Spring Showers Box-set

by Avell Kro

  Haiti.

  Sister Rose, sorry Rose Caldwell had an invention capable of detecting and imprinting spectral

  incidents on photographic plates. She showed me an image of an African woman in the room with

  Moya at the Carlton.

  I now had two independent sources pointing at Ms. Du Haiti, so while I had some certainty as to the

  identity of the suspect, I did not have a motive or an idea as to where to find her.

  I received a document from Sir Lester that his father had in his possession. It was Don Ernesto’s last will and testament. In the pages, Don Ernesto Moya declared he had an affair with a Haitian

  slave on his plantation after the death of his wife. He had his will changed to acknowledge the

  mother and his daughter and provide them an inheritance. There lies the motive of Angelica,

  cheated of her inheritance by the Moya brothers in collusion with the elder Chilton, she sought

  vengeance.

  It appears Sir Chilton conspired with the sons to make Don Ernesto’s will disappear and then

  Hernando ran the mother and daughter off the plantation. What they had not planned on was

  their half-sister becoming a practitioner of Voodoo.

  “Voodoo, Detective?” asked Walpole, clarifying what he just heard.

  The PM sat in silence taking in Dolly’s story.

  “A practicing Voodoo Witch she used arcane methods to kill the Moyas and Sir Chilton. Her tactics

  were quite wicked, she did not just kill the men she damned their souls to an eternal limbo. I

  suspect that she was stealing Chilton's gold to make up for what she was swindled out of by him

  and the Moyas.”

  “And that’s when the guards were shot, not Voodoo’d?” asked the PM.

  “There is that loose end, I surmise they were shot when they discovered the robbery. Given her

  abilities to enthrall victims either it was by Chilton himself under her control or accomplices.

  What was taken was of a substantial weight. So, I suspect she or Chilton had help moving the gold.

  "Have you retrieved the gold? We are receiving pressure from the younger Chilton to its

  whereabouts?" voiced Derby.

  “Actually the murder of the two guards and the theft of the gold is not my case. That happened in

  the City of London and is under their jurisdiction.” replied Dol y.

  “Tel us about the night of the Twenty-fourth at 412 Pilton Road,” requested Walpole.

  “Before you proceed I want to revisit your comment that this woman was a Voodoo Witch.”

  Dol y followed up, “to be specific, my understanding is that Ms. du Haiti was the high priestess of

  the Voodooists and a very powerful enchantress. Therefore, the Necronists were intent on her

  capture.”

  “Or death,” added Mayne.

  “Yes, there’s the matter of her death.” Said, Derby.

  “Very messy,” injected Walpole.

  Dol y opened his journal and looked over his notes on the night of the 24th.

  “On the night of the 24th Detective Burton and I was surveilling the address in question. We

  observed Ms. Rose Caldwell enter the residence, shortly after her arrival the Necronists and Lord

  Oswald entered the home.”

  “Oswald, what a thunder there has been regarding his demise. His Lodge cronies are looking for justice on his part,” accounted the P.M.

  “When I entered the residence, he was already dead. Might I say in a most gruesome way she had

  mashed him into the wall,” replied Dolly.

  “So, it was Ms. du Haiti who killed him?” asked Derby.

  “That is what Guild Master Gerrard and Ms. Caldwel reported.”

  Derby pressed, “When do we get to the point where you shoot this Seer Thomas?”

  “When I entered the room, I made it clear that I was with the Metropolitan police service

  investigating a crime in the process, I was gaining control of the scene. I observed that both Guild

  Master Saint-Yves. and Seer Thomas we're chanting an incantation. Earlier in the week, Miss

  Caldwell had given me an amulet to protect me against the magic of Ms. du Haiti.

  This amulet alerted me to the danger to myself and the safety of my fellow officer. I told the men to

  cease and desist so that I could ascertain if it was them or another source that was engaging the

  ward Rose gave me. They did not comply, so I could only assume that it was them who meant to do

  harm unto me and Burton, that is when I fired my pistol,” recounted the Detective.

  “Do you have this amulet with you?

  “I do”

  May I examine it?” requested the Prime Minister.

  Dol y removed the metal disk from his watch chain and passed it across the table to the Prime

  Minister who regarded it thoughtfully, then handed it to the Home Secretary.

  “We may all need one of these. What of it’s maker this Rose Caldwell?” asked Derby.

  “She assisted in apprehending the murderer as wel as helped to protect me and officer Burton.

  Rose is not a fanatic she is a woman of faith but has found a different way to practice her beliefs,”

  explained Dol y with admiration.

  The Prime Minister leaned back in his chair, “Is there anything else you would like to add, Detective

  Williamson?”

  Dol y thought for a moment, should I mention that Angelica might still be alive if he hadn't given

  Gerrard and his companions the time or that Detective Keane was enthralled by Angelica, nearly

  killed me and I only escaped because Keane killed himself.

  “No sir, I am prepared for whatever your decision might be,” expressed Dolly.

  “Decision? I’m not following you, Detective,” Derby queried.

  “The matter of me shooting a foreign diplomat, and disciplinary action”

  “What gave you that impression?” asked Walpole.

  Dolly looked to Mayne, “I assumed that was the purpose of the meeting.”

  “Detective Williamson I envy you that you have had the pleasure of shooting a Frenchman,

  particularly one of those grim-faced death worshipers. You showed restraint trying to just wing

  him," praised the Prime Minister.

  All the men chuckled, but Dolly.

  "As far as the diplomatic impact. The French position is that if the Crown saw fit to drop charges

  against Guild Master Saint-Yves, they would consider Seer Thomas as a casualty in the

  apprehension of a murderess fugitive. I have settled the matter with Anou,” the PM continued.

  Walpole injected, “Detective, the Prime Minister agrees that these home-grown Occultists such as

  Oswald and his Lodge, the Witch from the colonies or the Necronists from the continent all have ill

  will for the Crown. It is our government’s duty to put in safeguards."

  “Detective, can I please see your Journal?” Dolly handed the leather-bound book to the Prime

  Minister. The Earl of Derby set it on the table between Dolly and himself. He leaned into Dolly,

  “Williamson how does a man fall asleep at night knowing these types of dangers walks the streets

  of London? I for one have enough keeping me up,” Derby inquired as he tapped his index finger on

  the journal

  Walpole Continued “Fredrick we are in the Nineteenth Century now, and every day we learn more

  about how to bend the laws of physics and metaphysics to our will. You have been to the coal face

  and seen what those of mal intent are prepared to do with this knowledge. I want you to form a

  division of the Metropolitan Police Detective Branch to deal with those who practice the dark arts

  and chose evil ways.”

  “Ministe
rs, are you authorizing Detective Williamson to lead a special branch?” Questioned

  Commissioner Mayne. Clearly, Mayne had no idea what these two men were planning.

  “I am. Detective Williamson would lead a branch of occult detection and prevention to protect our

  country against internal and external supernatural threats.” concluded the P.M.

  Dol y could not believe what he was hearing. “How serious are you about this Prime Minister?”

  “Quite. This business with the Haitian and the explosion over at the Gas Works has drawn

  suspicion that our enemies and the weapons they are prepared to use against us are not the

  conventional weapons of war. We need to have some domestic defense that is also

  unconventional.”

  Dol y knew the test to determine the commitment they were prepared to make.

  “Prime Minister, I will accept the position if Rose Caldwell can become a constable of the

  Metropolitan police force.”

  Friday the 2nd of July

  11:20 AM Rose Caldwel ’s Rooms

  Sister Rose wrote in her journal all the details she recalled from her out of body experience. The

  sounds, smells, the words Angelica spoke, everything she could remember including the

  incantation used in the Pwen Hanan.

  There was a knock at the door. Rose was not expecting a visitor. She closed the journal and placed

  into a lockbox in the bottom drawer of her writing desk.

  She peered through a view port she had installed in the door. It was Dolly.

  Rose unlatched the locks on the door and let her friend in, he looked sour.

  "What has got you in these parts, looking for new rooms?" chided Rose.

  “Could be I had a meeting two days ago with the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister.”

  “What about?” said Rose as she locked the door and walked past Dolly. “Tea?”

  “No thanks. I had to explain how my murder investigation literally turned into a witch hunt and

  why I found myself shooting French diplomats."

  "Why did you shoot him?" She pressed.

  "Lower rank, thicker legs,” Dolly replied.

  "I must say, Dolly, it truly shocked me when that pistol fired.”

  “That is what shocked you, not the remains of Lord Oswald mixed with the plaster wall?" followed

  Dolly.

  “You can’t imagine witnessing that scene Dolly, it was fantastic how she used her powers.” Rose

  put a kettle on over an alcohol burner she had for heating.

  "You seem a bit taken by the sorceress,” he suggested.

  Rose paused, teething her lip. Do I share with him what I was shown, how much I now know of

  her? "We had a connection, I do not think she is all bad."

  “I understand she was swindled out of her inheritance but there is a better way to acquire justice.

  You murder people, the police come looking; turning Keane on me was more than I could take.”

  “Her father waited until he died to legitimize her birthright. Her brothers sold her off to a

  plantation as a slave,” Rose retorted.

  “I didn’t come here to argue the fine points of why a murderess was given the hard knocks of life. If

  being hard done by is a just cause, half all the convicts in England would be set free. You see Rose,

  Angelica may have been alright knowing the consequences of killing her family were she would

  hang, and that was worth the satisfaction of getting revenge, but she never looked at the other lives lost in the process. Keane, those two guards they didn’t disown her they never caused her

  harm.” He was clenching the brim of his hat as he spoke.

  “Dolly, the Scot has gotten hold of you. I’m not your enemy. I never said she was justified in her

  actions or even that Moya and Chilton deserved to die. I only said that she wasn’t all bad.”

  “I don’t doubt that any person is all bad or all good for that matter. Anyhow I didn’t come here to

  argue about her, I came to tell you, You’re right. The incident with Keane showed me the stakes are

  different, higher. These people aren’t cut from the same cloth as you and I, they have power and

  are prepared to use it mercilessly. Du Haiti turned Keane on me, and I think if Saint-Yves could

  have, he and his Seer would have done the same to you, Burton and me turning us on each other

  like rabid dogs. Saint-Yves knew where she was hiding and didn’t tell me. He had no intention of

  taking her alive.”

  “Dol y, I was invited to experience Angelica’s past before the Seers arrived. She was peacefully

  employing tarot, she saw how the night would play out. Angelica left me with the feeling that

  perhaps it was her last night on earth.” whispered Rose.

  Dol y moved into the single ratty chair Rose kept in her rooms. “Remember how we first met, well

  not the very first time, but in that cellar? I went down there with a lot of assumptions. I figured

  that you were helping Milton and he was some type of pedophile. I thought that al men could be

  brought down with the shot of a pistol.

  I came out of that cellar with less confidence in pistols and with what my eyes showed me. I am a

  bit more cautious in jumping to conclusions or that my allies have the same intentions I do,” He

  finished.”

  “Alright then, you if you didn’t come here to rehash events, why did you come?” Rose asked as she

  poured the hot water over loose tea in her cup.

  Dol y thought for a moment. There would be no going back and he needed to know if this was

  going to work. It wasn’t but a fortnight when he was here and Rose said she wanted to learn from

  the murderer. “Rose I need to know what you and Angelica discussed before the Necronists

  arrived. You were alone with her for some time, nearly a half hour. What were you two up to?”

  “I may as well tell you I need to share it with someone. She revealed to me that she killed he

  brother in Haiti, she channeled me there, back in time to witness the event. I was in her head, but

  it felt as if I was there - the smells, the sounds, the sight, her thoughts the feelings of anguish and

  betrayal. This is when I sensed what was good in her and what drove her to act out and take life.

  The conflict of being in the home where she grew up, facing the person who sent his own blood to

  be a slave. away to the heinous scourge of slavery; his own blood to be a slave. I also experienced

  the power to damn him, and in the process, I learned what I wanted. I was brought back to that

  room with the full extent of her knowledge and power. Sadly, it’s from such a dark place, just

  thinking of it makes me feel a deep despair.”

  Dolly left his chair and came closer to his friend. He pul ed out the ward she had made for him, it was still attached to the end of his watch chain. Rose looked down at the amulet, as Dol y

  encouraged her, “I trust it’s still you in there, Rose. That you can process the evil and goodness of

  someone like Angelica, and have clarity of how the wicked was her undoing in the end.”

  “I do indeed, Detective.”

  “Does this thing still work or did those blathering mystics foul it up when they tried to hex me?”

  asked Dolly.

  Rose took the gemulet in her hand and looked at her craftsmanship. “No, the amulet is in perfect

  working order,” replied Rose.

  “Well then, I have something for your protection. He drew a police whistle on a chain out of his

  pocket.

  “It only works in London, but when you blow this whistle your fellow Bobbies will come straight

  away.”

&n
bsp; “Fellow Bobbies?”

  I told youI had a meeting with the PM and the Home Secretary. Well I thought for sure with the

  death of Seer Thomas I would be dangling in the wind on this one, but once again I read the

  situation wrong. The explosion at the Gas Works and Angelica’s gruesome deeds has the

  Government preparing a domestic defense strategy against the metaphysical. They tasked me with

  forming up the branch and I agreed on the condition that you were part of it.

  If all goes as planned, you, Ms. Rose Caldwell will be our newest Constable in the Metropolitan

  Police Department and the second member of the special detective branch for the Paranormal.”

  Rose Jumped up kissed and hugged Dolly, tears of joy flowing. “Dolly, this means so much to me,

  you have no idea. To have what I do accepted”

  “Wel Rose, I wouldn’t go so far as to say what you do is accepted by the man on the street, but in

  the case of her Majesties Government and me it is certainly appreciated. Even if the bloke on the

  street doesn’t accept you, he needs looking out for him.

  Saturday the 3rd of July

  2:20 PM Strathmore Estate, Long Island

  Randall Wells Strathmore sat in deep contemplation, gazing out the window of his study.

  The boy ran in the room and embraced Randall. Randall hugged and kissed him on his brown

  forehead just below his dark curly hair.

  The Governess hovering by the door spoke when Randall looked, "I told him to wait but he was too

  excited to see you."

  "That is quite alright, Ms. Meadows."

  He crouched down to eye level with the boy. "Gerrard, I do believe you have grown two inches since

  I left."

  "Did you bring me anything Uncle Randall?”

  "In fact, I did" he walked behind his desk and retrieved a box before he could bring it back Gerrard had followed him.

  There was a knock at the door. “Your guest is here sir,” the footman announced.

  “Lead him out to the gardens, and prepare refreshments. Gerrard and I will meet him there

  momentarily.”

  Randall walked up to the lean elderly gentleman that stood looking over the gardens in admiration,

  he wore a white linen summer suit and held a walking stick with a wolf head for the handle.