Of Night and Dark Obscurity

by Nicola Italia

  The young clerk came to the office door. “A young woman is here to see you, Guvnor,” he addressed Val.

  Felix looked across the way at his boss and bit back a smile.

  “Did she give her name?” Val asked the young clerk.

  “She did, Sir. Caroline Derry.”

  Felix smiled widely at Val and then excused himself from the office.

  “Show her in,” Val directed to the clerk.

  The clerk soon returned with Caroline Derry in the familiar black frock with a small purse at her wrist.

  “Miss Derry. An unexpected pleasure,” he told her closing the door behind her when she entered.

  He watched as she sat across from him and he took the chair opposite hers rather than place the desk between them.

  “I’m sorry for coming here at your place of work but I need to ask a favor of you,” she began, not making direct eye contact with him.

  “A favor?”

  “Yes. It’s not much but it means a great deal to me.”

  “Then ask.”

  “There’s a young woman I became friendly with. She lived in Whitechapel. She was to be one of the tenants at the housing project. I became quite fond of her little boy, Dickie.” Caroline smiled. “Today I went to her room—“

  “You went to her room at Whitechapel? Alone?” He asked.

  “Yes. I had to see her.”

  “You take great risk of your person, Miss Derry.”

  “It’s not your concern, Inspector.”

  “I am concerned for your safety. Granted I have no legal reason to be concerned—“

  “Legal reason?” She frowned.

  “Well you aren’t my wife,” he stated the last word softly.

  “No. I’m not your wife. And as such, you don’t need to concern yourself.”

  “Very well, Miss Derry. I’ll keep my concerns to myself.”

  “As I said, I went to her room to speak with her and the new tenants told me she was dead,” she said steering the conversation back to the reason she had paid him a visit.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “Can you please find out what happened to her? Her name is Annette Gardiner. And equally important, find out what happened to the boy. Her son.”

  “It means that much to you. To find out what happened to her?” He said, his voice low.

  “Very much. If her family can’t pay the funeral costs, then I will. And the boy, I need to know what happened to him. I need to know he’s safe.”

  “I will do as you ask.” He told her.

  “Thank you.” She stood up and he did as well.

  “Caroline.” He said her name unconsciously as he had done that night. “I’m not going to apologize for what happened between us. Because I’m not sorry. I wanted it to happen. But if I harmed you in any way—“

  Caroline smiled. “I’m not harmed. And you can rest easy. I haven’t given that indiscretion a moment’s thought. Good day Inspector.”

  Opening the door, he watched her leave and sighed. She had not given him a moment’s thought. Something inside him winced at the words. Did he believe her? Was she lying? He had the strong suspicion she was lying. Suddenly Felix filled the frame of the door with a cocky grin on his face.

  “What did Miss Derry need?”

  Val ignored his comment. “We’ve work to do.”

  ✽✽✽

  Caroline took the steps quickly away from the Metropolitan Service building and breathed in deeply. She could feel her corset biting into her and she winced. She had not expected to feel anything at the sight of the Inspector’s face but she had. The moment his handsome face had come into view her heart had flipped.

  Silly girl, she told herself.

  Then just as she was about to leave, he had said something that had caught her completely off guard. His words still echoed in her ears: I’m not going to apologize for what happened between us. Because I’m not sorry. I wanted it to happen.

  She shivered at remembering his face as he said it. He had been in earnest. And she knew he was telling the truth. He was not a man who apologized at every turn and lived his life in the shadow of others. He was his own man. She had seen that herself when she had watched him with Charles Lyttleton. Charles was a foolish man. Inspector Pierce was not that at all. He was a man, as she had said, with knowledge and dignity.

  She stepped into the cab she had hailed and settled against the cushions as it took her home. She could feel the cool London air and the many noises that filled London. The clip clop of the horses’ hooves on the pavement, the whistles of the policemen; but they were all drowned out by his words that kept repeating in her ears all the way home; I’m not sorry…I wanted it to happen…I’m not sorry…I’m not sorry…I’m not sorry.

  Chapter 11

  Val knew by law they could only hold the good doctor for a certain number of hours so he let him stew while he and Felix went to visit the coroner.

  The coroner, Dr. O’Brien, was a slight man with a small beard. His work was accurate and he had a fondness for Humbug sweets. The striped mint candies could always be found in his work area in a used tin, usually next to a body he was working on for an autopsy.

  He greeted the Inspector and his Sergeant and asked them what he could help them with.

  “A woman who died, she might be listed as homeless and the body not claimed. I would like the cause of death,” Val said.

  The doctor nodded and handed them his tin, “Humbug?”

  Val shook his head while Felix took one.

  “What’s the name?” O’Brien asked.

  “Annette Gardiner.”

  O’Brien licked his fingers and began flipping through his pages. He stopped suddenly and nodded.

  “Here. She’s here. She was claimed.”

  “Whom by?”

  “Looks like her sister.”

  “Name and address?” Val asked.

  The doctor provided them for him and he wrote them down in his book. “And cause of death?”

  O’Brien shook his head. “Suicide. It looks like she cut her wrists.”

  Val nodded and thanked the man for his time.

  “Bad business, that,” Felix said as they exited the morgue.

  “The suicide yes. It is bad business. She must have felt she had no other course of action. And she left her son behind. I’ll check with the sister, make a quick train trip to Winchester and be back before dark.”

  “A lot of trouble you’re going to,” Felix said, “to help Miss Derry.”

  Val gave him a quick look. “I’m going to visit the sister of Miss Gardiner. Return to the station and release Mr. Barton.”

  “Release him? He’s the best lead we’ve had,” Felix argued.

  “At this time, all I see is a red herring. Mr. Barton knew the victim. He was her doctor. He was obviously up to something with his potions and unseemly cures but for all that—none of it’s illegal. I think he knows something else. But we can hold him no longer without charging him, and I can’t charge him now.”

  Felix sighed. “Very well. I’ll release him.”

  “But I’ll tell you what we’re going to do after we release him,” Val told his Sergeant mysteriously.

  ✽✽✽

  Val sighed. He had traveled to Winchester to speak to Ms. Gardiner’s sister and everything seemed above board and taken care of. Annette’s body had been buried in the family church and the son that Caroline had been so concerned about was with his Aunt now.

  He could now report his findings to her and he penned a small note while on the train to send to her. When he returned to London, he found a boy who would make the short errand and he gave him a coin to complete the task. In the note, he said he had completed the task she had asked of him and that she could visit him tomorrow morning.

  It was late when he returned to the office, and only the cleaning woman who mopped the floors was working. She was bent over on the stairs with her mop and rag in hand and he didn’t envy the hard work she per
formed. The gas light fixture in the hallway gave off a familiar hiss as he entered his small office and turned on the small gas lamp that was situated on his desk.

  He pinched his eyes and looked over the paperwork that cluttered his desk. He was to have dinner with his mother and father tomorrow and he didn’t welcome that. His family was a strange, cold family and he had never felt a true sense of belonging. Rowland was the pride and joy of the family and had been coddled at birth and it had never bothered Val.

  Valentine Pierce was the younger son and as such had to make his way in the world, and he had done so. His mother, Arabella, looked down upon his profession, and his father barely tolerated it. Their harsh opinions used to bother him but no longer.

  He knew his work was important and finding a killer such as the Primrose Strangler had an immense effect on everyone involved, including the four families of the victims.

  He had felt something strange when speaking to Odean Barton. The man was certainly odd, and as he had strange medical practices for his female patients, there might be more. He was determined to follow the man one evening and see where he went. He closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. He hadn’t dreamed of Aida lately, instead he dreamed of Caroline. Her intelligent eyes and lovely face haunted him, and he didn’t like being so out of control. He slipped into slumber only to hear his name being called.

  “Inspector.” The voice was low and close by.

  “Inspector,” the voice came again, closer. Then finally, “Val. Valentine.”

  He jerked awake to see Caroline Derry bending over him. He could see the scooped lining of her neckline and her breasts pressed forward. He almost groaned.

  “Miss Derry.”

  He sat up and she remained where she was. “Are you all right? You seemed very deep in sleep. I called your name several times.”

  “Did you call me Val?”

  She blushed. “I did. Once.”

  “Say it again.” He said suddenly.

  “I’m here because of your note Inspector.”

  “My note?”

  “Regarding Annette?” She prompted.

  “Of course.” He sat upright and looked up at her. “Why are you here so late?”

  “I was anxious to hear what you had found.”

  “So, you came here at night, I presume alone, to hear my findings,” he repeated.

  “Yes.”

  “Well I’m afraid there isn’t much to tell. Your friend Annette is dead. Her sister claimed the body and arranged for the funeral. The son, Richard, now resides with his Aunt in Winchester.”

  Caroline smiled. “So, the boy is fine?”

  “He is. I saw himself.”

  “Her death was natural?” She asked.

  Val hoped to hide the truth from her but as she asked outright, he knew he could not. “No.”

  “No?” Caroline’s brows furrowed. “What did she die of?”

  Caroline scarcely heard the words. “That can’t be right. Not suicide.”

  “Miss Derry.” He came from behind the desk. “I spoke to the coroner myself. There is no doubt.”

  “How?” She met his eyes.

  “Caroline.” He said in a voice that was almost pleading.

  “How?”

  “She slit her wrists,” he said even as Caroline slumped forward in his arms.

  “No.” She said feeling weighted.

  “I’m sorry.” He held her to him to comfort her.

  “She only needed to wait a little longer.” Caroline told him.

  “For what?”

  “The housing project. I was saving a place for her. It would have changed her life.”

  “You don’t know that. She’s lived a certain way for a long time. It’s what she knew. It’s how she survived.”

  “That ended so well,” she said angrily.

  “You can’t blame yourself,” he said pressing her hair back from her forehead.

  She gave him a searching look which stopped his hand and he withdrew it.

  “That’s right. You don’t give me a moment’s thought,” he said at the look and recalled her words.

  “You’re twisting my words. I said I didn’t give your indiscretion a moment’s thought.”

  “Same thing.” He shrugged. “But let me ask you this,” he said. “How can it be that my heart skips a beat just at the sight of you and then you, well, you seem to feel extreme disdain for me.”

  Caroline jolted at his words and their eyes met. “I don’t feel disdain for you.”

  “Condescension then.”

  “That’s not true either.”

  “Then what? What do you feel for me?” He asked.

  “I don’t feel anything,” she said taking a step backward.

  “Nothing?” He asked.

  “Nothing.”

  He nodded. “Nothing.” He took his hat and gloves and dimmed the gas light. “I’ll see you home.”

  “There’s no need.”

  “I insist.” He said politely.

  In the carriage ride home, they said little at first. Caroline knew she had wounded his pride and she had not set out to do so.

  “Would you like to go riding tomorrow?” He asked.

  “I cannot. I have other plans.”

  “I understand. You are busy with your housing project.”

  “I am.”

  “It’s almost complete?”

  “Yes. It’s very exciting.”

  “I should like to see it.”

  “Would you?”

  “Very much so.”

  “Then when it’s complete, I’ll take you there. You can assess it for yourself.”

  “I shall. Let me ask you another question.”

  “Of course.”

  “My note said very clearly to come tomorrow. The office would have been bustling with people. You would have been brought into my office by my clerk. Sergeant Felix would have seen you. And you would have been gone within five minutes most likely.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Instead, you chose to come at night. You chose to come when no one was around and you chose a time when you were alone with me.”

  Caroline remained mute.

  “The question is why.”

  “I’m not one of your suspects Inspector,” Caroline bristled.

  “No,” he agreed. “You aren’t Miss Derry. But maybe let’s just agree for a second that you came to see me. That you care about your friend, I’ve no doubt. But that you really wanted to see me.”

  “Why would I want to do that?”

  Val settled into the seat and smiled. “That is the question. Why would you want to do that?”

  “I can answer that very simply. There is no why. I told you I was anxious to hear your findings.”

  “Hmmm. Yes. And you could have sent a note asking me to come to you.”

  Caroline nodded. “I could have done that. I didn’t think about that.”

  “But then if I had come to you, there is your father and your grandmother and servants.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “Nothing. I’m just thinking aloud.”

  Caroline’s blood pounded. “Well think like the rest of us Inspector. Quietly. Because you say these things and you think these things, none of that makes it true.”

  “Indeed. Much like saying you haven’t given an indiscretion a moment’s thought and that you think nothing of me.”

  Caroline looked away.

  “But you can prove the things you say.”

  “Really? How can I do that.”

  “Kiss me.”

  Caroline blushed in the low light of the carriage. Her heart thudded inside her chest. “Ridiculous.”

  Val shrugged. “You feel nothing for me.”

  “I don’t.” She agreed.

  “Then?” He wondered.

  Caroline rolled her eyes and moved to sit next to him in the swaying carriage. She leaned forward and touched her lips to his as briefly as possible.


  “There.”

  “A kiss should genuinely last longer than a second.” He said.

  “No doubt you have practice.”

  “No doubt,” Val smiled in the dark.

  “I forbid you to touch me.” She said suddenly.

  “What?”

  “I’ll kiss you. But I forbid you to touch me while I do.”

  “Strange request.” He said.

  “Pot calling—“ she returned.

  “Very well,” he said. “I’ll not touch you.” He agreed.

  “This is absurd,” she said.

  “Why is it absurd? I’m nothing to you.”

  Caroline suddenly licked her lips and Val felt the strangest sensation. It was filled with a strong desire to taste her mouth again and again and then push up her skirts and bury himself deep within her.

  “What’s wrong?” She asked suddenly.

  Damn, he thought. It must have shown on his face. He shook his head. “I’m waiting.”

  Caroline took a deep breath. She looked at his face in the dark and saw his eyes watching her and his lips so sensuous and cool.

  “Remember. Don’t touch me.”

  He felt the world spinning. Don’t touch me, don’t touch me, don’t touch me echoed in his ears. When she moved even closer, he could feel his mouth become dry with anticipation. He swallowed and then she touched her mouth to his. It was sweet and innocent until she moved her hand to touch his face and her hand then moved to behind his head and pulled at the curls at the nape of his neck.

  He was lost. He couldn’t hold on much longer. He was trying to fight the urge to throw her against the cushions and truly plunder her mouth, or remain as he was. When she moaned a little, he was gone. Nothing could bring him back now.

  He pulled her tightly against him and when he deepened the kiss, she moaned again causing him to press into her. He could feel her body responding and when he touched his tongue to hers, she finally pushed him away.

  “You touched me.” She accused him.

  His eyes were dilated and dark and he didn’t say anything. The carriage was coming to a halt before her townhouse.

  “Caroline,” he began.

  “What was the point of that?” She scoffed. “What did that prove?”

  “You tell me.” He asked.

  “You play with words. You interview and find the secrets that people hide deep within. Well there’s nothing here for you to find,” she said hotly about to emerge from the carriage except that he caught her arm.