Stalking Jack: The Hunt Begins... (Madeline Donovan Mysteries Book 1) (29 page)

“I somehow think he is gone now too.”

“I am looking for Bob Fielding. Have you seen him?”

“Bob Fielding? Do you wish to curse him before you leave? That mangy dog of a man, I can’t imagine what you would want with him.”

“If you are to seek public office someday, Patrick, you have to have belief in people, even when it doesn’t seem they deserve it. I had lost that faith, but now I am regaining it. He is not the man you may think; there is goodness in him. I found that out in the most unexpected way. Please be kind to him. Someday I will tell you why—someday when I return to London. I will write to you and leave my address.”

“There he is, Mrs. Donovan; I don’t think he’s well.”

“Mr. Fielding, it is good to see you.”

Instead of the surly growl he had always given her, he smiled, “Mrs. Donovan, I see you have survived after all.”

“Only because of you—can we take a table and talk?”

She took his arm and walked to a table in the corner of the room.

“I can never thank you enough. I would not be alive if it weren’t for you. I have brought you some money—enough for a new winter coat, and when I get back to America and have means, I will send you more.”

“No, I cannot take money from a woman.”

“I am not a woman; I am the person whose life you saved. I will send it just the same. If you will not give me your address, I will send it to Patrick, and he will see that you get it.”

“I will accept it. I am weary and old and in need of medicine and better housing. That will be the difference in my life.”

“Good. Will you do me one last favor, can you tell me about Harry and Rocks?”

“When I met Harry, he was a man in need of talking and of a friend. We didn’t become friends, but I listened to him talk about his dead wife. He almost always began to cry before he left. He didn’t let anyone see him. He put his head into his coat and wiped his eyes. He blamed himself for her death; he gave her syphilis from someone down here who gave it to him. He didn’t know why he strayed to this place. He said the work on the farm was hard and long hours, and once in a while he allowed himself the drink and a woman.

He said he hated all the low women and how they destroyed people’s lives. As his sickness progressed and  he learned he didn’t have much time left, he became different, sullen. He wanted to take vengeance on them before he died. I never knew it was him. I thought it was his anger talking, and I understood and felt sorry for him. I agreed with him about the women, and he began to trust me, and that’s when he offered me the job to help him on the farm. Ain’t no one asked me to help them with work in many years. It wasn’t until recently that I began to suspect something, but I never saw him do anything. Then I heard him and Rocks talking about putting an end to your interference, and that’s when I followed him. I lost him in the alley and took a wrong street, but then I heard some sound and followed the voices.”

“The city is rid of Jack. They don’t know it; only we do and the aunts, but I can return to America knowing there’s been an end to his murdering spree. Who knows how many more he would have destroyed before he died? Do you know how he came to do the cutting with such expertise?”

“He wanted to be a doctor once and went to university to study, but then his family needed him to run the farm. He wanted to marry, so he agreed to stay on the farm. He said he never regretted it because his Elizabeth may have married someone else if he stayed away at school.”

“What a horrible story with tragic consequences to all. What about Rocks?”

“I’m not sure about her involvement and how it got started, but he became aware of her hatred of the women in the streets. He felt she hated them as much as he did, so they began some kind of understanding together, but I never knew what it was until the end.”

“Did the police ever seek you out?”

“Never—we complained about the Yard, but in this case, it turned into a blessing that they fell so short in their investigation.”

“My father is waiting outside, but I will pray for you that your life gets better and with a little extra money, I hope that it will help. Patrick can be a friend; you can trust him.”

They shook hands, and she left, holding her side and feeling a warm stream of blood trickling under her blouse. It was time to go.

“Father, I have done what I wanted to do. Whitechapel has no hold on me any longer. Someday I would like to return to visit my friend, Patrick and the aunts, but never again will I search for Jack.”

“It is time we return to the George and get our affairs in order before we depart for the ship on New Year’s Eve. I have a surprise for you; I have booked us first class tickets.”

“Father, that is wonderful but so extravagant.”

“It is and not my usual way, but what is the money good for that I have saved so frugally. I might have lost you. It is time to use that money for some happiness.”

“Then we will have access to the Grand Saloon. May we invite our friends to dine with us on New Year’s Eve before we depart in the morning?”

“Of course, I owe them more than just gratitude for all their care and hospitality. We shall have a fine dinner together.”

Before they left, they had extended their invitations to dinner to Hugh, the reading circle ladies, and she had also sent word to Jonathan.

Her wound had opened, and she was in severe pain and ached for her medicine. She had some left in her room. She knew she would have to fight to not take it.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Return to America

She would see the beautiful SS City of New York once more, and journey across the high seas with all its magnificence and mystery. She was anxious to see what the first class accommodations would be like and to enjoy the company of her friends for one more night. Fireworks and all manner of gaiety would be their's on this New Year’s Eve. There was something so wonderful about those words, a new year. A new year was about to begin, a chance to start over and wash away as many unhappy memories as she could and begin making happy ones.

She said good-bye to Clinton and all the staff at the George with a promise to write often and send them photographs of Chicago. None of the them had ever been to Chicago or any part of America, and she promised that she would keep in contact with them and share with them her Chicago.

She held onto Father’s arm as the wind roughly whipped around, but the sun was shining, and the sky was a pale blue instead of its usual gray. She stood on the deck of the New York and gazed back at the city she had come to know. She was certain she would write a book full of entries about her experiences and thoughts about London and its people.

First class accommodations were exquisite and included access to an expansive library. The rooms were larger, the furniture plush and comfortable with fresh flowers on the table.

“Father, thank you—it is wonderful, isn’t it? I didn’t mind the second class accommodations at all, but now after seeing how fine everything is in first class, it is hard not to be impressed and grateful to be here.”

“Yes, it will be a great background in which to be, when you tell me everything, and I do mean everything, Madeline, about what happened during your stay in London.”

“I will, Father, piece by piece, day by day, I will try to explain to you what happened.”

She wasn’t sure how much of
everything
she would tell her father, but she would tell him most of it. Could she reveal to him that she had killed a man? Even in self-defense, that would be a blow to him and then her not having told the authorities—she wasn't sure he would ever understand her actions. She decided it would have to wait until someday, or maybe never, but she would tell him all the rest.

She had bought a new dress, a satin gown for the New Year’s Eve celebration at the Grand Saloon.  Jonathan was the first to arrive, “So here we are again. This time, you have the first class fare, and I have the second class. It is a marvel; I will never forget its beauty. This will be a most pleasant evening, the atmosphere and the people will make it so.”

“After everything that has happened, it is good to do something so positive, and in such a grand atmosphere. It lifts the spirit this room; I have never seen anything like it,” said Madeline.

Her eyes were drawn again to the domed ceiling that brought rays of light streaming into the room, cascading rainbow light and flickering shadows everywhere.

“My dears, my friends, welcome to the Grand Saloon,” she said to the five ladies. Anna, Helen, Sophie, Felicia and Grace had come adorned with lovely fur coats and ruffled dresses.

“You all look like a picture on a postcard, you will have the eye of everyone upon you,” said Jonathan as he kissed their hands.

“Jonathan, you are a charmer, as is your father,” Anna said to them both.

Father took Anna by the arm and said, “This could be no better time than to spend the coming of the New Year in such a beautiful place and with such delightful company.”

When Hugh and Phillip arrived, they were already seated and drinking their first glass of wine.

“Madeline, you are stunning. What a lovely gown!” said Hugh.

“Thank you. I wanted tonight to be a special evening and left my habit of dressing like a nun behind. Now that you and Phillip are here, our circle of friends is complete. We shall have a merry time tonight, and I will hold onto the memory of it, for the idea of not seeing you anymore is disconcerting, indeed.”

“It is to me, also. We have become such good friends, more than that, trusted friends. I value your opinions and your company, and London will be quite dreary to me when the rains come, for the lack of you brightening the day.”

She smiled at him and wished she could reach over and hold him in her arms, and let go of all the pain and be a woman again. But that was unrealistic, and she would have to forget him now.

The evening passed as if the wind had caught it and taken it too swiftly. They all seemed in a rush to get out their words and tell their deepest thoughts. Each of them aware that the clock was ticking and that they would not be together again. When midnight came, the fireworks lit up the night sky, and she was in awe of the beauty as the lights hung over the ocean. They all hugged at midnight, and both Jonathan and Hugh kissed her on the cheek. It warmed her and made her think again about the business of living. She wasn’t ready for any man to be in her life, but now she thought maybe someday it would be possible. A few months ago, the thought of a man even being in her company would have made her uncomfortable and agitated; now she touched her cheek where they had kissed her, and she had a yearning to share with them something more.

When they said their final goodbyes and departed from the ship, she moved along the deck to keep her eyes on them for as long as she could. When she could see them no more, she felt a loss that gripped her heart and wiped the tears from her eyes so father would not see them.

“Madeline, have you been crying?” asked Father.

“Yes, Father, isn’t it wonderful? I can feel again. I am coming back to the human race.”

“We have so much to talk about. We will use this journey to speak of many things and hope our tomorrows will be better for both of us. I will miss the ladies, especially Anna. I wish they were all coming with us. I have not had the company of a woman since your mother passed so many years ago and had lived only for you and work. I never realized more how lonely I have been until I spent time with them. It was an enjoyable time. I wished they lived in Chicago; you might have had a stepmother.”

“Wouldn’t I have liked that? If there were ever anyone I could choose for you, it would be one of them. Each one holds a place of great affection for me, but Anna and Helen are my favorites.”

She couldn’t help but wonder if they had stayed longer if some relationship might have developed between her father and one of the ladies. She hoped one day the ladies might visit them in America.

By the time she woke, they had already pulled away from the docks at London and were far enough away that she couldn’t see the shore. She would go to the library and immerse herself in a good book and sit by her father—that would calm her irritability over missing her friends.

She went onto the second class deck, hoping to see Jonathan or Phillip.

Phillip came upon her first and said, “Welcome back, Mrs. Donovan, so good to see you again. May I get your tea and absinthe?”

“No; Phillip—just Darjeeling, nice and hot with some cakes. Thank goodness for you, Phillip. If I could not see you, I think the trip would be unbearable. I miss your cousin, Hugh, already and the ladies. I so wish they were here right now.”

“I know what you mean, this business of saying hello and good-bye has its merits and its pain. I sorely missed all of you when I was on the ocean voyage back to America. I would imagine I still saw you all sitting, reading and laughing. I am happy you are on the mend and going back to your home. You must be homesick.”

“Yes, but now I will be homesick for London.”

When Phillip left, she thought of all the things in her life that would have to change, she would have to limit partaking of her delicious absinthe to celebratory occasions, and discontinue her drug use. She would now have to face that there would no longer be visits from Russell. That would be the biggest test of all for her; she wondered if she would have the strength to never use an opiate again, knowing that she not only felt wonderful after doing so but that she had the benefit of her delusions. She had come to grips with the knowledge that he wasn’t there but still missed those delusions, however, unhealthy they might have been.

It wasn’t until later in the afternoon when she saw Jonathan.

“Come and sit. I have waited for you since morning. You must come up to the first class deck and join Father and me for long walks and conversation. I hope you will take all your dinners with us.”

“I will. I promise. It has been an adventure, hasn’t it? I still feel a yearning to have gotten to the bottom of this Ripper matter, but he has not struck again.”

“Someday, Jonathan, I will tell you more of that, off the record.”

“That sounds intriguing. You must tell me now.”

“I cannot, it is too soon, but someday, someday.”

“I will be in New York; it is not so far from Chicago. We will see each other, won’t we?”

“Yes, I was hoping you would say that. We will find a way to stay in touch.”

They spoke for the rest of the afternoon, and then he joined her and Father for dinner. She needed his friendship and hoped, just like Hugh, that they would always remain friends. She had told him her idea of perhaps opening up a detective agency, and that she would only employ women, as she felt women had the insight and intuition that men did not.

She might need a lawyer for all her legal issues. Yes, she thought, of course, she would need a lawyer.

She took out the parchment she had purchased in London, and touching the paper with fond remembrances; she began to write,

Hugh,

We have barely gotten out to sea, and I can still see the scene of all of us on New Year’s Eve. It shall remain implanted in my memory forever. I miss you all with such a feeling that I think I could swim back to London just to see your faces once again. I have this idea…

She went on to tell him her fondness of their times together and then told him of her plan to establish a detective agency, she ended with:

You must come to America, you simply must….

THE END