/ / SUNDAY - Early Evening / /
Jack parked in the St Kilda drive behind Hugh in the Hispano, both of them alighted from the respective cars and walked down the small side path to Phryne's kitchen door. Inside Dot sat at the table, her eyes closed, rosary in hand. Hugh raised a hand and knocked, and Dot looked up with a start at the sudden sound. When she saw the cause of the noise however she gave a weak smile and moved to open the door.
"Oh Hugh," she whispered tearily.
"Dottie," Hugh cautioned a glance to the Inspector who pointedly took an interest in the brickwork next to him. Turning back to his intended, Hugh kissed Dot sweetly. "How are you?"
"I've been at ends all day," Dot admitted quietly. "Is there no news?"
Hugh's expression softened regretfully and he shook his head, "I'm sorry Dottie."
She nodded, trying to keep a brave face, and stepped back. "Come in. I'll make you both some cocoa."
They followed her inside and Hugh sat at the kitchen table. Jack paused.
"We've returned Miss Fisher's motorcar. It seems there were no further clues to find."
Dot nodded, concentrating on not crying again. Miss Fisher would be all right; she always was. And Dot had been praying for her all day just in case.
"There's nothing to suggest her disappearance is in any way involved with her investigations," Jack continued heavily. "If there hasn't been a ransom demand yet I suspect perhaps tomorrow… I want you to call me the moment it happens, whether by phone or post. Even if it says not to inform the police, Miss Williams, it is very important."
"Yes, of course Inspector."
"Right," he nodded, shifting awkwardly. It was strange being in Miss Fisher's house without her here too. He didn't like it.
"Did I hear a car?" asked a loud voice, and moments later the door swung open and Orpheus stepped into the kitchen. He saw Hugh and Jack then barked, "Well? Have you found her?"
"No, Mr Fisher we haven't."
"What the hell are you doing here then, we've told you all we can."
"We were just returning Miss Fisher's car, and Miss Williams is surely allowed to spend time with her beau before I take him home."
"Home? Phryne is God knows where being held prisoner and you're going to go home to your warm dinners and safe beds? You should be searching for her! She's been missing all day, anything could have happened to her by now."
Jack felt his blood begin to boil in his veins as he took in the face so like Phryne's, but etched with distrust and anger.
"She might be drifting in the Yarra, or lying in a gutter!" Orpheus continued. "Do you even care?"
"Of course I care!" Jack shouted suddenly at the man. "I can do nothing but care. And it would do you well to remember why it wasn't until this morning that we knew she was gone!"
Orpheus met Jack's fierce gaze, glare for glare. "I was just protecting her from the likes of you. I love my sister."
"Is that right Mister Fisher? Is that why she hasn't heard from you since she was a child? You don't love her- You don't even know her! You only came here because you needed her. Where were you when she needed someone?"
"Phryne's never needed anyone."
"She needed a brother! She came all the way to Australia to find the answers to her sister's death, blaming herself all these years. She was a child and you were not there for her. She came to Melbourne, and you were not there. She faced Murdoch Foyle, faced her own inevitable death and survived- she survived it all, but you weren't there to help her. But I was; I was there for her. I was who she had to cling to as she looked over that grave, little Janey so small and Phryne utterly broken with her tears. Where were you then? Tell me. Tell me where you were that day and then look me in the eye and tell me how you love your sisters. "
And with a great yell Orpheus Fisher launched himself across the room at the Inspector. Jack heard a crunch and felt his whole body stumble back as pain blossomed in his face. He fell into the counter, only half aware of Dot's yell and Jane and Mr Butler rushing into the room.
Hugh held Orpheus back, but the man was by no means done.
"I didn't know! If I had known I would have been here. I was never told Janey had been found. Aunt Prudence hasn't spoken to me in over twenty years until today, and mother so rarely replies to any of my letters. The first I knew there had been any development at all was when I read Foyle had hanged! I loved Janey, of course I loved her. But I've long since lost one sister, Inspector, I can't lose another. Not now, after all this wasted time. Please!"
Jack found his footing again and rubbed at the side of his jaw where Orpheus had punched him.
"Constable, let him go."
"Are you sure sir?"
"I'm sure."
Hugh released Mr Fisher, who glanced around the room, red faced and watery eyed. Swallowing back any further emotions he dropped his gaze and retreated quickly from the room.
"You should arrest him again!" Dot exclaimed with surprising ferocity, and she set about finding something for the Inspector's face.
"That won't be necessary," Jack ground out. "But perhaps I should leave."
After argument from both Dot and Jane he sat instead at the table, and allowed Dot to apply some sort of cream to his cheek. Mr Butler set a strong drink and a mug cocoa before him, both of which he drank without complaint. Jane sat next to him silently, drinking a cocoa of her own and when he stood to leave she stood too and hugged him.
He was rather shocked by the gesture, and it took Jack a moment to react. Shaking off his hesitations, he returned her hug and murmured to her a soft goodnight. Then he gave Mr Butler and Dot a nod, and left with Collins, ready to take the young Constable home.
When, later that evening, Jack returned to his own house he made himself a sandwich for dinner, washed his face and went to bed. But lying in the cold sheets he could only think of one thing. That perhaps Orpheus was right. Perhaps it was too late. Perhaps tomorrow they would fish Phryne's body from the Yarra and he would never hear her voice again...
/ / /
Monday morning saw Jack rushing late across town in his motorcar. He arrived at City South hours after the due start of his workday, his face unwashed, his hair haphazardly oiled back and his stomach growling. After spending half the night tossing and turning, shaking off nightmares of what could be happening to Phryne, he was exhausted. Sleep had found him eventually in the early hours of the morning, and as such he hadn't so much as stirred at the shrill ring of his alarm just few short hours later.
He passed the front desk without a word, entered his office, removed his coat and hat and sat at his desk with a suppressed groan. The file Collins had put together the previous day sat staring up at him, and Jack quickly pushed it to one side. He reached into a draw and drew out a tin of biscuits his housekeeper had made and ate quickly.
There was a knock at the door and Jack looked up to see Collins standing in the doorway, holding a tray laden with a teapot, cup and saucer.
"Did you want some tea, sir?" asked the concerned Constable.
"I-" Jack sighed, "yes, thank you Collins."
Hugh brought the tray in and sat it on one corner of the desk, "I've been looking into women with the name Thomas, sir. So far there hasn't been any in the Richmond area."
"The Reverend didn't think she lived in Richmond," Jack said, pouring his tea. "But I suppose it's worth looking. Try Collingwood next, will you Collins?"
"Yes sir."
The young man left, shutting the door behind him and Jack closed his eyes. Blindly he reached for the file on his desk. Sitting up straight and opening his eyes once more Jack read the report and statements as he continued to eat biscuits for breakfast and drink his tea. Once finished he took himself to the men's room, and it was only when he paused to wash his hands that he saw his reflection for the first time that day.
His lip was split and a bruise had bloomed across the side of his face. No wonder Collins had been looking at him in that strange way.
Jack bent over the sink and splashed water into his face, trying to wash away the bags under his eyes, then straightened and neatened his appearance as best he could.
As he exited the bathroom he became aware of a commotion by the front desk, and he stepped around the corner to be greeted with a hysterical looking Dot holding her purse firmly out of the reach of Orpheus Fisher as Hugh stood between them.
"Give it here!" the man was demanding. "You need to show him the note!"
"No," Dorothy insisted, "I'm giving this straight to Inspector Robinson and no one else."
"Miss Williams?"
Three sets of eyes rounded on Jack. Dot rushed forward, "Inspector! This came in with the letters today," and she reached a gloved hand into her purse, pulling out an envelope with Miss Fisher's address printed across the front.
It had been opened at one end, and taking it from Miss Williams' hand Jack reached his fingers in and pulled out a piece of paper.
'How does it feel?' asked the note, tauntingly.
"It came with this," Dot added, and she held out her hand to show him an earring. "It's Miss Fisher's."
Jack stared at it, then let his eyes flick back to the note.
"Collins, I want you to find that woman from the Hammond case," he barked suddenly, turning on his heel and moving into his office.
Orpheus followed quick on his heel, just as Phryne had done so many times, and watched as Jack searched madly through papers on his desk.
"What does Hammond have to do with my sister's disappearance?" Mr Fisher demanded.
"This," Jack said brandishing the note, "I have seen this handwriting before. Someone delivered a note just like this to Mrs Hammond's door yesterday and I need to- Ah!" He found the file containing Mrs Hammond's note and money.
Clearing the desk Jack lay the two envelopes next to each other. They were the same, both cheap and small, and battered around the corners. Below that he lay the letters, also of the same paper, but that wasn't important. Plenty of people could have bought stationary from the same place, but handwriting, that he could match definitively.
Orpheus stood next to him, the two men shoulder to shoulder, eyes desperately flicking from one page to the other.
Both notes were so short they only shared six letters in common, but pouring over them the two men agreed. These had been written by the same hand.
Jack filed them away carefully and moved to the doorway, "How's that search going Collins?"
"Three families called Thomas living in Collingwood, sir! Two of them include unmarried women."
"Give me names Collins, and take down their address, we'll go to every house there is if we have to."
"Their names are Juliette Thomas, who lives with her parents and brothers on Keele Street, and Celia Thomas who until recently lived with her late mother-"
"Maude," Orpheus finished, his eyes wide and aghast.
Jack turned to him, "Do you know her?"
"I, yes, Inspector. That's my Celia, that's the girl I left behind. I- I don't understand; why would she do this?"
"I don't know, Mr Fisher. But I'm going to find out. Take Miss Williams home, and stay there, until I contact you," he pulled on his coat and collected his hat and pistol, "Collins with me; and bring a set of handcuffs. Come on."
/ / /
Poor Miss Celia Thomas' house was a rather sore sight. The garden was weed ridden and overgrown in parts, dying in others, the front verandah seemed to be a strong storm away from falling apart, and the house itself was poorly built and rundown. Jack knocked heavily against the paint chipped front door, and waited. It took all his self control not to kick his way into the house and yell out for Phryne, and he was about to knock again when the door was pulled open.
It was answered by a small woman with her limp blonde hair escaping from the bun it had been twisted into. She, much like her house, looked old and run down. Her sickly thin frame was draped in a threadbare dress that had been very poorly taken in, her face was sunken and there were deep bags under eyes. She looked between Jack standing tall in his suit, and Collins behind him. Jack wondered if she would run. How far would she get, he wondered?
"Are you Celia Thomas?" he asked.
"Yes," Celia snapped, her voice rough and angry, "and what the hell do you want, copper?"
"Miss Thomas you are under arrest," Jack began and Hugh stepped forward, cuffs in hand, taking Celia's wrists and locking them together, "for the murder of Mr Francis Hammond, and the kidnap of Miss Phryne Fisher."