Scarecrow of 1889
Chapter 22: Suspicion on Agnes

Chapter 22: Suspicion on Agnes

After conversing with the woman, identified as Aurora Campbell, Jane departed from the house alongside Addison, her expression grave. Her assistant queried, "Why do you think Agnes lied about where she has been living?"

"Because she’s hiding something," Jane replied, her lips pressed into a tight line. "We should again go to the club and inquire. Now that we know her name isn’t in the census register and she doesn’t reside here, someone else in there might have more information."

Addison nodded in agreement. During the carriage ride, he speculated, "Maybe she’s the mastermind behind all of this?"

"We cannot be certain at this point. It would have been simpler if the fingerprints matched, but she’s become one of the prime suspects," Jane stated.

Upon their return to the Midnight Club, the guard at the gate informed them, "The club isn’t open now, miss."

"I need to speak with the manager, Mr. Fletcher. It won’t take long," Jane insisted, but the guard shook his head.

"Mr. Fletcher left unexpectedly for urgent business. He mentioned he might return in the evening," the guard explained, prompting Jane and Addison to exchange a meaningful glance. Stepping away from the guard, Addison whispered, "I don’t know why, Miss Jane, but the entire place and its occupants seem shady. Why would he depart so suddenly?"

Jane grasped his arm and suggested, "Let’s take a walk." She led them around the building until they reached the back alley and discovered a door. "There should be people in there."

Fortunately, the door was ajar, facilitating Jane’s entry with her assistant. They traversed the narrow corridors illuminated by flickering red lanterns, the place appearing deserted, until they heard a commotion emanating from one of the rooms.

"Excuse me," Jane spoke up to capture the woman’s attention, startling the person inside the room.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the woman asked warily.

"We’re detectives investigating the murder case of Lola Taylor. We’d like to ask you some questions," Jane explained, stepping into the room while Addison remained in the corridor. "I promise not to take up too much of your time."

The woman eyed Jane apprehensively. "You’re a detective?"

"I am. Jane Reinhart," Jane replied with a smile, producing her badge and handing it to her.

Once the woman verified Jane’s authenticity, she introduced herself as Amelia Gill. "I thought the owner had already answered all the questions. What else do you want to know about Lola?"

Jane inquired about Mrs. Lola Taylor’s behaviour at the club and the kind of person she was. "She was one of the best dancers here. Second best, and she knew it. She enjoyed breaking the rules by mingling with customers and indulging in relationships with various married men," Amelia recounted. "She was having an affair with the manager of the Midnight Club. You should question him or his wife."

"Mr. and Mrs. Stone were out of town when Lola Taylor was murdered. They have an alibi," Jane responded. Then she asked, "Did you like her?"

"Frankly? No," Amelia admitted. "The woman was crude and lacked morals. She was arrogant and liked to flaunt her nonexistent achievements in our faces." She shook her head. "But most of us just ignored it."

Jane nodded, making a mental note of the information. "You mentioned she was second best, yet she was hired to work at the Midnight Club?"

"My coworker, Agnes, is the top dancer here and excels at pole dancing. She’s incredibly skilled," Amelia explained. "If Agnes hadn’t given up on the job offer, Lola would have never been hired to work there."

"Yet, shortly after Lola started working there, she turned up dead," Jane remarked, capturing the woman’s attention.

"You think Agnes was the one who killed Lola?" Amelia laughed incredulously. "There’s no way Agnes would ever do it. She was never jealous or ambitious enough to want to move up. She was comfortable here. Agnes isn’t a murderer, Miss Reinhart."

But it was often the least suspicious person who turned out to be the culprit, Jane thought to herself. She then questioned, "Do the dancers spend time together outside the club?" and upon receiving a nod, she asked, "Have you ever visited Agnes’s house?"

"There was never a reason for me to visit, and she’s a busy woman. She works two jobs and looks after her brother Marcello Hatter, who needs extra care. She adopted him," Amelia informed Jane. "She couldn’t find time to murder anyone."

But Mr. Fletcher had mentioned that Agnes didn’t work all the nights in the club, and only four days, Jane recalled silently. She then asked, "Did she ever bring her brother here?"

"No, miss. Though we work here, we don’t bring our family members, as it isn’t a place for them or something we want them to witness," Amelia explained.

"So you never met him," Jane stated. Amelia shook her head and said, "Miss Gill. We visited Agnes’s house at the address that you and Mr. Fletcher might know, but someone else and their family live have been living there since several years. Any reason she might have lied?"

"I don’t know..." Amelia turned worried. "She might have had her reasons. Just because she doesn’t live there doesn’t mean she had anything to do with Lola’s death. It would be absurd."

"Agnes’s residence record doesn’t exist in Riddleford or any other nearby town. Either she’s fabricated a lie or she’s travelling back and forth, which isn’t possible considering you said she works more than one job," Jane said, fishing something from her pocket. She handed a card to the woman and said, "If Agnes returns to work, I want you to call me. Because something tells me she isn’t going to show up here."

Thanking the woman, Jane and Addison exited the place. Snowflakes began to drift lazily from the sky, one landing delicately on Jane’s cheek. She turned to Addison, her breath creating a mist in the cold air. "Addison, where do you go to get the information on the tickets that were used?"

"There’s a quarter for that near Eastcliff. What would you like me to find there?" Addison inquired.

"The crew of Frontier Hall Opera House were in Corby recently. And Peterborough is not much farther from it than from Riddleford. Find out if Agnes bought tickets for the day and night when Lady Delilah was murdered," Jane ordered, prompting a nod from Addison.

"I will be on it right away," Addison obliged, promptly departing in another carriage to carry out the task.

Back in her office, Jane contemplated whether she should pay a visit to Lady Delilah’s grave. The deceased woman had been a prominent figure, and Jane hadn’t yet paid her respects to the family. However, she reasoned that Lady Delilah’s children preferred to keep a low profile and never appeared in the newspaper photographs.

Besides, Sergeant Gruger had already interrogated the people at the Opera House during her absence. But they hadn’t done a good job as they had missed a few names, Jane thought to herself. For a moment, she pondered whether Ricardo could be of assistance, considering his position at the Opera House. But he would be at work at this hour, and she could only speak to him at night.

In the evening, Addison returned with his findings. "Miss Jane, I checked the tickets bought from Corby to Peterborough and vice versa. Agnes didn’t buy a ticket there," he reported.

The suspicion surrounding Agnes had lessened, but she remained on the list of persons of interest because of the lies Jane had uncovered.