Dark Side of Tomorrow (Ivan Bennet of Scotland Yard Book 1)

by J. R. Martin

  “No, sir. I don’t want time off. I want to catch these killers and wrap up this cold case of Gregg Simmons.” Ivan said.

  “Okay Detective, but if I see that you are slipping any, I will force you to take some time away from here.” The Commander said.

  “I’m okay sir, really. To take time off and not be able to work on solving these murders would be the last thing I want or need.” Ivan said.

  “Very well, then Detective, carry on.” The Commander said and closed the door to his office.

  Chapter Thirteen

  One late night, Morris Wims rolled his mop bucket across the floor and prepared to once again, hide in the shadows of London’s Hospital for the Criminally Insane. He was just down the hall from Garth Simmons room and out of sight of anyone that came off the elevator or down the stairs. He quietly sit, lost in his thoughts about this case and of the suspicions Ivan Bennet had about Garth Simmons.

  For the life of him he couldn’t figure out who could be helping Garth, if indeed anyone was, commit these murders. He knew without a doubt that Simmons wasn’t leaving this hospital. Everyone that had anything to do with him were there because they needed to be. There were no strangers, no one lying about why they came and went out of Simmons room. Everything seemed to be as it should. He was deep in thought when he saw a figure coming down the steps. It wasn’t a nurse and it wasn’t Dr. Williams. This figure was small and moving quickly. The first time he had ever seen anyone that looked like this.

  His attention immediately came to focus on the silent figure. The figure paused and looked in all directions, then went to Garth’s room and unlocked the door. As soon as Morris heard the door close, he tiptoed up to the door and listened.

  “Oh, you came.” He heard Simmons say.

  Then a woman’s voice replied, “I told you I would.”

  “I’ve got to ask you something.” Garth said. “Did you kill the Detectives partner in White Chapel?”

  “You know I don’t do anything unless you tell me too. No, I did not kill the Detective’s partner.” The feminine voice said.

  “Well, who did?” Garth asked.

  “I don’t know, I truly do not know.” The voice replied, and then continued. “Do you have any instructions for me tonight?”

  “No, I want no more killings until this thing calms down. I’ll let you know like I always do when I need to see you.” Garth said.

  “Then, I’ll go now before the sun comes up. I’ll see you again, very soon.”

  “Okay, thanks for coming.” Simmons said and Morris barely got out of site before the door opened and the figure dressed in black disappeared down the stairs.

  Hurrying, Morris took the elevator to the main floor before the figure had time to get there so he could try and see who it was. But, just as he stepped off the elevator he saw someone leaving the hospital. Hurrying to the front door there was no one in sight. Somehow they had eluded him. He looked in all directions and there was no one, in any direction. No cars, no cabs, nothing. It was as though the fog had swallowed the unknown visitor.

  Scratching his head in disappointment he went back to his post. Who was the woman who had visited Garth Simmons and asked if he had instructions for her? Was she the killer in the White Chapel District? Was it someone they had talked with? He would have a lot to tell the Commander later on today.

  ****

  “I don’t know who she was.” Ray Roberts said. “I saw this dark figure come down the stairs and go into Simmons room. I went to the door and eavesdropped once again. I heard her say, she reported for duty. He asked her if she had killed the detective in the White Chapel District. She said, “no” and he told her not to do anything more until he told her to. She agreed, then she left and I didn’t even see which way she went. It was as though the fog swallowed her.

  The Commander listened with great intent and then he said, “Roberts, what in the hell is going on at that hospital? ”I don’t know, Commander, I honestly don’t. I watch Simmons room every night. No one gets in that room that I don’t see. I promise you that. I eavesdrop at the door and then I share all I hear with you. I wished I could just arrest those that come and I hear them confess to something, but, I can’t. So, I just wait.”

  “Well, if you hear something relevant you can arrest them.” The Commander said. “You know that.”

  “I phrased that wrong. I should have said; I wish someone would give me a reason to arrest them.” Roberts said.

  “Okay, let me see if I understand what you are saying. Last evening Simmons had an unknown female visitor that you think is the one helping him do the killing in the White Chapel District. But, you heard Simmons ask if she killed the detective and she said no, to which he said, don’t kill anyone else until this thing blows over. Does that about sum the conversation up?”

  “Yes, sir. That’s about it.” Roberts said.

  “Okay then, the only thing we can do is wait.”

  “Wait? Wait? For another killing?” Roberts said.

  “There’s nothing we can do, Roberts. If we arrest anyone now it will be purely circumstantial. We’d never prove our case in court. We must get hard evidence.” The Commander said.

  “By the way Commander, I never did tell you that Simmons asked me if I knew detectives, Bennet and Graham, did I? Well, he did. Now who would have told him I knew both those men? Do you have a mole in this department?” Roberts asked.

  “Do you think he knows your Scotland Yard?”

  “How do I know what he knows? He’s always implying one thing or another. He plays great mind games. But, I do know if my cover is blown I’ll have to get out of there at once. There’s no one we can trust. No one.” Roberts said.

  The Commander looked Roberts in the eye and asked, once again, “Do you think he knows your Scotland Yard?”

  Roberts answered, “No, I don’t think he knows, I think he’s always fishing to find out something. But, I don’t think he knows I’m a cop.”

  “Be careful, detective. Be very, very careful.”

  “I’ll be the first to let you know when it’s time I get out.” Roberts said as he left the Commander’s office.

  Long after Roberts had gone the Commander sit looking at the closed door. None of this made sense, none of it. How could this woman have gotten into the hospital undetected? How could she have gotten a key to Simmons room? Silently, he shook his head in disbelief

  ****

  The Commander looked in the files that detectives Bennet and Graham had been logging notes. He got the address of Simon Éclair and scribbled it down in his pocket notebook. Then he left Scotland Yard Headquarters and walked to the parking garage where he signed out for an unmarked car. He was going to talk to some of the people involved in this sordid affair himself. After all, he had been a detective for fifteen years before he was promoted to Commander. He had not forgotten how cases were solved.

  When he reached Simon Éclair’s farm he parked in front of the farm house and walked to the front door. It was noon and he could smell bacon being fried inside the house. Sweet aromas of lunch being prepared made his stomach growl with hunger. He knocked on the door.

  An elderly man clad in overall’s answered his knock. The man said, “Hello.”

  “Mr. Éclair?”

  “Yes.”

  “My name is Alex Sanders; I’m the Commander of Scotland Yard. I wonder if I could have a word with you?”

  The elderly man opened the door and said, “Please come in.”

  Alex walked into the parlor of the old man’s farm house and took a seat on the sofa. He began the conversation with,

  “Two of my detectives told me that you were the one that found the skull of Gregg Simmons in your pig pen.”

  “Yes, sir, that’s correct.” Mr. Éclair said.

  “Do you have any enemies Mr. Éclair that might want to frame you or make you look bad in someone’s eyes?”

  “I don’t reckon you live as long as I have and not made a few enemies along the w
ay. But, in all honesty I can tell you the only known enemy I have is Garth Simmons. And he’s locked away in the insane asylum.” He said.

  “The detectives told me that, Mr. Éclair, but since Ivan Bennet’s partner was murdered, I’m revisiting everyone they’ve talked to and I’m trying to apprehend a murderer. If you think of anything, that might be of help, sir. Please advise me.”

  “As I told the two detectives, if I think of anything more I will call you. Tell Detective Bennet I’m sorry for the loss of his partner.” Mr. Éclair said.

  “Thank you sir.” The Commander said as he stepped off the porch and then he turned and casually asked, “did you know Gregg Simmons girlfriend, Cynthia Bosts?”

  “Cynthia Bosts? No, I don’t recollect ever meeting her, but I knew her daddy, Edgar Bosts.” Mr. Éclair said.

  “You did? What can you tell me about him?” Alex asked.

  “He was a mean, sorry, son of a bitch. Use to beat his wife every time he got drunk. I bet he beat the kids too. He was found dead in an alley next to the beer tavern he used to attend all the time. Funny thing, they never found who the killer was. Don’t blame them if it was any of his family. He was no good to anyone, excepting the devil.” Eclair declared as he spit out a big wad of chewing tobacco for emphases.

  “When did this happen, do you remember?” The Commander asked.

  “Let me think, been nigh on five or six years now. Or close to that.” Mr. Éclair said.

  “Okay, Mr Éclair. Thank you.” The Commander said and he turned and got in his car and left the old man standing in his gate looking after him.

  What in tarnation is that all about? Mr. Éclair wondered as he turned and went back inside.

  On the way back to headquarters, the Commander made up his mind he was going to visit Ms. Cynthia Bosts, again soon. But, first he was going back through the paper archives and see what he could find out about Edgar Bosts murder.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The Commander of Scotland yard had decided he was saying nothing to anyone about Edgar Bost. He was going to investigate that murder by himself unless something came up that made him think Bost murder was tied in with all the others.

  He told the desk Sargent he was going to be out for a while and if he needed him he could page him. Then he walked to the garage and checked out a car and headed for the London Times Newspaper archive.

  When he walked in the newspaper office he asked the attendant where he could look up old newspaper articles. She told him they were all down in the basement. He thanked her and soon was seated in front of a carousel of projectors that pulled up newspaper articles that you instructed it to find. He asked for Nov. 1, five years ago.

  The yellow blinking light soon had displayed on the screen the date of Thursday, November 1. He read the headlines and saw nothing there and so he kept going through day by day. Finally on November 15, five years earlier the headlines read,

  MAN FOUND DEAD IN BAYFRONT ALLEY

  Sanders read speedily through the article until he came to the victim’s name. It was Edgar Bost. Bingo he had found the time and place. Now he could go to the coroner’s office and see what they had filed about Bost.

  He shut off the machine and walked out of the newspaper archives to his car. Why am I doing this? He wondered. No one has ever mentioned a murder from five years ago to me. In his sub-conscious mind his answer came, you’re a detective, Commander, you follow the leads.

  When the Commander of Scotland Yard made his appearance at Marsha Hart’s coroner’s office, the place came to almost a silent hum. All eyes turned toward the Commander and every person there knew exactly who he was. What they weren’t use to, was seeing him out and about investigating a lead. Normally the detectives under him did that. Their curiosity was overpowering.

  Marsha walked up to the Commander and welcomed him to her office and then she said,

  “What can we do for you today, Commander Sanders?”

  “Doctor Hart, I would like to see your records on one, Edgar Bost. He was found murdered in an alley down on Bayfront, November the 15, five years ago.”

  “Alright, Commander, it shouldn’t take but a minute for me to find those records. Have a seat. Can I get you a cup of coffee?” She asked.

  “No, thank you, Doctor Hart.” Sanders answered, and took a seat inside the coroner’s private office. “I’ll wait here.”

  As Marsha Hart walked to the back where all the files were kept, she wondered what in the world had brought the Commander here by himself. Then she thought about Detective’s Bennet’s partner having been murdered and she assumed the Commander had decided he would work this phase of a case by himself and cut Bennet some slack. What a nice guy, she thought.

  Marsha Hart opened the file dated November 1, five years earlier. She thumbed through several files and finally came to the B’s. After a few more minutes she located, Edgar Bost’s name. She pulled the file out and opened it. She wanted to see who the coroner was on that particular body since it had Scotland Yard’s attention. To her surprise, it was her name she saw signed at the bottom of the report. She read the details, the bottom line said, ‘throat slashed with what appeared to be a box cutter.’

  Hummm, she thought, I don’t remember much about this case. It was pretty un-remarkable apparently. The file went on to say he was an alcoholic; his liver and heart were that of an alcoholic. His stomach contents were fluid, no food. He had bled out from his throat being cut. No wounds of defense were present. Apparently his assailant had attacked him without him knowing they were a danger to him. Either he knew them, or he didn’t see or hear them coming.

  Dr. Hart closed the file and walked back into her office with it in her hand. When she entered, she handed the file to the Commander and said,

  “Take your time going over the file. I’ve got some work to do so make yourself at home here in my office, for as long as you like. Just let me know when you’re through.” She said.

  The Commander thanked her and took the file and opened it under a good light so he could read the contents.

  ****

  It was late afternoon before the Commander got back to headquarters. His desk had several call back notes on it and the desk Sargent filled him in on the happenings of the day. He glanced at the call back numbers and saw one from Marsha Hart. He picked up the phone and called her back. When she answered, he said

  “I’m sorry Doctor Hart. I should have told you when I left. I had things on my mind and I just laid the file on your desk. I should have let you know I was leaving.”

  “That’s quite alright, Commander. I was wondering if you found what you were looking for?” She asked.

  “I’m not even sure what I’m looking for Dr. Hart, so I can’t tell you if I did or didn’t find what I needed. But, thank you for your courtesy today.” The Commander said.

  “You are most welcome, sir. Let me know if my office, or I, can be of further assistance to you.” Dr. Hart said and hung up the phone.

  The Commander ask the desk Sargent if he had seen Bennet today and he said, yes that he had come in for a short while. Then he left saying something about having to go back to the doctor. The he re-laid that Ray Roberts had also phoned in, just to let them know everything was going according to plan.

  After being assured he had missed nothing that he should have known about the Commander said good night and headed for home. As he drove he mulled over all the things and people that he had met and heard about today. Perhaps among them was a potential for a murderer. He supposed that time, as always, would reveal that fact.

  ****

  The next day when Bennet reported to headquarters, he found a note on his desk telling him to check in with the Commander before he left. Wondering what that could be about he walked to the Commanders office and knocked on the door.

  “Come in.”

  “Good morning, sir. I found this note on my desk telling me to check with you today before I left.” Bennet said.

  “Yeah, detectiv
e. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m good sir. I mean I still grieve about Walt and wished to God I could have done something to have saved him, but, I couldn’t and I have to accept that. At least for now, the murders in the White Chapel District have slowed down. For that I’m thankful.” Ivan said.

  “Yesterday detective, I went out and met Simon Éclair. I thought it might be time for me to get involved in these cases, personally. He seems to be a good old man, but he told me something that I’m not sure you know.”

  “Sir?” Bennet said.

  “He told me that Cynthia Bost father had been murdered five years ago. Did you know that?”

  “No, sir. I did not.” Bennet said surprised.

  “He further stated that Bost was an abuser. He said that every time he got drunk, he beat his wife and most likely his kids. Mr. Éclair had no use for him, in fact he all but said that Bost had needed killing. My words, not his” The Commander said.

  “Geez, Cynthia never even mentioned her father to me. But, I didn’t ask her anything, I guess, that would have made her think I needed to know.” Bennet said.

  “That’s what I figured, but then I went on to the newspaper archives and looked up the day he was murdered and read about it. After that I went down to the coroner’s office and read their files on Bost. Apparently, he put up no defense and that leads me to think, he either knew his killer, or the killer slipped up on him or took him by surprise.” The Commander said.

  “Does that murder, have anything to do with the present day murders?” Bennet asked.

  “I don’t know, Detective. I just follow the leads. I think it ironic that now we have two cold cases that the murderer was never caught. The one that killed Gregg Simmons and the one that killed Edgar Bost, and the common denominator in both cases is Simon Éclair and Cynthia Bost.”