Read Who Wants to Live Forever? Online
Authors: Steve Wilson
Who Wants to Live Forever? (5 page)
“Yes, Debbie, you’re correct. But then, if he had, we wouldn’t have anything to talk about tonight, would we?”
“Stupid man,” muttered Mike. “Now we’re suffering a hundred years later because of him.”
Again, Louise refused to rise to the bait, continuing instead with her tale. “After this, the investigation increased in intensity, and the police concentrated entirely on Alfred. Nobody even thought to question Eve Rhodes, even though she, too, was present at Enid’s death. Even Alfred failed to think of involving her, probably because he never thought he’d be found guilty. By the time it was evident that he was going to be charged, several months had passed, Eve had left the mill and nobody knew where she had gone to.
“The case went to trial eventually, with the prosecution claiming that Alfred had been adding small amounts of arsenic to Enid’s meals over a period of several weeks until the concentrated levels in her bloodstream reached the fatal level. The jury seemed to be influenced in this by the fact that Enid had changed her diet in recent weeks, adding rice to most meals — rice was known to contain higher levels of arsenic than other foodstuffs. The prosecutor claimed that made it easy for Alfred to add small levels of arsenic and just hope it would be assumed to be the natural level in the rice if anybody analysed the cause of death.
“In his defence, Alfred denied initiating the change to her diet, but was unable to offer a suggestion as to
why
she had so suddenly altered her eating habits. When pressed on the matter, Alfred said it must have been something to do with somebody at work, but neither the mill-owner nor Enid’s colleagues had any knowledge of this. The prosecution claimed that this was proof that Alfred was trying to deflect suspicion onto somebody else, and this proved to be the final nail in Alfred’s metaphorical coffin.
“Alfred was found guilty of murder and was hanged at Strangeways on March twenty-fifth 1912 — and as we were talking about Crippen before, the hangman, Rochdale’s John Ellis, was the same man who executed Crippen in 1910, and he was also an assistant to Henry Pierrepoint, first of the dynasty of executioners.”
Louise stopped and waited for a response. I picked up the detailed sheets and began skimming through them, more to avoid eye contact with Louise and a possibly difficult question than to glean any more facts. Then a thought struck me.
“So this Eve Rhodes,” I began, “I mean, how come they couldn’t trace her? If she was the only other person present when Enid died, surely it would have been important to find her.”
“So you’d think,” replied Louise, “but remember, this was 1911, and initially there wasn’t any thought of foul play. But, even so, once it became a murder investigation, you would think that they would have made greater efforts to find her. And
that
is the real point of all of this.” She looked at me and smiled, and I suddenly felt glad that I had been the one to ask the question.
“I don’t understand,” said Gail, and Trish nodded in agreement. “
What
is the real point of it all?”
“Let me explain,” said Louise. “Alfred had a brother, Ernest, who campaigned unsuccessfully to get the death sentence quashed, and he looked everywhere for Eve. Digging far deeper than the police ever did, he trawled through records and managed to discover that she had come over from Canada — otherwise we wouldn’t even have known that about her. He eventually traced Eve’s parents, Mr and Mrs Haborham, who lived in Montreal. They had no more idea where Eve was than anybody else, but Ernest did manage to find out some interesting details concerning their daughter.
“She had married a man called Anthony Rhodes in 1908 — a lovely man, according to the Haborhams — but the marriage hadn’t worked out. Eve walked out on her husband and baby son a year or two later, leaving Anthony Rhodes distraught and the Haborhams threatening to disown their daughter. This all happened just before the Crippen arrest actually, in the first half of 1910. Not wanted back at her parents’ home, and not prepared to return to her husband and child, Eve seems to have disappeared from Montreal altogether; her parents told Ernest that they never heard another word about her whereabouts.
“Ernest refused to give up, though, and eventually found Eve’s name on a passenger manifest for a sailing from Quebec to England — she travelled on the
SS Laurentic
, the same ship that was used to intercept Crippen earlier in the year. Perhaps she had heard all about the Crippen case and had decided to travel to England to follow in his footsteps. Nothing was ever proven, of course, but I think there is enough in Ernest’s findings to at least doubt the guilt of Alfred Rodgers and raise questions as to the involvement of Eve Rhodes in the murder.”
Louise stopped and began to collect her papers. “Is that it?” asked an incredulous Mike. “You mean I’ve sat here and listened to your theory on why a murderer shouldn’t have been executed but somebody else should have been? And without a shred of evidence? What a waste of time!”
“There is more to this, much more,” said Louise, “but there isn’t time to go into all of that now. Read the factsheets I handed out, and, as the course progresses, I’m sure it will all become clear. Remember, I’ve been researching this for a long time. I wouldn’t expect you to understand everything in one short session.”
Mike clearly wasn’t interested in debating this further. He picked up his belongings and walked out of the classroom without a word to any of us; Emma trailed in his wake like a faithful lapdog. The remaining five of us looked at each other before executing a group shrug of the shoulders, and we all tidied away in readiness for leaving.
I walked out alongside Gail and Trish, with Debbie following just behind us. “That was interesting,” said Gail. “Do you think that woman did kill Enid or was it her husband after all?”
“It’s impossible to say on that evidence,” said Trish. “Doubtless Louise will have some more to tell us next week, or there might be more details in the handout.”
“I didn’t notice anything specifically in the papers,” I interjected, “although I didn’t have time to read them in full. But I agree, we don’t have enough information at the moment. We’ll have to wait and see what Louise has to say next week.” I turned and addressed Debbie. “What do you think about it all? You’ve been very quiet.”
“I know. Sorry. I suppose I’ve just been considering what I’ve heard, taking it all in. I don’t really have an opinion yet.”
“Well, I for one can’t wait for next week,” I said as I bade farewell to the other three and walked slowly home.
I rang Julie as soon as I arrived back. “You’ll be happy to hear that the course is going to run, so that’s my Tuesday nights sorted for the next few weeks. Now it’s just the other six nights I’ve to worry about.”
“Dad! Honestly, one minute I’m having to fight to get you out of your flat at all, the next it sounds like it’s going to be a job to keep you in at night! So what about the others on the course? Have you made any friends yet?”
“Not the way I think you mean, but, yes, we seem to get on quite well. Changing the subject, you’ll never guess what the topic tonight was.”
“You’re right, I won’t. I don’t do history, Dad.”
“I suppose it
was
history, but not the way I’d expected it to be. The teacher devoted nearly all tonight to talking about a murder that took place a hundred years ago. It was almost as if I’d enrolled on a criminology course after all.”
“That seems a bit odd for a history class. I thought you were there to learn about Lancashire in olden days.”
“So did I, but I’m not complaining. Besides, it did take place in Lancashire, so it did give us an insight into how life was in the county at that time.”
“And was there anything special about the murder? Is it a well-known case?”
“No, not at all. In fact, on the surface it seemed extremely ordinary, but the teacher seems to think that there might have been a miscarriage of justice all those years ago. I suppose that’s one reason why we looked into it, but it did paint a very vivid picture of early-twentieth-century Manchester.”
“Manchester? But that’s not in Lan—”
“Don’t start, Jules. We had enough of that earlier tonight.”
“You’ve lost me, Dad.”
“Ignore me, love. Anyway, as I was saying, I found it both illuminating and thought-provoking.”
“Ah, I can see you’ll be getting your deerstalker hat out later and studying the evidence.”
“Ha ha. You know I only bought that so we could play games when you and Gary were little. Besides, I know nothing about the case other than what was presented tonight. It’s the teacher who thinks the wrong person might have been executed, but I haven’t heard any pressing evidence to support that conclusion.”
“Whether you have or haven’t, from what you said it sounds like you’re enjoying yourself.”
“Yes, I am. I’m glad I enrolled.”
“Huh! Take the credit, that’s right. Don’t forget I was the one who persuaded you to do it.”
“Yes, but when I told you what course I’d enrolled on, you also said I’d be the only one on it, remember?”
“Okay, you win.”
“Enough about me. How are things with you and Dave? I’m still waiting for that call to say I’m going to be a grandad.”
“And you’ll have to wait a bit longer. There’s plenty of time for a family once I’m more established in my job.”
“I know. I understand your desire to progress up the ladder. Like I said, carry on as you are doing and you’ll soon get that promotion. How is your presentation coming along? Are you still having to work late most nights?”
We chatted for a few more minutes before saying our goodbyes. As I readied myself for bed I had to concede that Julie had been right to badger me into going on this course. This was becoming the most interesting thing I’d done in an age.
He put the phone down and smirked. That had told them. It would serve them all right if the entire thing was cancelled. Who did they think they were, treating him like that? He had rights, and he knew it. Without him and Emma, the whole thing would have floundered anyway.
Then he stopped for a moment and thought. Perhaps there was more to be gained from this than he’d considered? There were some rich pickings to be had if he played his cards right. He had listened while those old fools had told everybody their life history;
she
, in particular, was almost falling over herself to show how large her bank balance was.
He made his decision.
He
deserved some of that wealth, and he knew how to get it. Emma had already defied him once, telling him she
wasn’t
going to quit the course whatever he said. Perhaps he’d let her continue with it after all. She would be pliable now, and he could force her to ingratiate herself with
her
. He couldn’t do it, of course; he wouldn’t lower himself. But she had no say in the matter.
His smirk became a large grin as he began to count the riches that would soon be coming his way. Enrolling on this course wasn’t turning out to be a bad idea after all.
Week 3 — Ormskirk — Bludgeoning
I thought about Debbie and Trish constantly over the next week. I also had plenty of time to think about the course itself. I had read the handout from cover to cover, and, although it didn’t shed any more light onto the question of who really killed Enid Rodgers, it intensified my keenness to find out more. I was tempted to go to the reference library and see what details they had about the murder, but I resisted the urge; I felt that I would get more enjoyment by listening to Louise as she revealed the answer.
I arrived early, with only Debbie there before me. As the clock ticked towards seven first Gail and then Trish arrived, but there was no sign of either Mike or Emma. Louise walked in at just after seven and sat on the edge of the front desk. “I’ve had a phone call this week — or rather the department has had a phone call — complaining about this course.”
The four of us looked at each other blankly.
“No, it wasn’t from any of you. It was from Mike, no doubt backed by Emma. Anyway, the end result is that they are no longer in this class.”
I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. Not really wanting to hear the answer, I asked the question anyway: “Does this mean the course is cancelled due to insufficient numbers?”
“Of course not.” Louise laughed. “They’ve paid for the course — well, she paid the full amount, he only paid the reduced rate — but I’d already made the department aware of his rudeness, and they backed me to the hilt. If he hadn’t decided to quit, I think he might have been asked to leave anyway, although I suppose in that case the class might have had to close. Anyway, that didn’t happen, so let’s crack on. I think the five of us are going to get on just fine together.”
No sooner had Louise finished speaking than the door opened, and in walked Emma. We all looked at her, agape, but she either ignored us or didn’t seem to notice as she sat down and took out her notepad.
“I thought you had decided to leave the course,” said Louise, the note of challenge evident in her voice.
Emma’s response came as a surprise to all of us. “
I
didn’t, Louise. I know
he
rang in to complain, but that was nothing to do with me. He said I had to drop out as well, and that’s when I finally decided to stand up for myself.” As she spoke she brought her hand up to her face, then, as if she’d realised what she’d done, she quickly lowered it again. I looked at her eyes, and they were red and puffy underneath the make-up that was attempting to mask the discolouration. Had she been crying? “So here I am…if that’s okay?”
I wondered if I’d been wrong in my assessment of her. For the first time, I saw a chink in the armour that she had erected around herself; behind it was a small, lonely girl, and I began to sympathise with her. Emma saw me looking at her and she scowled. Almost as soon as it had appeared her vulnerable appearance had left her, and I wondered if I’d been mistaken. But I didn’t think I had been; those few seconds had been enough to show me that Emma was human after all.