“I don’t know who you are, mister, but you aren’t anything to do with this child.”
“Says who? He’s my brother, and we need to go home. Now!” Lucky made a grab for Kenny but missed, due to the man who had kissed Kathleen putting his hands on Lucky and dragging him back a few steps.
“You nearly knocked my fiancée there. You need to calm down,” Richard insisted.
“Get your hands off me. Kenny’s my brother, and I am telling ya now, we are off.”
“Kenny is not your brother. He grew up beside me, and I knew his sister and his parents. The only brother he had was a babe who died before his first birthday. My name is Kathleen Collins, a friend of Inspector Griffin, and I have been searching for Kenny for days. I am taking him home with me.”
Lucky glared at her for a few moments. Kenny thought he would wet himself, he was so scared.
“Over my dead body, missus,” Lucky said. “You keep your beak out of things, if you know what’s good for you.”
“How dare you threaten a decent, young woman, you despicable young man!” a man who was waiting to see Santa with his two young children said disgustedly.
Kenny almost grinned, as Lucky realized there were more than a few adults glaring at him. He hoped it meant the man would leave. But then he would go home. To Jack. He would hurt his dog. Kenny couldn’t let that happen.
“Lucky has been looking after me, miss. I best get home with him, or his ma will kill both of us. Thank you for your kindness, Santa.”
Kenny moved toward Lucky, who grasped his shoulder in a painful vice-like grip. He tried not to make a sound, as he figured Lucky would make him pay for it later.
But he hadn’t reckoned on Kathleen.
“Let go of that child immediately. You call the police,” Kathleen ordered a member of the staff, who had been watching the scene unfold. “Kenny Clark, you are coming home with me. Inspector Griffin is very worried about you, him being an old and dear friend of your mother.”
Ma didn’t know Inspector Griffin, least he didn’t think she did. Miss Collins was telling lies. Why?
“Kenny, we are going now to get Jack. He will be upset if you don’t come home with me,” Lucky countered.
Kenny couldn’t let anything happen to Jack. He looked at Kathleen and then turned to leave with Lucky.
“The dog will run away, you’ll see. Kenny, don’t leave with him,” Kathleen begged.
“Nobody is leaving. The police will be here shortly.”
Kenny stared at the man who had asked Kathleen to marry him. He looked very angry, but he was looking at Lucky, not him. Was Kathleen, right? Would Jack run away, if he didn’t come back with Lucky?
“Keep him then,” Lucky shouted, as he pushed Kenny into Kathleen and her friend before bolting. Kenny watched, as a couple of men tried to stop Lucky, but he slipped past them easily. It was all over in seconds.
“Kenny, you are safe now. You’ll come home with us,” Kathleen said. “Come along children. We will come back to see Santa another day.”
“Why don’t I come to the sanctuary to see you, miss?” Santa suggested. “I could do with catching up with Lily, I haven’t seen her in some time.”
“Thank you, Santa. We would love to see you. Perhaps you can help us finish decorating our tree,” Kathleen answered, holding her hand out to Kenny.
Kenny hugged Santa. “Thank you for helping me,” he whispered, as the red-suited man hugged him back.
“Be good, Kenny, and may all your dreams come true.”
Kathleen couldn’t believe the afternoon. Between Richard proposing and finding and, just as quickly, almost losing Kenny again, it was very memorable. Thankfully, the other children were very understanding about Santa. The fact he was coming specially to see them at the sanctuary helped, but, with the exception of George, the other children had lived on the streets. They knew the danger. They might not understand what Lucky wanted with Kenny, she wasn’t sure of that herself, but they knew enough to know he was in danger. Richard hailed a couple of cabs to take them home. He rode in one with the younger children, while Kathleen rode in the other with the older ones and Kenny, who wouldn’t let go of her hand.
“Do you think Jack will be all right?” the boy asked her.
“Yes, Kenny, I do. I think he will come looking for you. He will go to Granny Belbin. We can send word to her to tell her where you are. For now, I want to get you to safety.”
“What did Lucky want with me?”
“I am not sure, Kenny. Perhaps Inspector Griffin will be able to tell us. But you can take that worried look off your face. You are safe with us. I promise.”
Kenny looked at her with such trust. She promised nothing would hurt him again, not while she was around.
Chapter 39
Once back at the Sanctuary, Kathleen ensured Kenny had a wash and something to eat, before tucking him into bed. He was sharing with George and some of the other younger boys.
“Why hasn’t Jack come?”
“Give the dog a chance,” Kathleen said. “I will send my friend Mike over to Granny Belbin to explain where you are. She was worried sick about you. She will keep an eye out for Jack.”
“Thanks. I loves that dog. Lucky, he tried to kick him, but he missed. I don’t like him, but his sister Angel, she was nice. She saved me from some other boys, and she fed me, too.”
“Kenny, did any of them say why Lucky wanted you to go to Macy’s?” Kathleen asked him.
A tear rolled down Kenny’s cheek, making her pull him to her into a big cuddle. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You are here now. Nothing will happen to you.”
“He said he would take me to see Santa. Mary said Santa was magic, and he could make things happen. I thought Santa would find Mary and Ma and send them back to me.”
Kathleen’s heart broke in her chest. The poor child didn’t understand Mary was dead, and his ma had killed her. Now wasn’t the time to explain what had happened.
“Did Angel or Lucky mention anything else?”
“Angel didn’t want to go away. She said her aunt would make her wear girl’s clothes—she dresses like me. She owns these clothes, or at least she did. She is bigger now.”
“Why were they going away?” Kathleen asked.
“Something to do with someone called Priest or at least I think that’s what his name was. Eastman,” Kenny mumbled, as sleep overtook him. Kathleen caressed his hair until the child was fast asleep. She heard someone whisper her name and looked up to see Richard. They hadn’t spent a minute alone since he’d proposed earlier, but, for now, that would have to wait. She was terrified for Kenny.
“How is he?”
“Richard, he is so scared. He said Santa was going to find Mary and his ma. And he said Lucky and his family were going to run away from someone called Priest Eastman, but I’m guessing he meant Monk.”
Kathleen watched Richard’s reaction, as his face paled, his expression matching hers.
“Monk Eastman?” Richard repeated the name feared by many.
“I’m afraid so, yes. It seems from what little Kenny said, the family he had stayed with were on the run from Eastman.”
“We should speak to Inspector Griffin. Last thing Lily or the sanctuary needs is to become a target of the Eastman gang. Oh, my darling, I want to take you and run from here this second. Not very manly of me, is it?”
“I think you’re wonderful. I can’t believe you asked me to marry you in front of all those people. It was beautiful.”
“Well, it was supposed to be, but I didn’t even get to give you the ring. But we can finish that another time. This is more important.”
“Richard, you understand what these children mean to me. George and the rest of them are wonderful, and I want to help them find homes but Kenny…I can’t explain it, but he’s different. I feel closer to him for some reason. Maybe it’s because I knew Mary, although we weren’t close.”
“He might remind you of your little brother. But don’t worry,
come downstairs, and we will send for Inspector Griffin. Bridget and Carl are helping Cook tidy up. Charlie arrived a little while ago with Lily.”
“Lily is out this late?” Kathleen asked.
“I asked them to contact Bridget, so I could ask her permission to ask you to marry me. She was very excited and wanted to be here when we came home to congratulate us.”
Kathleen couldn’t believe she had been doubting his feelings, while he was doing his best to propose in the correct manner. Bridget had known all along and hadn’t mentioned anything. Her sister was good at keeping secrets.
“You wrote to Bridget?” she queried.
“Yes, well I sent her a telegram a while back. Could have saved money, if I had known she would arrive in New York before Christmas,” he joked, before taking her hand. “I wanted to ask you so many times, Kathleen, but I was worried you would think I was pressurizing you. I know I said, I would wait however long it took, but it seems patience is not one of my virtues.”
She stopped him talking by kissing him. His arms circled around her, as he drew her closer.
Chapter 40
When they arrived back downstairs, Inspector Griffin was already waiting with her sister, Carl, Lily, and Charlie. Mini Mike and Tommy were there, too. Kathleen could see by their facial expressions, they were very worried.
“You heard about Kenny?” she asked, conscious she was stating the obvious.
“Tommy sent a boy to find me. He said Kenny was involved with the Eastman gang. This is more serious than we imagined,” Inspector Griffin said, his serious tone matching his facial expression.
“I don’t know how involved Kenny was,” Kathleen said. “From what he said, I think the man who took him to Macy’s had fallen out with Eastman.”
“Lucky Spielman and his two brothers worked closely with Monk Eastman until recently. In fact, many said Lucky was the obvious replacement should anything happen to Monk. News on the street is Monk is out for blood, and that can’t be good for Kenny,” Tommy clarified.
“You know what happened between Monk and Lucky?” Inspector Griffin questioned Tommy.
“One of the guards on a building under Monk’s protection got killed, but I’m not clear on how Lucky got involved. Might have been a fight. The Eastmans have closed ranks. It’s difficult to get answers, but we’ll keep trying. How’s Kenny?” Tommy asked, obviously changing the subject.
“Worried about Jack, but I told him the dog would probably get back to Granny. Can you get word to her he is here? But best tell her not to let anyone know,” Kathleen replied.
Tommy nodded.
“I will have to talk to Kenny. What did he tell you?” Inspector Griffin asked Kathleen.
“He said a girl called Angel protected him from some boys and brought him back to her house where she fed him. He had to have a bath, which he was very put out about.”
Lily and the others smiled, as they knew from experience how much the street kids hated baths.
“He said Angel was kind, and she gave him new clothes and fed him. She also told him to run away from her brothers. But Lucky heard her, and he stopped Kenny.”
“Did Angel say why Kenny should run?” Inspector Griffin asked.
“No, but Kenny said she seemed frightened. He said Lucky was nice to him the night before but changed in the morning. He said something about his big, blue eyes and blonde curls making women weep. Kenny wanted to know why people would cry by looking at him.” Kathleen could let her imagination run away with reasons why Lucky would want to make an impression on women, but none of them were good.
“Sounds to me like Lucky intended on using Kenny as some sort of decoy. I better speak to the Macy’s security men and make sure they are on the watch for the gang. A bit hard to miss given how tall the boys are,” Inspector Griffin said.
“You got to get Kenny away from here, Miss Kathleen. Being on Monk Eastman’s radar is never good. Not just for Kenny but for the sanctuary, too,” Mike spoke up, his neck coloring. Kathleen knew he hated being the center of attention.
“Yeah, we dealt with the gangs before, but Monk, he takes things up a level.” Tommy looked furious. “He is making a name for himself, and it ain’t because of his charms and good looks.”
“But I thought you worked with someone in his gang, Tommy?” Lily asked, causing Tommy’s neck to turn red.
“You shouldn’t be saying stuff like that, Miss Lily. That was our secret.”
“Tommy, we are among friends. I thought everyone knew you had an agreement with the gangs to help take the little ones off the street.”
Kathleen looked between her two friends. This was the first she had heard of any agreement. Glancing at Bridget’s expression, her sister was just as surprised as she was. She thought they did everything they could to avoid getting involved with the vicious gangs.
“You work with the gangs? But I thought they wanted the children to join them? Raise their own brand of cutthroats and pickpockets,” Richard asked, his disdainful expression earning a look of rebuke from Tommy.
“Tommy has what we call an understanding with certain gangs. They don’t want the really young children, as they consider them a burden. The older kids they can train to become members of the gang, but some are not suited, such as those whose arms don’t work properly, or they got something wrong with their legs. Those kids, the gangs let us take and bring here or drop them at the Christian Aid Society. Brace was working with the street gangs since the start, but he never told nobody. It wouldn’t have shown him in a good light with some rich folks.”
Kathleen stared at Mini Mike. That was the most she’d ever heard him talk.
“The gangs helped us save a lot of kids over the years. They aren’t all bad, you know. A lot of what they do, they do to survive,” Tommy protested.
“Yes, Tommy, we know. But that’s because we have seen first-hand what the streets are like. For those born in the large, brown houses, I guess they see things differently,” Lily hastened to reassure him.
“Even the police have been known to use the gangs. That right, Inspector?” Tommy’s challenging tone alerted Kathleen. She turned to the inspector who was looking distinctly uncomfortable.
Chapter 41
“What’s he talking about?” Kathleen asked.
“Don’t glare at me like that,” Inspector Griffin pleaded. “It wasn’t my idea and I have never condoned it.”
“Condoned what?” Kathleen pushed for an answer.
“There have been some allegations made about the police,” the inspector explained. “They are accused of returning runaway gang members to the gangs rather than helping the kids leave New York,” Inspector Griffin said, staring at the floor.
“But why would they do that?” Bridget whispered, clearly shocked. “It’s certain death. The gangs don’t let anyone leave. Not voluntarily.”
“Yes, I know, but not everyone thinks of these kids as being human beings. It’s not right, but that’s a fact of life,” Inspector Griffin said decisively. “Anyway, we need to concentrate on the problems we can fix, and we have two big ones at the moment. Kenny has brought the Eastmans’ attention to the sanctuary which isn’t good, and Kenny himself needs protecting.”
“Kenny will be safe here. We won’t let anyone touch him,” Tommy said firmly.
“I am not doubting you, Tommy, you know that. But this is bigger than just Kenny. We don’t know how desperate Lucky and his brothers are. We need to find out more about the falling out,” the inspector said. “I can try my sources, but we both know you are more likely to be told than a copper.”
Tommy acknowledged the inspector’s words with a nod and a glance at Mike whose face remained unreadable.
“Inspector Griffin, we will do all we can to get you the information we need. I will go visit this Angel,” Kathleen added.
“You can’t,” Richard contradicted her.
“Yes, I can.”
“Kathleen, I forbid it,” Richard said. “It is far to
o dangerous.”
She glared at him. “This is my job, and I won’t ask anyone’s permission to help a child. If you don’t know that already, perhaps you don’t know me at all.”
Kathleen didn’t mean to be sharp, but what she had learned over the last half hour had sickened her. She regretted taking her frustration out on Richard, but, at the same time, she meant every word. From what Kenny had said, this girl Angel had helped him despite the risk. That was all Kathleen needed to know. She had to help the girl.
“We will go with you, Miss Kathleen. You cannot go to see Angel alone,” Tommy insisted. “Lucky is nasty on his own, never mind when the three brothers get together.”
“I strongly forbid you from going, Kathleen.”
Kathleen looked at Richard sadly. “I think you should go home. We will talk when we have both calmed down a little.”
Richard looked as if he was going to argue but then thought better of it, as he turned away. He said goodbye to the others. Charlie offered to see him out. Kathleen didn’t move from her chair.
Chapter 42
“Do you know where the family lives, Tommy?” Kathleen asked, as if nothing had happened.
Tommy blinked rapidly before shaking his head. “I will find out. I’ll come back tomorrow. Mike, we should go check on Granny. Maybe stay with her tonight just in case.”
Kathleen could have kicked herself. She hadn’t given any thought to the danger Granny Belbin may be in. What if Kenny had told Lucky and his family about her protecting him and giving him shelter? They would assume she would know where he was.
“Take a basket from Cook with you. Granny won’t accept charity, but she can’t refuse to share a meal with you. Can you come back tomorrow morning?” Kathleen added.
“Yes, Miss Kathleen,” Mike said, while Tommy added his thanks.
Inspector Griffin followed the men out, saying he, too, would make inquiries and return in the morning. Charlie left the room to check on the children, leaving Kathleen, Bridget, and Lily alone by the fire.
Orphan Train Christmas Page 9
