POSTSCRIPT

New Year’s Day, 1903

JJ Halsted’s body was located in a remote woodland. The stolen items from the Silverton mansion were found buried nearby, a few pieces of silver and some jewels. Three lives, almost four, had been squandered for such useless trifles. But at least Miss Van Woekem could now have the consolation of knowing that her nephew died with no stain to the family honor.

Later I introduced Jessie to Blanche. I saw Blanche’s eyes flash with interest when she heard that Jessie was an orphan from Massachusetts. It was too much to hope that I had produced her long-lost daughter, although stranger things had happened, but I could see that Blanche wanted to believe this and thus took Jessie under her wing. So something else ended happily.

And Daniel and I—well, we have been spending Christmas with his family in Westchester. His mother has taken to me quite well, almost leaning on me as a daughter in her time of grief. And I, deprived of a mother at the age of fourteen, have been enjoying the closeness and warmth of family life. With the New Year has come new hope. A new police commissioner will be sworn in this week and we are hoping that he will take speedy action to reinstate Daniel as a captain of police. After that, who knows. I have to think that our story will also end happily one day.