Walking a Fine Line: Day 17

Word Count: 102,086

Summary of Events:

Joseph presented the jewellery to the police, as well as taking them to the pawnshop to corroborate his story, following which they encountered the customer and his auburn-haired associate, but the two men managed to get away from the police by knocking the police detective unconscious before getting into a taxi whose license number Joseph failed to memorise fully. Although the auburn-haired associate didn't resemble Mr. McElligott very much at all, Joseph decided to call on Mr. McElligott and see what he had to say about what Joseph had seen…

Excerpt of the Day:

A mixed expression came over Mr. McElligott’s face. On one hand, he looked shocked at the report of a gun battle, but on the other, he looked somewhat excited by the news that Joseph had seen an accomplice.

“What did he look like?” Mr. McElligott asked quickly.

“He was around the same height as you, and of a similarly lean build,” Joseph replied. “He also had auburn hair, while his eyes were more of a greenish-hazel, his head was narrower, he had more prominent ears, and his nose was crooked.”

Mr. McElligott furrowed his brow again, looking puzzled. “I’ve never seen any man like that in my life.”

“I escaped them and got the jewellery to the police,” Joseph continued. “And after corroborating my story with the pawnbroker, we ended up encountering Mr. O’Toole and his associate questioning people trying to figure out where I’d gone. When questioned by the police detective, they identified themselves as Jerry McPherson and Sandy O’Malley.”

“I’ve never heard of anyone by those names either,” Mr. McElligott said.

“Additionally, they tried to pretend they were Chicago natives by leading the police to a Polish family’s home, claiming it was their own, when the police asked to search their residences,” Joseph added. “When I pointed this out, the two of them knocked the detective out and outran myself and the constables before making their getaway in a taxi.”

“Well, I can assure you I’ve never met this auburn-haired man you’re telling me about, nor have I ever heard of anyone named Sandy O’Malley, although if Sonny used a fake name in Jerry McPherson, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sandy O’Malley is a fake name too.”

Joseph nodded.

“What’s more, based on your description, I can’t say this Sandy O’Malley looks a lot like me at all,” Mr. McElligott continued. “Sure we’re about the same height and build with the same hair colour and a similar eye colour, but that’s not a lot of similarities. If Sonny wanted to make me a scapegoat he should’ve picked a more effective double.”

“As I understand it, this crime was committed after dark,” Joseph said, unable to help himself. “The fact that Mrs. Bradley was able to identify her assailant’s hair and eye colour was actually something of a feat considering the situation. They probably only needed the resemblance to be token to make you an effective scapegoat for their crime.”

“Then that proves I’m innocent!” Mr. McElligott declared triumphantly. “And you can’t deny it because you’re the one who pointed it out to me!”

Joseph set his jaw, annoyed at himself for having not held his tongue and let Mr. McElligott come to that realisation on his own like he should’ve.

“So are you going to help me clear my name now?” Mr. McElligott asked, looking pleased and eager.

“No,” Joseph replied succinctly.

Mr. McElligott’s expression darkened in displeasure.

“But I am going to get to the bottom of this matter myself,” Joseph snapped, immediately setting off homeward before Mr. McElligott could say a word.