by Jane, Bettie
Her reaction looked sincere, however, if she’d managed to pull off her own kidnapping, acting would be part of it, wouldn’t it? Was the heartbreak in Millie’s eyes genuine or an act?
Now to cast the bait. Only time would reveal the truth now.
“I think they are going to arrest Ruth tomorrow morning. Tonight—she is at your flat. With Eddie.”
Millie nodded, very calmly.
One more piece of bait.
“And the money. The police think it’s in your flat.”
At that, Millie stood to her feet. “We need to go and get it. Right now. It’s not her money. It’s mine.”
She looked apologetic the moment the words were out of her mouth.
“I mean, of course, that it is Meredith’s money. Our family’s money. That tavern wench certainly doesn’t have any right to it.”
“The police will seize the ransom. Meredith—your family—will have the money returned. As I said, I’m sorry to rouse you at this hour of the night. I thought you’d want to hear it in person about Sarah and Eddie. And that you’ll have justice. Sarah will have justice.”
“Sarah was sleeping my bloody husband. She was my best friend and she betrayed me. I expected it from him, but not her.”
Millie slammed the cup of now-cold tea on the table and the liquid splashed everywhere as the cup and saucer broke.
Julia picked up a napkin and helped blot the liquid from Millie’s arm and wrist.
“Oh my,” Julia said, pointing at Millie’s scarred arm. “What in the world happened to you here? It looks incredibly painful.”
Millie pulled her sleeve down and jerked her arm away from Julia’s grasp.
“It’s nothing.” Her tone was acidic and short. Another correction. “I’m sorry. It’s so very painful. Those animals, they did that to me. They—I simply cannot talk about it. Forgive me, but I must retire to my bed. I don’t feel well.”
She turned and all but ran out of the room and up the stairs.
Once she was out of earshot, Meredith spoke.
“Millie did this, didn’t she?”
Julia nodded. “I’m afraid so. I suspect that she is dressing right now, planning to drive to the East End to settle matters with Ruth. Eddie came to the station, Meredith. He said that Ruth confessed to killing Sarah and taking the money so that the two of them could start a new life together. Eddie swears he had nothing to do with hit. He claimed to be afraid of her.”
“Is Ruth at the flat right now?”
“She was going to retrieve the money from wherever she stashed it and bring it back. That’s when Eddie left and went to the police. He’s given Jacob permission to wait in the flat while I conveniently gossip about this information. We figured that if Millie were in fact guilty, she’d want to get to Ruth and the money. I suspect that it wasn’t part of the deal that Ruth not return to give the money to Millie.”
“So Ruth and Millie were working together the entire time? She did those horrible things to Sarah?”
Julia nodded. “There’s still a lot we don’t know. We don’t know who did the actual killing versus the aiding after the fact. I suspect that will become clear shortly.”
Meredith shook her head slowly, her eyes filled with pain that cut Julia. Her friend was hurting. She was discovering that her sister was a murderer and had stolen money from her. Devastating news for anyone to process.
“I’m sorry, Meredith. This must be incredibly difficult for you.”
“Don’t be sorry for me. Millie will get what’s coming to her. I thought a reconnection with my sister might be too good to be true. I suspect that she’s scheming how to leave right away and get over there, don’t you?”
Julia nodded again. “I do.”
Just then, headlights flashed on the front window of the house and then disappeared. Meredith jumped up and peered out the window.
“That was my car. She didn’t waste any time.”
Chapter 12
12:30 am
December 22, 1921
Howard Residence
East End, London
Julia and Meredith couldn’t resist following Millie and pulled up outside of Chesterley Manor about half-past midnight.
“There’s my car,” Meredith pointed out. “I could quite literally strangle my sister.”
“I think it’s possible Jacob will strangle me. I promised him I would stay away from this. Perhaps you two could get together and talk about technique.”
“We do have a dark sense of humor, don’t we? Quite a pair, I think.”
Julia smiled, ignoring the dread in her stomach for the conflict that she knew would come later with Jacob.
“Agreed. It’s perfectly morbid.”
“What should we do now? I suspect Millie is to her flat by now.”
“Jacob was going to wait inside for Ruth to arrive with the money, which I suspect she already has. I suppose Millie and Ruth are probably having it out right about now.”
“Do you think Millie only wants the money or do you suppose she’ll try to kill Ruth?”
“Not sure. Jacob won’t let it come to that if those are her plans, but it would be nice to be a fly on the wall.”
“Well, then,” Meredith exclaimed, “let’s go spy, shall we? All the action will be happening inside the flat. We can listen through the door. Besides, I need to make sure that wretched sister of mine doesn’t evade justice.”
“When you put it like that, it is rather our duty to stand guard at the door, don’t you think?”
“Right. Jacob can’t possibly fault you for doing your duty.”
Julia winked at Meredith, and they got out of the car and walked up to the apartment.
“I thought I was the queen of justification, Meredith, but perhaps you’ll give me a run for my money. I suspect that we’re going to have a grand time together in the future. The PLC will never be the same.”
“Good, that’s quite the point. Fresh blood, new leadership.” They spoke in low whispers as they made their way up three flights of stairs to the Howard flat. “Can you believe I was about to press for Millie’s acceptance? Our good name would have been scandalized by the arrest of a homicidal member. You’d better hope that Jacob gets the girl in chains before I get my hands on her. I really could end her.”
She paused on the steps. “It’s occurred to me that perhaps homicidal tendencies run in our blood.”
Julia laughed quietly, and they continued their quiet march up the stairs. “Homicidal thoughts run in the blood of all humans, my dear Meredith. It’s just that most of us don’t act on them. Perhaps more of us should.”
Once they arrived on the third floor, they inched their way along the hall, completely silent now, until they reached the door with the large green three-one-five painted on it. The last time Julia was there, she felt she barely escaped from the psychopathic Ruth. Her heart raced at the recent memory and she took deep breaths to remind herself to remain calm.
The front door to the flat was slightly cracked, and Meredith and Julia crowded around the opening so they could hear. Julia was mildly surprised they’d encountered no additional police so far. They must all be in the flat. Or perhaps they hadn’t arrived yet.
Millie’s voice spilled out into the hall. “Where is the money?”
“What have you done with Eddie? He was goin' to wait here for me.”
“How should I know where Eddie is? I assumed he’d be here with you.”
“How did you know I’d be here?”
“Don’t worry about that,” Millie snapped. “It’s not important. Just give me the money. We had a deal. You help me dispose of Sarah’s body and collect the cash from the park, and I pay you 200 pounds.”
“There’s a thousand pounds in that satchel, Millie. You’re only goin’ to give me 200 of it? I don’t think so. I’m not sure if I’ll give you any of it. What will you do about it anyway? Call the coppers and tell them that the woman who helped you get rid of the body of your husband’s mistr
ess took all your ransom money? You called when you needed my help and I helped. You should give me at least half. Agree to that and I’ll tell you where the money is. You won’t get one over on me, Mille Howard.”
Ruth’s maniacal laugh echoed out into the dark hall, creating an eerie effect.
Based on what Julia knew about Millie, which wasn’t a lot, she could imagine that she was fuming right now.
“Sarah had it coming. Plus, I did you a favor, Ruth. Now you and Eddie can be together. It’s what you’ve wanted. Heaven knows I’m through with him. I’ll give you 500 pounds but that’s it. Then you and Eddie must leave town. You can’t stay. I don’t trust the police. I think they’ll figure it out eventually and the farther away you are from London when they do, the better.”
“Fine, 500 pounds. What will you do, Millie?”
“I’ll be fine. Everyone thinks that I’m the victim of a horrible crime. I’ll get sympathy for a bit, then it will eventually die down and it’ll be life as normal for me. Well, almost normal. I won’t live in this dreadful flat, for one.”
Julia could hear movement, someone stirring, then the sound of a zipper. “I took out 500…the rest is yours. Good luck, Millie. I’m goin’ to wait here until Eddie gets back.”
“Eddie won’t be returning. At least not while you two are here.” Jacob must have stepped out from his hiding place.
“What?” Ruth was shocked. “Who are you?”
“My name is Inspector Jacob Gibbs with the Scotland Yard. Eddie told me all about your plans to run off with the money after you’d killed and disposed of Sarah Brook. You are both under arrest.”
Suddenly Ruth burst through the door and ran into the human wall that was Julia and Meredith. She bounced off of them and fell back through the open door on to the floor of the Howard flat.
Jacob, of course, was right behind her. Apparently Millie had the good sense not to run from the police. He stopped when he saw Ruth on the floor in front of him and his look of confusion turned into instant irritation when he made eye contact with Julia, who shrugged and smiled in response.
“You’re quite welcome, Inspector. I shall send you the bill for my criminal catching services tomorrow. Come, Meredith. I think we’ve done quite enough here tonight. The police can take over. After all, they are the professionals. Good evening.”
She nodded at Jacob, who stood dumbfounded but fuming, and grabbed Meredith’s hand, towing her through the hall and down the stairs before Jacob had a chance to say a word.
She was definitely going to be in trouble tomorrow. For now, it was best to leave him to his work. She wasn’t leaving because she felt guilty. Not at all.
Chapter 13
December 24, 1921
Piccadilly Ladies Club
London
Christmas Eve morning dawned clear and bright, and Julia wasted no time packing her car with gifts and packages as well as her suitcase. She needed to stop by the ladies club on her way out of town and drop off the presents she’d secured for Meredith and some of the others.
Once she was done at the PLC, she’d swing by Jacob’s to pick him up for their holiday plans. She’d promised him a seaside adventure and that’s what she was going to give him. Maybe then he’d forgive her for so quickly and so completely disobeying his request that she stay away from dangerous situations.
She’d had packages sent to him every day since Millie’s arrest three days ago. Freshly baked sugar cookies one day along with a butler to serve the tea to everyone at the Yard. The next day it had been an entirely new wardrobe that she’d ordered for him with priority service and had it delivered to his home. Later that same day, she’d ensured that a crate of wine and a crate of whisky was delivered along with a generous selection of cigars. She didn’t even know if Jacob smoked cigars, but for some reason it seemed the thing to pair with all that booze.
Today, the package she was delivering to him was herself. Herself and a trip to St. Ives. It was several hours away, but she’d managed to reach out to Jacob’s boss, after she’d plied their offices with Christmas treats, of course, to secure four days off for him. That would get them back to London in plenty of time for her to finish the arrangements for the New Year’s Eve bash she had planned.
They’d never gone on holiday together. In fact, their relationship was entirely too chaste as far as she was concerned. She was convinced that a few days holiday and she’d have him right where she wanted him. She was a bit nervous that her assertive nature would miss the mark and scare him off, but a girl doesn’t get what a girl doesn’t ask for.
Once at the PLC, she strode into Meredith’s office and placed a package on her desk. Julia stood admiring the well-appointed office and marveled at how much had occurred in the days spanning her last visit here. She and Meredith were now fast friends and Julia looked forward to many more happy moments with her new friend.
“Hello, Julia. Lovely to see you, darling.”
“Merry Christmas, Meredith. I’ve brought you a little something.”
“Oh, how lovely. I have a gift for you, also.”
“Good. What kind of friend would you be if you didn’t get me a gift for Christmas?”
They both laughed, falling naturally back into the easy banter they’d developed the last few days.
“Open it, then,” Julia insisted.
She tore the package open. “A box of tea…and honey! How marvelous. Have you decided to set aside your judgement of my tea-drinking habits then?”
“Yes, indeed I have. I may join you from time to time with tea sans milk plus honey. Only sometimes, mind. A girl can only change so much. Tea is still quite superior with milk in it. Plus lavender, of course.”
“Open yours, you darling girl.”
Julia ripped into the packaging and burst out laughing when she saw what was inside. “Tea. Lavender. You do understand me, Meredith. Thank you, love.”
The two friends embraced and kissed each other on the cheek.
“Thank you for everything, Julia. Truly. You’ve been by my side through a difficult time. I hope you’ll count me as a friend.”
“Likewise, dear one. Likewise. You are well and truly stuck with me now. In fact, won’t you join me for Christmas at the seaside? I’m surprising Jacob and driving over today.”
“You are a dear for thinking of me but after all the commotion of the last week, I am quite looking forward to a quiet few days at home. Besides, I’m hosting a Christmas morning brunch at my home for all my staff. It’s a tradition every year. They are like family to me and I wouldn’t miss it.”
Julia fake pouted since she really did want Jacob all to herself. “All right then. You must at least promise to come to my New Year’s party next week. It’s going to be splendid. I can’t give you details because it’s a surprise, but I’ll have an invitation delivered to your door on New Year’s Eve morning with all the details. Your only job is to save the date. Do I have your word?”
“You mean like the way you gave Jacob your word?”
Julia laughed. “Not likely. I mean honestly and truly. This, our social event to kick off the new year, is much more serious than anything Jacob is concerned about regarding my safety. You know he is worse than a woman. So excitable.”
“Is he now?”
“Yes. Do I have your word? No skirting around it now, Meredith.”
“Oh, all right. Yes, I’ll be at your party. It had better be as wonderful as you’ve described. I’m sacrificing a night in front of a fire with a good book in trade.”
“Never worry, if there’s one thing my friends and I know how to do, it’s throw a grand, irresponsible, terribly expensive party. Now, I must be off. Jacob doesn’t know I’m taking him to the seaside. I’ve arranged for him to have four days off, it took some doing and luckily I’ve made friends with his uncle the coroner who helped me to pull it off, and I’ve even got his suitcase packed. All I’ve got to do, and it won’t be easy because he’s not currently speaking to me, is get him into m
y car, then I’ll speed away like a greyhound for our romantic holiday at St. Ives. And hope he doesn’t leap out in irritation.”
Meredith smiled. “You are too much, Julia. Kidnapping a Scotland Yard Inspector. That might be a jailable offense.”
“Perhaps I’d like for him to arrest me. Listen, we’ve been skirting the issue of his affection for me for the entire 5 weeks we’ve known each other. A girl sometimes must take matters into her own hands.”
“Promise me you’ll not take it too far into your own hands and go the way of Ruth and Millie, darling.”
There was a smile on her face and in her voice, but Meredith’s eyes held just a touch of sadness.
Julia chose to not acknowledge the sadness and keep their farewell light. “Of course, darling. I won’t let a man make me quite that insane. I do have a career to protect and a membership in a rather exclusive ladies club I’d like to keep. Don’t judge me my courting methods and I’ll not judge you for your ridiculous honey habit.”
This time Meredith’s laughter was full-bodied and pressed away any lingering sense of melancholy.
“That’s what friends are for, I suppose.”
“Happy Christmas, dear friend. I’ll see you in a few days.”
“Happy Christmas, Julia.”
Acknowledgments feel so much to me like the writer’s equivalent of an award acceptance speech. It is both daunting and exhilarating to realize that I’ve completed a creative project that will be seen by others and to have the opportunity to thank those who’ve helped me arrive here.
Completeing a book is one of the greatest joys I’ve expereicned in life, outside of the birth of my children and the close bonds of friendship and love
I enjoy with my friends and family. It is an experience that I aim to repeat again and again as long as I have breath.
So much goes in to each book from the research to get historical details just right, to the multiple rounds of edits to provide the cleanest possible story platform for you, the reader.