On March 1st, 1932, the twenty-month-old son of aviators Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh was taken from his crib at their home in Hopewell, NJ. The last person to see him alive was his nurse, a young Scotswoman named Betty Gow.

The police felt the kidnapping was an inside job. 28-year-old Betty immediately became the prime suspect.

As I told the other officer, I was born in Glasgow, on February 12, 1904. I am the youngest of six. I left school at 14. I worked in various jobs after that. I came to America in 1929.

Why did I come to America? I don’t know, I suppose I wanted a change. My brother, William, was here. And I knew another fellow, Rob Coutts. We dated for a time. But we broke up.

No, I don’t care to say why.

I was hired by Colonel and Mrs. Lindbergh in February of last year. The first time I saw Charlie, he was sitting on a big rug, playing with these wooden blocks. . .

You will find him, won’t you? The ransom note asked for money, so that’s what they want, right? They’ll give him back?

Yes, I have a boyfriend now. His name is Henry Johnson. I’ve been going with him for a few months.

I don’t see what this has to do with Charlie.

No, I understand. Of course, anything you think would be helpful.

What do I think of the Morrow staff? I can’t say I know all of them well. I’m friendly with Ellerson, their chauffeur. He’s maybe a bit wild, likes a drink and a game of cards, but he’s harmless. The butler, Septimus Banks— I can’t say I get on with him. He’s. . .

I don’t want to tell tales, but everyone knows he drinks. No, I don’t know anything about him and Violet Sharpe. Maybe they used to go together, but I think that’s over.

I really don’t like talking about people like this.

Yes, I can tell what happened last night. Colonel and Mrs. Lindbergh use this house at the weekend. Usually on Monday, they come back to her mother’s house. Mrs. Morrow, yes. Only Charlie had a cold and by Monday, Mrs. Lindbergh was sick too. On Tuesday, she called the Morrow house and asked if I could come here to Hopewell.

The chauffeur Ellerson drove me. I arrived here sometime after lunch. I played with Charlie till bedtime and. . .

Oh, there was some bother because the Colonel was supposed to be at an event in the city and not home for dinner. But he did come home unexpectedly. Bit of an uproar in the kitchen. Poor Elsie…

Elsie and Olly Whateley. They’re the caretakers of the house. She does the cooking and cleaning. He’s the butler and driver.

I put Charlie to bed a little later than usual. Pinned his blankets as I usually do. It was a cold, windy night, so Mrs. Lindbergh and I shut the windows and shutters. . .

No, you’re right, I left one window open a bit.

Because Mrs. Lindbergh told me to. Or. . .she said she always did it, I don’t remember now. And I meant to close the shutter, but it wouldn’t shut. The wood is warped, so it doesn’t close properly.

Yes, I suppose it does seem strange. Leaving a window open when the child’s been ill, but you have to believe me. You can ask Mrs. Lindbergh! We both tried to get the shutter closed.

After I left the nursery, I talked with Elsie for a bit. Had a phone call from Henry, my boyfriend around nine. I was supposed to see him that evening and had to change plans when Mrs. Lindbergh asked me to come.

I don’t know. I think he just wanted to say hello.

Then at ten, I. . .

I went to check on Charlie. As a rule, we leave him be between 7:30 and 10. When I went in, I felt right away the room was too cold. So I shut the window and turned on the heat. I guess. . .I guess I knew something was wrong because I couldn’t hear him. Babies are never quiet, you know, even when they’re asleep. They snuffle and rustle all around. I didn’t hear him breathing. So I had a fright. He’d been sick and I was worried. I went to the crib, to put my back on his hand, feel him breathing.

And he wasn’t there. He just. . .wasn’t there. I felt all over the bed, even under the mattress, like an idiot, and he was just gone.

You’re going to find him, right? Children get taken all the time, held for ransom. They always come back, though. The money’s what they want, not Charlie.

Please? Please tell me you’re going to find him.

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The Lindbergh Nanny by Mariah Fredericks
Genre: Historical
Release: November 2022
Purchase Link

Mariah Fredericks’s The Lindbergh Nanny is powerful, propulsive novel about America’s most notorious kidnapping through the eyes of the woman who found herself at the heart of this deadly crime.

When the most famous toddler in America, Charles Lindbergh, Jr., is kidnapped from his family home in New Jersey in 1932, the case makes international headlines. Already celebrated for his flight across the Atlantic, his father, Charles, Sr., is the country’s golden boy, with his wealthy, lovely wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, by his side. But there’s someone else in their household―Betty Gow, a formerly obscure young woman, now known around the world by another name: the Lindbergh Nanny.

A Scottish immigrant deciphering the rules of her new homeland and its East Coast elite, Betty finds Colonel Lindbergh eccentric and often odd, Mrs. Lindbergh kind yet nervous, and Charlie simply a darling. Far from home and bruised from a love affair gone horribly wrong, Betty finds comfort in caring for the child, and warms to the attentions of handsome sailor Henrik, sometimes known as Red. Then, Charlie disappears.

Suddenly a suspect in the eyes of both the media and the public, Betty must find the truth about what really happened that night, in order to clear her own name―and to find justice for the child she loves.

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About the author
Mariah Fredericks was born, raised, and still lives in New York City. She graduated from Vassar College with a degree in history. She is the author of the Jane Prescott mystery series, which has twice been nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, as well as several YA novels. She can be reached through her website at mariahfredericksbooks.com.

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