Murder on St. Mark's Place Read Online Free PDF Page A

himself.
    “I don’t think he is,” she said, laying down her fork and crossing her arms over her well-padded bosom. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with his mind at all.”
    Now Frank was really sorry he hadn’t throttled her earlier. He could have spared himself this, at least. “My son’s mind is none of your concern,” he tried, but she was having none of it.
    “I told you I gave him a horse when I visited him today. It was a fancy carved thing I picked up from a street peddler. It had a real leather saddle and bridle, and Brian had them off that horse in seconds. Your mother said he’s very clever at figuring things out, even though he’s only three years old.”
    Frank had to grip the edge of the table to hold himself in check. “Maybe she also told you he doesn’t talk. Doesn’t make a sound, and he can’t understand a damn thing you say to him.” He was fairly shouting now, but even that didn’t seem to bother her. She just stared back at him, cool as you please.
    “Of course he doesn’t understand what you say to him. That’s because he’s deaf.”

2
    “ D EAF?” HE SAID THE WORD AS IF HE’D NEVER heard it before. Plainly, he’d never heard it in connection with his son.
    “When I met Brian the first time, I only saw him for a few minutes, and your mother told me he was feebleminded, so I didn’t think anything about his behavior. But something bothered me. He was so silent. I’ve seen lots of children with damaged brains, and they were all as loud and boisterous as other children. But not Brian. I think that’s one reason why I went to your home instead of leaving word for you at the station. I wanted to see Brian again and figure out why he was so silent.”
    He was still trying to get his understanding around this. “And now you think he’s deaf?” he asked incredulously. He obviously also thought she was insane.
    “Let me tell you some things that I suspect are true about Brian. He’s a very sound sleeper. Loud noises don’t wake him up. In fact, no noise of any kind wakes him up. And when you call him, he ignores you. Unless perhaps he’s looking at you, and then he comes. He has signs that he uses for things, and even though he doesn’t talk, he uses the signs to make his needs known to your mother. Am I right?”
    He was frowning. Of course, he was usually frowning when he was with her, but this frown was different. He wasn’t trying to frighten her this time. He was thinking, and not liking the things he was thinking about.
    “I’m right, aren’t I?” she prodded, knowing he must be testing her theory against what he knew of Brian’s behavior. “Your mother even told me he’s clever about taking things apart. That proves there’s nothing wrong with his mind. In fact, he’s probably very bright.”
    If she’d thought to comfort him, she failed. “Do you think this is news I want to hear?” he asked her in amazement. “Do you think I want my son to be deaf? He’s already a cripple!”
    “But don’t you see, if he’s deaf, he can be educated. He can even learn a trade and—”
    “He’s still a cripple,” he reminded her, his face dark with the anger he still felt over this fact.
    “I’ve been thinking about that, too, and I know this surgeon who—”
    “Do you think I didn’t take him to a doctor when he was born?” He was beyond angry now. She’d wounded his pride. “I took him before he was a week old. I would’ve paid any amount of money to have him made right again, but they said nothing could be done.”
    “Who told you that?” she asked, outraged.
    “The doctor,” he reminded her impatiently.
    “Which one?”
    “How should I know? That was three years ago!”
    Sarah somehow managed not to sigh in dismay. “Malloy, let me ask you something. Are all the detectives on the New York City police force as good at their jobs as you are?”
    Once again, she’d stung his pride. “No!”
    “Of course they aren’t. Some of them