The Londum Omnibus Volume Two (The Londum Series Book 12)

by Tony Rattigan

  ‘Then I want you to make your way to Deutschland and meet up with me in Munchen. I’ll be staying at the Hotel Konigshof. I have booked us both rooms.’

  ‘Is that it?’ asked Jim. ‘It all seems rather simple.’

  ‘Given the nature of your employment, Jim, you should know by now that things are never that simple.’

  Jim thought of Inspector Corner and nodded agreement.

  ‘I haven’t mentioned the opposition yet,’ continued Thornton.’

  ‘Opposition?’

  ‘Yes. You don’t think they’d send Foreign Minister Grenko out on his own, “like a lamb to the slaughter”, without someone to keep an eye on him, do you? The Imperial Rooskian Secret Service, popularly known as the “Okhrana”, are sending one of their best men to look after him. Meet your opposition, Count Nikolai Petrov Seretsky.’ Thornton slid a photograph across the table. It was a formal, posed portrait of a handsome, bearded man in dress uniform, in his early forties, Jim guessed. He had cold, piercing eyes which stared defiantly, straight into the camera lens. ‘He is one of the Okhrana’s top agents. He will be in charge of security for the delegation, posing as a cultural attaché probably, and on the lookout for .... well to be honest, someone like you. Watch out for him, he’s a nasty piece of work.’

  Jim studied the photo. The man had cruel, dead eyes, like a shark and the hairs at the back of his neck began to prickle. ‘Well, I’ll just have to keep out of his way then, won’t I? I need your agents to do something for me, can they get me a few things I reckon I’m going to need?’ He jotted his requirements down on a piece of paper and handed it to Thornton.

  ‘They should be able to get their hands on these things, they’ll be delivered to your hotel when they can get them.’

  ‘So, onto happier subjects, what about my fee?’

  ‘As we agreed, the first part now, the other item when the job is done. I’ve sent the money to Lady Matilda as requested, you can check if you like.’

  ‘I’m sure that won’t be necessary, your word is good enough for me. Besides why would you cheat me?’ Jim held his hands up indicating the room, ‘I know where you live.’

  ‘Exactly. The other item you requested has been agreed to and will be with me in Munchen. You’ll get it when I receive the treaty from Rubicon.’

  ‘That’s fair enough,’ agreed Jim.

  Thornton went and got the whisky bottle and topped up their glasses. ‘Thus endeth the briefing. Any questions?’

  Jim thought for a moment and then asked a question. ‘Not about the mission but I do have a personal question to ask you. I’m thinking of finding a place in the country. You’ve been around a bit, can you recommend anywhere nice?’

  ‘Thinking of retiring and settling down, are we?’

  ‘Hardly, I’m still too young. I haven’t even decided yet what I want to be when I grow up. I’ll keep on going until the end and then they’ll have to nail me in my coffin to keep me down. No, I’m looking for a place where some friends of mine can live, a young child and her governess. Get them out of the city and then I can maybe visit them at weekends or when I’m not busy, so it can’t be too far away from Londum.’

  Thornton looked at Jim and smiled. The more he learned about this man, the more he was surprised. On the face of it he was just a thief but this was the second time that Thornton had hired him, and on both occasions the fee Thornton had paid him for the job, had gone to someone else. And now he was looking for a house in the country for a child. Probably his, assumed Thornton. Well at least he is facing up to his responsibilities, which is more than many men did, so he was to be commended for that.

  ‘Sure. I know a nice little village called Strapley-on-the-Wold, in Kent. Nice area with good train connections to Londum. It’s a lovely place, I might retire there myself. Just what a young child needs growing up, fresh air, plenty of space to run around. And I’m friends with the local squire, Sir Harold Ingleby, so I can introduce you, get you a foothold on the local social ladder, if you like.’

  ‘Strapley-on-the-Wold? Sounds nice. I’ll take a look at it, thanks.’ Jim finished his whisky, gathered all the documents together and placed them in the folder. ‘I’d better get home and study these, got some packing to do as well.’

  He stood up and held out his hand to Thornton, ‘Wish me luck.’

  ‘Good luck Jim, I’ll see you in Munchen, in a few weeks.’

  Jim got his hat and cane and Thornton let him out of the shop.

  As Thornton watched Jim walk away, down the Mews, he had a leaden feeling in his stomach. He hoped Jim would be all right, he hadn’t been kidding about Seretsky, he was a nasty piece of work and the Gods help Jim if he fell into his clutches.

  ***

  Jim sat at his usual table in The Golden Gryphon. He was reading the newspaper and drinking his coffee when, looking up, he saw Kovach’s right-hand man, Fedor, standing there.

  ‘Morning Mr. Darby. Compliments of Mr. Kovach, here’s the letter of introduction you requested.’ He held out two envelopes. One had the name ‘Gyorgy Sandor’ written on it and the other was blank. ‘In the other envelope is how to contact Mr. Sandor.’

  ‘Thanks very much,’ said Jim, taking the envelopes. He looked at the name written there. ‘So this is the top dog in Budapescht, eh? The big cheese? The ... Capo de Monte or whatever it is you call him?’

  Fedor laughed. ‘You mean the Capo di Capo. But I think you’ll find that’s the Italians, not us.’

  ‘Whatever. Give my regards to Mr. Kovach will you?’

  ‘Will do.’ Fedor tipped his hat to Jim and left the pub.

  Jim put the envelopes in his jacket pocket and then grabbed his hat. He was on his way to Dr. Barnato’s orphanage to say goodbye to Sarah and Nurse Phipps but first he thought he would stop off in the Ungarian section of Londum, to get these letters translated. You can’t be too careful, he thought.

  ***

  Jim had gone to the Ungarian section where he knew a few people he could trust. The contents of the letter from Kovach caused the translator to raise his eyebrows, but he had faithfully translated it into Albion and confirmed that it was indeed what it purported to be, a letter of introduction from Kovach to his second cousin, requesting that he look after Jim and to render him any assistance that he may require. Jim had thanked his acquaintance for his help, money had changed hands and then he taken a cab to Dr. Barnato’s.

  Jim arrived at the orphanage and asked to see Sarah. Nurse Phipps had brought her to Jim in Sarah’s dormitory so they could have a bit of privacy. She gave him an excited hug and then sat down next to him, on her bed.

  ‘Now then Sarah, I’ve stopped by to tell you I’ll be away for a while on business. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone, a couple of weeks, maybe a month.’

  Sarah pulled a glum face. ‘You’re always away on business, Uncle Jim,’ she complained.

  ‘I know. I’m sorry but that’s how I make the money to take us all on outings. It doesn’t grow on trees you know. Tell you what, to make it up to you, when I get back how about you, me and Nurse Phipps taking a little holiday in the country? Someone has recommended a place called Strapley-on-the-Wold in Kent. I’m thinking of buying a place down there, so we can go and see what it’s like.

  ‘I’d like you to do me a favour. Find out all you can about the place for me. Nurse Phipps can take you to the library and you can study it for me. Then you can tell me all about it when I get back. Will you do that for me?’ Jim knew that Sarah could barely read and Nurse Phipps would be doing all the research, but it would keep Sarah involved and it would take the sting out of him going away.

  ‘Where are we going? Stubbly Underwear?’ asked Sarah.

  Jim laughed. ‘No, Strapley-on-the-Wold.’

  ‘Stibley in the ... wood?’

  ‘Strapley ... on ... the ... Wold,’ he enunciated carefully. ‘It’s in Kent.’

  ‘Okay,’ said Sarah, ‘got it. I’ll look it up in a book. Err ... where’s the library?�
�

  ‘Don’t worry, Nurse Phipps will take you there,’ he told her. ‘Now, give me a hug and then run along and play, I want to have a word with her.’

  She hugged him and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. ‘Bye Uncle Jim, love you.’

  ‘Bye Sarah, love you too,’ said Jim and to his surprise, meant it.

  Sarah went off happily to join the other children.

  ‘Buying a house in Kent?’ asked Nurse Phipps, coldly. ‘Does that mean you won’t be in Londum anymore? I guess you won’t be seeing Sarah as much, then. Or me, come to that. I thought it was too good to last, the way you took an interest in the child.’

  ‘No, no, no. You misunderstand. I might be buying a house in Kent it’s true but it’s actually for you and Sarah.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I took onboard what you said about there not being much of a future for an orphanage kid and Sarah deserving a better life than that. So, I want to buy a house in the country, away from all this smog and grime and let Sarah live there ... with you as her governess.’

  ‘Me?’

  ‘Yes, I’ve seen the way you dote on her, you’re a trained nurse and you’ve got a good heart. I can’t think of anyone that would make a better governess for her. You’ll bring her up properly.’

  ‘But I can’t just take the child out of the orphanage and tell everyone I’m going to bring her up!’ she protested. ‘There are laws against that sort of thing. In fact I don’t think even you can do that, either.’

  ‘That’s where you’re wrong. Hopefully by the time I get back, Sarah will be my ward and I will be her legal guardian, my solicitor is working on it now. Once that has happened I can take her out of here and I can make whoever I like her governess. That’s what the holiday in Kent is all about, so we can find a house that we all like. Of course if you don’t want to be her governess, I can always find someone else,’ he teased.

  Angela Phipps stood there, stunned by what Jim had just proposed. ‘Well, I don’t know, it’s a bit sudden. Wait a minute ... what about us? I’m not going to be your kept woman.’

  ‘That’s all right, Angela. It will all be above board. I will continue to live in Londum and live my life. I will own the house in Kent and you will live there with Sarah. You’ll have a salary from me and a monthly allowance, a generous one I might add, to bring her up. You are free to live your own life but I will stay at the house when I come to visit. If anything should happen between us when I’m there, well, that’s up to you. But if you’ve moved on and met someone else, so be it, I won’t interfere. As long as I get to spend time with Sarah. Fair enough?’

  ‘Well, when you put it like that, how can a girl refuse? It’s the chance of a lifetime for me and Sarah. Of course I accept.’

  ‘Good.’ He put his arm around her waist and kissed her. ‘Now, don’t tell Sarah anything about it until I get back, just in case the courts let us down. But in the meantime, while I’m away if you need anything, go and see this man. He’s my solicitor.’ He gave her Mr. Roper’s card.

  ‘Will I see you tonight?’ she asked him.

  ‘But of course. Grab a cab when you finish work and come straight over. We can discuss it further. Besides,’ he said with a wicked smile, ‘I want to say goodbye properly.’ He got his hat and headed for the door.

  ‘Until tonight then,’ she called after him.

  The Ungarian Job

  Jim got down from the carriage outside the Kempinski Hotel and looked around him. It had been a long trip. First he had taken the boat train to the channel port of Dubris and then the ferry to Calais. Once in Gaul he had taken a train to Lille where he had had to change for Bruxelles in Flanders. That had taken him most of the day, so he had stayed there overnight.

  Next morning he had taken another train to Koln in Deutschland, where he had caught the sleeper train to Wien, via Frankfurt, which involved two nights sleeping on the train. After arriving at Wien in Osterreich, he had completed the last leg by catching another train from Wien to Budapescht. And now to complete his journey, he had taken a cab from the station to his hotel.

  The Kempinski Hotel was a large, seven-story building, taking up an entire block. Built in the baroque style so beloved in Central and Eastern Europe, it overlooked a large park.

  Jim paid the cabbie and reached for his bags but the doorman of the hotel had beaten him to it. Jim followed him into the hotel where he deposited his bags at the reception desk.

  The receptionist spoke to Jim in Ungarian. Jim was fluent in Deutschen and Cantonese and had a smattering of other languages but knew not one word of Ungarian.

  ‘Excuse me, do you speak Albion?’ he asked.

  ‘Of course sir, we are multilingual at the Kempinski. How may I help you?’

  ‘There should be a reservation in my name, Michael Lewis.’

  The receptionist checked the book. ‘Ah yes, here we are ... Mr. Lewis from Albion, room 410, on the fourth floor. Will that be all right? It is a nice room with an excellent view out over the park.’

  ‘Does it have a bath and does it have hot running water?’

  ‘Yes sir, we have hot and cold running water in all the rooms.’

  ‘Splendid, then that will do fine.’ Jim took the offered pen and signed into the register while the clerk checked his passport and got his room key. As Jim put down the pen he noticed that all the lighting fixtures were for gas.

  ‘I see you don’t have electricity in this hotel.’

  ‘No sir. We do have electricity in Budapescht. In the Royal Palace and some of our finer museums for example but unfortunately the rollout hasn’t quite reached the Kempinski yet.’

  ‘Well,’ said Jim, ‘I hope you have a lift. I don’t want to have to keep walking up to the fourth floor.’

  ‘No problem, sir. We have a steam engine on the roof. It powers the lift and also provides the hot water,’ the receptionist assured him. ‘If there is anything you require during your stay, there is a porter stationed on each floor, night and day. Put your request to him and he will arrange it for you. Right then, the boy here will take up your baggage, enjoy your stay at the Kempinski,’ he waved over the bell-hop who took Jim bags and led him off in the direction of the lift.

  Once Jim had paid off the bell hop he opened the balcony doors and looked out at the park. He could see an open air cafe in one corner. That was where Thornton had told him the handoff would be, once he had the treaty. His contact would look out for him sitting in the cafe at certain times of the day until he was spotted and then they would make an approach.

  Jim put his two suitcases on the bed and opened them to unpack. He hadn’t had chance to have a bath on the sleeper train, just washes and he was feeling a bit grubby, so the first thing he was going to do was have a bath and then take a look at the town. He was just hanging up his suits in the wardrobe when there was a knock at the door. Opening it he saw a man standing there in a porter’s uniform, holding out a suitcase.

  ‘Good afternoon, sir,’ he said in decent but accented Albion. ‘I am the porter for this floor. It appears that they neglected to bring all your suitcases up from the lobby, they left one behind. Here it is.’

  ‘No, I’ve got all mine,’ Jim opened the door and pointed to the bed.

  ‘I think you’ll find that this is yours, sir. Look, it even has your name on it.’

  Jim took the suitcase and checked the luggage label. It did indeed read ‘Michael Lewis’. Suddenly the penny dropped. ‘Yes, of course it’s mine. I was just wondering where it had got to. How very kind of you to bring it up for me.’

  ‘My pleasure, sir. If there is anything else you require, there is always a porter on duty, you will find him in the room at the end of this corridor. Please don’t hesitate to call on us if you need anything ... anything at all.’

  ‘Rest assured, I will do that. Good day.’ Jim closed and locked the door and took the suitcase to the bed. Opening it he saw that it contained the items he had requested from Thornton. Well that was good to
know, it meant that Thornton’s organisation was efficient, it was nearby and he could call on them if he needed to. He found that re-assuring, being in a strange country. Along with maps of Budapescht and plans of the embassy, there was a generous amount of gelignite (he figured he might have to blow the safe) and an assortment of pencil detonators. He looked at the gelignite; it seemed in fairly good condition, pretty new by the look of it. He took the detonators out and placed them carefully in the pocket of one of his jackets, well away from the explosive.

  He closed the case and put it in the bottom of the wardrobe where it wouldn’t be seen by any casual observers. Then he went to run himself a bath.

  ***

  After his bath, Jim dressed and then took out the suitcase from the bottom of the wardrobe. He opened it and took out one of the maps. Closing the case and returning it to the wardrobe, he sat on the bed and studied the map. He was in the ‘Pescht’ half of Budapescht. The hotel, the park and the Rooskian Embassy had all been marked on the map for him. Jim saw what a convenient position the hotel occupied, and why they had chosen it for his base. All Jim had to do was walk across the park and turn right. This led him to a long thoroughfare through the city, called Andrassy Way, which led straight past the Rooskian Embassy, where Andrassy Way intersected with Bajza Street. It couldn’t have been more than a quarter of a mile away and he could easily walk there, so that’s what he intended to do, that very afternoon.

  He grabbed his overcoat and set off. He’d eaten on the train so he had no need to stop for lunch and was free to amble off and see the town. As he walked through the park he checked out the cafe, it looked nice but he couldn’t go there until he had the treaty. He didn’t want to trigger a contact by mistake. A cold wind blew through the park and Jim was glad he was wearing his overcoat. It was still early in the year and sometimes cold, particularly this far east.