Grace and Disgrace (29 page)

“Look there,” said Tuohay, pointing at the dirt floor. Two parallel tracks led through the dirt to a circular portal in the furnace to their left. Beside the furnace bins of coal stretched into the darkness.

Eldredge knelt close to the tracks. “What are those?”

“Wheelchair tracks,” Eliza whispered in reply.

Without warning, Tuohay grabbed the latch of the metal portal and swung it open with a clank. An inferno of heat and white light flowed over them in a wave, causing all but Tuohay to stumble back. Blinking in the newfound brilliance, they regained their footing and fought against the overwhelming heat to follow Tuohay’s gaze.

Within the roaring blaze a long object was barely discernable, blackened by fire. The remnant of a sheet, no bigger than a coin, escaped from the depths of the furnace into the darkness, dancing along the warm currents like a windswept butterfly.

“By thunder,” Eldredge said, his voice shaking as he stared deep into the flames, “there’s a body in there.”

The rumble of the lift coming to life reverberated through the silence of the basement, the thin screech of metal accompanying it like a forlorn wail. Tuohay stared into the flames like a man possessed, the metal tip of his cane gleaming in the firelight. The sweat of his companions had been baked off by the incessant heat, their clothes feeling starched, almost brittle.

“My God. Mary.” Sara grabbed Tuohay’s sleeve, the fabric hot to the touch. Her face was as pale as a ghost. “I-Inspector?”

Eliza shouldered in. “Jack, snap out of it—”

Tuohay spun on Sara, his eyes fevered. “Go to Inspector Frost. Tell him about everything we found here, including the body. We cannot stop the blaze, but the bones will remain for some time.”

The distant clang of the lift stopping on an upper floor rang through the basement.

“But Frost can’t be trusted,” Sara protested. “Remember everything I told you about him?”

Tuohay was immovable. “Do it, Sara.” He set a hand on her shoulder. “And you said McNamara is nearby? If you can get him, do so as well.”

Sara’s emerald eyes were shadowed in doubt, but she nodded. “I will. But what do I tell them? Frost and McNamara?”

“Everything you know.” Tuohay limped towards a staircase visible in the soft glow from the furnace. He turned to Eldredge as they walked. “I don’t want Sara to go alone. Can you get her to Inspector Frost without notice? There is danger afoot.”

Eldredge paled at the thought, but quickly composed himself. “Of course.”

“We will meet you at the Northampton El in ten minutes.”

The gears of the lift screeched to life from one of the upper floors. Eldredge linked Sara’s arm with his and led her to the staircase. “This way.”

Sara glanced over her shoulder at Tuohay as Eldredge led her up the stairs, the worried lines on her face framed by shadow.

“Good luck, Johnny,” Eliza said.

Eldredge tipped his bowler cap. “All will be well. See you outside.”

As Eldredge and Sara disappeared up the stairs, the clank of the lift stopping on the floor above resonated through the basement. The screech of the gate and tramp of boots overhead followed.

Eliza scanned the vast darkness surrounding them, broken only by the flaring glow of the furnace. “Now what?”

“We find a way out.”

“Easy enough,” said Eliza. She nodded towards the furnace. “That monstrosity consumes a lot of dirty coal—not the type of loads they’d want to bring through the carpeted front entrance. Must be an exit from the basement somewhere. Follow me.”

Even in the darkness, it did not take long to discover the faint outline of light indicating a gate. It was comprised of twin doors outlined by slim daylight, faint from a distance but easily discernable upon approach. Up close, the doors looked little different than those for a barn. A wooden beam secured them, which Eliza pushed against with a grunt. It scraped across the metal supports before sliding free. She pulled at one of the doors.

Light spilled over her through the slim egress. Nodding to Tuohay, she led the way out. A gravel ramp led into a small lot buttressed by brick buildings and alleyways. Blinking in the light, they felt the bite of the cold morning air greet them as the clatter of an elevated train thrummed like a beating heart above.

Tuohay grimaced as he walked, Eliza eyeing him with a concerned look. Fatigue was scratched across his face in deep, worrying lines. The vision of the burning body in the furnace was never far from either of their memories, lending to the nearly crippling anxiety coursing through their veins.

“Here we are,” said Tuohay, practically gasping as they reached the top of the Northampton elevated platform. It was abuzz with morning commuters, and the pair remained unnoticed as Tuohay dug a clove cigarette from the depths of his pocket with shaking fingers.

“I don’t see much down there,” Eliza commented, indicating the doctor’s apartment building a few blocks away. “You?”

Tuohay shook his head as he lit his cigarette. Coughing fiercely, he twisted away from the crowd as he continued to shudder.

“Wait—there’s Frost,” Eliza hissed, shielding the sun from her eyes with her hand. “He just left Doctor Kearney’s building. Sara is with him, and a few uniformed jacks.”

“Eldredge?”

“No.” Eliza tapped her foot nervously. “Looks like they’re coming this way.”

A gust of wind tore through the platform, sending newspapers and the occasional hat swirling into the air. As if in answer, the tracks began to vibrate with the approach of the train.

“Where’s Johnny?” Eliza muttered. Frost had broken away from the others and was hurrying towards the El station. “Oh brother. Frost is coming our way.”

“Eliza….”

The apprehension in Tuohay’s voice caused her to first turn to him, and then follow his gaze to the street below. To her astonishment she watched as a man climbed into a one-horse chaise and took the reins. From the El platform, the roof of the chaise hid the carriage’s interior, which was otherwise open in the front. It pulled onto the road with startling speed.

Eliza raised her hand to her mouth. “Was that Eldredge?”

“Yes.”

The train pulled into the station in a cacophony of clamoring metal, pausing the conversation. As it squealed to a stop, Eliza grabbed Tuohay. “What do we do?”

“Wait—there!” Tuohay pointed at a different section of Washington Street closer to them.

“Jack?” Eliza could not see what had excited him.

“Come on. And keep an eye on that chaise.” Fighting through the crowd, Tuohay led the way down the length of the trolley, his cane cracking against the wooden platform. The train jerked to life as he reached a second stairway descending to the street.

Eliza followed Tuohay down, spotting a wheezing Frost rushing up a parallel staircase to theirs, his trench coat snapping in the wind.

“I can’t see the carriage anymore,” she said as they reached the ground. It had taken a sharp right three blocks down Washington Street. Above, the elevated tracks rattled with the departure of the train. “Jack, what’s going on? Where are we headed?”

Tuohay ignored her as he strode across the street, coughing in the dust of a horse and buggy trotting past. He stopped at a familiar chocolate-brown automobile. The driver, a young boy in a dusty gray sports coat and checkered cap, looked up with surprise.

“I’d rememba’ that top hat and cane anywheres,” the boy said with a mischievous grin.

“I need your auto, Ronald.”

The boy looked past Tuohay at Eliza in her rose-hued blouse and white skirt, the black parasol folded in her hands. “Wow.” He swept his hat off with a short bow, never taking his eyes from her. “Pleased to meet ya, miss. You’ve got the face of an angel, you know that?”

Eliza stared at Tuohay. “Who is this?”

“Name’s Ronald, ma’am,” the boy answered. “Motorist extraordinaire. Bet you’ve neva’ met a more handsome driver than me.”

She looked from the boy to the motorized cart. “You drive this thing? What are you, fourteen?”

“It’s a Cuh’ve Dash Olds, miss. And I’m a strappin’ twelve. Good age for motorists, see. Quick reflexes and all. Ask yer pal here, he came along once.”

“It was intoxicating, Ronald,” said Tuohay, casting a sidelong glance at Eliza. “Which is why I have returned.”

“I’d offer you a ride, see, but I’m already on the clock with another fella.” The boy jerked his thumb at a nearby dime store. “He just went inside for a tonic.”

Tuohay climbed onto the left side of the automobile’s bench, pulling Eliza up behind him.

“Hey! You can’t do that,” the boy cried. “There’s only room for two!”

Avoiding the steering tiller protruding from the auto’s front panel, Eliza slid past Tuohay onto the seat, placing her black parasol across her lap. She patted the sliver of bench real estate remaining on her right. “Guess we’ll have to sit close.”

“Ronald.” Tuohay reached into his pocket and tossed a pair of gold coins to the boy, who snatched them in midair. Whistling in surprise, the boy raced around the front of the auto and jumped onto the remaining bench space beside Eliza.

“Ten dollars! Mister, you must need a ride somethin’ fierce.” The boy adjusted two levers beneath his seat with a click, pressed one of two metal pedals with his foot, and spun the crank to his right like a jack-in-the-box. The engine caught, sputtered, and then roared to life, the seat trembling beneath them. The boy took hold of the steering tiller with his left hand as his right grabbed the gear lever. Pressed tightly against Eliza, he winked at her as he pulled back on the lever. The auto jerked forward with a dull roar, spitting up dirt.

“Where to, sir?” The boy shouted.

“Take a right up there.” Tuohay pointed at the intersection the chaise had turned at. “Full speed, Ronald.”

“Whateva’ you say, boss.” The boy pushed the gear forward and the auto picked up speed, passing by an elaborately decorative two-wheeled curricle. A well-dressed gentleman shook his fist in fury as a blanket of dust from the auto settled onto his horse and carriage.

“Sorry, mac,” the boy shouted well after they were out of earshot. Turning to Eliza, he smiled wickedly. “Hang on!”

Reaching the intersection, the boy pushed the tiller of the auto to the left, brushing Eliza’s bosom with the back of his arm. She caught him smiling as the mechanized cart took a sharp right, sending the passengers skidding left.

Straightening, the auto followed a narrow gravel road for several blocks, passing various shops and tenement buildings. Traffic of all sorts hazarded the road, but the boy navigated the tiller and brake with surprising agility.

“Look!” Eliza pointed. The black chaise Eldredge had entered was several blocks ahead. The horse was at a trot, but maneuvered slowly at the haphazard knots of traffic. The chaise suddenly veered left, and Eliza grabbed Ronald’s shoulder. “Follow that carriage.”

“You got it, miss!” The car rumbled past pedestrians and carriages, turning left at the appointed street.

Eliza leaned close to Tuohay. “This is Chauncy Street. We’re in the theater district.”

Tuohay nodded, his gaze fixated on the chaise which was less than fifty yards distant. “It just turned right,” he called.

“I see it,” replied the boy. Less than a minute later they pulled a hard right, the vast green of the Boston Common in the distance. Closer, the road was snarled with traffic. Two figures emerged from the blocked chaise, the heavy set man leading the way stiffly. They disappeared around a slow moving cart in the obstacle-strewn road.

Eliza stood up, holding Tuohay’s shoulder for support. “I see them! They’re heading towards the corner of Washington and Boylston. I think Eldredge is being forced to move at gunpoint!”

“Hold on!” the boy shouted, passing a pushcart on the left and suddenly slamming the brake with an oath.

Tuohay pulled Eliza down a moment before they pitched forward, nearly tumbling out of the auto as it slid to a halt. A bespectacled man with a newspaper looked up in shock at the motorized vehicle rumbling mere inches from where he stood.

“Look where yer goin’!” the boy shouted at the pedestrian, who was too surprised to respond.

Tuohay stumbled from the auto, leaning on his cane for support. Eliza pressed her lips against Ronald’s cheek. “Thanks for the ride.”

The boy’s jaw dropped as she slipped past him and leapt from the auto, leaving her parasol in his lap. His joyous whoop followed her into the river of hats and umbrellas washing down the sidewalk.

Tuohay surfaced first, breaking from the crowd at the corner of a newly renovated playhouse. It was as white as snow in the mid-morning sun. Three stories tall, the stone edifice was narrow but elegant, a water-filled fountain stationed before a set of cream colored double doors. A newly planted rose garden, the flowers powder white, filled the space between two arching windows and the white cobblestone walkway. Long curtains hung beyond the glass like shrouds.

“The Alabaster House,” said Eliza. “The grand opening is not until early summer.”

Tuohay stared at the playhouse. “I saw them enter by a side door down that passage.” He pointed to a shadowed alleyway that ran to the back of the playhouse. A newly painted sign hung from a wooden archway framing the alleyway,
Performers Exit Here
.

Eliza exchanged a glance with Tuohay. “Well, there’s no time like the present.”

“I am going in alone.”

Eliza stepped in front of Tuohay, placing her hand on his cane. “You are kidding me, right?”

Tuohay would not meet Eliza’s eyes. “I do not know what kind of danger to expect in there, Eliza.”                

“Eldredge is in there and
he’s
in danger. I sure as hell am not waiting out here for you to try to handle it alone.” She turned on her heel and strode into the alleyway, the shadows deepening beyond the reach of the white light.

The click of Tuohay’s cane followed her as they passed several shuttered windows before reaching a small side door. It was ajar.

“Ladies before gentleman,” Eliza said, sliding in before Tuohay could protest. She was in a murky, narrow hallway, a hidden part of the theater that would be thriving in the backstage obscurity during shows, but for now slumbered in silence. Dim shapes rose to teetering heights around her; stacked furniture, mirrors, crates of several shapes and sizes, trunks, coils of rope, piles of sandbags, all one upon the other. The cluttered hallway seemed as if it were going to fall in on her at any moment as she followed it into the darkness.