The Forgotten Children

by Anita Davison

  ‘Then there was the girl, Ada Baines. She also mentioned a Salvation Army man who was with Swifty Ellis when her friend, Annie left home.’

  ‘You think these incidents are connected?’ Alice asked, puzzled. ‘The Salvationists visit pubs all over London, it’s part of their mission. It could mean nothing.’

  ‘That’s true,’ Bunny nodded. ‘However, they do appear to play a role in all this which cannot be ignored. I’m afraid we’ll have to face the possibility they, and Mr Buchanan are involved in human trafficking of some sort.’

  ‘Not some sort, Bunny,’ Flora interjected. ‘It’s quite clear they are selling children.’

  ‘It’s certainly beginning to sound ominous.’ Alice twisted her hands in her lap. ‘And this reference to the SS Lancett confirms it.’ She rose slowly to her feet. ‘Come with me, I need to show you something.’ She led them back the way they had come through a side hall and into a room that contained a massive oak desk, its top inlaid with tooled leather. A wide window with a view of the front drive and the park beyond. A very masculine room smelling of pipe smoke and furniture polish.

  ‘Raymond never keeps his study locked,’ Alice said in response to Flora’s admiring look. ‘We trust each other, you see. Or rather we did - before.’ She shook her head as if dislodging an unwelcome thought and strode to a glass-fronted cabinet that stood on the far wall. On a high shelf behind the bevelled glass sat a framed photograph of a harbour scene, a handsome steamship with a blood red mast in the centre.

  ‘This is the SS Lancet.’ Alice indicated the photograph. ‘Raymond’s first ship.’

  ‘He owns it?’ Flora gaped as another piece of the puzzle slid into place in her head.

  ‘Miss Finch.’ Bunny scanned the photograph briefly. ‘You must know how this looks? I-’

  Flora halted him with a hand on his arm. ‘Are you sure you want to do this, Alice? We wouldn’t want to make your position more difficult.’

  ‘On the contrary,’ Bunny interrupted. ‘We need to know everything, and this vessel is at the centre of it. I’m afraid loyalty and privacy have no place here.’

  ‘You aren’t in a courtroom now, Bunny,’ Flora snapped. ‘Alice is being very open with us, we ought to respect that.’

  ‘No, Flora, he’s quite right,’ Alice cut across her. ‘I’m not a fool, Mr Harrington. We have to consider all possibilities, including that this ship is being used to transport children. Yet somehow I’m confident the truth will exonerate Raymond. However, if he is involved, he must face the consequences of his actions.’

  Flora stared out of the window so Alice would not see the doubt in her eyes. If Mr Buchanan was so innocent, what was he doing sharing information on his ships with a Salvation Army officer in a public house? If their business were legitimate, wouldn’t their meetings be conducted in an office with documents as opposed to scraps of paper?

  As they talked, Bunny developed a sudden interest in the contents of the cabinet, which apart from a series of framed photographs, contained a selection of curiosities; with small jade statues jostling for space with bronze figurines and china ornaments.

  ‘But there is still the fact that Sally followed them and now she’s missing.’ From the corner of her eye, Flora watched Bunny him try the cabinet door handle without success, and her face flamed briefly.

  ‘I realize that.’ Alice didn’t appear to notice Bunny’s interest in the cabinet. ‘But I still cannot accept Raymond is involved.’

  ‘He means a lot to you doesn’t he?' Flora asked in an attempt to reconcile her persistent belief that she might be Lily Maguire, although hope was fading fast. Her mother had been a rector's daughter and did not move in the circles the Buchanan’s occupied.

  'Mary and Raymond Buchanan were very good to me at a time when I needed a friend,' Alice began slowly, as if debating the extent of what she should reveal. 'A year before I met them, they lost their twelve-year-old daughter. Their nephew, who was a little older, had taken her onto the Serpentine in a rowing boat. The boy started messing about and somehow the boat capsized, trapping the girl beneath it. Raymond saved his nephew, but his daughter drowned. Raymond always believed that Mary blamed him for the loss of their child, although I know she neither believed nor implied any such thing, but guilt is a powerful master.’

  ‘How awful,' Flora said. 'I can see why you wouldn’t think he was capable of abducting children.’

  ‘Exactly.’ Alice brought her hands to her cheeks. ‘I don’t believe it. There must be some other reason for his actions. Raymond is a fierce advocate for the hospital and proud of the work we do there, none of which fits with what you are suggesting.'

  ‘Excuse me, Miss Finch,’ Bunny tapped the locked glass door with his knuckles. ‘Do you happen to have a key to this cabinet?’

  ‘Um, yes of course.’ She slid open a drawer in the desk and removed a small bunch of keys, selected the smallest one and unlocked the cabinet.

  Ignoring Flora’s hard look, Bunny withdrew one of several wooden trays arranged on a lower shelf and laid it on the desk. Arranged in indentations in the velvet lining sat small ivory and metal objects; a fish with carved scales sat beside a pair of miniature binoculars complete with mother-of-pearl handle. A perfect replica of a violin, a tiny house complete with intricately carved windows and even a silver dolphin. All of them less than two inches long, some even smaller.

  ‘They’re miniatures,’ Flora said. ‘Pretty, but why are you interested in those?’

  ‘Raymond collects them,’ Alice said, frowning. ‘They’ve been here years, but I’ve never taken much notice of them.’

  ‘That’s not all they are.’ A superior smile played on Bunny’s lips. ‘They have one thing in common, do you see?’

  ‘Not really, but I know you’re longing to tell us.’ Flora plucked a tiny fish from the tray, with carved scales and bulbous eyes, turning it over in her hand. ‘What’s special about them?’

  ‘See that tiny metal circle on one side?’ Bunny pointed to a tiny circular metal ring that formed the fish’s eye. ‘Hold it up to the light and look through it.’

  ‘How can you see anything through that tiny hole?’ Flora turned the fish over in her hand.

  ‘There’s a lens inside which acts as a magnifier. Go on,’ he urged. ‘Give it a try.’

  Squinting, Flora held the fish to one eye. Instantly a transparent-coloured image jumped out at her. A grey stone church in minute detail with the words ‘Eglise de St Madeleine’ below in black script. ‘It’s beautiful.’ She twisted the fish slightly to take in every detail. ‘Like a kaleidoscope with the way the light shines through it, but much smaller.’

  ‘They are called “Stanhopes”,’ Bunny said with a triumphant grin. ‘After Charles, the third Earl Stanhope, who invented the lens. They’ve been around for forty years or so. Some people call them “peeps”.’ He ran his fingertips over the line of objects, finally selecting a miniature violin that he held up to his eye. ‘I wonder what this one—’ He jerked his chin back, snatching it from his eye as if it burned him.

  ‘What is it?’ Alice asked.

  ‘Something I suspected when I first saw them, but wasn’t sure about until now.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Flora reached for the object in his hand. ‘Let me have a look.’

  I don’t think—’ He jerked his hand away, but she was too quick for him. Taking the tiny instrument from him she held it up to the window and peered through the tiny hole.

  ‘I can see it now. It’s a woman with… oh!’ She pulled back her chin, lowering the object quickly. ‘She has no clothes on!’

  ‘Really? How intriguing.’ Alice’s lips twitched with the hint of a smile. Selecting a peep shaped like a ship’s wheel, she took it to the window and looked through the tiny hole in the centre. ‘Goodness me,’ she murmured, making no attempt to remove it from her eye. ‘I would say this… lady is a professional model. The photograph was evidently taken in a studio of some sort. The background is
carefully staged.’

  ‘It’s not appropriate for either of you ladies to be looking at these.’ Bunny plucked the ivory fish from Flora’s fingers and returned it to the box, avoiding her eye. ‘This is a gentleman’s private collection.’

  ‘I’ve been a nurse for fifteen years.’ Alice laughed. ‘It will take more than a naked lady or two to shock me.’

  ‘Really, Bunny,’ Flora tutted. ‘It was your idea to look at them, though I don’t see what they have to do with—’ She broke off as a memory resurfaced, but it was vague, like a blurred picture she couldn’t hold onto. ‘Anyway.’ She shrugged, embarrassed to have intruded into a man’s personal possessions. ‘It’s not that unusual Mr Buchanan would collect rude pictures. You can buy similar postcards in the Old Kent Road.’ At his oblique look, she shrugged. ‘Sally told me.’ The mention of her name made her throat burn with emotion.

  ‘Now I know why Raymond kept them locked away, but I don’t think these have anything to do with why you came here.’ Alice returned the ivory key and the violin into their allotted places and carried the tray back to the cabinet. She re-locked the door and slid the bunch of keys back into the drawer. ‘What are you going to do with regards to the SS Lancett?’

  ‘Well,’ Bunny began. ‘We’ve informed Inspector Maddox of the contents of the note. He’s liaising with the Marine Police to organize a search of the ship before it leaves tonight.’

  ‘And Raymond?’ Alice rubbed her hands down her skirt with shaking hands.

  ‘It depends on what they find,’ Flora said gently.

  ‘I understand.’ Alice led them back into the hall. ‘This is all very awkward, but I must keep an open mind.’ She halted and turned to face them. ‘Are you sure I cannot offer you some—’

  ‘No, I think we should go.’ Flora bit her lip. How could they sit over cups of coffee and make small talk having given Alice such devastating news? Not only had they implied Mr Buchanan might be involved in trafficking children, but had instigated an investigation that could condemn him to a prison sentence. Flora pressed Alice’s arm when they reached the front door. ‘I hope you’re right and Mr Buchanan is quite innocent.’

  ‘I have faith in him.’ Alice’s eyes looked suspiciously wet. ‘You will let me know what happens this evening about the ship? Even if it’s bad news?’ Bunny looked about to say something but Alice held up a hand to forestall him. ‘Don’t worry, if he returns home in the meantime, I will say nothing of our conversation.’

  ‘We appreciate that,’ Bunny said. ‘Although we’re aware this puts you in a difficult position.’

  Alice nodded, her eyes softening with compassion. ‘You will tell me when your maid is found, won’t you?’

  ‘Certainly, we shall.’ Flora noted she did not say, ‘if she is found’. What Flora had tried to recall before suddenly came to her in a flash. She tugged Bunny by the arm in the direction of the front door. ‘Goodness, it’s later than I thought, and Bunny has an appointment. You don’t wish to be late.’

  ‘Beg pardon?’ Bunny turned to stare at her.

  Flora brought her foot down lightly on his instep and he jumped. ‘Oh yes, appointment. Of course. I had quite forgotten. This has been a most enlightening morning, Miss Finch.’

  ‘I’m glad you think so, but I don’t see that I have been of much help.’ Alice escorted them to the front door, where she set Fielding off in search of a cab.

  *

  ‘That wasn’t exactly subtle, Flora,’ Bunny said when they had settled inside a motor taxi they had hailed near the Cockpit Steps. ‘You hurried me out of there like my coat was on fire.’

  ‘Sorry. Perhaps we ought to establish some sort of code alerting the other to the fact we need to make a rapid exit.’

  ‘And why exactly did we need to leave in such a hurry? Or was it sheer embarrassment that we had suggested Raymond Buchanan was a child trafficker?’

  ‘I feel dreadful. I had no idea they were so close. But it wasn’t that. No, there was something I didn’t want to mention in front of Alice.’

  ‘Fair enough, and what was that?’

  When we were looking at the tray of peepers or whatever they are, I remembered I’ve seen one before, quite recently. Sister Lazarus has one.’

  ‘They are called “peeps”, Flora.’ His head swung towards her. ‘Sister Lazarus? Are you sure?’

  ‘Positive. She wears it on a chain attached to her pocket. I saw it two days ago.’

  ‘Interesting, but what does that prove? Not all Stanhopes contain dubious images. As you saw from Mr Buchanan’s collection, some are quite innocent.’

  ‘Call me cynical, but I doubt this one is.’

  ‘Even so, it might simply have been a gift from Buchanan. No don’t glare at me like that, it’s quite possible. Just because you don’t like the woman doesn’t make her a villain.’

  ‘I suppose not.’ Although she couldn’t imagine Sister Lazarus and Raymond Buchanan being anything other than distant colleagues.

  ‘Maybe we could find out about this Salvation Army couple? The ones who were at The Antigallican that night?’

  ‘How? The Salvation Army are in just about every public house in the city at one time or another. Identifying them would be almost impossible.’

  ‘Not necessarily.’ He drummed the fingers of one hand on his knee. ‘Actually, I might have an idea about that.’

  ‘Another one? You’re certainly full of ideas today, what with your extensive knowledge of Stanhopes.’ She sliced a hard look at him, but before he could respond, the taxi took a sharp corner, forcing Flora to brace against the door to stay upright while a cacophony of hoots, shouts and wheels passed within inches on either side of their vehicle.

  ‘I’m not ready to reveal it as yet,’ Bunny said when the taxi righted itself. ‘It needs more thought.’

  ‘Bunny,’ Flora pursued her earlier thought, ‘how did you know what a Stanhope was?’ She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘And I’m not referring to the ones with pictures of churches in them.’

  ‘I’ve been wondering when you were going to ask me that,’ Bunny chuckled. ‘They aren’t that uncommon. Any number of respectable public servants and wealthy businessmen own private rooms full of erotic artwork for the benefit of male guests at dinner parties.’

  ‘Is that so?’ Flora raised an eyebrow at him. ‘And how many such parties have you attended?’

  ‘A few, although I’m not going to go into that here and now.’ He drummed his fingers on his knee. ‘It occurred to me that if Buchanan is as respectable as Alice claims, there might be another reason why he hasn’t gone to the police with what he knows.’

  ‘If he knows anything.’ Flora said, although Bunny could be right, in that there was a reason for Mr Buchanan’s co-operation with these villains. But why would they require his ship, if not to transport children?

  Chapter 22

  When they arrived back at Eaton Place, Stokes informed them with a grave shake of his head that there had been no callers all morning, and that Sally had still not returned. His usually inscrutable expression remained but Flora detected a slight tremble to his mouth as he answered their question.

  Bunny thanked him gently before he collected his post from the hall table. Sifting through the pile, he halted, frowned at a slim envelope and tucked it into his pocket before disappearing into his study. Helpless to do anything but wait, Flora took to walking past the telephone in the rear hall, willing it to ring, though the contraption remained obstinately silent.

  During an early dinner that evening, the chime of the doorbell brought them both into the hall without waiting for Stokes’ announcement.

  ‘Hope you don’t mind my stopping by.’ Harry stood passive as the butler relieved him of his cashmere overcoat. ‘Lydia is still frantic and asked if I would call in. She would have come herself but she has a meeting at the school. Have heard anything from Inspector Maddox yet?’

  ‘No, nothing,’ Flora said, returning his brief hug and gestured they go
along to the sitting room.

  ‘I should think they are still at the docks.’ Bunny waited for Flora to sit, while he and Harry took chairs on either side of the fireplace. ‘The ship is due to leave in a couple of hours. If they’ve found anything we should learn of it soon.’ He proceeded to bring Harry up to date on their discovery of the curios Mr Buchanan kept in his home, and that one was in Sister Lazarus’ possession.

  ‘It occurs to me there might be some sort of relationship between Sister Lazarus and this Buchanan chap,’ Harry said when he had finished. ‘If not, why did she have one of his Stanhopes?’

  ‘You know what they are?’ Flora raised an enquiring eyebrow at him. Did all young men have a secret code they shared with only their friends?

  ‘Well, um, I know of them. Put it that way.’ Harry exchanged a loaded look with Bunny.

  ‘I see. Perhaps she collects naughty photographs as well?’ This remark attracted embarrassed looks from both men which made her sigh. ‘There’s the possibility Buchanan might have given it to her as a gift?’

  ‘I cannot imagine that.’ Bunny strode to the sideboard where he poured the coffee Stokes had brought in. ‘And if it does contain something embarrassing to Buchanan, why wear it at the hospital? What if she lost it?’

  ‘To taunt him?’ Flora turned to face him, one arm draped along the back of the sofa. ‘She looks the sort to go rummaging through other people’s belongings.’

  ‘Sounds to me that you want her to be guilty of something purely because you don’t like her.’ Harry suggested.

  ‘Of course not.’ Flora frowned, embarrassed by his perception.

  ‘I find her cold and well, not very civil. Not at all like any nurse I’ve come across.’ She sipped from her cup without enthusiasm. She wouldn’t sleep tonight if she drank too much coffee. Not that she expected to with Sally still missing.

  ‘Now we are into character assassination as opposed to evidence.’ His gaze slid to Harry and the mood between them shifted, as if they had allied themselves against her.