The Inspection of a Curator

DISCLAIMER: All rights belong to Deborah Harkness. Just borrowing the characters for an alternate universe fanfiction story.

SUMMARY: A 1940's Police Inspector gets caught up in the world of rare books when a valuable manuscript is stolen and a murder occurs. Together, with a book curator, this Detective will face obstacles as they traverse the secret world of asylum's, wealth and mystery as well as their blossoming romance.

CREDIT: A huge thank you to Shawna and to Lady Lazarus DeClermont for your editing help, suggestions and ideas!


Chapter NINE: Orderly's, Order, & Disorder

By: Goode Girl

~TIOAC~

Gallowglass arrived for his shift at 'La Pierre' Asylum almost twenty-five minutes early. Peter Knox had called and asked that he help one of the new orderly's learn the routine by having the young man shadow him, so he wanted to be present to meet the new employee before his shift was to start. He hadn't been working there long but knew the basics and what to do as it pertained to his job, but this meant he couldn't really be covert or sneaky in looking into any new information to help with his MI6 mission to investigate the missing women. It also caused possible issues for him in regards to listening in on Knox when he was in his office on the phone.

"William!" Hollered Knox from the entrance to the employee lounge.

"Sir," Gallowglass responded in greeting to his undercover name.

"I'd like for you to meet Mr. Marlowe," He introduced.

"Just call me Kit." The young man replied, shaking Gallowglass' outstretched hand.

"Good to meet ya!" Gallowglass replied eagerly.

"Mr. Sorely here is a top notch employee and does as he's told." Knox interjected. "Valued staff do as instructed, no questions asked." He relayed with a hint of implication behind his words.

"Thank you, sir." He nodded. "The basic rule of the job, do as yer told and do it well." Gallowglass added.

They were about three hours into their shift and Gallowglass was glad to see that Kit was a fast learner. He didn't have to watch over his shoulder as he completed his required tasks.

"It's just about 11:30AM, Kit, and this is when you want to head down to the lower level and down a long ass hallway to the kitchens." Gallowglass smiled. "The staff will have prepared the lunch meal trays for each floor." He explained.

"Right," Kit murmured in reply as he followed Gallowglass to the elevator bank in the lobby.

They waited in silence as the elevator doors opened. Gallowglass pushed the button labeled 'B', for 'Basement'. This level housed the kitchens and maintenance store rooms as well as old furniture and medical equipment the asylum had once used. Gallowglass had always noticed the second button below that one labeled 'P', but he had no idea what it stood for and he even tried it once to find it didn't work. He knew that the 'P' could not possibly stand for parking either. "Can I ask you something?" Kit interjected, bringing him out of his musings about the mysterious lower level.

"Sure," He nodded.

"Seems like it takes a lot to impress either Knox or that Gerbert guy." Kit stated. "Is there anything I can do to stand out?" He asked shyly. "And I mean stand out in a good way." He explained further.

"Just do what yer told and don't question their actions or the patients treatments." Gallowglass replied. "The one thing that will keep you in their good graces is to simply do your job, and do it quietly." He finalized, leveling Kit with a stern look.

Kit agreed by nodding his head nervously. The elevator dinged, signalling their arrival to the basement.

"Shit, you weren't kidding about a long ass hallway!" Kit laughed gently as they meandered down the corridor, passing multiple doors. Each were labeled clearly with names such as 'Storage', 'Supplies', 'ECT', and even just 'Maintenance Closet'.

"It's so bloody fucking irritating is what it is." He responded with a small laugh as well. "They say there are secret tunnels under the place." He added. Gallowglass was hoping this comment would intrigue young Mr. Marlowe, and if he did learn anything about them, he would come and tell Gallowglass what it was he had discovered.

"Really? What are they used for?" Kit inquired.

"Nothing that I'm ware of now, but one of the pamphlet's in the lobby," He started, pointing up as a gesture to the lobby, ", talks about the Doctor that built this place. The tunnels connected to the Doctor's house where he would see patients." Gallowglass explained. "Rumour has it that the tunnels were used to transport those patients to and from the asylum." He ended.

"I wonder how you can get into them. It would be interesting to see what's down there." Kit stated.

"I wouldn't know, mate. Knox or Gerbert might know, but the tunnels might be sealed off by now." He suggested, playing dumb about the information he did know about them. His investigations told him that somewhere on that basement level, there was an access point to the tunnels. He also assumed that the mysterious 'P' level could be the main access point. The only problem with this theory was that the elevators were not part of the buildings original plans and were added in the 1920's.

There was silence between them for a few moments before Kit asked another question.

"What did you mean about 'don't question the patients treatments'?" He posed.

Gallowglass knew he had to tread carefully with his answer because Kit seemed like a brown noser. He wanted to be 'teacher's pet', so to speak.

"You're a recent hire here, are you not?" Gallowglass asked.

"Yes, end of last week I got a call after applying last October." Kit confirmed. "This asylum has a great reputation." He added.

"Aye, it does. But you ever wonder why you suddenly now got a call for a job?" Gallowglass questioned rhetorically. "The guy before you liked to speak up about the medical practices that were taking place and he asked too many questions. Haven't seen him since just after Christmas." He finalized.

"Right, sorry. I won't ask anymore." Kit stated.

"I don't mean me, kid. You can ask me all the questions you want." Gallowglass informed with a smile. There was an ulterior motive for this comment and the simple explanation is that, unbeknowst to Kit, he might ask a question based on something he sees which could offer insight into Gallowglass' investigations.

"Thanks. Appreciate it." He smiled as they finally reached the entrance to the kitchen. "I really want to do a good job." Kit added as both he and Gallowglass found their lunch carts for the first floor.

The lunch carts were separated by floor and side. A side and B side. It took them about an hour to deliver lunch to all the patients on all four floors. By the time they'd delivered the last meal, it was time to return to the first level and now retrieve the empty trays.

When it was the end of his shift, Kit couldn't wait to get home. The kid was tired and jokingly commented to Gallowglass that he was going to have to get in better shape. Kit retrieved his coat from his personal locker and called out a goodbye, leaving Gallowglass alone in the employee lounge. His solitude was interrupted when Peter Knox appeared a few moments later.

"Mr. Sorely, I hate to bother you, I know it's the end of your shift." He began.

"Oh, no worries Dr. Knox." He smiled fakely, while also feeding Knox's ego by calling him 'Doctor'. "What can I do for you, sir?" He added, standing from the bench in which he had been seated on.

"Would you be willing to extend your shift this evening? Matthieu Beny was supposed to be back from his holiday, but he appears to be a no show and is not answering any calls." He added, a pleading tone to his voice.

"Of course, sir. Happy to. May I get some dinner first?" He implored.

"Absolutely. If you could try to be back for 6:00PM?" Knox requested.

Gallowglass noted that it was just past 5:15PM, and his initial shift started at 8:30AM and ended at 5:00PM.

"Not a problem, sir. Should I start with dinner clean up when I start?" He posed.

"Perfect. Thank you." Peter nodded, leaving Gallowglass to his business.

After a quick dinner at a nearby diner just up the road from the asylum, Gallowglass returned at 5:50PM and decided to get right to work. He finished clearing the empty dinner trays and returned the cart to the kitchens before heading to the main floor where Peter Knox's office was located.

"William!" He heard, turning towards the voice that had called his name.

"Sir?" He addressed as Knox walked towards him briskley. Satu, his head nurse not far behind, as well as another nurse, under Satu's direction, Louisa.

"We have a situation and need some assistance getting Ms. Chamberlain to the the ECT room immediately." He informed. "Nurse," he added, turning towards Louisa. "Would you please continue administering the patient's required medications." He instructed. Louisa nodded mutely and walked off.

Gallowglass followed them to the elevator where they rode to the 4th floor. Patients in isolation were kept on this floor away from what was considered the 'general population'. The reason to separate these patients was because they could be violent, either to themselves or others. Gallowglass did as he was told and helped to restrain the patient, whom Knox referred to as Gillian Chamberlain.

This was the part of his job he hated. With Ms. Chamberlain strapped down to a gurney, to stop her from lashing out violently, according to Knox. They transported her down to the basement level. The same level where the kitchen was located. He didn't point it out to Kit, but one of the doors they had passed in that 'long ass corridor', led to the ECT room. Electroshock was tough to watch and each time it was used, he wanted to grab the patient and run. Just as he had informed Kit, Gallowglass kept his mouth shut and stood at the back of the room while Knox and Satu administered the shock treatment.

Gallowglass had to hold back his astonishment at the torture this poor woman was suffering. They were supposed to use an anaesthetic and a muscle relaxant and the milliamperes were not to go above 1000 and the recommended use was 800. This woman was not eased of any pain or discomfort and he watched as Knox instructed Satu to turn the milliamperes to 1200, then 1600, then 2000. When they were finished with their torture, Gallowglass was instructed to return the patient to her room, and once again he did as he was told. The whole time, he was fighting the urge to punch Knox out and attach the ECT electrodes to his head.

If he hadn't personally checked for a pulse once he'd laid her back in her bed, he would have thought she was dead. By the time his 'dinner break' arrived on this double shift he couldn't hide how angry and frustrated he was that he couldn't do anything for this woman.

He rushed to Matthew's and used the secret knock on the back kitchen door, announcing his arrival. It was imperative to him that Matthew be made aware of what Knox was doing. After two glasses of whiskey and a thank you to Diana for said whiskey, he relayed his information before departing.

…..

The following morning, Diana woke first. Matthew still had his arm around her and she turned to face him. His lips were in a sweet pout, and she leaned forward, kissing them softly before extricating herself from his embrace. Pulling on her robe, she headed to the kitchen to put on some coffee and make some breakfast. Just as she was plating some scrambled eggs, the toast popped and Matthew meandered into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Morning," He yawned.

"Morning. Thought I'd let you sleep and make some breakfast." She smiled, buttering the toast and adding the plate of slices to the table where the bacon already sat.

"Thanks for cooking." He stated simply.

They ate quietly and Matthew insisted she use the bathroom first to ready herself for the day, while he cleaned up from their breakfast.

"You cooked; I'll clean." He stated with a smile.

Matthew and Diana arrived at the De Clermont's just after 10AM to find Miriam and her team readying themselves and their investigative equipment in the driveway.

"Thanks for getting this together so quickly, Miriam." Matthew started. "I know it was early when I called you this morning." He added.

"I really don't mind and neither does anyone on my team, Matthew." She replied, arching an eyebrow. "This is the most interesting case we've worked in a while and the idea of these hidden tunnels and passages revealing evidence is just too exciting to pass up." She explained.

"I really hope there is something to nail Knox or Gerbert. Fingerprints would be great. Meanwhile," Matthew paused, taking a breath. "I'll ask Philippe and Ysabeau about that statue." He informed.

"Excellent. Take this for reference." She stated, handing him a photograph of the statue. "When we've cleared an area, we will let you know. But before we can even start, you need to show us those blue prints with the access points." Miriam clarified.

Philippe led Miriam and Matthew to the dining room, where he had lain the prints out on the table for them to inspect. Philippe had even drawn up a larger scale version of the prints Matthew had copied from the archives. He'd taken his own trip down town and copied them for his records and now the scale of his renderings matched those of the regular house prints. This made the access points to the passages clearer.

Miriam's gaze travelled over the ground level prints where Philippe had indicated secret passage entrance points. "Based on this here, there is an access point under the stairs?" She inquired, pointing down to the drawing.

"Yes." Matthew stated. "Also, this is the spot where guests said they saw Gerbert and Knox speaking before the dinner began that night, so I thought this could be where Knox entered the party." He added.

"Okay. We'll start there." Miriam confirmed.

Meanwhile, Phillippe was leading Diana up to his library to study another manuscript in his possession. There were parts of this particular text that he could not decipher and required her expertise to help him. He left her in the library with pen and paper for notes and headed back downstairs where Matthew called for his attention.

"Is Mrs. De Clermont available as well? I need to ask you both something about the night of the crimes." Matthew stated.

"Of course, I'll fetch her." He nodded. "Why don't you wait in the sitting room." He offered, signalling the room to the left of the front entryway. Matthew nodded and removed his hat and coat, laying them over the back of the couch.

Moments later, Marthe entered, carrying coffee and cups on a tray and set it on the side table.

"Coffee Mr. Roydon?" She questioned.

"Please. Black." He smiled. Marthe handed him a cup and a minute later Philippe entered the room, Ysabeau not far behind. Marthe poured coffee for them as well as Ysabeau signalled for everyone to take a seat.

"Philippe says you have some questions about the night of the party?" Ysabeau began.

"Yes. This statue was recovered from the scene and traces of blood were found on it. We suspect that it may have been the used during the commission of the crime." Matthew explained, producing the photograph Miriam had given him. He handed it to Philippe who then handed it to Ysabeau who then showed Marthe.

"Where was it found?" Ysabeau inquired.

"It was on a shelf in the library." Matthew replied. "But what I'd like to know is if this was always on display in the library or if it was on display elsewhere in the house." He added.

"Ahhh, I know what you're getting at." Philippe smiled turning to his wife. "If it was somewhere else in the house, I suspect Mr. Roydon believes the culprits used more than one of the secret passages." He explained. "Is that right, Mr. Roydon?" He posed.

"Yes, sir, that is what we've surmised." He nodded.

Philippe studied the photo once more, "I don't personally recall placing this on the library shelf, but Marthe," He stated, turning his attention to their housekeeper, ", did you place it there or come across it while cleaning?" He questioned.

"No, sir. That statue was on display on the third floor." She began. "There's a table at the end of the hall, at the top of the stairs." She explained. "It has a twin." She added. "Let me get it for you." She finished, tottering off.

They waited patiently, sipping at their coffee when Marthe returned, holding a duplicate of the statue.

"The Chimera set." Philippe confirmed. "They're book ends and if I remember correctly, we got them in Greece, isn't that right dear?" He finished turning to his wife.

"That's right." Ysabeau added. "You wanted them in your study but they had a sort of Victorian look to them and I wanted them on display somewhere more public for guests to admire." She added, smiling fondly at the memory of their debate about where to place them.

Matthew made notes on this information before thanking them. "So, to clarify, none of you personally moved this to the library?" He asked for confirmation.

"Not us, Mr. Roydon, no." Philippe answered.

"Thank you." He stated. "Can I ask the significance of this statue being in the library?" Ysabeau spoke.

"Well, we suspect that either Peter Knox or Gillian Chamberlain acquired this as a weapon to subdue Hugh. I can't really divulge a lot of details but it would appear to be the murder weapon." He stated somberly.

"Excuse me," A voice called into the room. All their heads turned in that direction, taking note of a young woman who was part of Miriam's team.

"Yes?" Philippe questioned.

"Ms. Shepherd sent me to fetch you all. She's discovered something." The young woman informed.

"Thank you, Ms?" Philippe stated, leaving his question hanging in the air, standing to greet the woman.

"Taylor, Phoebe Taylor, sir." She confirmed, reaching to shake his hand.

"Thank you, Ms. Taylor, we will be there shortly." Philippe informed.

Phoebe seemed to almost curtsy before leaving. Matthew stood, joining Philippe at the entryway. "Shall we?" he started, gesturing for Ysabeau and Marthe to go first.

…..

Kit Marlowe arrived earlier for his shift that next morning, hoping to impress Peter Knox and Gerbert. He could hear Knox on the phone and waited outside the door for a chance to talk to him. He wasn't trying to eavesdrop but he could hear parts of his conversation.

"I know that you imbecile!" Marlowe overheard. He moved closer and listened for more.

He heard Knox's responses to whomever was on the other end of the conversation.

"We need to silence her!" Followed shortly with, "She might not have the damn manuscript but she knows about it!" Marlowe could hear the intensity in his boss' voice. "She's a fucking book curator, of course she knows about it!" It was quiet on Knox's end for a few moments. "Then we'll use the tunnels to the house and take her." Kit stepped back at what he'd heard and knew this could be a chance to help his bosses. He could hear the clear indication of Peter ending the telephone call and stood farther back from the door.

"Mr. Marlowe, you're here early." Knox commented as he noticed the young man upon leaving his office a few moments later.

"Uhhh… Yes, sir. I was wondering if I could speak with you." He started nervously. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop sir but perhaps I could be of assistance to you with your curator problem?" He offered, a smug smile on his face. "If someone needs to be silenced, I can help silence them." He added.

"Come with me, Kit." Peter smiled, leading him into his office.

Peter didn't give Kit any important details about their theft and the death of the butler the night of the party, but showed him blue prints and plans for the house. Knox had someone watching the De Clermont's and this informant let him know that Ms. Diana Bishop was frequenting their residence. As far as Knox knew, the manuscript was missing, but Philippe did have an impressive library and was likely seeking her services for some of his other collected works.

"This woman is a problem because she knows too much, and we need to silence her." Knox informed.

"You don't mean kill her, do you?" Kit inquired.

"No, not at all, but we would like to retain her here for questioning of our own." Knox smiled.

"I'll go there now and 'collect her'." Kit offered.

"I'll help you." A new voice interjected.

Knox and Marlowe turned to see Louisa in the doorway of the office, a sinister smile on the young nurse's face.

…..

Matthew and company found Miriam, just as she emerged from the secret passage entrance under the stairs.

"Miriam, you found something?" Matthew inquired.

"This isn't something you want to find, Matthew." She stated somberly. "But we've finished processing the scene.

"What did you find?" Philippe interjected.

"Unfortunately, we found a corpse. Male, appears to be around 30 years of age, slim and tall." She informed.

"Do we know who he is?" Matthew asked.

"Not yet, but that's why I asked for you, Mr. De Clermont." She started, turning to face him. "It appears this person may have been here since the night of the party and I would like to know if he could have been one of the party guests." Miriam informed. "I warn you that he is rather decomposed, but his clothing might be recognizable." She added. "He had no wallet on him, so no identification." She clarified.

Philippe nodded and followed Miriam into the passage. There was not a lot of room and only two people could fit into the passage at a time. They walked in only two feet before Miriam turned, and climbed down a ladder into a lower level. Philippe followed after her and when he reached the bottom, the space opened up into a passageway. About twelve feet away, the body was visible. Philippe covered his nose at the stench as he approached.

The body had a full head of brown hair in disarray and was adorned with a finely tailored tuxedo.

"Oh, Jesus, that's Andrew. Andrew Hubbard." Philippe called suddenly retreating back to the ladder. "I'm sorry, the smell." He added. His glance at the body could not have warranted a definitive identification, especially with the decomposition of the body.

When he reached the top and exited the passage, Matthew stood there, waiting for news.

"It's Andrew Hubbard." Philippe announced, moving to embrace his wife.

"I know that name, it's familiar." Matthew stated, stroking his chin as he contemplated how he knew that name, 'Hubbard'.

Philippe continued to console his wife as he explained to Matthew that Hubbard was his number one contender when it came to purchasing manuscripts. It was Hubbard who in fact lost the bid to Philippe for Ashmole 782. Matthew nodded and made more notes with this information as Miriam, once again emerged from the secret passage.

"We're ready to transport the body." She informed.

"Can you take it out through the tunnels and up out of a manhole in the street?" Philippe inquired. "I'd hate for that stench to permeate the house." He clarified.

Miriam looked on sadly as she noted Ysabeau's demeanor. It was clearly upsetting to hear a body was in your house, undiscovered for so long.

"Sadly, no." She stated simply. "This particular passage leads to other parts of the house but not to the tunnels." She explained.

Philippe and Ysabeau nodded their understanding.

"Come along, let's go get some tea." Marthe urged, leading Ysabeau away.

Matthew was silent as he continued to rack his brain to recall where he knew the name, 'Hubbard'.

Suddenly, his eyes when wide, as realization dawned on him. 'Diana!'. Matthew recalled hearing her on the phone as she spoke to someone named 'Hubbard'. Gerbert also had a client named Andrew and wondered if this was 'Andrew Hubbard'. The only reason to assume that Gerbert's patient was one in the same is the correlation of body in regards to the suspects and scene. But what Matthew knew for certain is that this could not be Andrew Hubbard's corpse, especially if he had seen him in Gerbert's office, after the crime. This had to be someone else. Possibly someone with similar features.

He pulled Miriam to the side to relay this information and she nodded her understanding, and agreeing that Philippe's identification of the corpse was too quick to be confirmed. She also stated she would inquire with Mr. De Clermont about the guest list for the party and anyone else who could resemble Hubbard or know him.

Matthew wondered if Diana had heard from Hubbard again and he proceeded to the staircase where he traversed the three levels of the house. When he reached the landing of the third, he turned to the side table Marthe had mentioned earlier to see an empty space where it was clear the statue would have sat. Marthe had since replaced the twin statue to its spot. Moving to the final stair case, he came upon the landing of the fourth floor and could see the door to the library was wide open.

"Diana?" He called, heading to the door.

When Matthew entered, he didn't see her right away, but what he did see, caused some alarm.

"DIANA!?" He shouted, running to the far side of the library.

The chair Diana had clearly been occupying was turned over and the entrance to the secret passage to the library was wide open. Diana's back would have been facing this passage, so she would have no idea someone was coming through it. Matthew saw a white rag on the floor and poked his head into the passage.

"DIIIIAAANNNA!" He hollered into the dark.


AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thanks for the continued support all!

Let me know what you think and drop a review, either on here or on my Twitter Post or Facebook Page!

Twitter: GoodeGrlFiction

Facebook Page is linked on the twitter or just search FB for "Goode Girl Fan Fiction".

Thanks again!