Scotland Hard (Book 2 in the Tom & Laura Series)

by John Booth

  “The fish should find them appetizing enough,” one of the men pointed out.

  Strong hands gripped the three bound men and started to tie rocks to their legs. Joe and Mick kicked out, but all they got for their trouble were fists driven hard into their bellies. Saunders continued to chew at his gag. He was almost all the way through it.

  The three prisoners were forced into a standing position. MacTavish stood up at the front of the boat to say a few words.

  “Even a Sassenach should have words said over him when he is about to be sent to his watery grave,” he intoned solemnly.

  “Aye, like, die English scum,” one of his men said and laughed. The other men in the boat also found this particularly funny.

  “Now, that would be a little harsh, Jimmy,” MacTavish said. “We are all God’s creature in the end. Who could say we’re not?”

  Saunders finally cut through the gag with his teeth and spit it out. His mouth was dry and jaw aching so he simply spoke the magic word, “Brotherhood.”

  “Aye, that’ll do too,” MacTavish agreed. “Throw him over the side.”

  Saunders gave a wail of despair cut short as he was pulled underwater by the stones tied to his feet.

  Joe and Mick struggled against their bonds, but to no avail. Each was dropped into the waters where they disappeared without leaving any trace of their passage.

  “Let that be a lesson to you. Even an Englishman in his last moments can call for brotherhood with his last words. It’s a pity he had to spoil his exit with that final wail.”

  “Very true, Alan,” Jimmy agreed sagely.

  Alice and her friends stepped out of a section of wooden paneling into an opulent bedroom. The lamps were lit and the bed was made, but there was nobody there.

  “I know this room,” Alice exclaimed in delight. “This is the room they took Tom and Laura to when we got here.”

  “It is a lot better than our dormitory,” Edith said enviously.

  “We have a chance of survival now,” Lucy said with some relief. “I think we have to catch a train to get out of here.”

  “I’d best tell Tricky where we are and ‘ow to get ‘ere,” Alice said, “Just in case he’s on ‘is way. I should ‘ave thought about that when we were locked in that room earlier.”

  “It is far too late to worry about such things,” Gwendolyn informed her. “We have to escape tonight if we don’t want to face Madam Hulot’s martinet tomorrow. Does anybody know what a martinet is?”

  “Somthin’ bloomin’ painful,” Alice said shrewdly. “You can count on it.”

  “Send your message, Alice,” Edith suggested. “Tell Tricky that if he can’t get here in half an hour we will try and get to the railway station and sneak onboard the first train to leave.”

  Tricky opened his eyes and found Ebb in the process of letting him go.

  “I’ll lead the way,” Ebb suggested.

  “I guess I said Alice gave me directions,” Tricky said to Ebb’s retreating back. “But they are directions from the front door.”

  “I can get us there,” Ebb said when he saw that Tricky was not following. “I recognized one of the corridors just before we came down this bit.”

  “Aren’t they all the same?”

  “Stag’s ‘ead, ‘ad a broken antler.”

  “If you says so.”

  Tricky and Ebb made their way through the castle and opened the door Alice had suggested. Alice’s hands reached out and dragged them inside leaving the bedroom door ajar, though none of the children noticed.

  “Wait ‘till you ‘ere what’s goin’ on,” Tricky told them excitedly. Ebb sidled over to Lucy and sat down besides her. Her hand reached for his surreptitiously.

  “Well you ‘ad just better tell us then,” Alice suggested. “After we tell’s you what ‘appened to us first.”

  What Alice and Tricky did not know as they began to tell their stories was that Tricky and Ebb were seen going into Tom and Laura’s room. Giles Summers and Gordon Kemp had been walking back to their rooms when they spotted the boys.

  Curious and a little drunk, the two men approached the bedroom door and listened intently as Tricky explained to the girls about the dantium bomb. How Cam and the others had broken into the castle and were joining up with Tom and Laura to steal the bomb.

  “Where will they be now?” Edith asked when Tricky finished his story.

  Tricky looked at the Grandfather clock which told him it was just past one o’clock in the morning.

  “They’ll ‘ave gone to the factory to get the bomb. That’s where we should go too.”

  “None of you are going anywhere without us,” Kemp said as he entered the room, followed closely by Summers. “And if you try one of your telepathic tricks, young lady, one of us will knock you unconscious before you finish, I promise.”

  “What you goin’ to do with us, mister?” Tricky asked nervously.

  “Find out if your story is true,” Giles told them. “We extracted that dantium and if it was used to kill people, Lord McBride is going to answer to me for it.”

  “The bomb story could be true,” Kemp said. “It would explain a great many things. We should collect Glyn and go to the factory. Lord McBride will be there with Hans Clerkes for certain, and it seems there might be quite a crowd gathering.”

  “Well let’s go then,” Alice said cheerfully. “Seems to me that we all wants to go to the same place to do the same thing. We should get on and do it.”

  50. Revealed

  Rhona sat on a table with her legs swinging and looked over her two captives. Tom gave her his most pathetic pleading look and used his eyes to suggest she should remove the gag from his mouth.

  “Now, do you promise to be good if I remove those things from your mouth?”

  Tom and Laura nodded vigorously. Rhona got down from the table and unknotted their gags. Laura, who had been having trouble breathing through her nose, sighed with relief,

  “If you say so much as one word against the Laird, I am putting these gags straight back on,” she informed them.

  “Why have the men gone down to the loch?” Laura asked. She had sensed something out of kilter in the final words exchanged between Rhona and the men. Rhona would put the gags back on them if they talked about Lord McBride. It was the only thing left that Laura could think of that might persuade the girl to let them go.

  “Do the men do night fishing here?” Tom put in. He had heard of fishing fleets casting their nets at night and thought it might be a possibility.

  “Nay, at least not in winter out on the loch. Besides which, the Laird has stocked the lake with brightly colored foreign fish that can survive the warm water. We Highlanders are a traditional people and prefer Scottish fish for eating.”

  “Why would they go out on the loch then?” Laura persisted. The men’s demeanor and cynical laughter suggested it was for something Rhona would not have approved of.

  “I don’t know and I don’t care,” Rhona retorted angrily.

  “Quite right,” Lord McBride interrupted from behind them. “They are out on the loch on my business and that should not be the concern of a chambermaid.”

  McBride walked around Tom and Laura so he could see who was being held captive. Blane followed a few feet behind him and his eyebrows rose in surprise when he saw who the prisoners were.

  “My Spellbinder and my Healer, and gift wrapped too,” Lord McBride said without a trace of humor in his voice. “You caught them leaving their room, Rhona? Would it not have been simpler to lock them in?”

  “They were determined to be out and going somewhere, Laird,” Rhona replied defensively. “They said you were about to do some terrible deed and that they were determined to stop you. I lured them down here where Alan and his men could deal with them.”

  Lord McBride laughed without sounding the slightest bit amused.

  “And what exactly do you two think that I am about to do?”

  Laura took a deep breath before she answered.
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  “You and your engineer Hans Clerkes have created a bomb out of the dantium I helped to extract and you plan to destroy London on the day of the State Opening of Parliament,” she said in one long torrent of words. She felt that the time for subtlety was passed and all she had left was the possibility of scaring McBride into changing his mind.

  Rhona burst into laughter at this outrageous claim. She stopped when she saw that she was the only one in the room laughing.

  “Why would you think such a thing?” Blane asked. His face, like that of McBride had gone ashen white at hearing their plan outlined so succinctly.

  “Tom and I work for Military Magic Department Three,” Laura continued defiantly. “We uncovered and stopped a plan by the Americans to kill Lord Palmerston before we came up here. Do you think Sir Ernest Trelawney is a fool?”

  “You claim you were sent here to stop us?” Blane asked incredulously. “Then why would you create the very dantium bomb you were sent to stop?”

  “It has taken us some days to uncover your planned method of attack, or even to be sure that your bomb would work,” Tom broke in. “The dantium extraction was an unfortunate accident that we did not intend, but Summers would have extracted it for you if Laura had not.”

  “And I suppose you planned on being sold into slavery?” Lord McBride asked sarcastically, having regained his aplomb while Blane asked his questions.

  “The Brotherhood’s penetration of MM3 has been known about for some considerable time. We were merely allowing James Saunders enough rope to hang himself,” Laura replied blithely.

  She and Tom were surprised at the startled looks that Lord McBride and Blane exchanged as she spoke Saunders name. Blane started to walk to the door, but stopped himself with the words, “Too late.” Both men turned back towards them.

  “If they were really sent here by MM3, they would have other agents backing them up in the village,” Blane said.

  “If they were really sent here by MM3 there would be an army at my gates this very minute,” Lord McBride said with a genuine sounding laugh. “They are clever these two, especially the girl, but this is all a bluff. They have found out more than I would have given them credit for, I will grant you that. I expect that Gordon told them just enough for them to put it all together, that plus our little demonstration last night.”

  “Then we do not change our plans?” Blane asked in surprise.

  “Of course not. Even if what they say is true, the die is cast.” Lord McBride looked over to Rhona who was looking alarmed and confused at the way the conversation has gone. “Untie these two from the chairs and free their legs, girl. They can come with us and see us load the bomb.”

  “Bomb, sir?” Rhona asked in a whisper. Tom saw her legs were shaking.

  “Never mind all that,” Lord McBride said impatiently. “Just get on and do as you are told. It is bad enough that MacTavish has just sent three of our allies to a watery grave.”

  “On your instructions, Laird,” Blane pointed out, and received a glare from McBride for his troubles.

  “You mean to send us to London along with the bomb?” Tom asked.

  “No laddie, you and the Spellbinder lassie are far too valuable to kill. However, I think you will make a most appropriate audience for this, the greatest moment in Scottish history.”

  “Well, we have given them to ten past one and that is long enough,” Cam said wearily. She stood up and stretched her arms and legs. It was proving to be a long night. “The boys have either been caught or are still looking for their young lady friends and I think that either way it is time it is time to make our move.”

  “I will take you to where Hans Clerkes constructs his devices,” Dougal said from where he had been dozing with Daisy. “I have no objection to you destroying the damned things. As a matter of fact, I am more than willing to help you in the task. Then MM3 will see they have nothing to fear in Glen Russell and will leave us to carry on loyally supporting the Empire.”

  “I know what I heard,” Arnold said quietly. Dougal chose to ignore him.

  “Can we trust you not to lead us into a trap?” Cam asked.

  “Yes, you can,” Dougal and Daisy said simultaneously. They smiled at each other and Cam snorted in disgust.

  “When Trelawney sees the report for this mission, he will never send me out again,” Cam said despairingly. “And it will be your fault, Daisy Drew!”

  “Yes, Camilla,” Daisy said meekly. “But if we survive this mission we shall rightly be regarded as heroes.”

  “That or fools,” Dougal whispered.

  “Lead on, McDougal,” Cam said, waving at Dougal to lead the way.

  “Two mistakes in three words, misquoting the Bard of Avon,” Dougal said shaking his head. “Please do not put that in your report or they may send you back to school for a decent education.”

  “He has a point,” Arnold said as Cam walked past him muttering insults.

  Dougal led them through the castle and into the factory. He was about to open the door to where the devices were kept when they heard raised voices.

  “Is there any way that we can see what is going on in there?” Cam asked.

  “We could observe from up on the gantry if we were quiet enough,” Dougal admitted.

  “You will not give us away?” Cam asked suspiciously.

  “I have given my word, that should be enough,” Dougal answered.

  “Show us the way then,” Cam said grudgingly.

  Dougal led them up the iron steps onto the walkway that ran around the roof of the building. As he quietly opened the door at the top, the voices from the factory floor became louder and clearer.

  Cam risked a quick peek over the walkway’s low wall and saw Tom and Laura with their hands bound in front of them, defiantly facing a number of people.

  “I tell you, you should not have brought them here, Alistair,” Hans Clerkes shouted at Lord McBride. “Especially that one,” he said pointing an angry finger at Laura. “She is a witch and a Class A at that. Who knows what she might do to my bomb?”

  “Your precious bomb is safe, man,” Blane stated, snorting in exasperation. “She has her hands tied and do you see paper, pen and ink anywhere close?”

  “I will do as I please, Hans,” Lord McBride said, sounding equally as angry as Clerkes. “This is my factory on my estate and the bomb was built with my money. Do not tell me what I can do or not do again if you value your life.”

  Clerkes recognised he had gone too far and calmed down with an effort.

  “I am sorry, my lord. You must understand that making this device has been a labor of love and its mission tomorrow so important. Destroying all the enemies of Scotland in one massive ball of fire is so poetic, do you not agree?”

  Lord McBride nodded.

  “Quite so, quite so. However, I will not have you tell me what to do, Hans. Is the bomb prepared?”

  “Yes, we finished it an hour ago.” Clerkes ran his hand over the grey horizontal gun barrel with its two sealed ends. It was more a caress than anything else, and Tom wondered if the man would kiss it goodbye when it left.

  “Then all we have to do is move it to the train and load it into the carriage,” Lord McBride said with satisfaction. The device was mounted on a small wheeled trolley. It would take special hoists to load it onto the carriage.

  “This is really a bomb?” Rhona asked in disbelief. She walked over to the device and touched it as though she could not believe it was real. “And it will cause an explosion big enough to destroy London?”

  “Aye, lassie,” Lord McBride said proudly. “The British Empire shall give way to the Scottish Empire once the English scum are dead.”

  “All those people, there must be millions of people in London, women and little bairns, they will all die too?” Rhona asked in a whisper filled with dread.

  “Burnt to a crisp before they even know they are dead,” Clerkes said chortling. “Just like the villagers were yesterday.”

  Rhona walked ov
er to Lord McBride, standing so close to him that her breasts almost touched his waistcoat. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

  “Please Laird, think again. You cannot kill so many innocents in Scotland’s name. How would I live with myself knowing I helped you?”

  Tom moved his hands over to Laura’s while everyone’s attention was diverted and started to untie the ropes around her hands. It was difficult, because he could only use the tips of his fingers. Laura pressed her hands together tightly so the ropes were as slack as she could make them.

  “I do not need your help, lassie,” Lord McBride told Rhona contemptuously. “You are nothing but a drone, born and bred to keep my castle clean. In the world I plan to build, girls like you will learn how to keep their mouths shut, if they do not want their tongues cut out.”

  Rhona looked astonished. Then her hand flew and slapped Lord McBride across the face. She held her ground, not moving an inch as she waited for his reaction.

  McBride lifted a hand to his mouth and wiped the blood pouring from his cut lip onto his hand. He looked at the blood in surprise.

  “You will not do this terrible thing, Laird. I will not allow it.”

  Lord McBride looked at his hands, which were level with Rhona’s throat. He smiled at Rhona and she smiled hesitantly back. Then he gripped her throat with both hands and crushed her windpipe with one swift and brutal squeeze. He let the girl go and she fell back a step, hands clasping her injured throat.

  Up on the gantry, Dougal had watched and listened to the conversation with growing dread. At first, he did not understand what his father had done to Rhona. Then as she struggled to breathe and failed, he tried to get to his feet. He was pulled back by Daisy who clasped her hand over his mouth and mouthed ‘be quiet’ at him.

  Rhona began to go purple in the face. Blane looked on in horror; Lord McBride and Hans Clerkes seemed to be enjoying the sight of this beautiful young girl choking to death.

  Rhona dropped to her knees in front of Lord McBride and tried to beat at his feet as the oxygen in her blood dropped lower and lower. He made no attempt to move away, enjoying the last painful moments of his servant’s life.