The Revenge of Moriarty by John E. Gardner Read Free Book Online Page A

smiling as if to himself. ‘Greasy weather some of the time. Bridget Spear thought she’d be popped in her eternity box before we got here. The Saint George’s is good and a little comfort will not come amiss. A day will see me back with my land legs. A day and some naked brandy.’
    â€˜And a still bed?’
    â€˜Not so still as you’d notice,’ the Professor chuckled. ‘I always find it hard to sleep after a sea voyage. Is Ember safe?’
    â€˜He’ll take Lee Chow to London. All is arranged.’
    â€˜And your brother?’
    â€˜Bringing Spear and his lackin on to the hotel. They’ve a room on the same landing as yourself. Bill and me are just across the passage, so we’re all grouped close for tonight. There’s no whisper about you. Not anywhere as far as we can make out. And there were no jacks around when you came off the ship. It’s quite calm.’
    â€˜Harkness?’
    â€˜Lodged near the hotel stables. He’ll start for London tonight. We go on by rail tomorrow.’
    Moriarty, his body rolling easily with the motion of the cab, peered out of the window like a man eagerly sampling the sights of a new country.
    â€˜The Pool changes little,’ he said, so quietly that Jacobs could only just hear him. ‘I’d swear I have set eyes on a dozen judys that worked the streets when I was here as a lad.’
    They were fast leaving the dock area with its teeming grog shops and colonies of whores, the delight of seamen the world over.
    â€˜A good investment, the property down here,’ said Jacobs.
    â€˜It used to be said that an acre around Liverpool Docks could bring in ten times as much as a hundred acres of the best farming land in Wiltshire.’
    â€˜I can believe it. There’s many a straight furrow ploughed down here.’
    â€˜And other things,’ Moriarty mused.
    A few minutes later they passed into the broad and imposing Lime Street, coming to rest outside the Saint George’s Hotel where porters and pages made much fuss of the arriving guest. Moriarty signed in using his fictitious name and giving his home address as some obscure academic institution in middle America.
    For their leader the Jacobs brothers had reserved a large suite of rooms, comprising a drawing-room, a large bedroom and a private bathroom – the best in the hotel, tastefully decorated and nicely appointed with windows looking down onto the busy and constantly engaging street below.
    The porters deposited the luggage in the bedroom and departed, pulling their forelocks as Moriarty ran the palm of his hand over the leather trunk as though it was in itself an object of great beauty.
    â€˜I have a small surprise for you, Professor,’ Bertram grinned once the porters had gone. ‘If you’ll pardon me for a moment.’
    Moriarty nodded and set to uncorking the bottle of fine Hennessy’s brandy which had been brought up with the baggage. He felt tired and out of sorts, the result, he presumed, of the strain and the sea voyage.
    His old spirits returned quickly, when Bertram opened the door and ushered Sally Hodges into the room.
    â€˜It is good to see you back.’ Sal Hodges held out her hands and moved towards the Professor, taking his hands in hers and kissing him tenderly on both cheeks.
    Sally Hodges held a special place in Moriarty’s society, for she had been an important member of his staff – his whore mistress in charge of street women and brothels – including the famous Sal Hodges House in the West End; also a provider of young women for his personal use; and, at not infrequent intervals, his favourite mistress.
    Now, in her middle thirties, she was a striking woman with hair of a flame copper and a superbly proportioned figure which she always set off to the best advantage, as indeed she did at this moment in the blue velvet gown which graced her body in a manner which, while modest, gave more than a