The Light Beneath the Cauldron Page 15
Steven Olocher left the house of Mr Edwards without looking back.
Walking west, towards the Phoenix Park, for no real reason, he began to think about what was next for him. Chasing Edwards would be a waste of time right now. With his guard up it would be foolish to even try. What then?
All the time he’d been working towards some great plan of Edwards’ but he never knew what the end goal of it all was. He knew a lot of what was going on was theatrics for the benefit of the Alderman, but didn’t know why. Then his own idea came to mind.
While fighting Muc earlier Olocher had been drawn to the place where his father had killed for the first time. It was this fact; the knowledge of who he was really was that had spurred him with Edwards in the first place. Edwards had been the first person in his life to tell him the truth. It was time to go back to that truth.
What kind of a son had he been? He read all about the case and trial of Thomas Olocher, of the horror that gripped the city when he was arrested. And what had the son done? Nothing.
That was all going to change now. There were two real reasons Thomas Olocher was caught aside from his rapidly dwindling mental state. One was Mary Sommers testimony of seeing her aunt murdered, and the other was Alderman James pursuit and arrest. These two things had led to Thomas Olocher’s ultimate death at his own hand.
What should a son do in a situation such as this? The answer was simple—revenge.
There was no need for Olocher to impress the Alderman, what did that mean to him after all? The only thing he needed to do was kill Alderman James and Mary Sommers. This would also have the twin effect of taking Edwards’ plans out of his hands, ruining whatever he wanted to have happen.
This is what he should have done all along, he knew that now, but he didn’t have the confidence then to go out on his own. To come out from behind the veil Edwards had created for him. It had been a prison, but one that he had entered willingly. Edwards had manipulated him from day one and Olocher took a long time to understand this fact.
Now that he knew, he vowed it would never happen again.
Nothing was ever going to stop him again, and the sense of freedom this gave him was like nothing he’d ever felt before. All he had to decide now was which one would die first. It was probably more fitting that Mary die first, but his instincts told him James should be first. He didn’t know what he feared exactly but he felt something. Was it possible Edwards might warn James, try to protect him? Olocher didn’t see how he could do this without betraying his own part in things. And most likely Edwards would hole up for a time while he expected Olocher would be looking for him.
Killing Alderman James was the way to go, he was sure of it. Mary would follow swiftly behind him and then Olocher would be gone from here while he plotted Edwards’ own end. It would be some time in coming, but that would make it all the sweeter when it did finally and inevitably come.
Chapter 47
Edwards peered out from the back of the carriage looking for her. Kate, nor anyone else for that matter, would not recognise this carriage as his. This one had long been locked away and covered up in the hope that it may never have to be used. And yet that time had come.
He saw Kate then, and he ushered the driver on,
“There,” he said banging his cane, “Over by the laneway.” The carriage moved off in the direction indicated. “Her in the blue,” Edwards said.
Edwards watched as she stepped out of the lane to let the carriage past, saw her glance at it and not know it was his. How would she have reacted if she knew it was him?
“Stop!” Edwards said banging. Kate was eye level with the window now and Edwards pushed out the door, cutting off one route of escape to her.
“What do you want?” she said, angry at being caught by surprise as much as by the fact it was him.
“You have to come with me, Kate, you are in great danger!” Though this was only partly true, it frightened even Edwards to say it out loud. He scanned around quickly as if expecting Olocher to come swooping down on them at this moment to strike. He saw her face turn pale at his own reaction to what he’d said. She believed him.
“What danger?” she asked, also looking around now, her eyes were directed to the stall, however, worried about her friend no doubt.
“The killer has targeted you,” he said frantically, “We need to go now”
“What do you mean go? Go where?” she stepped back.
“I have a place in the country, you will be safe there.”
“I’ll be safe here, with my husband,” Kate said.
For a moment Edwards nearly agreed with her, wanted to tell her to run home to him and don’t leave the house until Olocher was caught. That wouldn’t do, though. Despite how she felt about him, he still loved her, and he did not want to leave the city without taking her with him.
“You won’t be safe if you stay in the city. Come with me Kate, we can send word for your husband to follow but you need to leave now, before it’s too late.” Kate hesitated a moment not looking at him, wavering in her thoughts.
“Who is the killer?” she said staring back at him and now he knew she was not going to come willingly. He sighed and then reached out fast and grabbed her by the wrist to pull her in.
Kate resisted with great strength but it was not enough. She started to scream and he put a hand over her mouth which she immediately tried to bite but to no avail.
“I’m saving your life!” he said exasperated as she wriggled and thrashed under his hands.
“What's going on here!” a voice said and Edwards saw a man peering through the open door of the carriage,
“None of your concern,” Edwards said glaring at the man who looked at Kate in sympathy and then moved off reluctantly. He knew he could not argue with a nobleman. “Don’t worry, Kate,” he said then, “You'll thank me in a day or two when all of this over.” She was inside the carriage now and she stopped struggling. Edwards eased his grip ready to grab again if she tried to bolt. “Close the door and get going!” he barked at the driver.
The carriage moved slowly off.
“Where are we going?” she asked
“I told you, my house in the country.”
“Why am I in danger? Who else is in danger?” she sounded now like she didn’t believe him.
“I don’t care who else is in danger right now,” he answered, “I only care about keeping you out of danger.” They were silent a time before she spoke again,
“What have you done?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“This is not like you,” she said, “You look scared.”
“Have you heard about how this man kills, it’s not something I want to experience first-hand,” he said. He did not like her to see him like this and he was trying to bring back his old confident sarcastic bearing.
“Can't we collect my husband on the way?” she asked. Edwards shook his head,
“We’ll stop at the first village outside the city and send him a letter with the address he can find you. I expect he could be there this evening, a few hours after us.”
“I can’t write,” she said knowing he knew this.
“I will write it then,” he said.
The blinds were once again closed but Edwards could tell from the sounds of the city getting quieter that they were on the way out. They would use the Galway road before heading south in case anyone might have seen him leave.
“I love him,” she said and she leaned on the word ‘him’ in the sentence. There was no doubt in Edwards’ mind that what she left unsaid was ‘not you.’
Well, none of that mattered for now. He would get her to Waterford, and then get ready to depart from there for England. She would learn to love him in time; he was sure of it. Once, of course, she never knew of his involvement with everything that had been going on in the city for the last ten years.
His mind drifted back to Olocher, what would he do when he gave up looking for Edwards? Would he be caught or would he t
oo slip away to start a new life somewhere far away.
As was so often with life, only time would tell.
“I know,” he answered Kate finally. “There is no disputing that fact.” She seemed satisfied with this and she sat back in the seat for the first time. He sat back too wishing he could fall asleep but knowing he couldn't. Soon everything would be fine. Life would go on and get better. It had to.
Chapter 48
A boy came with a letter and from the moment he knew about it Alderman James felt fear creep up his spine. The young man had been told to entrust the letter to no one other than James under any circumstances. James had him sent up. His mind raced as he thought of the letters from the Shadow of the Dolocher and wondered if there would be some crude drawing of the Mayor or perhaps Aldershot in death. There was a knock on the door, timid.
“Come in,” James said trying not to sound too scary. The door opened slowly and James was astonished to see the exact same boy who had delivered a letter before. The boy stood there holding out the envelope.
“Was this given to you by the same man as before?” James asked taking it from his hands and looking it over.
“I don’t think so, Sir,” he answered. He was very nervous and James could see it in him.
“Are you sure?”
“This man covered his face in a cloak when he spoke to me. He said I was the one he’d been looking for.”
“Did his voice sound familiar to you? Did you know it?”
“No, Sir,” he shook his head, “Never heard it before.”
“What did he say?”
“Asked if I remembered where the Alderman lived, and then said to deliver this into your hands and your hands only.” As he said this, he started to tremble and then cry.
“What’s the matter, young man?” James asked.
“He said he would kill me if you didn’t get the letter personally.”
“Good God,” James said, “Well, don’t you worry about the vile man,” James said, “You held up your end of the bargain didn’t you?” James held up the letter as if to remind him.
“Yes, Sir,” he answered.
“Where did he meet you?” James asked.
“In the lane by my home,” he said.
“Is there anything you can tell me about him at all?”
“I don’t think he was as old as the last man,” the boy said.
“No?”
“No, Sir,” I think he was younger maybe only twenty?”
“How could you tell?”
“Just his voice, Sir. It didn’t sound older.”
“Did he reward you for doing this?” James asked.
“Yes, Sir,” and the boy showed him a coin. James went to his desk drawer, took a coin of greater value out, and tossed it to the boy.
“It always pays better to be on the good side,” he said winking.
“Thank you very much, Sir,” the boy said, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the money. What he had in his hands now was probably more money than he’d ever seen at once.
“Go on now, back to your mother,” James said. The boy nodded gratefully and left the room shutting the door quietly behind him.
James took up his letter opener and sat down by the window to let the sunlight fall on the envelope. It wasn’t the same paper as before, this was still expensive stuff but not the same. He studied it for a time looking for any markings at all before he opened it. There was nothing of note on the outside.
Slicing through the end carefully, James kept taking out the opener and peering in to the ever-widening hole he was making. Finally, the letter was free to fall out. He peered into the empty envelope and saw no sign of anything. It was actually a little disappointing for James.
The letter itself was one sheet of paper, also expensive, and folded only once. He lifted one side and saw that there was only two sentences on it and no signature. He agreed with the boy that this was indeed someone different to last time. He read the words.
Meet me at midnight tonight in the Cathedral. Come alone, I will see you approach. This will be your one chance to catch me.
Alderman James’ heart pounded in his chest harder than ever before. It was clear this was very dangerous but it was also clear to him that he had to go, and that he had to go alone. Whoever it was, he was clever and had the advantage. If it had truly been the one person all along and Gaspard had only been a sideshow, they were probably telling the truth when they said this was his once chance to catch them.
Sitting back, he tried to think why the killer was doing this? Did he intend to reveal himself to James before killing him? Was he simply fed up and bringing it all to a close? Who knew what went on in the head of a madman?
James went to his desk and began to write out all he knew about the murders of the last few years. He wanted a record on one sheet of what he knew and what he thought so whoever followed him would know that much at least.
When he’d finished he looked over the page, it didn’t amount to much in the end. An image of Edwards rose up in his mind. How would he feel if it were Edwards who turned up to greet him? In his mind, he heard the boy talking about the younger voice. This would dismiss Edwards at least.
Who could it be, and what would they tell him? He was scared, and he knew he was looking at the possibility of the end of his life coming that very night. He did not intend to go down without a fight however. If all he could do was to shout out the man’s name, if he knew him, or some distinguishing feature of his face or body, then he intended to do this with his last breath. In an ideal world, he would best the killer and live to tell the tale, but that did not seem likely. Still, hope was always there once you were still breathing.
Chapter 49
Alderman James’ meditations on the letter did not last long. He was still sitting by the window when there came a terrible din downstairs; sounding like it was coming from the front door. James looked out the window but couldn’t see anything. Now the voices sounded like they were inside—and someone was very angry! He stood up listening as he grabbed his sword from the scabbard laying on the table in the centre of the room.
The noise of his servants voices called out, one shouting,
“You can’t just barge in here like this!” and another seeking help from more of the servants. For a moment James wondered if the killer had changed his mind and come straight for him. Was he rushing up the stairs right now to end the Alderman's life? Then another familiar voice came booming and James knew he was safe for now.
“Get your hands off me,” shouted the blacksmith Mullins, “I have to see the Alderman!” James rested the sword back down, stood over by the fireplace, and waited.
The door burst open and two of James’ servants came backwards into the room, the heft of Mullins pushing in after them and then a slight surprise was Lord Muc bringing up the rear. The gang leader was not involved in the jostling but he seemed to be enjoying watching everything.
“Careful, Mullins,” he said laughing, “There’s no ‘Black Dog’ for the Alderman to send you anymore, you might get sent to one of the real gaol’s!”
“I’m terribly sorry, Sir,” the butler said gasping, “We will remove these men as soon as some help arrives.” James was impressed by the resilience of the staff. They were no match for Mullins and if Muc had got involved there was no telling how little they would be able to do, and yet here they were still trying to push them back out of the room.
“I’ll hear what they have to say,” James said coolly, “and then these gentlemen will be on their way.” The servants looked at one another a moment and then stopped pushing. “Thank you for your efforts, men, you can go back to your duties now.” Again, the staff exchanged looks but they did not argue with their employer and left the room in silence.
“Alderman James, I don’t mean to be barging in like this, but I need your help desperately!” Mullins said and James thought he could see tears forming in his eyes.
“What’s happened?” he asked.
“Edwards? Are you sure?” James said. He had heard many tales of the twisted relationship Mullins, his wife and Edwards shared but he didn’t know what to think here.
“Positive, Sir, plenty saw it and knew who he was.”
“Do you know where they were going?”
“No, Sir, just that they left the city.” James thought a moment; he didn’t need a distraction like this right now, not today. He wanted to be fresh for tonight when he faced the killer.
“There is some business I need to attend to later today,” he said formally, “I can tell you where I think he would go, but that is all the help I can give you, at least today.”
“What?” Mullins sounded shocked. Muc moved to look out the window, most probably to see if any soldiers were coming to take the men away from here.
“Mr Edwards very recently purchased a house in Waterford; I expect that is where he would be heading.”
“Waterford! How the hell are we supposed to get down there?”
“Horses, the same as anyone else would,” James said.
“Best to come on now, Mullins,” Muc said, “We’re wasting time here.”
“I’m sorry I can’t do anything more right now,” James said, “It is poor timing for me.” Mullins looked down at the Alderman, the unmistakable sheen of disdain on his face. He probably thought James had some social engagement he didn’t want to break or something of the like. Still, it didn’t matter what one man thought against the opportunity that was presenting itself this evening.
“Where is the house?” Mullins asked.
“It’s called Wild Boar Hall, near the new lighthouse in Cheek Point. Ask as you go and people will steer you right.”
Without a word, Mullins turned and rushed out the door. Muc looked after him and then turned back to face James.
“You have something else?” James asked. Muc nodded down at the letter on the table by the window. In his panic, James had set it down open and forgot about it for a few moments.