Chapter 11
Week 5, Instructor Calendar, March 1898
“Miss Adams! Er, I mean, Mrs. Capshaw—it’s so nice to see you back,” the girl at the front desk said eagerly. “I know Martha will be glad. Did you have a nice trip?”
“Can you get Martha for me? And Eli, too?” Sophia said, urgency in her voice. There wasn’t time for pleasantries.
The puzzled girl hesitated, then hurried down the corridor.
It seemed an agony of waiting before the girl located Martha, who greeted Sophia with an enthusiastic hug. “Welcome back!” She turned to Concordia. “So good to see you, too, dear. Now we can take care of that little problem—”
“Unfortunately, Martha, Mrs. Tooey is dead,” Concordia interrupted. “We went to the boarding house to speak with her about Eli, but found her…strangled.”
Martha paled and put h
