City of Promises

Book 8: A Counterfeit Lady Novel

by Victoria Thompson, Ellen Thompson

Genres: General Fiction; Mystery; Amateur Sleuth; Historical Mysteries; Female Sleuths

Synopsis

Elizabeth Bates must use everything she knows about the art of the con to stop a fellow scammer in his tracks in this first-ever thrilling crossover in the Victoria Thompson universe, featuring characters from her bestselling Gaslight Mysteries.

Famed former police detective turned private investigator Frank Malloy and his wife, Sarah, come to Gideon Bates desperate for legal guidance. The Malloys’ adopted daughter, Catherine, a burgeoning star of the stage, has announced her engagement to a man she barely knows. Catherine has recently gained access to her trust fund, and Sebastian Talbot appears very eager to marry her as quickly as possible.

As Gideon and his wife, Elizabeth, investigate, it becomes all the clearer that Talbot may not be who he says he is. As a former con artist herself, Elizabeth suspects one may be in their midst. Undeterred by her pregnancy, she must pull out all the stops to out swindle a swindler and save another woman from ruin.

Release date: July 28, 2026

Publisher: Berkley

Print pages: 336

Sample

CHAPTER one

Attorney Gideon Bates was looking forward to meeting his new client this morning. He knew Frank Malloy by reputation, but their paths had never crossed before. Gideon knew that Malloy had been a New York City Police detective years ago, and that he had mysteriously come into a large amount of money and left the department to open a private detective agency. The money must have been an inheritance, Gideon thought, and Malloy must have opened a private detective agency to keep himself busy, since he didn't need the income. His agency had grown phenomenally after President Theodore Roosevelt called upon Malloy to assist him in a difficult matter in Washington City. Now Malloy's agency had offices in Chicago and Washington City, in addition to New York.

Gideon, who was in his late twenties, assumed that the older Malloy wanted to consult him about his estate plans, since that was Gideon's legal specialty, although Gideon found it strange that Malloy didn't already have an attorney to handle such matters. But whatever Malloy wanted, Gideon was happy to provide it.

His law clerk, Smith, rapped on his office door and informed him that Mr. and Mrs. Malloy were here to see him. Gideon didn't bother to hide his pleasure when he heard that Sarah Malloy had accompanied her husband. He greeted them both and invited them to sit in the comfortable client chairs. Gideon noticed that Malloy took a moment to glance admiringly around the well-appointed office.

The Malloys appeared to be in their fifties, although they were both aging well. Malloy remained in good physical shape, while many men his age did not. He was what they called "black Irish," with dark eyes and raven hair, graying now at the temples, which made him look quite distinguished. In his fine tailored suit, you could mistake him for someone who was born to a wealthy family, and not a former street cop turned police detective turned private detective.

Sarah Malloy was lovely, her honey-colored hair was lightly threaded with silver, which only added to her beauty. She had an air of confidence about her that reminded Gideon of his own wife, Elizabeth.

"I'm honored that you selected our firm to assist you," Gideon said when they were all seated. "Can I ask how you heard about us?"

"You were highly recommended by the attorney who has always handled our affairs. He recently retired. Joseph Peterson," Malloy said.

"Oh yes, how kind of Mr. Peterson. And my mother and Mrs. Malloy's mother are acquainted," Gideon said. Sarah Malloy came from one of the oldest and wealthiest families in the city, and so did Gideon.

"And I'm acquainted with your charming wife, Elizabeth," Sarah said, surprising Gideon. While he was born into high society, Elizabeth was not.

"How do you know Elizabeth?" Gideon asked.

"Through our suffrage work," Sarah said with a fond smile. "I understand you had quite an adventure in Tennessee in August."

"We certainly did," Gideon said, returning her smile with a grin of his own. Gideon, Elizabeth, and Gideon's mother had successfully lobbied the Tennessee legislature in the days leading up to the vote to approve the Nineteenth Amendment.

"It must have been terribly exciting to actually be there when the final vote was cast," Sarah said wistfully.

"It was more terrifying than exciting, I'm afraid, since we didn't think it would pass until the very last minute. And there was the constant threat of fistfights breaking out between spectators and congressmen alike."

"I'm afraid that sounds both exciting and terrifying," Sarah replied. "Imagine if the amendment hadn't passed. Women might not have gotten the vote for another seventy years!"

Gideon simply nodded, although he felt a swell of pride at his involvement. "I can't even imagine," he said. "Now, what can I do for you today?"

The Malloys' smiles instantly vanished, and they exchanged what could only be described as a worried look.

"Well, we do need a new attorney to replace Mr. Peterson, but that's not why we're here today," Malloy said, shifting uneasily. "It's about our daughter."

"Catherine," Sarah added. "She . . . Well, she's a grown woman and old enough to make her own decisions, but . . ."

"Last week, she came to Sunday dinner, as she usually does, but this time, she brought a man with her," Malloy said with obvious disapproval.

"Don't misunderstand," Sarah added hastily. "We would ordinarily be thrilled to learn that Catherine had found someone she wanted to marry, but this was very sudden."

"Not only had we never met this man before, we had never even heard her speak of him, and she informed us they plan to marry very soon."

Gideon nodded his understanding. He and Elizabeth were expecting their first child, and he couldn't help but wonder what he would do if their child was a girl who one day announced she was going to marry a man he didn't even know. A man she didn't even know. And soon. "Young love can make people do foolish things," he tried.

"This fellow isn't young," Malloy said in disgust. "He's forty if he's a day."

"Catherine isn't exactly a child, Mr. Bates," Sarah explained. "She's twenty-seven, and she's been working as an actress on Broadway for seven years. She isn't naïve, or at least, I didn't think she was, but she always has been a bit impulsive."

"This fellow might be all right," Malloy grudgingly allowed. "He says he's a railroad investor from Saint Louis who was visiting New York to explore business opportunities when he fell in love with Catherine. We don't know much else about him, and we're concerned he might be interested in Catherine's fortune."

A valid concern, of course, but Gideon thought he could put their minds at ease. "I understand your concern, but you both seem to be in robust health, so it will be many years before Catherine inherits your-"

"You don't understand," Malloy interrupted. "Catherine has quite a bit of money of her own."

Gideon frowned. "You said she's an actress?" Actresses were notoriously underpaid, even on Broadway, so how could Catherine have a fortune of her own? Gideon remembered that Malloy had come into money. Maybe Catherine's came from the same relative. Lucky family, he thought.

"Yes, well . . ." Sarah exchanged another look with her husband. "I think we should start at the beginning, so he understands all of it."

Malloy nodded his agreement.

Sarah turned back to Gideon. "Catherine is our adopted daughter. When she was three years old, she was left outside a settlement house for girls with no place to live on the Lower East Side, where I was volunteering. She was much younger than the other girls, so I took her home with me, and I fell in love with her. I couldn't adopt her then because I was a widow without a husband, but I have always loved her as if she were my own child. When Frank and I got married, we both adopted her. Frank also has a son, Brian, from his first marriage-Frank was a widower when I met him-so I adopted Brian as well, and we raised the children together.

"Later we found out Catherine is the child of a very wealthy businessman, David Wilbanks, and his mistress, who was an actress as well. Mr. Wilbanks bought Catherine's mother a house in the country and set her up there to raise Catherine with his generous financial support, but after a few years, she decided to return to the stage and went away on tour. She left Catherine with a friend, but that friend allowed something traumatizing to happen to her that she can't remember and then abandoned her at the settlement house."

"Eventually, we discovered who Catherine's parents were and tried to locate them," Malloy continued. "We found out her mother had died and her father was dying. We got in contact with him, and he was thrilled to know Catherine was safe. He left a large part of his fortune to me so she would always be provided for."

So that was the source of Malloy's mysterious wealth. Gideon simply nodded, not wanting to betray his intense interest in this story.

"Of course, but we were worried when she told us she wanted to be an actress. It's such a difficult life," Sarah said, shaking her head. "We've heard it's very hard for a woman to make a living in the theater."

"And I always felt guilty about the money Wilbanks left me," Malloy said. "By rights, it belonged to Catherine."

"She'll inherit it someday," Gideon reminded him.

"She's already inherited a good deal of it, I'm afraid. I set up a trust for her when she was a child," Malloy said. "That's what Mr. Peterson suggested. It provided her a modest income from the ages of eighteen to twenty-seven. When she turned twenty-seven this year, the rest of the fortune became hers. We were certain that by the time she turned twenty-seven, she would be married and settled with a man we could trust to take care of her and her fortune," Malloy said with a weary sigh.

"We should have made it thirty," Sarah said, dryly regretful.

"Again, we really thought by now she would be married to a man who hadn't even known about the terms of the trust until after they were married," Malloy added. "That way we could rest assured that he didn't marry her for the trust fund payout."

The mentions of Catherine's birth father's name, Wilbanks, finally registered with Gideon. "Is your daughter Catherine Wilbanks, by any chance?"

Both of the Malloys smiled proudly.

"Yes. She took Wilbanks as her stage name to honor her 'first father,' as she calls him," Sarah said. "Plus, she thinks it sounds better than Catherine Malloy. Most actors take stage names, she tells us."

"Have you seen any of her plays?" Malloy asked Gideon.

"Yes, Elizabeth and I saw her in All Soul's Eve earlier this year. She was just wonderful."

"We think so, too, but we're a little biased," Sarah said.

"Frankly, I was furious when Catherine told us she wanted to be an actress," Malloy said. "She was right out of high school, and I thought she wanted to dance in the Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic or something, wearing next to nothing, but she assured us she wanted to become a serious actress. She asked me to use a bit of money from her trust to pay for acting classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, which, of course, I did."

"Well, she certainly is a talented actress," Gideon said. "In fact, Elizabeth has been nagging me to take her to see her new play."

"This one is very different from All Soul's Eve, but equally good," Sarah said, still smiling with pride. "We would love to take you and Elizabeth to see it. That would be fun. How about this Wednesday night? We can take you out for a late supper after the show and invite Catherine and her fiancé to join us."

"That sounds lovely," Gideon said. "I know Elizabeth will be thrilled. Now tell me more about your daughter. Has she had any other suitors?"

"Catherine had a fiancé once before, Edward," Sarah said sadly. "He was a very nice young man, and we know he would have taken care of her, but he died in the war. Since then she has concentrated only on acting and hasn't allowed any suitors to court her."

"I'm so sorry to hear about her fiancé," Gideon said solemnly. "We lost so many good men in the war."

"Thank you," Sarah said. "It was very difficult for Catherine. And this new man says he was in Edward's platoon. So I think they bonded over losing him. He said Edward told him about Catherine, and when Mr. Talbot-that's his name-when Talbot came to New York, he saw her name in the newspaper because she was in a play, so he went to see it, and then he started sending her letters."

"I see," Gideon said, taking more notes. "I certainly understand your predicament. It sounds like Catherine has a substantial amount of funds, and if she marries, her husband will have full control over them. He can spend her money however he wants. But are you sure he even knows about Catherine's financial situation?"

"It's not a secret that Catherine is an heiress," Malloy replied. "One of the newspapers did a story about her."

"The World," Sarah clarified. "When her new play opened a few weeks ago, they did a feature in the Sunday edition with her picture and everything."

"When was that?" Gideon asked, jotting down the information. After helping Elizabeth so many times, he was beginning to feel like an experienced investigator.

"It was the Sunday after the play opened, I believe," Sarah said.

"The article indicated that Catherine had gotten a large inheritance," Malloy said. "We don't know if that's the article this fellow saw, but it certainly might have been."

"The title was 'Socialite Actress the Toast of Broadway,'" Sarah said. "She didn't reveal where her money came from. But she was asked how she had been able to persevere, learn her craft, and live in her own apartment when so many young women give up acting because they can't support themselves. And not many husbands want their wives out late at night, pretending to fall in love with other men onstage. She explained that she was lucky to have inherited a sum of money that helped support her. And the article implied that it was a rather large sum of money."

"She's a smart girl. I think she was trying to chasten theater owners and embarrass them into raising salaries for actresses," Malloy said, "but it also may have made her the target of this Talbot."

"When are they planning to marry?" Gideon asked.

"He wants to get married right away," Malloy said. "She wants to wait until the run of her play is over. He tried to convince her to drop out of the play so they could elope and go on a honeymoon immediately, but she refused."

"An actress simply does not leave a Broadway show mid-run, at least, not someone as responsible as Catherine," Sarah explained. "Her reputation would be ruined, and she would never get cast in another Broadway play. But plays usually don't run for more than a few months, and Catherine seems determined to marry him as soon as her show closes."

"I have operatives tracking this fellow," Malloy said. "I run a detective agency."

"I know," Gideon said, smiling, "I've read about it in the newspaper. In fact, I believe you have several."

"I do have a few offices now, yes," he said proudly. "My operatives are following this fellow and trying to learn what they can about him, but so far they've just found he has a rather boring, predictable daily routine. I also have operatives researching states where a man is wanted for bigamy. Of course, it's difficult because he uses aliases, but we're making a list of possible cases against him. It's going to take a while, and I'm afraid Talbot and Catherine might elope before I can get the information I'm looking for."