Chapter Eleven
The North West Mounted Police headquarters was teeming with officials currently faced with the monumental task of pouring over the books of William Thatcher's shipping conglomerate, finitely combing through the archives to gather as much intel about the ring's operations as possible. Much progress had been made and enough evidence gathered to warrant the arrest of William Thatcher himself, having apprehended him at his downtown office earlier in the morning.
Jack had just entered the headquarters' front doors, his face a solemn mask trying to hide the inner turmoil he was experiencing from having just met with Elizabeth. An Elizabeth that still had no recollection of their intense connection with one another. Jack squeezed his eyes shut to block out the bitterness rising in the back of his throat and refocus his attentions to the case before him. He blearily walked back towards the general commons room to pour himself another cup of coffee, completely reliant on the warm liquid to keep his mind sharp as he had had little sleep since arriving the day before. Jack's body was weary from his recent travels combined with having to see the woman he loved so fragile with broken memories but felt a renewed energy when he considered the prospect of watching Charles Kensington be put under arrest. Jack was slated to be included with the task-force's apprehension of the man in two hour's time, his arrest had been accelerated to coincide with his expected appearance at Thatcher's Shipping headquarters to attend his weekly Executive Operations meeting.
Jack then felt his heart sink as he thought about Elizabeth's father sitting in custody at this very moment. When Jack had learned of William's supposed involvement in this shady business in his briefing from the task team, his mind couldn't keep up with the information being presented. As convincing as all of the auditor's findings were, Jack couldn't help wish that this weren't really happening as the impact on Elizabeth would be too much to see her deal with. The only man Jack cared to see bearing the weight of all charges was Charles, but he was careful to not let his obvious hatred of him be shown to his fellow Mounties. His duty to remain impartial under all circumstances was a struggle to follow at the moment.
As Jack was leaving the commons room to meet with his task force, he bumped into Inspector Jones who appeared to be relieved at locating the Constable. "Jack. I'm glad I found you." The inspector stood back and composed himself. "You're being summoned to speak to our man in custody, William Thatcher. He says he's only willing to talk to one man...and that would be you. Please follow me and I'll escort you to his holding quarters and debrief you on latest."
Jack had mixed feelings towards William's request and his mind reeled with possible reasons why the shipping tycoon would try to reach out to him now. Did he truly trust Jack or did he think he could use his leverage as Elizabeth's father to do his bidding? Jack's mind raced between the potential scenarios and strained to concentrate on Inspector Jones' words as he kept pace walking through the maze-like corridors and stairwell, en-route to the high-security wing. The Inspector stopped in front of a non-descript black door and waved his clearance through the small glass insert and looked back towards Jack. "We really need you to get him to talk Jack. Do whatever you've got to do to get him to cooperate with us."
The door slowly opened and Jack hesitantly stepped into the dimly lit room, currently laden with cigar smoke, and stood directly in front of William Thatcher. Jack stood tall and regarded Mr. Thatcher neutrally, ensuring he met his gaze dead on. William softened his steely look and physically gestured for Jack to sit. "Would you care for a cigar, Jack?"
"It's Constable Thornton, Sir. And no. Thank-you. I don`t smoke." Jack sat down and looked at Elizabeth's father, stifling a chuckle at the role reversal currently playing out...for once Jack held the upper hand. Jack took a deep breath and continued, eager to know the reason for his summoning. "What would you like to share with me, Mr. Thatcher? I'm curious to learn why you feel I'm now worth your consideration." Jack stared at William with a fierce subtly of distaste sparked by their historical encounters.
William smiled sadly and looked defeatedly at the Constable, regarding him with honest admiration, and replied. "I deserve that, Constable. You have every right to dislike me, however, I know how highly Elizabeth thinks of you and I've been a fool, thus far, for ever doubting her." William visibly winced at the mention of Elizabeth`s name and Jack could see her father's genuine love for her, as misguided as it had been. William continued. "I'm fearful for my daughter's life..I see the monster of a man that Charles has become, and I'm sick with fear for what he has planned for Elizabeth." William inhaled sharply and looked away, overcome with outward emotion at his confession.
Jack swallowed hard and absorbed William`s words, carefully calculating how he should proceed with his questions. "You refer to Mr. Kensington as a monster. Do you care to elaborate why? Considering you were pushing him to marry your daughter a month ago, I'm curious what else, besides being co-conspirators in this country's biggest money laundering and counterfeiting rings, could cause you to want to distance yourself from him."
William extinguished his cigar while listening to Jack`s charged response and slowly shook his head at being accused of criminal intent. His shoulders fell away from his neck as he brought his hand up to his temple to lightly massage his tension headache`s increasing throb. "The only thing I am guilty of is trusting that man. I foolishly put my entire business within his hands. I treated him as my son…" William`s words trailed off and he looked up to meet the Jack's stare. "This is all my fault, Constable."
"How so? Are you saying you are, in fact, guilty of all charges pending against you?" Jack replied, struggling to maintain his strict level of professionalism. His gut told him things were going to get very candid with Elizabeth`s father.
"No. I'm saying, it is my fault that Charles is as close to my family and my livelihood as he is. I steered him since he was a child, bringing him under my wing when his father, my former business partner, suddenly passed away." William paused bent forward slightly in his seat, his elbows settled on his knees, and quickly continued. "I think I need to start from the beginning."
Jack remained silent to allow Mr. Thatcher to continue. "When Elizabeth was six, my wife was expecting our fourth child. I was desperately hoping for a son. Don't get me wrong, Constable, I deeply love my three girls, but...naturally, I wanted a son." Jack nodded in understanding and let William continue. "My son, James Thatcher, died the day he was born. The cord had wrapped around his neck." William paused for a moment to contain his overflow of grief returning within his words. "Grace was so traumatized that she shut me out of her life. She was very depressed and pushed me away, feeling like a failure that she couldn't give me the son I had dreamed about for a long time and knowing she could not physically give me more children... I had no one to grieve with...and that's what led me to Irene Kensington."
Jack felt his compassion rise up in response to William's loss and was suddenly intrigued at his reference to an alternate Kensington. "Irene Kensington?" Jack asked. "A relative of Charles?"
"His mother." William replied sharply. "The wife of my business partner, Nathan Kensington, to be exact." He pulled his stare out of the line of Jack's as he looked back towards the black door and felt the weight of the last sixteen years start to slowly lift. "Nathan Kensington was a drunk and an absent husband. I can say this because I've known the man since childhood and wasn't fond of the man he became after our company's success." He looked at Jack knowingly and continued. "Irene and I started having a relationship...each of us feeling rejected from our spouse...and continued to see each other regularly for almost two years. It wasn't until Nathan was discovered floating beside our central shipping dock down at Hamilton Port...his love of scotch overriding his ability to see straight...that Irene and I decided to end things."
"So, you're saying Charles is rightful co-owner to Thatcher Shipping?" Jack inquired.
"No. You see...Nathan owed a lot of debts due to his recent proclivity for gambling and it took his entire stake in our company to render those debts paid. He essentially left his family destitute. But I...feeling all of the guilt and shame of my affair...I made sure that Irene and Charles were very comfortable after Nathan's death, and made sure Charles attended the best boarding schools and Universities. The depth of my grief for my lost son, combined with the shame of my infidelity on my wife and family, urged me to help this boy. I felt I could at least try to repair some of the damage I had inflicted when I had been with his mother." He sighed heavily and tilted his head into the grasp of both hands as he recalled a truth he had been trying to keep buried, hidden from his family and eyes of society.
"And Mrs. Thatcher? Is she aware of your infidelity?" Jack inquired solemnly.
William slightly nodded, his head still held in his hands. "Yes. I admitted my faults to her not long after Nathan passed. I couldn't live with the guilt any longer and I truly feel like the luckiest man on earth that Grace found it in her heart to eventually forgive my indiscretions."
Jack sat motionless for a moment and tried to process the confession that Elizabeth's father was sharing with him. His brows formed a scowl as he continued with his questions for William. "I can understand your need to treat Charles as one of your own Mr. Thatcher, however, what I can't understand is why you would let someone manipulate your daughter and go along with his sick charade implanting false memories into her mind...it sickens me to think Elizabeth's own father would just willingly hand her over into the hands of someone so devious…"
William's head quickly snapped up out of his hands and he sat straight up, Jack's words stinging his pride as a doting, loving father. "I didn't willingly go along with Charles' demented plan. Before I even knew his actions, he made it clear to me that I was not to cross him or else he would set me up for fraud...and set me up as a powerful figure in this alleged counterfeiting ring. Trust me, Jack, when I say I have absolutely nothing to do with any illegal dealings. I am guilty of ignorance, and trusting the wrong man, but not of the charges laid against me."
"But how could you let someone do that to your daughter?" Jack's tone was becoming increasingly frustrated, his need to protect Elizabeth overriding his ability to keep calm.
"It's no secret that I wished for Elizabeth to marry someone more suited to her societal standing...be it Charles Kensington or some Nobleman from across the pond. But...is it wrong for a father to want the best for his daughters? The thought of any one of my children suffering needlessly makes me shudder, and I truly felt that this life...the one Elizabeth has turned her back on...was the safest and most suitable life I could provide. You can't blame me for wanting the best for my family." William stopped suddenly and looked at Jack, hoping he could understand his plight.
Jack regarded Mr. Thatcher carefully and sighed lightly. "Of course I can understand your need to provide the best life for your family, Mr. Thatcher. But...it is very difficult for me to see this situation from your perspective as I know how deeply Elizabeth feels your disappointment towards her. All she wants is for you to be proud of her and recognize her achievements."
William heaved a heavy sigh and covered his face in both hands, fighting the tears that were forming and readying to fall. He lightly shook his head back and forth before removing his hands from his face. "Jack...do you know how it feels to break a woman's heart?"
The poignant question caught Jack completely off guard. His thoughts quickly flashed back to the day he had shut Elizabeth out. That recent afternoon when Charles had proposed to Elizabeth and Jack had tried to push her away, his heartbreak over the situation blinding him to her true feelings. Jack nodded slowly towards William and replied softly. "Yes. Unfortunately, I do."
"Well let me tell you...that is nothing compared to the sick feeling you get when you break your own daughter's heart." William's voiced cracked and he looked quickly away towards the window, his emotional distress getting the better of him. "I have to live with the fact that two of my daughter's have lost complete faith in me...all because I can't conform to the new ways of the world. It appears my generation can't keep up with all of the changes taking place...like the world is evolving faster than we were ever prepared for…"
Jack acknowledged Mr. Thatcher's words silently and let his comment about breaking his daughter's heart sink in. He was opinion on this once imposing man was starting to soften, and he was starting to see William as the man he was, rather than the enigma of the man he held animosity towards. "Was this what you summoned me here for, Mr. Thatcher? Or...do you have any other information to share?"
An abrupt knock at the door startled the pair and Jack instantly stood up to face the entrance, curious as to who was interrupting his conversation. Surely there was more than enough time left before having to leave with the task force to apprehend Charles.
Inspector Jones, followed closely by Bill Avery and a fair-haired stranger Jack had yet to be introduced to, standing just outside the entrance of the door and summoned Jack towards them. Jack quickly approached, curious as to the need for this interruption.
Inspector Jones broke the silence quickly. "Constable Thornton. You must come with us, immediately. We have a situation developing."
Jack's eyes widened at the urgent tone in his superior's delivery and raised his eyebrows in question. "What's going on?"
"It's Elizabeth. She's missing...along with her nurse from the hospital. The team we had watching over Charles' movements were duped into believing he had yet to leave his house this morning...but we've confirmed he is no longer in the area."
"When did this happen? I left the hospital a little over an hour ago…" Jack's breathing was becoming ragged and difficult to continue, his head throbbing with revelation from this latest development.
The strange man spoke up to reply to Jack's inquiry. "Not much longer after you left the hospital, I arrived to pay a visit with Nurse Carter to find out how Miss Thatcher was doing. It was then I saw the disarray behind the Nurses counter and determined the pair were missing."
Jack looked upon this man tentatively, unsure if he could trust him or not. "And you are…?"
Inspector Jones interjected. "I'd like you to meet Inspector Henry Cavendish from London's Scotland Yard. It appears this counterfeiting ring stretches out across the Atlantic and he is here investigating potential shipping routes of this syndicate. Believe me when I say, this case is bigger than I ever imagined."
Jack turned to Inspector Cavendish and shook his hand solidly. "Inspector. Any clue as to where Charles could have taken them?"
Henry shook his head sadly and replied. "We've placed men at all train depots within a thirty mile radius and have men combing through all Hamilton ports. Unfortunately, we have yet to find any traces of them. My investigations in London traced a lot of activity through Montreal, however, that's much too far for the trio to flee to in the past hour."
Jack quickly snapped his attention back to Mr. Thatcher, who was standing now, watching the four men with a terrified look in his eyes. "Mr. Thatcher. Think...carefully. Do you have any idea where Charles could have gone. Any idea at all?" His desperation as finding a resolution to this situation was more than evident in his emotionally charged questioning of Elizabeth's father.
William stood in shock, overcome with distress at the news of his missing daughter and having no physical ability to try and help find her. "Ummm...let me think…." He stalled and tried to calm his mind enough to think straight. "Burlington. Yes...that's it. You may want to head across the bay to Burlington's port. I own a couple of docks over there...it's not officially under Thatcher Shipping...rather, it's a side business I recently started where I recover decommissioned transport vessels and overhaul and fix them so that they can be returned to my fleet. It's a long shot, Constable, but...it's all I can think of."
Jack quickly turned to head out the door and stopped quickly before leaving. He turned suddenly, meeting the eyes of a man he felt a little less hostile towards, thanks to their recent conversation. "Mr. Thatcher." Jack spoke.
"Yes?" William replied.
"I need you to trust that I will find your daughter. No matter what."
William simply nodded.