Victoria
As Rose cried on my shoulders as the police took Jack away in handcuffs, I noticed a familiar man staring at us. I knew I had seen him before, but I just couldn't place him.
"Damn it. Damn my mother. Why?" Rose was beginning to get angry. James started wailing again and she held him close to her body, trying to calm him down. She swayed back and forth with James in her arms, whispering lowly to him so he'd be reassured everything was all right.
I kept my eye on the man. He seemed to be watching us, but trying to act like he wasn't watching us. He saw me looking at him and he quickly turned around and walked about ten feet behind a partial wall. He pretended to be interested in another family as they walked by the docks. He started to walk off, but as he did, he stopped and turned around and looked right at me. He looked at Harry, who was comforting Rose. His eyes shifted to James and then back to Anna and then to me. He stared at me for what seemed like an hour before he finally broke the gaze. He looked straight ahead and then he looked back at me and walked off. Did he want me to follow him? I looked over at Harry. He wasn't paying attention to the man or to me. "Take Anna." I handed the baby to Harry. "I'll meet you at the house in just a minute. I need to take care of something.
Rose wiped her eyes on the back of her sleeve and shifted James to her other hip. "What?"
I didn't want to tell Harry the truth just yet, so I said the first thing that popped into my head. "I need to send my father a wire about Jack. Perhaps he can help in some way." I gave the baby to Harry and watched the two of them walk off before I made my way across the street to follow the strange man who seemed all too interested in us.
After glancing back over my shoulder once more, I rounded the corner where the man had turned.
"You understood me. Good."
I turned around and came face to face with him. He was about Harry's height and weight. "Do I know you?"
He nodded. "Not officially. The day in the café with Mrs. DeWitt Bukater…"
I gasped, "You were the man with her." I backed up a few steps. "If my husband found out you were here…"
The man waved his hands. "I mean you no harm." He sighed. "Mrs. DeWitt Bukater hired me to take care of Jack. I've been following you for a few weeks now. Mrs. DeWitt Bukater paid me. Well, Mr. Hockley paid me, actually. I'm sure it was his money." He stopped to study my face, then continued. "I don't know all the facts, but from what I hear, Mr. Hockley and Mrs. DeWitt Bukater are none too happy with Mrs. Dawson’s choice in husbands."
"What do you want with me?" He started to walk towards me, but I stepped back. "Please. Just until I find out what your intentions are."
He held his hand out. "My name is Jason."
I shook it. "Victoria Lowe."
"I thought your last name was Metcalfe?"
"It was. My married name is Lowe. Who called me Metcalfe?"
"Mrs. DeWitt Bukater always said that if I wanted to find Mrs. Dawson, to find the Metcalfe girl. I figured that was you, but I wanted to make sure before I tell you what I know." He gestured for me to sit down on a bench. I did, and he sat on the wall next to the bench. As I turned my body towards him so I could watch and listen, he continued. "I've done some work for Mr. Hockley and his father, Nathan, in the past. Mr. Hockley was apparently not convinced that Mrs. Dawson actually was alive. Mrs. DeWitt Bukater hired a private investigator to find her. He first spotted you and Mrs. Dawson while you were still pregnant. He took some photos and then came back to Pittsburgh with the information. Mr. Hockley still wasn't convinced. Mrs. DeWitt Bukater was. She was adamant that Mrs. Dawson was alive. Were you there when Mr. Hockley came to see Mrs. Dawson?"
"Yes." I stopped to remember the visit he paid us. "My husband and Jack were gone on an errand." I exhaled sharply. "Mr. Hockley was just lucky Harry didn't see him there. Continue, please."
"After that, Mr. Hockley wrote Mrs. Dawson off. He started courting some lady, from Philadelphia society, I think. Mrs. DeWitt Bukater was still livid over Mr. Hockley's newest engagement, so he suggested that if she wanted him to marry Mrs. Dawson so badly, she could take care of Mr. Dawson, and…well…then they hired me."
I felt my face drain of color. "Mrs. DeWitt Bukater hired you to…"
"Yes." Jason didn't speak the words, but I knew what he was trying to say. "Mrs. DeWitt Bukater wanted Mrs. Dawson back in any way she could get her, even if that meant I had to kidnap her and the baby." He looked at the ground, then up at me. "I couldn't do it. I saw Mr. and Mrs. Dawson and the baby a few times out and about. I watched from a distance. I kept tabs on them for a couple of days. Mrs. DeWitt Bukater was already in town, waiting on me to show up with her daughter and grandson, and I told her then I saw Mr. Dawson only, but not Mrs. Dawson. I needed some extra time to figure out how to break the news to Mrs. DeWitt Bukater that I wasn't about to break up the family. Mrs. Dawson was happy. Mr. Dawson was happy. The baby was happy."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Mrs. DeWitt Bukater was always so adamant that Rose marry Mr. Hockley. Did she tell you how Rose and I met?"
Jason nodded. "On the Titanic, correct?"
"Yes. She met Jack there, as well. Did she tell you that?"
"Yes. I figured as much. Anyway, I had made up my mind to tell Mrs. DeWitt Bukater that the Dawsons had moved out after getting wind of me being on their trail. I was to meet her at the café that day that you and your husband and daughter showed up with the Dawsons. I was walking in to tell Mrs. DeWitt Bukater when she told me that you were over there. I couldn't cause a scene in the middle of the restaurant and I wanted desperately to slip a note of some kind to you or your husband, warning you of Mrs. DeWitt Bukater's intentions, but you saw what she did. After that, she basically told me to bring Mrs. Dawson to her or else."
"And you were…what? Planning on kidnapping her after Jack got arrested?"
Jason shook his head, "No. No." He exhaled slowly and looked at me before continuing. "I didn't realize Mrs. DeWitt Bukater was as vindictive as she is. When she realized I couldn't or wouldn't help her anymore, she went to the police about some necklace that Mr. Hockley gave Mrs. Dawson as a present."
"The Heart of the Ocean. It was an engagement gift for Rose from Mr. Hockley. I don't know the specifics, but somehow, it wound up in a coat that Mr. Hockley had on while he was on the Titanic as it sank. He met up with Rose and me and put the coat on Rose to keep her warm while he gave me his manservant's coat. After that, Rose and I got away from Mr. Hockley and we found Jack. We didn't make it on a lifeboat because of Jack."
"Third class, right?"
"Yes. Jack was a third class passenger. He saved Rose from trying to commit suicide earlier on the ship and, as payment, Mr. Hockley invited Jack to dinner and…well…their romance blossomed, you could say. I didn't know Rose very well before we met on the Titanic. I had seen her at a society function my father and I attended when Rose and Mr. Hockley first got engaged. Mrs. DeWitt Bukater was going around the room, telling anyone and everyone who would listen that her daughter was marrying the rich and mighty Caledon Hockley. Rose was looking like she was forced to be there against her will. Looking back, I understand the way she acted then."
"Interesting story. Now what?"
"Now what? Now I have to find a way to get Jack out of jail. I don't even know what they were charging him with, or I'd know where to begin."
"Theft."
"What?" I started to replay scenes in my mind from the time on the Titanic and the time Cal paid us a visit. "Of what?"
"The necklace. Mr. Hockley says Mr. Dawson stole it and sold it."
"He did no such thing. Mr. Hockley gave the necklace to Rose as a present. I already told you that. Jack couldn't steal it, as Mr. Hockley gave it to Rose." I began thinking who to call or what to do now to prove Jack's innocence. I'd call my father first. He'd know where to start. Then he'd probably want to hire an attorney to get Jack proper representation in court. Then there was the matter of the charges.
Jason interrupted my thoughts. "I already know all of this, Mrs. Lowe." He stood up. "I wanted you to follow me so I could help you. Help all of you." He held out his hand, and I took it as he helped me up. "I need to speak to Mrs. Dawson about this. She can fill in the holes in the story Mr. Hockley gave me. If I could get her on the stand to testify, plus you, that Mr. Hockley gave the necklace to Mrs. Dawson, then we're set. Anyone else know about it?"
"My father and sister knew."
"Excellent. That'll be Mrs. Dawson, your husband, your father, your sister, and you, plus, if we have to, the man at the bank." He stopped talking. "He's how that private investigator found you. Mrs. Dawson sold the necklace to the bank to get the money for the houses, correct?"
I nodded. "That's how I figured that Mr. Hockley found us to begin with. Oh, how I wish I had gotten Rose to throw that necklace off the Carpathia. She showed it to me before we docked. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do. She was unsure whether she should throw it overboard or keep it. I suggested she keep it and she did. Then, when Harry got Jack a job with the White Star Lines and we knew we could stay in this area rather than go back to England, Rose sold the necklace to buy their house, plus gave us money for ours."
"Well. Now that that is answered, I guess we need to talk to Mrs. Dawson and your husband about Mr. Dawson. I can probably get some favors and have him released on his own recognizance. Think your father will be willing to help?"
"Of course he will. We need to get back to my house. I told my husband I was sending a wire to my father. I've been gone too long. If we stay gone too much longer, he'll come find me."
Jason hailed a taxi and he held the door open as we got in. I told the driver my address and we rode in silence towards my house.
Jason paid the driver and we stepped out and started walking up the cobblestone pathway from the street to the front door. When Harry heard my footsteps on the porch, the door flew open. Harry moved towards me. "Torie, I…" He looked at me, then at Jason. "Who's this?" Harry stared at Jason for a minute, and then I saw the anger rising up in his face. "You!" Harry started to lunge towards Jason, but I stopped him. "Victoria Lowe, what is wrong with you? This is the man…"
I cut him off. "This is the man who is going to help Rose get Jack out of jail. Now, if you wouldn't mind letting us pass, we'll tell you how we plan on doing this." I looked at Harry, who still hadn't moved from his guard post at the door. "If you knock him unconscious or kill him, I doubt he's going to help us. Now, please, trust me?"
"You didn't send a wire to your father, did you?"
I looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Harry. I noticed Jason at the docks and he kept trying to get my attention, and did when Ruth had Jack arrested. As Rose was crying, he caught my attention and motioned he wanted to speak to me. Not knowing what he wanted, I decided to come alone. I recognized him from somewhere as he was watching us, but didn't understand who he was until we started talking." I motioned for Harry to move. "Please. If you don't like what he has to say, you can make him leave."
"Sir, if you do not like my plans for helping you with this problem I've helped create, I give you my permission to knock me unconscious or hurt me in any way you deem necessary. Just please, listen to your wife. Listen to me. I can help you. I promise."
Harry moved out of the way and allowed Jason and me to enter the room. Rose stood up and, after hearing what Jason had said, looked at Harry and me. Her eyes fell on Jason. "Speak, or so help me God, you won't have to worry about Harry hurting you. I'll kill you myself."