A Winter Baby for Gin Barrel Lane

by Lindsey Hutchinson

  The thought of ordure seeping into the walls or beneath the floor was a major worry and if it was proved to be the case, then that would have to be where the work began.

  Eli shook his head. ‘No, the sewage is all pumped into the River Rea now, has been these past thirteen years.’

  ‘Then what can be causing that dreadful smell? And more to the point, why has no one complained about it before?’

  ‘Lucas said the night soil men come regularly,’ Jack reminded her.

  ‘They’ve no need to now,’ Eli said, shaking his head.

  ‘So, he lied to us!’ Dolly exclaimed.

  Her eyes followed Eli as he scrambled past the spare furniture and began sniffing the walls and floorboards.

  ‘It’s stronger this end of the room,’ he said as he stood close to the window. ‘Whatever it is, it needs fixing.’

  ‘You’d best start there, Eli,’ Dolly said, then she asked Jack, ‘don’t you think?’

  ‘Yes. That needs putting right before we do anything else. We can’t live with that stink, we’ll be ill.’

  ‘I agree. We’ll need to shift this furniture out to give Eli room to work.’

  ‘I’ll get the lads on it right away,’ Jack said.

  ‘What about the bar?’

  ‘I’ve shut the doors, we only had two blokes in yesterday so it ain’t worth the effort,’ Jack said in an authoritative manner.

  ‘Right then, get your lads to clearing a space while I fetch my boys to give me a hand with this,’ Eli wrinkled his nose and waved a hand before his face, ‘pong!’

  Jack nodded.

  ‘Of course, it could be that summat has crawled in the space between the bricks and died there, a rat maybe,’ Eli said as he trundled downstairs behind Dolly and Jack.

  The barmen were given their new instructions and Frank asked, ‘Where are we going to put all that stuff?’

  ‘Shove it in another spare room for now until we decide what to do with it,’ Jack answered.

  As the men went to do Jack’s bidding, Dolly asked, ‘What do we do with all that beer in the cellar?’

  ‘I don’t know. I was thinking to ask you. I wonder if Ezra would take it back?’

  ‘I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction because he would only pay under the odds, if anything at all,’ Dolly said.

  ‘We’ll have to get it moved to make way for the gin barrels.’

  ‘That’s a way off yet, but I agree. How much does it sell for?’

  ‘Porter is five pence halfpenny a quart.’

  ‘How about putting it at two pence a quart until it’s all gone? Then Ezra can fetch his empties and the cellar can be cleaned out and whitewashed.’

  ‘Good idea, at least it will get rid of it and we’ll be earning even if it’s only a bit.’

  ‘I’ll let Aggie know, that way the news will spread quickly,’ Dolly said and they both smiled.

  ‘Good plan. The sooner the better.’

  ‘I’ll leave you to it, then,’ Dolly said. ‘Let me know how Eli gets on.’

  Dolly said her goodbyes and stepped out to find a cab. She waved her stick at a cabbie waiting for a fare and waited while he drew up.

  On her way home, Dolly pondered the tricky issue of choosing a new name for the old building.

  In the meantime, over in Nova Scotia Street, Ezra Moreton was pondering too. He had been informed that Hodges had been spotted at the Bricky, which could only mean one thing – Dolly Perkins intended to renovate the whole building. Where the hell was she getting her money from? Clearly she had bought the place on a mortgage facility from the bank but how had she obtained that? Was Daydream Palace pulling in that much money? He began to wonder if he was in the wrong business and whether he should turn one of his old pubs into a gin palace of his own. But he quickly shook his head. No, that would mean paying out to refurbish and he wasn’t about to spend good money on what could turn out to be a pipedream. The risk was too great; he liked his money where it was – in his bank account.

  Returning his thoughts to Dolly and her new venture, he wondered if she was overstepping herself. Could Birmingham stand three gin palaces? Were there enough gin drinkers to support them all?

  Ezra sighed as he frowned. Only time would tell and if it turned out to be a failure, then he could step in with an offer to buy the place, at a vastly reduced price, of course.

  He had set a couple of his men to watch the goings-on and report back to him. He wanted to keep a keen eye on the situation in order to be first in should Dolly’s plans fall foul of her grand ideas.

  A knock on his office door broke him free of his thoughts. ‘Hodges has been booked to move in to start work on the Bricky, boss, and the roof’s leaking again in the works,’ a voice said.

  Ezra nodded and dismissed the messenger with a flick of his fingers. He smiled as he snipped the end of his cigar with the cutter. He struck a match and puffed hard, sending clouds of blue-grey smoke into the air. Tossing the match into the cut-glass ashtray, he leaned back in his chair.

  Good luck, Dolly Daydream, you’re going to need it.

  Over at the Palace, Dolly had told old Aggie about the porter going for two pennies a quart at the Bricky, but only while stocks lasted. A free tot of gin ensured the message would be spread rapidly.

  ‘You got the place, then?’ Aggie asked.

  ‘Yes, thanks to you I did.’ Dolly grinned as Aggie pushed an empty glass across the counter. Dolly filled it again, saying, ‘You’re coming too often with this.’

  ‘I earned it though, d’aint I?’

  ‘You did,’ Dolly replied.

  Just then there was the sound of a ruckus breaking out, and Dolly saw two of her floor-walkers move into the fray. The situation was calmed almost immediately as the culprits were forcibly ejected. She watched as a child with a tin jug was served, and as the girl wove her way through the crowd she dipped her finger in and sucked the liquid off, then shuddered at the sharp taste. A woman too drunk to stand unaided draped herself over a man standing next to her. Unable to hold himself and the woman upright they both crashed to the floor, howling with laughter.

  Dolly smiled at the spectacle and shook her head at her floor-walkers, which told them to leave the drunkards where they were. They were causing no harm and would soon be back on their feet once their laughing had ceased.

  The smile still on her face, Dolly retired to the kitchen, where Sadie and Alice were working hard.

  ‘Something smells good,’ Dolly remarked.

  ‘Steak and kidney pudding,’ Sadie replied.

  ‘And rice pudding to follow,’ Alice added.

  ‘How’s it going at the Bricky?’ Sadie asked, providing tea for her employer.

  ‘All good, thank you, but there’s a horrid smell coming from one of the bedrooms. Eli Hodges is investigating it now.’

  ‘It’ll be the lavvies,’ Alice said.

  ‘And how would you know that?’ Sadie asked.

  ‘’Cos my dad knew a night soil man who said the shit was always seeping where it shouldn’t go.’

  Dolly could barely contain her smile.

  ‘I’m sure Mr Hodges will let us know as soon as he discovers what the problem is. It is, however, an added expense I hadn’t planned for.’

  ‘It’s better sorted now, though,’ the cook said sensibly.

  ‘Definitely, ’cos shit that’s set in will stink the place out forever,’ Alice answered with a mischievous grin.

  ‘I wasn’t speaking to you!’ Sadie barked.

  ‘Well, excuse the hell out of me!’ Alice returned just as harshly.

  Dolly let go of the grin she was holding back. It was like being at the music hall watching these two, and it brought back memories of Nellie and Nancy doing the same thing. It brought her comfort as she watched the cook and maid bicker, it was like being home.

  ‘Hellooo!’ The call preceded the man as Wilton Burton stepped into the kitchen and Dolly felt her heart lurch.

  ‘Back again? What brings
you here this time?’ Dolly asked happily.

  ‘Good food,’ he sniffed, ‘and the best company,’ he added with a bow.

  ‘You should be on the stage,’ Dolly said.

  ‘Ar, sweeping it,’ Sadie mumbled, and Alice burst out laughing. Dolly was relieved to see Wilton join in.

  ‘I hear on the grapevine that you have invested in new premises.’

  ‘Now, how would you know that – and so quickly?’

  ‘I have a spy,’ Wilton said, glancing around surreptitiously.

  ‘Let me guess – Aggie!’

  He nodded.

  ‘I wondered where she was getting her money from,’ Dolly said with a laugh, ‘but you know you could save your coin and just ask me instead.’

  Over tea and cake, Dolly related the whole tale of the purchase of the Bricky, including the news that Ezra Moreton wasn’t best pleased.

  ‘You really shouldn’t mess with him, Dolly. He’s the worst kind of person.’

  ‘I know, I’ve had dealings with him before, which is how Nellie came to be ordering her gin from your father.’ She explained how Ezra had threatened the local distillers should they decide to supply Nellie at the Crown Saloon. Nellie, not to be outdone, had sought out Burton’s instead.

  They had just finished lunch when a runner came from the Bricky with a message for Dolly to come back straight away. The urchin runners were situated all over the town and ran messages for pennies in order to buy food or second-hand clothes. It was a vast network of orphans and runaways who came together to form an extremely efficient service. No one seemed to know where they all lived, but if you wanted a runner you only had to whistle and one would arrive in a matter of moments.

  The boy was dressed in rags and was barefoot. His hair was a matted mess and his face was filthy dirty, and when Dolly asked the boy what was so important, the street urchin said, ‘I don’t know, missus, but Jack said to move your arse!’

  Giving the child a sixpence, Dolly saw his eyes light up before he turned and ran.

  Grabbing her cane, Dolly wondered what the fates had in store for her now.

  17

  Wilton insisted on accompanying Dolly to the Bricky in case it was something he could help with, and they hailed a cab.

  ‘I wonder what it is that has Jack sending for you so urgently?’ he asked as the cab lurched its way through the busy streets.

  ‘We’ll find out soon enough,’ Dolly replied, looking worried.

  Any other time she would have enjoyed a carriage ride with Wilton Burton, but today she had other things on her mind. Whatever had happened had clearly made Jack feel he couldn’t cope alone, hence the call for her to return immediately, and that couldn’t mean anything good.

  Dolly was pleased to see a crowd of people in the bar, the notice outside seeming to have worked. On a chalk board was scrawled: Porter twopence a quart – till it’s all gone!

  ‘Two pennies a quart! Dolly – Jack’s giving it away!’ Wilton remarked.

  ‘I know, I told him to. I need the cellar emptied.’

  Wilton blew out his cheeks and shrugged. Clearly Dolly had a plan but he hoped she knew what she was doing.

  ‘Thank God you’re here!’ Frank said as Dolly approached the bar.

  ‘What’s going on?’ she asked, then looked around as the buzz of conversation halted. She saw men exchange looks which clearly meant, what’s a woman doing in a public house?

  ‘Jack’s upstairs with Eli Hodges, you’d best get your ar… go up right away,’ the barman said, looking agitated.

  Dolly led the way, with Wilton right behind her.

  ‘Whatever is that awful smell?’ he asked as they neared the room where voices could be heard.

  ‘Sewers, we think.’

  Entering the bedroom, which was now devoid of the old furniture, Dolly gagged and held onto the door before she collapsed. There, at the back of the room, was a woman, clearly long dead, and hidden behind the wall. The corpse was somehow still standing in the small cavity and its eyes stared back accusingly. Teeth showed in the open mouth as if the woman was asking for help. Dolly turned and fled down the corridor to the stairs as fast as her gammy leg would allow with Wilton hot on her heels, closely followed by Jack. Sitting in the kitchen, Dolly’s complexion turned from white to green and she just made it to the privy outside before her food and stomach parted company.

  Given a glass of water when she returned to the kitchen, she asked urgently, ‘Have you sent for the constabulary?’

  ‘Not yet, I thought…’ Jack mumbled.

  ‘Do it, Jack, do it now!’

  Joey was despatched to inform the police that during renovations, something very disturbing had been found and he was told a bobby would call round when he could spare the time.

  ‘We need a detective for this,’ Joey said to the duty sergeant.

  ‘Oh, really? And why would that be?’

  ‘Because the something we found is a body!’

  ‘Right, lad, get back there and don’t touch anything! We have a sleuth here and he’ll want to inspect everything!’ the sergeant said, all business now.

  Joey raced back to inform Dolly and Jack that the police were on their way and to leave things as they were.

  ‘No wonder it was smelling so bad!’ Dolly said shakily as they all awaited the arrival of the police.

  ‘But who could she be is the question I keep coming back to?’ Eli asked.

  ‘And how long has she been there?’ Jack added.

  Bess and Gwen had been eager to go up and have a look at what everyone was talking about but had been forbidden by Jack. ‘You don’t want to be looking at that.’

  In short order, Inspector James Conroy arrived with a constable and was shown the grisly scene by Eli. And just a while later, Inspector Conroy positioned himself in the kitchen to ask his questions, having sent the constable to fetch the coroner.

  Naturally, having the police there had caused a buzz of excitement amongst the patrons in the bar, and Jack was instructed to send them home and close up.

  ‘Who is the owner of this establishment?’ Conroy asked.

  ‘I am, Dolly Perkins. I bought the place a couple of days ago from Lucas Freeman.’

  ‘And where is Mr Freeman now?’

  ‘I believe he went to live with his sister in America, but I don’t have a forwarding address for him.’

  ‘How very unfortunate.’

  ‘Unfortunate? Why?’

  ‘Well, I have a lot of questions for him.’

  ‘Of course,’ Dolly said quietly.

  ‘Does anyone know how long Mr Freeman lived here?’

  ‘Ten years or so.’ Joey supplied the answer.

  ‘And you are?’

  ‘Joey Piggot, I’m the barman, along with Frank Davies.’

  ‘How long have you worked here?’

  ‘Twelve months. Me and Frank started at the same time.’

  Inspector Conroy glanced at Frank who nodded. ‘And in that time did you witness anything untoward?’

  ‘Like what?’ Frank asked.

  ‘Like somebody hiding a corpse behind a wall!’

  Frank shook his head frantically.

  ‘Was Mr Freeman married?’

  ‘Yes, but apparently she left him,’ Joey said.

  ‘When?’

  ‘I don’t know, it was before we came here.’

  ‘Bugger!’ Conroy muttered.

  A banging on the front door heralded the arrival of the coroner and his assistant. There was a clatter as a gurney was dragged out of the official-looking carriage and was pulled inside when the door was opened by Jack. The constable had held on to the back of the coach during the journey to the Bricky, and now showed the way to the bedroom.

  ‘It’s unusual for a woman to own a pub, may I ask why you bought it?’ Conroy asked Dolly pointedly.

  ‘I intend to turn it into a gin palace,’ Dolly replied.

  ‘Not another!’ Conroy said with a curl of his lip. ‘We have t
wo in the town already!’

  ‘There are also a lot of inns, taverns and public houses. There’s one on almost every corner,’ Dolly said, her gander up now.

  Conroy chose to ignore Dolly’s remark and turning to Wilton asked, ‘Mr Perkins?’

  ‘Goodness me, no!’ Wilton said. ‘Wilton Burton, supplier of fine ales and spirits.’

  ‘Hmm. And you?’ Conroy jabbed a finger in Jack’s direction.

  ‘Jack Larkin, manager.’

  Turning back to Dolly, Conroy asked, ‘So where’s your husband?’

  ‘I don’t have one.’

  The inspector harrumphed and was about to speak again but was interrupted by the bustle heard on the stairs as the body was transported to the carriage.

  ‘So, what can you tell me, doc?’ Conroy called out.

  The coroner followed the voice, arriving at the kitchen. ‘Ah, there you are, James. We have the body of a woman in her middle years.’

  ‘How can you be sure it’s a woman?’ Conroy asked.

  ‘The dress rather gave it away.’

  Everyone in the kitchen suppressed a smile at the quip despite the grim circumstances.

  ‘Any idea what killed her?’ Conroy pushed.

  ‘Another person would be my guess.’

  Titters sounded and Conroy huffed. ‘Funny man today, ain’t yer?’

  ‘Just trying to make light of a grotesque situation, James. An autopsy will tell us more.’ With that, he left to help lift the gurney back into the carriage.

  ‘He can be a real smartarse at times,’ Conroy said. ‘I think that’s all I need in the way of information for now, so I’ll get back to the station.’

  ‘What about our renovations, can we proceed?’ Dolly asked.

  ‘I don’t see why not, unless you find another body, that is.’ Conroy was the only one to chuckle this time so, clearing his throat, he added, ‘Yes, although it’s a crime scene, we have no hard evidence to point towards a perpetrator. Therefore, in my professional opinion, your work can continue.’

  Jack saw Conroy and the constable out, and instantly the chatter and gossip began over tea.

  ‘I ain’t so sure I want to live here now!’ Gwen, the maid, wailed.

  ‘Don’t be so daft, girl! The dead can’t hurt you, it’s the living you have to watch out for!’ the cook snapped.