of the papers, or someone would have told me by now, so there really is nothing we can do at the moment.â
She took a bite, swallowed, and added, âThe policewould certainly have been in touch with me already if they had been going to.â She laughed at her own illogicâand perhaps the awkwardly dangling infinitive.
âWhy are you so sure about that?â Faith asked suspiciously. Grammar or no grammar, she knew what Emma was hinting. She took a bite of the scone on her own plate and put it down. Too much baking powder.
âI always sent Daddy postcards when I was traveling and couldnât get to see him. Besides, he did so miss leaving the country. Heâd hitchhiked all over the world when he was younger.â
âAnd he saved them?â
âOne was on the fridge the last time I was there.â
Ignoring the homey image this conjured upâhammer and sickle refrigerator magnets?âFaith pressed. âBut how would the police have known who you were? Granted, they could check up on people named Emma whoâd left the country for those destinations near the postmarked dates, but it wouldnât be easy.â
âThey would have recognized Michael from our wedding picture,â Emma answered matter-of-factly.
Faithâs head began to reel as she envisioned the Spartan studio apartment described in the media filled with nothing but books, an ancient Underwood on a card table, a bed, and a file cabinetâenvisioned the apartment complete with an eight-by-ten glossy of Emma and Michael, the bride and groom, in a silver frame from Tiffanyâs.
But Emma was right. The police would have been onto her immediately. Foxâs murderer had taken the photo and the cards. Foxâs murderer. Emmaâs blackmailer?
Emma stood up. She looked out at the tree and saidpensively, âIâm madly behind with my shopping. Iâd better go to Saks.â
Faith pulled on her coat. âWhat about Todd? What happened to him? Donât tell me you see him at three oâclock on Wednesdays.â
âDonât be silly. I never saw him again after that, but I did get a card in the mail a couple of years ago from some real estate firm on Long Island. You know the kind. âIf youâre thinking of buying a house, think of me.â And it had his picture on it; otherwise, I would never even have read it. It was right after we got married, and he must have seen the announcement in the Times. Maybe he thought we wanted to move out of the city. Cityâthatâs where he wasâGarden City.â
So, Todd Hartley had not assumed a blue collarâand he knew what had happened to Foxâs daughter. And that sheâd been pregnant by him. Faith put his name on the list of potential blackmailers.
âWas there anybody else who knew who Fox was and knew you? Anyone else around when you went to see him the first time?â
âHe was living with some woman. Daddy always had women,â Emma added ruefully. Faith was glad to see it. All this Daddy Fox worship was getting to be a bit much. âI didnât meet her, though. I think he didnât want her to know about me.â
Faith made a mental note of this woman. The list could use a few more names. At the moment, it consisted of Lucy Morris and Todd Hartley. Poppy Morris knew about her daughterâs pregnancy and parentage, but it strained credulity to think she would be blackmailing her own daughter. Still, Faith made another note to try to find out if Poppy was paying her Bergdorfâs bills on time. Some of the veteran salesforce who had been outfitting Jane Lennox Sibleyâs family forever could be counted on to spill a few beans.
Jason Morris obviously knew about Nathan Fox and his wifeâs affair, yet he may not have known about Emmaâs pregnancy, although Emma had mentioned that Poppy was carrying on about it all over the house. The only reason heâd have to blackmail
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