Innocence Lost

by Sherilyn Decter

  “And Eugene? Now we’ve confirmed he’s part of Mickey’s payroll, what do you want to do?” Frank asks.

  “I meant to tell you. When Joe sent word about dinner he also said that they’d picked up Eugene for questioning. Which must have been before they arrested Mickey? Do you think Eugene told them anything? Maybe the reason he’s not here is that Joe has him in jail?”

  “It’s hard to say. We need more information from Joe,” Frank says.

  “When he gets home, I’ll ask Joe about both Mickey and whether he’ll be arresting Eugene. If not, I’m going to talk to Eugene as soon as I see him. Maybe even tomorrow at breakfast. I’ve never been easy with him here, since the day I found that list. Joe convinced me to let him stay so as not to tip our hand, but now that everything’s in motion, he has to go. I don’t want him to suspect that I know anything about the list. However, he’ll know that Joe knows that he works for Duffy, and may expect that Joe will say something to me.”

  “Why not do it right away?” Frank asks.

  “Eugene’s not home and neither is Joe. I’m not comfortable doing it without Joe being here,” Maggie says.

  “Of course, you’re right. Your safety and Tommy’s is paramount. You should have Joe in the house when you tell Eugene to leave,” says Frank.

  “Hopefully, Joe’ll be home soon. I heard him come in late last night and leave early this morning.”

  “I imagine they’re keeping him busy. The arrest of the King of the Bootleggers will be quite a feather in the colonel’s cap, and I’m sure all the officials on Mickey’s payroll are scrambling. It is worrisome about Eugene, though,” says Frank.

  Maggie glances at the clock on the mantle.

  Frank follows her eyes. “With the exception of Eugene, I think we should take a few moments and bask in the satisfaction of a case concluded. You’ve earned a rest, my dear. It has been rewarding to see it all come together. And I think that young Kelly has done an admirable job.”

  “I know that you’ve had your doubts about him, Inspector, but he’s just a rookie. He’s handled himself well the past few days; you have to give him credit for that.”

  “Oh, I do. Yes, Constable Kelly has all the markings of becoming a fine policeman. A bit more seasoning and he’ll be a credit to the force.”

  “Given the nature of the force, I’m not sure that’s the high praise it used to be.”

  Chapter 49

  T he breakfast dishes are stacked to be washed; Maggie has her back to them. Tommy and Archie Mansfield left earlier. It’s now been two days since they arrested Mickey and still no sign of Eugene. Looking exhausted, Joe’s nursing his coffee.

  “You must have gotten home late, Joe. I stayed up late myself, hoping to ask you for help.”

  “More like ‘home’ early this morning. I’m sorry you waited up.”

  “Joe, I’d like to evict Mr. Smith, but I’d like you here when I do it. He’s not been home since early yesterday morning, but I’d like to do it as soon as he does come in.”

  “We had him down at the precinct for questioning yesterday, but had to release him. He’s not been home at all?” Joe shakes his head, frowning. “I should have expected that, but with everything going on and my crazy hours the last few days, it completely slipped my mind. When I didn’t see him around at breakfast, I just presumed he’d left already.”

  “He’ll have to come back, surely? All his things are here,” Maggie says.

  “I’m sorry, Maggie. We should have put an officer on him to keep track of him. Since we arrested Mickey yesterday, it’s been a madhouse at the station. We’ve spent hours interviewing Duffy, moving him from precinct to precinct so that his lawyers can’t find him and spring him. They’re back at it today.”

  Maggie joins Joe at the table. “Will the charges stick?”

  “The DA and the colonel are worried he’ll walk. Again. We don’t have the original journal entries and Eugene wasn’t very forthcoming when we talked to him. He knows we don’t have anything concrete, just the list we made based on your original journal pages. And we don’t have many confessions from the shiners and speakeasy owners we talked to.”

  “But he doesn’t know that you got the information from me, right?”

  “No, we didn’t say anything about where it came from.” Gripping his coffee tightly, Joe takes a deep breath and looks Maggie in the eye. “Maggie, it’s my turn to ask you for help. I know it’s asking a lot, but would you come and sign a statement about finding the list? We need to connect that list in Eugene’s pocket to Duffy.”

  The color drains from her face. “You want me to come to the precinct and give a statement? That probably means I’ll be obliged to testify at a trial. Joe, I’ll not survive. Mickey will make sure of that.”

  “I wanted to keep your name out of it, Maggie. I really did. But we have to get Eugene to talk. He’s the closest link we have to Mickey, however it’s doubtful he’ll tell us what we need to know unless he’s backed into a corner. You’re the only person that can at least prove the list came from Eugene, which would give us reason to arrest him and send him away for a very long time. That keeps him from coming back here, which is what you want. And if we can plug a few holes in our case, we can put Mickey away for a long time, too. That’s the best way to keep you and Tommy safe.”

  “Like Mickey wouldn’t be able to reach out from prison and tap me behind the ear? I read the newspapers, Joe Kelly. I’m not some naive patsy. I know what you’re asking me to do, and what the risks are to me and Tommy. That wasn’t the deal, Joe. When I gave you that information, you promised that no one would have to know where it came from.”

  “Mickey will be focusing on Eugene, who’ll hopefully be singing like a canary. Mickey won't care how the list got from Eugene Smith to the police. You just delivered the mail. Nobody holds the postman responsible.”

  Maggie throws her hands in the air. “Joe, the phrase I’m worried about is ‘don’t shoot the messenger’. Mickey is going to rain down a torrent of retribution and revenge. There is no way he’s going to let anyone come at him without consequences. I won’t do it, Joe. I can’t.”

  Wide-eyed, Maggie looks at Frank, who has been standing in the corner of the kitchen, following the conversation. He’s none too happy at the turn of events, but nods in agreement with Joe’s reasoning. A pair of coppers.

  “It’s true,” says Frank. “Joe’s right. They need your testimony. Unfortunately.”

  Maggie turns and stares out the kitchen window. Her mind is swirling with the implications.

  “I don’t want Eugene Smith back in this house. I don’t want to see his face. I don’t even want to clean his room and pack his things.”

  “No problem. I’ll do it,” says Joe.

  “Joe, that list is a loaded gun. I don’t want it pointing at me, okay?”

  “Maggie, if we don’t tie Eugene to the case against Mickey, then it all falls apart. And we can’t get to Eugene without you, because you found the list in Eugene’s pocket. If you’re serious about putting Mickey away, then you’ll have to come forward and testify. I promise you’ll have police protection.”

  Maggie interrupts. “Yeah, right. The police will protect me from Mickey Duffy. What a laugh. Most of them work for him. I don’t understand why you don’t just raid Eugene’s office and take the rest of the ledgers. There should be more than enough evidence there for you to win your case.”

  “We did that and got mountains of paper. We have the deeds for the warehouses, for hotels, and saloons, but they’re all in other people’s names, including the name of your pal, Edith Duffy. We need some kind of bargaining chip to force Eugene to roll over on Mickey, and he won’t do that unless he knows that we can put the list in his pocket. Come on, Maggie. You gotta do it.”

  “I don’t ‘gotta do’ anything, Joe Kelly, except put a roof over Tommy’s head and protect him as best I can.”

  “Look, I have to get back to the precinct. Just think about it, okay? I want
to find Eugene and pick him up again so that we’re ready if you decide to help us. We really need you, Maggie.”

  * * * *

  Maggie leans forward in her chair. After Joe had left, she and the Inspector had moved into the living room to finish the conversation. “What do you think, Inspector?”

  “I think it’s dangerous, Maggie. I remember we talked about risk when you found the list. And even before that, when we first decided to make Mickey pay for what happened to Oskar. But back then, the risk was abstract. Now it’s real. Make no mistake, word will get out about your connection to the list. I’d be surprised if it hasn’t already.”

  Frank looks at Maggie solemnly. “And when Mickey finds out that you found the list, and it will be ‘when’ not ‘if’, you're going to be in a very bad spot, my dear. You and Tommy both. Despite what Joe says, Mickey will blame you for all his troubles. So, you have to figure out what to do. And then you'll have to have the courage to act on it.”

  Maggie opens her mouth, eager to speak.

  “Wait,” says Frank. “I want you to think on this carefully. I know you always scoff at the comfort and inspiration I find in General Bonaparte’s words, but he has been with me through some tough spots. The man had insightful observations about battle and leading men. And it’s as if he anticipated our need right now when he said ‘Courage isn’t having the strength to go on, it’s going on when you don’t have the strength’.”

  “Oh, you and General Bonaparte are impossible to argue against.” She twists the edge of her skirt. “I’d like to look the other way, Inspector, but I can’t unlearn what I know.”

  Frank nods at her encouragingly.

  “Inspector, I’m so tired of living like this; of hearing about good people arrested or killed; of good families left behind to cope; of worrying about walking to the grocery store or taking Tommy to the barber. It’s time for me to find the courage to take the next step.”

  “I admire you, Maggie. You have grown so much. It’s a weighty decision for you to make. Heaven knows, I do not have the substance to advise you what to do.”

  “I haven’t noticed it stopping you from giving advice before,” Maggie says with a teasing grin. She sits taller. ”We’ve been working to put a case together against Mickey for a while. I’m not sure whether I thought much about what would happen after the case was made, but we’re here now.”

  “We are that,” says Frank.

  “It will be a good day for this city, a good day for this family when that man is put away.”

  Frank reaches over to pat her hand, then remembers himself and withdraws the gesture.

  “I know, Inspector. I feel the same way. Thank you for everything that you’ve taught me, for everything that you’ve done.”

  The clock ticks. Tommy will not be home until lunchtime. The silence envelops the ghost and Maggie Barnes.

  “It’s almost comforting,” says Maggie. “This sense of calm before the storm.”

  “While we’re talking about the future course of our investigation, there is something that has been weighing on my mind. It worries me, Maggie, to see how immersed you’ve become in the case.”

  “I’m sorry, Inspector. I’m not following. I’m committed, but isn’t that a good thing?”

  “Yes, of course. But when we first met that night, when you were sitting on your veranda, I was so excited to be able to have a conversation with you I got caught up in the potential of what that might mean to me. I got swept away in my zeal to pursue justice, the excitement of being back in harness with an important investigation. Selfishly, I didn’t think about the consequences you might have to undergo.”

  “Do you mean the bombing? I’ve put that behind me, Inspector. Don’t worry.”

  “Yes, that. But it’s not just the physical risks. In fact, those are the easiest to guard against. What I’m referring to are the effects of walking in the world of criminals, being part of the violence, seeing firsthand the effects of the lawlessness. It changes a person, Maggie. It’s unavoidable.”

  “And you think it’s changing me?”

  “I’ve asked you to take on a role that places you in the center of all this ugliness. With no training, little support or backup. It’s not fair to you. It hardens a person. In order to deal with the violence and crime scenes that come with policing, one develops calluses—a tolerance to it. I’ve noticed how it is affecting you and, importantly, ‘not’ affecting you. I think Joe’s noticed it, too. You’re becoming very comfortable moving through the darkness of this new world, more comfortable and familiar than I think is good for you.”

  “Why is it okay for Joe to be doing this and not me? Is it because I’m a woman and you don’t think I can do it?”

  “No, no. Not that at all. Joe’s had training and he’s got an entire police force around him. Men who have walked in his shoes, trodden that path before him. He can talk to them, lean on them if he needs to. You’re alone, Maggie.”

  “But I’m not alone, Inspector. I have you.”

  “Thank you, my dear. But I am a grizzled old veteran who has forgotten what it’s like to see violence for the first time. Those calluses? I have them in spades. I’m not indifferent, but I see things differently at this stage of my career.”

  “Forewarned is forearmed. I see your point, but I’m not going to let that deter me. We’ll keep going forward, together.”

  The clock counts out ten minutes. Companionable silence fills the room. Dust motes dance in the rays of a sunbeam coming from the window.

  “Maggie!”

  Maggie startles, clutching at the arms of the chair. “Goodness, Inspector.”

  “Maggie, I think I know a way where we can get Eugene to talk and you can remain safe,” Frank says.

  “I’m sorry? You what?”

  “It’s not the list itself that’s crucial, but rather the leverage it provides so that the police can get Eugene to supply eye-witness testimony to Mickey’s operations. Joe will have to be the one who came across those papers of Eugene’s. It’s being caught red-handed that will make Eugene spill the beans about Duffy.”

  “But why would Joe be in Eugene’s room?”

  “Because, and this may come as a surprise to some, Constable Kelly has excellent investigative skills. He suspected Eugene Smith was working with the Duffy crew, and he was looking for evidence to prove it.” Frank folds his hands over his stomach with a satisfied smile.

  “That’s brilliant, Inspector. But why wouldn’t Joe have thought of that as a way of pressuring Eugene without involving me? It’s so obvious.”

  "Well, there are a couple of reasons. First, no one knows the two of you are friends. He is a lodger in the home of a landlady named Mrs. Barnes. And he happens to suspect a fellow lodger.”

  “That’s true,” says Maggie. “Next?”

  “Joe is an honorable man. He’d never want to take credit for something he didn’t do. He is the type of man who wants to earn the honour of putting Mickey Duffy away. This kind of arrest could break the hold of these bootleggers in Philadelphia. It would make Joe’s career, but he will have a hard time taking all the glory if he doesn’t feel he’s earned it. He knows he didn’t find the papers. You did. He’s not thinking about the whole picture. His subconscious won’t take credit for something he didn’t do, and his reasoning skills haven’t let him see that this may be a solution.”

  “It’d be so much better for me if he could say it was him suspecting a fellow lodger,” says Maggie.

  “We need to present that to him. To bring an evil man to justice is every policeman’s dream. Joe believes the glory and recognition belong to you because you are the one that discovered the papers. His natural honesty has blurred his vision to see the danger you’ll be in.”

  “Yes, I see that,” Maggie says, nodding slowly. She has always admired Joe’s integrity.

  “And, importantly, if this should go to trial, and Joe is asked on the stand about who found the papers, he’d have to commit perjury. An
d that will be going against everything that he believes in.”

  Maggie sits back in her chair, frowning. “Perjury. I hadn’t thought of that. Joe will never agree to lie in court.”

  “Perhaps we can convince him. What we need to do, Maggie, is to get him to believe, as we do, that a justice system controlled by bootleggers and greed is nothing more than a sham. That he would not be lying to Lady Justice herself, because Lady Justice has been kidnapped and held hostage in Philadelphia. In fact, he’d be helping free her. The version of Joe finding the paper will protect you and Tommy. It gets Eugene to testify. And it builds a solid case against Duffy. In this case, lying is the only honorable thing to do.”

  “I’m convinced, Inspector, but can we convince Joe? Lady Justice may be kidnapped but I don’t know that he’d trade her release for perjury. It’s a longshot for sure. Let me make a quick sandwich for Tommy’s lunch and leave him a note. And then let’s go to the precinct and talk to Joe.”