Page 36 of Written in Secret (The Art of Love and Danger)
C HAPTER 36
A brAHAM SPREAD OUT THE EVIDENCE he’d collected from Lawson’s apartment on Superintendent Carson’s dining room table. Pages and pages of practice notes with his left hand. Files of information used for plotting the timing, location, and methods for murder, along with details on the victims’ daily patterns. He’d been methodical and careful. All of it had been locked in a safe hidden behind a bookshelf in his private office. If Abraham hadn’t noticed the faint grooves in the wooden floor from the constant moving of the shelf, he might have missed it.
“Sir, we need every available officer searching for Lawson. Miss Pelton and Uriah Ingram are both missing.”
The knowledge that he’d encouraged Lydia to trust the very man they sought made him ill. Why hadn’t he seen the signs? Lawson himself had told him everything was possible until proven otherwise.
Carson bent over the table and sorted through the evidence, shaking his head. “I can’t believe it. He’s been our best detective for years.”
“I’m afraid we’re on limited time. I need your permission to pull together all available officers.”
“You have it. Any idea where he might be holed up?”
Everyone on the force knew Lawson’s face. He’d want to avoid any chance of running into someone who would recognize him and report him once they learned he was a wanted man. If he’d already killed Ingram, Lawson was probably on a train out of town. But not with Lydia. He’d never get her on a train without her creating a scene. That was Abraham’s sole hope the man remained in town.
If Lawson had stayed in the city, he’d have chosen a place officers would eschew.
There was only one place that immediately came to mind. “It’s nothing more than a hunch, but if I were him, I’d hide in the Deer Creek Gang’s area.”
“Pull every Deer Creek Gang file we have and see if there are any connections to Lawson. Maybe he befriended one of them and is hiding in their home.”
Abraham gritted his teeth. Somewhere, Lydia was being held against her will, and all he could do was dig through files? Lawson knew their methods for investigation, and he would avoid every potential connection they might find. More than likely the only result in searching for a paper trail would be wasting time. All the while who knew what Lawson was forcing Lydia to do? Participate in Ingram’s murder? Watch it?
There had to be a better way.
Carson pulled a photo from the evidence pile. “What’s this? Who’s with Lawson and Clemens here?”
Abraham peered at the photograph of Maggie Napier. He’d brought it as proof of Lawson’s personal connection to the Wakefield case. Was he still close with Maggie’s parents? If so, they might have a better idea of where Lawson might be hiding.
“Lawson was close to the family of one of the original victims. I’ll talk to them. Carlisle can begin searching the files while I do.”
“Whatever you think is best. I’ll be in the office shortly. Get everyone searching now.”
After obtaining the address for the Napier family, Abraham used the nearest call box to reach dispatch. They would alert the patrolmen to be on the lookout for Lawson and get officers to each train station, just in case. Someone would rouse Carlisle from his bed and get him working through the Deer Creek Gang files. With that settled Abraham headed to the tenement where the Napiers lived.
Lights from their bottom-floor home indicated they were up, and Clemens answered when Abraham rapped.
Abraham frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“Probably the same thing as you. Come inside. I think I know where Lawson’s hiding.”
Clemens allowed him to pass into the main room, where Mr. and Mrs. Napier sat, in obvious distress, on the settee.
“It’s true then.” Mr. Napier hugged his wife closer. “The police believe Talbot is Billy Poe.”
Abraham hated to be the bearer of such news to a family who’d already suffered so much. “I am afraid so, and we believe he’s holding a young woman and his next potential victim hostage somewhere.”
The man ran a hand down his face before rising to his feet and heading to a hook on the wall, where a set of keys hung. “I’ve expanded my business to a second location, one with living quarters above the store. I’m having some renovations done before we move in, but Talbot came by yesterday to ask if he could stay there for a few nights. He said his roof had a leak and the landlord needed him gone while it was repaired.”
“And as his friend, you didn’t give it a second thought.”
“None. He’s been like a brother to me since we were schoolmates. I just can’t believe this of him.” He handed Abraham the keys. “But I’d rather you check the premises and be wrong than for me to deny you access and be the mistaken one.”
“Thank you, sir. If you will give me the address, I will return these to you as soon as we’re finished searching.”
Clemens grabbed his coat and hat from the table. “I know the address. I’ll take you there myself.”
“You’ll get your story later, Clemens. I won’t risk your nosiness costing a life.”
“This is more than just getting a story.” His voice lowered. “I failed Maggie in not protecting her. I may not like Miss Pelton, but she is a woman and doesn’t deserve the likes of whatever Lawson has planned.” Clemens pulled on his coat and plopped his hat in place. “Besides, you need me. I’ve connections in the Deer Creek Gang. If you run into them without me, you’re a dead man before you even reach the store.”
“I’m not going in there alone. I’m taking a group of officers with me.”
“Then you’ll have a bloody war in the street. It’s safer to go in as two men than to drag a bunch of officers to their potential deaths.”
He was right about a large group being more trouble than a pair of men, but going in with no backup was foolish and reckless. This wasn’t a novel. Lawson might be one man, but he was cagey and would have no compunction against using a hostage to negotiate his way out. And with him suspecting how Abraham felt about Lydia, Lawson would use her against Abraham.
“I’ll call for pairs of officers to join us at the store’s location.” Abraham stood his ground. “We’re not looking for trouble with the gang, but I’m not risking facing Lawson alone while he has two hostages.”
After making the necessary arrangements, Abraham checked that both his guns were loaded and that he had ample ammunition. God willing, not a single shot would be fired.
Clemens didn’t carry a gun, but he swore he wouldn’t need one. Words were his weapon of choice, and when those failed he’d rely on his champion pugilist skills. Abraham ignored that information. Pugilism was illegal in Cincinnati, though prizefights happened regularly in the remoter or more abandoned sections of town.
He and Clemens entered the Deer Creek Gang’s area on foot so as not to draw attention from any gang members who might be lurking in the streets, searching for early morning factory workers to rob. Dawn would soon be lighting the sky, meaning nearly an entire night had been spent in discovering evidence and Lawson’s whereabouts. Hours that Lawson had time to do whatever he’d planned and escape.
Lord, please have delayed him from any action, and keep Lydia and Ingram safe.
Ingram might have been a murderer and a scoundrel, but death at a vigilante’s hand was not how Abraham wished for anyone to go.
Twilight dusted the sky but gave no light to the streets. The few working gaslights only served to make shadows harder to discern. The normal noises of night animals sifting through refuse or getting into fights broke up the silence. Abraham and Clemens had yet to see anyone, but occasional lit windows in tenement buildings indicated workers were beginning their morning routines. Soon it would be difficult to predict if the sound of footsteps meant a dangerous gang member or a harmless citizen.
Abraham kept his head down and his hands in his pockets, though his eyes constantly surveyed his surroundings. The burns ached and complained at the cramped space, but it would appear odd to have only one hand in his pocket, and he needed to have quick access to his gun without it being obvious he carried one. In contrast, Clemens walked like he owned the night: head up, slight swagger to his step, and a whistle on his lips.
“Keep it quiet. You don’t want to alert anyone that we’re here.”
Clemens just whistled louder. When he reached the end of “Yankee Doodle,” he started over.
Midway through the second time, Abraham was ready to collar Clemens and shove a gag in his mouth. Before he could give in to the temptation, a group of seven men stepped out from the alley and blocked their way.
This was exactly what he was afraid of.
“Well, if it ain’t ol’ Bloody Knuckles himself.” The tallest and leanest man of the group pushed forward.
His cronies took up positions around Clemens and Abraham in a near full circle.
Abraham clenched his jaw so hard his teeth ached up to his temples. He should have forced Clemens to stop whistling the moment he’d started.
But Clemens stood there with a grin on his face. “Just the man I was looking for. I told you I’d be able to find the Bonecrusher.” He elbowed Abraham and nodded at Bonecrusher. “The old man can’t resist my rendition of ‘Yankee Doodle.’”
“It’s so awful, ya should be tried for treason.”
Clemens barked a laugh. “The only crime I’m interested in is a good rough-and-tumble. What do you say to a rematch? I’m short on rent and could use an influx of coin.”
“Might wanna reconsider that fight, seein’s how losin’ is what took your rent money the first time.”
“What can I say? I’m itching to punch someone. Might as well be your ugly mug.”
“Ya cocky … Ya ain’t even gonna draw blood before I have ya spillin’ yours on the pavers.”
“Care to put your money where your mouth is? Round up a crowd and meet me in front of Napier’s Dry Goods in fifteen minutes. London Prize Ring rules. None of that Queensberry rules nonsense. I want to feel the crunch of your nose beneath my fist.”
Bonecrusher cracked his neck. “You’re gonna have more than bloody knuckles when I’m finished with ya. See ya in fifteen. If ya turn chicken, I’ll be comin’ to find ya.”
The group split, each man knowing where to go to draw the crowd that Clemens wanted.
This time, Abraham really did collar him. “What sort of imbecile are you?”
“You ought to be thanking me. If you don’t want Lawson using Miss Pelton as leverage for escape, we need to draw him away.”
“And you think he’ll abandon his plans for Lydia and Ingram just so he can watch a fight?”
“I think he’ll investigate what’s going on and allow you to intercept him or get Miss Pelton and Ingram out of harm’s way.”
“And you didn’t think to communicate that before initiating this foolish plan? Lawson is bound to recognize you and realize what you’re doing. Not to mention, I have officers sneaking into that building you just planned a fight in front of. We’re trying to avoid a war with the Deer Creek Gang, not start one.”
Clemens yanked Abraham’s hand off his coat. “Lawson’s familiar with my choice of entertainment and won’t suspect a thing. As for the gang, they’ll be too engrossed in the fight. More than likely, half of them will join in on it themselves anyway. You just make sure you’re in that building before someone shoots the gun to announce the start of the fight.”
Except Abraham couldn’t control when the rest of the officers would show up, and he couldn’t notify them of this plan. Clemens had single-handedly taken this situation from bad to worse. Men might die, and if they did, Abraham would hold Clemens responsible.