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BERKLEY PRIME CRIME TITLES BY VICTORIA THOMPSON

Gaslight Mysteries

MURDER ON ASTOR PLACE

MURDER ON ST. MARK’S PLACE

MURDER ON GRAMERCY PARK

MURDER ON WASHINGTON SQUARE

MURDER ON MULBERRY BEND

MURDER ON MARBLE ROW

MURDER ON LENOX HILL

MURDER IN LITTLE ITALY

MURDER IN CHINATOWN

MURDER ON BANK STREET

MURDER ON WAVERLY PLACE

MURDER ON LEXINGTON AVENUE

MURDER ON SISTERS’ ROW

MURDER ON FIFTH AVENUE

MURDER IN CHELSEA

MURDER IN MURRAY HILL

MURDER ON AMSTERDAM AVENUE

MURDER ON ST. NICHOLAS AVENUE

MURDER IN MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS

MURDER IN THE BOWERY

MURDER ON UNION SQUARE

MURDER ON TRINITY PLACE

MURDER ON PLEASANT AVENUE

MURDER ON WALL STREET

MURDER ON MADISON SQUARE

Counterfeit Lady Novels

CITY OF LIES

CITY OF SECRETS

CITY OF SCOUNDRELS

CITY OF SCHEMES

CITY OF SHADOWS

Dedication

To all my loved ones who have passed over. I’m looking forward to seeing you again, but not at a séance.

CHAPTER ONE

Elizabeth looked up from the letter she’d been writing when the maid announced the unexpected arrival of her best friend, Anna Vanderslice. Before she could rise to greet Anna or even open her mouth to ask the maid to show Anna in, Anna brushed unceremoniously past the startled maid and cried, “Elizabeth, you’ve got to help me!”

Being a gently reared young lady, Anna wasn’t given to outbursts like this, especially in front of the servants. “Of course, I’ll help you,” Elizabeth said, rising quickly from the small lady’s desk where she’d been sitting and moving to where Anna stood, anxiously wringing her hands, just inside the library doorway. “Lucy, would you bring us something cool to drink?” Elizabeth asked the still-flustered maid.

Lucy scurried out, obviously glad to escape what promised to be a strange situation.

“What’s the matter?” Elizabeth asked, taking Anna’s hands in hers. They were like ice in spite of the warm day. “What kind of help do you need?”

The despair that clouded Anna’s face truly frightened Elizabeth. She hadn’t seen her friend so upset since Anna’s brother, David, had died of influenza last fall. “Oh, Elizabeth, I . . .” She glanced at the still-open library door, obviously just realizing that she shouldn’t be discussing anything upsetting where the servants could hear.

“Sit down,” Elizabeth said, hurrying to close the door and give Anna the privacy she needed.

Anna took one of the comfortable chairs placed in front of the now-cold fireplace, sighing wearily as she sank down into it. Elizabeth took the other chair when she had shut the door securely. The chairs had been chosen for comfort so two gentlemen could sit and smoke and converse in the quiet of this cozy book-lined room at the end of a long day, but they would serve just as well for women to share a bit of bad news.

“Now what is it?” Elizabeth demanded almost desperately.

“It’s Mother.”