Chapter Twenty-Six

GIVEN THAT MRS. BAGLEY’S ATTITUDE had been as tough as any man’s, Murdoch wasn’t sure if he was going to get anything from her, but after two cups of tea and a thick slice of cake that Crabtree donated from his own dinner, she capitulated. They were seated on the hard bunk beds of the jail cell and even though he’d left the door open, the iron bars were enough to scare anybody into co-operation.

He showed her the poster about the queer plungers and she admitted with a touch of pride that they were the trio it referred to.

“We’ve got several turns. You didn’t see the best, which is Tim here rolling under a carriage.”

“I taught him how to do it,” said Parker. “I used to be an acrobat with a circus.” He gazed at the boy fondly. “He’s good at it. He can hold his breath for two minutes.”

He didn’t say so, but Murdoch assumed that was so the boy could play dead.

“How often do you do the little thief act, the one I witnessed?” Murdoch asked.

“As often as we can, don’t we, Ed? We have to move around so as nobody recognizes us. Sometimes Tim is a coloured boy, sometimes he’s not. People aren’t that observant really.” She had previously soaked her cake in the tea and more or less sucked on it. “I lost all my teeth when I was only twenty-two. I thought it was the worst thing that had ever happened to me, but it turned out to be useful.” She fished in her pocket and took out a kerchief. It was wrapped around a set of gleaming white false teeth. She popped them in her mouth and smiled at Murdoch.

“They’re not so good for eating, they’re really just for show, but they take years off my age, don’t they?” Her words were a bit slurred but with the dentures filling out her hollow cheeks, Olivia looked quite pretty.

“Indeed they do.”

Olivia removed the teeth and wrapped them up again. She bent over, tilted her head slightly, and sucked in her cheeks. “I can go all rheumatic and frail in a tick. Usually I powder my face white and put some red rouge under my eyelids, but I had on the blasted veil today so I didn’t need it. Phew. How women breathe under those things is beyond me. If ever I married which I won’t and if ever I was really a widow, I wouldn’t wear one of them veils, I can tell you that.”

She slurped the last of her tea and put down the cup, looking over at Murdoch shrewdly.

“So are you going to charge us or what? We’re just actors, you know. We don’t take anything that don’t belong to us.”

“You’re frauds and your intention is to deceive people to get money from them. That’s a crime.”

“Oh come on, mister. The coves who give us money don’t miss it. We cost no more than a hot-cross bun to them. You saw them when I was poor Mrs. Pierce. They enjoyed themselves being kind to an old lady. It made them feel like good Christian folk. That’s worth a few cents, wouldn’t you say? And what did you think about that bloody bossy woman who wanted to take me to the station? She was having a great old time being a good Samaritan.” Olivia sniffed disdainfully. “I thought it was put on for your benefit. She fancied you, she did.”

Murdoch was rather taken aback by that but before he had a chance to comment, Tim, who had been sitting on the bunk, dangling his legs, fell backwards. His entire body was gripped by dreadful spasms so that his head was banging on the bed. Spittle ran from the side of his mouth. Murdoch jumped to his feet, calling to Olivia.

“What’s happening? Is he having a seizure?”

Neither she nor Ed Parker moved and she said calmly, “Yes. The poor child has fits all the time.”

Tim’s eyes had rolled back in his head and the spasmodic jerking of his body was violent.

Murdoch grabbed the straw pillow that was on the bed, thinking to put it under the boy’s head. “Mrs. Bagley, please do something or tell me what to do.”

She put down her teacup and came closer to the bed. Blood was coming from Tim’s mouth. She bent over the stricken child, then snapped her fingers.

“Enough, Tim.”

As if she had turned off an electric light switch, the jerking stopped. The boy opened his eyes, looked at Murdoch, and grinned. His teeth were red with blood.

“What the deuce …?”

All three plungers burst out laughing. “Fooled you, didn’t we?” exclaimed Olivia. “That’s another of his good turns. I taught him that one. I seen this boy in the orphanage where I grew up throwing fits so I knew what they looked like.”

Murdoch didn’t know whether to laugh as well or be annoyed at the trick.

“Tim, you’ve cut your lip or your tongue.”

The boy smiled again with his bloodstained mouth. Then he stuck his finger inside and fished out a rubber nipple. “No, I ain’t. I popped this in my mouth when you weren’t looking. See.”

Gingerly, Murdoch accepted the slimy teat. “How do you do it?”

“It’s filled with cherry extract and tied at the end. I just have to bite down is all.”

“We used to use real beef blood, but he didn’t like the taste,” said Olivia. “This does just as well if you aren’t too close. Usually I wipe his mouth off and he spits it into my hand. Or he can stow it at the back of his teeth if he has to.” She held out her hand and Murdoch gave over the nipple. “We can’t afford to waste it.” Olivia gave him a gummy smile. “I told you we was in the entertainment business. We took your mind off your troubles for a minute there, didn’t we?”

Murdoch had had enough. “They’re not my troubles, Mrs. Bagley, they’re yours. I’m investigating a murder and you three seem to be implicated.”

That certainly got a reaction and they gaped at him. “What you mean, a murder? We ain’t killed anybody.”

Murdoch pointed at Parker’s boots. “Where did you get those?”

Ed shifted uneasily. “I bought them.”

“When?”

“I dunno. Last year sometime. I got them at a Jew’s shop on Church Street.”

He was sitting next to Olivia on the narrow bunk bed, Murdoch was on a stool in between the beds. He stood up. “They belonged to a man who was brutally killed. I’ll ask you again, where did you get them?”

Olivia looked alarmed. “Hold on, mister. Ed ain’t killed nobody. What makes you think his boots belonged to the stiff?”

“The dead man’s boots were taken off his feet and the right one had a brown lace instead of a black because the poor cove had broken his lace that morning and had to use a temporary replacement. That looks exactly like the boot we removed from your foot, Mr. Parker. And your boots don’t fit very well, do they? They’ve rubbed blisters on your heels. How did that happen with year-old boots?”

Ed shrugged. “I dunno.”

“He’s got a hole in his sock, that’s why,” said Olivia.

“Let me see.”

Ed reluctantly pulled his sock from his pocket. It had been darned at the toe and the heel but there was no hole.

“What I meant to say is that he did have a hole but I darned it and the darn must have been rubbing.”

“Mrs. Bagley, I am a detective at this station but I’m only one man. The other officers, such as Sergeant Gardiner, have their duties to do. I don’t feel as if we’re getting anywhere here so I’m thinking I should turn the three of you over to the sergeant and see if he is better at getting the truth out of you.”

He could see Tim involuntarily shrink back against the wall and the worried glance he sent to his mother.

“Don’t be silly,” she said briskly to Murdoch. “We’re willing to co-operate, aren’t we, Ed? But you’re not telling us anything. Who was this cove and how and where was he done for?”

“If I tell you that, you can manufacture a story to protect yourselves.”

Olivia shook her head. “We could do that if we had something to hide, but we don’t. You’ve been decent to us and maybe we could repay your kindness by helping you out if we can.”

Murdoch knew exactly what she was getting at. “We’ll see about that. You tell me the truth with no little darns in it and I’ll consider dropping charges of public mischief against the three of you, Tim included. But I said consider, not promise. Agreed?”

Nothing seemed to ruffle Olivia, but Murdoch had seen the fear in her eyes. She had been on the wrong side of the law too many times not to know where the real power lay. She nodded at Ed.

“Tell him where you got them boots, Eddie.”

“I picked them up in the workhouse on Tuesday night. We’d had a bad couple of days and we had nowhere to go. Livvy and Tim got into the nuns’ house, but the men’s side was full so I went down to the city workhouse.” He paused and looked at Olivia to get the go-ahead.

“Well, I was coming in as a casual see, so I had to take a bath and get deloused. It’s a bugger, begging your pardon, because I was quite clean and the sulphur chokes up my lungs. But they won’t let you in unless you go through it. Anyway all the tramps have to get undressed and put their clothes and boots and hats on a shelf while they’re in the bath. There’s an attendant who’s supposed to watch, but this one was blind as a bat. I seen a good pair of boots that looked my size and mine had got a big hole in the sole. So I did a swap.”

“And these were the boots you took?”

“That’s right. They’re a bit on the small side, but they kept the water out.”

“Did you see whose boots they were?”

Ed shook his head. “No, like I said they was all on the shelf.”

“And nobody kicked up a fuss?”

“No, I expected them to, but they was quiet as priests who’ve lost their crosses in the brothel.”

Murdoch frowned, not liking Ed’s simile. “Do you mean to say that the owner of the boots couldn’t afford to admit it?”

“Well, I didn’t think that then, but now you’re saying they was taken off a stiff it makes sense the cove wouldn’t moan.”

“And you’re sure you don’t know who that was?”

“There was a lot of men milling about, the ones going into the bath and the ones getting out. He probably nabbed somebody else’s. Tramps are always doing a swap when they can get something better. It goes with the territory.”

“There you go, he’s told you the truth,” said Olivia. “Are you going to live up to your end of the bargain?”

“Let you go, you mean. Not likely. It would mean my job. The other officers know what you’ve been up to.”

“Frig. I thought you might be a man of your word.”

Olivia looked as if she might haul off and slug him so Murdoch smiled.

“Let’s say I’m not releasing you just yet. But if you co-operate I will promise that not only will there be no charges, I might be able to get you a small honorarium for public service.”

“What’s that?” asked Tim.

“Money, lad.”

Olivia stared at Murdoch. “What the hell do you want us to do, put on a show for the inspector?” She sucked in her cheeks. “I do a good imitation of Mary Queen of Scots, come back from the grave. Is that what you had in mind?”

Murdoch laughed. “No. I don’t think history is quite up his alley. This is what I have in mind, listen up.” He explained his plan and both Olivia and Ed expressed their admiration.

“We’ll turn you into a plunger yet,” said Olivia, “and I know just the place to go.”

There was a tinge of sadistic pleasure in her expression that made Murdoch uneasy.