She turned to look at Gus again, and swallowed hard. “I didn’t quite know what to do. He was trying to pull out the knife but I knew if he did that, the blood would coming gushing out of the wound and he’d quickly bleed to death. I put my hand out to stop him. ‘No, don’t do that,’ I said.

“At that very moment I heard someone behind me. Footsteps coming into the room. I spun around, afraid that it might be Bryce’s attacker. But it was his housekeeper. She was standing in the doorway, staring at us in horror. Bryce opened his mouth, looked at her, tried to speak. An awful gurgling moan came out, and then he died. She backed away and ran screaming for help. ‘Murder! Assassins!’ she was shouting.”

Gus reached out and took Sid’s hand. “Sid realized right away how bad it would look for her,” Gus said. “She was sure the housekeeper must have recognized her as we had both been to the soirée. He had just written me a rude letter then a postcard, saying that there was no way he’d ever consider my amateurish and substandard paintings. Also she was Jewish and his feelings on Jews were well-known. A perfect double motive.”

“So what did you do?” I asked.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Sid said. “I was sure they’d come and arrest me and that would be the end. But then I saw that the window was open. It overlooked the street and outside there was a little garden of shrubs and a small tree.”

“I remember it,” I said. “I went to his house and found out he had died.”

“Luckily I have renounced skirts,” Sid went on, her voice sounding calmer and more confident now. “I eased myself out of the window and into that tree. I heard the screams and running feet. I waited until the street appeared to be empty then I lowered myself to the ground and ran off as fast as I could. I made it back to Miss Cassatt’s house without anyone seeing me, or so I thought.”

“We thought we should get a cab back to our place immediately,” Gus said, “but Miss Cassatt said we should stay put until we were sure we were safe. We just prayed that the housekeeper had been so shocked that she hadn’t had time to recognize Sid. But then we learned from asking in the neighborhood that a young Jewish man was seen running away from the house. Obviously they thought Sid was a young man, on account of the trousers and her short hair.”

“I see,” I said. “So what happens now?”