Grace and Disgrace (30 page)

After several twists and turns the passage opened onto a backstage space with heavy curtains hanging in the distance. Eliza stopped for a moment to listen, waiting for the click of Tuohay’s cane to catch up to her. The scent of wet earth and cloves reached her before he did.

“Where are they?” Eliza whispered, her voice frantic.

Before Tuohay could answer, the sound of something heavy being dragged across the stage whispered from the darkness ahead. There was a soft thud, followed by a second dragging sound.

“Eldredge!” Tuohay’s voice rang into the darkness.

There was a metallic click and the stage beyond the side curtains blazed to light. The backstage remained shrouded in shadow, but the white light was plainly visible through the gaps in the curtains.

“Stay here,” Tuohay ordered, not waiting for Eliza’s response. He limped to the curtains and pushed them aside. The stage stretched before him, bathed in a glaring white light. Eldredge sat in a straight back chair, his arms outstretched, a small sandbag clutched in each hand. His arms were quivering from the strain.

“John!”

Sweat beaded on Eldredge’s forehead. “Jack, stay there,” he gasped. “It’s a ruse to capture you.” A square table was in front of him, with two empty chairs. Otherwise the stage was empty.

Tuohay’s heart pumped in his chest. With his free hand, he reached into his pocket for his pistol.

“She said she’ll shoot me if I drop one of the bags.” Eldredge blinked into the glare.

“Come out, inspector,” a soft voice hissed from the darkness across the stage. “If you want your friend to live.”

“Who are you?”

“Do it now. And drop the gun.”

One of Eldredge’s hands slipped and lost a grip on its bag for a moment. Eldredge’s groaned in pain as the two weights bore down. “I can’t …hold these.”

Tuohay dropped his gun and limped onto the stage. He reached Eldredge in three quick strides and took one of the bags from his hand. Before he could take the other, a shift in the shadows caught his eye.

“That bag is for your other friend. Tell her to get out here,
now
.”

Tuohay stared into the dark folds of the curtain from where the voice came. “I came here alone.”

“I don’t have time for games. Do it!”

Eliza emerged from backstage, her hands up. “I’m here! Don’t shoot.” She rushed over to Eldredge and took the second sandbag from him.

“Good. Now sit down at the table.”

Eliza and Tuohay complied.

“Put your hands where I can see them,” the voice commanded.

The three slowly placed their hands on the table, the flesh inhumanly pale in the light.

“I’m sorry,” moaned Eldredge. “She came out of nowhere with a pistol—”

A figure in a long, black dress, boots and gray cloak emerged from the curtains. The hood was pulled up, and in one of her hands was a silver pistol pointed at them. She came close enough to be seen within the light, but still too far to reach.

“Who are you?” Eliza demanded.

Tuohay grimaced. “Mary Hart.”

Mary laughed, pulling the hood back from her face. Her chestnut eyes were devoid of warmth, the coldly beautiful face domineering, the paleness of her skin like ice.

Eliza gasped. “But you…but you were poisoned. You died. And your body was burned.”

“Back from the dead,” Mary replied, a cruel smile passing across her lips. “Isn’t that right, inspector?”

Tuohay remained stone-faced.

“It must be gut-wrenching to come so close to solving the mystery, to finally see through all of the haze and misdirection, only to have it end like this.”

“Don’t hurt them,” Tuohay said in a soft voice. “All you want is the diamond. You can secure that without causing any more harm.”

“No,” Mary said. “They’ve seen too much.” She shrugged. “Besides, what’s another few deaths at this point in the game?”

“But…who was that burning in the fire?” Eliza demanded.

“Poor Doctor Kearney,” laughed Mary. “He never saw it coming—not until it was too late. To be burned alive while your muscles are rigid, your body not responding, but your consciousness ticking along like a clock. He could have taken a bullet to the head, but he chose
zombi
.”

Tuohay’s gaze turned to ice. “You’re a monster.”

Anger flared in Mary’s eyes. “A monster?
Me
? After all the transgressions you’ve witnessed, you call
me
the monster! I am
ridding
the world of monsters.”

“The doctor? How was he a monster?”

“Your precious doctor was the one who changed the murder scene at his brothers’ apartment. He was a
liar
.”

Tuohay’s eyes hardened. “Yes, after
you
killed them and made it appear like Aiden and Rian Kearney had turned on each other. Doctor Kearney simply panicked for the sake of his brothers’ reputations, and foolishly tried to make it appear like a peaceful suicide.”

“Doctor Kearney was
a liar
, like the rest of them—”             

The slam of the side entrance to the theater echoed through the darkness, followed by the clatter of footsteps. Mary rushed to Eliza and pulled her up, pointing the gun at her head. Slowly she pulled Eliza into the shadows. “If you say anything, she dies.”

“Inspector Tuohay!” The grizzled call, recognizable as Frost’s voice, came from backstage.

There was a rattle of movement and a few curses from backstage as Frost stumbled through the darkness. “We know you’re in here! That auto ride of yours left a trail a blind man could follow. So come on out. We need to talk.” Within a few minutes Frost emerged from the side curtains onto the stage, blinking in the light. “Tuohay?”

A man in an olive suit followed closely behind Frost.

“Mountain?” Eldredge whispered in confusion, recognizing the journalist from the
Boston Evening Traveler
.

At the sight of Tuohay, Frost and the man in the olive suit stopped cold.

Frost stood as if transfixed. “Tuohay. What the
hell
is going on?”

“Get out,” Tuohay hissed. Eldredge stared at the men imploringly, sweat running down the side of his face.

Suddenly, Mary emerged like a specter from the curtains behind the men, her face etched with venomous anticipation.

“No!” Tuohay cried.

The crack of Mary’s gun shattered the silence, and the man in olive collapsed in a heap, a crimson pool spilling beneath him. Eldredge fell backwards from his chair in shock as Frost spun upon Mary, his mouth agape.

“But you’re dead,” Frost gasped.

“No. You are.” The second report from Mary’s pistol sent Frost onto his back, his hand clutching his chest. Blood seeped through his fingers as he moaned in pain.

“You deserve far worse than that,” she snarled, turning away.

She faced Tuohay, who sat ashen-faced at the table. “You should thank me for killing the Scotland Yard agent.” Her eyes flickered to the shivering form of the man in the olive trench coat. “He was here to arrest you, after all.”

“No,” growled Tuohay. “He was surveillance. I am a suspect, but not a criminal.
You
know that better than anyone.”

“And soon I will be the only one alive who knows that.” She nodded in Eldredge’s direction. “And also the only one alive who knows where the diamond is hidden, thanks to your friend. All it took was for me to point a gun at poor Eldredge’s head—or should I call you John?—yes, at poor John’s head, and I got the word that I needed.
Revelation
.”

Eldredge stood, shaking. His voice was fierce but trembling as he stared at Mary. “What did you do to Eliza?”

Mary raised the grip of her metal pistol to the light, a smear of blood marking it. “I hit her in that pretty little head of hers so I could deal with Inspector Frost. And I took her pistol for good measure. But don’t fret, I’ll finish her after I deal with you.”

“I never should have let you take me here, even at gunpoint,” Eldredge lamented, angry desperation in his voice. “I should have let you shoot me!”

“Don’t fret. That part is coming up.”

From the stage floor, Frost gurgled as he struggled to turn on his side. He coughed once, blood running from his lips.

“God, help him!” Eldredge cried.

“Let it be,” said Tuohay, turning to Eldredge with sympathy in his eyes. “There is nothing we can do.”

“If I hadn’t been kidnapped by her, you wouldn’t have followed me, and those men wouldn’t have followed you….” Eldredge’s voice trailed away into a miserable sob.

“Don’t blame yourself, John,” said Tuohay softly. “This all comes back to
me
. If only I had put the last few clues together
quicker
, I could have prevented all of this.” He turned his gaze to Mary. “But I did not. And so there is nothing left to say.”

“No, there is not,” Mary agreed. She pointed her gun at Tuohay’s head.

Frost gurgled a word, causing Mary to pause. She turned to him with a half-smile. “One last word, Inspector Frost?”

“Blood…hound,” Frost croaked, gritting his teeth in a bloodstained smile.

Mary frowned. Before she could act, the barrel of a Winchester rifle emerged from the curtains. It was pointed directly at her chest. A tall, white-haired man followed it out, holding the rifle steady despite the years lining his face.

“Drop the gun, Mary!” McNamara ordered.

Mary screamed in anger but did not move.

“Last warning, lass.”

Mary dropped her weapon with a shaking hand and slowly put her hands in the air, angry tears running down her face. “What are you doing here?”

Eldredge scampered up and ran towards the curtains, shouting Eliza’s name.

“Inspector Tuohay had the foresight to send Sara to call on me,” McNamara answered. “And once I’m on a scent, I never lose it. Just a matter of timin’, is all.”

Mary snarled. “How could you do this to me? You were supposed to
protect
me!”

“You’re ill in the mind, Mary,” said McNamara, his voice filled with sorrow. “You had me fooled. You had all of us fooled.”

“That’s because you
are
fools,” Mary cursed. “Sick in the mind, you say? I’ve known exactly what I have been doing all along. It was all to solve my beloved
Abram’s
riddle, and to take back what that coward hid from me!”

“The diamond you stole with him and Kip Crippen,” Tuohay finished.

“The Templar Diamond is
mine
.
I
was the mastermind behind the plan to steal it, and the one willing to kill for it.”

“In that case, it’s your soul that’s ill,” said Tuohay, standing with pain. “And you best pray that God forgives you that, for the law most assuredly will not.”

John Eldredge looked upon the neighborhoods of Brighton with an appreciative eye as the Allston-Brighton trolley rolled him through the quietly industrious area. The jet black trolley slid almost silently along the rails as a whistling officer in a tall beaters cap walked the aisle with his hands clasped behind his back. Eldredge peered beyond the newspaper-laden commuters to the horizon and saw a maze of thin blue strips winding through the fractured gray clouds like the delta of swollen river.

The air was still heavy with the scent of new-fallen rain, and a slight chill hung in the approach of evening. Eldredge kept his coat fastened tightly about him, his hands thrust in his pockets.

The trolley officer took a quick break from his whistling to announce the next stop. “Chestnut Hill, end of the line!”             

The trolley slowed, and many of the passengers hopped off prematurely, but Eldredge waited until the wheels had completed their last rotation, picking up a stray newspaper as he did so. Exiting with as controlled a step as he could muster, he spotted the distant turrets of St. John’s Seminary and began his approach. It was a short walk, but Eldredge was already sweating by the time he reached the entrance to the grounds.

A short drive stretched before him to the front of the formidable structure and parted like a cloven river, the left circling the main building while the right climbed a small knoll and disappeared into the midst of the school’s secondary structures. Eldredge’s gaze remained locked on the front of the main edifice where a tall set of black mahogany doors sat solemnly between two coned towers. An array of stained glass windows filled the brick edifice, several of them glowing with first light as the evening grew closer.

“One of the enduring gems of Archbishop Walsh’s tenure,” said a voice from behind Eldredge, startling him into a whirl. Eldredge grasped his chest as he looked upon Tuohay’s smiling visage.

“I took you for a ghost!” said Eldredge, wiping his brow. “Could you not have announced your presence before scaring the spirit out of me?”

“My apologies, old boy.” Tuohay stepped past Eldredge and peered at the seminary with careful eyes. “All is prepared?”

“Yes. Eliza has seen to it.”

“Exactly as I outlined?”

“Precisely so,” replied Eldredge.

“The clothing order?”

“Jack, please. It is being handled.”

Tuohay nodded. “Right.”

A carriage rattled up the main drive of the seminary behind them, its unlit lantern swinging to and fro from the wooden brow. The crimson light of evening was fading rapidly to gray, lengthening the shadows.

“The guests are arriving,” said Tuohay.

“The welcoming ceremony for the next class accepted into seminary,” remarked Eldredge. “I suppose we are running short on time?”

“The closing of the ceremony is growing near.” Slipping another
clove cigarette from his jacket, Tuohay drew a disapproving glance from Eldredge as he set his lighter to it.

“Medicinal, you say?”

“You bring that up now?” Taking a long drag, Tuohay cast a sideline glance at his companion. He started again towards the back end of the seminary where the windows were aflame with light. A deep and heavenly chanting suddenly floated from within the great chamber.

Eldredge unfolded the newspaper from the trolley and glanced at the front page. “Evening edition,” he said. “Front page story about our endeavors yesterday. Have you seen it?” He handed the paper to Tuohay, who perused it briefly.

Stranger than Fiction

Stage Drama Leads to Gunshots and Arrest

Suspect Returns from the Dead

Diamond Remains at Large

Inspector Frost to make a full recovery

Official statement to be forthcoming

Special agent from Scotland Yard in stable condition

New Details About Mary Hart Revealed

One of three diamond thieves

Involved in the Belfast theft

Claims to have no knowledge of

Diamond’s whereabouts

“Good,” said Tuohay. “I am glad to see our old friend Frost is going to make it.”

“And that agent from Scotland Yard that was following you around,” added Eldredge.

“Admittedly, he was doing more than that—he
did
break into my hotel room looking for evidence.”

“What did he want?”

“Scotland Yard must have sent him to keep an eye on me in case I found the diamond and tried to disappear with it.”

“Well, he’s fortunate to be alive,” said Eldredge. “A little while longer and he as well as Inspector Frost would have bled out.”

“A little while longer, and we all would have bled out,” said Tuohay solemnly. “But let’s not ponder on that.”

Eldredge shuddered. “Agreed.”

The chanting from the seminary was drowned out by the approach of a carriage, the gravel crunching beneath its wheels. The carriage was pulled by a large brown mare, her eyes reflecting off the shining seminary lights. The driver was hooded and remained silent as he drew the carriage to a halt beside Tuohay and Eldredge. The windows were veiled by thick curtains, shielding the inhabitants from view.

“Well done,” said Tuohay. “The carriage is precisely on time.” He stepped to the carriage and opened the door.

Two women emerged first, their faces hidden by wide-brimmed straw hats. They were adorned in long, sleek blue dresses that hung below rich brown coats and matching scarves. Their hands were gloved in white lace and each carried a fashionable umbrella though the rain had since passed. Eldredge recognized the determined face of Sara immediately, her emerald eyes a mix of relief and sadness. He did not recognize the woman beside her, but her resemblance indicated a close relation.

“We are here, Anna,” said Sara in a soft voice. Anna whispered to herself, and it was unclear if she was aware of her circumstances at all.

The third woman to alight was Eliza. A gown of rose velvet with silver bow-knots captured her graceful figure, the lines of the dress severe in their devotion to her. Swan-necked, her soft visage framed by a curled pompadour with soft burgundy coils brushing past her eyes, Eliza looked the part of the classic American darling. A fashionable straw hat was tilted to side, covering the bandage wrapped around the back of her head.

“I’m always looking for a good reason to get dressed up,” she smiled, taking Tuohay’s hand as she stepped down. “And this one should be a dandy.”

“I’m sure it will,” Tuohay agreed. He reached past her into the carriage and stepped back with a bulging leather satchel. “It’s all in here?”

“Sure is,” Eliza replied. “The financial ledgers, Aiden Kearney’s investigative notes, the codex, Donnelly’s medical journal with the appropriate passages annotated. Even the affidavits are in there.”

Tuohay nodded, leaning close to Eliza. “I had a feeling Frost would cooperate, as long as we promised to keep his name out of it.”

“You were right. He was quite willing to let me know where the affidavits were hidden as long as we promised to keep quiet about the fact that he stole them from the law firm’s safe the night of Sara’s interview. He desperately wants to keep his role as a strong-arm in the trial a secret.”

“McNamara was right. Frost is as crooked as a dog’s hind leg. But enough about him for now.”

Tuohay turned the conversation to Sara and Anna. “I am honored escort such lovely women to the ceremony. Shall we?”

“Let me take that for you.” Eldredge shouldered the heavy satchel.

“Thank you, old boy.”

Sara smiled boldly as she took Anna’s hand. “We are ready, inspector. Lead the way.”

Tuohay did so, bringing them through a quiet garden to a side door. Making a fist, he knocked three times. The sound resonated from within, indicating a cavernous space. Sara and Anna stood a step behind Tuohay, their breathing shallow. Nearly a minute passed before the sound of a latch was heard. The door swung open and light spilled into the gray evening. A young acolyte robed
in white stepped aside, and Tuohay entered. Eldredge hesitated for a moment as the women stepped past him. The last to enter, he tried to catch the acolyte’s gaze but the boy did not look up.

Tuohay led the way through a maze of airy passageways, his cane echoing off the floor. The sound of a single voice echoed around them—a man giving a speech. The voice grew louder until finally they were at the door from which the voice was coming.

“Come,” said Tuohay, pushing the door open. The magnificent arches of St. John’s chapel rose above them, a decorum of angels and saints, beneath which hung a dozen long cylindrical lamps shining with pure white light. Two rows of ornate monastic choir stalls faced one another along the length of the chapel, each housing an assortment of fashionably dressed onlookers. A long, polished floor stretched from the door to the far end of the chapel, ending in an arched circular apse with a golden cross hanging from its heights. The archbishop stood in front of a linen-shrouded alter, his rich voice filling the chapel as the gathered observers listened intently. Facing the archbishop were twenty young men garbed in white robes. Tuohay and the others were not noticed as they quietly made their way to the closest pew and sat with the observers.

They listened quietly as the archbishop spoke. The welcoming ceremony was directed towards the young men in the white robes. They were from all around the country, and in a few cases hailed from outside of America. The archbishop spoke warmly to the incoming freshman seminary class, finishing with the following quote from the Bible.

“Remember my young flock that the Lord is with thee, and shall give thee guidance as you begin your journey on the path to priesthood. And as we, the outsiders, look upon you, the future of the Roman
Catholic Church, we are reminded of God’s enduring words from Ephesians 5:14:
Christ shall give thee light
. Go forward now, young seminarians, and walk into the light.” Here he turned to the audience. “All rise.”

The congregation rose as the choir began to sing. Archbishop
Walsh led the new class towards the exit along the polished nave
running through the pews, and parents waved as the new seminarians walked past with pride in their eyes.

Eldredge felt a shiver beside him and turned. Suddenly, as the host of young men walked past, Anna rose.

“Wait,” said Sara, reaching for her sister, but Anna did not heed her voice.

The procession slowed to a stop as the onlookers came out to greet their loved ones. Anna emerged ahead of the crowd, stepping from the pews to one of the young men. With trembling hands she touched his face. “Colin. Oh Colin.”

“Excuse me?” It was clear that the young seminarian did not know Anna. Sara appeared beside her sister and drew her back, but upon doing so, she touched the young man’s hand.

Sara spoke hurriedly. “I am sorry… my sister is confused—”

“Wait.” Colin Allotrope took Anna’s hand softly in his own, drawing her back to him. “Do I know you?”

“M-my darling son,” Anna whispered.

The seminarians around them were receiving congratulations from relations and well-wishers, but Colin noticed none of it as he stared at Anna. “But…I—”

“Your father was Father Abrams Valentine,” said Sara in a kind but cautioned voice. “It’s alright, Colin. We know.”

Colin’s cheeks flushed. “He… I mean, I was told my mother died long ago.”

“Your father did not want you to know about her,” Sara replied softly.

Anna reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out Richard’s silver rattle.

He stared in wonder at the rattle and its elaborate designs. “I remember this.” His voice was barely a whisper. “How? Is it true?”

“We were only supposed to watch you today,” said Sara. She looked at Anna, “we did not intend to surprise you with this revelation.”

Colin’s smile was one of wonder and benevolence. Kindness shone in his eyes as he embraced Anna.

Tuohay used the opportunity to break away, taking the leather pack from Eldredge. Limping through the crowd, he reached Archbishop Walsh. The archbishop peered at Tuohay with a mixture of solemnity and anger. “What are you doing here?”

“I have something for you,” Tuohay said, offering the leather satchel. “A thorough summary of the transgressions within your diocese, many related to the diamond, but not all.”

The archbishop glowered at Tuohay. His cheeks red with anger, he took the satchel. The two men’s gaze remained locked for several long moments. “But the diamond is still at large,” the archbishop said with reproach.

“Not any longer. Follow me, your Grace.”

The archbishop’s eyes widened, but he said nothing.

Tuohay led the archbishop to the circular apse, the golden cross hanging above gleaming in the fading light. Eldredge and Eliza followed, and the archbishop merely raised a curious brow at their inclusion.

“Well, inspector?”

Tuohay leaned against his cane and pointed at a stained glass window at the back of apse. The archbishop turned to face it. “The Adoration of the Magi.”