Chapter 27 - Interrogations

*.*.*.

When Janey used to imagine what it would be like finally finding Phryne and bringing her back home, she never imagined it would be like this. She had imagined them immediately being as close as they were before. Maybe, though, this time Janey might take the lead as she knew more about their current status in the world. She didn't think that Phryne would keep sneaking off at all hours and keep her own company so much.

A part of Janey realised that Phryne really wasn't so different. She'd always been difficult and did everything her own way regardless. Janey supposed the difference was that Phryne was so used to being alone that she no longer involved Janey in what she got up to. At all.

Still, Janey was pleased that she likewise had got used to doing things without involving her sister. Also, she had Dot and Rosie for companionship whereas as far as she could tell, Phryne had no one.

She had invited Rosie over for lunch and while Janey had made sure to include Dot, she hadn't bothered to even ask Phryne if she wanted to join them. Her sister had made a very bad first impression on Rosie and, well, Janey decided to let her carry on with her secret life instead. So she was just as shocked as the others when Phryne came and joined them unannounced.

Janey could tell from Rosie's face that she wasn't happy with Phryne being there and she didn't blame her. There was obviously some animosity between Phryne and Sidney and of course Rosie would take his side. Janey was less convinced that Phryne was to blame, her warnings about Fletcher had stayed in Janey's head and while she knew there were things Phryne was keeping from her about him, she still found herself believing her sister in regards to his character. It was unlike Phryne to be as utterly serious as she had been when she'd given Janey that warning so it had to mean something.

For her own part, Janey couldn't quite read the look on Phryne's face and Dot looked uncomfortable at Phryne's entrance. Did she know something about whatever was going on between Fletcher and Phryne that Janey didn't?

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt," Phryne greeted them airily, taking a seat as if she wasn't sorry at all and was determined to join them. "Miss Sanderson, it's lovely to see you again. Apologies for my behaviour at the party the other night. I'm afraid I'm not used to attending charity soirées. Janey must have explained to you that I haven't had the same lifestyle that she has."

"So you thought attacking people with knives was proper etiquette, did you?" Rosie asked haughtily.

"I don't recall attacking anyone, but no, I'm not quite that much of a savage. Sadly my life taught me to always be prepared to defend myself and, um, I'm afraid Mr Fletcher and I got off on the wrong foot."

"What wrong foot ends up with you threatening him with a knife, Miss Fisher?" Rosie asked, clearly not letting it drop. "You know, Sidney was quite worried about me coming here today. He wondered whether we should cut our ties with the Fishers and the Stanleys altogether."

"And you just do whatever he tells you, do you, Miss Sanderson?"

"Phryne," Janey hissed at her. She didn't want her to spoil this; she couldn't lose her only friend in Melbourne because her sister bizarrely decided to threaten her with a knife.

"No, Miss Fisher, but he and I tend to agree on everything so we don't have many arguments. On this occasion we did. You know, Janey," Rosie suddenly turned to her friend, "Sidney even wondered if this really was your sister. How do you know that some charlatan isn't taking you for a ride?"

Janey glared at Phryne. "Sadly because everything she's done since she's come home has been so very Phryne. Including threatening people with knives, I'm sorry to say."

"So sorry to be a disappointment to you all," Phryne replied indignantly. "You can see why I wasn't eager to come back."

There was a very tense pause as Rosie and Phryne glared at each other.

"Maybe Miss Phryne could help us," Dot's timid voice piped up and the other three all turned to look at her. "Well, she did spend a lot of her childhood on the streets. She might have a better idea of what the girls actually need than we do."

"What girls?" Phryne asked, finally sounding interested.

Janey glanced at Rosie who still didn't seem convinced. "Oh, well, that's what I wanted to discuss with you, Rosie. I told you about how we met, didn't I, Phryne? That we'd been working on this project together to help the girls, like Dot, who had taken shelter at the local convent?"

Phryne nodded. Janey wasn't sure exactly how much she'd gathered from the bits and pieces Janey and Dot had told her since she came home but she seemed to be following along so far.

"Yes," Rosie agreed with a decisive tone, "but our proposals were turned down by the board. I thought we'd agreed to leave it, Janey? There seems little else we can do."

"Yes, but—" Janey's argument got interrupted by Phryne, who had leant forward and no longer seemed bothered by Rosie's presence.

"And what interest does Fletcher take in this?"

"It's a family thing, Miss Fisher," Rosie replied. "His father was on the board and when Sidney took over the family business, he took over other things as well. He's a good man."

"Is he?" Janey didn't think Phryne looked convinced by Rosie's assertions about Fletcher's character. "Presumably a better man than your former husband?"

"Miss!" That hiss came from Dot, surprising Janey enough to make her jump.

Rosie looked upset at that. "Apparently, yes. I don't really want to talk about Jack, Miss Fisher. He is no longer a part of my life."

Phryne nodded and finally her face began look a little more friendly and relaxed. "I understand that, Miss Sanderson. I suppose what I don't understand is why, when your first marriage failed, you'd want a second one."

"Just because you don't like Sidney–"

"No," Phryne interrupted her, "I didn't mean that. I had a hard life, Miss Sanderson, and I know it's made me a hard person. There are many things I did once and learnt not to do again. Trusting people certainly made its way onto that list. I'm afraid that's why I reacted badly when Fletcher rubbed me up the wrong way. I'm sure if I'd had a bad marriage I wouldn't jump straight into a second one."

"Well, Sidney isn't Jack," Rosie replied firmly, "and while my divorce was only a few months ago I admit, I was alone a lot longer than that. I've known Sidney my entire life, Miss Fisher. This thing around Jack's suspension… obviously I never really knew him. Sidney could never surprise me like that and he's been so supportive. There are not many men who would happily marry a divorced woman, you know."

Phryne's face was full of disbelief. "I'm sure no woman should be marrying any man who would hold a divorce against her. So, you and Fletcher have no secrets, then? You know everything about Fletcher's work, for example? You're involved in it all?"

"I have to admit I know very little," Rosie told her. "He tried explaining why the tides mattered to his ships coming in and out of the bay and I'm afraid I found it all rather dull. But then it's not as if Jack had me help him solve murders so I'm not quite sure what you're getting at. I'm not a part of his work life and I have my own interests as well."

That last part seemed like a lie, Janey realised. Despite spending a lot of time with Rosie without Fletcher around, it dawned on her that even their friendship seemed to have been orchestrated by him. Did Rosie truly have her own interests outside of her fiancé?

Phryne seemed deep in thought following what Rosie had told her. "I'm not getting at anything, really, Miss Sanderson, just trying to understand. Janey can tell you that I've never been good at simply accepting things; I always need to find out for myself. You're not the first person to have taken against me for the amount of questions I ask."

"Yes, but what I don't know is what you're trying to find out."

"To tell you the truth, Miss Sanderson, I'm trying to decide whether or not I can trust you. I don't trust your fiancé and I have to be honest with you that there's nothing you can say to change that. What I'm trying to work out is if you're your own person or just an extension of Fletcher, and therefore whether or not I can try to trust you regardless of your fiancé."

"I am very much my own person, Miss Fisher. If I wasn't, I'd still be trapped in an unhappy marriage," Rosie insisted. Janey didn't know if Phryne had been convinced but she herself now wasn't. There was a desperation to Rosie's words, as if it was herself she was trying to convince rather than Phryne.

Phryne nodded her head slightly, taking this all in. "And your father and Fletcher are very close I assume. Do they meet separately to you or–?"

"Phryne, will you please stop interrogating my friend?" Janey yelled at her, unable to stay silent any longer and not caring if Rosie thought her childish for the interruption. She wasn't quite sure how much more questioning Rosie could take. "She's to be trusted; you have my word on that."

To Janey's surprise, Phryne didn't argue back, she just smiled. "That is very high praise, Miss Sanderson, I hope you realise that."

To further confuse Janey, Rosie returned Phryne's smile. "Your sister is one of the best people I've ever met, Miss Fisher. I know what high praise it is."

Phryne leant back in her chair, looking overly relaxed and then turned away from focusing on Rosie to Janey. "And now we're friends."

"I don't know why you have to antagonise everyone you meet. Couldn't you have just accepted my word in the first place?" Janey asked her, still intensely frustrated with her sister and now a little more worried about Rosie.

"And after our first meeting, did you expect Miss Sanderson to take your word that I was to be trusted?"

Rosie almost snorted at that comment, although she was far too lady-like to actually do so and so simply let out a very small huff of air instead. "I still don't trust you, Miss Fisher."

Phryne seemed to take no offence, although Janey realised that she felt a little offended on her sister's behalf. "That seems fair. Is there anything you want to ask me?"

"Where have you been all this time?" Rosie asked Phryne instantly.

"Oh, don't ask that," Dot muttered, her head in her hands. Did she know where Phryne had been living? When did the two of them get so close? She'd barely seen them speak to each other.

Phryne's eyes widened and she did look nervous. "In Melbourne."

"Where in Melbourne? Doing what?"

"Mostly I was working at a club, as security."

Janey was suspicious. That was more than she'd got ever out of her. Phryne was a very good actress but at the same time she was a terrible liar, so Janey felt she was probably telling the truth but then why keep that a secret for so long? She had to know more. If Phryne's voice rose she'd know that she was lying to Rosie and somehow Janey knew that would make her feel better. "What club? What do you mean by security?"

Phryne just ignored her sister's questions. "Actually, I met Fletcher there a while ago. He'd had a little too much to drink and I escorted him out. That was the wrong foot we started out on. He thought I was just a waitress."

"I've never known Sidney drink that much." Rosie looked like she was starting to buy Phryne's story. Janey didn't.

"I only saw him the once and I suppose he wasn't that drunk really, just throwing his weight around more than the manager liked."

"Well, that does sound like it could be Sidney," Rosie admitted.

"Maybe I misinterpreted the situation," Phryne offered, although again Janey suspected she didn't really think that had been the case, she was just trying to offer Rosie an olive branch to ease the tension.

"I suppose his confidence could seem aggressive in the wrong circumstances," Rosie readily agreed.

"What club?" Janey insisted, fed up with the conversation continuing over her head.

"Not one I'll ever take you to, Janey," Phryne snapped at her. "There's a reason Fletcher only appeared in there once."

"Sounds like that reason is you," Janey bit back and Phryne just grinned happily. So she had scared him off, then.

Rosie looked deeply at Phryne. "I still don't trust you, Miss Fisher."

"And I don't blame you," Phryne replied, this time Janey thought genuinely. "So, tell me more about these girls and your plan that failed. I've only picked up parts of it and it seems to me that I've missed out on a lot."

*.*.*.

Phryne felt like she hadn't really got anywhere with Rosie. She still thought she wasn't involved in whatever Fletcher was up to but she seemed such a careful, prim woman that it was hard to tell. There was an intelligence to her, which seemed right, as Jack wouldn't have been interested in a stupid woman. However, Rosie seemed to have a surprising lack of confidence and Phryne could already tell that Fletcher was the type of man who would enjoy breaking down a strong woman.

Despite everything inside that told her she shouldn't, Phryne found herself trying to imagine what Rosie and Jack had been like as a couple. Quiet, sensible and, well once Phryne would have said boring, but knowing Jack as well as she did she amended that to reserved. In a way they seemed perfect for each other. Both she and Fletcher were loud, brazen people. Jack and Rosie were much better suited to each other. Would Rosie want Jack back if they got Fletcher arrested for whatever he was up to? Both claimed their marriage was over years ago but wouldn't Jack be her knight in shining armour in that scenario? Why wouldn't Rosie want him back when her eyes were finally opened to who Fletcher really was?

Phryne was also well aware that sooner or later Jack was going to get bored of their tryst or do something ridiculous like propose to her. Would she rather marry Jack or lose him? No, Phryne didn't want to think about that, she didn't particularly like the idea of either option.

As she stepped into the church she tried to imagine what it would look like if she did go against her own nature and marry her lover. Through her mind's eye she could see her family scowling at her in her scandalous but beautiful white dress, his family muttering to themselves about his choice of bride and Jack at the altar, just giving her one of his small smiles with that slight cock of his head that spoke volumes.

Phryne shook her head to dissipate the image. No. She didn't want that. It was just walking into the church and thinking about Rosie that had set her off. Besides, Jack was never going to want to marry her, it was a stupid thought to begin with, and she'd say no if he asked.

She spied Father Blackburn in a corner, setting out some candles. Phryne straightened up, all business and partially Peony, and walked over to him, only now wondering if Jack might have been the better one to speak to him after all.

"Father Blackburn!"

His leap into the air proved that he recognised the sound of her voice. "Miss Peony?"

Phryne held out her hands and grinned. "Well, would you look at that? I didn't burst into flames!"

"What … what do you want? I heard you left…"

"I did," Phryne replied, "but it turns out there was more to Lavinia's death than I realised and I need answers."

"Madam Lyon–"

"Knows nothing," Phryne interrupted him. "I'm no longer connected with the Imperial Club at all."

That seemed to embolden Father Blackburn slightly, although he was still very obviously anxious at her presence. "So what do you want from me?"

Phryne sat down in a nearby pew, trying to look unthreatening to the man she'd probably threatened the most frequently over her lifetime. "I know you were trying to do something with Lavinia, something to do with the box. Was Burke involved at all?"

"Who?"

"The doorman. The one the police killed."

"No," Father Blackburn answered. "Why do you care if you're no longer involved with the club?"

"Because someone's after someone close to me and it's all starting to go back to that damn box."

Father Blackburn sat down at the other end of the pew, recognising her frustration and probably happy that it wasn't aimed at him this time. "No, but Lavinia did mention that she had spoken to other interested parties. As you know, I wasn't exactly allowed in the club so we had to speak in the lobby or out front so I suppose the doorman could have overheard us."

Phryne leant back in the pew as she took this all in.

"Other interested parties," she repeated, "and Lavinia gave you no idea who those might be?"

"All I knew was that she'd reached out to someone in the police. I don't know who."

"I'd bet my life savings that it was Sanderson," Phryne said, mostly to herself.

"The policeman who was framed for her murder? Why?"

"Why else would Lavinia feel comfortable going to his house?" Phryne asked rhetorically.

Father Blackburn nodded. "But it was the doorman, wasn't it, Burke you said?"

Phryne looked at him. He seemed sad, about Lavinia's death she realised. "You really did care about her, didn't you?"

The priest smiled. "When I started my campaign my parish priest told me it was a fool's errand but Lavinia listened to me. I saved her."

"You killed her, you know that? Your ideas of salvation were ultimately what led to her getting mixed up in all this."

Father Blackburn's face hardened at her accusation. "At least she died in God's grace. I haven't given up trying to save those girls but what about you? You swaggered about making much of being their protector but now you've run away. From one sin to another by the look of you. Those jewels you're wearing are real now, aren't they? How did you come about them?"

"Legally," Phryne scoffed at his insinuation. "My family are rich, I'm rich."

"Through exploitation, no doubt. No one becomes rich without standing on the work of those less fortunate. Have you found yourself a rich husband, then?"

"Do I look like the sort of woman a rich man would want to marry?" Phryne asked him.

Father Blackburn took a proper look at her. "Look like? Yes, I'd say so. Act like? No, not at all."

Yes, Phryne thought sadly, no man would want to commit to a woman like her. "Quite. It's my own family who have prospered in my absence and please don't respond to that last comment."

Father Blackburn didn't, he looked too scared to. "It does seem to have done you some good, whatever your change has been. You seem more like a person now."

"And less like a demon?" Phryne asked cheekily.

"No comment," Father Blackburn replied with the merest hint of a smile.

"What about the women at the club. How are they fairing? I assume you're still harassing them?"

"Trying to save them," Father Blackburn corrected her. "As far as I can tell they're all fine. Life carries on, Miss Peony."

Phryne felt an urge to correct him. She was Phryne Fisher now. Had she really changed that much? She didn't think so it was just that she just felt more secure now, less on edge. Between Jack, Janey and Aunt Prudence she knew at least one of them would have her back if she needed it, probably Jack.

Father Blackburn was looking at her curiously so she stood up and tossed her hair. "Thank you for your help, Father."

To Phryne's surprise, as she left Father Blackburn told her that his door was always open to her and to her utter astonishment, she believed him.

TBC...