Drain Company — Wolverhampton [work]

"Whoa," Dave muttered. "That’s not on any map."

He wrote a report for the company archive. He titled it: "Wolverhampton Royal London Arcade: Unrecorded Victorian Pumping Station and Human Remains. Cause of Blockage: History." drain company wolverhampton

Back above ground, the police were called. Then the city archaeologist. Then the media. Within hours, Queen Street was cordoned off. The "breathing floor" became a national curiosity: Victorian Bone Vault Found Under Wolverhampton Arcade. "Whoa," Dave muttered

Six months later, a small brass plaque was fixed to the wall of the arcade storeroom. It read: Cause of Blockage: History

The Black Tides of Wolverhampton

The puzzle solved itself in Jake's head. The old Smestow Brook diversion fed this chamber. The steam engine—long dead—had once pumped water up to the canal wharves. But over 170 years, a natural spring had found its way into the lower sump. And the sump had become a trap.

"What's your name, sir?" Jake asked, already waving to his partner, Big Dave Kowalski, a bear of a man whose specialty was wielding the high-pressure water jetter.