‘It is?’ Antonia blinked at her, appearing nonplussed.
‘Indeed. How did you put it, Charles?’
‘She seems to lack a capacity for interpreting abstract symbology, or connecting it with the more substantive entity it represents. So she can see the mountain, and the symbol for it on the map, but her brain refuses to connect the two. Presumably a result of some alteration made by Cooper.’
‘Strange, but we are about to have a visitor.’
Kate looked around in time to see a very tall man in a military uniform stepping up to the table. He was not an unattractive man with somewhat hard features and a strong, fit body, but his left eye was missing. A scar showed on his cheek beneath a black eyepatch; the loss of his eye had not been gentle.
‘Please,’ he said, his voice carrying barely a hint of a foreign accent, ‘do not stand.’ He executed a short, sharp bow. ‘I am Count Karl Werner von Auttenberg, and I simply wished to meet the great Doctor Barstow-Hall.’
Charles got to his feet anyway and offered a hand. Not a short man, he was still a good four inches shorter than von Auttenberg. ‘Count, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. May I introduce my companions, Mrs Antonia Wooster and Miss Katherine Felix.’
‘Indeed, you have the far more attractive table. Would that I could join you, but I must continue with these old men and tell war stories. I merely wished to congratulate you on your work, Doctor. I follow your activities with great interest. Now, I must return to my hosts. Ladies.’ He snapped off another bow and turned to march away.
Charles took the opportunity to flex his fingers and sit down. ‘Man has a grip like a vice.’
‘Mrs Morton had nothing good to say on the subject of Germans,’ Kate said, ‘but he seemed like a gentleman.’
‘Parables have much to say on the subject,’ Antonia said. ‘Never judge a book by its cover.’
‘But first impressions are lasting,’ Charles added. ‘I prefer to reserve judgement until I have more experience of the man.’
‘I expected nothing less, Charles. Your salmon is getting cold and I believe I should like another glass of wine.’
Kate glanced at her companion, detecting the slight tension in her voice even if Charles did not appear to. Antonia had reason to dislike Count von Auttenberg, but what that could be would have to wait for later.
Richmond.
‘Have you encountered Count von Auttenberg before?’ Kate asked as they retired to the drawing room for tea before bed.
‘I have not,’ Antonia replied.
‘But you have some reason to regard him stiffly.’
Antonia sighed and took a sip of her tea. ‘Rumour and innuendo, in truth. In Nairobi we heard tales of German activities in the Congo which were… less than wholesome. The Republic denies all and states that they would not condone such things were they to be provided with proof, but the rumours continue and it is Count von Auttenberg who has administrative authority in the region. He may, indeed, be quite innocent. The rumours may be untrue, remnants of the depredations of the Belgians in years past perpetuated in the hopes that Britain might step in to liberate the region.’
‘But you suspect that they are true and that he may be involved?’
‘I fear so, and I cannot bring myself to like the man because of it. I should not infect you with my pessimism, however. Maintain your objectivity as Charles has done.’
‘I shall do as you say, but I shall note these rumours and your opinion of them. I hold your opinion in high regard, as you should know.’
Antonia gave a bow of her head, accepting the compliment for what it was, but she said, ‘For once I am inclined to hope that your confidence is misplaced.’
Knightsbridge, 18th August.
Charles was preparing to go to his lab when he heard the bell for the door. The morning newspapers held their habitual rash of murders, robberies, a touch of scandal, and the usual reports of the doings of politicians. None of it held particular interest.
The door of the morning room opened and Harroway opened it, his face showing as much concern as Charles had ever seen on it. ‘Sir, there are gentlemen here from Scotland Yard. They request that you return with them immediately. They were quite assertive on the matter, sir.’
Charles frowned and folded his newspaper. ‘I expect I should best go with them then. Kindly get my coat, Harroway.’
Richmond.
Little opened the front door to discover a man in a brown, high-collared coat on the doorstep. Behind him were two men in police uniforms, and there was a black, motorised van at the curb. Her heart jumped into her throat and, for a second, she wondered whether Chastity had done something which had brought the police to their door.
‘We need to speak to Miss Felix,’ the detective leading the police stated. There was something a little odd about his accent, but the warrant card he showed her looked genuine.
‘Please wait, sir, I’ll get Mrs Wooster.’ He gave a nod and she turned, pushing the door to and then walking swiftly back towards the drawing room where Kate would be sitting with Antonia. In her urgency she neglected to knock and both women looked up at her a little surprised. ‘Ma’am, there are policemen here. They say they need to talk to Miss Kate.’
Frowning, Antonia got to her feet and went out to the front door. She looked the man in the coat up and down, and examined the card he was holding up. ‘Inspector… Morris? What can I do for you?’
‘We are here to take Miss Katherine Felix into custody, ma’am. Chief Inspector Longford’s orders. He needs to question her on a matter of murder.’
‘Murder?! I–’
‘I will go with them, Mrs Wooster.’ Kate’s voice came from behind her. ‘I will not be the cause of difficulty here in your home.’
‘I’ll come with you.’
‘My orders are to take her alone, ma’am,’ Morris said. ‘You are welcome to proceed to the Yard, but I cannot take you with us.’
Antonia looked set to argue, but Kate placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘I will be fine.’
‘I will meet you there as soon as possible.’
Nodding, Kate walked out towards the Black Maria at the curb.
Westminster.
‘What is this about, Chief Inspector?’ Charles asked as a tall man in a fairly expensive suit entered the interview room.
Chief Inspector Longford had the look of an ex-military man, including a greying moustache and a tight, military haircut. He was aging fairly gracefully and still had some degree of muscle to his frame, but he was thinning around the face and he looked very severe because of it. Charles suspected he would have looked severe anyway.
‘A body was recovered from the Thames this morning,’ Longford said, taking the seat across from Charles. ‘Decapitated and with the hands severed from the arms. We have identified it from the prison uniform it was dressed in as one Alfred Cooper.’
‘I see. And for what reason am I here?’
‘Cooper’s garb suggests that he was taken from his cell and then murdered. You, yourself, reported that the only person with the knowledge to break him out of gaol in the manner used is you. Your ward has strong motives for wishing him harm and is in possession of a sword, I am given to believe.’
Charles looked carefully at the man, trying to read anything in his expression. He got little or nothing. ‘Let me attempt to summarise. Some three weeks ago, myself and Miss Felix commit a daring gaol break to remove the man who sired her from Pentonville. We keep him alive for that long, and then she beheads him and removes his hands before disposing of the torso in the Thames. Is that correct?’
‘That is the current working hypothesis, Doctor?’
‘Why?’
‘Pardon? This man performed unspeakable experiments upon her person.’
‘Why did we keep him alive for three weeks? Where do you suppose we secreted him during this time? Since you know of the sword, I assume you are aware that Miss Felix has been engaged in the apprehension of a gang of white slavers
for half of this period. If we wanted him dead, why not kill him in his cell?’
Longford smiled; he had been expecting that one. ‘You clearly wished to extract from him what he knew of his experiment.’
‘I assure you, Chief Inspector, that there is nothing that man knows that I would wish polluting my mind. Where is Miss Felix? I assume you wish to speak with her.’
‘Miss Felix will have been arrested by now and will be on her way here,’ Longford said. Charles decided that the man’s smile held a little too much malice.
Battersea.
They had insisted on cuffing her hands behind her back which she considered unnecessary and rather rude. There were two policemen and the detective in the back with her, two more men in the front, a sufficient guard without restraint.
‘Might I know who the victim is?’ Kate asked. Morris looked at her, saying nothing. ‘I assume that I am accused of killing someone for I cannot fathom why I would be called to consult upon a murder and then handcuffed.’
‘You’ll remain silent,’ Morris snapped. His accent seemed odd, tainted with… She was not quite sure, but he was not from London.
Deprived of the right to speak, she looked around the back of the van, her eyes eventually falling upon Morris’s feet. Inspector Franklin took pride in his dress, but he was still nothing more than a detective risen from the ranks. His shoes were invariably worn and brown. Morris wore better-quality shoes in black. No, black boots, though the upper part was hidden beneath his trousers. An odd affectation, perhaps, but not exactly impossible. Except that the constable sitting beside him seemed to be wearing the same style of boot, as was the one beside her.
There was a small window in the back of the van. Through it she could see railway tracks, many of them. It looked like they were passing through Battersea or Nine Elms. They would likely cross the river at Vauxhall on the new bridge. Well, she had been told it was less than fifteen years old which still made it older than her.
But they continued on the south side and she saw the bridge in the rear view as they continued on towards Lambeth. Well, they might be taking her across at Westminster, but that seemed rather the long way around and made little sense…
And then she heard it. The driver asked something of his companion which she did not understand, but took it to be an odd dialect she had not met until she heard the reply. ‘Rechts an der nächsten Kreuzung.’ She did not understand that either, but she recognised the timbre from overhearing Count von Auttenberg speaking to one of his associates at the Barstow Club.
Moving slowly, so as not to attract attention, she eased the bracelet of her cuffs off her right wrist, squeezing it over her hand. Mister Thomas had remarked once on her flexibility; he knew but the half of it.
‘I believe your driver has made a wrong turn, Inspector Morris,’ Kate said, smiling at the man.
‘They know where they’re going. Please remain silent.’
‘Are you absolutely certain?’
‘I said–’
‘It’s just that they did not take Vauxhall Bridge so perhaps, being from Germany, they are not conversant with the roadways.’
Morris moved, his hand reaching into his coat, and Kate’s booted foot slammed into his arm. There was a loud bang which echoed in the confines of the van. Morris let out a cry while the man beside him screamed and keeled over, clutching at his leg. Beside Kate, the ‘policeman’ went for his own pistol, but Kate’s elbow slammed into his jaw. Once, twice, and then he was falling forward onto his colleague.
The van screeched to a halt, throwing Kate off balance and freeing Morris, or whatever his name actually was. He pulled a pistol from under his coat, not unlike the Mauser which Antonia carried but of a slightly smaller calibre. He was bringing it around when Kate caught herself, glanced back, and then kicked out. Her boot heel jabbed straight through his windpipe, an accident, but one she could live with. She scrabbled to her feet while Morris collapsed to the floor, choking on his own blood.
The rear door of the van opened and two men in uniform, brandishing pistols, were standing there. Kate threw herself out at them, catching each in an arm as she leaped and bearing them to the ground. She was up and running before either could regain their senses, dashing away through the gathering crowd who were unlikely to stop a fleeing prisoner, even if they could have.
Behind her the two men looked after her. ‘Müssen wir nach ihr gehen?’
‘Nein. Wir können hier nicht gefangen werden.’
And with that they closed the van and returned to the front, driving off with all the speed the Maria could muster.
Richmond.
Kate slipped in through the rear gate and entered the kitchen as quietly as possible. Her stealth was, however, wasted: the Bridgers and Little were sitting at the kitchen table looking despondent.
‘Miss Kate!’ Little said as soon as she saw her. ‘We thought the peelers had you. Mrs Wooster went out by carriage not ten minutes ago to join you.’
‘Those were not policemen, and I am placing you all in a difficult position by being here. I shall collect a few things and be gone.’
‘There is no difficulty, ma’am,’ Mister Bridger stated, ‘for you have at no point returned to this house as far as we are aware.’
‘None of us think you did nothing,’ Little said, her accent slipping in her excitement.
Kate looked at her. ‘A double negative, Margery? Mrs Wooster would be most disconcerted. Thank you, all of you, but I cannot endanger this house with my presence.’
‘And that speaks most highly of your character, Miss Kate,’ Mrs Bridger said, nodding. ‘Get your things and I’ll make up a bundle for you. If you’ll be hiding out on the streets while Mrs Wooster and your guardian sort this out, you’ll need food.’
‘I… Thank you. I will return as fast as I am able.’
‘I’ll come to help you change,’ Little said. ‘It’ll be all the faster with help.’ She waited until they were on the stairs before asking, ‘If they were not from the Yard, Miss, who were they?’
‘You’d be better off not knowing, and besides I’m not entirely sure myself. I fear they were sent to take me captive for some reason and I know not why. Margery, when Mrs Wooster returns tell her… Tell her I’ll be near our rendezvous point just after dark. I’ll try to be there each night should she need to make contact.’
‘I will, Miss. Now let’s get you ready. I assume you’ll be wanting your leathers.’
Westminster.
Longford stalked into the interview room, his expression dark. Charles was not sure what had happened, but it had displeased the Chief Inspector greatly.
‘Your wild girl has escaped while being brought here,’ Longford growled. ‘Four officers and a detective dead.’
Charles stared at the man, unable to believe what he was hearing. If Kate had had one of her atavistic episodes… But no, those were rarely violent, if ever. Her speech decayed as her mind submerged, but she was no more prone to violence then than at other times, unless…
‘How much force did you authorise in her detention, Chief Inspector?’
‘She’s an animal!’ Longford roared. ‘I’ve read the reports on her. She bit an officer when she was first discovered. You think I care how much force was used in her capture?’
‘I see–’
‘She’ll be hunted down! Hunted down like the dog she is!’
Charles’s fists clenched and he bit back on his immediate rejoinder. ‘Have you any evidence to hold me here, Chief Inspector?’
‘What?’
‘Have you any evidence, real evidence rather than supposition, that I am involved in any way with these crimes?’ Longford glared at him. ‘Then I would be obliged if you would see to my release. I shall be remaining in London, have no fear of not finding me should you need to.’
‘I’ll see you–’
‘I caution you against further outbursts. I have already heard enough to consider taking the case for your replacement before the
Commissioner. Threats will not persuade me against that course of action.’
‘Get out. See that you do not leave the city.’
Getting to his feet, Charles made his way to the door. ‘Sir, wild horses could not drag me away at this juncture.’
Richmond.
Charles and Antonia had shared a carriage across the river, saying nothing of the matter at hand until they were in Antonia’s drawing room where Little told them of Kate’s visit.
‘She said she’d try to be at your usual rendezvous place, wherever that may be, after dark,’ Little said. ‘She took her pills an’ her sword, an’ Mrs Bridger gave her some food, but those streets are no place for a lady to be sleepin’ on, ma’am.’
‘Calmly, Margery,’ Antonia said. ‘A little excitement is no excuse for poor diction.’
‘Begging your pardon, ma’am, but I cannot believe Miss Kate could murder a man in cold blood. None of us can. It’s got me worried. She said the men, those policemen, who came to take her away, they were not policemen.’
‘I’m afraid it gets worse, Miss Little,’ Charles said, ‘for she is accused of killing those very men during her escape.’
‘No, sir. For she said she knew they might give chase since two had seen the direction she ran in, and that was another reason why she could not stay.’
‘Curiouser and curiouser,’ Antonia said. ‘Since we are listing the misfortunes of the situation, Inspector Franklin spoke to me briefly, expressing his opinion that Kate was unlikely to be the culprit in Cooper’s murder. He said that Chief Inspector Longford was an excellent policeman, but also a very religious man. He had taken the case over from the detective originally assigned to it when it became clear who the victim was.’
‘A religious man,’ Charles mused. ‘That may explain his somewhat forthright belief in Kate’s guilt.’ He sighed. ‘If the police believe her to have killed some of their own they will be merciless in their pursuit. We must get word to her of the situation and she must remain out of sight until we can clarify matters.’
Unobtainium 1: Kate on a Hot Tin Roof Page 14
