33. Tearing Down the Crime Queens’ Realms
While crime queens Kate Leigh and Tilly Devine were tearing each other on the streets during the Razor Wars, Lillian Armfield went about patiently tearing down their criminal empires. Her most powerful weapons were doggedness, coupled with kindness. Instead of arresting prostitutes, Lillian showed them compassion, and helped them get out of the life. Between that kindness to exploited workers and ruthless pursuit of their bosses, Lillian decimated the crime queens’ businesses.
She drastically reduced their workforce, and drove the once-prosperous Leigh and Devine to destitution, breaking their power, and ending the Razor Wars. Lillian even managed to put Leigh behind bars on drug charges. Badass Lillian Armfield stayed on the police force for over three decades, before finally retiring in 1949. Which was when the establishment dished out its final act of sexual discrimination: unlike her male colleagues, she was not given a pension.