“A valuable one, indeed.”

“First of all, there is no estate. She had almost nothing in her possession, so we aren’t going to probate court or anything like that.”

“But you are her designated heir?”

“She wrote a simple will years ago, after my parents died, so yes, I am, not that it’s any business of yours. But there is no estate.”

“I doubt that very much.”

“What do you mean? Just what exactly are you looking for?”

“My questions are these, and I will just read them off to you in the hope that you may be willing, though I do understand your reluctance to tarnish your dear grandmother’s memory, to shed some light on these crucial details, as I really do want to make my book as thorough and accurate as it can possibly be.”

“I’m listening. But I have to tell you, I’m really not in the mood for much more of this, plus I doubt that I know anything that would help you.”

“Thank you. I am sure you know a great deal more than you realize. You are reminding me very much of your grandmother, incidentally. One. Where is the money? Your grandmother was almost definitely paid twenty thousand dollars for her testimony by Blanck and Harris, or their agents. I have three reliable secondary sources for this. Believe me, years of my life have gone into pursuing this single detail. It’s going to blow the lid off Triangle studies. But I have not been able to trace it after she received the payment in early 1912, after the trial. She appeared to live modestly all her life, as did her son, your late father, as do you, so far as I can tell, though your fiancé, if that is what you call him, your composer friend, is very comfortable, with all of his prestige and success. Perhaps the answer lies in this safe-deposit box you have mentioned, so it goes without saying that I am very interested in that. What bank is it in? If you let me know the contents of this safe-deposit box when you open it, which will be soon, I hope—this could answer my most important question.”

“I really can’t believe you are asking this. I’m not going to talk about anything like that with you.”

“Think about it. It’s very important. Two. Did your grandmother speak to you of the children? I am virtually certain that there were, over time, numerous children present on the ninth floor of the Triangle, and so there is no reason to believe that there were no children present on the day of the fire, yet they show up in neither the names of the living nor the names of the dead. I believe children must have died in that fire, but their presence in the Triangle factory was covered up.”

“She did, actually—”

“Good. We will go back to that. It is also very important. Please hold that thought. Three. Was your grandmother sexually abused at the Triangle Waist Company, or did she speak of others who worked there who may have suffered from sexual harassment or sexual abuse? Was Pauline ever sexually abused? That interests me particularly.”