by Steve Hayes
‘I would ask one other favour,’ Holmes said. ‘That we accompany you.’ When Varney hesitated, he added: ‘A friendly face may encourage the countess to co-operate more fully.’
Varney, realizing the sense in that, said: ‘Quite what I was thinking. Certainly you may accompany me, Mr Holmes. I should be glad of your assistance. Now, if you’ll give me a moment to arrange some transport….’
He hurried from his office and started bellowing orders.
Watson said quietly: ‘Do you think it was wise to offer to accompany him? I mean if James really is innocent, as I am now willing to concede, then we have to forewarn him. We could have slipped away and sent a telegram, perhaps, or—’
‘No, Watson. If the telegram were to come to light at some later stage it would implicate us in perverting the course of justice. And though I have been known to follow my own counsel in times past, neither of us would choose to do that willingly. We must hope that the countess and Jesse James both are as sharp-witted and resourceful as we believe them to be.’
Varney lumbered back into the room. ‘Are you ready, gentlemen? There’ll be a growler and a black Maria wagon around the front in ten minutes.’
CHAPTER 14
The Search
For the next hour or so the three of them were cooped up together inside a four-wheeled carriage. Behind, two sturdy draught horses pulled a black Maria wagon crowded with uniformed constables.
It was mid-afternoon when they wheeled up before Montague Hall. The butler showed Varney, Holmes and Watson into the library, where Elaina waited for them beside the fireplace. She looked elegantly stunning and, at first, delighted to see them. Then as she heard the inspector’s request to search her premises, she became shocked.
‘Surely, Inspector, you must realize that the very notion that I would entertain a known criminal here, much less hide him from the authorities, is ludicrous.’
‘Of course, m’lady,’ Varney said deferentially. ‘And naturally I apologize for the inconvenience. But I have to act upon all information received. And that is why I must ask your permission to search the house and outbuildings.’
Elaina looked at Holmes. ‘Is this your doing, Mr Holmes?’ she asked angrily.
‘No, Countess. In the first place, there is nothing to suggest that Mr James is even in the country, much less that he has committed any crime. I am of the opinion that someone is attempting to lead the police investigation astray, playing a rather impractical joke, or simply hoping to embarrass you.’
She smiled at him, and he and Watson both saw the relief in her eyes. Holmes hadn’t betrayed Jesse, then – not that she had believed he would. But Jesse himself had been so convinced. Then again, trust must come hard to a man who had lived the life he had. She couldn’t blame him for his misgivings.
Still, it had been a close-run thing. It was Jesse, on edge ever since they had heard news of “the James boys” robbery, who had first sprung from his chair as if poked with a stick, Jesse who had been alerted by the faintest tinkle of harness even as the two police coaches appeared around the line of trees, heading along the drive at a determined trot.
‘You expectin’ someone?’ he’d asked her.
‘No.’
‘They’re policemen, ain’t they?’
‘Yes.’
‘Damn that Holmes! He’s sold me out!’
‘No, Jesse, you don’t know th—’
‘Well, I ain’t surrenderin’ without a fight!’
‘No, no. Please. No gunplay!’
‘I got no choice,’ he said. Angrily, he indicated the afternoon edition of the newspaper lying on the table. ‘I ain’t confessin’ to a crime I didn’t commit.’
An idea hit her. ‘Maybe you do have a choice …’ She tugged on the nearby bell-pull and within moments Fordham knocked and entered. ‘Yes, my lady?’
‘I want you to take everything from Mr Howard’s room and hide it.’
The butler’s only response was an infinitesimal lift of the eyebrows.
‘The police are about to arrive, and I suspect they believe that Mr Howard was somehow involved in this morning’s robbery of Crosbie and Shears.’
‘But Mr Howard has been here all day, my lady. I would be more than willing to testify to that.’
‘Thank you, Fordham, but for reasons I can’t explain that won’t be enough. Now, please do as I ask. Oh, and instruct the staff not to mention that Mr Howard was ever here.’
‘Very good, my lady,’ Fordham said without hesitation. Then as they heard the coaches pulling up outside, he added: ‘I will answer the door, my lady, and then attend to it.’
‘Thank you. But hurry. I’ll only be able to stall them for so long.’
As Fordham hurried out, Jesse said: ‘What about me? I ain’t as easy to hide as a suitcase.’
‘This is a large estate. Go find someplace on the grounds to lie low and don’t show yourself again until the police are gone.’
‘I can’t do that,’ Jesse said. ‘If they find me, it’ll implicate you. And believe me, you wouldn’t like being on the wrong side of the bars.’
‘Then make sure they don’t find you,’ Elaina said. She pulled him close, kissed him passionately and then pushed him towards the French windows. ‘Go on, darling. Do as I say. Now!’
Jesse left.
Now, in answer to Varney’s request to search the premises, she said: ‘I gather you have a search warrant, Inspector?’
‘No, m’lady,’ he replied. ‘But I can get one, if needs be. I was rather hoping it wouldn’t come to that.’
‘It doesn’t have to,’ Elaina said. ‘I give you my personal assurance, Inspector, that you will not find the man you seek – always assuming he actually exists, that is – here.’
‘I appreciate that, m’lady. But I still have to check.’
‘Then my word isn’t good enough?’
‘I never said that, m’lady. And I’d be obliged if you didn’t go putting words in my mouth. Now, do we have your permission or not?’
Elaina hesitated, still stalling for time. No one would blame her for insisting upon a warrant. But then there came a knock at the door and she said: ‘Enter.’
Fordham came in. ‘Will the gentlemen be staying for tea, my lady?’ he enquired. His bland expression gave nothing away, but as soon as the opportunity presented itself, he gave a brief but unmistakable wink that only she caught.
Hiding her relief she said: ‘Will you, Inspector?’
‘Thank you, m’lady, no.’
‘Dr Watson and I would enjoy a cup,’ Holmes said to Elaina. Then to Varney: ‘I’m sure you and your men are quite capable of making a thorough search without our help.’
‘Quite,’ said the Inspector.
‘Fordham,’ said Elaina, ‘Inspector Varney and his men will be conducting a search of the house. Please give them every assistance.’
‘Yes, my lady,’ Fordham replied, and left.
Thanking her, Inspector Varney promised to be as quick as possible, and be the very epitome of discretion. Once again he made the word sound like eppy-tomey.
As the inspector left to organize the search, Holmes said quietly: ‘Have no fear. I doubt the police will find him unless he is exceptionally clumsy.’
She frowned. ‘What makes you say that?’
Ignoring the question, he went on: ‘You know, of course, that the Pinkerton agent, Cage Liggett, was behind the robbery at the bank, his plan being to incriminate James so that the police would deal with him?’
‘Of course.’
‘If your staff are questioned, can they be trusted not to talk?’
‘They will say nothing,’ she assured him. ‘I may be many things, Holmes, but never a bully. I’ve always treated the servants well, and they in turn have given me their complete loyalty.’
‘Let us hope you are right, Countess. If Varney finds James, or if your staff let something slip, you will be ruined. Harbouring a known criminal, especially one of James’s calibre �
� the courts will not be inclined to leniency, I fear.’
Varney waited in the hallway while his constables went through the house from top to bottom. The attic was opened and inspected. Every room was unlocked, underneath every bed was checked, every cupboard and wardrobe opened and scrutinized. The cellar was examined, and then the stables, the outbuildings, even the little crooked row of staff cottages.
Last of all the grounds themselves were searched. Elaina waited tensely beside Holmes and Watson, expecting at any moment that Varney to enter the room and grimly tell her that James had been found and apprehended, and it was time for her to admit that she’d been harbouring a criminal all along.
But the long, tense minutes continued to be marked by the metronomic ticking of the spelter clock, and nothing happened except more waiting.
The search took over an hour. But at last Inspector Varney entered the library, his expression sheepish. ‘Thank you, m’lady. I’m sorry to have troubled you.’
With effort, Elaina hid her relief and, with a glassy smile replied: ‘That’s quite all right, Inspector. You were only doing your duty.’
‘Very decent of you to see it that way, m’lady.’
‘However,’ she added, ‘my lawyer, Sir Ashley Danvers-Cole, will hear about this when I next see him.’
Varney, familiar with the lawyer’s fearsome reputation, looked crestfallen. ‘Yes, m’lady,’ he said meekly. And then, to Holmes and Watson: ‘Are you coming along?’
‘No,’ Holmes said. ‘The countess has kindly invited us to dine with her.’
With a nod, Varney made one final apology and then left, thoroughly shamefaced. From the library window they watched as his men climbed into the back of the black Maria wagon while Varney himself squeezed into the growler. A moment later they were heading back down the drive.
‘Heaven knows where Jesse went,’ said Elaina, turning to Holmes. ‘He could be miles away by now.’
‘I think not,’ Holmes replied. He stepped to the French windows, let himself out on to the terrace, and descended the stone steps into the gardens themselves.
Elaina raised her eyebrows at Watson. ‘Now where’s he off to?’
Watson shrugged. ‘May I suggest we follow him and find out, my lady?’
With purposeful, long-legged strides Holmes headed for the giant oak which stood in the centre of the wide, spacious lawn. Upon reaching it, he stopped and called: ‘You can come down now, Mr James.’
Nothing happened.
‘I assure you that Inspector Varney and his men have left. You have nothing to fear.’
The branches shivered, and as Elaina and Watson approached they saw Jesse climbing down through the tangled foliage. Dropping lithely to the ground, he stretched to ease the kinks from his spine, then confronted Holmes.
‘All right,’ he said grudgingly. ‘How’d you figure out I was up there?’
‘Elementary,’ Holmes replied as the others joined them. ‘When one is searching, one will look from left to right and round about, but rarely will one ever look up. And though you are clearly an excellent climber, sir, you are also of sturdy build. As you climbed, you dislodged a number of leaves. Since it is hardly likely that an oak, which is in full bloom by this time of year, would shed its leaves at any time before October, it was therefore logical to assume that something or someone of substance was in the tree.’
‘Hell’s fire,’ Jesse grumbled. ‘Don’t you ever get tired of beating your own drum?’
‘You asked the question, Mr James. I merely provided the answer. But now I suggest we go indoors. Should the inspector happen to return for any reason, it would not bode well for the countess if he were to find you here. Besides, we have much to do if we are to clear your name and bring the real culprits to book.’
Jesse frowned, surprised. ‘Then you don’t figure I was part of that hold-up?’
‘Of course not. Unless we are both very much mistaken, it was Cage Liggett.’
‘The man you said you could find,’ Jesse reminded him sourly.
As they all walked back to the house Holmes said: ‘For the past four days I have had my agents, whom Watson refers to as my Baker Street Irregulars, scouring the East End in search of the Liggett brothers.’
‘The Baker Str – what the hell are they?’
‘A band of street arabs,’ said Watson. ‘Urchins led by a lad named Wiggins who … ’ He broke off suddenly as he remembered the message Mrs Hudson had given Holmes shortly before they’d left for Seething Lane. ‘So that’s what Wiggins’s message meant!’ he exclaimed. ‘He’s had “no joy” in finding the Liggetts!’
‘Precisely,’ said Holmes. ‘And so it falls to me to make enquiries in person.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Elaina said as she saw Jesse looked doubtful. ‘Holmes will locate them. I’d bet my life on it.’
‘Sure hope you’re right,’ Jesse said. ‘I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, Ellie. You and your servants have done right by me and I truly appreciate it. But I reckon I’ve kicked my heels ’round here long enough. If you don’t turn the Liggetts up soon,’ he added to Holmes, ‘I’ll have to do the job myself.’
‘That would be a grave mistake,’ Holmes said. ‘You’ll go blundering into the East End and more than likely get yourself killed or arrested. Don’t forget, the Liggetts know you’re here now, Mr James. I don’t know how – perhaps that sketch artist from the Illustrated London News made another drawing of you when you weren’t looking. But this much is certain – you have lost the element of surprise and they are out to get you before you can get them.’
‘Let ’em try,’ Jesse said. ‘They’ll learn to regret it. I’ve made a promise and I aim to keep it. I’m gonna kill those sorry bastards, Holmes – an’ anyone else who tries to stop me.’
‘Jesse, please,’ Elaina began.
He cut her off, temper flaring. ‘You’re wastin’ your breath, Ellie. I’m at the end of my rope. If Holmes don’t find Liggett by tomorrow, I’ll track him down myself.’
CHAPTER 15
A Tempting Offer
Despite telling Inspector Varney that they had been invited to dinner, Holmes had no intention of staying. Accepting Elaina’s offer of one of her coaches, he and Watson drove away shortly after the police left. As Elaina and Jesse watched the brougham disappear beyond the trees lining the drive, she asked: ‘So what do you think of my friend Holmes now?’
Jesse shrugged. ‘He’s a hard man to figure out. But I’ll give him credit for one thing: he kept his word. He had a chance to hand me over to the law, and he didn’t take it.’
Elaina didn’t answer. She continued to stare out of the window. Her silence troubled Jesse. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Something’s wrong,’ he insisted. ‘What is it? Do you want me to leave? I wouldn’t blame you.’
‘No, no, that’s the last thing I want. It’s just that …’
‘Go on.’
‘It’s Holmes. I sense you might be right.’
He frowned. ‘In what way?’
‘That he may not be as trustworthy as I thought.’
Jesse stared at her as if she had gone loco. ‘This is one helluva time to tell me.’
‘I know. And believe me, Jesse, I’m as shocked as you are to hear myself say that.’
‘What made you change your mind?’
‘Nothing. I mean, nothing I can exactly point to. It’s more like – well, intuition. I just sensed it when you two were arguing over shooting Liggett.’
Jesse didn’t say anything.
Elaina, as if overwhelmed by the idea of accusing the venerable Sherlock Holmes of being crafty or deceitful, suddenly blurted: ‘Oh, what am I saying? Forget what I just said, Jesse. I must be going crazy to think that Holmes would be anything but totally honest with you.’
Again, Jesse didn’t say anything. But the look in his eyes hinted that the seed of suspicion, already lingering there, was now running rampant.
‘Maybe wh
at’s troubling me,’ Elaina continued after a pause, ‘is that Holmes has a Machiavellian streak in him.’
‘Meaning?’
‘He’ll do anything to get what he wants, to achieve his goal.’
‘And what goal might that be, Ellie?’
‘I’m not sure yet.’
Jesse grunted. ‘And until you are, what the hell am I supposed to do – sit around here waitin’ for Mr Two-Face to show his real motive?’
‘Being sarcastic won’t help,’ Elaina chided, adding: ‘Oh God, I wish now I hadn’t told you what was bothering me. Knowing your temper, you’re likely to jump on Duke and go shoot Holmes!’
‘That ain’t the worst idea you ever had,’ Jesse said grimly. Then, as she looked alarmed: ‘Don’t sweat it. I already promised my brother I wouldn’t lose my head if I got into trouble. And I ain’t about to go back on my word unless it’s truly necessary.’
Elaina sighed, relieved, and put her arms about Jesse’s neck. ‘I wish Frank was here,’ she said softly. ‘I’d give him a big kiss for being so smart.’
Jesse grinned, his temper fading. ‘Give it to me instead … then next time I see him …’
Her kiss silenced him.
It was a long, passionate embrace and when their lips finally separated, she pressed her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes.
‘I hope you meant what you said before – about trusting me, I mean?’
‘How couldn’t I?’ Jesse said. ‘You’ve stuck your neck out for me, hid me, lied to the police. If that ain’t bellyin’ up to the bar, I don’t know what is.’ He cupped his hands about her beautiful face and kissed her uplifted lips.
When they eventually broke apart she took his hand, saying: ‘Knowing that makes me happier than I’ve ever been. Because I’ve thought of a way to find the Liggetts.’
‘Go on.’
‘What’s the one thing that’s better than going after your quarry?’ she asked.
He thought for a moment, then shrugged. ‘Havin’ them come to you?’
