Boots caught a faint odour then. It pervaded the air around the bed.
Chloroform.
He thought then that there were other smells as well. He came to his feet.
‘We won’t wake her, Freddy. Let her come to by herself.’
‘But we ought to wake ’er, Mister Adams, an’ find out ’ow she got ’ere,’ said Freddy.
‘Well, I’ll carry her down, Freddy. The open air will help to wake her.’ Boots stooped and lifted Cassie up into his arms. ‘Right, here we go.’
Freddy, following him out of the room, said, ‘Mister Adams, I told yer I didn’t know how you could ’elp, but I think I just knew you could.’
‘No, you did it, Freddy old chap,’ said Boots, carrying Cassie down the stairs. ‘You spotted her cat. It meant nothing to me. It meant everything to you.’
‘But I wouldn’t ’ave spotted it if I ’adn’t been with you,’ said Freddy. ‘Mister Adams, I can’t think why Cassie’s asleep and ain’t wakin’ up.’
‘She’ll come to in the fresh air,’ said Boots, and Cassie sighed again as he brought her out into the light.
Rosie stared and the cabbie looked a happy man.
‘Good on yer, guv,’ he said, ‘good on yer, me lad.’
‘Yes, we got ’er,’ said Freddy, ‘but she’s asleep.’
‘Maybe that’s just as well, poor little kid,’ said the cabbie, catching Boots’s eye. Boots gave a little nod.
‘We still need your taxi,’ he said.
‘It’s all yours, guv, all night, if yer want it.’
Rosie, her eyes shining, said, ‘Bless you, Daddy.’
‘Bless Freddy,’ said Boots, holding Cassie close to his chest. He spoke to the cabbie again. ‘Will you take Cassie home? Her family must be back by now, and if the police have seen them, they’ll be worried sick. Freddy and Rosie will go with you. Then will you let the police know and ask them if they can get a doctor to Cassie? I think she’ll need a sedative.’ He hoped that was all she would need.
‘Ain’t you comin’, guv?’
‘No, I’m going to wait,’ said Boots.
‘But what for?’ asked Freddy.
‘Because whoever locked her in will be coming back,’ said Boots, ‘and he might arrive before the police get here. Come on.’ He carried Cassie to the gates. The cabbie exerted himself and widened the gap, allowing Boots to get through with the girl. Then he took off his jacket and Boots let him place it around Cassie. Freddy and Rosie climbed into the taxi, and Boots leaned in to settle the unconscious girl between his daughter and Susie’s young brother. They held her. Her head lolled and a little sighing murmur escaped her. ‘Take care of her.’
‘You bet,’ said Freddy, ‘she’s me mate.’
‘Daddy, you watch out,’ said Rosie, not liking the thought of him coming up against some horrible man.
‘I’ll meet you at Cassie’s home,’ said Boots, and watched as the taxi moved off. Then he went back to that room. The faint smell of chloroform still lingered. On the table was an oil lamp, a box of matches and a white paper bag. He picked it up. It was empty, with a peppermint smell. He examined cupboards, of which there were two. One was empty. In the other was a large plate camera, a wooden tripod, a box of photographic plates and a T-shaped flash contraption.
He was conscious of smells. He thought again of young Ivy Connor, murdered, then buried under the floorboards of a shed. In the gloom, he inspected the bare wooden floor of this dolorous room. None of the boards seemed to have been disturbed. He went downstairs. About to examine the rooms, he checked as a sound reached his ears. It was faint but perceptible. He knew what it was. Feet moving over ground littered with chips of mortar and brick. He took himself quickly to the only entrance into the place. The door, its metal bar wrenched free, was closed. He had closed it himself. He waited behind it. The sounds of a moving man were closer. They stopped. He heard a strangely petulant exclamation. He pulled the door open.
Mr Ponsonby stared at him.
‘You bugger,’ said Boots.
A rolled umbrella was instantly levelled at him, and from its point a six-inch shining blade leapt and clicked into place.
‘Interfering busybody!’ hissed Mr Ponsonby, and made a lightning-like thrust. But he had picked the wrong man. Boots had prepared himself for a murderous reaction. If Mr Ponsonby was quick, he was quicker. He knocked the umbrella aside before the blade reached his chest, and with his left fist he hit the man savagely on his right jaw. Mr Ponsonby fell stunned. Boots reached, picked up the umbrella, and with the man flat on his back, he bent over him and slipped his left hand into the capacious inner pocket of his frock coat. He drew out a bottle with a glass stopper. He put the umbrella under his arm and pulled the stopper free. He sniffed.
Chloroform.
He replaced the stopper and stowed the bottle in his jacket pocket. The man stirred. Boot stood over him and placed the blade of the umbrella against his chest. Then he waited for the police to arrive.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CASSIE CAME TO, on her bed. Her eyes opened and she blinked. A man with a kind face smiled down at her.
‘There’s a good girl,’ he said.
Cassie made a face.
‘I feel a bit sick,’ she said.
I expect you do.’ Dr Sadler had examined her. She’d suffered nothing worse than chloroform, although probably two or three applications, and some fright, no doubt. He went to the door, opened it and said, ‘You can come in now, but don’t smother her.’ The family swarmed in. An inspector and a sergeant of the CID looked enquiringly at Dr Sadler. ‘Not yet,’ he said, ‘give her another five minutes.’
‘Right,’ said Detective-Inspector Grant of Scotland Yard. They’d got the man. The cabbie had driven police from Rodney Road to the factory site, and Mr Gerald Francis Ponsonby was now under lock and key, awaiting interrogation.
‘Cassie, Cassie love,’ breathed Annie, appalled for her young sister.
‘Safe and sound now, Cassie,’ said the shaken Gaffer, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking her hand.
Cassie looked dreamy.
‘I feel a bit sick,’ she murmured.
‘’Ere, what ’appened to yer?’ asked Charlie, and Cassie stared vaguely at him.
‘Charlie, leave ’er be,’ said Nellie, who’d shed a few tears.
‘She’ll tell us in a bit,’ said Annie. They’d all had distracted minds from the moment the police told them Cassie had been missing for hours, and that a search was being made. Dr Sadler, having mixed a sedative, allowed Annie to give it to the girl. Cassie sat up, her dad’s arm around her, and drank the sedative in the dreamy hope it would stop making her feel sick.
‘That’s a good girl,’ said Dr Sadler again.
Cassie blinked and looked around. The Gaffer let her lie back.
‘’E said ’e was goin’ to take a photo of me,’ she murmured.
‘What?’ said the Gaffer, having a hard job to keep his blood off the boil.
‘Who said that, Cassie?’ asked Annie.
‘Mister Po’s’by,’ said Cassie.
‘’Oo’s ’e?’ asked Charlie.
‘’E gives me peppermints,’ said Cassie.
Annie looked at her dad, and her dad looked tight-faced and grim.
‘I think the police can talk to her now,’ said Dr Sadler, and called the CID officers in. Freddy had gone home to acquaint his own family of events, and Rosie had been taken by the cabbie to rejoin her father. Boots was at Rodney Road police station, making a long statement. He had phoned home again and this time had spoken to Emily.
Inspector Grant, exercising a kind paternal approach, was able to get quite a coherent story from the relaxing Cassie. On her way to Freddy’s house she had met Mr Ponsonby, who had promised to take a photograph of her. He said what a busy day he was having, but if she would like to be photographed now, he could spare the time. Cassie asked him if he was going to do it in his lodgings.
He said oh, no, in his s
tudio. Cassie, who had her cat with her, said she couldn’t spare a lot of time herself, because she was going to Freddy’s house. Mr Ponsonby said it would hardly take any time at all, and Cassie asked if he could take the photo with her holding Tabby. Mr Ponsonby said yes, come with me.
She went with him. It seemed a bit of a long way and she kept saying she’d be late meeting Freddy. Then they came to that place where there’d been a fire and where it was haunted, and she said she didn’t want to go in there. Mr Ponsonby said no, of course not, have a peppermint. He always had peppermints. Tabby jumped out of her arms then and ran into that place through a gap in the gates, and she asked Mr Ponsonby to get him for her. He said he would, but have a peppermint first, and he offered her the bag. There was only one in it, and as she put her hand in the bag, something was pushed against her face, and she couldn’t remember any more, except she did dream it happened again.
Dr Sadler thought it must have happened several times, considering how long she was in the place. The man had been playing with the girl’s life, before absenting himself. And why had he absented himself? The CID officers knew he’d been caught coming back, with the bottle of chloroform still on his person, but were anxious to get the girl’s story before fully interrogating the man.
‘Cassie,’ said Inspector Grant, ‘thank you very much, you’re a brave young lady.’
‘I don’t feel so sick now,’ said Cassie. She thought, ‘Fancy ’im puttin’ that bit of stuff over me face, I don’t like ’im any more. Does Freddy know?’
‘Freddy ’elped to find you, lovey,’ said the Gaffer.
‘Well,’ said Cassie dreamily, ‘I’m ’is mate, ’e told me so.’
The CID officers left then and returned to Rodney Road police station. The cabbie was still there, so were Boots and Rosie. And so was a uniformed constable, with the news that two bodies had been discovered under the floorboards of a room below the one containing the truckle bed and a camera. Two other constables were still at the place. The bodies were of young females, but had not been touched. Inspector Grant received the news in the grimly painful fashion of a police officer who hated what it meant. However, he allowed Boots to go, thanking him for all he had done.
‘I suppose you’ll find all other evidence you need at his lodgings,’ said Boots.
‘I’m damn’ sure we will, Mr Adams. Thanks again.’
Boots joined Rosie and the cabbie, and they left the station.
‘Can I drive you ’ome, guv?’ asked the cabbie.
‘You’ve had a long day,’ said Boots.
‘So ’ave you, guv, so ’as your Rosie here. Mind, we’ve done some chattin’, ain’t we, Rosie?’
‘Oh, I’m very well-versed at chatting,’ said Rosie, ‘I caught it ages ago from Daddy and my Uncle Sammy. But mustn’t he be an awful man, the one who took Cassie?’
‘Worse than that, Rosie,’ said the cabbie.
‘Look,’ said Boots, ‘I know it’s asking one more favour, but could you stop at Freddy’s house on the way, just for five minutes?’
‘Don’t mention it, guv. ’Op in, you an’ Rosie.’
While Rosie talked to the rest of the Brown family in the kitchen, Boots talked with Mr Brown in the parlour. He gave him the full story. Mr Brown looked sick at the ugliness of mankind.
‘So there it is, Jim,’ said Boots, ‘the police have nailed the son of Satan. There’s no point now in keeping it from the family. They already know what Freddy’s told them. Now you can tell them the rest, to save them having to find out from the newspapers tomorrow. And at least, it’s all cleared up.’
‘Not the best piece of news, though, for a weddin’ day,’ said Mr Brown.
‘It won’t spoil this wedding,’ said Boots, ‘it’s special. Sammy, the engine driver, has met his match. Get Rosie for me, would you, Jim? We need to be on our way now.’
Jim fetched the girl. Susie appeared too.
‘Bless you and Freddy, Boots,’ she said.
‘It’s been Freddy’s day,’ said Boots. ‘It’s yours tomorrow, Susie. By the way, here’s something I almost forgot.’ He took an item wrapped in tissue paper from the inside pocket of his jacket. ‘Emily said she’d arranged to let you have something borrowed to go with something blue.’
Susie unwrapped the tissue, disclosing a pink garter.
‘Lovely,’ she said, ‘thank Em’ly, won’t you?’
‘Pretty, that is,’ said Mr Brown.
‘Well, we’ll all expect to see how it looks on Susie,’ said Boots.
‘Daddy, you’re cheeky,’ said Rosie. Boots gave her a wink and they said goodbye and left. The cabbie drove them to their home in Red Post Hill. Rosie said farewell to him, then dashed in to give Emily, Chinese Lady and Chinese Lady’s husband a first-hand account of the happenings.
‘What’s the damage?’ asked Boots of the cabbie. ‘All of it.’
‘Listen, guv, what kind of a bloke would I be to make a charge?’
‘Fairly daft not to, I’d say. It’s your living.’
‘Look, I tell yer what. You place five bob in me mitt an’ we’ll call that fair an’ square, eh?’
Boots placed five shillings in his hand, and added a pound note.
‘That’s the least I can do,’ he said.
‘Don’t want it, guv. It’s been—’
‘There’s a wedding in our family tomorrow,’ said Boots, ‘so have a drink on us.’
‘Guv, it’s been a privilege meetin’ you and yer daughter. You got a sweet girl there. Any time you need a taxi from East Dulwich, I ’ope I’ll be the one to oblige yer. Gus Allbury, that’s me.’
‘Many thanks, Gus. Couldn’t have done without you today. Good night.’ Boots shook hands with the cabbie, watched the taxi depart, stood for a moment thinking of young Cassie and how close she’d been to death, then turned on his heel and entered the house. There he was greeted by Emily, who wrapped her arms around him.
Charlie answered a knock on the door. Will was on the step.
‘Oh, ’ello,’ said Charlie.
Annie, coming down the stairs, checked for a moment.
‘I thought I’d come and see how Cassie is,’ said Will.
Annie came quickly down to the passage and to the door.
‘Oh, it’s nice you thought of us,’ she said, ‘and Cassie specially. Come in. She’s sleepin’ now. She’s all right, she won’t ever remember much because that evil man chloroformed her. Will, come on in, we’re just makin’ a pot of tea and you’ll ’ave a cup, won’t you?’
Will joined the family for a cup of tea around the kitchen table, and everyone talked at once. The Gaffer said next time he took his children out, he’d take them all and leave no-one behind. Only Cassie had been keen on being with Freddy. Couple of real mates, they were, he said, and while he was saying it, Annie was talking about how kind the doctor had been, Nellie was going on about the police being ever so nice, and Charlie was muttering that a certain bloke ought to have his head bashed in. The Gaffer said if it hadn’t been for Freddy keeping on and on in his search for Cassie, she might not have been found. Will said Freddy was now a hero, even to his sister Sally. But he said nothing about the news that Boots had brought concerning the discovery of the bodies of two young girls. The shock of Cassie’s abduction was enough for them to cope with tonight. Tomorrow would be soon enough for them to learn about all that was grisly.
Annie felt deep relief at the doctor’s assurance Cassie hadn’t been harmed in any way, even though she’d obviously been kept unconscious for hours. She also felt very glad that Will had called. He stayed quite a while, and helped to cheer things up no end. She decided he was really a very nice young man, not a bit loud or brash, and not at all a cocky corporal. He was a lot quieter in his manner than she imagined most soldiers were, but he had a nice sense of humour.
She saw him to the front door when he left.
‘Thanks ever so much for comin’,’ she said.
‘Well, I couldn’t not pop round t
o see how everyone was,’ said Will, and did what he’d told himself he shouldn’t do. He kissed her, and at the same time tried to detect if she wore scent. He didn’t think so.
‘That’s done it,’ said Annie, when he released her lips.
‘Done what?’ asked Will.
‘You’re goin’ to get talked to tomorrow,’ said Annie.
‘Seriously?’ said Will.
‘Well, it’s not goin’ to make you laugh, I can tell you that,’ said Annie.
* * *
Under interrogation, Mr Ponsonby was querulous and petulant, but patchily informative. One of the first things Inspector Graves found out was that the reason why the man had absented himself related to his need to develop his plates. He needed to know if the photographs were satisfactory, or if he needed to take them again.
‘So you kept her alive, did you, in case of that?’ said the inspector.
‘Of course, of course. What is the use of photographs of someone who is dead?’
He had developed the plates quickly, in his lodgings, shutting out the light by drawing the thick curtains he himself had installed. The photographs were very good. Charming, in fact, charming. Such a pretty face, and such pretty legs. Inspector Grant felt an urge to throttle him. Ponsonby, of course, had drawn back the unconscious girl’s clothes. The CID officer controlled himself, and by asking questions in a sympathetic and understanding way, or so it seemed, he finally induced a full confession.
Mr Ponsonby had always thought young girls enchanting because of their purity. But it was difficult to photograph them in the way he wanted to, not without them getting upset and threatening to tell their parents. So he stole a bottle of chloroform from a hospital where he had once worked as assistant to the lady almoner. He used a chloroform pad to effect a robbery at a jeweller’s shop, and to delude the hospital authorities and the police into thinking that was why he had taken the bottle. He did not like the police, he said, they were interfering busybodies, disturbing to a gentleman like him.
It was a pity, of course, but it had been necessary to let the girls ascend early to heaven after photographing them.
On Mother Brown's Doorstep Page 26