Rafferty decided the best thing he could do was call Hawley, and the Operator. Both

needed to know about Corklin for different reasons.

Hawley needed to know because he would eventually, and he would be asked to run

any investigation. Rafferty would be the person at the top of his suspect list.

The Operator needed to know because if it was a box, then calling Hawley would

blow that up as an option. And if Fletcher was going to help him, this was something

he could help with by following reports generated by the Met.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best he could do at the moment. He had no resources

to ask questions, or collect evidence. The Met were in the best position to do that.

And if someone was working for Brown, this might draw them out.

If Hawley was working for Brown, this would be a great way for him to prove it.

He went to the phone booth. He would have to start mixing up from where he called

if he was going to keep doing it. Someone would see him using this booth and try to

shoot at him eventually.

He called Hawley’s office first. Maybe the Inspector was still there. If not, he would

try the man’s home address.

“Hawley,” said the gruff inspector after two rings.

“There’s a dead body I need to report,” said Rafferty. He gave the address. “Someone

has done for Bob Corklin.”

“How do you know this?,” asked Hawley.

“I’ve seen it,” said Rafferty. “I’m only reporting it because I will be the number one

suspect.”

“Bob Corklin is the man who stated that he saw you taking bribes,” said Hawley. “I

remember him. Did you kill him?”

“No,” said Rafferty. “I found him because I wanted to know who put him up to it. He

was dead on the floor.”

“I’ll look into it,” said Hawley. “This is bad for you, Jimmy. You can’t even deny you

weren’t there because here you are reporting finding the body.”

“I know,” said Rafferty. “I have to go. I’ll call back in the morning.”

Rafferty hung up the phone.

He dialed the other number. Two rings and the same voice he had dealt with earlier

said “Operator, state your name.”

“Rafferty,” said the former detective. “One of the witnesses in the Mick Brown trial

is dead. The police have been alerted. Inspector Hawley should be going to the scene

of the crime right now.”

“Options?,” asked the Operator.

She was asking him for options? He rubbed his face as he thought. What could he do

at this point? Corklin was dead. There was no way to prove that he lied under oath

without his admission. What options did he have?

He still had Bones. He had to find the man. If he did that, maybe he would have

options to do what Fletcher wanted.

“The Inspector will be gathering evidence to sort things out,” said Rafferty. “I need

to let him do that. The only other thing I can do is find the suspected shooter from

earlier in the night. I’ll call back if I find anything.”

“Understood,” said the Operator.

“Wait,” said Rafferty. “Can you get me a car?”

“Hold please,” the Operator said. The line buzzed on her end. “Yes. We can arrange

for a car to be delivered to you.”

“Not at the flat,” said Rafferty. “Have it dropped at the Rotten Unicorn.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Understood,” said the Operator. “Anything else?”

“Not at the moment,” said Rafferty. “Thank you.”

The Operator cut the connection.

Rafferty wondered what he could do next. He still had most of the night ahead of him

before the Met had pulled Corklin’s body out of his apartment. It would be at least

two days before an autopsy and any lab reports. Hawley would have to have those.

Someone would want to know why a man leveling accusations at a detective had been

killed without any protection being provided by the police.

He didn’t envy the inspector’s position when that inevitably happened.

His spot was worse. Someone would get around to wanting to know where he was,

and if there was enough evidence to charge him in the killing. The uniforms would

turn out to look for him soon enough.

How did he take advantage of the time he had before his face was posted in every

station across the country?

It was time to start asking questions. And he had to do it as someone that didn’t have

anything to lose. He hated to admit it, but he had to use Fletcher’s vigilante to do

what he had to do.

He quit the phone booth and headed for the flat. It was the only place that seemed

safe at the moment. Once Fletcher decided to throw him to the wolves, it would be

exposed to the authorities.

He needed the costume and the files. Then he could act from a place that only he

knew about and wouldn’t be in danger of being turned in to the police.

He hated to have to hide behind a mask, but he didn’t see that he had a choice. Once

the police started searching for him, both sides would be searching for him. He didn’t

see a way around that.

He scanned the street as he approached the front of the building. No one was on the

street, and he didn’t see anything out of order.

He let himself in and hurried up to his flat. He had to get in and get out as fast as

possible.

He doubted Fletcher would get him out of a murder charge. He had to do it himself.

How did he do that?

The first thing on his agenda had to be finding Billy Bones and finding out what he

knew and why the hit man had tried to kill him. Once he knew that, he could move

to the next step.

It had to be something attached to the Brown case. He didn’t see why. The case was

closed. Brown had beaten the rap. The Crown couldn’t win a case with what had

happened in the one that had just been dismissed.

It would be far easier to prove he had the motive, means, and opportunity to kill

Corklin.

He let himself into the flat. He grabbed the uniform and weapon box from the closet.

He stuffed the files in the box as best he could. Time to go.

How long did he have before Hawley dropped by the Unicorn looking for him? He

had to pick up the dropped car and clear the area before that happened.

Everyone knew he used the Unicorn as his second office. Someone would have the

place surrounded when the word went out. He had to get there first, and then escape

the manhunt.

He should have told the Operator to use a different drop spot. He had acted without

thinking. He couldn’t keep doing that.

He headed downstairs. He checked the street before leaving the building. He headed

toward the Unicorn. He had to find the car, and drive away before Hawley showed

up to ask him questions.

He didn’t like the fact he didn’t have any answers.

Rafferty paused in the shadow of an alley when he got close to the Unicorn. He didn’t

see many people around the pub. Where was the car?

He spotted a black sedan parked down the block. Someone had left a card with the

Union Jack on its face in the window. He crept up to look inside. The delivery man

was long gone.

It was time he did the same.

A quick check showed the keys were in the ignition. He placed the costume and box

in the trunk. He got behind the wheel and drove away.

When Fletcher decided to get rid of him, the car would be given to the police for them

to find. He didn’t know if he could trust the knight, but he had to have resources.

Hawley would want to bring him in for holding while they built a case against him.

That was how the Met worked. There was no reason to believe they would see things

as a frame job following on what had happened in court.

He had more reason to kill Corklin after what had happened in court.

So how did he start now that he had transportation?

He found a quiet place to park. All he could do was read the material in the trunk.

Maybe that would give him some place to go.

He pulled out the files and carried them back to the front seat. He went through them

carefully. He was amazed that some of his own notes were in the paperwork from his

own cases dealing with murders associated with the Brown Gang.

How had Fletcher got those?

So Fletcher had spies in the authorities to feed information to his vigilante. That was

good to know, but useless if his vigilante was on the run from both sides.

Where could he start his campaign?

He noted that Brown owned three clubs and a hidden casino. He needed operating

funds. The casino was the best place to hit. It would be well guarded, but they

wouldn’t want too much trouble.

He smiled. He might be able to make it work. He needed to take a look at the place.

And he would have to hit hard. He couldn’t let them get back on their feet and realize

only one man was committing a raid.

That could get him killed.

He put the files back in the trunk and pulled out the costume and gun box. He

changed clothes in the back seat and loaded the Webley. He kept the mask around his

neck until he needed it.

He drove through town to the address listed for the casino.