The Slum Reaper by David Field

Author:David Field [Field, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sapere Books
Published: 2018-07-18T22:00:00+00:00

‘That Manders girl wants ter speak ter yer,’ the sergeant advised Percy as he re-entered Bethnal Green Police Station deep in thought.

‘Amazing how a night spent staring at a wall stimulates the desire to co-operate, isn’t it?’ Percy smirked. ‘Have her sent up to my office, but make sure that she’s thoroughly searched beforehand and that the turnkey remains with her while we talk about old times.’

Ten minutes later, a very penitent Clara was led into Percy’s office by a turnkey who smelt even worse than she did and Percy nodded for her to take a seat, then waited for her to take the initiative.

‘You’re lookin’ for a girl called Emily Broome, aren’t you?’

‘Who told you that?’

‘It doesn’t matter and don’t deny it, ’cos I know you are.’

‘And always assuming that I am, what can you tell me about her?’

‘You found ’er body in Short Street?’

‘The police did, certainly. When I saw her she was on a mortuary table. Are you about to tell me how she finished up there?’

‘If I tell yer what I can, will yer drop the charge against me and find me somewhere to live outside London?’

‘I can certainly see to it that the charge against you is reduced from one of the attempted murder of a police officer, but I’m not a property agent. May I assume that the person you’re seeking to avoid is Michael Maguire — or perhaps you know him as Michael Truegood?’

‘I know ’im as Mangler and if he finds out that I did a deal wi’ you, he’ll have me done in, like all the others.’

‘All what others, Miss Manders?’

The girl smiled.

‘I must look more stupid than I thought. Do you wanna know about Emily Broome or not, in exchange for me not bein’ done fer Attempted Murder?’

‘That sounds reasonable. So fire away.’

‘She came to live wi’ me a month or so ago, on the run from Mangler and ’is lot. We used to be friends when she lived in Shoreditch and we both lost our mothers at about the same time. Then when ’er dad got done in by Mangler she ran off to some place on the other side o’ London, working as a nanny or something. Anyway, Mangler must have followed ’er, ’cos she told me that one day, while she was out walking wi’ two little children, ’im and another bloke told her to leave them and just walk away.’

‘And did she?’

‘So she said. Then she went back to Shoreditch and stayed wi’ her old boyfriend Tommy. Then ’e got done in one night and she was sure that Mangler was responsible, in case she’d told Tommy all about who’d taken the children. Then she reckoned that maybe ’e’d come after ’er as well, so she begged me to let her doss wi’ me until she could get away, right out of London for good.’

‘Did it not occur to her that if Mangler wanted her silenced, he could have done it at the same time that he took the children?’

‘If it did, she didn’t mention it.

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