by Rebecca King
A TERRIBLE
MISUNDERSTANDING
A New Adventure Begins
Star Elite - Book Six
by
REBECCA KING
© 2019 by Rebecca King
The moral right of R L King to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
This book is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places, and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, either living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Further books in this series will be published shortly.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THE LOCAL HEROES SERIES (STAR ELITE)
MISS FLORENTINE’S SCHOOL FOR INVESTIGATORS
DUTY OR DISHONOUR
TUPPENCE
MURDER AT HYNDE HOUSE
OTHER BOOKS BY REBECCA KING
CHAPTER ONE
Niall leaned back in his seat and crossed his booted feet. His colleagues were sitting in almost identical positions and were either staring at Oliver, who sat at the head of the table, or their feet, which rested on the table. What they weren’t doing was looking at each other because none of them wanted to do anything that would make them the focus of Oliver’s hawkish attention. He was looking for a volunteer and none of them were willing to be it.
“Will you just get on with it?” Phillip snapped when the tension began to turn ominous. “I have got people to meet, and a life to live.”
“I don’t want this blasted job any more than you do,” Oliver growled.
“Someone has to do it,” Will snorted.
“I won’t,” Niall declared flatly.
“We have to make a few decisions,” Oliver interrupted before anyone else could remove themselves from sorting out the problems the Star Elite now faced.
“About what?” Niall prompted when Oliver turned his attention to what was written on the paper in his hand and seemed to forget they were all still waiting.
“Oliver,” Will snapped, rapping his knuckles on the table in a rapid tattoo to try to get his colleague’s attention.
Oliver sighed and looked pointedly at Will when he became distracted by his hunger and bit noisily into an apple. He began to munch while he stared blankly at the floor beyond Niall’s shoulder. Outwardly Will was the epitome of bored male, but Oliver knew that Will had a fierce temper and was apt to leave if he was delayed much longer. Everyone was eager to get on with the Star Elite’s current investigation, not least because the lives of young women were at risk. Each day of delays and wrong turns was another day when the young women who had been snatched from the streets of Leicestershire and Derbyshire didn’t make it home.
“It’s about Sir Hugo, isn’t it?” Niall asked because their boss, Sir Hugo, was usually the man who led such meetings.
“What’s happened?” Will prompted when Oliver ran a weary hand down his face.
Oliver’s reticence was starting to worry everyone, who lowered their boots from the table and sat a little straighter in their seats as they waited.
“As you know, our target has disappeared. Claude Smidgley was living at his nephews’ house but left as soon as they were arrested,” Oliver began.
“We know all of this,” Niall grunted. “Not long after Smidgley disappeared, Sir Hugo vanished as well. Has anybody heard from him yet?”
“No, but last night I received a special request, and it comes from the highest in the War Office, so none of us are in a position to refuse to do it.” Oliver threw a pointed look around the men, who now all looked wary.
Everyone remained still.
Oliver took a deep breath. “I have received word from the local lads that Claude Smidgley was last seen heading toward Gloucestershire. Peregrine is
giving chase and has already sent word back that Smidgley is heading toward a small town called Micklemine. That was two days ago. He hasn’t sent another report yet, so we have to assume he has not moved on.”
“Does Claude have any contacts in Gloucestershire?” Harry leaned forward in his seat and braced his elbows on the large kitchen table they were all gathered around.
Their temporary safe house was just like any other, although was large enough to accommodate several men, and isolated enough that they could come and go at all hours of the day and night and not be noticed. Unfortunately, right now, it was the deathly silence within the isolated house that put everyone even more on edge.
“No. We have it on good authority that the bosses of the War Office don’t think Smidgley is on his way to meet contacts who can help him hide. That would be a hell of a lot easier for us, but nothing in this investigation has been easy. Unfortunately, our already difficult investigation is going to get a lot worse,” Oliver informed them dourly.
“How?”
“Where is Claude heading?”
“Why?”
Oliver lifted his hands in a placating gesture when all his colleagues began to slam questions at him in quick succession.
“It is believed that Smidgley is going after Atticus Potter’s daughter, a young woman called Clara Potter. Miss Clara Potter. Micklemine sits about ten miles away from Serpentine, the place Atticus Potter’s daughter calls home.” Oliver tore his gaze away from his papers and levelled a dark look on his colleagues. “Miss Potter lives with her aunt. Miss Flora Potter is Atticus Potter’s sister, and guardian to Clara while Atticus is in London, which is where he is now. However, Flora is somewhat infirm, so Miss Potter tends to do what she wants when she wants.”
Niall rolled his eyes. “Clara looks after the relation while her father is in London?”
“That’s about it,” Oliver sighed. “The only other information we have is that there is one housekeeper; a villager called Rita, but she doesn’t live in the house. She lives down the road with her family and walks to work at the Potter residence. It is an unusual arrangement I agree, but it seems to work for them so who are we to judge?”
“Where does this information come from? How can we be certain that it is accurate?” Harry demanded.
“The personal information has come from Atticus Potter himself. Beverley Argent has told us that Smidgley intends to go after Potter’s daughter. Potter is the Secretary of State, don’t forget; one of the most powerful men in England.”
“Why in the Hell is the Secretary of State’s daughter living in a damned backwoods like Serpentine?” Harry demanded.
“Apparently the house Flora and Clara share belongs to Flora. Atticus Potter’s house is several miles away but Clara cannot live there by herself,” Oliver reported.
“Well, she doesn’t seem that much safer being in the damned house with her aged relation, i
s she?” Harry argued.
“She isn’t going to be safe anywhere now that Smidgley is targeting her. I don’t think that Smidgley would be put off even if she lived in Atticus’s house with Atticus in residence, do you?” Oliver retorted.
Oliver’s words made everyone motionless. They all stared at him because the ferocity of his voice was so unlike his usual calm, unflappable self that they all knew that the bad news hadn’t yet been delivered.
“Argent was arrested by Potter for spying on the Star Elite’s activities and usurping his position of authority. He had threatened Sir Hugo with losing his position in the War Office if he continued to try to investigate the Smidgleys. Potter is responsible for putting Argent behind bars. It hasn’t gone down well with a lot of people in society, I can tell you. It is inevitable that someone would try to target Potter’s daughter once word got out that Argent and the Smidgleys had been taken down.”
Harry puffed out his cheeks. “We don’t get involved in diplomatic situations.”
“This isn’t a diplomatic situation though, is it? I mean, it would be if they targeted Potter while he was in London and tried to stop him from doing his job. However, now that they have made it clear they intend to target his daughter it becomes a part of our investigation,” Niall argued.
Oliver nodded. “It involves people, not positions of authority ergo it falls to us to do what we can to protect this young woman. She is no different to any other woman we have been tasked with protecting.”
“Clara Potter isn’t the same, though, is she?” Harry retorted. “She is Atticus Potter’s daughter.”
“Well, you had better make sure that nothing happens to her or that aged aunt of hers then, hadn’t you?”
Harry threw him a horrified look. “I am not babysitting her. You can forget that, Boss. Wild sodding horses wouldn’t force me to do it.”
“You will do as you are damned well ordered to do,” Oliver snapped. “Argent has apparently told Potter that: ‘his daughter is a woman, and a woman alone is very vulnerable.”
Will’s brows shot up. “Argent actually told Potter that?”
“Where is Potter now? Why hasn’t he gone home to check on her himself?” Niall demanded.
“Because if he left London now the people in authority who are corrupt would do everything in their power to get him out of office before he could return. He cannot leave because the blackguards who have turned traitor to king and country have to be removed from their positions.”
“He has to stay in his position to stop someone else taking over it.” Harry nodded but couldn’t hide his disgust. He knew what was coming but there was nothing he could do to thwart it.
“Exactly. He is torn and has requested we do what he can’t. I am not suggesting that we move into the damned woman’s house. We will put her on watch and keep her safe. Wherever she goes, and that dotty aunt of hers, we are going to have to go to. At least until Smidgley is behind bars.”
“But longer if the upper echelons of the hierarchy in the War Office pose a threat,” Niall added.
Oliver nodded, but this time didn’t speak, not least because the tension had turned brooding and sinister. He knew that all it would take is one word, one wrong look, and the entire room would erupt into chaos.
“Right, there are a few things you need to know about our dear Clara Potter. She has shunned London’s entertainments, and prefers to live with her Aunt Flora while her father is in London. From what Simon Andrews has been able to ascertain, Atticus has practically ordered Clara to move to London, but she refuses,” Oliver growled. “At five and twenty he cannot force her. Besides, she practically lives with her aunt so there is nothing Atticus can do. Clara isn’t living unchaperoned. He cannot force her to socialise if she doesn’t want to, ergo she is living in Serpentine in her aunt’s house and intends to stay there for the foreseeable future. Atticus has to stay in London because he is facing a diplomatic crisis.”
“She doesn’t have a husband; at five and twenty? What the Hell is wrong with her?” Harry asked dourly.
“Well, at least we can be assured we won’t end up like him,” Niall snorted with a nod to Oliver.
Oliver’s brows shot up but he followed it with a wolfish grin. Rather than take his colleague to task for his teasing, Oliver looked at the report he had to finish relaying.
“Beverley Argent has been interrogated repeatedly by Simon Andrews but has come up with the same information. If the Smidgleys’ operation was ever discovered the kidnappers would strike again and snatch a relation of one of the top brass. The victim would then be used as collateral to barter for their freedom. If Clara Potter is snatched her safety will be used to try to force Atticus to release the Smidgley brothers. If he doesn’t comply then his daughter will die, it is that simple.”
“That would cause such outrage that Potter’s position would become untenable,” Niall interrupted.
Everyone nodded.
“The threat is real, to Clara Potter, Atticus Potter, and everyone else who isn’t involved in the Smidgleys’ shenanigans,” Harry murmured thoughtfully.
“The threat is very real,” Will agreed.
“That’s come from Argent? He actually dared threaten Atticus, the Secretary of State?” Niall pursed his lips, impressed although slightly horrified at the man’s audacity. “Does he not realise that if anything happens to Atticus or his family, Argent would shoulder the blame as well as Smidgley. It is highly unlikely either of them would ever be freed from gaol.”
“How does Claude expect to snatch a woman single-handedly?” Rhys asked. “Now that his nephews are behind bars their little empire has crumbled.”
“With difficulty if she struggles,” Niall grinned.
Rhys smirked.
“We know it is possible,” Jasper warned. “Look at what happened in St Magdaline.”
“How does this impact on our investigation, apart from taking us all to Gloucestershire?” Niall asked with a shrug.
“We are going to split into two teams,” Oliver warned. “Half of us are going to catch up with Peregrine and see if we can catch Smidgley before he strays too close to our dear Miss Potter. We are also going to place men at Clara Potter’s house in case Smidgley evades us and manages to reach the Potter residence.”
“We will be waiting for him,” Niall growled, as if there could be little doubt about it.
“We have to keep watch over Clara Potter, but because we know how effectively Smidgley has kidnapped the victims in broad daylight we have to be extra vigilant. She has to be constantly watched,” Oliver warned. “Do not take anything for granted, gentlemen. One blink is all it would take. We would be disbanded if we failed to protect the daughter of the Secretary of State.”
“She doesn’t know that her life is in danger I take it?” Harry lifted his brows when Oliver shook his head.
“She hasn’t any idea what her father is having to deal with,” Oliver reported. “She is not to know either. This is a government investigation, gentlemen. Clara Potter is not to be a part of it unless she has to know because her safety has been compromised.”
“Why doesn’t Atticus just tell her what is happening and that she is to be vigilant?”
“Because he doesn’t want to scare her. Hopefully, we can get Smidgley before he reaches her. This mission is to be done silently without alerting her or her aunt to what is going on,” Oliver ordered.
“But Claude may just be passing through Gloucestershire,” Niall growled. “How do we know this isn’t just a fool’s errand and the danger Smidgley poses to Clara Potter is nothing more than an idle threat made by Argent because he doesn’t have any other weapons now that he is behind bars?”
“We don’t,” Oliver warned. “But we cannot ignore the threat, or the fact that Smidgley is now doing everything Argent said he would. We don’t know for definite what Smidgley is up to and won’t know until we catch up with Peregrine. Argent has been adamant this was their plan, so we have to assume that Claud
e Smidgley has every intention of sticking to it. He needs collateral, gentlemen and Clara Potter is it.”
“We shall be right behind him,” Niall promised.
“We will get word to you if Smidgley moves away from the area and the threat is over,” Harry assured him. “You can catch us up.”
A heavy silence lengthened over the table. Oliver didn’t dismiss the men as he usually would. Instead, he waited until everyone realised that was something more.
At first, Niall thought nothing of the wary tension hovering over everyone, until he looked up and realised that Oliver was staring intently at him.
“You follow can catch us up,” Oliver repeated meaningfully.
Niall looked around the group. When Will and Rhys shifted uncomfortably in their seats, he realised that his friends knew exactly what his part of the investigation was going to be.
“I can’t follow Claude alone,” he protested. “I need help.”
“You are not going to follow Claude. Like I have said, Peregrine is, but will be assisted by Phillip, Callum, and Rhys.”
“Do you want me to see if the victims are still in this county then?” Niall asked, mentally praying that his growing suspicion wasn’t going to turn into fact.
“No.” Oliver coughed around his growing discomfort. “You have to go and look after Miss Potter, with Will and Harry.”
A deathly silence descended on the room once more. Niall blinked. He shook his head to clear the dull ringing in his ears because he was sure he had just misheard Oliver. Ever so slowly, he turned his head to stare steadily at the man in a way that was far too intent, and almost deadly.
Will’s eyes widened in horror. “What?”
“Why in the Hell should we have to do it?” Harry thundered.
“I am not a sodding babysitter,” Niall ground out through clenched teeth.
“I cannot think of anybody more suited to the job,” Oliver began only for Niall to begin muttering while emphatically shaking his head.
“I cannot do it. How do you think it is going to look to Emmeline if I start paying too much attention to another single young woman? We have only just married, for God’s sake. Besides, I have to be here to liaise with the contacts from London. Jasper cannot do it.”