Chapter 47: Concealed in Smoke
Caledon stands at the train station, waiting for the latest engine to pull in and let out its white thick steam. He checks his pocket watch before the distinct warning whistle and the screeching of breaks against polished rails as the first train from Philadelphia stops in front of him.
The white steam arises from the engine and covers Mr. Hockley from head to toe, masking his own contempt and stressed face. Only his silhouette is visible, giving him an almost sinister appearance. He steps back as many patrons begin to exit the passenger cars, on their way to who knows where, but Caledon does not move for them any further. As the steam evaporates, he waits to find two figures whom he must greet and most likely comfort.
A woman with fiery red hair pulled back into a tight bun and done up with a very fancy hat steps down, followed by her maid, who carries several small carry-on bags. The woman in the hat holds a white handkerchief wadded up in her hands, contrasting her rather dark outfit and gloves. She looks around frantically until she spots Mr. Hockley.
She hurries frantically towards him.
"Mr. Hockley," Ruth says. "Thank you for the tickets, with all the wedding planning and the uh…disappearance as well as having to hire a new maid, we couldn't afford them."
"Not at all Mrs. DeWitt Bukater," Cal says, he politely takes her hand and kisses it.
"Please, call me Ruth," the mother says. She turns to the maid. "Sally, make sure you get all of the bags."
The maid nods. "Yes ma' me, Of course," she says obediently
Cal offers his arm out to a very frail Ruth Bukater. The red eyes indicate how much Ruth has been crying and the dark circles under her eyes show the lack of sleep. Unsurprising for sure as her daughter is missing, right before both he and her daughter are to be married. Caledon had already informed the authorities, but since Rose was only 17, her mother had to initiate the search.
The two of them walk together through the busy platform, followed by the maid, struggling with the bags.
"I wasn't sure how long we would be staying so I made sure to pack as much as possible," Ruth explains. "Of course, weather in New York can always be unpredictable so I was sure to pack some sweaters and…"
Cal is only half listening to what Ruth is saying. He is lost in his own thoughts. They are mostly of anger, but some of the concern. Rose has vanished completely and in such a big city, it's not hard to do. He knew that his father would soon find out about the disappearance and interrogate him about why the wedding has been postponed once again. Cal knew that in order to one day inherit his father's company, he must be married and provide an heir.
His mind continues to wander as he escorts Ruth and the maid to his awaiting car. His new manservant, William Riptide waits at the trunk to assist the maid with the bags. Cal opens the car door for Ruth and then climbs into the front seat.
As Riptide pulls off into the street, heading towards the police station, Cal's mind wanders again. He goes back to where Rose might be at this moment. Was she a prostitute in the streets? Was she living under a bridge? Had she found some way to support herself?
He suddenly wonders.
Could he have survived?! It seemed impossible, only Rose was brought aboard the lifeboat, at least… as far as he knew. He thought the man had been buried at sea or had frozen solid and gone down with the ship. Still…there was a slim possibility that he could've lived. Or what about the two brats that he put bullets in. The infant most likely survived, but both the boy and the girl were likely long dead. The one he shot on the stern would've bled out before the ship even hit the bottom and the other one went over the side into the water, he saw it himself. He still couldn't shake the feeling that one of them could've made it, after all, only the girl had met up with Rose and the gutter rat.
He suddenly remembered the piece of documentation he had found in the girl's room. The one about her dead father. At least he had the name, and he could get the police to search the family just in case.
The car pulls up in front of the police station.
"Riptide, please bring Mrs. Bukater's things and her maid to my apartment and then meet us back here," Cal orders.
"Yes sir," Riptide says as Ruth climbs out of the back seat.
Riptide was basically like Lovejoy, he did things without question and merely remained silent when need be. Cal was slightly sad to lose his trusty manservant in the disaster, after all, the man had kept him safe and was loyal to the very end. Cal was deciding to get a proper grave and monument made in Lovejoy's honour but had yet to submit the order.
Cal escorts Ruth into the busy police station, many men and a few women are rushing around, pulling files off desks, escorting suspects, answering phones for tips to crimes and doing other "police" related tasks. It reminded Cal of his own office, which he was anxious to get back to after Ruth had made the report.
Cal goes to the head secretary, who sits at her desk typing a report.
"We must speak with the chief of police," he says.
"I'm sorry he is…" the woman begins to say.
"We must see him, this is an emergency," Ruth insists.
"I'm sorry ma' me, but this is New York and there are many emergencies…"
"Perhaps you don't know who I am," Cal leans down to be eye to eye with the woman. How women were even allowed jobs anyways was beyond him. "But I am Caledon Hockley and my father's business helped pay for this police station and I demand that we see the chief as soon as possible. You see this woman has lost her daughter and this daughter also happens to be my fiancée so if you do not put us through to the chief of police, I will have you fired so quickly, you won't even have time to plead your case."
The woman swallows hard. "Y-yes sir, right this way,"
Ruth and Cal follow the woman, weaving through desks and past filing cabinets, as well as several officers, either on their break or going back to work. Ruth does her best to not touch anything as the place is hardly ideal and rather filthy, but she must do it for the sake of Rose. They climb a staircase to the third floor, which is much quieter, lined with offices with names on them for detectives, private eyes, and the major supervisors.
The secretary knocks on the door that says Police Chief.
"What do you want?" a voice barks from behind the glass.
"Mr. Hockley to see you, Sir, I am sorry but he insists on it being an emergency."
"Alright, let him in."
The secretary opens the door for the two people and then closes the door behind her. The chief of police is a gruff man, about 40 or so with a thick head of hair with a beard to match with flecks of gray coming, indicating his age or stress. He looks rather tired himself, heavy bags under his eyes and a sweaty brow. Clearly, he has been working all night and is rather frazzled as a result. He sits at his desk, a hand full of files in one hand and a cigar in the other. His desk is a mess, as well as his office. His certificate of achievements hangs on a rather blank wall and his belt hangs on a coat rack.
"Make it fast Hockley, I have a homicide in Brooklyn," the chief says.
"This will be fast, this is Mrs. DeWitt Bukater and she's the mother of our missing woman, Rose DeWitt Bukater."
"I can figure that out myself Hockley," the chief grumbles. "You'll have to file a report with the Missing Person's Department and we'll send out some officers."
"I-I do not think you understand sir," Ruth says. "I do not want any publicity, Mr. Hockley and I are very high up in class and such a story would be highly scandalous."
"Then what am I supposed to do?" the chief mumbles. "If no one is looking for your daughter, she won't be found."
"Don't you have a private investigation unit?" Cal asks.
"Yeah, but it takes awhile before he can get your case."
"How long?" Ruth asks.
"I estimate two weeks."
"TWO WEEKS!" Ruth gasps. She suddenly feels very faint and begins to have tears flood her eyes. "Oh my baby girl," She weeps into her handkerchief. The pain of her daughter missing had taken its toll on Ruth. She ate very little, she hardly slept and her entire world was thrown into chaos because of it. She had done her best to start a search for her daughter, but to wait two weeks would be torture…hell even.
The chief looks at the woman but is hardly moved. He seen many women come through, mothers, sisters, cousins and all put on a very sad story. He has become numb to the tears, he does care about giving these families closure, but there is nothing they can really do. Time was never on their side.
Cal tries to comfort Ruth. He too wanted Rose to be found as soon as possible, but for different reasons. He then reaches into his breast pocket and pulls out his checkbook.
"How much will it take to get the case bumped up?"
"How should I know? You should ask the investigator. Take the stairs up and three doors to the left."
"Thank you, sir," Cal says and leads a sobbing Ruth from the room.
They walk back down the hall to the staircase and up another level. This hallway had very few rooms, most of them reading Private Investigations, but no names. Cal and Ruth go three doors down and come to an unmarked door. With reluctance they knock.
"Come in," a voice says.
Cal opens the door to another crowded room, except the lights are mostly out and there is smoke rising from behind a large wooden desk. Filing cabinets line the walls and a bookshelf with many thick volumes stare down at the two individuals from behind the desk. The man sitting behind the desk with his feet up has his head engulfed in the smoke of a cigar, so much so that neither Cal nor Ruth can see his face. There is a glass of ice and whiskey beside him as well as several case files laying next to his thick boots.
"Shut the door," The voice says.
Cal does so. Both of them stand awkwardly for a brief moment.
"Who do you need me to find?"
"M-My daughter," Ruth says.
"And you don't want publicity?"
"That would be preferable," Cal answers.
The man puffs out another round of smoke, still able to conceal his identity.
"I want three hundred a week, plus extra," the man says.
"D-Does this mean you w-will h-help us?" Ruth asks, wiping away the last of her tears, her eyes filling with hope.
"You got the cash, then I've got a case," the man says.
Ruth smiles, practically laughing as she bursts into happy tears.
"Oh, thank you, Sir! OH THANK YOU!"
"My pleasure, now…" the man opens up an empty file and pulls out his fountain pen. "Tell me all about your daughter…"