‘They’re out for dinner somewhere. Your ‘and is bleeding detective.’ I looked down to see that my knuckles were indeed bleeding from the door being slammed on them. Tom rushed to get me a clean rag for them.
‘Ere, put this around it.’
‘Thank you Tom. How are you, enjoying living in London with Mr and Mr Summers?’
‘Am I? Mr and Mrs Summers have been great. They have bought me new clothes, are ‘elping me readin’ and treat me like one of their own. I just started a new job today at the royal mews, takin good care of Queen Victoria’s horses.’ His grin spread across his face as he told me all this.
‘Sounds perfect Tom. You are certainly in a better situation here. Anyway, do you happen to know where Mr and Mrs Summers have gone this evening?’ I tried not to sound too rushed, but at the same time I didn’t have time for a grand catch up just yet.
‘I think it’s written down somewhere, but they’ll be home any minute, in fact I thought they’d be back by now. You’re welcome to wait ‘ere for ‘em.’
‘Tom, I fear with them being out this late I am better to find them than wait. If you could find the note saying where they went this evening I would be most grateful.’
‘What’s going on detective?’ He was about to go get the address but stopped in the doorway. He had barely changed since I last saw him, still a strong minded young gentleman. He was too clever for me to lie to, I knew I needed to give him something
‘As you know we are continuing our investigations from the incidents of Whitby. I simply need to speak with them about that night.’
‘I may only be nine years old detective, but I’m no fool.’ I couldn’t hold back the smile that began to creep over me. He certainly didn’t hold his tongue when there was something he wished to say.
‘Tom I fear that D may be in London, and I am worried about the safety of Mrs Summers. I want to know where they are this evening so that I can ensure they get home safely.’ Tom eyes widened as he nodded and dashed from the dining room returning moments later with a piece of paper in his hand.
‘They’re at the Union club at Trafalgar Square.’
‘Thank you Tom.’ I stood to leave but he blocked my exit.
‘Do ya know how to get to the Union Club?’ He folded his arms and stood there waiting my reply, I had never seen him with such a serious expression.
‘Well no, but Trafalgar square I can get to by cab, I will find it once there.’
‘I’m coming with you.’
‘Tom no, I need you to stay here in case they come home. You can let them know I am looking for them.’
‘Detective you’ll not find the club as quickly as me. I know exactly which building it is. If they ‘ave already left we’ll find out much quicker me being there, and we’ll return here all in a shorter time; so I’m coming.’ I couldn’t argue with him, he did have a point about it being quicker with him being there, but I was still uneasy knowing he was coming. He raced back into the hallway and slipped on his shoes and coat even before I had chance to agree or not.
‘Come on Detective, we’ll find a cab on the main street.’ I followed him out of the house and down the road. I had a bad feeling about him joining me, but I didn’t have time to argue with him now. If D was responsible for Victoria’s sister’s death then it was only a matter of time before he went after her.
Chapter 22
Victoria
The window of the cab was open and the breeze that drifted in seemed to ease my nausea a little. Albert could tell I was not feeling well without me having to say anything, and promised that we would only stay for dinner and his speech. I hoped he would stick to his word, although an honest man he can be swayed easily into staying for further drinks when in social groups.
When we walked through the large doorway of the Union club we were met by a concierge who took our coats and led us through into a large dining room. I was overwhelmed with the number of people already there. Over twenty tables were set out with fine china, shiny silverware and wine glasses that sparkled like diamonds. It was certainly a well to do event. I was pleased my dress was suitable. I didn’t know everybody, but was familiar with most. One boring housewife blended in to another, so I always had difficulties remembering everything about them. I was one of the younger ones, with the majority of wives being over fifty. Scanning the room I could recall a handful of names, I recognised more faces but was always embarrassed to have forgotten names.
We were scarcely through the door a minute when Winston Cooper, the man who the party was for, spotted Albert and came over to see him. He was a round fellow, to put it politely, and had the smallest amount of hair left on his head that stretched around from one ear to the other. He was always very smartly dressed, his clothing was handmade especially. He always had a pocket watch in his waistcoat pocket that he liked to take out and look at more often than he needed to, and if he caught you looking at it he would retell you the story behind it being passed down through the generations…a story everyone had heard many times.
‘Well then Summers I hear you have the punishment of delivering my retirement speech.’ Winston hollered at Albert, ‘No pressure, only one hundred and fifteen pairs of eyes on you.’ He laughed, which caused his entire round body to wobble; he always had a bright red face that looked tense. ‘And I see you have brought the Mrs. Lovely to see you again my dear.’ He leaned in to kiss my cheek, it was never a pleasant experience as it felt as though he was trying to suck on my cheek, and he always left a trail of saliva behind.
‘Good to see you again Mr Cooper. I wish you all the best in your retirement.’
‘Well it’s been over forty years in the council you see, and now seems like the right time to go. Younger models coming through the ranks and all.’ He gave Albert a swift slap around the back, and by the expression on Albers face it was clearly harder than Winston had intended. ‘I’m sure the wife will keep me busy though, she is already planning home improvements and garden projects for me, probably a ploy to keep me out of her hair.’ He gave out a roaring laugh that caused my eardrums to vibrate. I couldn’t help but join in the laughter, but I was certainly laughing at him, not with him.
I always tried to keep at least an arm’s length away from him as he would sometime unintentionally spit as he spoke. ‘Mrs Summers I wouldn’t be surprised if your Albert will be running the place soon. Everyone knows he has ambitions for top office, and he would probably do a much better job than the current fool, come the election in September I would put money on Albert being a landslide win.’ Winston was not a quiet speaker and his statement was heard by half the room. I found myself consciously looking around to see if the so called ‘fool’ was in ear shot, I couldn’t see him.
‘Anyway Mr Cooper,’ said Albert trying to change the conversation, ‘is your lovely wife here this evening?’ You could tell by the stutter in his voice that he was clearly trying to think of anything to say just to change the subject.
‘She is indeed sir. She’s over there in the overpriced dress.’ He pointed towards an equally large woman in a navy blue dress who was talking to a group of women. ‘Anyway Summers I best carry on, lots of people to speak with before the night is through, good luck on the speech, do me proud.’ He shuffled off to the next person who walked in the door; his loud voice still clear as though he was still standing right next to me.
Albert, who was still holding my hand, led us to our table. Nobody else in the room was currently sitting, but I needed to through fear of fainting. I was still feeling delicate and the room full of people made me feel flushed and lethargic. Albert continued to socialise, which did not bother me at all as I quite liked having a moment to myself.
It was about fifteen minutes later that the head waiter rang a bell at the front of the room in order to get everybody’s attention.
‘Ladies and Gentlemen please may I ask that you take your seats as dinner is about to be served.’
There was a seating plan which helped, and everybo
dy went around to find their designated seats. The round table was set up for ten people and Winston and his wife were sat opposite us, the current Lord Mayor of London sat beside him. Next to me, sat a woman who I had met on numerous occasions during council events. Her name was Maria and she was a mother to six children. All she ever did was talk about them and how exhausted she was. She bragged about her beautiful home, her expensive clothing and jewellery and how talented she was at cooking and making things. I would never go as far to say I hated her, but I certainly rolled my eyes when realising I was sat next to her.
‘Good evening my dear.’ Maria said in her sickly sweet voice.
‘Good evening Maria. Lovely to see you again.’
‘Likewise my love. I hear congratulations are in order. When are you due?’
‘November time.’ I really wanted to tell her to mind her own business; I knew there would be some kind of smug comment or snooty remark coming my way.
‘Oh lovely, just in time for Christmas. It won’t be long till you have six like me.’ I joined in her laughter out of politeness and swiftly changed the subject.
I had been in the Union Club only once before. It was another event where wives had been invited to attend, which was rare for the Union Club. Albert had been here many times, but always complained about how ostentatious it was. I re-called the food being delightful, and from the smell coming through into the dining room it was certainly not going to disappoint. Despite feeling nausea I knew I needed to eat, so was delighted when the first course was something as simple as tomato soup. The small piece of bread given with it was still warm, and eating the soup managed to sooth my stomach a little. I had no intention of telling Albert that though, I still wished to leave as soon as possible.
Feeding so many people always took a long time, and so the next course didn’t arrive in front of me for another twenty minutes. There was always so many courses at these events, I recall my last visit to the Union Club we were served twelve courses, so I was hoping it would be far less this evening.
Winston bragged from across the table how it was a French chef in the kitchen and that all the courses were inspired by French cuisine. He went on for what seemed like hours, telling everybody on the table about his most recent visit to France and how he thought it was one of the best countries for fine food. Whilst waiting between courses my neck was becoming stiff at nodding to Maria’s gloating, after the initial questioning on my pregnancy she never once asked about me or Albert, and continued to bore me with her own life story.
The main course was Roast Pork with Specialty Potatoes, and the following course was two vegetable side dishes. I managed to eat a little of everything, but did not want to overly push myself. We were then given a small crystal glass of citrus ice to cleanse the pallet. I was pleased with this more than anything else as it cooled me down in what had become a stuffy room. Then followed fresh dinner rolls with sweet cream butter, which was served with jams, jellies and sweet pickles. I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of food being given, and even more so I could not believe that some people were still managing to eat it all. I could sense that the courses were finally coming to an end, as we were served fancy cake and preserved fruit followed by coffee to finish.
During the coffee Albert decided to read his speech. I was thrilled as this meant we would soon be leaving. He tapped his wine glass with an unused spoon and the room full of people slowly began to quieten and look at him.
‘Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of Winston and his lovely wife I would like to thank you all for coming this evening. Winston has been at the council since the middle ages…’ the room laughed, but it was Winston who could be heard roaring loudly above everybody else.
Albert’s speech lasted nearly twenty minutes, and Winston seemed to love every second of it. The speech would have probably finished sooner had Winston not laughed so loudly, causing Albert to wait before continuing. When Albert was finished Winston stood and thanked Albert before giving his own speech, thankfully this one lasted less than ten minutes and consisted of jokes and short stories only understandable to his fellow colleagues. With the food and speeches over people began to disperse, yet nobody seemed in a rush to go home. Like all these events this part of the evening saw the men and woman part ways and go off into their own groups. The women were shown to a large sitting room area with arm chairs, sofa’s and a tray of wine. The gentlemen would then go into a different room to smoke cigars, drink beer and gamble. I was pleased when Albert asked if I was ready to leave. He often joined in these activities out of politeness, but tonight he was honouring his word to me.
We said our goodbyes to Winston, and Albert quickly left me by the door so he could say some further farewells. I was thrilled when he returned a matter of minutes later. I then clung to his arm as we walked down the stone stairs back onto the street. Our carriage was nowhere to be seen. Albert let go of me for a moment to check around the side of the building.
‘There is a row of them,’ he hollered back at me, ‘I will check to see if any of them is ours, wait there a moment, I will ask him to pull along the front.’
I did as I was told and waited by the bottom step of the Union club. Trafalgar square wasn’t as busy by now, with the pavements almost empty, however there was still some traffic on the road. As I waited for Albert I checked inside my purse for the house key, I couldn’t remember taking it, and Miss Baily would have certainly locked up by now. As I searched through my bag past various items I was aware of somebody across the road in the corner of my eye, I didn’t take much notice at first but soon realised they were headed directly towards me. Had Albert come back a different way, I thought. As my eyes adjusted I realised with horror that it was D. His long legs striding across the road meant he was at my side in seconds, yet seeing his face made the seconds feel like minutes. A scream left my lungs as he closed in on me. I was frozen solid to the ground in fright. He took hold of my wrist and pulled me close to him, so close I thought he was going to kiss my lips. The smell of him invaded my nostrils, a smell that was so familiar to me from Whitby.
‘Good evening Victoria, a lovely evening to be out and about.’ D whispered in my ear. I heard Albert come running back around the corner, thank goodness he had heard my scream. As he appeared into view everything suddenly seemed to go in slow motion. D took out a pistol from his coat pocket and placed it against my head. Albert instantly froze and raised both hands in front of him in immediate surrender.
‘Now let’s not do anything drastic,’ Albert said.’ Albert started to slowly approach us, but I could see D was onto him. He squeezed tighter on my wrist and turned the pistol on Albert who again froze to the spot.
‘Let her go.’ Albert said calmly, his hands still raised in front of him.
I could feel D's body shaking and as he backed me to the edge of the pavement he glanced to see if he had a clear way across the road. Albert took the second of distraction as a chance to act and bolted towards us both, but D caught him straightaway and fired the gun. I saw Albert fall to the ground as D pulled on my arm, dragging me screaming across the road and between two buildings into the shadows.
Chapter 23
Tom
I was running along Vincent Square at full speed, looking back to make sure Detective Matthews was keeping up. He was tall and thin, and moved much faster than I expected him to. Although his style of running did amuse me, it was a cross between running and skipping, and with his long thin legs he just looked hilarious. He didn’t look any different to the last time I saw him, with the same shabby bowler hat and a long coat that flapped around his knees as he ran. When we reached the main road I stopped and looked up and down in search of the nearest cab. Despite being so late there were still plenty of carriages around, but not to the extremes of the normal day time traffic. Each one with its own lamp light attached to the front. The street was lined with hundreds of gas lamps that lit up the street as far as we could see. We stood by one of the many horse troughs that cou
ld be found along the road, and I tried to wave down a cab. There was one headed towards us and I was able to get the drivers attention.
‘Where too gents?’ The teenage boy asked as he pulled the two horses to a stop.
‘Trafalgar square please.’ I called up to him, and opened the door for the detective to get in first. I shut the door behind us and the carriage did a swift turn in the road and went back the way it came.
‘How long will it take to get there from here?’ The detective asked, watching out the window the entire ride.
‘Not long at all,’ I replied, ‘he’ll probably take us past Westminster abbey, then up Whitehall. It’s the most direct route from ‘ere.’
Detective Matthews couldn’t take his eyes from the window and seemed rather excited to see the abbey.
‘I didn’t realise Big Ben was opposite the abbey,’ he said to me. All the while his eye staring out. ‘I suppose I never really thought where they were in comparison to one and other.’
‘Detective if you think that D is here then why couldn’t the London police arrest him, why did you come down?’ The detective finally brought his attention back from the window, he seemed a little lost for what to say, my question had clearly caught him off guard.
‘Scotland Yard requested my help,’ he stammered, ‘I was more than happy to come down and assist where possible. I still feel like this is my case, and leaving it unfinished, knowing he is here in London unsettled me. I needed to help.’
‘He’ll be harder to find in London, it’s much bigger than Whitby.’
‘Yes, I don’t think it’s going to be straight forward at all Tom.’
The carriage came to a stop at the top of Whitehall and we exited. The square was straight ahead, but the Union Club was round to the left, a little out of sight due to where we were. We both walked in a hurry, neither of us talking now as the detective followed me around the corner. As the Union club came into view as we crossed the road, and there we could see Mr and Mrs Summers, and D on the side of the road. I froze for a split second, gobsmacked by what I was seeing. The detective took off at speed ahead of me, I followed closely behind; he was much faster than me now. As we ran the pistol in D’s hand exploded, and I watched as Albert fell to the ground.
D_Revenge Hits London Page 11
