Johnny sat in the precinct detectives’ office and waited until they returned from an investigation. He took the copper penny lapel pin and slid it into his pocket. The cop, still unsure of what had taken place didn’t search him, but finally let his curiosity show.
“What’s this all about?” he asked.
Johnny’s mind raced hoping he didn’t need an explanation for the packet of cash in his pocket and the knife strapped to his ankle. He realized he would receive a dreadful verbal chastisement from Philips and Donellan for allowing himself to get caught up in this shooting. Remembering his training and the warning about confiding in anyone without authorization, he said: “Let’s wait for the precinct detectives. They’ll know who to contact.”
“Y’know sonny, you shot somebody on my post, I find a fire bomb near where you were, and I get different versions from you and the wounded guy. I at least deserve an explanation. I did you the courtesy of not slapping you in handcuffs and arresting you on the spot.”
“I appreciate it, officer, but this is more complicated than that. I don’t mind waiting for the detectives. There may be fires all over the city by now. I told you this is a wide-spread plot.”
“How do you know all this?”
“I just do. Please wait. The detectives will have much of the information.”
Letitia reported to her grandfather after driving around the neighborhood in a buggy with the warehouse foreman. “There are some fires and the fire brigades are busy but not all the Greek Fire bombs went off. Nothing like the big fires they hoped for.”
“Anything near us?” Simeon asked.
“No, according to what I heard the one closest to us was stopped by a boy who shot the man with the bomb.”
“Where’s that Johnny fellow? I sent him on a delivery ages ago.”
“I haven’t seen him since this all started. People at the hotel where the man was shot described a boy looks like him, but I don’t know.”
“I’ve been wondering about him.” Simeon furrowed his brow.
“The people I spoke to say the police took the boy away after the wounded man went to the hospital,” Letitia continued.
Simeon stroked his sparse beard. “I have an idea. Take one of the carriages and drive over to the police station. Tell them you’re worried about your brother. See if they’ll let you speak to whoever that is they took away.”
The local detectives arrived at their office, caught up on the details of Johnny’s detainment from the uniformed man and took him into a back office. One of them said: “I’m Detective Stafford. This is my partner Detective Williams. Say, don’t I know you? I’m sure I’ve come across you before.”
“A night on Front Street, several months ago – Ned Crandall …”
“Oh, now I remember. You shot him, too. I thought I told you not to come back here?”
“Please contact Washington again,” Johnny said. “Those fires around the city, they’re part of a Confederate plot. The men at the hotel were with them.”
“We did get a warning that might happen,” Stafford said to his partner.
“I overheard someone talking about setting those fires,” Johnny explained.
“I suppose you’re still with the National Detective Service,” Detective Stafford said.
Williams looked at his partner and asked: “Mind filling me in on this?”
“Several weeks ago, or was it months now, this kid shot and killed one of the Baxter Street Boys during an attempted holdup. I came to find out he’s working with the National Detective Service, Baker’s men. I told him to stay away from our precinct. He’s back and now he’s shot someone else.”
Detective Williams picked up both revolvers that lay on the desk. “One of these belong to you?”
Johnny acknowledged ownership of the Colt pocket pistol. “That other gun, the man drew on me. They were about to throw one of those Greek Fire things into the hotel.”
Stafford interrupted, “The man you shot says he wasn’t doing anything. The one that ran away had the fire bomb.”
“When I shouted to them to stop, he pulled the gun. That’s when the second one ran away. They were together, I know they were. I only shot when he drew the gun on me.”
Both men questioning Johnny paused to look into the box on their desk that held the abortive fire device.
“Is this what they were trying to light off?” Stafford asked.
“That’s it,” Johnny answered. “It’s called Greek Fire.”
A uniformed cop knocked on the door and entered.
“There’s a girl downstairs, says she’s looking for her brother. She asks to speak to him,” he said, pointing at Johnny.
“Tell her we’re conducting an investigation. She can’t speak to him now. Get her name and address. We’ll notify her if he’s her brother.”
Turning to Johnny he asked: “You got a sister?”
“No I haven’t,” Johnny answered. “That’s probably Letitia Barr. Her grandfather owns the warehouse where I work.”
“You work in a warehouse and you’re connected to the National Detective Service? Something’s not right with that,” Williams said.
“I’m going to telegraph Washington. We’ll see if they know whether this kid is being straight with us,” Stafford said.
Another knock on the door and the same uniformed cop announced: “Now, there’s two gentlemen downstairs, say they want to see this young fella,” again indicating Johnny: “They say they’re with the Federal Government.”
Johnny breathed a silent sigh of relief.
Stafford ordered the cop: “Check them for official identification and send them up.”
Moments later Philips and Donellan entered the office accompanied by the desk sergeant.
“I came up with these two, just in case …” the sergeant said.
“Thank you, Sergeant,” Stafford answered, “we’ll speak to them.”
Before anyone said another word Stafford escorted the Federal detectives into a second office. Williams remained with Johnny. A moment later Stafford reappeared with both agents.
Donellan brought the precinct detectives up to date on the arson plot and the devices used by the people involved. “That’s a mixture of sulphur, kerosene and some other stuff. It’s supposed to be ignited with a lighted fuse. Lucky thing the fuse went out when the arsonist dropped it. These devices are meant to start fires all over the city.”
Stafford turned to his partner.
“The boy is with them,” he said. “They’re conducting the investigation into this fire bomb plot. The kid overheard a conversation about these fire bombs, that’s how they came to find out about the plot before it happened. They want to take him with them.” Turning to Johnny: “Okay, sonny, you’re free to go. Just stop shooting people in our precinct.”
Johnny stood, “Thank you, sir.”
Letitia waited in the buggy down the street from the entrance to the police station. When Johnny came through the door accompanied by two well-dressed men, she watched until he climbed into their carriage. When the two men left with him, she returned to the warehouse.
She found Simeon in his office in conversation with the same men who had earlier warned him about the planned conflagration that had targeted the city.
One of the strangers said: “This uprising didn’t go as planned. Some of the devices failed to ignite. Credit that to poor workmanship. But some were intercepted by the police. Who knew about this in advance and tipped off the authorities?”
Simeon’s face clouded with anger. “Certainly no one here has any reason to alert the police.”
“We warned you ahead of time to move your machinery. You didn’t do that. You had a motivation to protect your warehouse,” the other man snarled with menace.
“That’s preposterous,” Simeon shouted. He looked up and saw Letitia standing in the doorway.
“This is my granddaughter, Letitia,” Simeon told the men. “She has been an enormous help to me in my business. I sent her to the police station to find out whether one of my loaders was involved in the shooting. I have my suspicions about the young man.”
“I’ve just come from the police station, Grandfather.” Letitia said. “They wouldn’t let me speak to the boy they had taken away. I waited outside and saw two men escort Johnny from the building. It was him the police held, but they just released him. I believe he was responsible for shooting the man with the fire device.”
Simeon looked at his visitors. “If Letitia is correct, the boy I entrusted with delivery of my packages may be responsible for disrupting the firebombing at the hotel. He couldn’t possibly know about the proposed arson attacks. He may just have taken matters into his own hands without realizing it was part of a wider scheme.”
“Nonetheless, the leadership will hold you responsible. An employee of yours took action against one of our couriers. Who’s to know whether he knew about the entire matter and went to the police?”
Simeon struggled to control his fear. He lashed out, “How dare you imply …”
“It is not without precedent that we have been betrayed from within our organization,” the man from Richmond said. “Now this boy knows of your entire enterprise and he is in company with people who may be a danger to us all. He will have to be dealt with.”
“If we do that here we will fall under immediate suspicion,” Simeon protested. “I want to be sure he had actual knowledge of the plot before I act.”
Deirdre’s anxiety to see Johnny again grew with each passing day. She often spent moments at the corner where they had met days earlier in the vain hope of catching sight of him. When Johnny’s next letter arrived she tore open the envelope, read it quickly and stuffed it into her apron pocket. Her heart sank at the news that there would be an uncertain lapse of time before they could meet again. She took some comfort from the words he wrote that he thought of her always and wanted badly to be with her, but his present assignment could not allow it. He asked for her patience and assured her that she meant everything to him.
Deirdre knew that Johnny stayed somewhere close by. She tried to maintain her vigil at Canal and Bowery without causing her mother to wonder about her absences. After each errand on which her mother sent her, the return trip home became more extended until finally Maggie confronted her.
“What’s this all about, Deirdre? Each time ye go out, there’s some delay. Where do ye go?”
“I don’t go anywhere, Mama.” She quickly invented an excuse. “I keep imagining Johnny is somewhere near. I guess I stop and expect him to come around a corner.”
“Ye’ll not be moonin’ around on the street by yerself, young lady. It’s not proper fer a young woman to be about without a purpose, standin’ and lookin’ around like ye say yer doin’”
“It’s not like that, Mama. I don’t just stand around.”
“Now, it’ll be a good while afore ye’ll be seein’ him again. Do what I send ye for and come right back. When the time comes the youngster will be back, that’s if he hasn’t forgotten ye by then.”
Deirdre turned and stalked from the kitchen, she threw a parting comment over her shoulder: “Oh, he hasn’t forgotten me, Mama.”
Donellan and Philips met with Johnny in his room. Donellan’s anger at Johnny near the boiling point said: “We have to decide whether to send you back to the warehouse. That was harebrained thing to do. You’ve attracted unnecessary attention to yourself when you’ve been told repeatedly to avoid that kind of behavior.”
Johnny began to protest his innocence. “I just blundered into them. When I saw them lighting …”
Philips said: “We know, we know, it’s just that there’s more at stake than you acting the hero. The only reason we will continue with this operation is we seem to be close to a break but we don’t want their suspicions to become a danger to you. We’d still like to keep abreast of developments there.”
“I have an idea,” Johnny said. “Why don’t I simply tell the truth, that I just stumbled into them?”
“What about you being taken away by the police and then released?” Philips interjected. “How will you explain that? If they know you were responsible for shooting someone, they’ll want an explanation about your quick release.”
“I’ll just go back and tell them the whole story as if I acted out of fear for my life and that a big fire would start.”
“How will you explain having a gun?” Donellan asked.
“Maybe I could say I used to run with a street gang and had it to commit holdups.”
“This whole thing is getting risky,” Philips said.
Donellan turned to his partner, resigned to the off chance that Barr would believe Johnny’s story: “Letting him go back might be our only way of knowing what their future plans are. I say it’s worth the risk, especially if Johnny is willing.”
“I’d like to try,” Johnny said, looking from one man to the other. “We’re so close now to rounding up the counterfeiters and their distributors. I should try to identify the men who actually create the phony money. There’s an engraver and a man who works the printing presses. I’ve never seen them. I may be able to catch a glimpse when I’m around the warehouse or back in Barr’s office. And don’t forget the important visitor they expect. There could be more to their scheme than just counterfeiting.”
Philips addressed Donellan: “He’s right you know. If we don’t snag the people who actually create and print the money, they could just set up shop somewhere else. I’d also like to find out who this important visitor is and what else they have planned at that warehouse.”
Donellan looked pensive. “I suppose you’re on to something.” He looked at Johnny. “At the first sign of trouble, I want you to run like hell, get out of there fast as you can. Philips and I will take turns watching from a distance while you’re still working there.”
“We should devise a prearranged signal if Johnny thinks they’re onto him.” Philips suggested. “Even if it means we make a premature raid. By the way John, the General is pleased that you were able to alert us about the Greek Fire plot but annoyed that you came to the attention of the police. Several of the fire bombers were stopped before they did their dirt.”
“Just be careful when you go back there, Johnny. Stay alert,” Donellan said.
Johnny returned to the warehouse the following morning and received an immediate summons from Letitia to see Mr. Barr in his office. When Johnny knocked and entered, Nate Boyer the foreman of his loading crew crowded in behind him and slammed the door shut. Johnny swallowed hard and obeyed Simeon’s direction to step closer to his desk.
“What role did you play in disrupting the people about to set fire to a hotel and shooting one of them?” Simeon demanded. “We know all about your escapade and that you were taken away by the police.”
“I just happened to be there. I walked right into them before I knew it. Besides, that fire might have spread to your warehouse. They pulled a gun on me first. I had no idea I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why did the police release you so soon and who were those men you went away with?”
“I think they are investigators from the government. They wanted to ask me what I knew about the people trying to start those fires. I told them I had no idea the man I shot was part of a group. I didn’t know he was a Copperhead. The police told me. If I knew that I wouldn’t have stopped him.”
“Where did you get a gun?” Simeon demanded.
“I’ve had that for a long time. I used to belong to street gang before I joined the Sons of Liberty. I just kept it. I had it with me when I saw the men trying to set fire to the hotel.”
Simeon looked past Johnny. “What do you think, Nate?” he asked the grizzled, bearded foreman still standing poised behind Johnny.
“Sounds like a lot of bunk, you ask me. I don’t trust this kid, haven’t from the start, somethin’ fishy about this whole thing. Don’t think it’s a good idea to send him on any more deliveries, least ’til we find out more about him.”
Johnny remained still, staring directly at Simeon seated behind his desk, whose reading spectacles perched precariously on the end of his nose.
“You may be right, Nate. I don’t know what to think.” He looked up at Johnny, “You stay close by this place until we tell you to leave, you hear me? Until I get to the bottom of this, you don’t make any more deliveries. Just do your job with the loading crew. Now get out of here.”
Johnny turned to leave and collided with Boyer looming over him.
“Excuse me,” Johnny said.
“You step around me, sonny. I don’t move out of the way for the likes of you.”
Johnny sidestepped quickly and left the office, his heart hammering in his chest. Nate had become a bigger threat with each passing day.