by Jane, Bettie
He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a big draw…Julia held out her hand and he passed her the cigarette.
His hands—there was something off about his hands.
Frustrated that she still couldn’t recall what her brain was trying to remember, she stomped toward the coroner’s office. Jacob had introduced her as his associate yesterday. Maybe, if she were lucky, he’d talk to her.
She walked through the corridors and down the steps, retracing yesterday’s path. She found a door that had a name placard on it that read Dr. Joe Lockley, MD, Coroner, and knocked
The door opened.
“Hello, it’s lovely to see you again,” Dr. Lockley greeted her. “You’re a friend of Jacob’s if I remember correctly.”
She extended her hand in greeting and he shook it.
“Your memory is excellent, Dr. Lockley. I’m sorry to trouble you, but Jacob—Inspector Gibbs—is interviewing Millie, you remember, the one whose body we thought we were going to identify yesterday. You see, I need some rather urgent information and I’m hoping you can assist me.” She didn’t pause long enough to give him a chance to refuse. “She’s been rescued from the same people who we think killed Sarah, but I need to know for certain that this is Sarah so I can follow the correct leads. We don’t have any time to waste identifying motive, means, and opportunity and any bit of a head start you can give me, it would help a great deal.”
“What kind of information can I help you with, Miss Barlow?”
“Inspector Gibbs and his officers were working on procuring Sarah Brook’s dental records from Dr. Hickson. I wondered if those have arrived and if so, were you able to make a positive identification?”
He smiled at her warmly. “Jacob, he’s my nephew…did you know that?”
Julia blinked in surprise. “No, I didn’t know that. He didn’t mention it.”
“He’s an odd one. Doesn’t like to use his family connections, of which he has many. Anyway, I can tell by the way he reveres you that you are more than simply a colleague of his. He might be annoyed with me, but I’m happy to help you out.”
“Oh, thank you so much. I’m quite fond of Jacob myself.”
“Are you a friend of Sarah Brook, Julia?”
“No, doctor. I’ve never met her before. I’ve heard of her by reputation among the women’s suffrage movement, but I don’t know her.”
“Very well, then. Yes, unfortunately, the woman you saw yesterday, that is Sarah Brooks. Her dental x-rays were a match. I’ve sent a memo to Jacob’s office, but it sounds as though he’s had his hands full today.”
“I see. Thank you so much. Were you able to determine the cause of death, by any chance? Is it too soon?”
“She was severely beaten and then, as you know, suffered burns over a good portion of her face and the right side of her body. I believe that the burn happened post-mortem, as did a good number of the other wounds she incurred. The burn was made with acid, I believe. I’ve seen chemical burns similar to this before. I would venture a guess that the acid was used specifically to hide her identity. Someone didn’t want it to be discovered that this body belonged to Sarah Brooks. Hopefully, young Jacob will be able to ascertain why that is.”
“Very interesting. Thank you so much, Doctor. You’ve been so helpful. I look forward to getting to know you better, perhaps under different circumstances.”
“That would be wonderful. Perhaps I’ll have the two of you over for dinner sometime soon.”
Julia scurried out of the basement and back up to Jacob’s office. Her head was spinning with thoughts. Somebody had deliberately covered up the identity of Sarah Brook and dumped her body, along with Millie’s purse, at Parliament. Someone wanted the police to think it was Millie who had died. And if the ransom letter could be believed, it was quite by accident that Sarah became involved in this situation.
Regret for Sarah weighed on Julia. Not that it would have been better if Millie had been murdered, but Sarah was caught up as an innocent bystander in all of it.
That made the whole situation extra tragic. Although, they’d both been victims of a policeman’s sexual assault back in 1914. They’d both been just as noisy about it and were both potential targets for police retaliation. Why was only Millie the target? Something didn’t make sense about that, including why it had taken over six years to retaliate.
She found Jacob at his desk, and Millie and Meredith were nowhere in sight.
“Interview all finished?”
He stood up and embraced her, catching her off guard. This was out of character for him to show affection at work.
“Yes, all finished. She went through quite an ordeal. Meredith took her home. Julia?”
“Yes?”
“I am happy that you are okay. I’ve been rattled since I saw him sit next to you on that bench.”
“Thank you, Jacob.” Her heart warmed at his obvious concern.
He started to pull away and she could see his work mask begin to slide into place.
Julia quizzed his hand and leaned in, whispering, “Can you tell me what you learned?” She was happy to play the game of appearances that she balked at so hard last night. In the light of day, without the stress of someone in imminent danger, he had made quite a good point.
“Yes, but not here. Come with me. Let’s talk over a cuppa.”
She agreed and followed him out, suddenly recalling what she knew about Meredith’s taste in tea. She smiled to herself. Who doesn’t like milk with their tea? An American, that’s who. Meredith was suspect in Julia’s mind now for her treasonous tea. On the fly, she made an addition to her Christmas list. She’d need to buy Meredith some good tea and try to bring her back to the civilized side of life.
Once they were in his car, he began speaking. “My house, then?”
She nodded. “Sure. What did Millie say?”
“The entire time she was held captive, they—she identified two distinct voices—had her blindfolded, her head wrapped in cloth to block her hearing, and then covered in a hood. She’s certain there were at least two people, but it’s possible there were more. However, because her hearing was impaired, she didn’t recognize any of the voices. She thought once voice sounded slightly familiar, but she couldn’t place it.”
“That information checks out with what the man on the bench told me. He said he had a partner.” She handed him the notes she’d taken. “I included every detail I could think of, maybe one will jump out to you. However, something is alluding me. I’m certain of it. I can’t quite place my finger on it.”
He took the paper and set it on the seat between them. “I’ll review it later.”
Then he took her hand in his and held it for the remainder of the drive.
“About the park—” he began, but she interrupted him.
“I’m sorry. Truly. I was impulsive and I didn’t take the time to think it out. It was foolish and I know it.”
“I was going to say, that was extraordinarily quick thinking. I was worried for you, naturally, but I am always so impressed by your willingness to put yourself in harm’s way for the sake of others.”
She blushed at his compliment.
“Thank you. I panicked when I saw her go back and sit down.”
“The information that you were able to obtain may have saved Millie’s life. Now let’s hope we can arrest them before they have a chance to flee the country. I’d like to get Meredith’s money back for her, of course, but the more important thing is that they are brought to justice so they can’t hurt anyone else.”
“Do you think it was the police who were involved in her assault?”
“That’s what I thought, but now that I’ve interviewed her, I don’t know if that’s the case. On the one hand, it makes sense that they would want a large ransom to make up for having lost their job. On the other hand, it doesn’t make sense that the police involved would wait this long. Why now? In addition, we know that Sarah Brook is the body downstairs—”
“Oh, yes. That reminds me. When you were interviewing Millie, I took a field trip down to the basement and spoke with your uncle…”
She let the words hang out there to see his reaction.
“Ah, I see. You spoke with Uncle Lockley. My favorite coroner.”
“Yes, he’s quite lovely. I suppose we’ll be having dinner with him sometime soon. But while I was talking to him, I did manage to convince him to confirm that Sarah was in fact our girl. He said you might be annoyed with him for telling me, but he also said that he could tell that I was important to you and so you would get over it.”
Silence stretched between them.
“Well, am I?”
“Are you what?” He toyed with her.
“Am I important to you?”
“Of course, darling. Do you think I’d let any reporter follow me around and interfere with my investigations?”
“Well,” she huffed, “I’m certain I don’t know what you mean. I don’t believe I interfere. If anything, I am quite an asset. You said it yourself, I probably saved Millie’s life.”
He chuckled, and she joined him. “Of course. You are quite an asset to me.”
She blushed again, then steered the conversation back to Millie’s interview.
“As we were saying,” she continued, “Sarah Brook and the police. Yes, why would they have waited so long? And Dr. Lockley said that all the beatings she endured, including the acid burn to her face and body, were done post-mortem. He suspects that the acid applied to her face was specifically to hide her identity. Why would they kill someone, burn them beyond recognition, and then dump their body at Parliament with Millie’s identification. It’s like someone wanted the police to think that Millie was the one who was dead. But why? They ended up kidnapping Millie anyway.”
“Was Millie the target all along?” Jacob mused. “That wouldn’t necessarily track with them being the target of disenfranchised police. They both would have been appropriate targets if we are correct in our suspicion of motive.”
“So we are now considering that those police officers aren’t behind it?” Julia nodded.
“I do have the names of the specific officers involved with Millie and Sarah’s assault,” Jacob told her. “I’m going to visit them once you and I are done talking. But, assume for a moment that it’s not them. Who else are we looking at? Especially if Millie was always the target?”
“Her disgusting husband is the first thing that comes to my mind.”
“Mine, too,” he agreed. “Do you remember how he looked disappointed that Millie was alive? That was strange, don’t you think?”
“It was. There certainly doesn’t seem to be any love lost between those two. I wonder if Millie will be moving in with Meredith.”
“Hopefully she’ll at least consider it. I should interview Eddie Howard and see if he’s got an alibi. Perhaps he only wanted her sister’s money.”
“Maybe. But why kill Sarah? That piece of the puzzle still doesn’t match up. And why dump the body at Parliament? Unless the kidnapper-murderer wanted to cast a shadow over the police…distract us from finding the real killer?”
He smiled at her again. “If this were a different world, I’d hire you immediately. You’re quite gifted at solving puzzles, Julia.”
Julia’s earlier concerns about Jacob’s opinion regarding the place of women in society evaporated in an instant at that statement. If she wasn’t careful, she could fall desperately in love with this man.
“I’ll have to be your secret weapon, I suppose. The world being what it is.”
“Fair enough. What do you say we skip the tea and go straight to interview the policemen involved in Millie and Sarah’s assault? I’d like to at least rule them out if that’s possible.”
“That sounds wonderful. Tell you what, after we solve this, I think I’ll take you for drinks and dancing at the Candlelight. However, why don’t you interview your fellow officers? If you don’t mind, I’d like you to drop me at Meredith’s. I have a couple more questions for her, and I think splitting up gets this done more quickly.”
“You’re optimistic, darling. I doubt we’ll wrap up tonight. And even if we did, I’ll have mounds of paperwork to do.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean tonight, Inspector. Simply whenever we finish.”
“As always, the picture of realism, blessed with an eternal adaptability. I do believe you might be perfect for me, Julia Barlow.”
She blushed again and squeezed his hand as they continued their drive towards Meredith’s.
Chapter 7
5pm
December 21, 1921
Meredith Watson’s House
Mayfair, London
Meredith invited Julia in and the three of them met comfortably in the parlor.
“Millie, thank you so much for agreeing to speak with me. I know you have been through quite an ordeal.”
Millie smiled, wincing from the bruises on her face. “Meredith says you are quite good at solving mysteries and I would love to do anything I can to help get her money returned. I never thought…Meredith…I didn’t know you cared so much about me.”
“You’re my sister, Mils. Of course I care about you. I don’t care about money at all. I simply didn’t want your husband to get his hands on it.”
Millie winced at Meredith’s direct verbal assault on her husband. “You were right about him, Meredith. At least in some ways. His work ethic is terrible and all he does is drink and carouse, but I made my bed. What choice do I have? It’s not like I can leave him, even though I’m sure he’s had many affairs.”
“Correction, Millie. You may not be able to divorce him for adultery yet—the suffragettes clearly still have work to do in order to sort out that inequality—but you most certainly can leave him. You can stay with me. Indefinitely. Mother and Father left us more than either of us could spend in a lifetime…provided we don’t let some lay-about like Eddie Howard get his hands on it. Truly, I don’t want to lecture you darling, but it makes no sense for you to be with a man like that. He stands for everything you oppose.”
“Thank you, Meredith. I know. I suppose I just couldn’t battle on all fronts and Eddie is, well, the devil I know. I will stay with you, for now, at least. Until I figure something else out. I should have left him a long time ago.”
“There’s another matter, Millie. I wanted to let you know that I’m going to submit your name to join Piccadilly Ladies’ Club. I regret that I didn’t come to that conclusion in time for Sarah to benefit from that as well.”
Millie’s chin quivered at the mention of Sarah’s name. “I feel so terrible, Meredith. The police, they said Sarah was killed as an afterthought, that the killer was trying to get to me but she got in the way?”
Julia took this opportunity to slip into what had been a rather intimate conversation between the two sisters.
“We’re still not quite sure what happened or what the motive was. Would you be willing to run over some details with me?”
“Of course. Anything to avenge Sarah and return Meredith’s money.”
“What time was it that they grabbed you? I know you spoke with Inspector Gibbs about it, but I’d like to go over it again.”
“Certainly. I left Meredith around 11am. When I arrived back home, around 11:30, I suppose, as I was approaching the front door of my flat, someone came up behind me and put a bag over my head. I started screaming and fighting by they were so strong, there was nothing I could do. They drove me somewhere, I guess the warehouse where the police found me earlier today, and they wanted to know how much money my family had. They said I owed them for ruining their career. I told them my husband didn’t have money, reminded them that they saw where I lived. They knew, though, who I was, where I come from. They knew my parents left us very well off.”
“Do you think it was the policeman who assaulted you several years ago? Getting payback for losing his career?”
She nodded. “I think so. That’s the impression that I got.”
<
br /> “Were you aware that your purse was found near Sarah’s body?”
“Yes. Inspector Gibbs returned it to me today.”
“Do you have any idea how they would have gotten your purse from you?”
“No, I…I can’t remember the last time I had it. I looked for it before I went to see Meredith but couldn’t find it. I can’t believe this has happened.”
“I’m sorry, Millie. I’ll leave you to rest. One last question, if you don’t mind. You say your husband has had multiple affairs. Or at least you suspect him of such. Do you think he is currently involved with anyone? Anyone that might want you hurt? Or do you think he’s capable of doing this to you and then trying to point fingers at the police to get away with it?”
Millie’s face paled visibly. “I—I’m not certain. There’s a barmaid at the local tavern that he seems to be quite friendly with. I don’t know her name and I can’t be certain there is something between them, but I can’t say that it would surprise me either. I’ve learned over the years to not look too closely. It galled me, of course, but I—it was easier to fight the patriarchy generally than it was individually. Do you think Eddie is behind all of this?”
“I’m being careful to consider all the possibilities. What do you think? You know him probably better than anyone. Is he capable of the violence suffered by Sarah Brook? Of kidnapping and brutalizing his wife?”
Millie chewed on her lip, lost in thought. “I want to say no, that he couldn’t possibly be capable of that.”
“But,” Julia continued.
“But, I can’t be certain of anything anymore. All the years of drinking, it’s changed him. He’s gotten much more of a temper than he used to have. I just don’t know. Oh, I hope not. I simply couldn’t stand knowing that my husband did this to me and killed my best friend.”
Her eyes welled with tears and her lip trembled.
“Okay, Millie. That’s all right. Let’s get you to bed,” Meredith said. “Thanks for your help, Julia. I should make sure she gets some rest. She’s been through so much.”