The Monster Within (11 page)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

‘Home sweet home,' Jack said.

After several days of travel, they had returned to London, and to 221 Bee Street.
After everything they had been through, Jack found it comforting to be back in the
clutter of Mr Doyle's apartment.

As they walked through the door, Gloria handed a number of letters, except one, to
Mr Doyle.

‘You've got mail,' she told Jack and Scarlet.

‘Us?' Scarlet said.

‘It was hand-delivered.'

Jack scanned the message. ‘It's from Toby in Whitechapel,' he said. ‘He's seen the
monster again. And other people have too. A meeting's being held to discuss
what
to do. He's worried they may try to attack it.'

‘They can hardly attack a monster,' Mr Doyle said, ‘when it doesn't exist.'

‘I saw
something
in the sewer,' Jack insisted.

‘We have to see Toby,' Scarlet said. ‘He may need our help.'

‘As you see fit,' Mr Doyle said. ‘I will await news from Scotland Yard in the meantime.'

Jack and Scarlet were soon on a train heading across London. Jack peered through
the window and caught sight of some faded
VC
graffiti on a building. He wondered
if Mr Doyle was right about the Valkyrie Circle not knowing the identity of their
leader. Possibly her name was only known to one or two people.

They alighted at Whitechapel Station and made their way to Toby's home, a ramshackle
terrace, sandwiched between two shops. Toby and his mother were just heading out
the door.

‘Hello, you two,' Sally said. ‘I'm glad you were able to come.'

Making their way through the winding streets, Toby barraged them with questions about
their adventures. Recounting what they'd been through, Jack was careful not to mention
the Valkyrie Circle.

Sally was amazed. ‘I had no idea such things went on in the world,' she said. ‘I've
barely been outside Whitechapel.'

‘We were concerned when we received Toby's letter,' Scarlet said.

‘Everyone's talking about the monster,' Sally said. ‘But most haven't even seen it.'

‘The creature might be harmless,' Jack said.

‘It's not just the monster. Everyone's on edge over these Valkyrie Circle bombings.'

Jack and Scarlet exchanged glances.

‘I remember now,' Scarlet said. ‘Some of the bombs exploded around here, didn't they?'

‘I was nearby when one of them went off,' Sally said. ‘I'd gone out shopping when
I heard an enormous bang from around the corner. There were people lying all over
the road, injured and bleeding. Two people were killed.' They had now arrived at
a local hall. ‘There's even a rumour that Lady Death might live in Whitechapel.'

‘Really?' Jack said.

‘It's just a rumour. The police raided a suffragette meeting here, but it turned
out to be a bunch of young girls painting protest signs.'

There was standing room only in the hall. It looked like it had once been a church—it
still had the original pews—but it now was used for public meetings. A tall man with
greying hair stood in the middle of a small stage.

‘That's Nicholas Thackeray,' Sally said. ‘He owns the clothing factory where I work.'

‘He doesn't look very friendly,' Jack said.

‘He's not. The only thing he cares about is money.'

‘Then why—'

‘Why is he here? I reckon he's heard that people are
staying away because of the
monster and that affects his business.'

A man leant close to speak to Thackeray. He was short, fat and unshaven.

‘That's Dan Beel,' Sally said. ‘The factory foreman. He's just as bad.'

Grabbing a place near the front, Jack spotted a tiny figure wedged between some men.

‘Granny Diamond!' he said.

She greeted them. ‘I didn't know you'd be able to take time off work,' Granny said
to Sally.

‘The factory's closed for the afternoon. There are so many rumours floating around
about the monster and the Valkyrie Circle that the delivery driver is refusing to
pick up.'

A makeshift lectern was dragged onto the stage. Thackeray banged it with a hammer.

‘Thank you for coming here today,' he said. ‘I know it hasn't been easy.'

‘He's right about that,' Sally muttered. ‘It means I miss out on a day's pay.'

‘Many of you have seen a creature haunting Whitechapel at night,' Thackeray continued.
‘A huge, monstrous beast that threatens us and the lives of our families.'

Jack turned to Scarlet. ‘That's not true,' he whispered. ‘The monster hasn't actually
threatened anyone.'

‘Our businesses have already been under pressure,' Thackeray continued. ‘Fewer people
have been coming
to Whitechapel since the bombings. Even less now that news has spread
about the monster. It's almost as bad as when the cholera went through.'

‘Cholera?' Jack said.

Granny leant close. ‘It's been mopped up,' she said, ‘now the new sewer system is
in. But people dropped like flies in the old days. The water was infected by tiny
beasties.'

‘You mean bacteria,' Jack said.

‘Call them what you like. They were killing a dozen people a day.'

Thackeray was raising his fist in anger now. ‘Whitechapel is on the verge of destruction,'
he said. ‘If visitors don't come here, we can't run our businesses. And that means
no employment. We must hunt down the monster and kill it!'

Kill it!
Jack thought.
No!

‘It hasn't hurt anyone!' he yelled, before he knew what he was doing. A sea of heads
turned to look at him. ‘Whatever it is—whoever it is—shouldn't be treated like an
animal.'

‘It's only a matter of time before it kills someone!' Thackeray snapped. ‘And we
don't need outsiders telling us our business!'

‘Sit down,' Granny urged.

People in the audience started yelling at Jack. Scarlet stood up bravely next to
him.

‘There are laws,' she said, her voice shaking. ‘You should go to the police—'

A man leapt to his feet. ‘The bobbies won't do nothing for us,' he said. ‘And we
make our own rules!'

Something flew through the air—a shoe, as Jack realised later—and hit Scarlet in
the face. She yelled out, more from surprise than pain. Jack tried to push through
the crowd to her attacker. Someone swung at his face, but he ducked. Another person
picked up a chair and hurled it, striking Granny Diamond across the head. She swooned.

People screamed, and more chairs were thrown. Within seconds, a full-scale riot had
broken out.

Sally shepherded them towards the exit, protecting the semi-conscious Granny Diamond
from the brawl.

Bursting into the open, Jack turned to Scarlet. ‘Are you all right?' he asked.

‘I'm fine,' she said.

Sally was tending to Granny Diamond, whose head was now bleeding.

‘Those fools,' Granny growled. ‘They're out of control.'

A chair smashed through the window onto the footpath. A distant police whistle sounded
and a team of constables charged towards the building. At the same time, Thackeray
and Beel burst onto the pavement and raced away down the street.

Cries were coming from inside the hall. ‘They're more interested in fighting each
other than doing anything constructive,' Scarlet said.

‘But at least the monster is safe,' Jack said. ‘For now.'

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

‘That's outrageous!' Ignatius Doyle said. ‘You're lucky you weren't killed.'

Jack tried to put the detective's mind at ease. ‘We got out of there as quickly as
we could,' he said.

‘And Granny Diamond?'

‘She has a huge lump on her head,' Scarlet said, ‘but she'll be fine.'

‘Did you hear from Scotland Yard?' Jack asked.

‘No,' Mr Doyle said. ‘But I did receive a note from Edwina Dudley, asking us to attend
a meeting of the Primrose Society.'

‘Why?'

‘They want me to speak about our investigation.'

‘I'm not sure we've really discovered very much.'

‘And I wouldn't share what we've learnt. But I think she wants me to assure the group
that someone associated with Scotland Yard is on their side.'

‘So you'll attend?' Scarlet said.

‘I'm not sure.'

‘I've been a member of the Primrose Society for a number of years. It's a peaceful
organisation with no links to violent activists. Surely you'll set them at ease?'

Mr Doyle let out a long breath. ‘All right, I will speak to them,' he said.

Piling into the back of a steamcab, they headed across London.

‘Brinkie's a member of several organisations,' Scarlet said to Jack. ‘The Women's
Rights League, the Vegetarian Society and the Laughing Banana Club.'

‘The…?' Jack stared at her. ‘Did you just say what I think you said?'

She nodded. ‘It's more sensible than it sounds.'

‘Glad to hear it.'

‘I'll explain. Science has shown that beneficial endorphins are released by the
brain when a person laughs.'

‘Right.'

‘Interestingly, the brain can't tell the difference between real laughter and false
laughter.'

‘Uh, okay.'

‘So when you laugh in a simulated manner, your brain and body still get the same
benefits.'

‘So people just stand around at this club and laugh at each other.'

‘That's right.'

‘I hate to say it, but that actually makes some strange kind of sense. And the business
about the banana?'

‘Oh, they're just naturally funny.'

They arrived at a library in Brixton. At the other end of the building was a meeting
room filled with women of all ages, and from all parts of society.

Some were wealthily attired, with woollen suits and shirtwaist blouses, but several
obviously worked as maids or governesses, wearing plain day dresses or skirts.

‘It's unusual to see women together like this,' Mr Doyle murmured.

‘The struggle for women's rights is breaking down the class barriers too,' Scarlet
said.

The only other man in the room was Warren Dudley. The skinny pharmacist arrowed over
to them.

‘Thank you for coming,' he said. ‘Edwina has been most upset by the latest turn of
events.'

‘What's happened?' Mr Doyle asked.

‘The police have threatened to arrest a number of hunger strikers today,' he said.
‘It's part of the
Cat and Mouse Act
.'

This was news to Jack.
There were hunger strikers? And what was the Cat and Mouse
Act?

Mr Dudley explained. ‘A common form of protest is to go on a hunger strike while
in prison. The government doesn't want them dying of starvation,' he said.
‘That
would turn them into martyrs. So if they become ill, they are released. Once their
strength has recovered, however, they are re-arrested and returned to prison.'

‘That's terrible,' Jack said.

‘It's worse than that,' Scarlet said. ‘The women in prison are often force-fed. Rubber
tubes are rammed down their throats and into their stomachs to force them to take
nourishment. Sometimes the procedure goes wrong and they are injured.'

Mrs Dudley came over and greeted them. She pointed to half-a-dozen pale women sitting
in chairs at the front.

‘They were released three weeks ago,' she said. ‘We believe the police will be here
to return them to jail. This is a violence that no civilised society should stand
for.'

Mr Doyle looked uncomfortable. ‘I agreed to speak today to assure your organisation
that I was investigating the Valkyrie Circle,' he said. ‘I didn't intend to become
part of a protest.'

‘You will not. We are seeking peaceful change.'

‘Yet some suffragettes have caused violence themselves,' Mr Doyle said tactfully.
‘Even before the Valkyrie Circle, churches were attacked, window-breaking campaigns
were carried out, and women chained themselves to the gates of Buckingham Palace.'

‘We must all protest in our own way,' Mrs Dudley said. Her husband steered Jack and
the others to the front, in order to get the meeting underway.

‘Edwina's a terrific speaker,' he told them.

‘It's wonderful that you're so supportive of your wife,' Scarlet said.

‘How could I not be? The battle for women's rights is everyone's fight.'

As he had to attend another meeting, Mr Dudley wished them well and excused himself.
After calling the meeting to order, Mrs Dudley began by deriding the Valkyrie Circle.

‘This organisation has brought the entire women's rights movement into disrepute,'
she said. ‘The government is talking about making the Primrose Society, and a dozen
other organisations, illegal. Everyone here could be arrested, our lands and possessions
seized, and we could be held indefinitely without charge.'

The audience murmured angrily.

‘We have even received notice that some of our members will again be arrested today,'
Mrs Dudley continued, shaking her fist. ‘This is torture! Our sisters will be force-fed,
jailed and victimised for their beliefs!'

Some of the audience began shouting. Jack glanced towards them. One woman, he saw,
looked quite ill.
They are so brave. They would sacrifice their lives to have the
same rights as men.

As Mrs Dudley continued, Jack noticed something under his chair. A hatbox. Frowning,
he leant down to examine it. One of the women must have left it there, he thought.

Carefully lifting the lid, Jack froze. He was no expert on bombs, but there was no
mistaking the device in the
box. Six pieces of dynamite were attached to a set of
scales and a timer. The bottom of the box was wedged under the chair.