Shadow of the Dolocher

by European P. Douglas

  "Yeah, these things always happen near the start of relationships," Sarah said.

  "I shouldn't have lied to him," Mary said after a brief silence.

  "It was only a little white lie," Sarah said. "You will be finished at the Colonel's at some stage, and you need all the money you can get at the moment from it before it ends."

  "I agree, did John offer to give you the money you'd be losing out on if you stopped going?" Kate said bitchily. Mary looked at her in surprise but answered,

  "No, he wouldn't be able to do that."

  "I'm sorry Mary, I didn't mean to sound cruel there," Kate apologised.

  She had been angry at herself and what she had done in her own life, and she knew there was no need to push any of this onto John's shoulders. From what Mary had said about him, he was a very nice boy, and there was no reason for any of them to have a bad word to say against him up to now.

  Kate sat down where she had been before Mary came in and took up her own cup once more. She longed to be able to tell the girls what she had done, to be told by them that she had done the right thing, that she had no other choice, but she was so ashamed.

  She still didn't really understand what had happened with Edwards, he was so insistent on getting her to go with him and then only days later he had thrown her out and sent her back home before Tim had gotten out. She was lucky that she had not thrown out her key or else she would not have been able to get into the house before Tim got home. She recalled sitting in the house, Tim's house that she had moved back into, and feeling terrible shame at being there, for having the gall to come back at all.

  She had steeled herself to Tim's sense of betrayal, to his fomenting hatred of her when he found out what she had done, but she had done it to save his life. She hoped that someday he would be able to see that and in the distant future there might be the possibility of their getting back together. She loved him deeply, and she would do anything for him, she had proved that in her own mind but now it seemed all for nothing.

  There had been a murder while Tim was in prison and she doubted that Edwards had anything to with his release at all. Had he ever any intention of helping or was it all part of some sick joke he had perpetrated on her? He was such a confusing man; you never knew really where you were with him. Now he had this information on her, and she felt sure that he would use it against her in the future; she was realist enough to know that it was unlikely that she had shared his bed for the last time.

  "Are you alright?" Sarah asked looking at her. Kate looked up and saw the two pairs of eyes gazing at her in concern.

  "Yes, sorry, I was miles away there," she answered with a smile, one that she had learned to throw at customers at Madame Melanie's.

  Chapter 51

  Kate watched from the corner as Thomas looked over a delivery that had arrived for his eponymous tavern. He was arguing about something as she knew he would be. Finally, some arrangement was come to, and the delivery cart started off slowly to its next boozy destination. Thomas barked instructions at two young men who were to bring the barrels in to the storeroom in the cellar. As they began to work, Kate crossed the road,

  "Hello Thomas," she said, sickly sweet in tone. He turned to see who had spoken and when he saw her he blushed red and his face dropped in surprise.

  "Hello," he mumbled, darting quick looks at the boys to see if they were looking.

  "Can you talk for a moment?"

  "I'm quite busy," he tried to walk away, to go inside the tavern. He was so befuddled by her visit that he didn't know what he was doing. She knew that no one was aware of his visits to the brothel; that he was married and passed himself off as a good decent Christian.

  "It's about John," Kate said rushing after him. He stopped at the door and turned to look at her once more.

  "If you know where he is you can tell him not to bother showing up here again!" Thomas said gruffly.

  "I don't know where he is, I wanted to ask you if you knew?"

  "I don't."

  "Have you noticed anything different with him lately?"

  "I don't have time for this..." he started to say,

  "Maybe your wife might have time to talk about it?" Kate threatened. He looked about once more and then beckoned her to follow him inside.

  "He was in work a few nights ago, a man came in and pushed past me and went down to him in the cellar and they left together," he said in one breath once they were inside.

  "What man, who was he?"

  "I don't know, he's been here a couple of times before, always wants something from my own drinks cabinet."

  "Is he about your own height, dark hair, well dressed?"

  "Yes."

  "Blue eyes and an abrupt manner, like he was laughing at you without actually smiling," she described Edwards as best she could. He stopped at this last description as though she didn't know what she was talking about, but she saw it dawn on him as he remembered who she was sure was Edwards and he smiled,

  "That's a perfect account of him,” he laughed a short, loud snort.

  "When was this?"

  "Oh, it must have been," he put a hand to his chin and looked to the ceiling in a display of memory. "Five nights ago, I think."

  "And no one here has seen him since?"

  "Not that I know of. Andy, outside doing the delivery, is a friend of his I think, but he tells me he knows nothing."

  "I'll go talk to him then."

  "Kate," he said after her. She turned to look at him. "It was nice to see you but please don't ever come here again."

  "I only came this time for some answers, I doubt you'd ever have another one again," she smiled and left.

  She walked around by the side of the tavern, and she could hear the men working, heaving and grunting and the sound of wood cracking against other wood. She walked down the slope that ran to the cellar and peered into the darkness.

  "Andy?" A face popped out of the gloom and looked at her with curiosity.

  "I'm Andy," he said, wiping his hands with a cloth tucked into his trousers.

  "You're a friend of John's?"

  "That's right," she felt him go on the defensive.

  "Have you seen him?"

  "Not since the night he left here with some man."

  "Do you know who the man is?"

  "No, he was only here a few times."

  "Do you know what he wanted with John?"

  "No, but I think it had something to do with his girlfriend."

  "Mary?" Kate was not expecting this.

  "Yeah, he paid me to tell John that some fella from the army was painting her." So that was how he found out about that.

  "Did he get you to do anything else?"

  "No, just to say that she was still doing it the next time he came in." What was Edwards playing at she wondered? Was this some new way that he had decided to get back at Kate? By using her friends and making them miserable?

  "Do you know where they went?"

  "No, just that they headed towards New Market, but beyond that, you wouldn't be able to see from here."

  "Do you know John well?"

  "Sort of, we share a room with a few other lads."

  "Have any of them seen him, has he been home?"

  "Not since that night and I don't think any of his stuff has been touched since then either."

  "Did you report this?"

  "Report what?"

  "That he was missing!" At this, he laughed,

  "Who cares if one of us goes missing, he's probably gone back home to Galway, maybe there's something up with his family, or they finally have enough to leave, and he is going with them."

  It did sound plausible, but she felt that anyone who knew Mary would not have been able to go without at the very least saying goodbye. She had a terrible feeling about this, and her suspicions of Edwards deepened. She couldn't help but picture John turning up dead in some alley somewhere soon, his body cut and savaged. Mary would be devastated if she ever had to deal with that.

&nb
sp; "Thanks," she said absently as she began to walk away. She could feel him watching her, but he didn't say anything else. Kate decided in the time that it took her to walk up the slope back to the street that she would have to go to Edwards herself, it was the only way she was she was going to find out the truth.

  Chapter 52

  The shadow of the house fell in a slant across the road as Alderman James hid in the darkness it provided. He could see Edwards' coachman getting ready to leave. James looked behind to Bessie, his own horse waiting obediently a few yards back in the alley. Her breath lit the air around her nostrils, and the black of her eyes shone in the light they caught. Looking back to the house James saw Edwards trot down the steps and climb energetically into the carriage. James was not used to seeing him move in this way and he wondered was he drunk already, and would he only lead him to one of his drinking haunts this evening. James mounted Bessie and set out slowly after the carriage as it trundled down towards the Liffey.

  James didn't like being back in this position; of not knowing what was going on and not being able to trust anyone. Was he too quick to listen to bad things said about Edwards just because of his affiliations and the immoral life that James abhorred so much? He'd thought on numerous occasions of following Edwards but had so far never acted on them, but now as he found himself with so little to go on and numerous things pointing in Edwards' direction he had decided to act.

  He did so with some trepidation, however, as he feared another incident like that at the Hellfire Club. He knew that Edwards was very clever and could be completely unpredictable. He probably expected James to follow him at some point, but he was also the type who wouldn't care that he was being followed.

  As expected, Edwards crossed the river and went into the Liberties area. James trotted along at a distance and as close to the buildings as he could get away with. James was muffled against the cold, and he cursed his choice of night to do this and even more so when the carriage pulled up outside the Hellfire Club house on Francis Street. James came as close as he could, and he wondered why Edwards had not alighted as of yet, but no sooner had he thought this than the door opened, and Edwards popped jauntily to the ground.

  "Wait here, I'll be back in a minute," Edwards called to his coachman, and then he disappeared inside the building. This at least warmed James, the fact that he was not going into the house for the evening. James found the most concealed spot he could and waited, and soon Edwards came back out, his head wrapped against the cold, he saw Edwards' shoes and sword to be sure it was him, and he jumped into the carriage, and they set off again. James followed.

  After about fifteen minutes they came to a house with some stables attached, a place the Alderman did not know well. Edwards got out and dipped into the one of the sheds and the coach went off and left him there. A few moments later, a horse and rider came out of the barn and James looked to see that this was still his man and once more he saw the giveaway shoes and weapon.

  James followed again, he was more careful now that there was no carriage to block Edwards' view should he look behind and there was also the trouble with the sound of the horse walking that hadn't been an issue when he was in a carriage.

  James had never known Edwards to ride on horseback, and this was intriguing to him. He followed Edwards along some streets and through alleyways and none of the time did he turn so much as to look to the side or behind him. Soon it was clear that he was leaving the city and almost as soon as they had done so, it was too dark to be able to see much of anything. James hesitated in the blackness and wondered if Edwards was taking a longer route out to Montpelier Hill and if he should bother following at all.

  Suddenly a light flickered, and James could see up ahead that Edwards had lit a lantern and that he was now starting to head east. This was not the way to the remote clubhouse, and James nudged Bessie forwards and followed at a distance. James let the distance between them lessen a little, knowing the there was no way that Edwards was going to be able to see him in this light and also that the wind in the trees that lined the road would make it impossible to hear him either.

  This walk went on for over an hour, Edwards stopping every now and then at crossroads as though he was unsure of the way to get to where he wanted to be. At last, the light came to a halt and James was sure that he would see the sea in the moonlight, and he wondered where on the coast they were right now, and what Edwards was up to. Was he waiting on a furtive boat to come in?

  Presently the light went out, and James couldn't be sure that he could see either horse or man any longer. The world felt dark and sinister now to James, the black and shadows almost alive in his mind, something evil in all directions closing in on him. It was freezing, the wind moaned and surged all about, and the squalling noise of the sea sounded like something breathing heavily and moving hugely on the landscape.

  The sound of galloping hooves took him by surprise, and the horse and rider were upon him as if from nowhere, and the shrill scream of the rider and whinnying of the beast shocked and scared James to his very soul, and he put his hands up to protect himself from some attack he felt coming. He lost his balance and feel heavily from the horse who, also frightened by the sudden noise and nearby movement cantered in agitation in elliptical circles.

  James was then aware of a man laughing, he heard something flint and a light sparked, and then a torch came alight.

  "Best not to always believe what you see Alderman," the man said with a grin.

  "Who are you?" James demanded, getting up from the damp earth.

  "I'll tell you who I'm not," he laughed, "Edwards!" he laughed more heartily now.

  "So he sent you to lead me out here?"

  "He's hurt that you don't trust him."

  "Hurt my eye!" James said and grabbed Bessie's reins angrily and remounted. "You better lead the way back."

  "I'll take you some of the way; my home is on the way, so I won't be going all the way into the city."

  "Brilliant!" James grumbled.

  Their walk back was silent, and James was furious in his embarrassment. He was ashamed that Edwards knew he was following him and he was annoyed that Edwards had purposefully sent him on this hour’s long walk on such a cold night. He imagined Edwards drunk as a lord now and laughing in a well-lit and warmed room, thinking about James' suffering. He wondered too during some long moments of the walk home if this was going to affect his relationship with Edwards regarding information. Edwards was a source of knowledge through avenues that the Alderman would never be able to gain access.

  The thing that most occupied his mind, especially when the rider reeled off and pointed him in the direction of the city and he was left alone, was that he still didn't know if Edwards was his man or not. Was no closer to knowing if he could trust him or if he was just along for the laugh of seeing James trying to catch the very man he was using for information.

  Chapter 53

  Mullins was itching to get out of the house. He'd only very recently come in from working and had washed, and stoked the fire that Kate had left for him. She was down with Mary and Sarah and probably wouldn't be back for a good while yet. In his mind, he could see the cabin and a jug of whiskey in front of him, and it pained him to sit with rapidly cooling tea in his hand instead.

  It had been many nights now since he had been out, and it was not good for him, he had felt himself growing cranky and snappy with Kate, though he knew she was doing no different than usual. He needed some freedom, to be able to blow off some steam, being cooped up like this would be the end of his marriage. He emptied his cup into the fire and stood up as it hissed to nothing in the grate. Pulling on his cloak, he went out into the dark, icy night.

  It was still early in the evening, and many people milled about; there were even some retailers still open for business and lights came from many places of trade as people finished off the day’s work behind closed doors. The cabin was not a long walk from his home, only about eight minutes at an amble and he could see it
for a long time before he would get to it. It always looked so welcoming to him.

  It was going to be another icy night, and his breath steamed the air in front of his face. Mullins felt snow was likely as he looked at the thick blanket of clouds that covered the sky. He stepped out of the road as a fancy carriage came by, the noise of the wheels and the clopping of the horses the only noise he could hear for a time.

  As this subsided, he thought he heard something else, something unwanted and unpleasant, but then it was gone before he could hear properly. The carriage was still in earshot but only as background noise now.

  Another sound in the night.

  This time there was no mistaking it. It was a woman screaming. Mullins looked around; it was coming from a laneway just to his right, though it was one of the narrow winding ones, and he couldn't see beyond a few feet into it. The scream came again; it was one of terror.

  Mullins was torn, his body tried to lead him to the scene so as to offer his assistance, but his head was telling him that it was none of his business, that he should walk away like he'd never heard a thing. If there was a murder, and he walked in on the scene, he was sure to be taken to gaol again, and this time there would be no getting back out.

  The cry came out again, but it was a voice this time, someone shouting, "Get away!" and then he heard a growl and he thought there is no murder happening, but some woman is cornered by a hungry dog. He went into the alley and around the corner. It was hard to see as sheets and blankets hung from a rope across the width, people trying to get whatever drying they could do in this cold. Then he heard something that turned his blood cold- there was a shuffling of feet, and then a baby's cry rang out, and the woman shouted again at the dog.