The Gang of St Bride's, page 25
part #9 of Penny Green Series
The only way out for me would be via the river. Were they planning to push me in?
“The tide’s comin’ in,” said Beth as the tunnel broadened into a wide chamber.
I saw bright, dazzling daylight in a wide rectangular opening up ahead of us. We had reached the Thames. The water in the chamber reached my waist and I shivered uncontrollably from the cold.
“This chamber’s completely filled at high tide,” she added.
“Am I destined for the river?” I asked. My skirts were heavy and sodden, and I staggered several times as I waded through the water.
Maria and Beth exchanged a glance but said nothing. I tried to quell the rising panic in my chest as we waded ever closer to the outlet into the river. The water moved slowly in toward us, lapping at the brick walls of the chamber. I tried to fathom whereabouts on the river we were, what place lay directly south of Ludgate Circus?
I glanced up and saw that the walls and ceiling were damp and slimy. There was no doubt the river would fill this chamber completely at high tide. Through the rectangle of light I saw a stone wall, and it occurred to me that it could be a bridge support. At that moment a loud rumble resounded through the chamber. It sounded like the rumble of a train and now I knew where we were.
“Are we beneath Blackfriars Bridge?” I asked.
Beth nodded.
I looked at the water around me and felt an even greater sense of panic. I had swum in a lake a few times as a child in Derbyshire, but swimming in the Thames with its strong currents was a different matter indeed. I felt sure my clothing would weigh me down, and being fully immersed in the cold water would come as a complete shock.
Where did my fate lie? In the water or at the mercy of the knife Maria held?
My body began to shake and, once again, I thought of the poor girls whose throats had been cut before their bodies were thrown into the water.
“Did you bring Josephine and Margaret down here?” I asked. “Is this how they ended up in the river?”
Beth’s face had an ugly sneer to it, but she said nothing.
“Did you murder them?” I asked.
Beth took a step closer to me and tossed the lantern she was carrying into the water.
“You did, didn’t you?” I continued. “You cut their throats and threw them into the river.”
Before I had time to speak again the two women were standing either side of me. Beth pulled off my bonnet and grabbed a clump of my hair. The swiftness of her movement caught me by surprise.
“Don’tcha worry, Miss Green, it’s almos’ painless. Yer won’t know nothin’ about it,” said Maria.
I saw daylight flash on steel close to my face. A strange calm descended and I closed my eyes as I waited for the inevitable to happen.
They were about to slit my throat and drown me. An instinctive urge for survival seized me.
“No!” I cried out, my voice echoing around the chamber.
“Quiet!” hissed Beth, still holding my hair.
I tried to struggle free, twisting my head around so the knife stayed as far from my throat as possible.
As I pushed an elbow into Maria’s chest, my spectacles fell into the water. Hands grabbed at my arms. I squeezed my eyes shut and fought with as much strength as I could find. I pictured James at St Giles’ church on our wedding day. I could see his smiling face as strong hands pushed me down into the water.
My head dipped under the surface but I continued to fight, lashing out blindly with my arms and legs. I knew they would eventually overpower me, but I was desperate to keep the knife at bay.
James was still smiling at me, and I fought for that moment with everything I had. I fought for the day when I would become his wife. My lungs ached for air, but I resisted the urge to open my mouth and take a breath. With my face underwater I knew it would mean certain death. I had to hold on for as long as possible, but my strength was fading. There was no hope of escape.
I stopped struggling and allowed my body to remain still.
Perhaps they would believe I was dead if I stayed still. Perhaps I could pretend I had drowned.
The pain in my chest intensified, and my head felt as though it were ready to explode. I continued to fight the urge to breathe.
How much longer could I hold on?
I felt sure that if I kept James’ face in my mind I would somehow reach that day.
My wedding day.
His blue eyes were fixed on mine. I tried to return his smile, but then I felt water in my throat.
It was too late.
Chapter 49
Despite the sharp pain in my ribs, I couldn’t stop coughing. I felt aware that I was moving up and down but, when I opened my eyes, all I could see was a blur of damp wood. It took me a moment to realise I was lying in the hull of a boat. Turning my head, I saw a bridge looming over me beneath a cloud-filled sky.
“Try to keep still, Miss Green,” said a man’s voice.
A hand was resting on my shoulder, and I realised I had been covered with something that appeared to be an overcoat.
“We just need to get you ashore,” he added.
How did he know my name?
I wanted to ask the question but my throat was too sore. I also felt an intense pain in my eyes and at the back of my nose. I ignored the instruction to remain still and pushed myself up.
I was sitting in a rowing boat. Two men were seated in the centre, each holding a long oar, while another sat behind them. The one who had spoken was by my side. Each of the four men wore a dark, peaked cap and a buttoned-up double-breasted jacket.
I finally recognised the man who had spoken to me as Sergeant Bradshaw from the Thames River Police.
“Where’s James?” I asked.
The sergeant pointed toward another rowing boat nearby, and there I could make out the unmistakeable form of James, still in the labourer’s clothes he had worn to visit The Queen’s Head. Thankfully, he’d removed his false beard.
I waved at him and he waved back.
“Penny!”
I could just about hear his voice across the water.
“She’s all right!” Sergeant Bradshaw called over to him.
I glanced back at Blackfriars Bridge, and at the dark arch in the wall of the river embankment beneath the bridge. Although my eyesight was poor without my spectacles, I could just about detect a rowing boat moored beside it.
“What happened to Beth and Maria?” I asked.
“The women who were trying to drown you?” he responded. “They jumped into the river. My men are out searching for them, but the current’s strong. You’re lucky to be alive.”
We rowed toward Thames Police Station and alighted at Waterloo Pier, where I was helped out of the boat. Almost as soon as I had set foot on the pier James was by my side.
As I embraced him I recalled how I had pictured his face just at the moment when I had thought I was drowning. Tears began to flow down my cheeks and my body shook with relief.
He held me close. “I should never have let you do that, Penny, it was so foolish of me. You should have had someone with you.”
He led me into the police station, where I was given dry clothing to change into from the store they kept for people who were rescued from the river. I sat beside the fire with an overcoat wrapped around my shoulders and told James what had happened. He listened intently.
“That will have been E Division paying The King Lud a visit,” he said. “Hopefully they’ve apprehended Mrs Sutherland by now. I’m quite astonished to hear she was connected to the Twelve Brides.”
“Probably not as astonished as I was when I saw her! How did the river police know where to find me?”
“Five minutes after you disappeared beyond that door we decided to spring ourselves on the publican. He was quite alarmed, I can tell you! I asked where you’d gone but he refused to tell me. We arrested him, along with a young man and lady who also work there. Third Division summoned a Black Maria to take them to the station at Bridewell Place.
“Then we broke down the door you’d gone through and discovered the trapdoor. When we lifted it and saw the long tunnel beneath it, we really had no idea where you’d disappeared to. Some of the men went down into the tunnel, while I ran to catch up with the Black Maria to ask the publican where the tunnel led. I still couldn’t get anything out of him, so I told the man that by withholding information he was endangering a human life. I told him he’d receive a much lighter sentence if he told me where the tunnel led. He took a bit of persuading, but eventually he relented and told me it ended up at The King Lud.
“I felt sure those tunnels somehow had to connect with the River Fleet, as we knew smugglers had taken advantage of those routes in the past. We alerted Sergeant Bradshaw and his men, who brought their boats around to where the Fleet joins the Thames. We realised then how Josephine Miller and Margaret Brown must have ended up in the river. The outlet for the River Fleet is well hidden beneath Blackfriars Bridge, so the girls could have been deposited there without anyone seeing a thing.”
“They tried to do the same with me.”
“And they would have succeeded if we hadn’t got to you just in time.”
“Perhaps it’s just as well I’m leaving my profession,” I said. “There have already been too many attempts on my life!”
“I imagine most news reporters have a rather more sedate time of it,” he replied. “There’s something in your character that seems to crave danger, Penny.”
“Not at all,” I protested. “It seeks me out, I feel sure of it.”
“I’ll head over to Bridewell Place later and find out how they’re getting on,” said James. “I hope Mrs Sutherland hasn’t eluded us.”
“She hasn’t,” said a lady’s voice. “They’ve got her.”
I looked up to see a lady in a blue flannel dress. She had brown hair and a freckled complexion.
“Mrs Worthers?” I asked, shrinking back in my seat in fear of another encounter with a gang member. “How did you get in here?”
“Don’t worry, Miss Green, they let me in.”
“What’s this all about?” asked James, getting to his feet.
“I can explain, Inspector Blakely. Please don’t worry, there’s nothing to be concerned about. I’ve been watching the Twelve Brides gang for some time, you see. I’ve been working for a lady who lives near Piccadilly. She’s been robbed twice and is tired of all the criminal activity in the area. I’m a private detective.”
“Goodness, how interesting!” I exclaimed. “I’d convinced myself you were a criminal. I kept seeing you everywhere, and my assumption was that you were up to no good.”
We both laughed. “You must have suspected Mrs Sutherland, then,” I continued. “Is that why you were present at the London Women’s Rights Society meeting?”
“No, I attended that meeting out of my own personal interest. I had long admired the work Mrs Sutherland had done with the Women’s Rights Society in north London and talk of the new organisation intrigued me. I’m as shocked as you to discover who she really is. And I’m so sorry to hear about your ordeal, Miss Green. How are you feeling?”
“A little tired, but I’m extremely pleased to hear that Mrs Sutherland has been apprehended.”
“You’re not the only one. I was carrying out one of my regular visits to St Bride’s earlier – I’ve been frequenting the area to identify gang members, you see – and today I was surprised to witness a large group of police officers outside The King Lud. I hung about with the rest of the crowd until the building’s occupants were marched out. I assumed there had been a mistake when I saw that Mrs Sutherland was among them, but she was taken to Bridewell police station.”
“With hindsight, it would have been useful for us to work together,” I said.
“I suppose it would have. I’m careful to keep my work secret, however, as it wouldn’t do to have too many people knowing I’m a detective.”
“It would hamper your activities, that’s for sure,” said James. “Thank you for sharing some of the useful information you gleaned with us. I’m grateful to you for that.”
“My pleasure, Inspector.”
“Is Mrs Worthers your real name?” I asked.
She smiled. “I couldn’t possibly say, Miss Green.”
Chapter 50
“And finally, it is my great pleasure to present to you, Miss Green, in honour of your excellent service to our fine newspaper, the Morning Express, a personal gift from myself.”
Mr Conway, a large man wearing a baggy, brown tweed suit, gave a bow and presented me with a leather-bound box that fitted neatly into my palm.
“Thank you for the gift, sir,” I replied, “and for your extremely kind words.”
We were gathered in the boardroom of the Morning Express offices, a room I had stepped inside only a handful of times during my eleven years of employment there.
“And congratulations on your impending nuptials!” Mrs Conway leaned forward to say brightly. “May you enjoy a long and happy marriage together.”
“Thank you, Mrs Conway.”
“Right then,” said Mr Conway. “We’d better be off. Good luck in your married life, Miss Green, and do pass on my regards to the lucky fellow.”
The proprietor and his wife bade everyone farewell, leaving me in the boardroom with Mr Sherman and my colleagues.
“Aren’t you going to open your gift, Miss Green?” asked Edgar.
I lifted the lid to reveal a silver pocket watch resting on a little cushion of green satin.
“A gentleman’s watch!” laughed Edgar.
“It’s the same watch everyone receives when they leave the Morning Express,” I replied.
“Only if they’ve served for at least ten years,” added my editor.
“But why did Mr Conway give you a watch intended for a gentleman?” queried Edgar. “He could have given you a locket instead.”
“I presume he has a little store filled with silver pocket watches,” I said. “Besides, I’m probably the first long-serving lady to have left her employment here. I’m sure James will be very happy to wear it.”
“He’ll get a much nicer one when he retires from the Yard,” said Mr Sherman, “but I suppose it’ll serve him well until then. We shall miss you, Miss Green.”
“I shall miss you all too,” I replied, my voice cracking a little. “Very much indeed. You’ll all be attending the wedding, won’t you?”
“Mrs Fish and I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” said Edgar cheerily. “And you can visit us here any time you like.”
“Thank you. I hope to do so from time to time.”
“I’ll also make sure Mrs Fish sends you an invitation to her next ladies’ luncheon.”
“That would be lovely.”
“I must confess I’m a little pleased you’re leaving, Miss Green,” he added, “because that means I’ll be able to report on the trial of Mrs Sutherland and Miss Gold myself!”
I sighed. “Yes, I should have liked to report on that.”
“You could follow the proceedings from the public gallery,” suggested Frederick.
“I could, but it wouldn’t quite be the same, would it?”
“Don’t tell Mr Sherman, but I’ll happily allow you to write my court reports for me,” said Edgar with a grin.
“I’m standing right here, Fish,” said the editor with a rare smile. “And besides, Miss Green, I think you already know what will most likely happen during the trial. Miss Gold will freely admit that she arranged the murders of Miss Miller and Miss Brown, implicating Mrs Sutherland as deeply as possible in the hope that her prospective death sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment instead.”
“It’s a shame that Beth and Maria won’t be standing trial,” I said.
The two women responsible for attacking me had thrown themselves into the river as soon as the police arrived and hadn’t been seen since.
“Did they escape or are they dead?” asked Edgar.
“I wish we knew,” I said. “I can’t see how they could have swum to safety without being seen.”
“It’s a shame they won’t face justice,” said Mr Sherman, “but they were only the foot soldiers. Fortunately, the people they were working for have both been caught.”
“I can only hope there’s enough evidence to convict them,” I said. “I hear Mrs Sutherland has excellent legal counsel.”
“I’m sure she has,” replied Mr Sherman, “but now she and Miss Gold have been captured, the gang members may start talking. After all, they have nothing left to fear. And if the police offer them leniency in exchange, their evidence could prove rather damning for Mrs Sutherland.”
“James told me that’s the plan.”
“There you go, then. And you’ll be able to keep a close eye on the case through the eyes of your husband!”
Back in the newsroom, I packed my belongings into my carpet bag for the last time and bade my colleagues a swift farewell. My throat felt tight with emotion and I was keen to leave before any tears managed to escape.
I scurried down the stairs, not wishing to dwell on the fact that this would be the last time I ever left the building as an employee. I had almost reached the door which opened out onto Fleet Street when I heard a shout behind me over the rumble of the printing presses.
“Miss Green!”
I turned to see Mr Sherman standing halfway down the flight of stairs.
“It seems you can’t get away from us quickly enough!” He smiled as he descended the remainder of the staircase.
“It’s not that, sir,” I replied in a choked voice.
He handed me his handkerchief just as the first tear rolled down my cheek.
“You’re too good a writer to lose, Miss Green,” he said. “I’d like us to come to some sort of arrangement. Mr Conway needn’t even know about it. There may still be an opportunity for you to contribute here and there. Under a pseudonym, of course. As you know, I already have a number of contributors who write a few articles a month.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Just have a think about it.”
I smiled as I wiped away my tears. “I’d love to, sir.”
