The Price of Silence

by Dolores Gordon-Smith

  Forester’s companion, Brown, shifted impatiently. ‘Come on, guys. Enough of this. You’ll get your money, Harper. Let’s get this boat launched. We’re running out of time.’

  Forester didn’t move. ‘I don’t like being threatened. Harper, do as you’re told, otherwise it’s worse for you. By tomorrow morning I want to hear that our Mr Paul Diefenbach has been found dead. Get me? That’s all you’ve got to do. Kill him.’

  ‘Like hell you will!’ yelled Paul Diefenbach.

  To Anthony’s horror, Paul Diefenbach rolled away from the rock and, scrambling to his knees, launched himself at the men by the boat.

  Taken utterly by surprise, Harper, Brown and Forester were hurled away from the boat. In the dim light it was impossible to see who was fighting who.

  Then the deafening roar of a shot rang out, echoing round the cave. It was Miss Anston, automatic in hand.

  All four men stopped fighting as she stepped forward. ‘Diefenbach, stand up and step away, otherwise I’ll shoot.’

  Diefenbach raised his head from the pebbles but didn’t move.

  Miss Anston took aim and fired another deafening blast, sending the bullet close to his head in a spray of pebbles.

  Harper kicked him in the ribs. ‘Do it!’

  With a yell of pain, Paul Diefenbach doubled up.

  ‘Who the hell let him go?’ demanded Forester, wiping blood from his mouth.

  Anthony stepped out, gun in hand. ‘I did. Miss Anston, drop the gun!’

  Forester tried to back away. Anthony zinged a bullet past him. ‘It’s just as easy to hit you,’ he said grimly. ‘Miss Anston, I won’t tell you twice. Drop the gun. Diefenbach, come here. You four, stay exactly where you are.’

  ‘Do what he says,’ said Harper, his voice breaking. ‘He’s army.’

  Reluctantly, Miss Anston dropped the gun.

  Harper swallowed hard. ‘Look, friend, I’m American, okay? These guys might speak English, but they’re German, sure enough. They made me go along with them. I’m a neutral, yes? But I’m on your side.’

  ‘Don’t give me that,’ said Anthony curtly. ‘I know exactly who you are.’

  Brown and Forester looked uneasily at each other. ‘What are you going to do?’

  Inwardly, Anthony was asking himself the same question. All four captives were as dangerous as a black mamba. Despite the fact he was still spoiling for a fight, Paul Diefenbach had been beaten up and couldn’t be much use.

  Then, unexpectedly, Harper started to laugh. ‘Do yourself a favour, pal, and look round.’

  Anthony smiled grimly. He was too old to fall for that one – and then a shot blazed out from behind.

  Spinning round, he dropped to the ground, flattening himself on the pebbles, the gun skittering away from him.

  In the flickering light, he could see the figure of a woman framed in the doorway to the cave, a gun raised in her hand.

  As she crunched across the beach towards him, he could see her other hand firmly gripping the arm of a little girl, who she dragged along behind her.

  Milly.

  Even in that moment, Anthony’s heart leapt. Of course this was Milly! Yes, she’d grown – of course she’d grown – but she was unmistakably Milly.

  Behind him, Harper and the others had dived from the gunshot. ‘Careful, Annie,’ said Harper, getting up cautiously. ‘That was too close for comfort. And why,’ he added, his voice rising, ‘have you bought that kid along?’

  ‘Because she keeps trying to escape, that’s why,’ said Annie, giving Milly an impatient shake. Gun in hand, she glared down at Anthony. ‘Get up. Who the hell are you?’

  ‘Never mind,’ cut in Forester urgently. ‘We have to launch the boat.’

  For a fraction of a second, Annie Colbeck’s attention was diverted as she looked at the boat. That’s all it took. In a swift movement, Anthony kicked out, sending Annie Colbeck’s gun into the air. He snatched the pistol as it fell and turned it on Annie.

  ‘Join the others,’ he said, indicating Harper, Forester and Brown with the barrel of the gun.

  Annie Colbeck took two reluctant steps back away across the beach, still dragging Milly.

  ‘Milly, come here,’ said Anthony.

  ‘Milly?’ Paul uttered in confusion.

  The little girl shook herself free and started towards Anthony, when she was grabbed by Annie. ‘Not so fast!’ With one hand on her arm, the woman’s other hand closed round the child’s throat.

  Milly yelped in a strangled gasp of pain.

  ‘I’ll kill her. I’ve killed before and enjoyed it. I’ll wring her neck.’

  Annie Colbeck’s voice was ice cold. Anthony remembered Hawthorne, the butler, an old man who’d just got in the way. Milly’s eyes bulged.

  ‘Give me the gun,’ ground out Annie, lifting Milly off her feet.

  Anthony couldn’t stand it. Milly would be dead in seconds. ‘All right!’ he yelled, throwing the gun to her.

  Annie laughed, dropped Milly, and bent to pick up the gun.

  Milly sank her teeth into Annie’s hand. Annie yelled and, shaking her hand free, drew her arm back for a stinging slap as Milly wriggled away.

  ‘You little cow!’ screamed Annie and, pointing the gun at Milly, fired. At the same moment, Paul Diefenbach caught hold of her arm, sending the bullet wild. Furiously, Annie whirled, bringing the weight of the gun across the side of his head.

  He fell back, unconscious, as Milly ran down the beach, out of the cave, into the sea, scrambling away over the rocks.

  ‘Let her go!’ yelled Brown, as Harper started after her. ‘She’s just a kid. We’re running out of time. We have to launch the boat!’ He snapped his fingers at Harper. ‘Take care of Diefenbach and his pal. If you don’t, it’ll be the worse for you.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Harper with relish. ‘It’ll be a real pleasure.’

  Miss Anston stooped and picked up her automatic. ‘You!’ she said motioning to Anthony. ‘Pick up Diefenbach and back against the rocks. Move!’

  Anthony moved. With two guns pointed at him, he didn’t have much choice.

  Harper, Forester and Brown set their shoulders to the boat and, grunting, pushed it into the sea. The water had already risen appreciably round the prow. Taking two of the hurricane lamps, they climbed on board and started to row steadily out of the cave onto the open water. Two lamps. That was the signal to the submarine.

  Harper smacked his hands together and smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. ‘Now, to take care of you two. But first, army boy, where did you come from?’

  Anthony had his answer ready. ‘I live in Margate. I’ve known this house for years. I was walking along the cliffs when I saw the kitchen door wide open and thought I’d better take a look.’

  ‘He’s lying,’ said Annie Colbeck furiously. ‘I closed that door.’

  ‘It’s certainly closed now,’ said Anthony. ‘I closed it.’

  Miss Anston shifted impatiently. ‘Does it matter? Let’s tie these jokers up and get out of here.’

  Harper cracked his knuckles. ‘Okay.’ He picked up a coil of rope from the beach and motioned to where a ring, evidently for tying up a boat, was set in the rock. ‘One wrong move and the girls will drill you,’ he warned.

  Harper lashed him and the unconscious Diefenbach to the ring. Anthony felt the bonds. They were very efficient.

  The water was surging into the cave. In the short time it had taken to tie them up, their ankles were already covered.

  Harper stood back and grinned. ‘You’re going to drown, pal. In about six hours’ time, when the tide’s gone out, we’ll come and untie you. Not that you’ll know anything about it, but I’ll do it, all the same. You can be lost at sea, I think, but as for Mr Diefenbach here … Well, he’ll have been killed by the British.’

  ‘No one will believe that,’ said Anthony.

  ‘His daddy will,’ said Harper with a grin. ‘Nice knowing you. So long,’ he added and, with Annie Colbeck and Miss Anston following
, crunched up the beach.

  A few minutes passed in silence, broken only by the onrush of the tide.

  Once over the rocks shielding the inlet, the water was rising fast. Each black wave seemed to mount higher and higher. Anthony’s thighs were covered, but Diefenbach, slumped unconscious against the rock, was nearly underwater. Anthony managed to get a knee under his body and lift. Diefenbach groaned.

  ‘Come on,’ Anthony urged. ‘Stand up, man!’

  Diefenbach blinked his eyes open. ‘Sorry,’ he muttered. ‘Can’t.’

  Anthony fought against the water. The undertow of the tide was pulling at him, knocking him off balance.

  ‘Come on!’ yelled Anthony. Straining on the rope, he managed to wedge Diefenbach’s body between himself and the rock, as the tide mounted another assault. ‘Stay on your feet!’

  The water was up to his chest. In desperation, he threw back his head and yelled. ‘Help!’

  ‘Les voilà!’ said a small, shrill voice excitedly. ‘Les voilà!’

  It was Milly. She scrambled onto a rock and sat out of the water at the mouth of the cave. Behind her were two soldiers.

  The beach party. Thank God.

  ‘We’re tied up!’ yelled Anthony.

  ‘Hang on, sir, we’ll soon have you out of there,’ shouted one of the soldiers. Bayonet at the ready, he slid down the rock into the sea, his companion following.

  ‘Did we get the submarine?’ gasped Anthony, as the bayonet sawed through the rope.

  ‘Yes, sir. All safe and sound in the hands of the Navy. We’ve had a signal.’

  He jerked his thumb backwards at Milly. ‘This little one turned up on the beach, scared to death, and insisted we came along. We didn’t understand her lingo, but it was obvious what she wanted. I reckon you’d have been goners for sure without her. We’d heard gunshots but couldn’t work out where they were coming from. It’s just as well she showed us the way. To get here from the beach you have to squeeze through a gap in the rocks. We’d never have found it without her. She’s a good kid.’

  ‘She certainly is,’ said Anthony, helping to heave Paul Diefenbach to safety on the rocks. He held out his arms to Milly. ‘Come on, sweetheart, down you come.’

  She looked at him shyly, then Anthony picked her up and lifted her onto his shoulders, out of the water.

  With the two men helping Paul Diefenbach, Anthony sloshed his way up the beach to dry land.

  ‘What now, sir?’ asked one of the men, a corporal, looking back at the sea. ‘I’m from Reculver, just down the coast. The currents are tricky round here on a rising tide. We can’t risk going back until the sea’s gone down but we’ve got a good few hours’ wait.’

  ‘We can do better than that,’ said Anthony, gently lifting Milly off his shoulders. He smiled for what seemed the first time in an eternity. ‘We can walk up through the house.’

  To the soldiers’ complete astonishment he led the way through the door, along the passage, and up into the kitchen.

  It was a crowded room. Charles Talbot, Captain Calcutt and a party of soldiers were guarding three very sullen prisoners.

  ‘Brooke!’ yelled Sir Charles. He bounded across the kitchen and shook him vigorously by the hand. ‘Glory be, man, where did you spring from?’ He looked down at Milly. ‘And the little girl, too. Is that Diefenbach?’ he asked as the two soldiers, supporting Paul Diefenbach, came into the room. ‘It’s like a miracle.’

  Milly took one look at Annie Colbeck and, with a little whimper, buried her face against Anthony’s leg.

  ‘Milly saved us,’ said Anthony, putting a protective arm around her. ‘She led the men straight to us. They’d left Diefenbach and myself tied up to drown.’

  ‘Did they, by jingo?’ said Captain Calcutt. ‘That’s something else to add to the charge sheet. I’m very glad to see you safe and sound, sir.’

  ‘Thank you, Captain. Diefenbach’s been treated pretty badly by our pals over there. Is there any brandy?’

  Sir Charles had brandy in a hip flask. After a few minutes, Paul Diefenbach had some colour back in his face. Anthony took a long draught and, feeling new life course through him, brought Sir Charles up to date with what had happened in the cave.

  ‘Will Diefenbach be all right, Brooke?’ asked Sir Charles.

  Paul answered for himself. ‘I’ll be fine,’ he said. ‘But, my God, I’d like to get my hands on Brown and Forester.’

  ‘You’ll get your chance very shortly,’ said Sir Charles. ‘The navy should be here any minute now with the prisoners from the submarine.’ He cocked his head to one side as a challenge was shouted from outside, followed by the crunch of feet.

  A party of sailors, led by a lieutenant, came into the kitchen, bringing with them the dejected Brown and Forester. Their dejection turned to utter dismay as they saw Paul Diefenbach.

  Anthony caught Paul’s arm as he got to his feet, fist clenched. ‘You can’t hit them,’ he warned. ‘They’re prisoners.’

  ‘It’s just as well for you two you’re under guard,’ Paul snarled. ‘I always knew you were spies.’

  Forester wasn’t cowed. ‘Spies? Ask yourself why we were needed, Diefenbach. If your father could’ve trusted you, he wouldn’t have needed us to see that you’d stick to the plan.’

  ‘What was the plan?’ asked Anthony, cutting off Paul Diefenbach’s furious retort. ‘There’s a lot I don’t understand.’

  Paul slumped back into the chair. ‘It was my father’s idea,’ he said wearily. ‘I was brought up to believe that of all the nations on God’s earth, the tops were America and, way ahead, Germany.’

  He shrugged. ‘I bought it. I never thought about politics, but I bought it. When the war started, everything got serious. Yvonne tried to talk sense but I wouldn’t listen. Ted Jowett, a good man if there ever was one, tried too, and something of what they said got through. Then my father was approached by the German ambassador in New York, who requested a loan. As far as my father was concerned, it was simple. The money would come from the Capital and Counties. I was uneasy about the idea.’ He jerked his thumb at Brown and Forester. ‘That’s when these two clowns arrived.’

  ‘That’s when Annie Colbeck went to spy on the Jowetts,’ said Anthony slowly. He didn’t miss the quick smirk that passed between Brown and Forester. ‘No, wait.’ He looked squarely at Forester. ‘Somehow you must’ve known about Harper and the Diligent. What happened? Did Harper try and blackmail you?’

  He nodded with satisfaction as he saw the expression on Forester’s face. ‘I’m right, aren’t I? Only Harper found he’d bitten off more than he could chew. You made him a deal. You used the Diligent to spy on the Jowetts and Yvonne Broussard.’

  Diefenbach looked up sharply. ‘There’s a spy in Yvonne’s house?’

  ‘Not for long,’ said Sir Charles.

  ‘And these are the people my father trusted,’ said Diefenbach bitterly. He took another swig of brandy. ‘I thought there was only one way to find out what was really happening in Belgium, and that was to see for myself. Ted Jowett helped. We told everyone I was off to South America.’ He glanced up at Brown and Forester. ‘How did you know I wasn’t?’

  Forester sneered. ‘Simple. Your father had the ship met and you weren’t on it. We needed to find out where you were. We never intended Jowett to be killed. We only wanted information.’ He pointed at Harper. ‘That’s your murderer.’

  ‘Hey!’ yelled Harper. ‘Don’t pin this on me!’

  ‘It’s true, Harper,’ said Anthony. ‘We know you murdered the Jowetts. I saw you murder Bertha Maybrick and I’m willing to bet you murdered James Dunwoody too. Annie Colbeck, whatever her real name is, murdered old Hawthorne, the butler.’

  She looked at him in stunned silence. ‘You can’t prove that.’

  ‘I can try. When it went wrong at the Jowetts, that’s when you came up with the plan to kidnap Rosie from her great-grandmother’s.’

  Paul cut off Annie Colbeck’s protests. ‘I don’t get it,’ he s
aid, turning back to Brown and Forester. ‘My father might have backed the wrong side in the war, but he’d never agree to anything that could harm Rosie.’

  Forester laughed. ‘You think so?’

  Paul flung his chair back and made a sudden grab for Forester. ‘Where’s my daughter? If she’s harmed—’

  Anthony pulled him away. ‘She’s safe!’

  Forester laughed once more. ‘Safe? Yes, safe where you’ll never find her.’ He looked at Sir Charles, hope dawning. ‘You want to cut a deal? If you don’t want to be responsible for what happens to that kid, let’s talk.’

  ‘You cynical bastard,’ breathed Anthony. He tightened his hold on the struggling Paul. ‘Diefenbach, stop it, man! These scum haven’t got Rosie. I have.’

  Paul froze. ‘You have?’

  ‘Yes. She’s with your wife, safe in my house in London.’

  ‘Don’t give me that,’ said Forester. ‘He’s lying, Diefenbach.’

  ‘She was,’ said Anthony, still keeping a firm grip on the furious Paul, ‘in a convent in Louvain.’

  Paul stopped struggling. ‘Where?’

  Forester stared at him without speaking.

  ‘It’s true,’ said Anthony. ‘I understand it now. After the Jowett murders, our pals here knew you were in Belgium and thought you’d come back with a very different view of the war.’

  ‘That’s true,’ Paul shuddered. ‘Yes, I changed my mind, sure enough.’

  ‘As they knew you would,’ said Anthony. ‘But you’re quite right. Your father wouldn’t endanger Rosie. He knew she was with your wife’s grandmother in Brussels. Our friends needed a way to put pressure on you when you returned.’ He pointed to Annie Colbeck. ‘So they got this woman to take Rosie from Madame Legrand’s and place her in the care of Sister Marie-Eugénie in Louvain.’

  ‘Was she safe?’ demanded Paul.

  ‘Perfectly. Sister Marie-Eugénie is a good woman. But the gang needed a little girl to take her place, so you would believe that your daughter was threatened. Good, credible witnesses testified there was a little girl in the Rolls-Royce with a nursemaid. The kidnap wouldn’t have been very convincing if there hadn’t been a little girl in the car.’