A Thoroughly Wicked Woman by Betty Keller

Author:Betty Keller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical fiction
ISBN: 9781927575857
Publisher: Caitlin Press
Published: 2014-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Six

At noon on Friday, December 22, Esther Jones, standing at the front parlour window, saw the paddy wagon stop in front of the house, watched as two policemen emerged, tugged their jacket uniforms down and straightened their helmets. She walked into the hall, picked up her hat from the hall table, placed it on her head and began pinning it to her hair. “Tess,” she called up the stairs, “get your hat and coat on!”

Just as the first knock sounded on the front door, Theresa Jackson arrived at the bottom of the stairs, her coat on and her hat in her hands. Her face was white and her hands were trembling, and she paused to await her mother’s further instructions.

“Just a moment!” Mrs. Jones called toward the door, then turning to her daughter, she said, “Put your hat on.”

Tess obeyed, but before the hat was securely pinned in place, the knocking came again.

“One moment!” Mrs. Jones called, this time with a little more temper, then with a nod of her head indicated that her daughter should answer the door. She struggled into her coat and began buttoning it.

Theresa Jackson put the last pin into her hat, walked slowly toward the door, paused to look back pleadingly at her mother, then moved forward, drew back the bolt and opened the door. “Yes?” she said.

There was a shuffling of feet on the front porch. Both of the policemen standing there had arrested women before but they had been the ladies of Dupont Street, most of them as tough as any man. These were real ladies that they had come to collect and they didn’t quite know how to go about it. Finally the sergeant cleared his throat and took a step closer to the widow.

“I have a warrant here for the arrest of Mrs. Theresa Jackson and Mrs. Esther Jones …”

“On what charge?” Esther Jones had materialized beside her daughter.

“Perjury.”

Esther gave a short laugh. “Perjury?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I can’t think why they would send two big men like you to bring in a couple of defenceless women on a charge of perjury,” Esther taunted them. “You must think we are dangerous criminals!”

“Please, Mama!” Theresa said, now almost in tears. “We will not gain anything by talking back to policemen.”

At that moment there was a commotion in the hallway behind them, and the women turned to see Ernest Exall, who had got into the habit of catching the streetcar home for lunch since they moved to Davie Street. “What’s going on?” he demanded.

“They are here to arrest us,” Esther announced, her voice acid.

“What for?” He moved to stand between the women in order to confront the police on the porch. “What are you arresting them for?”

“This doesn’t concern you, sir,” the sergeant began.

“It most certainly does,” Exall said. “Mrs. Jones is my landlady and—”

“They are arresting us for perjury, Ernest,” Theresa Jackson said tearfully and, placing a hand on his arm, drew him back into the hallway. “I want you to telephone—”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Jackson, but you’ll have to come with us now.

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