Tower Bridge Trespass (Piccadilly Ladies Club Mysteries Book 6)

by Bettie Jane

  “What happened last night, Winnifred?”

  Winnifred hesitated, but not for long. “I told one of the girls that John stole my savings, and she said she’d never let him get away with it. She knew how badly I needed that money to save Ollie and me. She said she’d find a way to get it back.”

  Julia knew that wasn’t all to the story. “You know more than that.”

  Winnifred sighed and her shoulders drooped. “She told John Turner that she was meeting a client in the South Tower stairs but that she was worried for her safety. She asked if he would come check on her. She waited for him and snuck up behind him on the steps and stabbed him. When she heard footsteps, she hid and saw Oliver. I didn’t know he was here last night, but she recognized him as mine because I’m always talking about him and his beautiful red hair. He ran off and so she came and found me right away. I came here and found him hiding.” Her expression grew more intense. “I saw the bruises all over him and I knew I couldn’t send him back. So, please believe me. He is safe. John Turner got what he deserved. Can’t you pretend like you never saw me here and just leave?”

  Julia considered her options. She wanted to believe Winnifred, but she also had to remember that her client was her priority. The aunt hired her and that was where Julia’s loyalty should be.

  “Why didn’t you go to your sister-in-law? She seems to care a great deal about Oliver and it seems like he’d be safe there with her. Plus she and her husband seem to have plenty of money. They could have helped you leave Eric.”

  Winnifred took a deep, shaky breath and poured out the rest of her story.

  By the time she reached the end of it, Julia was utterly horrified.

  If Winnifred was telling the truth about her husband’s family, she desperately needed help to escape their very long reach. If she was lying, then Oliver wasn’t safe with her and needed to be returned to his Aunt Esther.

  Who was she supposed to believe? The woman who’d left her son in the care of a violent father and traded in wifedom for prostitution, or the friendly, elegant woman that hired her this morning. They couldn’t both be telling the truth, but Julia had no way to know whose story to believe.

  “I need to think. Sit down with me, Winnifred. We’ll come up with a plan.”

  8

  “I’ll never tell who killed John Turner,” said Winnifred.

  They’d been tucked away in the secret room for more than two hours. It had to be late afternoon by now, and Julia hoped Jacob would arrive soon. She decided to buy herself some time by telling Winnifred about Jacob and a plan that was starting to form, but Winnifred was getting anxious, insisting that she had to get back to Oliver. When Julia tried to press her about his whereabouts, Winnifred closed up, refusing to say anything about Oliver or about who had killed John Turner. If Julia could be certain about anything concerning Winnifred at this point, it was that she was stubborn. If she decided she wouldn’t tell, then she wouldn’t tell.

  “I understand, Winnifred. Your loyalty is admirable, and I don’t much care if the one who killed such a violent, thieving man finds justice. I do want to help you make sure that Oliver is safe.”

  “Is your friend going to be here soon? I need to get back to Oliver. He’s with the girls, but he’ll get nervous if I’m gone too long.”

  “I suspect he’ll be here anytime.”

  As if on cue, footsteps echoed in the hall. As they got nearer, Julia could smell Jacob’s aftershave, and she immediately felt a thousand pounds lift off her shoulders. Jacob would be able to offer her the help she needed. She’d thought of a plan, one that she’d shared with Winnifred, and thought it just might work, but it would definitely require some assistance from Scotland Yard’s finest inspector.

  “Julia?” Jacob’s voice reached her as he stepped into the secret room.

  “Hi, Jacob. I’m so glad to see you. I need your help.”

  “Anything, you know that.” But he’d stopped to eye Winnifred with suspicion.

  Julia smiled warmly, comforted by the knowledge that she could always count on Jacob. He really was a keeper.

  “This is Winnifred. She’s Oliver’s mother and she has quite a tale for you.”

  Jacob shook Winnifred’s hand and then leaned against the wall of the secret room. “Go ahead, Winnifred.”

  She smiled hesitantly, cleared her throat, and then began.

  “I’ve already told Julia, but she said I needed to be willing to say it again to the police.”

  “Take your time.”

  One more nervous smile, then Winnifred began to speak.

  “Eric’s mother is an awful person. She beat both Eric and Esther when they were children, and she tries to control every aspect of her children’s lives. I didn’t know how awful his family was until after I had Oliver. Once I saw for myself, I refused to have any more children. I always wanted Ollie to have a brother or sister, but I knew it was going to be more than I could manage just to keep one child safe from these horrible people.”

  Jacob looked at Julia. “What about the aunt who hired you to find Oliver in the first place?”

  Winnifred’s smile was a sad one.

  “Esther is a very good actress. She knows how to sound loving and caring, and she always showed an extra fondness for Ollie. She said she couldn’t have children of her own, and so I was thrilled to be able to share Oliver with her. Her face would light up anytime he came around. It took a long while before I finally saw beneath her mask.” Winnifred paused to gather herself, and Julia, knowing the story, understood why.

  “One day,” Winnifred continued, “I overheard Esther and her mother speaking. It was sickening. Esther had delivered two babies. Her mother was jealous of the babies because they pulled Esther’s affection from her mother. Esther’s mother made her kill both of her babies.”

  They all sat in stunned silence at the grave revelation. Eventually, Winnifred picked up the story where she left off.

  “I found this out shortly before I left. Once I knew that they were evil to their soul, I knew I had to get Oliver away from them. I’d only planned for it to take a few months. It was optimistic of me, but I truly wanted to believe that in that short of time, I could make enough to get Ollie and me a train to my distant family in Liverpool.” She explained to Jacob what she had to Julia, about the money and Turner stealing it, and but especially about leaving Oliver with his father.

  “You have to believe me. I didn’t think I could keep him safe with me. I should have taken him when I left, I know that now, but then…I just wanted to work and make as much as I could as quickly as possible.”

  Her face wrenched into a sob, and she buried her face in her hands, crying quietly. “I don’t know what I’ll do now that John Turner stole all of my money.”

  “Your problem of where to go is one I can solve quite easily for you, Winnifred,” Julia told her while Jacob was still considering all he’d been told.

  Julia was certain that Winnifred was telling the truth now. The details hadn’t changed in the retelling, and they had been as upsetting to Winnifred as the first time.

  Winnifred looked blankly at Julia.

  “I’ll arrange for a place for you and Oliver to stay, and I can offer you a job. I’ll need a receptionist at my office to answer phones and handle business when Frankie and I are out working on a case. Jacob, how do we get Oliver away from that family for good? Esther told me she had a solicitor who filed for temporary emergency guardianship.”

  Jacob looked from Winnifred to Julia and back again a few times before he cleared his throat.

  “I don’t think Eric will be released from jail anytime soon. He has so many prior convictions on his record, it’s quite amazing he hasn’t been incarcerated long before now. With the father out of the equation, Winnifred’s ability to care for Oliver will be the next question the courts will set out to determine. Even though we know the truth about why you left,” he said to her, “even if you appeared on the scene again this very day with a good
job and place to live, the courts will still hold it against you that left him. Especially when you knew his father was abusive. The work you took up when you left will not look good for you either, though I’m sure you had your reasons.”

  Winnifred nodded. It was no wonder that she was against telling where Oliver was. She must have been terrified she’d lose him for good.

  “If you can find evidence proving that Esther killed her own children,” Jacob continued, “she’ll be off the list of family members that the court would consider giving guardianship to and she would go to jail. It would also show the court your reasoning behind what you did. You say you overheard your sister-in-law and mother-in-law discussing the murders?”

  Winnifred nodded weakly. “Yes, both babies were only infants. The first one, a girl, was suffocated by Esther’s mom. The second, apparently Esther took care of that one herself. They were ruled, according to the conversation I overheard, accidental unexplained infant deaths. As I said, I didn’t take the time to look into the information. I just knew I needed to get Ollie away from all of them as quickly as possible.”

  “So the grandmother could find herself incarcerated as well. Where is Oliver now?”

  Winnifred shook her head and stepped away from Jacob.

  He held his hands up in a gesture of peace. “I’m not going to take him or you into custody, Winnifred. I swear it. However, the first step in getting you legally reunited is showing good faith now that you have offers of help. If we can show the court that the very moment you had another option for taking care of Oliver’s well-being you accepted it, the better it will go for you in the long run, I’m certain.”

  Winnifred looked at Julia, who nodded in reassurance.

  “If I take you to him, what happens then?”

  Jacob let out a troubled breath. “I’ll technically be breaking the law, but I’ll set you up under Julia’s supervision. If you and Oliver stay with her at all times until we can get a decision from the court about guardianship, then I can keep Oliver out of the system…and out of the hands of your husband’s family.”

  “I don’t suppose I have much of a choice, then, do I?”

  “This is your best option for keeping Oliver in your care.”

  She nodded, slowly.

  “Julia, you don’t mind? It seems like we’d be such a burden for you.”

  “Nonsense. You won’t be a burden at all. Eventually, I’ll put you to work, but first, you need time with Oliver in safe conditions. You’ll need to enroll him in a new school, which I’m sure the court will help oversee, given the circumstances.”

  “Will you take us to Oliver, Winnifred?” Jacob asked.

  “Yes. Thank you so much for your help.”

  9

  Winnifred led Julia and Jacob to a small hovel, an easy walk from the bridge. She lived there with five other women, and they were jammed to the rafters. When the unlikely group entered the tight quarters, all the women stopped talking and stared at them. A young boy with bright red hair sat curled around a book, reading silently. Oliver. He did look just like his mother.

  When Oliver saw Winnifred, he jumped to his feet and ran to his mother. Julia watched their reunion with curiosity. The other women resumed their conversations in hushed tones.

  “That’s a good sign,” Julia whispered into Jacob’s ear. “He’s clearly happy to see his mother.”

  Jacob nodded but didn’t speak.

  Julia watched mother and son embrace and fought back the tears that threatened to overflow down her cheeks.

  The tension that was present in Winnifred dissolved as soon as she was next to Oliver.

  “Ollie, I want you to meet Julia and Inspector Gibbs. They are going to help us. I’ve got a job, and we’ve got a place to live. You never have to go back. Not ever.”

  Oliver Dickens smiled at his mother, and Julia could tell by the way the smile reached his eyes that he was home as long as he was with his mother. What a terrible ordeal this child had been through.

  Winnifred gathered a few things and placed them into a bag.

  “We can come back for the rest of your things later, if you like, Winnifred.”

  She smiled at Julia. “This is all of my things. I refused to spend any money that wasn’t absolutely necessary.”

  Julia’s stomach fell when she realized the impoverished conditions this mother had been living in and felt so grateful that she had the resources to be able to offer assistance.

  “Well, if that’s everything. Shall we?”

  The small group followed Jacob to his auto, and he drove them to Charing Cross.

  “Tonight, you’ll stay with me,” Julia told Winnifred. “As soon as we can make it work, there’s a vacant apartment in my building. It’s not large, but it should suffice.”

  Winnifred’s eyes teared up when she saw the beautiful new building that housed Charing Cross Investigations.

  “What are you going to do about Esther, Julia?” Jacob asked.

  “First, I’m giving the retainer she paid me to Winnifred. After that, I’m open to suggestions. Do I let her know that Oliver has been found?”

  “I know an excellent solicitor. I’ll call him as soon as I return to headquarters and have him telephone you. My recommendation is that you don’t speak to Esther or anyone from the family until after you’ve spoken with my man.”

  Julia smiled at him. “Thank you, darling. I owe you.”

  “I doubt I’ll ever get the opportunity to claim that, Julia.”

  She kissed him on the cheek and then stepped out of the vehicle.

  The unlikely trio went into the building and to Julia’s flat.

  She’d only been home about thirty minutes when the phone rang. It was the solicitor Jacob promised to call.

  “Miss Barlow?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I’m Ross Halsey, a solicitor. Inspector Gibbs briefed me on the situation with Oliver Dickens and his family. I’m drafting a document now to have his mother declared his only fit guardian. I’ll need you to compile paperwork showing her as employed by you as well as her rental agreement. How quickly can you make that happen?”

  “Right away. I’ll have it for you by tomorrow morning. Is that soon enough?”

  “That’s perfect. I’m confident, based on the details the Inspector gave me, that the courts will rule in our favor, although it may take some time. My understanding is that Gibbs is having both Esther and her mother arrested on murder charges.”

  “Already? That’s wonderful. I’ll have to ask him how he managed that so soon. Thank you so much, Mr. Halsey. For everything.”

  She hung up the phone and moments later it rang again.

  “Julia?”

  It was Jacob.

  “Yes, darling. The solicitor has already called me. Thank you.”

  “You are most welcome. I’ve called to let you know that Esther and her mother will be arrested by bedtime. There were files opened on the deaths of both of her infants from an anonymous report from years ago and they were already ruled very suspicious, though nothing was ever done. I suspect with the connections that Esther and Edward had, it wasn’t difficult to bribe someone to look the other way. My uncle is much less susceptible to the powers of bribery. With Winnifred’s testimony, it wasn’t difficult to reopen the cases. The sooner they are convicted, the stronger Winnifred’s case will become.”

  “You are my hero, Jacob Gibbs.”

  Suddenly, she remembered.

  “Mattie! Her tea party! It starts in less than an hour. I can still make it if I hurry. What should I do with Winnifred and Oliver though? You said they needed to be under my supervision constantly?”

  “I’ll be right over. Can you wait fifteen minutes before you leave?”

  “Yes, certainly. You better be careful, Jacob Gibbs, or I’ll find myself attached to the idea of you.”

  “You mean you aren’t already?”

  He laughed and then hung up before she could respond.

  She d
ressed quickly and helped Winnifred get situated. She wasn’t really living there yet, or rather, she hadn’t been, but she supposed that tonight was as good of a time as any. She’d break the news to Opal at the tea party. Tonight would be an impromptu campout in the living room, and tomorrow she’d get some proper furniture.

  Jacob arrived and Julia started for the door, then stopped short.

  “Oh, I almost forgot. Winnifred, here.”

  She pressed the envelope that Esther had given her earlier that day into Winnifred’s hands. “This is yours. This was the money Esther paid me with to find Oliver, and you were instrumental in finding him. Consider this your first paycheck.”

  Winnifred hugged Julia so tightly that Julia had to clear her throat to get Winnifred to loosen her grip.

  “Thank you, Julia. Truly. I almost gave up hope. You crossed my path at just the right moment.”

  “It is you who is saving me, Winnifred. I don’t know what I’d do without a receptionist.”

  She winked at Winnifred, and they both laughed.

  It was a perfect ending to a case. She’d found the boy just as she’d endeavored and as a bonus, he was reunited with his mother.

  She’d still managed to find her way inside a murder investigation.

  “Oh, Jacob. What will become of your murder investigation of John Turner?”

  She winked at Winnifred again who had paled considerably at the question.

  Jacob smiled. “Oh, that case has been closed. Death was ruled an accidental fall by the coroner.”

  “Your uncle the coroner,” Julia asked, casual suspicion in her voice.

  Jacob shrugged. “I suppose he is, at that.”