Of Night and Dark Obscurity

“I need help. Immediate help. Mr. Jackson is missing.” She said her eyes filled with tears.

Felix led her to the office to have a seat while Val took out a pencil and paper. “All right Mrs. Jackson. Please have a seat. Now tell me what happened.”

“Well to begin with, my name is not Jackson. I’m Mrs. Morse.”

“Mrs. Morse.” Val wrote the name down. “And Mr. Jackson is…“ He asked.

“My dearest companion,” she sniffed. “Who is missing.”

“I see,” Val nodded, writing the names down.

???

Caroline was just entering the carriage when she saw another carriage pull up and Wilmot step out. He shook the rain off his coat and placed his hat on his head.

Caroline was already inside her own cab so she stuck her head out to speak to him. “I received the note from Val. I’m going to see him now. No need to wait up,” she told him briefly before the cab pulled off into the street.

Wilmot looked puzzled. As he watched her leave, he recalled that the inspector had looked briefly at her note but had no response for her. Had it changed since he had returned home? He doubted it. He looked at the cab disappearing into the night and suddenly thought of the women who had been killed. He instantly sprung back into the cab that had brought him home. He must tell the Inspector what had occurred.

Caroline felt the carriage sway in the wind as the rain continued to fall heavily. She had been hesitant to leave the townhouse even though she wanted to speak face to face with Val. Now that he had asked for her, she was anxious to see him. Even if he thought that the conversation had not been significant it still showed that something was odd and Charles needed to be further questioned.

When the cab turned down one street and then another, she saw there were less carriages about now and even less people. The winds continued to howl and the rain was heavier than ever. She shivered in the cold and when the driver deposited her in front of the building, she paid him and entered it.

???

Val looked sympathetically at Mrs. Morse. “Ma’am. You know there is a storm. The winds are blowing and the rain is very heavy. Maybe Mr. Jackson sought shelter somewhere.”

The old woman looked through her small purse and took out a handkerchief. “That’s what I thought. But I looked in all the usual places. He was nowhere to be found. You must help me.” She dabbed at her face.

Val nodded and Felix offered to make them all tea.

“You see I care for him greatly,” she sniffed. “He means the world to me.”

“We’ll find him, Mrs. Morse. As I said, the storm is great and he’s likely nearby. I can send a constable out to search for him.”

“I hope you are right Inspector. It breaks my heart to think he might be out there in the cold.”

Val nodded. “How old is Mr. Jackson?”

“You know I’m not at all sure,” she said her voice cracking. “I never thought about it.”

He patted her hand and smiled. “Let’s wait for Felix to return with the tea. Then we can talk further.”

“Thank you, young man. I knew you’d be able to help.”

???

Caroline tried the large front door to the building and it opened easily. She stepped into the dark cavernous space and shivered in the darkened interior. The building seemed completely empty and it was very cold. Her eyes began to adjust to the light and she saw several windows high above, almost eight feet high. The scant light they did let in was not much as the storm swirled around them and the night was pitch black.

She moved through the building and called out Val’s name. “Val! I’m here. It’s Caroline.”

But in response to her calling out, silence greeted her. He had sent her the note so she assumed he might be waiting outside for her or had met her when she walked in. Instead there was nothing. She clutched at her small purse, touched the tortoiseshell buttons that lined the bodice of her coat and moved forward into the building.

She passed one room that was set off to the side and peered into it. There was nothing. She looked back behind her but there was nothing. She saw bits of trash here and there but not much else.

“Val?” She cried out.

She stopped walking. He was not here. He would have answered by now. Why had he asked her to come to this warehouse in the middle of nowhere? It was so odd. She turned to leave when she heard a slight noise. It wasn’t something an animal would make or the settling of the building. It sounded like the scrape of something. The scrape of a shoe. The sound of a shoe moving. The sound of walking.