Rafferty drove around after his daring escape. He had to change out of the costume,

meet Fletcher, and then think of some other way to hurt Brown. If he knew who did

Brown’s books, he could go to that person and see what he had to say.

He had Brown’s books, but he couldn’t use them for evidence, and he couldn’t let

Brown use them to connect him to his new vigilante friend.

Brown had probably thought about all the connections. He probably already thought

that Rafferty and the vigilante were one in the same. How was he going to prove it?

He needed some way to convince Brown they were separate people. The only way he

could think was to have someone from Fletcher’s organization wear the costume

while he was establishing an alibi somewhere else.

He liked the idea, if he could make it work, it might throw Brown off his trail. Brown

didn’t know about Fletcher, or his organization. That might be enough to make things

work.

On the other hand, it could get the other guy killed for pretending to be him in a

dangerous situation. Did he want to throw someone else’s life away to dispel

suspicions from the guy he was trying to put in jail?

He decided he would save that for a last resort. It was better to set some kind of

booby trap and let Brown think he was in action while he was doing something public

like sitting in his pub.

He liked that, but a lot depended on the trap being blown sky high when the timer

went off.

He needed to work on that idea. He couldn’t expect Fletcher and his support to cover

for him against police suspicion. And it didn’t matter what kind of cover he had to

people like Brown. They already knew how to create their own alibis.

He paused when he saw a public phone booth. He needed to hand the books off to

Fletcher and then he needed to think of some other way to harass Brown. Maybe he

should burn another casino down.

He also needed to check in with Hawley and see if there was anything going on with

Bones. There had to be a way to turn him against his employers.

He pulled to the curb. He got out and called the operator to let him know that he had

Brown’s books. He needed someone to crack the code so that Brown’s customers

could be exposed.

Once the normal police got involved, there was no telling where things would go. It

might be enough to force Brown overseas if the pressure boiled high enough. Some

of his customers would not be happy they had been exposed to the public eye.

Maybe one of them would like to take Brown out before he was arrested.

As soon as Rafferty had set up a drop with Fletcher’s people, he called the Yard.

Hawley had left on business. The desk sergeant said it was something about an old

case that had come up.

Rafferty hung the phone up and went back to his car. He sat behind the wheel and

thought. It wasn’t like Hawley to go on his own on an investigation. The Inspector

preferred to have witnesses to what happened when he was out and about.

So what was going on with Hawley? And how did he find out?

He decided to call Fletcher’s people again. Maybe they could spread a net out to find

Hawley. Then he could put his paranoia down to just being paranoia.

He went back to the phone booth and called the Operator. He asked for any help in

finding Hawley and keeping an eye on him. He would check in an hour to see if they

had been able to do anything.

He didn’t know how widespread a net Fletcher’s people could throw out, but he knew

he couldn’t wait on them to produce results.

He had to do something.

Where would Brown take Hawley if Brown had taken Hawley?

Smuggling was Brown’s main source of income from what they could find. He

controlled docks along the Thames for that. Would he take Hawley there?

It seemed reasonable to Rafferty. Once Brown was done with Hawley, a ride down

the river could be arranged.

How did he find the right dock or warehouse that Hawley should be at if Brown had

taken him?

The fact that might be a little bit paranoid for no real reason danced in his head.

He decided to make sure, and when he was wrong, he would go about his business

of being a masked nemesis. If Brown thought he was the new masked man on the

scene, then using his friend to get the books back was a logical next step.

They probably had his pub staked out to keep an eye on him so they could call with

the ransom demand.

Of course, when Brown got his books back, Rafferty expected a bullet for him and

Hawley to settle things.

Hurting Brown was a good way to make others think he wasn’t as tough as he used

to be. It also pushed him into having to make an example of you when he knew who

you were.

Rafferty drove through the docklands slowly. He didn’t have the addresses of what

Brown owned. He was looking for a familiar face to point him in the right direction.

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Once he had that, he could ask more pointed questions of the next man in line.

And if Brown hadn’t done anything to Hawley, it still added on the pressure of

pushing the mobster out of position.

It was hard to ship guns and cigarettes from a burning pile of brick.

Rafferty saw a familiar face standing in a doorway to a cigarette shop. He was busy

lighting up, and not watching the sparse traffic. He seemed alone at the moment.

The ex-detective drove along the block and pulled into a lot reserved for shopping.

He pulled on his mask and got out of the car. It was time to ask some questions.

There was a certain liberty about taking the law into your own hands. He wondered

if that was how Guy Fawkes felt when he wanted to blow up Parliament.

Rafferty walked along until he saw the glow of the cigarette in the dark. He pulled the

Webley and held it by his leg as he committed himself to the approach. He couldn’t

let the man give the alarm, or pull a weapon. Once the other mobsters were alerted,

who knew what they would do to Hawley.

“Make a sound and it will be the last thing you do,” warned Rafferty.

“I’m just standing here on the corner,” said the mobster. “I’m not doing anything.”

“Where’s your boss?,” asked Rafferty.

“I have no idea,” said the gunman. “I assume that he is conducting business.”

“Then what are you doing down here, Simpson?,” asked Rafferty.

“Minding my own business,” said Simpson.

“I guess that’s what I’m doing too,” said Rafferty. “Which of these is he in?”

“Find out on your own, copper,” said Simpson.

“You wish I was a copper,” said Rafferty. “Start walking. No one is going to notice

another piece of trash in the river.”

Simpson jumped at the masked man with hands outstretched. He got the butt of the

gun next to his ear and went down. He didn’t feel the next blow to the back of his

head.

Rafferty shook his head. Something was going on. How did he deal with it?

He dragged Simpson back into the doorway and tied him down with his tie. That was

the best he could do for the moment. He searched the man and found a set of keys.

Which doors did these fit into?

What did he want to do now? There were a lot of doors on this side of the street. He

checked the one Simpson was in first. One key opened it right up. He slipped inside.

He decided that after his search, he could call Fletcher and see if the organization

could send people down to search everything for him. That would keep his two

identities separate. He liked that as an excuse for tossing the whole district and seeing

what would turn up.

A lot of Brown’s rivals and colleagues would not like that to happen.

Rafferty searched the building. He didn’t find anything. He thought something would

be there. Did Simpson have a car? That was a question that needed to be answered.

He looked at the keys on the ring. One of them went to a car. If he could find that car,

he could use that to hold Simpson until his search was over.

He headed back out on the street and walked down the block. He found a parked car

in an alley between Simpson’s lookout and the next building in line. He opened the

trunk and noted the blood on the edge of the door.

Did Brown own the next building too?

Rafferty tried the keys and one of them opened the front door. He stepped inside and

looked around. Guards leveled pistols at him. He raised his hands.

“Is that you in the mask, Rafferty?,” asked Brown. “I want my books back.”

“I already handed them off, Brown,” said Rafferty. “Some codebreaker is going over

them to see where your money is going.”

“I doubt that,” said Brown. “I think you’re in this on your own.”

“Maybe,” said Rafferty. “But how do you think I caught on to Bones so fast. The

people that recruited already knew where he was. All I had to do was pick him up.

They had him working for the Jerries.”

“So some secret branch of the government asked you to come after me?,” said Brown.

“That’s rich. What’s your next lie?”

“It doesn’t matter what you do to me, or Hawley,” said Rafferty. “These people will

just pick another man to wear the mask and send him after you. They’ll say something

like the initial bloke didn’t work out, but this one will. And then you’ll have another

commando nipping at your heels. Only he’ll be helped by the accounting books I stole

and handed over.”

“So there’s no point in keeping you two around,” said Brown. He stepped out of the

shadows in the back. “We’ll just have to take you for ride on the river.”

“Just shoot me now,” said Rafferty. “I would like that a lot better.”

“Don’t tempt me,” said Brown. “We had that whole frame with Corklin and you still

broke it somehow. It got you kicked, but not in prison like I wanted. Then here you

are, burning down my property, costing me time, shooting up my employees, making

me look bad in front of my professional rivals. What I really want is to hang your

head over my door in my office. Since I can’t have that, I will be glad to sink you in

the river. If another masked man comes along, I’ll plant him right next to you.”

“Do you really think so, Mick,” said Rafferty. “The next bloke might not want to put

you in jail.”

Who knew where Fletcher would get his next vigilante? Any Army type might want

to sit back and just shoot the target instead of proving he did it.

Rafferty thought maybe that was what he should have done himself. Petty harassment

only got you so far.

Now how did he get out of this mess? If he escaped on his own, Hawley could still

be killed. If he didn’t, no one would know what would happen. Fletcher might guess

but that didn’t mean a lot.

He had to do something before it was too late. As long as he was moving, Brown

might keep Hawley alive. If he stopped, they were as good as dead.

Rafferty threw himself backwards. He fell in the doorway, and rolled out of the

building to the sidewalk. He took a step to the rib on his way. He pulled the Webley

and waited.

Brown’s men rushed to the door. He fired at them, hoping to make them think twice

about coming out of the building. He rolled into the gutter and crawled away from his

shooting spot. Bullets chewed up the sidewalk around him as he worked his way

down the street.

Rafferty fired the rest of the bullets in his pistol as he pulled himself to his feet and

ran for the corner. He had to get some place where he could defend himself and hold

them off until someone showed up to investigate the noise.

He took a moment to reload as he watched the front of the building. Would they come

out after him? Would they wait for him to try and rescue Hawley?

Was Hawley alive?

He didn’t see any of the gunmen. What would he do? He imagined he would go out

some other way to avoid being shot.

How many other doors were there in that building?

Rafferty retreated down to the next corner. They weren’t coming out the door he did.

Where would they come out?

He heard a window open above. He fired at it before he thought. It could have been

some washer woman. A gangster fell out of the window.

He realized the buildings on this row were connected. He should have known that.

Cargo went in one door and out another on the other end of the block to avoid

anybody watching them.

He went over and grabbed the pistol that had dropped with the mobster and any spare

ammunition. He kept an eye on the windows in case someone else decided to attack.

He went to the next corner. How did he turn this around to his benefit?

He should have stayed in the Army. That would make this so much easier.

He decided to see if the ring of keys he had fit one of the back doors on the block. He

needed to get in before they cleared out. Hawley might have already taken a bullet to

the head to keep him quiet as a potential witness.