by Marian Phair
Jake drew deeply on his cigarette, sucking the smoke down into his lungs before letting it out slowly.
“I mean, looking at the photos of the two men, there’s no comparison.” He pointed with a nicotine stained finger at the photograph of John Doe. “This chap’s nose has been broken, and he has old scars on his face. Albert Brooks’ nose as you can see for yourself, in his photograph, is perfectly normal, and there are no facial scars.”
Scott sat on the edge of the desk, apparently lost in thought, quietly studying the two photographs, and listening to what the detective had to say. Jake pushed the Brooks file across the desk to Scott, and then settled back in his chair.
“Back to this Joe Blogg character. When he was picked up, he was unable to comprehend what was going on, and he had lost the power of speech, or refused to speak. He reacted violently whenever anyone went near him, and was sent to Broadmeath for treatment, but he was not sanctioned at the time.”
Jake felt the cigarette burn his nicotine stained fingers, and quickly put out the stub.
“I really have to give these damn things up,” he told Scott.
“I keep burning holes in my clothes, burning my fingers, and they cost a bloody fortune.”
Scott gave him a wry smile. The two men sat in silence, each going over the details in their minds. Several minutes passed before Scott spoke, breaking the silence.
“Can you get me the file on John Doe; I want to go over it again?”
Jake went to the filing cabinet in the corner, removed the file, and handed it to him. Scott studied it for a while, and then picked up the file Buxton police had sent on Albert Brooks. He compared the two.
“Check this out, Fletch. I’ll run it by you. Albert Brooks’ height is given as five foot nine, and weight one hundred and sixty-three pounds. John Doe, as you already pointed out is the same height, and their weight only varies by a few pounds. Albert’s address is given as fourteen Canal Street. He was last seen heading towards the canal. When your, ‘Joe Blogg,’ was found, he was soaking wet through, and the weather report for that entire week was warm and sunny. I know, because I checked. I seem to recall seeing the name, ‘Joe Blogg,’ in a fashion catalogue, it’s a designer label. Could be just a coincident, though. I think Albert Brooks suffered some sort of accident that caused amnesia. Maybe he was beaten up and mugged. Your victim had no wallet or anything else on him when he was found. He would possibly have had to get by living rough for a while, or found shelter somewhere outside of Buxton, getting by as best he could until something else happened to him. He was found wandering, finally, winding up in Broadmeath. Could be the guy was drunk and fell into the canal! We know the John Doe had a chronic drinking problem, the M.E.’s report confirms that. I think we should try and find out if Albert Brooks liked a drink.
I used the past tense because some gut instinct tells me, John Doe, and Albert Brooks are one and the same.”
Jake had been listening intently to Scott as he put forth his theory. He went through the details in his head as Scott spoke. There were too many similarities to be mere coincidences. John Doe’s hair could be dyed, and it was obvious he’d been living rough for some time, maybe camping out in the woods somewhere. That would account for his dishevelled appearance, although, it would certainly go against the grain for a man as fastidious as Albert Brooks to be seen like that.
If they had a set of finger prints for Albert Brooks, it would be a simple matter of comparison, but unfortunately this was not the case. If the two men were one and the same, it would only take a couple of phone calls on his part to find out.
He decided to put Scott’s theory to the test and contact Buxton police, and see if they could find out if Albert was a drinking man. Another thought occurred to him, was Albert Brooks a lady’s man? That shouldn’t be too difficult for Buxton police to find out. If so, that could be a reason they hadn’t been able to find Albert. He didn’t want to be found!
Prostitution was fast becoming a serious problem almost along the entire length of the canal, from Abbeville to Buxton. Many a fisherman had come across them plying their trade along its banks. Reports had started piling up on his desk from disgusted parents of students who used the towpath regularly as a short cut to the college.
Dog walkers had reported acts of indecency taking place in the bushes, and were calling for something to be done. Things were beginning to add up in his own mind now Scott had planted the seed. The more he thought about the two cases, the more plausible the connection seemed. He picked up the phone and dialled the number for Buxton police station. With a wave of his hand he gestured to Scott to have a seat never taking his eyes from the other man’s face while he waited for his call to be answered at the other end.
CHAPTER 11
Albert Sidney Brooks was attracted to women of all kinds. As an unashamed womaniser, Albert had collected a string of broken hearts, and sired more than a dozen illegitimate children dotted around the world during his years in the Merchant Navy. His navy record showed him to be a man of ‘good character and conduct.’
Albert got married to Christine Wright after she fell pregnant by him. Christine’s father almost frog-marched Albert to the alter ensuring he did the right thing by his only daughter. Christine miscarried in her seventh month, and due to complications at the time, was unable to conceive afterwards; a fact that didn’t bother Albert in the slightest. Christine’s father had settled a large sum of money on his daughter as a wedding gift. Albert’s half-hearted attempts to find employment, and his passion for stylish dressing, and man-about-town life style, soon frittered it away. Eventually, Albert managed to secure a position that suited his life style of booze, and women.
Using his father-in-laws money, he took over the tenancy of the ‘Crown and Garter,’ a public house in Weir Street, not far from the canal. It wasn’t long before he was availing himself of the prostitutes that hung around waiting to pick up trade.
Despite his infidelities his marriage lasted, and he still had a sexual relationship with his wife until she became ill and was diagnosed with serious heart trouble. Christine had put up with years of Albert’s bullying, living off her father’s money, and his womanising. She loved him dearly, and put up with his behaviour, believing mistakenly that he would eventually tire of it all and settle down and become a decent and proper husband.
Albert became infatuated with the young, nineteen year, old Rosemary York they had taken on as a bar maid. Within days he was using every opportunity to get close to her and ‘accidentally,’ touch her. Squeezing past her in the narrow space between the optics and the counter, and using this as an excuse to brush his body across hers, much to Rosemary’s distaste, she eventually, complained to Christine.
“Your husband keeps trying to put his arms around me when no one’s looking. He’s always pressing himself up against me, and making lewd remarks.”
“I’ll have a word with him about it, but I’m sure he means you no harm, he’s just having a bit of fun with you.”
“Well, I don’t think it’s funny, I don’t like it. I told him this, but he keeps doing it.”
The girl was exaggerating, Christine thought, taking something Albert may have done in harmless fun, and blowing it all out of proportion. Then she caught him trying his luck with the girl, and finally snapped and threatened to leave him for good.
Albert liked to have the edge in everything. It showed in the snappy way he dressed, and in his expensive tastes. Having no funds of his own, and knowing Christine’s father would never refuse his daughter anything, he had to keep things sweet between them. After all, it was his father-in-laws money that had paid the bills these past few months, to keep the Crown and Garter from going under. So Albert had promised to mend his ways, and for a while managed to keep his wife contented, by playing the doting husband. Meanwhile, he secretly lavished attention on Rosemary, plying her with expensive gifts, until finally, he won her over.
Albert liked nothing better than to spend his days
drinking, and bedding Rosemary at every available opportunity. In fact he did very little else, and life became a monotonous cycle of heavy drinking and huge hangovers. The thought of having a secret lover was irresistible to Rosemary, especially one who showered her with gifts.
“I would love to be able to say, ‘I’m going to see my lover tonight,’ when my dad asks me where I’m going. If I did, there would be a big scene and he would beat the living hell out of me, and I know he would kill you if he knew,” She told Albert, as they lay naked together in bachelor, Bob Hill’s spare bedroom. Albert would slip a twenty pound note to Bob for the use of the room, and Bob would take himself off to the Crown and Garter to spend it. Albert saw the irony in this recycling of his father-in-laws money.
Then the inevitable happened. Within three months of becoming lovers, Rosemary became pregnant. When Rosemary told Albert the news, he panicked.
“I’m pregnant. When my dad finds out he’ll kill us both.”
“What the hell! Are you sure? Have you been to see a doctor?”
“I don’t need to see a doctor. I have already missed two periods, and I haven’t come on this month either.” She knew what would make matters worse in her father’s eyes, was the fact that she had lost her virginity to a married man, a man who was many years older than herself.
Christine was halfway down the stairs that lead from their living quarters above the pub, to the lounge bar below, when she caught sight of her husband and Rosemary standing close together engaged in conversation. They were speaking in low voices she was unable to hear what was being said, but from the expression on the young girls face, she was upset by what she was hearing.
“What’s going on? What’s wrong? Is there a problem?” she asked, as she approached. Albert spun around, startled, on hearing his wife’s voice, and swiftly stepped away from Rosemary.
“No, nothing to worry about. Rosemary’s not feeling well, and she won’t be able to finish her shift,” he lied. Turning to Rosemary, he said,
“Go and get your coat, and I’ll give you a lift home.” Sending her signals with his eyes that let her know he wanted to get her off the premises, she left the room to do as he asked. Albert didn’t look at his wife, as he turned and walked away.
“You can manage to hold the fort until I get back, can’t you?” he said to Christine.
Not waiting for his wife’s reply, he left the room and went to the front door where Rosemary was waiting for him, clutching her coat close to her trembling body.
“Do you think she heard what we said?” she whispered anxiously.
“Shush! If she had, we wouldn’t be standing here now. Get the hell out of here and shut your trap, before she does,” he hissed at her, shoving her out the door ahead of him.
Christine watched them leave, past experiences telling her that there was something going on. If he was up to his old tricks, this would be the end of things, and she would take no more. She moved away from the window, and went behind the bar to give her attention to the customers who had just walked in. She would have this out with Albert. He might be finished with her, but she wasn’t done with him, not by a long shot!
Albert drove in silence and didn’t say a single word until they reached the turn off for New Street where Rosemary lived with her parents and two older brothers. He pulled into the kerbside and parked the car, switching off the engine before speaking.
“Okay, here’s the thing. We are in the shit, girl, and no mistake.” She looked at him; her eye’s brimming with tears. Her hands clasped tightly in her lap, the knuckles white.
“You’ll have to get a divorce and do the right thing by me.”
“Don’t be bloody daft! I’ve no money of my own, how would we live?”
He found himself losing control, and did his best to remain calm. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. For a moment or two they sat in silence.
“I can’t leave my missus, she has control over the money, and I haven’t got a penny to my name. You have to get rid of it. You said yourself your dad would kill you if he found out you were up the duff.”
“Us, I said he’d kill us both, and he would, you don’t know my dad.” She sank down in her seat, making herself as small as possible in case any of her neighbours saw them sitting parked up, and wondered what they were up to.
“Well us then. That aside, there’s no way you can have this kid! I think I know just the person who can help us out with that. Her name is Lily White, but she’s not.”
“Not what?” she asked. Tears spilled over onto her cheeks, as she fought to gain control of her emotions.
He slipped a comforting arm around her shoulders, pulling her as close to him as the seating allowed. He gave a little chuckle despite the seriousness of the situation.
“I don’t see what’s so funny.”
“It’s her name that I find funny…Lily White.”
“What’s funny about that?”
“Well, a person who is ‘pure’ is said to be ‘Lily White.’ This friend of mine is an ex prossie, you know, a prostitute. She got out of the business when she got to old for the game. She told me that she’d have to pay the punters to go with her now, instead of the other way around.” he said with a grin. “For a few years she ran a brothel down south. She’s retired from all that now, and lives a quiet life in Lexington. She also has a small house in Buxton, nothing too fancy, just two up, and two down. She rents it out from time to time.” Seeing the worried expression on her face, he said, “Don’t worry she’ll know what to do. You won’t be the first girl she has helped who found themselves in the family way. So you see, her name is Lily White, but she isn’t.”
Rosemary had to smile, despite herself. She moved away from him.
“I’m scared to death. I’m afraid to get rid of the baby. Anyway, it’s a sin. I really want to keep it, but if you won’t stand by me, I can’t go through with it.”
At this she burst into a flood of tears. Albert reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her. He did care about her, but he cared more for his own hide then he did for hers. Why the hell hadn’t he taken precautions, if he had they wouldn’t be in this mess now. She should have been on the pill. It was as much her fault as his!
“Blow your nose, and dry up those tears, things will work out alright you’ll see. You’ll have other kids in the future, but not this one. I’ll pick you up tomorrow and we’ll go and see Lily, so stop worrying. Will you be able to get away without your mum and dad getting suspicious? You may have to stay with Lily for a couple of days.”
“Yes I’ll tell them I’m staying overnight with a girlfriend. I’ll think of something.”
“Good girl. Well, I’ve got to get back before the missus get’s suspicious. You had better hop out here and walk the rest of the way. I’ll see you tomorrow morning; I’ll pick you up here at ten o’clock, ok?” She nodded her head in agreement. He gave her a quick squeeze, and she got out and stood on the pavement watching as he started the engine, did a U-turn, and drove away.
Once back at the Crown and Garter, Albert busied himself behind the bar, pulling pints, mixing shorts, and handing over packets of crisps and nuts, until closing time.
He closed and locked the door behind the last customer, all under the watchful eye of his wife. Back in the bar, Christine, as usual, was busy cashing up. He watched as she sorted the notes into separate piles. The twenty, ten, and five pound notes she carefully placed in cash box, before swiftly sorting and bagging up the coins, she left so many aside for the next day’s float. She wrote the figures into the black ledger, then secured all in the safe.
Going behind the bar, she took a tumbler, and put ice cubes into it. Then holding it under one of the many bottles in the optic, she added two shots of Southern Comfort to the glass.
“So, what’s wrong with our barmaid then? This sickness came on all of a sudden it seems. She was alright earlier on” She moved over to one of the tables and sat down. Albert moved
away, and taking up the cleaning kit, he started emptying the ashtrays into a black bin liner and wiping down the tables.
“I don’t know! Maybe she’s caught the stomach bug that’s going around. I don’t expect we’ll see her for a couple of days or so until she’s over what’s ailing her.”
He finished cleaning the tables, and went to put out the rubbish. Christine watched his retreating back, a puzzled expression on her face. Something wasn’t right; she felt it in her bones. She drained her glass, and set it down on the table he had just cleaned.
“I’m tired. I’m going on up now, everything else can wait until tomorrow,” she called out to him. Tomorrow being a Sunday, she could have a lie-in, and a bit of peace from Albert who had informed her earlier he was going to spend most of the day with his friend Bob Hill.
At number nine New Street, the York’s were finishing off a late Sunday breakfast. Rosemary helped her mother clear away the dishes before telling her of her plans.
“I’m going to see a girlfriend in Buxton today, and I’m going out tonight, clubbing, so I won’t be home until sometime tomorrow.”
“What about your work? I thought you had an early start on Monday?”
“I’ve got Monday off this week, so I might be gone for a couple of days. I’ll stay at her place. Anyhow, last time I went out partying, dad had a go at me for coming in late and disturbing the household in the early hours.”
“Who is this girlfriend of yours, do we know her?” Maisie York asked. She studied her daughter as she piled the dishes into the sink. Rosemary looked as if she was gaining weight. About time too she thought. Her daughter didn’t eat enough to keep a bird alive normally, and had become painfully thin a few months back, so much so, that they were all concerned for her health. Now, Rosemary had a certain bloom about her, and her figure was starting to fill out again, thankfully. She must be eating a lot of this ‘pub-grub’ Maisie had heard so much about. Whatever it was, it was doing her daughter some good. As long as she didn’t over-do things and get too fat, it pleased her to see her only girl child looking so well for once.