“I’m telling you, Phalen, the man was completely out of his mind,” Flix said into the telephone receiver.
“Well, then that puts Abercrombie Wolcott at the top of my list. What have you been able to find out about him, Cupid?”
“Not much. Not married. Money to the gills.”
“I’ll see what I can dig up. In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears open. Something else may turn up.”
“I will.”
“I have to get back and question Jannins some more. I am sure this case is being railroaded to a speedy conclusion so the good doctor won’t lose income from patients fleeing the facility because they fear a murderer is on the prowl.”
“Yes. I fear that justice is not at the top of Quintland’s list of priorities when it comes to keeping his clients happy.”
“I will have to rely on you, Cupid, to snoop about. I’m being pressured to wrap this case up as fast as possible. I fear everyone just wants to forget about it. She was just a maid and all.”
“Umm. You’re right, you know. Well, Phalen, I will do my best.”
“Here is the number where you can reach me: Valmont 8358. I will tell the desk sergeant to be sure to pass any messages you leave for me to my desk only.”
“Very good.”
“Are you getting drenched out there? We surely are in the city. I fear we are in for another wet one. This rainy season shows no signs of letting up. I wish to god it would, though. I’m as soggy as a London paperboy.”
“Phalen, you have sparked an idea. I must check it out. I will get back to you, but for now, I am ringing off.”
And with that, Flix hung up the phone and exited the small booth as if his underwear was on fire.
* * * * *
“It is just as I suspected, Phalen,” Flix blared out excitedly over the phone. “You must come back to Beastly House at once! At once!”
“Alright, Cupid. I’m on my way.”
“Oh! There you are, Flix,” Mrs. Hood said, bumping into the man as he exited the phone booth. “I was beginning to think you were avoiding me.”
“You, no madam, I assure you that is not the case.”
“Remember tonight. You promised to sit with me at the costume party.”
“Costume party. But Mrs. Hood, please allow me to excuse myself from such things. Parties, dancing, festivities. I am afraid that I would be poor company.”
“Nonsense! It is high time you lived a little. I won’t take no for an answer! Look around you! Who would I partner with? Wolcott is still locked away in the outer houses. And George! Hrumph! Certainly not. I would rather crawl on my hands and knees across broken glass!
“And I would rather accompany you across that broken glass than humiliate myself on the dance floor. Please, Mrs. Hood, may I suggest Dr. Quintland as a partner at tonight’s festivities. He is tall, handsome, and I am sure, he is agile on his feet.”
“Dr. Quintland. Flix! Don’t be absurd. Why he’s at least fifteen years younger than I am.”
“Oh, no. I do not believe that,” Flix said. “A fine looking woman like you must be celebrating a very young birthday! And if I am not mistaken, the good doctor’s wife is out West. Chicago, perhaps, I don’t remember, but I think she may be visiting a sick relative. I am sure the doctor is lonely, madam. Lonely for the company that only an understanding, beautiful, vibrant female, as yourself, can give.”
“He’s married, you say,” Mrs. Hood said. “Well, I guess I could suffer to spend an evening with him.”
“Oh, by all means,” Flix said. “Your charity in this instance will be rewarded many times over, fair lady. I am sure.”
* * * * *
“I say, Cupid, this place is as mad as a clip joint two minutes before midnight on New Year’s Eve!” Phalen said loudly, hoping his voice carried over the din.
“It is some kind of costume party. I suppose they do this sort of thing all the time to entertain the patients! They’ll be nursing hangovers tomorrow, but at least, it will keep everyone busy, tonight.
Come with me. Hurry! You must see what I have uncovered. Hurry. Hurry! I don’t think we’ll have to worry, but you never know.”
Flix opened the door.
“Hurumph!”
“Sorry, sir,” Flix muttered. “Partygoer,” he muttered to Phalen, who was following closely on his heels.
“I say,” Phalen said, “the music is extraordinarily loud. And who was he supposed to be? A hobo mingling with the aristocracy?”
“It is the one night the staff is allowed to dress up and mingle with the patients. The younger crowd eats this kind of thing up. But I would imagine, the older ones are appalled. The good doctor believes the classes should mix!”
“Well, that one could use a good scrubbing, staff or not. I mean his costume is perfect, but he smells.”
“Hard worker. Probably, one of the yard men. Anyway, a hobo does not get the chance to bathe often. I just hope the staff enjoys their night off.”
“Me, too.”
“But, come, Phalen. We must not delay! That was a close call. Hopefully, the rest of the staff have gone to the party. Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“To the victim’s room.”
“You’ve decoded the message she held in her fist!”
“No. But it is something almost as important.”
The two crept stealthily up the stairs to the maid’s room.
“Do not worry, my friend,” Flix said, “it is as you ordered. Undisturbed since that day. And here we are,” he continued, opening the door and stepping inside.
Phalen followed closely at his heels.
“Don’t turn on the light,” Flix said. “We will use my flashlight. The curtains are drawn, and the staff and guests are occupied, so perhaps we will go unnoticed.”
“It’s so, I don’t know, musty or something in here.”
“The odor of rodents,” Flix said. “But, the house is not infested, even though you saw one mouse. No, that is not the reason this room smells. And this odor only confirmed my suspicions.”
“What suspicions, Cupid?”
“I must say,” Flix said, “I am embarrassed at my mental lapse. I will say it happened because of the thunder of the storm, the imaginary bombs from the enemy going off, but really, there is no one to blame but myself.
When you described this room, remember, you said it was at the end of the hall next to the latrine. You said it needed work. That statement should have caused bells to go off in my head, but alas, it did not.
I must presume I was preoccupied with other matters. But, this is the point – this end of the mansion has a leaky roof!
I checked it myself. Several places are in need of repair. On top of that, it is located near the communal bathroom. This is the servant’s quarters, and as you remarked, that end does not get the attention that the main house does. Their needs, I am sorry to say, are placed at the bottom of the priority list, as so often is the case.
But I digress.
The servants’ side of the mansion is falling apart. I daresay the plumbing is in as much of a state of disrepair as the roof. Leaky roof combined with leaky pipes equals a very damp living environment.”
“I agree,” Phalen said. “But, what does poor maintenance have to do with this case?”
“Everything, my friend. Look. Look here.”
“Peeling wallpaper,” Phalen said. “What’s so special about that? You’ve already said this end of the place is a soggy bog.”
“Pay close attention to the design.”
“It’s not something I’d have in my house. The floral pattern is too effeminate. Too much pink. I prefer something more masculine.”
“No. No,” Flix said. “Not the outer layer. Look at the layer of wallpaper underneath this one.”
“It’s very green, Cupid. Old fashioned in design, I’d say. But why are we wasting time examining her wallpaper, for goodness sakes?”
“You are correct,” Flix said. “The paper underneath is old. And it is the color which is important.
This wallpaper uses a particular green dye that was very popular just before the turn of the century. It was dirt cheap to manufacture. Companies sold it by the ton. Fortunes were made on this stuff, Phalen. And the public ate it up like candy. This green was all the rage, for a while.
Multitudes of homes had this color of green in the wallpapers, the carpets, why, it was so popular, women’s ball gowns were dyed this shade of green. I am telling you, it was everywhere!
Even their stockings and the paper flowers that decorated women’s gowns. And the recipe for this striking hue contained poison! Arsenic, to be exact!
This particular bright green is called Sheele’s green.
And that is the reason we are wasting so much time with our noses stuck near a damp, peeling specimen of wallpaper!
I had a case with Pinkerton’s years ago. It concerned a man who thought his wife was poisoning him. He was desperately in love with his wife but fearful of what she might be doing to him.
So, he hired me to watch her, discreetly of course.
It was a very interesting case, and I must admit, at first, I was completely baffled. You know how easy it is to obtain arsenic. Just visit your local pharmacy, tell the pharmacist you need something to kill rats. He’ll be more than happy to sell you the stuff.
Arsenic is as easy to buy from your local drugstore as food from your grocer.
And, as you know, arsenic is the king of poisons!
So many murderers have used it to dispose of unwanted victims.
Why, I’ve even heard of fly paper being placed in water to dissolve the arsenic contained in it. Then, the poison is used as a murder weapon!
The wife was a saint, by the way. A good woman. I could see why my client loved her so much. But as I say, the case was extremely perplexing.
The husband complained that each evening he would retire to his study with a cup of tea and toast, only to become sick.
For many nights, he would enter this room, and after a time, become very ill. He thought the poison was in the food given to him by his wife. She was innocent. The food was harmless. He told me that after a good night’s sleep in another room at the opposite end of the house, he would awaken feeling quite well.
I must admit, for a time, the case had me stumped!
The culprit was the wallpaper!
The wallpaper!
The room was damp. I can’t help but believe that the dampness and the arsenic react in some way. The mold, perhaps. Nevertheless, there was a distinct smell, very like rodent urine in that room, as well.
Sheele’s green is made with copper arsenite. As I said, the color was wildly popular. The dye was even used to color sweets that reportedly killed little children!
But back to the topic of peeling wallpaper.
When the paper starts to flake, you end up with arsenic dust. Those tiny particles detach, floating about the room like dust chimeras. I have also observed a distinct garlic odor, just like the one present in this room.
I had read reports that speculated the arsenic compounds in the wallpaper were making people sick. I advised him to remove the paper, and I am happy to say that his symptoms of illness disappeared.
And that is why I must confess embarrassment at not picking up on the fact that the wallpaper might have been poisoning this maid.”
“But,” Phalen said, “this place wasn’t built that long ago.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Flix said. “When the architects were constructing this part of the house, I am sure that keeping costs down was a priority. The builders probably knew someone with a warehouse full of these rolls. Who cared what was put on the walls of the servants quarters. They were only servants, after all.
It would not be the first time that tragedy has occurred because corners were cut.”
“So,” Phalen said, “I was right. She was being poisoned.”
“Yes,” said Flix, “but not by a person’s conscious actions. By the wallpaper!”
“So, she wasn’t poisoned by our killer, but she was still strangled.”
“Yes. She and her unborn child.”
“But why?” Phalen said. “I would bet the farm that the Jannins boy is innocent.”
“I do not know. If we find the answer to the why, we are sure to know the killer’s identity.”