Thunderstruck

In London, Belle’s friends become suspicious of Dr. Crippen because Ethel Le Neve is now wearing Belle’s furs and jewels. The Ladies’ Guild grows suspicious when Crippen fails to provide them with an address or the name of the ship Belle sailed home on. When pressed, Crippen provided his son Otto’s address as verification of Belle’s death in America. Otto responds that she died in San Francisco but knows nothing else.

At Crippen’s home on Hilldrop Crescent, Le Neve cleans out the mess Belle left behind. Meanwhile, the Ladies’ Guild watches Crippen and Le Neve build their life, growing ever more suspicious. King Edward VII dies with Halley’s comet overhead, a bad omen for the era.

Marconi now wishes to send detailed messages across the Atlantic. Two stations are complete, and the weather has improved. For 18 nights, no signals came through, and in London, his stock price is falling. Nevil Maskelyne, a magician, dislikes Marconi and has acquired the intercepted transmissions from the Carlo Alberto, which demonstrate flaws in Marconi’s secretive system. He reveals that Marconi’s transmissions were intercepted and that Marconi was misleading in his portrayal of events on the Carlo Alberto.

A back-and-forth published in The Electrician ensues, further tarnishing Marconi’s reputation. Finally, a signal makes it through after weeks of failed transmissions, and Marconi goes public to great fanfare. However, both he and his engineer Vyvyan are aware of how unreliable the system is for commercial use and how early in development.

Back in London, Marconi faces the “Vindex Challenge,” a call for him to be transparent in his transatlantic transmissions with overseers on both sides of the sea. Maskelyne devises a plan to go forward with the Vindex Challenge, albeit clandestinely. In Nova Scotia, the station freezes and collapses.

In London, the guild members no longer believe Dr. Crippen’s accounts of Belle’s departure and death in America. They enlist the help of Superintendent Frank C. Froest of New Scotland Yard, who assigns Chief Inspector Walter Dew, nicknamed “Blue Serge,” of Jack the Ripper fame, to investigate.

Marconi’s reputation is badly damaged by Maskelyne’s attempts to discredit him. Fleming gives a lecture, during which Maskelyne sends coded messages through a hijacked wireless, which disrupts only a few of Fleming’s aids. Maskelyne’s plans are foiled by Fleming’s obliviousness to the intrusion. However, Fleming is so enraged by the attempted intrusion on his lecture that he makes the hijacking public, and in a back-and-forth with Maskelyne, the public sways toward the latter. As a result, Marconi does not renew Fleming’s contract with his company.

Chief Inspector Dew and Detective Arthur Mitchell visit the guild in pursuit of information about Belle. In his report on July 6, 1910, Dew suggests an interrogation of Dr. Crippen will resolve the matter.

Dew visits Crippen’s home and finds Le Neve wearing Belle’s broach, a jewel described by the Ladies’ Guild members as Belle’s favorite. Together, they travel to Crippen’s office, though their historical accounts of the encounter vary. When questioned, Dr. Crippen tells the inspector that as far as he knows, Belle is alive, to which Dew responds, “Ah” (306).

Marconi’s father dies, but he is too busy to go home. He stays immersed in his work throughout 1904 as he turns 30 and finds his reputation damaged in London and abroad. He meets Beatrice “Bea” O’Brien, a 19-year-old woman with whom he falls desperately in love. She denies his proposal for marriage, and he flees to the Balkans, contracting malaria. However, friends intervene and O’Brien relents to a second proposal, though she admits she does not love him. In Rome, reports circulate that Marconi is engaged to an Italian, and the O’Brien family is enraged.

Meanwhile, Fleming invents two devices to help regulate and measure wavelengths and informs Marconi. Lodge has launched a competitive wireless service to Marconi’s and is winning contracts.

In London, there is talk of war with Germany, with public opinion mostly asserting that Britons are not ready for war. Some blame immigration, crime, and a push from the country to the city. There is a general belief that manhood is in decline, and the Germans are aware of it. Peter Pan lands on stage in late 1904, capturing the public’s fascination.

Dr. Crippen tells the New Scotland Yard detectives that Belle disappeared, as she had long promised to do, and that he covered her disappearance as she requested he do in her departure letter. The investigators tell Le Neve that Belle might be alive and that Crippen lied to her. Le Neve is visibly shocked. They return to the home, and Dew searches everywhere, finding nothing. He finds Crippen’s story credible. Once they depart, Crippen says the impending damage to Le Neve’s reputation will be disastrous and that he cares only for her.

Bea O’Brien and Marconi marry in March 1905, but O’Brien is unhappy, and Marconi is controlling and volatile. In London, he learns that his company is in financial turmoil. The transatlantic wireless endeavor is costly and produces little return on investment, with two stations already in need of rebuilding. Marconi’s quirks and controlling nature annoy O’Brien as they travel to Nova Scotia. He leaves her there for three months while he works, and O’Brien is unhappier still. After months of trial and error on his towers, he returns to get O’Brien and finds her with jaundice and depression.

Le Neve and Crippen make moves to escape the scandal that will follow once it is announced that Belle’s death was a lie. Meanwhile, Dew sends a missing persons report about Belle to police stations across London. Crippen reveals that he bought boy’s clothing for Le Neve to disguise her during their escape. He cuts her hair and shaves his mustache, and they journey by public transport to Brussels under the name Robinson.

Marconi invests his personal wealth in the success of the transatlantic endeavor as O’Brien falls ill during pregnancy and returns to London. She gives birth to a girl, Lucia, though Marconi is too busy to stay, and Lucia dies, greatly shocking O’Brien. Soon after, Marconi’s malaria returns, and he is gravely ill for months even as his company is in economic danger. Lodge and Maskelyne have their own competitive companies now, and Marconi’s company is losing contracts even as Britain approaches war with Germany. O’Brien has another child, Degna, who lives.

Dew discovers Dr. Crippen and Le Neve have fled and puts out a notice to police and cab drivers for signs of the couple. Meanwhile, the “Robinsons” enjoy their stay in Brussels, unaware that Dew has already uncovered that Le Neve is disguised as a boy. They search the home again, this time digging up the cellar.

Marconi and O’Brien are pregnant again, though their marriage is in turmoil. O’Brien meets Marconi at sea, appearing on his ship as if by magic, only to find him upset by her great act of love.

Digging up the bricks in the cellar, Dew finds human remains. Constables and Scotland Yard’s surgeon arrive. The body is dismembered in strange ways that remind the police of Jack the Ripper’s victims. There are no bones, hands, sex organs, feet, or head. Organs are well preserved, along with folds of skin. It would be hard to prove the parts that remain are Belle’s. In response to the horrific discovery, Dew releases photos and details about Crippen and Le Neve worldwide. Police visit shipyards, informing captains of what to look out for in the fleeing suspects, one of whom is now dressed as a boy.

Marconi continues to work for the realization of his transatlantic dream. In 1909, he is awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics, though his company continues to suffer financially. He is accosted by skeptics and critics and does not understand why they don’t see the full potential of his wireless invention.

Mortuary workers collect the remains for investigation and Dr. Pepper, a famed forensic pathologist, began his investigation. He determines that only a skilled person aware of human anatomy could have removed human organs without damaging them. Detectives find bleached blond hair among the remains and know Belle to have dyed her hair. They also find a flap of skin bearing a long scar. Among the remains, they also find a piece of men’s pajamas and return to search the home again, finding the pants but no top.

Meanwhile, Le Neve is unaware of the search as Crippen keeps her from buying English-language papers. Crippen books passage on the Montrose under false names. Across London, newspapers cover the story in vivid detail, including details about the remains and the missing suspects. Winston Churchill himself authorizes a massive financial reward.

Dew meets with many who know Crippen, hearing repeatedly of his kindness and his docile nature. Dew cannot reconcile the Crippen he knows with the grisly sight in the cellar. Not since Jack the Ripper has the public been so engrossed in murder. Importantly, Dew learns of Belle’s surgery and informs Dr. Pepper to look for a scar among the remains.

Marconi is away when O’Brien delivers their son, Giulio. To inform her husband of the birth, she sends a wireless to hop across the sea from ship to ship until it finds him. This is a testament to the utility and reliability of the network.

Meanwhile, Crippen and Le Neve, in disguise, board the Montrose as father and son.