by Will Thomas
“I’m sorry, but I cannot change events to please your theories.”
“I suppose not. A pity, though.”
Barker nodded.
“Sir, do you think a country can become an imperialist nation like Great Britain, without having to do the kind of things Drummond did, such as theft and murder?”
“No, Thomas, I don’t. There will always be a need for spies and informants. Drummond was given his orders and he performed them to the best of his abilities. Momentarily, at least, that poor little German scholar in the hotel room was England’s enemy. How Drummond felt afterward is mere conjecture. He may not have had time to even think about it before his own demise.” He paused for a moment. “Thomas, could you bring that case on the mantelpiece, please?”
I retrieved it for him. It was a black pipe case I had not seen before. The leather was shiny and new. He tripped the tiny lock and opened it. Inside was a new snowy-white meerschaum. At some point in time, it was lying in a reef somewhere in Turkey. Now it was carved in the likeness of its owner, Cyrus Barker, including his bowler hat and a minuscule pipe in his mouth. He had one just like it when I was first hired, smoked until it was the color of honey, but it had been shot from his mouth while we were working on an enquiry in the Scilly Isles. Now a version of it was back again. It was a spot of vanity in a man generally without it.
He lifted the pipe, ran his hand over it, then opened the jar that read TABAC on the side, and stuffed it full of his private mixture. He lit it and lay back. Then he pulled a small cushion from behind him and rested his foot upon it.
“How do you suppose,” I asked, “Arnstein’s private academy happened to be in Germany in time to follow Drummond?”
“Were I in his position, I would not go into negotiations with the German government alone. It would be too easy for him to suddenly disappear, rather than be paid the million pounds. The man needed foot soldiers, and he just happened to have some.”
“They were children,” I said.
“To their mothers, perhaps, but in most countries in Europe, the majority of them were old enough to join the army or be conscripted into it. Also, the chances are excellent that these little aristocrats have fathers and grandfathers who began the same way. Military families can place a heavy mantle upon a young man.”
“Was Arnstein paid? He claimed he had been, but Hatzfeldt implied otherwise.”
The Guv was busy smoking his pipe, testing it, gauging its draw and suitability. He seemed to ignore the question for a minute.
“The fact that it was in a hotel, being valued, was proof that Arnstein had not yet been paid. I think it likely that Drummond had followed Arnstein from Vienna, having received word from an informant where he was going. I’ll admit I was trying to prove to myself that Drummond was traveling in Germany with Cochran or Heinlich, but I could not make the pieces fit.”
“Thomas?” a voice carried from below. “Are you coming?”
“Yes, Rebecca, in a minute or two!” I looked at my employer. “Do you intend to quit the Templars?”
“I fear I cannot now. I must look after Munro and make certain he stays out of mischief.”
“How will you do that?”
“Checks and balances, lad. I have a few spies of my own.”
“Shall we still find our offices inundated with messages?”
“Eventually, I’m going to suggest Munro assign a constable to type the messages for both of us. They may arrive a day late, but one cannot expect more than that.”
“Have you put Mac out of his situation? I thought he enjoyed working in the office, and he certainly had nerves of steel to step out of our chambers just before Scotland Yard’s arrival.”
“Mac is always competent. However, I do not want to place Mrs. Llewelyn in the position of having to cook for the household, especially when our plans often change hourly.”
“We could hire a cook. For the evenings, I mean.”
“No, no, that would be worse. We would feel obligated to be home at a specific hour for dinner. Mac is far more flexible.”
“I suggest we keep the messages in our office, have Mac set them down, then send a copy of the list and the originals to Munro’s office. Mac can work half a day and get back to his duties at home, unless for any reason we find we need his services on a particular day.”
Barker puffed and considered. “That seems like a sound enough suggestion. Let us put it to Mac and see what he says.”
He exhaled the last scraps of smoke from his pipe.
“What of Mrs. Llewelyn? Would she object to being freed of the obligation to cook?”
“Not at all, although she might decide to continue to learn from Etienne.”
“Most men would make the decision for her,” he remarked.
“Are you suggesting I should?”
“No. Your wife is a very intelligent woman, and the two of you must work out your decisions together.”
I looked at him with some degree of doubt. “You think her intelligent?”
“Of course. You made a fine choice, Thomas, and may I say that if the Mocattas choose to continue to ostracize their daughter over so trivial a matter, it is their loss and our gain.”
“You do not mind having a woman in the house?”
Barker gave one of his rumbling chuckles. “You make her sound like a broom or an iron. There is more than one sort, you know.”
“I do, yes,” I said. “But I didn’t know you did.”
“Well, I am certain we can all agree on something. You got far better than a rascal like you deserves.”
“Wait!” I said. “You had the satchel, and Jeremy removed enough glass to protect the manuscript. Then he put poor old Cotton Mather between the glass sheets. Munro took possession of the satchel, Pierce delivered it to Calais, and Bello had apoplexy when he found out what was inside. Am I correct?”
“You are, in all essentials.”
“But there was another satchel, the one in the dustbin that you locked to my wrist. What was in there?”
“There were a few books I put in for ballast, but for the most part—”
“Don’t tell me! It was your ship model!”
“Aye,” the Guv said, looking glum. “Three years’ work at the bottom of the Channel, along with my best tools. I will have to start over again.”
Also by Will Thomas
Some Danger Involved
To Kingdom Come
The Limehouse Text
The Hellfire Conspiracy
The Black Hand
Fatal Enquiry
Anatomy of Evil
Hell Bay
Old Scores
Blood Is Blood
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
WILL THOMAS is the author of the Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn series, including Blood Is Blood, Old Scores, Hell Bay, and the Shamus and Barry Award–nominated Some Danger Involved, among others. He lives in Oklahoma. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Epigraph
Prologue
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 Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Also by Will Thomas
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
LETHAL PURSUIT. Copyright © 2019 by Will Thomas. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by Sara Wood and David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover artwork © Mark Owen / Arcangel; clouds © Tim Robinson / Arcangel; tower © Justin Black / Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Thomas, Will, 1958– author.
Title: Lethal pursuit / Will Thomas.
Description: First edition. | New York: Minotaur Books, 2019. | Series: A Barker & Llewelyn novel; 11
Identifiers: LCCN 2019029068 | ISBN 9781250170408 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250170415 (ebook)
Subjects: GSAFD: Spy stories. | Suspense fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3620.H644 L48 2019 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019029068
eISBN 9781250170415
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: November 2019
