The Liars

by Ida Linehan Young

  “Well, where’s Power and Walsh?”

  “We carried them to the Riverview Hospital,” Dalton said. “Power’s got a broken leg, and Walsh got a busted arm. They’ll be there for a week or more.”

  Danol couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “So, out of nowhere, and for no reason, these men started a fight.”

  “Swear it’s true, Captain,” Hearn said.

  “There were a few robberies when we were chasing that prisoner,” Jeffries said. “But this seems even bolder than that.”

  “Was MacDonald with you?” Danol asked.

  “No, sir, he went out before supper,” Dalton said.

  “Suppose nothing has happened to him,” Danol said to Jeffries.

  Moments later, John MacDonald came aboard. When he came into the light of the lanterns, Hearn asked, “What happened to you?”

  John looked them up and down and said, “I should be asking you that.”

  They explained the fight and told him about Walsh and Power’s condition.

  “I ran into an old friend,” John said. “He was looking for work down here. He’ll be back again in the morning. I left him a while ago, and on the way back I was set upon by these three young men.” John rubbed his belly. “I’m not as young as I used to be.”

  “Check in with Alice,” Danol said. “She’s worried.”

  John nodded. “I will.” He walked away with the other men but then turned and came back to Danol. “Sounds like you’re down by two men. I’ll stay on tomorrow, and my buddy, he’ll be down around in the morning. I’ll ask him to come to see you.”

  “Is he a good fellow, John?”

  “Knew him long ago, Danol,” John replied. “He was a good hand.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.”

  John gave him a long, steady look. He nodded. “Better go see Alice and tell her about tomorrow,” he said before disappearing down below.

  “Got time for a drink, Jeffries?” Danol asked the constable.

  “Thought you’d never ask. I’d like to go over what’s in there.” Jeffries pointed at the envelope Danol had poked inside his jacket.

  “Let’s forget about that,” Danol said.

  “Better not.”

  Danol eyed him and nodded. “Let’s go below.”

  34

  The next morning, Danol watched John say goodbye to Alice and Beatrice. Not for the first time that morning, he thought of Erith. He would be glad when this was done and he could get home to her.

  John’s friend, McPherson, showed up and seemed able-bodied enough. John introduced him to Danol. Before they could untie, the harbourmaster shouted for his attention. He pointed at several loaded wagons on the wharf. Danol signed the slip of paper and waved to the drivers to bring the carts. He shouted orders for the crew to load the large crates.

  “What is it, Captain?” Hearn asked as they gathered and waited for the carts to bring the freight alongside.

  “Seems there was a fire sometime yesterday at Pennell’s Dry Goods Store in Trepassey,” Danol said. “They’re in desperate need of supplies.”

  “Looks like they’re supplying the whole coast,” Dalton said.

  “Get to it, men,” Danol said. “That’s our business right there.”

  The crates were heavy, and it took four men to load each one. They grumbled as they worked. More than one black eye, and undoubtedly stiff muscles, were among the lot this morning. Jeffries said he’d get word to Walsh and Power that the Angel Endeavours would be back in a week to take them home. Their ship was the last to leave St. John’s harbour that morning, and they would be expected in Trepassey by nightfall. The day was bright and the waters calm with a northerly wind, breezy enough to make good time.

  Shortly before they finished the midday meal, Eddy Nolan rushed in. “Ship in distress a couple of miles off the bow,” he said. “She’s billowing smoke, and looks like men in boats in the water.”

  Everyone bolted from their seats and rushed to the stairs.

  “Eddy, grab my spyglass from the cabin. The one Mary Ro gave me,” Danol said.

  “Yes, sir,” Eddy said as he sped toward the main cabin.

  John was the last of the crew to reach the steps. Danol caught up with him and clapped him on the back before he entered the stairwell. John didn’t turn around. On deck, Hearn rang the bell to signal the Angel Endeavours was en route, and the crew took to the rail as they approached the burning ship.

  “Lots of smoke, Captain,” Dalton said. “No sign of fire yet.”

  “Get as close as you can,” Danol called back to Hearn, who was now at the wheel.

  The first of the lifeboats was near enough for a line. Seven men were aboard, and there looked to be six in the second one.

  “Throw the line,” Danol ordered. McPherson threw the rope, and one of the men grabbed it. They pulled alongside and climbed onto the ship.

  “Glad you came upon us, Captain,” the man said.

  “Welcome aboard,” Danol replied. “When we get the others on, you can tell us what happened.”

  “Line’s out,” Dalton shouted. All hands rushed starboard and helped the rest of the men onto the boat.

  One of the lot came forward toward Danol. “Let me introduce myself, Mr. Cooper. I’m Captain Thomas Baker,” he said. He pulled a pistol from beneath his coat. “We had the pleasure of meeting on the dock in St. John’s a few years ago.”

  “I don’t recall,” Danol said, eying the well-dressed, dark-haired man. He remembered that day on the wharf as if it were yesterday. He’d been out of his mind after learning that Erith had been raped. He had stormed from the Angel Endeavours and grabbed the man who’d accosted her. Peter had kept him from going to jail.

  “It must not have been that remarkable,” Danol said dryly. There was something off about this man’s appearance. Danol had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that this man, though similar, was not Captain Baker.

  “You’ve guessed why I’m here,” Captain Baker said. “Men.” There was a flurry of activity as the men from the other boat pulled guns and pointed them at Danol’s crew. “White, McPherson, check them for weapons.”

  Danol gasped as John and McPherson began to search his crew. Hearn made a swing at John when he got close. “Enough of that,” Danol shouted. He looked at Captain Baker and said, “No need for anyone to get hurt here.”

  “Is there anyone else on board?” Captain Baker asked him.

  “No, sir, they’re all here,” Danol said.

  “What about that kid?” John said.

  “What kid?” Captain Baker said.

  “Some kid running around this morning,” John said. “He’s probably hiding somewhere.”

  “Find him,” Captain Baker ordered.

  “Another boat heading this way, Captain,” one of Baker’s crew said.

  “How far?”

  “Two miles.”

  “We don’t have much time,” Captain Baker called out. “White, you find that kid yet?”

  “Yes, sir,” John said as he walked backward from below deck with his hands stretched out in front of him. “He’s right here.”

  John stepped up on deck and backed toward the bulwark. Eddy came partway up the steps, pointing a pistol towards him. John was at the rail when Danol shouted for Eddy to stop. But Eddy’s hand was steady as he pulled the trigger. Shocked, John grabbed his stomach as blood spread across his shirt. He fell back over the side rail, and a spray of water came over the gunwale, wetting the sun-dried deck and mixing with his spilled blood.

  Danol ran to the side, grabbed the wooden edge, and stretched out over the rail as far as he could. John’s body was floating in the water and drifting away from the Angel Endeavours. He turned to Eddy, but the boy had disappeared below.

  �
�That solves that problem,” Captain Baker said. “Now for this one. Mr. Cooper, ask your crew to line up on the port side, please. I hope they are good swimmers.”

  “Let my men go,” Danol said slowly.

  “Captain, the boat’s a mile off and closing,” one of Baker’s men said.

  “Cooper, get your men to the side,” Captain Baker growled.

  “Men, do what he says,” Danol said with a sigh. His crew shuffled together while Baker’s men stepped back, guns and attention trained on them. Danol moved closer to where they stood at the stern.

  “Now, Captain Baker,” Danol said boldly. “I would kindly ask you to get off my vessel.”

  Baker eyed him and then roared in laughter. His crew followed suit. “Why, Mr. Cooper, what makes you think I would do such a thing?”

  “It’s Captain Cooper to you,” Danol said. “Maybe it’s the fourteen police officers who have their guns aimed at you right now—and my ship full of men who are about to board your boat.”

  Captain Baker looked at his men, who began putting their guns on the deck. He turned around and peered at the black-caped men with the pointed hats who formed two rows, the first row on one knee and the back row standing, rifles pointed at his men. Baker dropped his weapon and put his hands in the air. “How did you know?”

  “If you kept better track of your men, you’d know there was one missing,” Danol said. “Fields, I believe, is his name. He’s in the cells in St. John’s, a little worse off than most.”

  They turned as a ruckus started behind them. Hearn and Dalton had punched two of Baker’s men.

  “That’s for Walsh!” said Hearn.

  “That’s for Power!” said Dalton.

  The police officers made quick work of tying up the pirates. Danol looked at each of them as they shuffled past him. He stopped one of the most ragged of the lot, his clothes too big to fit his frame. Danol gave him an almost imperceptible nod, which was returned. He let them carry on to the hold of the boat with the officers. Captain Baker was indeed dressed as one of the crew.

  Danol went in search of Eddy. He was in the galley, the gun still in his hand, and he was trembling. The boy ran to Danol and threw his arms around him. Danol hugged him, pried the gun from his fingers, and laid it on the table. He held him for a few moments then put his hands on the young lad’s shoulders and put him at arm’s length. “You did good today, son,” Danol said. Eddy looked up at him and swiped at a tear in his eye. Danol shook his head and said, “Mary Ro will kill me for this.” He pulled him in and hugged him again.

  “I’m all right, Danol,” Eddy said. “No need to tell Mom.”

  Danol grinned. “It doesn’t work like that with her,” he said.

  On deck, the crew gathered around Eddy and told him how brave he was. Eddy had helped get all the police officers out of the crates and back to the main cabin and then alerted them of the approaching brigands.

  Danol shouted to Captain Dicks on the Bell Island Explorer, “Any sign of the body?”

  “Not yet,” Captain Dicks replied. “We’ll keep looking, but we have to be back in St. John’s before dark if we’re going to tow this one in.”

  “Understood,” Danol shouted back. He scoured the waters around the boat for any signs of John. He paced from one side to the other and ordered his men to search with the glass. Hearn and Dalton took the rowboat out.

  A short time later, the bell rang on the Bell Island Explorer. “We have the body,” Captain Dicks shouted. His men made quick work of the oil barrels that had been set on fire to create the black smoke and illusion of fire on Captain Baker’s boat, the Seafarer.

  The flotilla of three made it into port in St. John’s just after the supper hour. Danol tied up first. Alice came to the dock while the police were unloading the pirates. She screamed and cried as she tried to get past him and onto the Bell Island Explorer. Danol released her after the constabulary had finished and left the area. Alice ran to the other vessel, and Captain Dicks helped her onto the deck.

  Danol gave orders for Hearn and Dalton to go to the Riverview Hospital and check on Power and Walsh. The rest he told to stay on board and be alert. He didn’t see much of Alice.

  He made arrangements to collect Beatrice from the convent where she was staying with some nuns who were friends of Erith’s. Beatrice and Alice would go to North Harbour with them when all the burial arrangements had been made. She thanked Danol for being so kind to her and Beatrice despite all that had happened.

  Danol sat in the main cabin and read the papers from Jeffries once more. He left the boat a short time later. On Empire Avenue, he knocked at the door of a small white house. An older man came to the door, and an orange cat squeezed out through before the man had a chance to stop him. Danol was about to reach for the large feline when the old man said to let him go on.

  “He likes to hunt,” the man said. Danol nodded.

  “I’m Danol Cooper, sir. Are you Alexander MacDonald?” Danol held out his hand.

  “I am,” Mr. MacDonald replied.

  “Can I come in?”

  Alexander MacDonald moved aside, and Danol followed him to the kitchen. “I was just sitting down for tea,” he said. He offered Danol a cup and made a place for him at the table when Danol agreed. They made small talk until both were seated across from each other.

  “What can I do for you, Mr. . . . ?”

  “Cooper. Danol, please.”

  “What can I do for you, Danol?”

  “I came to talk to you about Ted White.”

  The old man’s hand shook as he placed the cup back on the saucer. It clinked before finding its spot and settling on the porcelain. “What’s happened to Ted?”

  “When did you see him last?”

  “He was here yesterday,” the old man said. “Poor boy, he’d been gone for so long and went through something awful. He’s like a son to me. He brought me news about my poor John.” The old man’s voice was shaky. He recounted to Danol what John had said. “He brought me a letter from John, you know.

  “I knew Ted couldn’t read and didn’t have the heart to tell him that I couldn’t, either. John always wanted to show me, but I didn’t have the interest.” The old man looked down at his weathered hands and slowly shook his head from side to side. “Now I wish I did.”

  “Where is the letter?” Danol asked. “I can read it to you. If you would like me to, of course.”

  “You would? I’d appreciate that. It’s been so long since I saw John.” Mr. MacDonald rummaged in a box on a shelf above the warmer on the stove. He brought Danol the letter.

  Danol noticed the pages had been folded and refolded and had gone through Mr. MacDonald’s hands many times. He read the contents out loud. The letter recounted the innocence of two young men, of John and Ted’s exploits at sea. It painted a picture of the rugged coast of Labrador. John wrote that although Ted had had a hard time dealing with Lavinia’s death, he believed Ted would be all right now. He said he felt safe with Ted and that he hoped they would be friends forever. It sounded to Danol like John really admired Ted.

  Mr. MacDonald sat at the end of the table with his head just beyond the sun’s reach. Dust danced in the rays around his trembling hands as sunlight spilled through the window onto the table. Danol read the last words written from a loving son to his father. By the end of the four pages, Danol was shaken. He’d had no relationship with his own father after the death of his mother. Mr. MacDonald had been a different dad to his child—and obviously to Ted as well.

  Silence fell on the room as Mr. MacDonald let the words sink in. His hand moved from the table to the shadow beyond. Danol suspected he was wiping away a tear, though his head was shrouded in the shade beyond the bright surface of the table.

  “You still didn’t tell me why you’re here,” Mr. MacDonald said. “Ted’s been lik
e a son to me, you know.”

  “I know,” Danol said. He spent some time with the old man and told him what had happened to Ted.

  After another night in port, they would set sail for North Harbour with a smaller crew. The freight from the Angel Endeavours had been transferred to the Bell Island Explorer. Captain Dicks would take care of the business while Danol returned home with Eddy, Alice, and Beatrice.

  Before leaving port the next day, Danol went to the cemetery near the St. John’s Penitentiary. Ted White was to be buried there. Alice wanted to go, and he wouldn’t refuse her. Alexander MacDonald stumbled his way across the field. A well-dressed man came up behind him and helped him to the graveside. He offered his hand to Danol and condolences to Alice.

  “You wouldn’t know by me now, but I grew up on the streets,” the man said. “Ted was on the boats by then. Things would have turned out a lot different for me without his influence. I wanted to pay my respects.”

  Alice thanked him for coming. Mr. MacDonald shook his hand.

  After the priest said a few words over the wooden box and sprinkled some dirt upon it, they turned to leave. Danol noticed two men off in the distance watching from under cover of trees. Alice started to sob and wail and stumbled through the uneven ground. Mr. MacDonald linked his arm through hers on one side while Danol stepped in on the other. The well-dressed man was ahead of them. Danol looked toward the trees. The two fellows turned and disappeared toward downtown.

  Danol made sure that Alexander MacDonald was taken care of before heading to the boat with Alice. She went to her cabin to find Beatrice. The Angel Endeavours left port soon after. He was tired and missed his family. He couldn’t wait to see Erith and the children again.

  He rifled through the newspaper articles once more. There was still one thing that was bothering him. Maybe it shouldn’t, but it did, and he couldn’t settle his mind.

  35

  The Bell Island Explorer steamed into North Harbour three days after Danol arrived home. He told Erith what had happened, and he got Alice and Beatrice settled at his house. Alice didn’t want to sleep at the store because of what had happened just a month before, but they spent their days together with Erith and the children.