Death in Saratoga Springs by Charles O'Brien Page A

and hopeful for her prospects in life.
    Her distress gave way to anger at the injustice of putting a young woman in prison on flimsy grounds, though still innocent in the eyes of the law, while Crake’s killer walked free through the streets of Saratoga Springs.
    Pamela took Francesca’s manacled hands. “I’ll not rest until I get you out of here.” Then the sheriff led Francesca away. Pamela urged Mr. Barnes to look after Francesca while she investigated Crake’s murder. Finding his killer was the surest way to free the girl.
    From a nearby hotel, Pamela immediately telegraphed Prescott:
    MISS RICCI’S CASE COULD REQUIRE A COSTLY AND TIME-CONSUMING INVESTIGATION. WOULD YOU COME HERE AND HELP US DECIDE WHAT TO DO?
    Pamela and Harry returned to the Grand Union. He immediately began to investigate the bellboy Jason Dunn. How credible was his testimony concerning Francesca? What were his secrets? Meanwhile, Pamela waited anxiously for Prescott’s reply.
    It arrived that evening.
    I’LL LEAVE THE BERKSHIRES FROM
LENOX TOMORROW FOR SARATOGA
SPRINGS, ARRIVING IN THE
AFTERNOON. RESERVE A ROOM FOR
ME AT THE HOTEL. I’LL STUDY THE
CASE AND DETERMINE WHETHER TO
TAKE ON FRANCESCA’S DEFENSE.
    She sighed. The terse message didn’t indicate how he was leaning. She would have to wait and hope.
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    Concealed in the shadows, Harry observed Jason enter Mickey’s Tavern on Washington Street, west of the D&H tracks. For a few minutes, Harry waited outside, recognizing many hotel workers. Then he went inside and sat at a small table with a view of Jason and two male companions drinking beer. One of the men produced a pair of dice, and they started playing for pennies.
    Harry signaled a waiter and asked confidentially, “Who are the two men with Mr. Dunn?”
    â€œThe big German is Karl Metzger, a butcher at the hotel. The slim, handsome gambler in charge of the dice is Rob Shaw, a Britisher.”
    In less than an hour, Harry had gathered the impressions he needed. As he left, he reflected thoughtfully. Crake’s bitter enemy Metzger had access to boning knives; Dunn had been close to the scene of Crake’s murder; Shaw was bedding Crake’s wife. What might they talk about, quietly, while they tossed the dice? The death of Captain Crake? Harry asked himself, “Could the three of them have been in it together?”
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    The next day, Pamela met Prescott at the station. As he climbed down from the train, he greeted her with a wan smile. Something wasn’t right, but she sensed he didn’t want to talk about it.
    As they walked the short distance to the Grand Union Hotel, he studied the building and remarked, “It seemed huge when I was here a few years ago on legal business, but it has since grown even larger along Congress Street.”
    â€œFrom that visit, you might also be familiar with the county court in Ballston Spa. Miss Ricci is in the jail.”
    â€œYes, I had legal business there. Fortunately for her, if I may say so, the old courthouse and jail were torn down five years ago. Still, even the new jail must be a dreadful place for a young woman. We’ll visit her tomorrow and make sure she has decent accommodations.”
    That evening in Prescott’s room, Pamela and Harry brought him up to date on the Crake case. He mostly listened and asked questions concerning Metzger’s conflict with Crake, Shaw’s romance with Crake’s wife, and Dunn’s obscure motivation. Part of Prescott’s mind seemed elsewhere.
    Pamela suspected that contentious issues with his separated wife, Gloria, were distracting him. When Harry left, Pamela was tempted to ask what had happened in Lenox. But by this time, Prescott looked so tired and distressed that she decided to wait until he was ready.
    Â 
    On Friday morning, while Harry followed Robert Shaw around Saratoga, Pamela and Prescott visited the county jail in Ballston Spa and found