daniel’s mother had left, and I felt clean and bright inside as well. Our ward, Bridie, was with our neighbors, getting help with her algebra homework. I had told her we wouldn’t be gone long.
Daniel pushed the pram and I followed in silence as we turned south onto Sixth Avenue. All he had told me was to put on my coat and hat and bring Liam. He had a surprise for me. I tried to judge from the set of his shoulders as he strode ahead whether it was a nice surprise or a nasty one. To tell the truth he did look a bit tense. We crossed the street and walked into the shade of the big trees in Washington Square. The fall colors glowed brightly on the trees, contrasting with a deep blue sky above. The perfect day for a family stroll, I thought. I found myself enjoying the quiet rhythm of our footsteps crunching on the gravel until Daniel slowed to walk beside me. He put a hand on my arm and cleared his throat.
Saints preserve us, he is nervous, I thought. My stomach felt a jolt of fear. Daniel was normally quite direct and forthright. It wasn’t like him to make a song and dance about something.
“Where are we going, then?” I asked, keeping my voice light and cheerful.
“We’re not going anywhere just yet. I thought it might be best to walk and have a little talk first.” His hand squeezed mine reassuringly. “Molly, I want you to trust me.” He was not looking at me but straight ahead as we walked. “There are some things I need to do to take care of this family and I hope you will trust I know what I am doing.”
“If this is about a helper to look after Liam I’m sure I can sort that out. Your mother has sent me some recommendations of agencies I can try.” Daniel’s mother had lived with us during the last winter while she recovered from a bout of influenza but was now safely back at her house in Westchester County. I was sure she had been writing to Daniel telling him how unsuitable it was for a police captain’s wife to be doing all of her own cooking, cleaning, and child minding. I didn’t mind the work, though. I preferred to keep busy and active and spend time with my son.
But Mother Sullivan had plans for Daniel to advance. He had been the youngest-ever police captain in the New York Police Department and his mother was hoping for a career in politics for him. I was fine with him and with our life just as it was. We lived in a sweet little house on Patchin Place that I had purchased myself when I ran my own detective agency. Although I had given up being a detective when I married Daniel I had found myself doing the odd spot of sleuthing since, and between ourselves I did sometimes help him with his cases. That was why I was not opposed to Mrs. Sullivan’s plan to have a girl live in and help with Liam. It had been useful, I reflected, to have Mother Sullivan around to watch Liam if I wanted to go out and investigate.
“No, that’s not it exactly, although it will change our domestic situation.” He cleared his throat while I looked at him expectantly. “It’s actually very good news. I’ve been asked to run for sheriff and I’m going to do it.”
“Sheriff? Of what? Of where?” My mind immediately went to the Wild West. Men galloping on horses and firing guns.
“The County of New York. It includes the five boroughs,” he said. “It’s an important position.”
“Asked, by whom?” Questions swirled in my head. A ball came whizzing over our heads followed by a group of laughing college students from the university on the other side of the square.
“Ball. I want da ball.” Liam stood up quickly in the pram. I rushed to grab him before he managed to climb out and lifted him down beside me.
“Take Mama’s hand, darling.” I walked with him in silence for a moment and then turned to Daniel. “It’s an elected position? And someone has asked you to run?”
“Actually, I’m on the Tammany ticket. They will be announcing it tomorrow at Tammany Hall.”
“Tomorrow?” I stopped and looked at him in astonishment. Liam tugged at my hand.
“Mama. Ball! Liam wants to play.” I held on firmly while I tried to compose my racing thoughts.
“But you hate Tammany and all those bribes and kickbacks. Why on earth would you run on their ticket? And who is the sheriff of New York when he’s at home anyway?”
Daniel gave the pram a big push and replied without looking at me, “There are a few things I can’t explain, Molly. That’s why I need you to trust me. The sheriff is a bit like the police commissioner, only his mandate is broader. He runs the prison system and the courts, not the police department. You know how much that needs reforming. The Tammany man who was supposed to run has gotten himself involved in a scandal and has left the city for a while until it blows over. I’m sure you will read about it in that Hearst rag in the next few days. They asked me to step in as a last-minute replacement.”
“But why would you want to? Surely you love being a police captain, especially since you’ve been in charge of homicide. It’s a prestigious job, Daniel.”
Daniel continued pushing the pram, still staring straight ahead. “It’s my chance to do some good, Molly. If I get in as sheriff I can do away with some of the corruption. You remember what it was like when I was in prison myself. I nearly died in that hellhole. I can really do some good.”
“But with Tammany Hall? Daniel, they will never let you go your own way. You know that. You’ll owe them for your position and they will make you pay them back.”
“I’m sorry, Molly. It’s settled.” Daniel’s voice was now firm. “I have said yes and I expect you to support me. There are some things you don’t understand.”
“Because I’m a woman?” My temper flared. I should mention that red hair and a quick temper are my two leading characteristics.
“Because there are things you don’t know and I can’t tell you.” He turned back toward the arch. “There’s more to this surprise. Follow me.”
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! My heart can’t take any more.” Daniel put a protesting Liam back in his pram and lengthened his stride so much I had to hurry to keep up. We swept through the Marble Arch at the entrance to the park and then up Fifth Avenue. I wondered where we were heading. To Tammany Hall? “Daniel, slow down, where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” He looked back at me, gave me an encouraging smile, then strode ahead. A good surprise this time, then. On the other side of Ninth Street Daniel stopped at an impressive flight of marble steps with a wrought-iron railing leading up to a white door framed with a decorated arch.
“Let’s pay a call, shall we?” Daniel lifted Liam out of the pram and into my arms then climbed the steps and rang the bell.
“Wait, Daniel,” I called after him. “Who are we visiting? You should have warned me. I’m not suitably dressed. A stroll, you said.”
Daniel looked back and smiled. “You look fine,” he said. “Don’t worry.”
I came up the steps beside him and stood rather nervously on the stoop. Really, I like a surprise, but this was going too far. Was sheriff that high a position that Daniel would now know people who lived in Fifth Avenue houses like this? Had we been invited to tea and here was I in my usual two-piece costume and not a tea dress? It had probably never occurred to Daniel that women like to know in advance what to wear for every occasion. Honestly, men can be infuriating. But it was too late to turn back now.
The door was answered by a maid who didn’t show any surprise at seeing us. “You must be Captain and Mrs. Sullivan,” she said, giving us a shy smile as she dropped a curtsey. “You are expected, please come in. I’m Mary.” We walked into the front hall and Daniel took off his hat and hung it on the hat stand, then helped me off with my cloak and hung it up as well. The marble floor echoed as I set Liam down and he stomped his foot experimentally then headed toward the staircase in front of us.
“Shh. Liam, come here.” I grabbed him hurriedly and lifted him up again. The maid waited and then indicated we should follow her through a curtained doorway. “The parlor is through here, sir.”
I walked in with a bright smile on my face expecting to be introduced to the man or lady of the house, but the parlor was empty. A fire burned in the marble fireplace. A table in the center of the room under the electric chandelier held a priceless-looking vase, and ornate shelves across from me were full of decorative plates, cups, and figurines. I instinctively clutched Liam a little tighter, making sure his hands were safely out of the way, and decided that putting him down here was not a good idea.
“The family drawing room is back here, sir.” She led us through another doorway and into a comfortable-looking drawing room. The room was crowded with delicate embroidered sofas and chairs and carved mahogany tables in many sizes. There was a beautiful Persian rug on the floor and a large tapestry on the far wall. But still no people. My mind spun. Had Daniel brought me to a murder scene? Hardly an outing to which you bring your son. Were the owners of the house very shy?
“The dining room is at the back of the house and bedrooms are upstairs, sir, if you will follow me.” Mary continued after a pause as we looked around the empty drawing room. The bedrooms?
“Daniel.” I turned to him in exasperation. “Why are we seeing the bedrooms? Is the owner an invalid?”
“No,” he replied, already heading toward the stairs.
“Daniel!” I called after him. “What is going on? Whose house is this?”
He turned to me with a big smile. “Yours.” He put his arms around both Liam and me. “Ours. Welcome to your new home, Mrs. Sullivan!”
ALL THAT IS HIDDEN. Copyright © 2023 by Janet Quin-Harkin (writing as Rhys Bowen) and Clare Broyles.
