hatter

by Mark wells

  stale bread that we had. He threw some out to the swans at the back, for they were unable to get any. He then asked if I could give you this package, having said you were friends. He called you by name, so I thought no more about it’. ‘Would you please describe the man, in as much detail, as you possibly can, leave nothing out?’ The man was quite tall, with a slight stammer, and not very old looking. His face was thin, and quite white in fact, he did not look well at all. He spoke with an accent of a London nature. Certainly not the accent of a person of high class background. I could not tell the colour of his eyes or hair, for the light was fading, brown I think. He spoke quietly, and slowly. I did not feel threatened in the least. He only stayed with us a short while then he rose and left. The only thing that caught my eye was his top hat. It gleamed like new’.

  ‘Very well, that will be all for now. If you think of anything else, tell me immediately. Make sure the children are in bed, and then retire for the night;’ she left the room, as I began turning the cane through my hands, looking for the initials of its owner. Below the head I found the initials ‘J.C’, Jason Crane. I turned toward Charlotte.

  ‘This Belongs to Jason, I pray he is alright’, the shock on Charlottes face, said it all. ‘I will find out tomorrow’, but I knew he was not. ‘The hour is late now and There is nothing I can do for now’. We were soon in bed. I knew this would be an uneasy night, pictures racing through my mind, conjuring up all manner of scenarios, regarding the possible demise of Jason. I could hear the police whistles, and shouts of murder, in my mind. I imagined the killers face, fitting the description Ellen gave me, running from the scene. I could see the dark alley-ways, and the dim street lights exploding, into my mind with faces of people I had never seen before. I woke around six thirty covered in sweat, my eyes hurt, my mind foggy, like the morning outside, as seen from the bedroom window. I washed, dressed, and made my way to the kitchen, where I knew Edith would make me some coffee. I found Ellen quietly sitting by the range in the kitchen. From the way she was coughing I knew she had caught a chill, the day before.

  ‘Wrap up warm. Go back to bed, for you will not help yourself, or us, in that condition’.

  ‘Thank you sir’.

  ‘I will inform Charlotte, of my decision. I hope you feel better tomorrow’. I drank the coffee, which made me shudder into life, and I returned to Charlotte in the bedroom. She was just starting to wake, and once again I stroked her hair, as I had done, so many times before. ‘I will be going to see Richard Mayne again shortly. I will take Jason’s cane with me. If anything has happened it will class as evidence. Also Ellen has a chill so I have sent her back to bed’.

  ‘Very well, try not to be to long this time will you?’

  ‘I will be as quick as I can’. I said, kissing her on the forehead. I rose, went down the stairs, picked up the cane, and went into the street outside. The cold wind felt worse, biting as it was whipped up from the Thames. I tried to pay as little attention to it as possible, and concentrate on the task to hand.

  THE DEATH OF JASON CRANE:

  I sought to piece together as much of Jason’s Crane’s movements as best I could So I could give everything I had found out, to Richard Mayne regarding Jason’s movements after the Cremorne. If he had indeed been killed, for at this moment I was not quite sure. I made my way through the streets of Chelsea to the hotel where Robert Rowan was staying whilst here in London. He was a small man, quite round in the face with wispy hair, rather portly, yet not ashamed of his stature, always saying it was the good life, which he had led, since the death of his father, which was responsible. He also laughed a lot, claiming that laughter, kept him youthful, which it probably did. He always brought a smile to us, throughout the experience of Sevastopol. I knocked on the door of his room at the hotel. He answered, dressed in night clothes.

  ‘Come in James’, he said with a smile. His eyes always sparkled so much, we would swear, that if we were ever lost, the shine in his eyes would light our way home. He was full of life, even at this hour.

  ‘Sit down James. Is there anything, I can get you?’ He said with a smile.

  ‘You had better sit down! Robert. I want you to tell me what happened, after you and Jason left the Cremorne’.

  ‘Why what has happened to Jason’? He said, the smile draining from his face. ‘His cane was delivered to me, so I must therefore assume him to be dead’.

  I then told him of the proceedings of the night before, and how Jason’s silver cane came to my possession. ‘Jason, and I had had much too much to eat, and drink, so I asked if he would spend the night at my hotel, rather than make the trip to his hotel. He agreed, and we came back here, and somehow found the room for several night-caps, but he insisted, he would continue his journey to his hotel. I told him not to, but he insisted, and left’.

  ‘About what time was this’?

  ‘About one thirty in the morning, as far as I can remember’.

  ‘Thank you, I will see you later, today. Now I must go and see Richard Mayne’. It then occurred to me, that whoever gave Ellen the cane, must have been watching the house, waiting to follow whoever came out. I could still find no valid reason for the killings, with the exception that we were wealthy, or aristocracy. I hailed a cab, and was soon on my way to Whitehall place. I ran up the steps into the police station, to be confronted by the same officer I had seen before.

  ‘Is Sir Richard Mayne in his office’? ‘Yes but he is extremely busy, today’.

  ‘He will see me! Please, would you inform him, that I am here’, this was one thing that I could not tolerate, being fobbed off, or kept waiting, by anyone, especially now.

  ‘Sir Richard will see you now’. I walked into his office, and sat down.

  ‘I know why you are here, James”. Jason Crane’s body was found in an alleyway off Church Street’. The name Mary Jeffries immediately, sprung to mind He had been struck on the head, from behind with great force, enough to shatter his skull. We only knew it was him, because of his name gilded on the empty wallet, which was found nearby, He had been robbed, and killed, for what he carried’.

  ‘No! Someone killed him for another reason’, I produced the silver cane, which was delivered to me, via Ellen. I explained the events of the night before, giving him the description of the killer, as given to me by Ellen. I told him of Cremorne Gardens, and my conference with Robert Rowan, that morning. His face turned ashen.

  ‘Then, at this moment in time there are, a few possibilities, Richard winter, although we are following him, we lost him last night, and we will question him later. Someone, who knows all of you, and we cannot discount one of your group, a grudge born out of your service days, or another, as of yet unknown reason’.

  ‘You can discount one of our group’, although I was beginning to wonder. ‘I know them all to well’. We were ‘brothers in arms’, we were all from wealthy backgrounds, with both parents dead, we had become like one family, and brothers did not kill brothers.

  ‘At the moment, I want all of you to disperse, go home, make it difficult for the killer, and do not go out on your own, especially at night.’

  ‘I will meet with the rest of the ten at the club later, and I will tell them your wishes, but I for one will not hide, or be kept prisoner in my own house. I will bring the killer out’.

  ‘I might have expected this of you, but was hoping that it would not be the case. I will do all that I can, but Please be careful, I value our friendship to much, to see you harmed. You may keep the cane, I know of its importance to you’. Having thanked Richard, I told him I would keep him informed, of any further developments as they arose, if indeed they did. I made my way out of the office, tipping my hat to the picture of Queen Victoria, and left. It was only a short cab ride from there to the Gentlemen’s club.

  ‘Could you take me to the army and navy club on Pall Mall’?

  ‘Very good sir’. I entered, and found the rest of our group, smoking large cigars, and we were soon discussing the events lead
ing to Jason’s demise. We hurriedly concluded the business matters, as planned.

  ‘Richard Mayne has expressed a request that we should all go back to our estates, and stay there, putting distance between us, until this is resolved, for personal security purposes. only’.

  ’I will not be leaving for home’, said Robert Rowan. ‘I love the hustle, and bustle, of the city; I have no wife or children, waiting for me. Here there is love, life, friendship, and happiness. There it is cold, and barren, with servants, who do everything for me. The boredom would kill me! If I am to die, I will do it here, and I will do it following the pursuits that I adore. Sevastopol and Inkerman had their chance and failed, if this is to be my end, so be it!’

  ‘Then that is you decision’, I said, wondering what these pursuits were. A very quiet voice, almost inaudible came from another of the ten.

  ‘I will head off home at first light. I dislike noise intensely. I long for the solitude of the shires. I only came here to conclude business matters, of the forth quarter, or I would not have come at all. I cannot wait to get back to Derbyshire’. This was one of the very rare occasions, that we heard anything from Adam Conrad. He was a very timid person, very shy, yet refined. He had visibly bad nerves, and a tremble of the hands. We thought he must have been cashiered out of the army, with shell shock. Noise of any description made him flinch. He never spoke of the war. If it wasn’t for his father, he would never have gone, not army material, I always thought. I could quite easily understand his reasoning, for wanting to go home. I believe this was all too much for his nerves to stand, and I wished him a safe journey home.

  ‘I will stay too’, came a harsh voice, from a table just behind us. This was the harsh voice of George Fairfax, and every time I heard him speak, it made me want to run for cover. This was a soldier, from a predominately army family. Whose sole aim in life was to fight, and die in battle. Yet he had a gentler side, which I had only seen, when he was near children or animals. ‘I certainly will not run, and hide, cowardice is not part of who I am. If I am to die then, by an unknown hand, I will die, but I resolve not to die easily’.

  ‘This man attacks from behind George!’

  ‘A coward then’, he said with a look of disgust on his face, the same look of contempt, which I had seen at Sevastopol, for the dead and dying. I believe, he wondered why he was not one of them; maybe life meant him for a different purpose, one that had not shown itself yet. I could see he was visibly agitated by something. He stood up, turned almost on the spot, and glared at the rest of the people in the room.

  ‘Will you stop staring at us? He roared. Is there anyone who wants to take this outside? I thought not’.

  ‘George, will you please be seated?’ He mumbled something beneath his breath and slumped back into his chair, and continuing to smoke a large cigar He ordered his glass to be filled to the top, which he downed in one, a sign even he was more, that a bit nervous. By the large amount of alcohol he was consuming I knew that I had to conclude this meeting quickly, before things got out of hand, which they normally did, when he drank too much. The rest of the group which incorporated Mark Adrian Walters, Simon Henderson, Steven Farnsworth, and Gabriel

  Ward, approved the logic behind Richard Mayne’s, wishes, and contracted to leave London for their country seats the next day. The conference complete, I headed home to Cheyne Walk, with the extra cane, in hand. My mood was beginning to turn to anger, as I wrapped the knocker on the front door, but I had it under control, for now. The door was opened by Ellen, who quickly took my hat and coat. She stared at the second cane, which she quickly put in the stand by the front door. ‘I wish to see you in the drawing room in ten minutes; I have something to talk about with you’. Charlotte was already sitting there, trying to get a tune out of the piano, which she could not seem to master; I knew she was upset, for the lid was slammed down hard. I led her away from the piano, and sat her down near the fire. Her hands were cold, and she rubbed them vigorously. ‘I had something to say, and I wanted Ellen to be present’. Ellen knocked on the door, and entered the drawing room, quietly. ‘Please sit down Ellen, for what I have to say concerns you as well. The man who gave you this cane has killed one of my closest friends. You have seen his face, and provided me with a description, but he has seen your face too, and that means, you can identify him, which makes you a target. Although this man is after me, he may come after you as well. Therefore I want, if you are willing, to go with your mistress to Braebourne house, at least for a short while, anyway the change of scenery, might do you some good, for you do look a bit ‘peaky’. I will go with you in the morning to see your parents’. ‘Very well sir’.

  ‘You can go now, don’t let your excitement, stop you from helping Edith with the dinner. I am famished’. Ellen rose and made her way to the kitchen. ‘Dear Charlotte, we have been together always, since childhood, with the exception of those dreadful years in the Crimea, and I know what you must have felt then. I love you very dearly, but I have to stay here. To be near me now, is madness, for the sake of yourself, Ellen, and the children, you must leave, and leave quickly’.

  ‘I do not like what you have said. The very thought of being without you makes me feel sick, but I know what you are saying is true. We will go tomorrow’. I held her hand, cupped in mine gently, and saw tears come to her eyes. I wiped them away, and whispered. ‘Please don’t cry my love, or I may cry also’. The man whoever he was had taken my world which was safe and protected, and in a matter of days, he had turned it upside down. This made my stomach churn, to the extent, that I wished him dead, by my hands, and I would have my revenge no matter what it took, or where I had to go. I then started to think, about the remainder of the ten. What else had I to find out, about their ulterior lives, and did I really want to know? I had to go back to speak with Mary Jeffries of Church Street, to see if she new anything about Jason Crane.

  A knock came on the door, Ellen entered to inform us that dinner was ready. We only adhered to the way things were done, when at Braebourne. There was very little standing on ceremony, whilst here. Etiquette meant very little to me at and. Charlotte used to say I was no better than a commoner. Nevertheless we made our way to the dining room, where a five course meal awaited us, consisting of, transparent soup, roast pork with potatoes, two side dishes of vegetables, burnt crème, and ginger snaps. I thanked Ellen, and asked her to convey my thanks to Edith. Nothing special was made for the children; they ate the same as us, and were not allowed to leave the table, until it was finished. I knew Emy hated vegetables, and she seemed to wretch when eating them. So I only made her eat a few, telling her that they were good for her. She tried, but I could see the children’s eyes, were firmly fixed on the sweets, which disappeared in an Instant. I tried to give the children, the feeling that they were more grown up than they were, by including them in our conversations. So I asked their opinion, on Ellen moving to Braebourne with us. They both agreed with a smile. It was time for their bed, so I tucked them in, and kissed Emy goodnight, Charles, still playing the little Lord, climed into bed, I held out my hands, but to no avail. I made my way down the stairs to Charlotte, sitting silently by her side, assuring her that things would turn out all right, and I would be home for Christmas. I poured a brandy, whose warmth in my stomach, settled my nerves somewhat, this was quickly followed by another. I picked up a book, and began to read, but my mind was somewhere else, I could not concentrate on the book at all, and I very quickly put it back down. I tried to make conversational small talk, but was unable to.

  ‘I think I’ll go to bed. I know it’s early, but I’ve really have had enough for one day’.

  ‘I think I will join you. I’ll ask Edith to bring us up a cup of warm milk. That should send us both off to sleep. ’With that, we made our way up the stairs to the bedroom, and were soon in bed. We welcomed the warm milk which we drank quickly. I held Charlotte in my arms, and stroked her hair. The kiss goodnight was warm, and tender, and the love that followed, was not of haste
, as in our younger days, but of marriage, calm and gentle, sensual, and with meaning. The next day started early. Charlotte made preparations, for the long journey home. I went with Ellen, to explain the situation to her parents, who lived not far from Cheyne Walk. The accommodation was undersized, with no garden, chimney smoke added to the intensely dense fog, which had descended over Chelsea that day. Ellen entered first, at her request, asking if I would wait outside. I was invited in by whom I thought would be her mother, but her mother had died of tuberculosis the year before, and the lady of the house, Ellen’s step mother, bowed as I entered the sitting room, which made me smile, but was unnecessary.

  ‘Please do not bow to me; I am not royalty. It is I who feel humble. For you have done a fine job with Ellen, and I am pleased to make your acquaintance madam’.

  ‘Please sit down sir. Would you like some tea?’ ‘No thank you’, I said looking round the sparsely decorated room, which was dark, in comparison to Cheyne Walk. This woman seemed to be interested, in telling me her life’s story, rather than listening to my very valid reasons for being there. Eventually, when I was allowed to speak, I explained the situation in some detail. She agreed at once to Ellen leaving with us for Braebourne that day. I then began asking her of her financial situation, for I could tell they were not that well off, and I explained she would not suffer any financial loss. I listened intently to her financial state of affairs. I decided that, because Ellen had become important to my family, and children, that I would show my gratitude by making a weekly payment, which would be worked out by Mr Paul Winter, enabling her to purchase the house which they lived in. This was my only principal, the principal of gratitude, which was the principle of the ten, supposedly. She did not need to thank me, for it was self evident, the look on her face was all that was needed. ‘Don’t look so shocked! I will endeavour to have Ellen home for Christmas. We have to leave now Ellen. Trains linger for no-one’. We said our farewells, and made our way back to Cheyne Walk, where Charlotte and the children were already waiting, to be escorted to the station. I informed Edith, that I would return about six thirty, that day and would require a light supper. With that we left. I could see that we would require two cabs, for the trip to the station, which I hailed, and we were soon on our way. I usually enjoyed this short trip, for it was the start of our long journey home, but this I dreaded. We arrived at the station to find the train waiting; at least our goodbyes would be swift. I could not hold Charlotte in public, this was London after all. The baggage was loaded, and I managed a quick kiss and embrace from Emy. I gave Charlotte Jason’s lion head cane, with orders to place it in the rack, next to the fire place Steam came from the Leopard class train, and she was gone. I must admit my stomach churned at the thought of being left behind, but my family were now safe, and on their way home, this was all I cared about for now. I left the station for my first port of call, which would be the offices of Mister Paul Winter, something I would most certainly regret. I entered his offices, which were quite plush, and paid for by our money, no doubt.