Vintner's Daughter by Kristen Harnisch

Author:Kristen Harnisch
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: She Writes Press
Published: 2014-12-21T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

Ambition

DECEMBER 18, 1896, NEW YORK CITY

William Briggs, Esquire, sat behind his oversized, leather-inlaid mahogany desk and fussed with the stack of documents in front of him. The attorney’s face was gaunt, and under his pale eyes was a sliver of shadow, which hinted at a less than perfect night’s sleep. His nails were trimmed, Philippe observed, and immaculate—absent of any sign of manual labor, unlike his own. Before heading east, he had scrubbed his hands with a horsehair brush to remove the wine stains from his palms and fingernails. Philippe imagined the greatest injury this man had ever confronted within the confines of his office was a vicious paper cut.

That thought made Philippe smile. Thank God he didn’t spend his days behind a desk dealing in legal jargon. He would go mad. Even now, as he waited, he shifted in his chair with a restless energy he couldn’t quite account for. Philippe eyed Briggs and thought, For God’s sake, man, let’s get on with it.

As if he sensed Philippe’s impatience, Briggs sat up in his chair, dropped his monocle and began.

“Your father suspects murder.”

Philippe had not expected this. “Why?”

“I don’t know how to say this delicately. Your brother’s body was found burned in the fire. However, there was a wound to the left side of his neck that is thought to be the true cause of his death. The fire, we believe, was deliberately set to hide murder.”

Philippe felt a charge of adrenaline throughout his body. He stared at Briggs. Bastien was not well liked by many. But would his brother’s behavior really have incited someone to murder him? Philippe’s voice faltered. “And the weapon? What about his wife? Was she found with him?”

“There was no weapon found, not a knife, not anything. Mrs. Lemieux was originally thought to have perished in the fire, but her body was not recovered. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that she and her sister were missing. They haven’t been seen since that night.”

“They could have run away on foot. Made it to the river and stowed away on a barge or something,” Philippe theorized, his thoughts spiraling.

“But she was heavy with child.”

Philippe hadn’t known this, but felt a mixture of suspicion and sympathy toward Bastien’s wife. “You’d be surprised what a woman can do if she sets her mind to it.”

“Jealousy?” Briggs sounded unconvinced.

“I don’t know.” Philippe drummed his fingertips against the arm of his chair. “My brother was certainly known to enjoy his diversions.”

“There’s no evidence that she did anything.”

“Of course not. No one can find her. Did you talk to the gendarmes? What about this sister? What about the foreman, Jacques Chevreau? Where is the girls’ mother?” To Philippe, it sounded like a sloppy investigation.

“They have been questioned and have denied any knowledge of the ladies’ whereabouts. The mother was quite distraught, understandably, and appears to believe that the wife and sister may have also died in the fire.”

Yes, understandably. But for once he agreed with his father. Something was amiss.

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