Lies and Misdemeanours (4 page)

Hetty turned her gaze away from the dirty faces pressed against some of the windows, and shuddered as her fear and trepidation grew. There was a heady stench of unwashed body in the air, even outside, and they hadn’t even ventured into the main building of the jail yet.

It was a stark reminder of what they were going into, and made her stomach churn alarmingly.

“Let’s go,” Wally growled when he had pulled the cart to a stop outside the jail and clambered down.

Hetty climbed down by herself while Wally pounded heavily on the gates.

They both stood back to wait.

The jailer who slid the viewing panel back on the door frowned out at them in a less than welcoming manner.

“What?”

“We are here to see Gembleby. You have someone of ours who was arrested last night.”

“Who?”

“Simon Jones and Charlie Framson.” Wally mentally winced as he gave the man a made up surname for Charlie.

It was only then that he realised he didn’t even know Charlie’s last name, and that bothered him, especially given that Simon was with him.

When the jailer didn’t immediately reply and continued to stare blankly out at them, Hetty took a hesitant step forward.

“They were arrested last night for the murder of Mr Blagmire,” she said quickly. She wanted to add ‘unjustly’, but daren’t antagonise the man before they got inside.

The jailer suddenly snapped to attention, and stared at them for several long moments. Suddenly, he seemed to come to a decision, and slid the panel shut with a loud snap.

Seconds later, the chains on the door rattled and the huge black doors squeaked eerily open.

“It’s like walking into Hell,” Hetty whispered as they walked across the yard toward the entrance door of the jail with fear in their eyes, and worry in their hearts.

She wished she could turn around and leave. It was only the thought of Simon and Charlie being confined in such a place that forced her to keep herself together, and follow the jailer into the building.

The darkness within the stone walls was imposing, and worse than she had imagined. The dark, almost fetid atmosphere of hopelessness, accompanied by the stench of what smelled suspiciously like boiled cabbage and excrement, made her stomach churn. An occasional desolate cry broke the silence, and accompanied the desolate moans and rattle of chains which came from within each cell they passed.

She daren’t stop. She couldn’t bring herself to look at anything except the floor beneath her feet, but was horrifyingly aware of the helpless gazes of the people on the other side of the awful bars.

The further down the darkened corridor they walked, the more unnerved she became. Her heart wept at the thought of Charlie and Simon being subjected to such conditions. Unfortunately she knew, deep in her heart, that they were in one of the cells somewhere.

She could feel it; sense it; and it was sickening.

Determined to do what she needed to do to get Simon and Charlie free as quickly as possible, she followed the men into the jailer’s office.

A gasp locked in her throat when she entered the room, and saw the odious man practically everybody she knew hated; Cedric Meldrew. Behind the desk, a second, more officious looking gentleman; Thomas Gembleby, the Head Jailer, sat piously glaring.

They remained silent while the jailer explained what Wally and Hetty were doing in the jail.

Hetty kept her gaze carefully averted from Meldrew, but was aware that his toady brown eyes scoured her lecherously from head to foot. Although she tried not to let him know just how much he annoyed her, she threw him a dirty look. The urge to smack him was strong when he merely smirked back at her. She shifted a little closer to her brother, unsurprised that someone like Meldrew would get enjoyment out of unnerving women.

“They were caught red handed,” Gembleby replied knowingly. He dropped the quill he held onto his desk, and leaned back his chair. He studied Wally carefully and then turned his attention on Hetty. “I was just discussing when to hold the trial with the magistrate. Unfortunately, a trial is a mere formality. They will be found guilty of course. The magistrate’s men found them right next to the body with blood on their hands.”

“They didn’t do it,” Wally declared flatly. “It’s all a misunderstanding. Simon wouldn’t take anybody’s life. He didn’t even have a gun on him.”

“No, but the man he was with did,” Meldrew replied darkly. “He was holding the gun when my men caught him. Your brother was leaning over the dead man. My men will report what they saw in court.”

Hetty stared at him. “Well, if you have found them guilty already, what is the point of having a trial?”

In that moment she had never hated anybody as much as she hated Meldrew, and made no attempt to hide her dislike of him.

“There is such a thing as due process,” Meldrew replied piously.

“They deserve a fair trial,” Hetty countered. “You have already decided that they are guilty. I thought that you were supposed to stay neutral until you have heard all the facts from
both
parties.”

Meldrew clearly didn’t like being challenged. His eyes hardened, and he raked them insolently over her before he turned his attention to Wally.

“I am just doing my job,” he declared blandly.

“Like bullying us into paying your ‘fees’ is part of your self-appointed job?” Hetty challenged.

“Hetty,” Wally warned, and threw her a glare that warned her not to antagonise the man.

She gave Meldrew a hard look before she turned her attention to Gembleby.

Unfortunately, from the secretive way he looked at Meldrew, it was clear that the man was in cahoots with the corrupt magistrate, and was not going to be swayed by anything she or Wally said.

Hetty realised then just how dire Simon and Charlie’s situation was, and what this meant for their future.

“Can we speak to them? Or are you going to deprive them of their rights in that regard too?” Wally stared challengingly at Gembleby. “I warn you now that if I have to get a solicitor from out of this county to ensure that my brother is given a fair hearing, and is treated just like any other prisoner, then that is what I shall do.”

Gembleby stared him for a moment, but Hetty caught the fleeting glance he threw at Meldrew.

“You can see him, but one of my men will be present,” Gembleby declared. He motioned to the jailer who stood behind them. “Take them to the food room. They can meet in there.”

Hetty didn’t bother to thank either man before she hurried out of the room. She didn’t look back at them, but then didn’t need to. She could practically feel their eyes boring into her back right until she disappeared into the gloom of the corridor.

She tried to quell her internal shaking at the squalid atmosphere of the desolate place, but the stench that hung in the air left her with no doubt as to the helplessness of the people who resided there.

It was awful to think that Charlie and Simon were there at all.

Now that Meldrew had Simon and Charlie exactly where he wanted them it was inevitable that one, if not both of them, would be put to the gallows. She swallowed the sob that threatened to escape, and sidled closer to Wally as they traipsed down the corridor after the jailer.

Wally put a comforting hand on her back, but it did little to ease her anxiety.

“Wait ‘ere,” the jailer growled before he shuffled off to find his quarry.

Hetty and Wally shared a look. A stony silence settled over them as they waited.

It took an age before the prisoners shuffled into the room. In spite of her best efforts to remain strong, Hetty took one look at Simon, and burst into tears. It was evident from the stunned disbelief on his face that he understood himself just how dire his situation was, but she couldn’t find the words to offer him any comfort. Her emotion wasn’t helped by the fact that he couldn’t even return her hug because his hands were confined behind his back.

She hugged him anyway. Eventually, she released him so that Wally could give him a hug. She turned to Charlie, took one look at his face, and began to cry again.

She couldn’t help it; she threw her arms around him and leaned against him as she fought the helpless desperation that threatened to buckle her knees. The feel of him against her brought forth memories of last night, and it helped her find the strength she needed.

Their embrace last night seemed such a different world away from the situation they were now in. She wished that they could go back to that special moment and start all over again. If she knew then what she knew now she would never have let him go back to the tavern, and would have insisted that everyone just go home while they were still sober.

It was too late to go back though. What was done; was done.

“It is alright,” Charlie assured her. He leaned toward her and kissed her cheek. “It will be alright, sweetheart.”

Over the top of her head, his eyes met and held Wally’s meaningfully. Both men knew that it wouldn’t be. He couldn’t help it; although he couldn’t hug her in return, he placed a tender kiss on the top of her head, and swore silently against the surge of frustration that swept through him at his inability to even have the freedom to move.

“It can’t be,” Hetty choked out. “Meldrew and Gembleby have decided you are guilty. They just said so. If they could get away without having a trial, they would do. They won’t let you leave here unless it is through the gallows.”

Charlie nodded. The only outward sign of his inner turmoil was a muscle that ticked steadily in his jaw and, for a moment, he couldn’t speak beyond the fury that threatened to overwhelm him. He knew that losing his temper would get him nowhere; but he had to dig very deep indeed to get some semblance of control over his burning rage. In all of his years with the Star Elite, he had never thought he would face such a situation. He was stunned to find himself in it now.

“Look, I need you to do something for me,” Charlie whispered directly into her ear so that the jailer couldn’t overhear.

When she leaned back and looked up at him, he nodded toward an empty space in the far corner of the room that was as far away from the jailer as they could get. He threw a dark look at the jailer that warned him to stay where he was, and encompassed Simon and Wally in a look that asked them to join him and Hetty.

“What?” Simon whispered once they were huddled in the corner.

“I work for the War Office,” Charlie admitted quietly. “I am here on an official government investigation. Neither of us shot that man last night. Meldrew’s men did. We watched them do it. Unfortunately though, we were ambushed before we could leave the area because we were a little unsteady on our feet.”

He shook his head at the memory of them crashing through the undergrowth like a herd of charging bulls.

“The War Office?” Hope lit Simon’s eyes.

“Shh. You mustn’t tell anyone just yet,” Charlie reasoned.

“Why not? I mean, if you tell Meldrew, he wouldn’t dare hang you,” Wally countered.

“This is Meldrew we are talking about here. If he has any suspicion that the War Office is onto him, he could very well hang me quickly to get me out of the way. Did you see the gallows out in the yard?”

Hetty nodded slowly. “Meldrew would most probably speed up the process if he suspected that officials higher than him were on to him.”

“I know. So don’t tell anyone just yet. Not yet,” Charlie urged. “I need you to send an urgent note to my boss, Sir Hugo Dunnicliffe, at the War Office. Mark it extremely urgent, and also for the attention of Simon Ambrose if Sir Hugo is not available. I gave them a false name here. My real name is Charlie Ryder. Tell Sir Hugo that I am in jail for a murder that I did not commit. Tell them that the magistrate here is corrupt, and has men in his employ who have lied about my guilt. Tell them that I need help as a matter of urgency because death by hanging is threatened. They will arrange to get us out, but you must notify them as quickly as you can.” He glanced at Wally. “In my room at the pub, beneath the third plank away from the wall, directly underneath the chamber pot, is a small hiding space. There is a pouch of coins in there. Use those to get the message sent urgently. Don’t rely on the post chaise because it will take too long. Send a rider, and pay him well. Can you do that? If you can, I stand a chance of getting us both out of here before we even get to court.”

Hetty listened in rapt silence, and stared at him in stunned disbelief for several moments once he had fallen quiet. It took a moment to absorb the full import of his words. She was flabbergasted at his quiet declaration. She glanced at Simon and Wally, and was unsurprised to find that they also looked completely stunned.

“Will you do it?” Charlie asked when nobody seemed inclined to speak.

“We will,” Wally assured him, a new note of respect in his voice. “Of course we will. I will get the letters off as soon as we leave here. If I send a rider with them, they should reach them the day after next.”

“Send someone from the next county. Don’t send them from Derby, in case Meldrew intercepts them. My boss can, and will, stop Meldrew in his tracks. You just need to inform him for me.”

“Good Lord, who -”

“Time’s up,” the jailer growled.

Hetty glared at him. “But we have only been here a couple of minutes,” she protested, only for the man to shrug unconcernedly.

“I have got work to do. I was told to let you meet with them,” the man grumbled as he rattled his keys pointedly. “You have met them. Now it’s time to go.”

It was a physical wrench to have to leave him but Hetty knew that she must. Especially now that she and Wally were the only ones who stood a chance of being able to get Charlie and Simon free.

“Keep safe,” she whispered.

Her eyes met and held his. A wealth of meaning swept between them and, in that moment, she felt closer to him than ever before.

“We will get this off to your boss as quickly as we can,” she promised.

Charlie nodded. “Make sure you choose a rider who can be trusted. Don’t mention it to anyone.”

Hetty nodded and watched Wally place a comforting hand on Simon’s shoulder.

“God, I hope your bosses can get you two out of this because I seriously cannot see how we can keep you off those gallows,” Wally sighed.

“One thing you need to know,” Charlie warned. His gaze hardened as he looked at Hetty before he turned a hard stare on Wally. “Meldrew wants Simon out of the way because he refused to pay the protection money, right?” He waited until Wally and Simon nodded. “Keep an eye on Hetty now, because he will focus his attention on you, Wally, until he gets what he wants.”

Charlie knew deep inside that he was right to issue the warning. For Meldrew to go to the extremes of having men arrested for a murder he knew they didn’t commit, just so he could assert his authority publically, made him either a deranged despot, or a desperate fool. Whichever, both of those kinds of people were incredibly dangerous, and now posed a risk to Hetty. Just the thought of her being subjected to Meldrew’s brand of ruthlessness made Charlie want to punch the wall.

“You stay at home after dark Hetty, and don’t answer the door or go outside if you know that man is anywhere near,” he cautioned.

Hetty nodded but, before Charlie got the chance to say anything else, the jailer began to tug on his chains, resolutely pulling him and Simon toward the door. Hetty followed, and couldn’t resist giving Charlie another hug.

“I will be alright,” he assured her but couldn’t keep his worry for her out of his eyes. “Just keep yourself safe, darling. There is so much I want to say to you, but can’t now.”

The regret in his voice brought tears to her eyes. She offered him a watery smile, and only just managed to give Simon another hug too before both men were dragged back to their cells.

“Wait!” Wally called, and hurried after them. He threw a look at a jailer who moved to stop him reaching the convicts, but Wally handed out a handful of money. “Make sure they are fed properly, and get whatever comforts they need.”

The jailer looked down at the money in his hand and then up at Wally, who added several more coins to the pile in the man’s palm. It was a veritable fortune, even by jailer’s standards, and enough for the jailer to quickly pocket the money and give him a brisk nod.

“Come on. Let’s get you back to your cells. I’ll pass word around that you get extra rations,” he assured them. He nodded to the door. “You need to go before Meldrew comes out of Gembleby’s office. He won’t be happy to find you still here. I will make sure they get what they need.”

“Thank you,” Wally murmured, and reluctantly escorted Hetty out of the jail.

When Hetty looked back into the corridor, the prisoners and jailers had gone.

“Where to first?” Hetty asked once she and Wally were back on the cart.

She wasn’t sure what to think. Her brother appeared to be just as nonplussed by the day’s events as she was. They sat side-by-side in silence, and stared blankly at the jail doors.

Wally eventually sighed. “I think that we have to find some parchment, a quill, and get that bloody letter sent off to that man in London; Sir Whatsit.”

“Sir Hugo Dunnicliffe,” Hetty replied.

“Yes, that’s the one. Sounds a bit grand doesn’t it?”

“I don’t care,” Hetty sighed. “As long as he can get them free. I don’t care what they call him. We need that pouch first though.”

“I know. I emptied my pockets in there, and have no money on me to send anything anywhere,” Wally growled as he picked up the reins and steered the horse around in a wide arch.

“Well, let’s go and get the pouch, then we can get that letter sent off. If I knew what I was doing I would bloody go and take it myself,” Hetty snapped.

“We need to send a proper rider. He will be quicker,” Wally declared as he clicked the horse into a walk and turned the cart away from the jail. “Once we have sent that letter off, we need to have a word with some of the villagers, and alert them to Meldrew’s latest scheme. If that blasted magistrate is this desperate to get people to pay him his ransom money, everyone he has been pressuring of late is in danger,” Wally said.

“We have to get them out, Wally,” Hetty murmured as they turned out of the jail’s courtyard, and made their way through the main street that ran straight through town.

Before they turned out of the main street, she glanced back at the dark building, and felt a deep sense of foreboding with her.

Two days later, Hetty shivered as a cold breeze swept up her back. She tugged her shawl tighter around her shoulder, and warned herself to remain calm. She wished now that she had thought to bring a cloak with her because she felt so very cold, on the inside as well as on the out.

The helplessness of the last few days had scarred her to her very soul, and she knew that she would never forget them, no matter what the outcome was.

The desperate situation the Jones family now faced was simply terrifying; not least because the man who had come to mean so much to her now faced a battle for survival. She quickly blocked out all thoughts of what could happen to Charlie and Simon, and turned her attention to Wally, who appeared to be just as anxious as she was.

“Do you think we are going to get in this time?” she asked him without taking her eyes off the jail door.

He merely looked at her and shrugged.

They had called by the jail each morning since their last visit a couple of days ago, but hadn’t even gotten through the gate. They had been told on each occasion that the prisoners weren’t available, but no explanation had been given as to why.

Yesterday, Wally had warned the jailer that he would fetch a solicitor; or a magistrate from another county, if they weren’t allowed in this morning. Whether his warning would gain them entrance today had yet to be seen.

She stood back while Wally knocked on the gates of Derby jail again and, together, they stood back to wait a little while longer.

Thankfully, someone answered. The small panel in the gate was slammed back, and a thin face appeared behind the bars. He looked at them for a moment, but didn’t speak. Moments later, he slammed the panel back into place before the gate began to rattle.

Wally and Hetty shared a look of relief, and waited while the gate was opened. Neither of them spoke when the jailer motioned them to enter.

The look he gave them as they sidled through the narrow gap, warned them to remain quiet.