After the preceddings of the court, one case remained, and still remains, unsolved: where did the roll of money that was found on the body of Mrs. Murray Eads go? For this occasion, W.C. Dibrell, superintendent of the Juneau lighthouse, was highly willing to initiate any correspondence that would lead him to the money.
Lulu Mae Johnson (Eads), born in 1877, was a performer and hotel propertier. She married her husband, who happened to be her boss, in 1904. Murray Eads admitted at one point that there had been prostitutes in the Flora Dora, but soon retracted his statement. In 1907 however, the former appeared to be true. North West Mounted Police found 20 rooms above the Flora Dora that were occupied by women whose sole purpose was to entertain and keep the men at the hotel company. For allowing prostitution, and because the hotel liquor license was under her name, Mrs. Eads was arrested. Once released, Mr. and Mrs. Eads booked their first trip south in twenty years, and what a trip they would take.
After Mrs. Eads washed ashore, a roll of money was found on her body by an officer aboard the Cedar. This role was only of interest because when it came time to return the belongings of the passengers to their estates, this roll of money went missing. The denomination of the bill on the outside was never documented, therefore the exact amount was never known. Correspondence between W.C. Dibrell, a Mr. William Martin, and Mr. Edwards Harrigan, was more circular than the wheel. Constant letters were sent between the three regarding the topic of the money. The correspondence began after the court trials, and the last document was dated in 1926. Mr. Harrigan swore that he did not know where the money was, but W.C. Dibrell did not seem to believe him, responding that if Harrigan simply told the truth, or gave the money back, there would be no consequences against him.
To this day, W.C. Dibrell, Mr. Martin, and Mr. Harrigan are the only ones who know what happened to the roll. Was Dibrell trying to cover up for the fact that this money was made through prostitution? Did Martin have this money with him at 611 Lowman Building, Seattle, Washington, or was Mr. Harrigan thrown into this mix to cover someone’s dirty tracks? Only time will tell.