Bloodlines

The coroner had taken the body of the nursemaid from the house, but O’Co

Just as it was now. Except for the blood. Sprayed everywhere, it seemed, in long streaks across the one wall and most of the floor. He could see long, heavy smears where the woman had obviously slipped and fallen in her own blood, bloody handprints on the floor near the bassinet, as if she had tried to crawl to it as she died. There was blood on the bassinet itself, but not much. A dark, wide pool of blood had spread and dried on the floorboards beneath it.

“What was her name?” O’Co

“Rose Ha

O’Co

“Cut her throat, then watched her crawl.”

“The baby was in the bassinet?”

“Mrs. Ha

“The blood-”

“We don’t know yet. The lab took the bedding to test it.”

“So little Max might not be alive.”

“That’s a possibility. Especially when infants are taken.”

They stood silently for a moment, then O’Co

“I only hope they’re as smart as you are.”

“This happened last night?”

“We think it happened Saturday night, maybe early Sunday.”

“Saturday night? While Katy was at her birthday party?”

“Coroner said he’ll get back to me on a time of death, but as you know, those time-of-death guesses are never all that accurate. Except on Perry Mason. You watch that show?”

O’Co

“Well, I guess if you’ve got Corrigan to entertain you, who needs television, right?”

“Last night, and no ransom note yet? No calls?” He felt his hopes sinking.

“We don’t know about the calls-no one here to answer them. Got the phone company checking on that. But no notes, no.” He put a hand on O’Co

“Katy and Todd haven’t been seen since the night of the party?”

“That’s what we’re begi

“Where was she all this time?”

“She took off to visit her mother in San Diego. We have that verified. Took the bus back home today, got to the house at about five, and noticed the back door had been jimmied. Came into the house, nothing seemed to be wrong at first. Eventually, she came up the stairs and saw the mess in here.”

“She called you?”

“Naw. Went hysterical, the neighbors heard her, and they called us. She was out on the front lawn, with one of the neighbors trying to calm her down, when we got here. Took a while to get her to make any sense and even longer to get her to come back into the house with us.” He paused and said, “Let’s go down the hall.”

“Wait-can you tell me, did they take the things they’d need to care for the baby? Blankets and such?”

“I asked the same thing. No-the maid didn’t think so, except for one blanket. Probably the one they carried him out in.”

O’Co

He had a different sort of shock when Norton showed him into the large master bedroom. In contrast to the nursery, the bedroom was pristine. Nothing out of place.

“Did the maid straighten up in here before she walked down the hall?”

“She swears she didn’t.”

“Did they never come home, then?” O’Co

Dan smiled. “Anyone ever tell you how Irish you sound when you’re upset?”

“Dan…”

“No, it doesn’t look as if they did. I brought the maid in here, and she says the room looks just the way she left it last night.”

He walked over to a door at the other side of the room and beckoned O’Co

“I live in a place smaller than this,” O’Co

“I’m glad to know the force still pays better than the paper. Anyway, I checked the laundry hamper there-nothing in it. I asked the maid, and she says no dress or shirt or any other item of clothing that the Ducanes wore on the night of the party is hanging up in here.”

They continued across the closet to a co

O’Co

“Where’s the dog?” O’Co

“Well, that’s a good question. Presumably, with Mrs. Ducane.”

“On a boat? I can’t believe that.” He thought for a moment. “Where’s Katy’s car?”

“Katy’s little roadster is parked at her in-laws’ place.”

“And the Ducanes’ car?”

“At the marina. Apparently Todd and Katy followed his parents to their place, then took off for the marina in the Ducanes’ car. Unlike the Linworths, the Ducanes drive themselves.”

“Which is a shame, or someone might have noticed their absence before Katy’s maid came back from San Diego.”

“True. The Ducanes have fewer servants than the Linworths, though. The cook-housekeeper isn’t live-in, and she only comes in Monday through Friday.”

“They keep to themselves and they hate to pay anyone a decent wage. Ask the people who work at Ducane Industries. If it hadn’t been for the war…”

“Cheap, huh?”

“You wouldn’t want to wait on their table. Cheap when it comes to labor, yes. But that doesn’t mean they don’t live well themselves. They’ll buy anything that pleases them.”

“Like a yacht.”

“Exactly.”

O’Co

Norton’s brows went up. “Oh yeah? Well, I didn’t think they had this arrangement of bedroom furniture because he snores. Got a name for the mistress?”

“No. But Jack might be able to tell you more.”

“Knowing Handsome Jack, he was there before Todd.”

“Not so handsome now. He may need a new nickname.”

Norton shook his head. “He’ll charm them, no matter what condition that mug of his is in when the bandages come off.”