Monster Page 12

  The door slams behind them, leaving the three of them inside in darkness. The sound echoes. Something seems to move in the shadows behind them, scurrying along the floor and Lucy gasps, but before they can turn around, the door opens abruptly again, shedding the dim light from the laboratory into the room. Godwin stands in the entrance, bearing the lantern.

  “I hope you found that amusing,” he says. “As Master Brim knows, I am something of a practical joker at times, a ‘kidder’ as the Americans say. And besides, you three are so very serious, so suspicious of me—I hope you are not listening to the opinions of fools. I thought I might see if I could scare the wits out of you, but just for a moment. I thought it might help put you at ease. Was that all right?”

  “Very humorous, sir,” says Lucy, shivering.

  “Thank you, my dear.” He walks past them into the room. “Now, I am afraid that we will not be able to see everything very clearly in here, since there never was electric light in this room. Mr. Merrick got by on gas lamps and candlelight. He was quite happy with that.” Godwin grins. “Ah, I can see him now.”

  He holds the lantern up and casts light around the room. A few rats sneak in and out of hiding places. They see shadows and dim objects—a desk, a table, lamps, some chairs, a small bed with the covers and pillows still on it—but it is difficult to get a good sense of their surroundings. They appear to be in a single room. Edgar can’t even tell how much dust is on the furniture or if there is much at all. The lantern light flashes past clothing hanging from a hook—a black cloak and a canvas sack with two eye holes.

  “There was no water closet here. Mr. Merrick used the facilities upstairs, a several-times-daily operation which necessitated his being seen in the hallways, but which he claimed he was not averse to doing, though with his deformed skeleton, he struggled to climb the stairs. He was quite contented here, and Dr. Treves was not just his doctor, but his good friend. It warms the heart. Take a quick look. We cannot linger.”

  Godwin walks around the room and the other three follow. From what they can tell, it all seems very much like a gentleman’s apartment indeed, but Edgar thinks he sees things that surely wouldn’t have been here when Merrick was in residence—a hammer, a crow bar and a couple of wooden boxes the size of coffins. He thinks of the stories of vampires living in caskets and especially of Count Dracula in his resting place in his castle in the Carpathian Mountains in eastern Europe, and also of the young woman in the crypt in Highgate Cemetery in that same novel. But Godwin barely shines the lantern in the direction of the boxes.

  They could be anything, thinks Edgar.

  Before the three friends can inspect any object more closely, Godwin ushers them out of the room and back into the warmth of the lab. They were not inside for more than two minutes.

  “I am sorry but I cannot stay any longer. I shall drop the key with Vincent Brim on my way out and perhaps he can give Jonathan his tour of the room.”

  “We can wait for Jon here,” says Tiger.

  “No. You have already had your time in that room and I prefer that you three not be alone in my laboratory.”

  “Then we will wait for him in Dr. Brim’s office.”

  “That isn’t desirable either. I recall Jonathan Lear as a powerful, strapping specimen of a lad. I am sure he can find his way here, have his little tour and meet you all at home or wherever you might next make his acquaintance.”

  Godwin presses a button on the wall. “Dr. Brim and I have direct communication between our rooms. He shall be here shortly. I will show you out.”

  Edgar can’t think of an excuse to stay behind, not one that Godwin would accept, so he and the girls walk out of the lab with the surgeon and make their way up the stairs. Before they reach the top, they encounter Vincent Brim coming down. Edgar introduces him to the girls. He grips the rims of his circular spectacles as he examines them, taking each of their hands to his lips and kissing them.

  “Enchanted,” he says.

  Godwin hands him the key and explains about Jonathan, and Dr. Brim nods. When Edgar glances back as they depart, his uncle is looking over his shoulder at them.

  Dr. Godwin sees them right to the front door and out it. In fact, he walks with them down the front steps to a cab, which has been ordered for him. He stands beside it and shakes their hands and watches them walk away.

  “The Midland Grand Hotel,” Edgar hears Godwin tell the driver behind him.

  Edgar and the girls come to a halt as soon as the surgeon is out of sight.

  “I hate to say this, but I don’t like the look of your uncle either,” says Tiger.

  “That’s quite all right. As always, you are very perceptive,” says Edgar.

  Lucy looks worried. “I think we should go back. I don’t want Jon to be alone in there. He’ll have to conceal the rifle from everyone. What if they see it?”

  “We shouldn’t disobey Godwin. He told us to go home.”

  “Yes, he did, didn’t he?” says Tiger. “That’s interesting in itself. Let’s go back.”

  But as they pass by the matron in the receiving room, she spots them and calls out to Edgar.

  “Master Brim!”

  They walk over.

  “I just received a note from Dr. Brim saying that you are not to return to the hospital tonight. I was to tell you that your day is over.”

  She keeps an eye on them as they go out the front door. They cross wide Whitechapel Road and stand against a lamppost, almost in front of the two-story shop where the Elephant Man was found, exhibited by a small-time showman. They gaze across at the brown hospital.

  “Why would your uncle say that?” asks Tiger.

  “Because he is an officious sod and he likes to tell me what to do and he hates the fact that the great Godwin has taken me into his confidence. He’s just exerting his ridiculous authority.”

  “Well, we can wait for Jonathan here,” says Lucy. “He should be along at any moment.”

  But he isn’t. Nearly half an hour passes.

  “Not to worry,” says Edgar, squeezing Lucy’s hand. “I believe I told him about the rear entrance to the hospital. He may have entered that way. That would make sense, given that he is carrying the rifle.”

  They walk down narrow Turner Street on the west side of the building and go around to the back. The hospital is U-shaped and there is a garden there, where patients are being pushed in wheelchairs on the footpaths. They find the door where Jonathan would most likely enter.

  But he doesn’t come. And neither does he leave. They wait for more than an hour. If they wait much longer, the sun will begin to set.

  “This doesn’t make any sense,” says Lucy. “Where is he?”

  “Let’s go home,” says Tiger. “We’ll stay together, Lu. He probably went in the back way, had his tour, and then went out the front.”

  “That’s likely what happened,” says Edgar, his voice low.

  They walk back around to the front and Tiger hails a hansom cab and the girls head northwest to Kentish Town. Edgar trudges home, his head down, deep in thought.

  The next morning, as he rushes out the front door on his way back to the hospital to be at Godwin’s side for their eight o’clock starting time, Beasley stops him and hands him a telegram.

  JONATHAN DIDN’T COME HOME LAST NIGHT.

  TERRIFIED!

  LUCY.

  16

  Godwin seems to be in a good mood when Edgar reaches him that morning, or at least what passes for happiness with the great scientist. He says there are no “challenges” this morning, just paperwork to be done and cleaning up around the lab. He hands Edgar a broom and a cloth and goes to his desk.

  Edgar can’t concentrate. He wants to rush off to be with Lucy and Tiger. But he also knows that he may be in the very place where Jonathan disappeared, and his best course of action is to investigate and do it now. He cleans up near the Elephant Man’s door and doesn’t hear a sound and can’t think of a reason to ask Godwin if he can go in there again. Ed
gar is wary about saying much to him. Given the events of the past day and the warnings of H.G. Wells, he is now deeply worried about taking him into his confidence in any way.

  But he has to.

  “Sir,” he finally says. “Might I speak frankly with you?”

  “Of course, my boy, finally, what is on your mind?”

  “My friend, Jonathan, the one who was coming later to see the Elephant Man’s room, has disappeared.”

  “That’s an awfully dramatic word. Whatever do you mean by that?”

  “He didn’t come home last night. He’s never done that before.”

  “He isn’t a drinker, is he? He could pass for an adult. Have you inquired at a public house he might frequent?”

  “He doesn’t go to such places, sir, ever. He would have gone straight home from here, there is no question.”

  “Well, that isn’t good, isn’t good indeed.”

  In the silence that follows, Edgar, who has made sure he is standing as close to the Elephant Man’s room as possible without arousing suspicion, again listens intently for any sound coming from it—a sigh, a distant groan, anything. But there is nothing. He unconsciously slides his eyes in the direction of its door, and when he looks back at Godwin, the great surgeon is examining him.

  “Well,” says Godwin finally, “it was your uncle who was meeting Jonathan here last night. So, you must visit him immediately and make inquiries. Off you go! I am sure he will have an explanation for you. Your friend likely told him something that will set aside your fears. Fear, you know, is an irrational thing. We must always be rational, my boy.”

  —

  Edgar finds Vincent Brim in his room upstairs with the door open, sitting behind his desk, contemplating something, drumming his fingers on the surface of the two sensation novels. Edgar knocks gently but there is no response. He enters and examines the room as he walks forward, seeing if he can spot the place where his uncle came out of the wall. But he can’t and wonders if he imagined it. Vincent doesn’t notice him until he is right in front of him, and then looks up, startled.

  “Sir, did my friend, Jonathan Lear, meet you here last night?”

  “Why are you sneaking up on me?”

  “I knocked.”

  “You did?”

  “Is something worrying you, sir?”

  “No, why would it be?”

  “You seem upset.”

  “I am no such thing. I am a busy man with many concerns. What do you want?”

  “Did my friend Jonathan Lear meet you here last night?” he repeats.

  Vincent hesitates before he answers. “Yes, he did. Why do you ask?”

  “He has disappeared.”

  “That is not my problem.”

  “Did you show him the Elephant Man’s room?”

  “Yes, I gave him a quick look, much against my inclinations. It is not a showroom, you know.”

  “Did he seem out of sorts? Did he say where he was going after? Did you notice in which direction he went when he left? Was there anyone suspicious loitering about in the area?”

  “Calm yourself, Edgar. Once I showed him the room, I sent him on his way. It was growing dark outside. This is the East End and there are many scurrilous characters about. I did not see him once he exited via the back door. He may have met with misfortune, who knows? Though, it is more likely he has run off to get away from such friends as you, who pester people with questions that have nothing to do with them. Are you accusing me of something?”

  “No, sir, though I find it curious that you ask.”

  There is silence for a moment. Vincent looks a little concerned and then his face grows red.

  “Leave me, boy.”

  Edgar still doesn’t know what to think of his uncle. Perhaps he just dislikes him because of the old squabbles with his dear father. Vincent Brim is probably just an unpleasant man, no more than that. He is a scientist, a doctor without much of a soul. That doesn’t make him a monster or a murderer. Still, Edgar leaves the room wondering if he should notify the police. He trudges back down the stairs to the laboratory.

  —

  “Any luck?” asks Dr. Godwin as soon as he re-appears. The surgeon must have heard the door open, since his back is turned to the boy. He is leaning over the table adjusting his instruments. Edgar can see a big, gleaming knife in his hand.

  “No, sir, my uncle showed Jonathan the room and then they parted.”

  “And Vincent didn’t notice anything suspicious after that?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, anyone about who might do your friend harm?”

  “He didn’t note anyone. You went straight home…didn’t you, sir?”

  Godwin doesn’t say anything. Then he turns with the knife in his hand. “Why ever do you ask?”

  “Because I am desperate to know of anyone who might have seen my friend.”

  “Well,” says Godwin, “you saw me leave in my cab, did you not?”

  “Yes, sir, I was simply clutching at straws.”

  “I see.”

  It looks as if the door to the Elephant Man’s room is very slightly ajar. Edgar takes a few steps toward it.

  “What are you doing?” asks Godwin, coming toward him with the knife.

  “Did you just go in there?”

  “No, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I did not. Why in the world would I do that? Did I not tell you that I never go in there, except to show it to young folk who ask silly questions about it? I believe it is time for you to return to your duties.”

  It is difficult for Edgar to concentrate. He sweeps the floor and cleans nearly every glass and beaker in the room. He wishes Godwin would leave so he can test the door to the Elephant Man’s apartment. But the surgeon, who usually has business elsewhere during the day, stays in the lab until it is time to depart, not even leaving for lunch, which he has a nurse bring for the two of them. She smiles at the big, handsome man and touches his hand as she gives him their food.

  At closing time, Godwin sees Edgar to the lab door.

  “Sir, I am thinking about notifying the police.”

  “You must do as you see fit. Shall I have the pleasure of your company tomorrow?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I must tell you that I will have another corpse then. It has been a most fruitful week. This is a young man, large and muscular, extremely fresh.” He stares at Edgar. “I am thinking of another female after that, a young one, of teen years. In fact, I’d like two of them, the second female a bit more muscular, and then another young man too.”

  Godwin puts his hand on Edgar’s shoulder again and this time grips him hard, his fingers reaching his neck.

  Edgar is shaking when he leaves. He ascends to the ground floor and heads toward the front of the hospital. Then he spots his uncle coming toward him. They pass without a word, but Vincent’s eyes slide in his direction. Then Edgar feels a hand seize his arm from behind.

  “There is one thing I should tell you,” says Dr. Brim quietly. He looks up and down the hall. “I saw Dr. Godwin late last night as I was leaving the hospital. He had returned here for some reason, in a carriage, and he was driving away again from the back door. He passed right by me. I could see that he had something lying on the back seat—it was about six feet long and in a sack.”

  17

  Edgar leaves the hospital scared and confused. He wonders why his uncle told him that. It seemed calculated. Vincent Brim and Percy Godwin are colleagues and friends. He tries to remember what Alfred Thorne said about getting him the apprenticeship here at this hospital. His uncle maintains he didn’t ask for him, but was that true? Did Dr. Godwin request that he be invited?

  “Did they bring me here for a purpose,” he says out loud, “to be observed…or worse?”

  He turns on his heels and re-enters the hospital. There is a candlestick telephone at the reception counter. He asks to use it.

  “This is a valuable apparatus,” says the matron, glaring at him. “It is for the use of the sic
k and the poorish who need our assistance, and for the great men who administer their God-given skills to those who are brought to us. It is not for just any sort who might walk in here and want to speak upon it. You have exactly one minute.”

  Edgar telephones Annabel. The Thornes have one communication device in the house, in the drawing room.

  “The Thorne residence,” intones Beasley.

  “It is Edgar. Might I speak to Mrs. Thorne? Tell her it is an emergency!”

  Annabel is on the other end in a moment. She is still not entirely used to this recently installed device and shouts into it.

  “Yes? Yes, Edgar. This is your mother Annabel Thorne speaking.”

  “Mother,” says Edgar, trying not to meet the matron’s eyes. She is already frowning at him.

  “Yes, Edgar Brim? Yes, this is your mother Annabel Thorne speaking.”

  “Mother, why did father decide to have me apprentice at the London Hospital? It was a most unusual thing. Did my uncle ask for me?”

  There is a long pause.

  “I shall answer now.”

  “Please do.”

  “Someone high up in the hospital suggested that you might want to be there. Your father never told me who it was.”

  Edgar’s heart thumps. The matron wrenches the receiver from his hand and slams it down on the switch hook. But Edgar barely cares. He is instantly out the front door and heading toward Kentish Town.

  —

  Lucy and Tiger are standing on the front step of the house when he arrives, not saying anything, Lucy ashen and Tiger alert, glancing up and down the street, her hand inside her pocket where she keeps her pistol. When they notice him, Lucy brightens for an instant and smiles in that way that always makes him feel warm inside and Tiger nods in the manner that gives him confidence.

  “She is doing fine,” says Tiger, straightening up, hands on her hips.

  Edgar doesn’t respond.

  “It isn’t me we need to be worried about,” says Lucy, her voice shaky.