Mersey Dark

by Michael Whitehead

  “They won’t hear it from us, Maggie,” Templeton agreed. “What can you tell us?”

  “I want your word you will look after my boys, Tanner.” Maggie looked at Templeton when she said this. “I might not be willing to go against Davidson, but I could still send enough boys after you to make you sorry.”

  “We’ll keep our promises, Maggie,” Tanner agreed.

  “The man you want is an ex-slave from what I hear. He came over on a ship from Jamaica or one of those islands.” She paused, “Maybe it was Africa now I think about it. He’s a big fella an’ all, huge by all accounts. He’s come over here to build himself an army, and it looks like he’s got one now. I know a few of the Irish families have cozied up to him, but not us. I told his man straight, we don’t work for no-one. He told me that we was to keep well out of his way, an’ that’s exactly what I’ve been doing.”

  “Where can we find him?” Tanner asked her.

  “That I can’t tell you, Tanner.” She shook her head and looked at him with earnest eyes. “I’ve told my boys that they’re to walk away from any talk of Davidson. The first mention of his name and they get out. He’s got magic in him, that man. You’ve seen the monsters, I know you have, but that’s not the all of it. He knows things.”

  “What do you mean, knows things?”

  “If you talk about his business, he knows it. I’m risking a lot to speak to you right now. I don’t even think it’s spies or the like, I think he has powers.”

  “What do you know about Sir Thomas Richmond?” Tanner asked.

  Maggie smiled, showing a row of dirty brown teeth. She reached into her dress and pulled out a long clay pipe and a match, she struck the match and drew heavily on the pipe.

  “His weakness, you mean?” The pipe went out and she used another match to light it again, taking her time until it was smoking properly. Tanner waited, wanting to hear this part very well. “They say he came here to punish the British for selling his people into slavery, but he has a personal vendetta. He is trying to hurt this Richmond fella. Nobody knows why but he hates the man, it makes him blind. There is a scar on his chest, a brand or something, like they do to cattle. Some say Richmond gave it to him.” She stopped talking and looked at the two men before her. “Now I’ve told you everything I know and possibly damned myself into the bargain. You better keep your word about my boys.”

  Templeton nodded and did something Tanner would never have expected him to do, He leaned forward, took Maggie’s hand and kissed it, bowing slightly.

  “I’ll see Patrick home safe, and make sure Bobby never sees the gallows,” he said.

  She nodded and stood up, showing agility beyond her size. “Now, I’m going out so that people see me, you stay in this room for a few minutes, so that we don’t look like we’ve been talking. No loose talk on the streets, you wait until you are back in your pig pen before you utter a word of this to each other.”

  “Absolutely, dear lady,” Templeton said, and to Tanner’s shock she smiled at him.

  Turning to Tanner she pointed one of her prodigious fingers, “Don’t think I’ve forgiven you for Micky, Tanner. That will be between us forever.” With that she swept from the room and disappeared into her maze-like collection of houses.

  For a few moments the Templeton and Tanner stared at each other, neither speaking. Then without a word Tanner opened the front door, checked the way was clear, and stepped outside.

  They made their way away from the river, back toward Argyle Street. The last of the spring rain was finished but still hanging in the air. The streets were awash with puddles, and channels of water ran like moats against the pavements.

  The night was late waking up, but as the rain died the city began to live again. All manner of dark dweller appeared on the streets as the two of them moved through the city. They walked in silence, not because Maggie had told them to, but because it felt like the prudent thing to do. Eventually the doors of the bridewell beckoned.

  The office was empty, not a soul who was on duty was sat behind their desks. So when Philip’s spoke behind him, Tanner was more shocked than usual to hear his voice long after he would normally have gone home.

  “You’ve got a visitor, Tanner,” the sergeant said. He gestured to his own office but Tanner couldn’t see anyone in there. He walked toward the door and realised that whoever it was, was both short and sitting down.

  There were in fact two people waiting for him in the office. The sergeant pushed past him and sat down as Tanner recognised one of the two people who were waiting for him.

  “Billy Gerrard? What can I do for you?” he said, trying out a smile, but the boy looked stern and even a little scared. The girl next to him leaned over and squeezed his hand. Tanner looked to Philips, but the big sergeant just shrugged and lifted a mug of tea to his lips.

  “Mr. Tanner...I...we,” Billy began, but fear or doubt got the better of him.

  “Please sir, we were kidnapped,” the young girl blurted out. Tanner looked to the sergeant again but said nothing. He kneeled down, so that his face was level with the children.

  “Tell me what happened, Billy,” he said.

  When Billy finally began to talk it all came out in a string of words. Tanner understood some of it, he hoped that the other two men in the room understood at least some of the rest. Through it all Billy cried, a silent flow of tears on his cheeks. He looked at the floor and began to speak through tear-soaked sobs.

  “There were some boys who grabbed me off the street. They took me to some tunnels and I saw a man. They locked me in a cage and there were other people there, lots of other people. Then we escaped but we followed the men, then went to a place where lots of tunnels meet and the man was there again. He changed the people into monsters, then we ran for it. It took ages to find our way out but we did. I know I should have come to you straight away but my mum was drunk again, and Lily is in the hospital, and I heard the man’s voice. Then I saw one of the boys from the tunnels and they were talking about me.” He looked up and about him, as if he had just realised he wasn’t alone.

  Tanner pulled the boy toward him so that his face was buried against the collar of his shirt, he let the boy cry, hard wracking sobs. When Billy began to hiccup back his breath in an attempt to stop his tears, Philips passed him a tin mug of water.

  “Billy? I have to ask you,” Tanner began softly. “Do you know the name of the man in the tunnels?”

  Billy nodded, his breath interrupted by one errant hiccup, “Davidson.”

  Chapter Twenty Three

  “It’s no bloody wonder nobody knew where he was,” Evans said to the room at large. The gathered men ranged from first year constables, through to Philips who was nominally in charge of the meeting. It was Tanner who was doing most of the talking, however.

  “Are we sure the boy had the right of it?” a constable asked from the back.

  “We have been out to the entrance of the new sewer that Billy spoke about, we’ve seen the guards. They’re only young lads, but we didn’t go any further in. The last thing we need is to alert Davidson to the fact that we know where he is.”

  “So what do we do now?” Harry Groves asked, he was sat peering at Tanner from between the two constables who had occupied the front of his desk.

  Tanner turned to Philips who stood up, a mug of fresh tea steaming in his hand. He looked around the group and waited until every eye was on him and every ear aware.

  “I’m authorised to put you all on double rota.” There was a general murmur, some men groaning at the extra work, while others imagined the overtime pay that they would see at the end of the week. “Yes, I understand that it’s not to everyone’s taste but it’s mandatory, at least for the next few days.”

  “My wife’s about to have a baby, Sarge,” one young constable said from near the back of the room.

  “Then tell her she might want to wait until we’re finished, lad,” Philips said, drawing a round of laughter from the boys. “Orders are that no-o
ne goes on patrol alone, at least until this is all over. We are sending a small team into the sewers. Assuming they find Davidson, we have no way of knowing how he will react. If he sends those things out on to the street, we need to be able to defend ourselves, and anyone else. We carry sabres at all times.”

  He stopped and looked around, “I want five men to volunteer for a special assignment.” Nobody moved, every man looking down at the ground, or at someone across the room that wasn’t Philips.

  “Okay, let me put it another way. I want five volunteers for a job that doesn’t involve going down into the sewers.”

  Again nobody spoke for a moment, then Harry Groves stood up from behind his desk and stuck his hand in the air, “I’ll do it, Sarge.”

  “Good lad, Harry. Right the rest of you, Young Harry has shown you all up. I want four more of you or I’ve been told I can choose you myself.”

  Four hands reluctantly reached for the ceiling. Philips nodded and smiled.

  “Better, much better. Right you five, there is a wagon in the yard with a driver. You are assigned to protect Sir Thomas Richmond in his home for the duration. You’ve got an hour to get home, pack some stuff and get back here.”

  The five men who had finally put themselves forward for the job began to smile and jostle the men around them. Those that remained seated let out a collective groan and began badgering them as they left the room to run home.

  “Okay, that’s enough of that. Now listen, I’m serious about the two to a patrol rule. Until we put this lunatic behind bars, we take no chances. Most of us have seen the rat things by now, those that haven’t better start talking to those who have. Believe what they tell you, these things are bloody dangerous.

  “Lastly, we have no idea who is in league with Davidson, so there are two new rules. Mouths shut, talk to nobody about what we are doing. Not Molly from the pub, not your brother’s mate Dave, nobody.

  “The other rule is, be ready for anything, expect to be attacked. It’s your necks out there lads, look after them. That includes not wearing your uniforms home, I know a lot of you like to go to and from the bridewell in your blues, that stops now. I don’t want anyone on the street with anything that identifies you as a copper when you’re not on duty. You all saw what happened here two nights ago. We’ve strengthened the stations defences, now you do the same for your own.”

  Philips stood where he was for a moment, giving the lads a chance to ask him any questions they might have, and drinking his tea.

  “Who’s going down the tunnels, Sarge?” It was Evans who asked the question that everyone was waiting to hear.

  “Tanner and his new partner Templeton. They have the lead on this investigation. They are only going in as far as they need to access the situation. When we know what’s happening we might decide to go in heavy handed.” All eyes swivelled to look at Tanner, he raised one eyebrow but said nothing.

  “Right, those of you who are on shift, get out there. Those who are on nights, go home get some rest. It’s all work and no play for a while, lads. Let’s make sure we look after ourselves and each other.”

  With that said, the men began filing out of the office, soon there were just those that were already in uniform and a few who had gone to the locker room to change.

  “You’ll need one more man,” Evans said to Tanner as the Welshman came up behind him.

  “We could always use one more, my friend but the tunnels aren’t large enough for a big group,” Tanner replied, turning to look at him.

  “Not to go inside,” Evans agreed. “I hear they have look-outs at the entrance. I assume they would notice if they go missing?”

  Templeton nodded to Tanner, “It’s a fair point. We don’t want to alert them any sooner than we have to.”

  “You sure about this, Evans,” Philips asked, coming up behind them. “These two have volunteered for this, lord knows why. I can’t force you to do it.”

  “Who’s forcing me?” Evans asked.

  “Okay, we leave in ten minutes,” Tanner said, slapping Evans on the back.

  Before the hour was up, all three men were standing with their backs against an alley wall, looking at the entrance to the new sewerage system. Most people knew James Newlands’s work, they had seen the materials and men moving across the city. This was the first time Tanner had actually seen the entrance to the underground structure.

  They had made some enquiries, finding out that work had been halted due to Newlands being called away to the Crimean war. A fact that Davidson obviously knew, and of which he was taking advantage.

  Two guards were standing, one either side of the sewer entrance, just as Billy had described it. The three men watched them, wanting to see how their routine might give Tanner and Templeton a chance to slip by unnoticed. But, either because of Billy and his friends escape, or because they were actually good at their job, they stood their ground with frustrating efficiency.

  After ten minutes spent watching the two boys, it was Evans who decided to take control of the situation. He disappeared up the alleyway, reappearing moments later carrying an empty whisky bottle that he had picked up from somewhere.

  “Circle round that way,” he said pointing to the left of the tunnel entrance. “Wait until I have their full attention, then come in behind.”

  Tanner saw what the Welshman intended to do, smiled and nodded. He ducked back down the alley and ran along the street until he came to a second similar walkway. Gates lined either side and he kept his head down just in case there were secondary lookouts in any of the windows. Eventually he was in place to see Evans stagger toward the two boys at the tunnel mouth.

  Evans was singing a sea shanty called Sally Brown and staggering along with his bottle clutched in his hand.

  “O Sally Brown, of New York City.

  Way, Hey Roll and go!

  O Sally Brown, You’re very Pretty

  Spend my money on Sally Brown”

  As he reached the wall into which the tunnel entrance was cut, he leaned one hand against it and began to untie his flannel trousers. Then he produced his manhood and began to urinate, all the while singing about Sally Brown who drinks rum and chews tobacco.

  The two guards saw Evans the moment he staggered into view. They looked at each other and grinned, then the grin became a laugh at seeing a man so drunk at this time of the morning.

  One of the boys held a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture, warning his friend not to spoil his fun. He walked up behind Evans as he staggered toward the wall where he would relieve himself. The boy began mimicking Evans’ already fake drunken stagger. Were Tanner not busy silently sneaking up on the wag’s companion at that very moment, he would have found the whole scene very funny.

  Evans went the whole nine yards and actually urinated against the wall, a feat that Tanner was absolutely sure he couldn’t have managed, even if his bladder was full to bursting. Then he stowed his manhood back in his britches and, on the line “Sally’s married to a dirty soldier,” swung the bottle behind him. The impact sent the unfortunate, and now unconscious, mimic to the ground with a sickening thud.

  Tanner was no more than an arm’s length from the second guard as Evans swung, he simply reached around an put a hand to the boys mouth while putting a foot into the back of his knees and forcing him to kneel.

  “You make a pretty good drunk,” Tanner said to Evans as he walked over to where Tanner stood with his submissive prisoner.

  “I’m Welsh, boy. What did you expect?” Evans replied, laughing.

  “Get rid of him, if you can and I’ll have a word with this one.” Evans nodded and ran back to where his mimic was lying - his only movement, the gentle rising and falling of his chest.

  The boy whom Tanner had in a grip that was firm but not rough, looked up from his place on his knees. He had pleading in his eyes and Tanner wondered if they might not have chosen the right one to speak to.

  “If I take my hand away from your mouth, are you going to shout?” he ask
ed. The boy tried to shake his head, relief showing on the part of his face that wasn’t covered. “You understand that I will break your neck if you do?” The boy nodded.

  Tanner slowly released his grip on the boy’s mouth, ready to clamp it tight if he began to make a noise. As he did, the boy looked over his shoulder and Tanner understood that Templeton had walked up behind him.

  “Please, don’t hurt me,” the boy pleaded. He was about sixteen years old and whippet thin. He had a yellowing black-eye that looked to be a couple of days old. Tanner kept a good hold on his arm, knowing if he got free there was no way he would be able to keep up and catch him again. “It was the boy wasn’t it, the one who escaped? I knew when I lost him I should just have run for it.”

  “Okay, calm down, son,” Tanner said. “Nobody will hurt you, we just need some information.”

  The boy nodded eagerly.

  “Right, how many men are in the tunnels?”

  “Hard to say,” the boy began and seeing something on one of the two men’s faces he hurried to qualify his statement. “They have different entrances, we’s only supposed to use our own one. So I can tell you there’s about fifty comes this way but I can’t say for the rest.”

  “How many entrances?” Templeton asked but the boy just looked apologetic. “Only a few people know, and I ain’t one of ‘em.”

  “Okay, how many prisoners?” Tanner continued. Again he was answered with an agonised look from his captive, the boy did genuinely seem to want to get out of his predicament and knew the best way was honesty. Tanner gave him credit for not just making up the answers he thought his captors might want to hear.

  “There’s cages all over the tunnels. Some only have a few people left in them, others have more. He’s been turning them quicker these last few days. Some say there’s an army of ‘em down there now. I ain’t seen ‘em though – don’t want to neither, they scare the crap out of me.”

  “ Okay, last questions. How do we find Davidson without getting lost in there? And is there any kind of password?”