“Mrs. Brandt, can I talk to you?” she asked quietly. She looked over her shoulder anxiously, probably checking to see if Maeve was going to stop her from speaking with Sarah. Fortunately, Maeve was busy showing off for their guest.

“Certainly, let’s go back downstairs.”

Gina followed her. As they walked into the parlor, Sarah realized she had left the package she’d brought from the morgue lying on a chair there. She’d have to remember to give it to Mrs. Wells before she left.

“What did you want to talk about?” Sarah asked her when they were alone.

“I did what you told me to do.”

“What was that?” Sarah asked, trying to recall. So much had happened since last night, she was having trouble.

“You wanted to know which one of the girls heard Emilia say she wanted Ugo to see her all dressed up.”

“Oh, yes.” Sarah had completely forgotten. “Who was it?”

“It wasn’t anybody.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean nobody heard her say that. I asked everybody, even Aggie.”

“I thought Aggie doesn’t speak.”

“She don’t, but she can hear. I asked her did she hear Emilia say that, and she shook her head no. Nobody heard her say nothing about Ugo. All she said was she wanted to get a job.”

This was just what Sarah had feared. One of the girls had lied to Mrs. Wells, hoping to throw suspicion onto Ugo. All Sarah needed to do now was find out which girl had invented the lie. She would have to ask Mrs. Wells.

“What’s that?” Gina asked, pointing at the parcel.

Sarah glanced at it. “I brought back the shoes and the hat Emilia was wearing when she died.”

Gina looked at it longingly. “What are you going to do with them?”

Sarah realized that Gina would probably appreciate having Emilia’s things. Perhaps she should consult with Mrs. Wells before making a gift of them, but she remembered what Gina had said last night about Emilia getting all the nice things when she’d been the girl in charge. Maeve would probably receive them now, if Mrs. Wells were making the choice, but Gina had earned a reward for trying to help Sarah.

“Would you like to have them?” she asked Gina.

The girl looked almost reluctant to admit that she did. Finally, she nodded tentatively.

With a smile, Sarah handed the package to her.

Gina glanced apprehensively in the direction of the door, as if afraid someone might come in and stop her, but seeing no one, she quickly tore open the package. Almost reverently, she picked up the hat that Sarah had considered throwing away and set it on her head. Her dark eyes shone with happiness and gratitude. “Maeve’ll be so jealous!” she whispered with glee. Then she kicked off the worn slippers she wore and sat down to put the almost-new boots on her feet.

She was laughing with pleasure now, and when the hat slipped off and fell onto the floor, Sarah laughed, too.

“There’s a hat pin in there, too. Do you know how to use it?”

“Oh, yes,” Gina assured her happily. “All well-bred young ladies know how to use a hat pin!”

She picked up the hat with one hand and located the hat pin with the other. “No wonder Emilia wanted her mother to see her wearing this,” she said as she stuck the hat on her head.

Sarah wasn’t sure she’d heard her correctly. “Her mother?” she asked, but Gina wasn’t paying attention.

She was staring at the pin. “What’s all over it?”

“It’s rusty,” Sarah said. “It will come off if you – ”

“That’s not rust,” Gina said, peering more closely. She ran a finger along the shaft and it came off brown and smooth, not gritty like rust.

Sarah looked more closely, too. In the dim light of the morgue, she hadn’t paid much attention. She’d simply made an assumption, but now, seeing it in the light…

She had a vision of the brown stains on the back of Emilia’s jacket – Sarah’s old jacket. Malloy had said her killer had wiped the blood off his knife – a long, thin-bladed knife – and walked away.

Sarah felt as if the room were tilting, but she forced her hand to move. She snatched the pin out of Gina’s hand. “I’ll get you another one,” she said. Her voice sounded as if it were coming from very far away. Gorge rose in her throat, but she swallowed it down.

“What is it?” Gina asked in alarm. “Your face is all white!”

“Nothing, I’m fine,” Sarah insisted. She snatched up the discarded wrapping paper and quickly wrapped it around the pin.

They could hear Mrs. Wells and Opal coming down the stairs. Gina glanced in that direction and jerked the hat from her head. “Thank you,” she whispered, gathering her discarded slippers, and darted out of the room. Sarah realized she was afraid Mrs. Wells would take away her gifts if she saw them, and once again she felt a niggling unease at the way the woman showed favoritism among the girls.

By the time Opal and Mrs. Wells entered the parlor, Sarah had drawn a couple deep breaths and managed to regain most of her composure. She tried not to think about the fact that she was holding in her hand the weapon that had killed Emilia.

“Mrs. Brandt, is something wrong?” Mrs. Wells asked the instant they came in.

Sarah tried to smile. “No, why do you ask?”

“You look quite pale,” Opal said, echoing Gina.

“Do I?” Sarah decided to take advantage of their concern. “I was feeling a bit light-headed. Perhaps I should go home. I know you were planning tea, but – ”

“Don’t be silly,” Opal said. “Of course you should go if you’re not feeling well. I have my carriage outside, and I’ll be happy to see you safely home. Mrs. Wells, I’m sorry to cut our visit short, but – ”

“Of course, you’re absolutely right,” Mrs. Wells said. “Mrs. Brandt should go right home. Please feel free to return at any time, Mrs. Graves, and thank you for your support.”

Sarah managed to say the correct things and allow Opal to escort her out of the mission. When her driver had handed them into the carriage, and they were settled, Opal noticed the package Sarah carried.

“What have you got there?” she asked.

Sarah looked down at the paper-wrapped hat pin. “I’m not sure you’ll want to know.”

“NOW YOU MUST TELL ME,” OPAL INSISTED. “DOES IT have something to do with why you were suddenly taken ill?”

“Yes,” Sarah said, laying the object on the seat beside her so she no longer had to touch it. “It gave me a bit of a shock.”

“More than a bit of one,” Opal said. “I thought you were going to faint.”

Sarah sighed, grateful for the privacy of the carriage, even though Opal had been ostentatious to bring it into the neighborhood. “I didn’t tell you the real reason I became interested in the mission,” she began, and explained to her about Emilia and how she came to be wearing Sarah’s clothes when she was killed in the park. “They didn’t have any idea who the girl was and probably never would have found out, but one of the police detectives recognized the clothes. He asked me to identify the body, if I could.”

“How horrible!” Opal exclaimed. “And how on earth would a policeman recognize your clothes?”

Sarah managed not to feel defensive. “I had met him several months ago when he was investigating another murder. I helped him solve the case.”

Opal wasn’t the least bit satisfied with this explanation. “Are you telling me this policeman remembered your clothes for several months and then recognized them on the dead girl?”

“I think it was the hat he remembered, and no, he didn’t remember it for several months. He’d seen it recently. We… I’ve helped him with several other murder cases since then as well.”

Sarah had expected to see disapproval or even disdain, but Opal simply looked intrigued. “You must tell me all about this policeman and how you got involved in solving murders,” she insisted. “I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of anything so interesting!”