Page 55 of The Orphan of Cemetery Hill
Caleb nodded. Alice had made a sacrifice for Tabby all those years ago, and now it was his turn. “I have to do it.”
Walking with more confidence than he felt, Caleb headed into the station, Alice hesitantly following him.
He had envisioned a swarm of officers descending on him, yelling and clamping him in irons. But on the contrary, he and Alice passed inside with only the briefest of nods from a couple of men loitering in the hall.
Approaching the desk, Caleb had to clear his throat to get the officer’s attention. The man looked up from his newspaper, irritated. “Yes?”
“I’m looking for Officer Hodsdon. Is he here?” He assumed that by now Billy’s arm had fully healed and he was no longer on guard duty in the prison. If he wasn’t, then Caleb risked being arrested before finding him.
The officer gave him a long, hard look before answering. “Sergeant Hodsdon is in his office,” he said, jutting his chin vaguely to the hallway behind him.
Sergeant Hodsdon. So, he had gotten his promotion after all, though only God knew how after he had let Caleb escape. Sending up a brief prayer to some higher power, Caleb led Alice down the hallway where they found Billy’s office with his name and title neatly stenciled on the door. Caleb lightly rapped.
He almost didn’t recognize the man who looked up from his papers at their entrance. Officer Hodsdon had been young and eager, bright eyed and clean-shaven six months ago. But Sergeant Hodsdon had dark smudges under his eyes and a patchy dusting of stubble that spanned from his overgrown side-whiskers down his neck.
If Caleb didn’t recognize Sergeant Billy Hodsdon, Billy certainly recognized Caleb. The pen he had been holding dropped from his hand and he stood bolt upright, upsetting his chair. “W-what are you doing here?” He gazed frantically around the small office as if looking for a weapon or some way to defend himself against this murderer who had escaped from his custody. Caleb had only a few seconds before Billy probably started hollering for reinforcements.
“I’m here because of Tabby,” Caleb said quickly, putting himself on the other side of the desk.
At this, Billy stopped in his tracks, his face paling to a worrying shade of green. “What about her?”
“We believe she may be in danger,” Alice cut in.
Billy was stock-still for a prolonged moment before he crumpled back down into his seat and cradled his head in his hands. “She is, and it’s my fault, goddamn me.”
Caleb shared an alarmed glance with Alice. “What do you mean? Where is she?”
Drawing his hands down his face, Billy gave a hopeless shake of his head. He looked like he wanted to bolt from the office. Alice must have seen this too, because she stationed herself more squarely in the doorway.
“You need to tell us, now,” Caleb said in the sternest voice he’d ever heard come out of his mouth.
Billy closed his eyes. “Whitby,” he finally whispered. “And Dr. Jameson.” He brought his gaze up to meet squarely with Caleb’s. “Do you know who they are? Do you knowwhatthey are?”
“I know that Whitby is a conniving son of a bitch, and that he killed Rose Hammond.” He knew it, but he wanted to hear it from Billy’s lips. He wanted vindication, he wanted justice. But nothing could have prepared him for what came next.
The sound of men talking in the hall drifted in, and the air in the office strained with heavy expectation as Billy finished telling his tale of grave robbers, mediums, the resurrection men, and their morbid exploits trying to bring the dead back to life. Eyes cast down and fingers drumming nervously against the desk, he ended with his role in exposing Tabby to the worst possible people. Caleb and Alice shared a look; it all corroborated what she had told him in Edinburgh.
“You protected them,” Caleb said, breaking the silence. “You looked the other way, and then when I told you about Tabby and her gift, you delivered her up to them.” His fists flexed at his sides, his blood rushing hot and fast to his head. He could never take on a man like Billy in a fight, but still he imagined his fists connecting with his jaw, pummeling him into a bloody pulp.
“They paid me handsomely for turning a blind eye, and made sure that I climbed the ranks. And I wanted to contact my mother, was desperate to speak to her one more time. I knew the information about Tabby would be valuable to them, and that I could use it to my benefit, as well.” His voice dropped and to his credit, he looked genuinely miserable. “I was always fond of Miss Cooke, exceedingly fond.” He paused. “I’m not proud of what I did.”
Alice spat on the floor. “You’re pathetic,” she ground out.
“I’m prepared to make amends, but I have to know for certain before I do that you are truly innocent. I cannot have something else on my conscience.” He hesitated. “Did you kill Rose Hammond?”
“On my honor, I did not,” Caleb said, before adding: “I think we both know that it was Whitby.”
Billy gave a slow, heavy nod. “With this kind of work, you develop a sense for these things. You want to believe that the charming and the wealthy are above such barbarity, but often they are the ones hiding the darkest sins. I saw Whitby watch as that doctor strapped her to the table. I should have known that they wouldn’t be true to their word, but I so badly wanted to believe that their goal was admirable.” He looked up at Caleb. “We played cards together, and I came to think of us as something like friends. You betrayed that trust, but whether it makes me a fool or not, I believe you.”
Caleb’s heart raced, went light, and felt as if it might fly away from him. He wouldn’t have to go back to prison. He wouldn’t hang for a murder he didn’t commit, and Rose would finally have justice.
Billy must have seen the hope on his face, because he shook his head. “I can’t let you go. Even if you are innocent of the murder, you still escaped custody. That’s a serious crime in and of itself. I can’t expect that they will be so lax as to overlook my letting you go a second time.”
“But Tabby—” Caleb started, only for Billy to stop him.
“I am giving you her whereabouts in exchange for your freedom.” Billy took out a leaf of paper and scrawled something on it before handing it to Alice. “Take this and find her before something terrible happens to her.” He turned back to Caleb. “But I cannot let you go, and I think you know that.”
Well, what had Caleb expected? That he would waltz in, apologize for escaping, and then go on his merry way? Given what he knew about Billy’s involvement in the scheme, Caleb would be well within his rights to threaten him right back. But was it worth risking any harm coming to Tabby? Reluctantly, he turned to Alice, took her by the shoulders, and looked straight into her clear eyes.
