steps, Mrs. Curran glanced at the mantelpiece clock. The time was precisely 8:05 A.M.
* * *
On Wednesday, March 18, it was Jesse’s turn to open the shop, a chore he and Charles performed on alternating days. The shop—located on the street-level floor of a little two-story house owned by a family named Margerson—stood directly across from the Pomeroys’ flat. Arriving at approximately 7:30 A.M. , Jesse—still groggy with sleep—unlocked the door, stripped off his jacket, grabbed a broom, and began to tidy up the place.
He had just finished sweeping the floor when a neighborhood boy named Rudolph Kohr—who earned a little pocket change by running errands for the Pomeroys and assisting with the newspaper deliveries—showed up. The time was a few minutes past 8:00.
As Kohr stood chatting with Jesse, a little girl—wearing a threadbare jacket over a black-and-green-plaid dress—entered the shop. She needed a notebook for school, she explained. She had been to Tobin’s, but hadn’t found the kind she was looking for. Did Jesse have any for sale?
Jesse nodded. He had one notebook left, though it was slightly damaged. “There’s an ink spot on the cover,” he explained. If she wanted it, he’d let her have it at a discount—three cents instead of the customary nickel.
Katie Curran eagerly agreed.
Just then, the Pomeroys’ old tabby emerged from the cellar, mewing for food. Jesse asked Rudolph if he would mind running over to the butcher’s for a few scraps of meat. The Kohr boy left at once.
He came back about ten minutes later. When he entered the store, the little girl was gone.
* * *
When her daughter wasn’t back by 8:35, Mary Curran grew anxious. By 9:00 A.M. , she was almost beside herself with worry. Mrs. Curran had always kept a watchful eye on her children. Except during school hours—or when Katie and her friends were skipping rope or playing hopscotch on the block—her ten-year-old girl had never been out of her sight for more than half an hour.
Throwing on her shawl, she rushed to Tobin’s. The proprietor, Thomas Tobin, confirmed that a little girl had come in earlier. He had shown her a few notebooks, but none of them had been been to her liking. The last he’d seen of her, she was headed up Broadway, looking for another store that carried stationer’s goods.
Thanking Mr. Tobin, Mrs. Curran hurried away. She asked at another neighborhood shop called Gill’s, but no one there had seen her daughter. As the frantic woman made her way through the neighborhood, she encountered a girl named Lee, who said she had spotted Katie entering the Pomeroys’ shop at 327 Broadway earlier that morning.
The news sent a pang of alarm through Mrs. Curran’s breast. Like everyone else in the neighborhood, she had heard the stories about Jesse Pomeroy. She went immediately to Police Station Six.
Both Captain Dyer and an officer named Adams listened to her story and did their best to reassure her. They doubted that Jesse Pomeroy had anything to do with her daughter’s disappearance. By all accounts, the boy had undergone a complete rehabilitation in reform school. And even at his worst, Jesse had never been known to attack little girls. Katie had probably gotten lost in her search for a notebook. Captain Dyer told Mrs. Curran to go back home and wait. His men would bring her daughter back safe and sound.
Twenty-four hours later, however, there was still no sign of the ten-year-old child.
By then the whole neighborhood was abuzz with news of the missing girl. Sometime that afternoon, Mrs. Curran received a message from the Kohr boy, who said that he had some information about Katie. Mrs. Curran immediately proceeded to the Kohr home, where Rudolph informed her that he had seen her daughter with Jesse in the Pomeroys’ shop early the previous morning.
Mrs. Curran lost no time in conveying this intelligence to the police. Once again, however, Dyer and Adams pooh-poohed her suspicions.
* * *
On Wednesday, March 18, it was Jesse’s turn to open the shop, a chore he and Charles performed on alternating days. The shop—located on the street-level floor of a little two-story house owned by a family named Margerson—stood directly across from the Pomeroys’ flat. Arriving at approximately 7:30 A.M. , Jesse—still groggy with sleep—unlocked the door, stripped off his jacket, grabbed a broom, and began to tidy up the place.
He had just finished sweeping the floor when a neighborhood boy named Rudolph Kohr—who earned a little pocket change by running errands for the Pomeroys and assisting with the newspaper deliveries—showed up. The time was a few minutes past 8:00.
As Kohr stood chatting with Jesse, a little girl—wearing a threadbare jacket over a black-and-green-plaid dress—entered the shop. She needed a notebook for school, she explained. She had been to Tobin’s, but hadn’t found the kind she was looking for. Did Jesse have any for sale?
Jesse nodded. He had one notebook left, though it was slightly damaged. “There’s an ink spot on the cover,” he explained. If she wanted it, he’d let her have it at a discount—three cents instead of the customary nickel.
Katie Curran eagerly agreed.
Just then, the Pomeroys’ old tabby emerged from the cellar, mewing for food. Jesse asked Rudolph if he would mind running over to the butcher’s for a few scraps of meat. The Kohr boy left at once.
He came back about ten minutes later. When he entered the store, the little girl was gone.
* * *
When her daughter wasn’t back by 8:35, Mary Curran grew anxious. By 9:00 A.M. , she was almost beside herself with worry. Mrs. Curran had always kept a watchful eye on her children. Except during school hours—or when Katie and her friends were skipping rope or playing hopscotch on the block—her ten-year-old girl had never been out of her sight for more than half an hour.
Throwing on her shawl, she rushed to Tobin’s. The proprietor, Thomas Tobin, confirmed that a little girl had come in earlier. He had shown her a few notebooks, but none of them had been been to her liking. The last he’d seen of her, she was headed up Broadway, looking for another store that carried stationer’s goods.
Thanking Mr. Tobin, Mrs. Curran hurried away. She asked at another neighborhood shop called Gill’s, but no one there had seen her daughter. As the frantic woman made her way through the neighborhood, she encountered a girl named Lee, who said she had spotted Katie entering the Pomeroys’ shop at 327 Broadway earlier that morning.
The news sent a pang of alarm through Mrs. Curran’s breast. Like everyone else in the neighborhood, she had heard the stories about Jesse Pomeroy. She went immediately to Police Station Six.
Both Captain Dyer and an officer named Adams listened to her story and did their best to reassure her. They doubted that Jesse Pomeroy had anything to do with her daughter’s disappearance. By all accounts, the boy had undergone a complete rehabilitation in reform school. And even at his worst, Jesse had never been known to attack little girls. Katie had probably gotten lost in her search for a notebook. Captain Dyer told Mrs. Curran to go back home and wait. His men would bring her daughter back safe and sound.
Twenty-four hours later, however, there was still no sign of the ten-year-old child.
By then the whole neighborhood was abuzz with news of the missing girl. Sometime that afternoon, Mrs. Curran received a message from the Kohr boy, who said that he had some information about Katie. Mrs. Curran immediately proceeded to the Kohr home, where Rudolph informed her that he had seen her daughter with Jesse in the Pomeroys’ shop early the previous morning.
Mrs. Curran lost no time in conveying this intelligence to the police. Once again, however, Dyer and Adams pooh-poohed her suspicions.
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