“Hmm, quite a way from where I landed. Can you remember anything else?”
“Apart from a swirling blue light and the worst hangover ever, no, nothing,” Kate looked down at her hands curled up in her lap and blinked away a tear. “I thought you would be able to tell me how to get back, tell me how to stop all of this.”
“Do you want it to stop? What do you have to go back to?”
The question didn’t catch Kate by surprise, but her lack of an answer did. She thought of Dan. Her intentions there were clear, to surgically cut him out of her life. She then thought back to her father’s funeral shortly after her passing out parade. The realisation dawned on her that there was no-one at home. No family other than a few distant cousins. No friends other than work colleagues, but no-one close. There was only the job that she loved doing and had always wanted to do since the death of her grandmother when she was a small child. Kate cast her eyes around the room, “You seem to be doing very well here. Why are you in such a hurry to get back?”
“Have you ever been to a nineteenth century dentist?” said Polperro without the slightest hint of humour in his voice. He leaned back in his chair and swirled the brandy around the glass before regarding Kate for several seconds, “The number of people who come through is surprisingly small, and they tend to fall into two types: those who can accept it, come to terms with what has happened, and make the most of it, and those who don’t. Steam-side, as I call it, isn’t so bad when you get used to it. I’ve re-invented myself and made a good life here,” he said. “Certainly better than the one I had back then,” he added bitterly.
Jacob walked back through the door and the conversation stopped as abruptly as it had started.
“Ah, Jacob, we didn’t wait, but you know where the good stuff is,” said Polperro, pointing to a large drinks cabinet. Kate watched as Jacob poured himself a very generous helping of brandy from a cut glass decanter. He was about to settle himself in a large leather armchair when there was a knock on the door. The maid came through with a small piece of paper in her hand.
“Yes, Sarah,” said Polperro.
“Sorry, Sir, but there’s an urgent message for Doctor McKinley.”
She handed the note to Jacob who read it and threw it onto the fire.
“Solomon I’m sorry, I have to go. Something has happened to Grace.”
“My dear fellow of course. Sarah, hail a cab immediately,” he turned to Kate. “Let me get your coats.”
Kate followed Polperro to the drawing room door and looked back to see Jacob finishing the brandy in two gulps. She was about to go back into the room when Polperro re-appeared with her cape.
“There’s a hansom coming down the crescent now and I’ll make sure the driver gets you straight home.”
Outside the hansom drew up next to the house. Jacob walked to the far side whilst Polperro walked to the near side door and opened it for Kate. As she settled into her seat Polperro leaned in and whispered to her, “If you remember anything else, anything at all let me know immediately. It could be important.”
Kate nodded as the cab drew away.
***
The cab turned the corner and onto St. Giles Square and the first thing Kate saw was two policemen standing outside Jacob’s house. Ivy was waiting on the door-step as the cab drew up. “Oh, Doctor McKinley I’m so sorry. Something terrible has happened.”
Kate followed Jacob into the house to be greeted by two more policemen and Sir Edward Riordan.
“What’s happened?” the urgency in Jacob’s voice apparent to everyone.
“There’s been a break in,” said Riordan. “Grace has been taken.”
“Taken? What do you mean taken?”
“She’s been abducted Jacob, and I’m afraid that’s not all.”
“What happened?” Jacob breathed the words out, barely able to believe what he was being told.
“We believe two men entered your study and made their way upstairs. They’ve taken Grace from her bed and were leaving the same way when, on talking to your staff, Grace has cried out. Everyone in the house has woken and come downstairs, Laura was the first and confronted the kidnappers.”
“Laura, how is she?”
Riordan looked uncomfortably at the floor, not for the first time since Jacob had arrived, “She was stabbed in the heart. I’m afraid she’s dead Jacob.”
Jacob exhaled like a balloon deflating and Kate thought he was going to collapse. Without thinking she stepped to his side and took his arm, “Jacob,” she said, “you need to sit down. Let’s go into the front room.”
“I’m sorry you had to be disturbed Jacob,” said a voice from behind the governess.” My staff became aware of the disturbance and informed me at once. I came here immediately.”
Kate helped Jacob into the front room and looked toward the source of the voice. It belonged to Naomi Calthorpe.
“I told your maid there was no need to call you and that there was no need to worry Jacob, the child will be found soon enough.”
“Thank you, Ivy,” said Jacob, turning toward his maid and, more pointedly Kate thought, away from Naomi Calthorpe. “You did exactly the right thing.” He brushed past his would-be-admirer and sat in the nearest chair. Riordan poured him a large glass of brandy and handed it to Jacob. He drank it in one gulp.
Naomi turned to the maid, “Make sure that cab does not leave and get me my coat. I shall be leaving immediately.”
Ivy rushed out and Kate wondered if she should offer to get the coat herself but decided to stay where she was.
Naomi put on her coat and, as she buttoned it up, said to Ivy, “I shall return tomorrow afternoon when the company is a little more salubrious.” A short glance in Kate’s direction, as she walked through the door, left no-one in any doubt what she meant. Kate flushed and started walking towards the door when the maid stepped in front of her.
“Miss, I think Doctor McKinley could use all the support you could offer him right now.”
Kate looked at Ivy and smiled as she realised what the maid was doing, and the risk she was taking. Kate nodded and put her hand on the maid’s arm to thank her before turning back to Jacob.
“Why is this happening?”
“Money, undoubtedly,” said Riordan. “Although I’m surprised you were targeted. You certainly don’t have the resources Lord Ashbury has.”
Fear squeezed Jacob’s stomach like a vice as he remembered the body of Lord Ashbury’s governess and the fate of his son. “Are the same people responsible?”
Riordan hesitated. “We don’t know yet. Superficially it’s very similar but the wounds to Miss Wheaton are different.”
“Different? How?”
“I think you should let us conduct this enquiry Jacob. I will have every constable in the Metropolitan area searching for her.”
Jacob looked at his brother-in law, “I appreciate that Edward, but I need to do something. Let me examine the body.”
“Jacob, I really don’t think that’s a good idea. If you just…”
“I have to do something,” said Jacob, his voice raised in anger as he slammed his fist onto the arm of the chair. “There may be something in that room that will help me find Grace, and I have no intentions of just sitting here and waiting.”
Kate watched both men as a silence hung over the room before Riordan continued. “Very well if you insist. Gather your equipment and come into the study.”
Jacob gathered his equipment and followed Riordan next door. There were obvious signs of a struggle. The rug next to the French doors had been ruffled up and was in a heap next to the fire. The desk and chair were both askew. Jacob followed the trail until he saw the body of Laura Wheaton, slumped on the steps leading into the garden. The memories flooded back. This was same room he had found Alice in six years previously. He couldn’t think about that. Not now. He had a job to do. Jacob gritted his teeth, forced air into his lungs, and got to work.
***
Kate had stayed in the front room,
she knew enough not to disturb a crime scene. She sat by the fire, glancing at the clock on the mantelpiece several times every minute. Her thoughts were torn between Grace and Laura. Disbelief numbed her senses. She had spoken to Laura only a couple of hours previously and they had howled with laughter as Kate got ready for dinner at Solomon Polperro’s house. In this world Kate only had two people she could trust. Two friends in this whole world. A sob welled up, but she forced it back down. Was Jacob a friend, or did he just regard her as a curiosity? Kate had nowhere else to go and now people were being killed. Kate heard a click and watched as the door was slowly pushed open. Although the waiting had been interminable, it had been just less than an hour when Jacob walked back into the room.
“Anything?” she asked.
Jacob shook his head, “An obvious struggle, the mode of death and the type of murder weapon, but anything that would help us find Grace…” Jacob shook his head again, “No, nothing,” he sat opposite Kate. “I want you to be honest with me. Has the cholera gone completely?”
The question was one Kate had been considering, but she still hesitated before she replied. “The honest answer is I don’t know. Ideally Grace should have taken the solution for two or three more days to be certain, and even then she would need to be closely monitored, to be sure it hadn’t returned.”
Jacob stood and kicked the companion set from the hearth in anger and frustration. Kate watched as he walked to a small table and picked up a decanter.
“You’re going to need a clear head,” said Kate. “That’s not going to help get Grace back.”
Jacob gripped the decanter before slamming it down onto a sliver tray. “I’m sorry, you’re right, but we need to formulate a plan. I can’t just stay here and do nothing.”
“That’s precisely what you must do.”
Kate and Jacob looked toward the figure of Riordan who was standing in the doorway.
“You must wait here for a ransom.”
“That didn’t help Lord Ashbury did it?” said Jacob. “I was told no ransom note was even delivered and his son still ended up dead.”
“That whole incident is rotten throughout,” said Riordan. “The ease of entry, the timings of the screams, and if they wanted to kill the boy why take him away to do it? Why not kill him on the spot as they did with his governess? There’s a lot about that business that makes no sense,” Riordan watched as Jacob slumped back down into the chair. “Jacob, I need you to stay here. I fully expect a ransom note first thing in the morning.”
“And then?” said Jacob studying his brother-in-law.
“I’ve already told you I will have every constable in the Metropolitan area looking for her. That’s not an idle boast Jacob.” Riordan nodded his farewell to Kate and walked out of the room without waiting for a reply.
“I hate to admit it, but he’s right,” said Kate. “We don’t even know where to start looking. I’ll go and make some coffee and we’ll discuss what to do next.”
Jacob nodded and watched as Kate left the room, grateful that he wasn’t facing this on his own.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The two men squirmed nervously in their seats as the driver of the brougham pulled his horses to a stop half-way between two flickering gas lamps. They had been assured that everything would be ready on their arrival. All they had to do was get the boy and return to the yard. They said nothing to each other, the memory of what had happened to the kidnappers of Lord Ashbury’s son were fresh in their minds and they knew there could be no mistakes. The driver pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time before looking around the broad, leafy crescent trying to peer through the fog which had descended so quickly. When he was happy no-one else could be seen he tapped on the roof. A door opened and Charlie Wragg got out of the carriage followed by the second man who was carrying a small steel frame with two protruding stumps, the whole thing covered in cloth. They quickly made their way through the trees lining that side of the crescent and into the shrubbery which covered a high wall.
The pair looked back as they heard the brougham move away. The second man took the cloth off the frame and the two legs were placed on the grass. The legs were pushed firmly down into the soft soil and the top of the frame pulled up to reveal an extendable ladder nearly eight feet high. The two men climbed to the top of the wall, pulled the ladder over, and jumped down onto the grass. They laid the ladder flat and silently made their way to the house.
As they got to the back wall of the five-storey town house they saw their way in; the French doors to the dining room were being unlocked. They ran to the open doors and looked inside. A young woman was pulling the curtains as far open as she could before beckoning the two men in.
“Hurry,” she whispered urgently as the men walked into the dining room and followed her to a door. “Go to the landing at the top of the first flight of stairs,” she pointed down the corridor, “the boy’s in the first room on the left.”
“How is he?” said Wragg.
“I used this,” said the woman showing him a folded cloth and a small bottle of chloroform. “He’s out cold but I don’t know how long it will last,” she handed the cloth and bottle to Wragg. “The Lord and Lady are both in bed and their room is at the end of the corridor. The servants are on the top floor. The doors aren’t locked, you just need to be quiet.”
“Don’t worry,” said the second man in a quiet voice, “I’ve broken into plenty of houses and never been heard.”
The man was oblivious to the abhorrent look that Wragg gave him. Six years ago Wragghad been a navigator aboard an airship transporting prisoners just like this scum. Now, thanks to an accident that was not of his making, here he was working with the same common criminals. Wragg looked at the tattoo of a wasp on the webbing between his thumb and forefinger of his right hand. It wouldn’t be long before he, and the remainder of the crew, had everything they wanted. Everything that had been promised to them.
Pushing the thought to the back of his mind Wragg crept up the stairs, followed closely by the second man, and into the room as directed. Pulling back the bed sheets they saw a boy, no more than ten years old, who appeared to be sound asleep. The second man pulled the boy up by his arm and slung him over his shoulder. They made their way back to the dining room and the waiting servant. The second man walked outside, the boy limp across one shoulder.
“I was promised payment,” said the woman. “When the job was done I was told I would be paid.”
Wragg spun round and lashed out at the woman. She stepped back with a smirk on her face. She was about to goad him for missing when she felt warm liquid in her throat. She looked down to see the top of her nightdress turning red before returning her stare to her attacker. Her eyes began to bulge and she tried to scream. Unable to speak the only sound she could make was a dull thud as she collapsed to the floor.
“Sorry my dear,” said Wragg as he knelt next to the prone figure and wiped the blade of his knife on the woman’s nightdress, “but the people I work for don’t like loose ends,” he reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope which he placed on the rug next to her. “But if you wouldn’t mind giving this to his Lordship it would be appreciated.”
Wragg smiled as he kicked a pane of glass in the door. The noise would ensure the household would wake up and the plan was set into motion. Wragg joined his associate and they ran back to the wall.
They had carried the boy over the wall and collapsed the ladder just as the brougham returned to the spot where it had dropped them off. They made their way to the carriage. The second man watched as Wragg placed the ladder on the back of the Brougham before opening the door.
“Slowly now,” said Wragg as he watched his accomplice placed the boy on the seat. “A job well done,” he continued as the man backed away from the carriage and closed the door. As the door closed with a click Wragg moved quickly. His right hand snaked around the man’s shoulders placing the cloth which had been freshly drenched with chloroform over his face. Wr
agg’s left arm went expertly under the man’s armpit, his hand on the back of his head pushing it forward into the cloth. It only took a couple of seconds before his associate was unconscious.
Wragg took a quick look around before dragging the man back into the shrubbery by the wall. Propping him against the wall Wragg pushed his head back exposing his throat. As he took out his knife he said, “Sorry mate, but as I said to the lady in there, my boss doesn’t like loose ends.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Despite several protestations from Jacob, Kate had refused to retire and try to sleep. She knew she would not be able to. Kate also knew that if she was in her room she would not be able to stop Jacob from emptying the two decanters of whiskey and brandy that were in the study. A ransom could come at any time and they had to be ready.
Ready? She thought. Ready for what? The ransom would only contain a demand, not the location of Grace and they would be no better off in regard to finding her than they had been last night.
Kate looked at the mantelpiece as the gentle chimes of the clock struck six. Just as the last chime sounded there was the sound of a bell ringing. Jacob jumped to his feet and ran to the front door. Kate followed him in time to see a small boy being dragged into the hallway. Jacob snatched a sealed letter from the terrified boy’s hand, ripped it open and read the contents. His shoulders slumped as he digested the information before turning his attention back to the boy.
“Who gave you this?” The boy remained silent. “I said who gave you this?” said Jacob, pushing the boy against the wall, his voice rising with anger and frustration.
“Jacob,” said Kate, “you’re scaring him,” Kate walked over to the boy and knelt down in front of him, pointing to the letter in Jacob’s hand, “Do you know who gave you this?” she asked in a soft voice. The boy shook his head. “Would you recognise him if you saw him again?”
The boy shook his head again. “He had a cloak on with a high collar. I never saw his face.”
Out of Time: . (Steamside Chroncles Book 1) Page 17