Artful Deception (The Clearwater Mysteries Book 6)

by Jackson Marsh

‘What’s that?’ Silas asked, pulling a face.

  ‘Wow,’ Jake hissed. ‘Sir, is it pull-paper, or the new roll?’

  ‘The new roll, I believe,’ Archer said, smiling at everyone’s confusion. Everyone apart from Jake who seemed to know exactly what he was holding. ‘It’s a personal camera, Silas. A new Eastman Box Number One recently imported from America. The shop called it a Kodak, but it all means little to me. Luckily, it seems to mean something to Jake.’

  ‘Certainly does, Lord Clearwater, Sir. They’ve been using similar at her Ladyship’s fashion house to see if a plated image might replace the expensive hand sketches in magazines. Least, some of the men what do publicity have them. I’ve not been allowed to touch the things, but I know how they do it, and they get me to run the films back and forth for printing.’

  ‘Perfect. Then here’s your next job, Jake.’ Archer handed it over. ‘The film is in there. One hundred images, they say. Please show Silas how it works.’

  ‘You have to keep it still, Mr Silas, Sir. And make sure there is light. I’ll show you later.’ Jake took the camera and sat with it carefully in his lap as if it was a new pet.

  ‘Right’ Archer said, clapping his hands. ‘Are we all clear on what must be done? Jimmy, it’s my campaign, but it’s your mission. Over to you.’

  ‘Okay,’ James exhaled. ‘First, we need to get Mrs Norwood on board. Tom?’

  ‘I think it would be better coming from you,’ Thomas said. ‘She has a bigger soft spot for you than she does for me. I am her superior, so it might sound like an order, and you have a less formal relationship.’

  ‘Fair enough,’ James said, happy to take suggestions from those he now led. ‘While I’m doing that, Jake needs to organise the disguises. Fecker, can you drive him?’

  ‘Da.’

  ‘I assume that is alright with you, Sir?’

  ‘It’s Archer,’ Archer said flatly. ‘And yes. Whatever you need.’

  ‘Thank you. We could do with anything we can find about the artist, Vaine. Anything in the library Tom?’

  ‘Now there, I can be of use,’ Thomas said. ‘I’ll look. Hopefully, there will be a book with a plate, and we shan’t need to dress up as mummers in the morning.’

  ‘I think you might be out of luck,’ Archer smiled. ‘It’s unlikely there is anything remotely connected with art in my father’s collection, and I know I have no image of the painting in here, but one never knows. Sorry, Jimmy, I interrupted. Go on.’

  ‘Silas says the best time to go to the gallery would be around lunchtime when it’s likely to be busy, we’ll create more of a distraction. Jake, how fast can you get the photograph made into a print?’

  ‘A couple of hours, Mr Jimmy, but Mr Silas should take more than one image, just in case.’

  ‘Good idea. Bring them back here where we’ll be waiting. After that… We’ll be led by whatever we find.’

  ‘Good,’ Archer said. ‘That part of the affair is in the bag. Anything else?’

  ‘A couple of things,’ James said, reading his notes. ‘Jake needs to measure us, and if you want, Jake, you can use the equipment in my pantry to alter clothes. You know, if it’s easier, and you don’t want Lady Marshall asking questions.’

  ‘Will do, Mr Jimmy, Sir,’ Jake said, touching his forelock.

  Archer imagined the lad’s permanent grin was aching his muscles, but the thought was pushed out by one more practical.

  ‘Speaking of Lady Marshall,’ he said. ‘I will write you a note, Jake, to get permission to borrow you for the day, so don’t worry about that. Anything else, Jimmy?’

  ‘One last thing.’ James set aside his notes, folded his arms on the table and stared suspiciously at Archer. ‘What are you doing while we’re risking gaol?’

  It wasn’t thrown as an insult, it was just James’ frank way of talking, and as Archer had put him in charge, he was in no position to take it any other way than it was meant; as a practical question.

  ‘I shall spend the morning with Mr Danylo,’ he said. ‘We have plans of our own to make, and I fear we shall not be here when you get back.’

  Expecting complaints, Archer waited for their reactions. Fecker and Danylo hardly moved. They would accept anything asked of them. Jake’s smile merely twitched, Silas was not surprised because Archer had warned him beforehand, and James looked as if he had been expecting the announcement. It was Thomas who was most perturbed.

  ‘May I ask why?’

  ‘Yes, Tom. It’s simple, and you delivered it to me this afternoon if I am not mistaken.’ Archer collected the pile of letters. ‘The thing is, gentlemen, I know exactly what Quill has planned. I knew it not long after I left the earl, but what I don’t know is where he plans to do it. It’s the only thing he hasn’t told me. And that is why…’

  ‘Hang on, Archie,’ Silas interrupted. ‘You know what he’s going to do from one posted painting?’

  ‘Yes. And that’s why you don’t have to worry about what it is. You only need to find out where he plans to do it, and as soon as possible. My theory is that the missing section of the painting will lead to a location, and it will be one Quill has chosen for his own advantage. There are so many possibilities, I can’t hazard a guess, and thus will be relying on you to work it out and message me as soon as you have.’

  ‘Understood,’ James said. ‘But, two things. Where to message you? And why will you be there, not here?’

  Again, Archer had anticipated this and chose his words carefully.

  ‘Tomorrow night I will be at Hotel Le Dixseptième in Brussels, and the day after at the Station Hotel in Dordrecht,’ he said. ‘And the reason I don’t want to say too much is simply because I don’t want you to know too much. If I am wrong, or if my scheme doesn’t work in my favour, there is to be absolutely no comeback on any of you. It is a question of the less you know, the better, so that you can deny knowledge with plausibility and be in no way suspected of complicity.’

  A chorus of complaints broke out which Archer calmed as he rose to stand by the fireplace.

  ‘Gentlemen,’ he said. ‘I don’t say that because I don’t trust you. I have ignored your advice in the past and suffered for it. I refused to listen to Silas when he suspected Cadwell was in danger, and again when he suspected Mr Smith was an imposter. It took a slap in the face from Jimmy before I realised I was being played in North Wales when I should have been in the High Court. And I was chasing my brother when Thomas discovered Quill was the Ripper.’

  Jake gasped in wide-eyed wonder. ‘Really?’

  ‘Unfortunately, yes. I have often taken you all for granted, men. For all that, you have my most humble apologies, and I can assure you, it will not happen this time’.

  His men were silent. Six pairs of eyes reflected the light, each one piercing his heart with their loyalty and determination. Even Jake’s mouth was now a straight line.

  ‘It cannot happen this time,’ Archer continued. ‘If I was to stay and decipher the riddle of the painting, I would lose a valuable advantage. Quill expects me to stay, and so I shall not. He also expects me to respond to an urgent communication which, I am certain, I will find in a moment. However, he expects me to delay that response in favour of the painting. Thus, with you to solve that puzzle for me, I am free to leave ahead of Quill’s pre-planned timeline.’

  ‘But…’ James said, thinking aloud. ‘If you think you’re being watched, won’t he see you leaving and know what you are up to?’

  ‘Yes,’ Archer replied. ‘Which is what I want to happen. His spy will follow me, thereby leaving you free to come and go unobserved.’

  ‘And he will regain the advantage,’ Thomas said.

  ‘He will think he has,’ Archer chuckled. ‘On which note, I must ask Mr Danylo if he could use his skills to identify the man who has been following me fo
r approximately the last four weeks.’

  ‘I can, Sir, with pleasure.’

  ‘Thank you. Quill’s spy was at Larkspur, I fancy, and Kingsclere, and is most likely observing the house at this moment, probably from the front as he is only interested in watching me.’

  ‘If I can access the upper floors, Sir, I can scout from there.’

  ‘Of course, go where you want. I have a scope somewhere.’

  ‘Go back a minute.’ All eyes turned to James. ‘Forget the fact that you’ve had this suspicion for a month and haven’t told us, you’re now proposing to solve Quill’s clues in reverse order. Is that right?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You’re very sure of yourself,’ Silas mumbled, frowning.

  ‘Today’s post will tell me if I am right. And, assuming I am, once you have found the location of Quill’s intended attack, Jimmy, I need you to go there and leave a note.’

  ‘A note?’

  ‘Yes. A clue for Quill which will direct him to a location of my choosing, thus putting him at a further disadvantage.’

  ‘And will he take any notice?’ Thomas was incredulous. ‘Won’t he just vanish and plan something else, angrier because you tricked him?’

  ‘I know him better than that,’ Archer sighed as he sifted through the mail, reading the postmarks and backs of the envelopes. ‘He will come to any location to see me… To exact his revenge, but yes, hopefully, he will be angrier because that will also weaken his defence. Correct, Mr Danylo?’

  ‘It is the Ukraine man’s way,’ Danylo said, and Fecker nodded proudly. ‘You push, and he is angry. The enemy loses reason, you ridicule. He loses concentration, you kill.’

  ‘And that’s it?’ Silas said, still unhappy. ‘We solve the clue and leave a note?’

  ‘Unless you decide otherwise, your role in this business stops there. If anyone asks, I am away on family business, and you are not sure where. Ah, here we are.’ Archer put aside the post, saving one letter which he held aloft. ‘Sent from Five Dials late last night.’

  Thomas passed him a letter opener before retaking his seat, and Archer slit the envelope expecting a familiar wash of dread to flood him. It didn’t, and although he knew the letter was from Quill before he read it, he looked forward to proving himself right. Where there might have been fear, there was triumph.

  ‘As I thought,’ he said, once the letter was read and in his pocket. ‘Mr Danylo and I will leave on the midday boat train. Andrej? Could you drive to the station first thing and arrange tickets?’

  ‘Da.’

  ‘First class for two, onward to Brussels and Dordrecht, one ticket in my name, one in the name of a Doctor Nevidimi.’

  ‘Nevidimi?’ Fecker shuffled nervously in his seat. ‘Why you give my brat that name?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Archer admitted. ‘It just sounded Russian.’

  ‘Da,’ Fecker grumbled as he crossed himself. ‘Is Russian word for invisible, like ghost.’

  ‘Then it will be perfectly apt. Buy the tickets separately, Andrej. Tom, perhaps you could give Danylo some instruction on what would be expected of a gentleman. No offence, Lieutenant Kolisnychenko, but English customs and all that. We only want to draw attention from the enemy, not genteel society.’

  ‘Understood, Sir.’

  ‘And finally,’ Archer said. ‘Before we set to work, you know the combination to the safe should you need any funds. You have full permission to use whatever you want without question. I mean the house and all that’s in it. Tom knows my family and its history, Silas knows my business. Just pretend you are me.’

  The men nodded, growing more concerned by the second.

  ‘And should anything happen to me, Mr Marks has full instructions.’

  ‘Oh, come on, Archie!’ Silas was on his feet. ‘Why do you say it like that?’

  The pain on Silas’ face was hard to bear, but Archer knew he must, and he called Silas over to stand beside him where he held him around the shoulder and kissed the top of his head.

  ‘This is what I do this for,’ he said. ‘For us all. For our friendship to endure, for our lives to progress without the threat of Quill and all that he could bring tumbling down. I will be back, Silas. Jimmy’s mind and Tom’s logic will make sure of that. Andrej will be with you as your strength, as Danylo will be with me as mine. And you, Silas, you will be in my heart, my reason to finish what Quill has started no matter what.’ Kissing Silas again, he lightly added, ‘And breaking into the National Gallery in broad daylight, of course, as that’s your other area of expertise.’

  ‘We are all with you, Archer.’ James came over to him with his hand outstretched. ‘As we are with one another.’

  Thomas joined him, then the brothers, with Fecker dragging a bemused but happy Jake to his feet and adding his hand to the rest as they lay them one on top of the other.

  ‘I promise you, men,’ Archer said. ‘One way or the other, this will be the last time we play Quill’s game.’

  ‘I hope it ends the way we want,’ Thomas said, holding Archer with a stare that proved he knew Archer was purposefully putting himself in danger.

  ‘I’ve said it before,’ the viscount said. ‘With comrades such as you, our splendour will never fall. We are, after all, playing a simple game of artful deception, eh, Jimmy?’

  James blinked as if he had just remembered something important, and Archer knew he had given his valet enough clues to see him through what was to come.

  If he hadn’t, Archer might soon be lying dead at the bottom of a mineshaft.

  As darkness settled over Bucks Row, Dorjan, the man they knew as Smith, bedded in for the night on the rooftop of number six. His spyglass by his side and a hipflask of brandy in his pocket, he was prepared for another long vigil beneath the stars.

  His vantage point offered him a clear view of the comings and goings from Clearwater House opposite, but awarded no view of the rear of the property. However, he had learnt that when the viscount’s coach left the mews, it had to appear at the junction beside the house, because the wall of the park bordered the rear of the house and there was no road. The viscount’s rooms were at the front, above the study and drawing room, and his orders were to watch Clearwater, not the servants.

  With the curtains drawn, the only indication of activity within the house came from the light escaping the edges of the drapes. At nine-thirty, the study lights were extinguished, and the ones in the master bedroom came on.

  A short while later, the carriage left the junction and turned west, the cloaked coachman sitting beside a much smaller man. Dorjan was still watching when it returned ninety minutes later with the same servants. Between times, he had seen the viscount’s butler leave the house and walk the few yards to the adjoining property where he had delivered a message. At ten to eleven, the study lights had come on again and remained burning until, with no other person in the street and all other houses in darkness, Dorjan judged it safe to leave his watch and write his reports for Doctor Quill.

  According to the doctor’s instructions, his communications were to be sent in separate telegrams, each one from a different post office, and where necessary, coded.

  The earliest he could begin the dispatches was eight in the morning, and knowing from his previous observations of Clearwater House that the viscount rarely left home before ten, he had plenty of time for his daily task. Even so, preparation was key, and Dorjan liked to stay one step ahead.

  Beneath the light of a nearly full moon, he took out his book and wrote his dispatches.

  Yesterday, 8th. Arrival of Vaine to KH on time. VC in discussion with EK. Messenger left, assume to telegraph you. VC left as expected same evening.

  VC seen locally, boarding for a night with servant.

  Today, 9th. VC messaged unknown recipients. Up-train, 11.4
5.

  VC home at 5.35 p.m. Not left house. Unsure what evening activity at house shows. Possibly seeking Vaine location

  The messages prepared, he gave the house one last examination through his spyglass, saw nothing of interest, and pulling his cloak over his head, settled in behind the parapet for a few hours of much-needed sleep.

  Eleven

  The following morning, Dorjan woke with a stiff back, but even the layer of dew on his wool cloak and the pain in his side where he had been sleeping on the lead flashing couldn’t dampen his determination. Since Quill had instructed him to follow the viscount and report his movements, he had woken every morning with one aim in mind; to complete his mission and claim his reward.

  Quill’s previous contract had suited the Romanian. As a sworn protector of his people and their heritage, Dorjan lived for one purpose; to uphold the name of the Szekelys. Quill had given him a chance to prove himself by hiring the assassin to poison Bram Stoker before he could write his account of a Szekely noble turned supernatural killer. At the same time, Quill intended to disgrace his adversary, Clearwater, and so, the mission had suited both.

  The mission, however, failed, and Quill displayed the full extent of his anger when the pair met in Dordrecht. The doctor vowed to kill Dorjan’s wife and children should the Romanian not swear allegiance, and there was no doubt he would carry out his threat if Dorjan failed again. Meeting with Quill beside the bed of the rightful Viscount Clearwater, the Romanian was left with no option but to agree, and since then had been beholden to the twisted man. Most would consider him a servant, but he was far from a slave. He was a trained assassin who could kill a woman in cold blood and hold a man to torture until the life dripped from him. Not only was he skilled, he was also proud, and the failure of his first mission weighed heavily on his pride while Quill’s increased threats drove him to succeed with this, his second.