Suddenly, startling both of them, the telephone rang shrill and demanding in the quiet night.
They exchanged dismayed looks.
“Shall I answer it?” Rowell asked.
“I’ll do it,” said Tyler.
Please don’t let it be more bad news.
Unfortunately, it was.
51.
SISTER REBECCA WAS ON THE OTHER END OF THE LINE.
“Inspector. I’m sorry to disturb you, but I thought I should let you know right away. Shirley McHattie has disappeared.”
Tyler heard a woman’s voice shout from the background, “Kidnapped. Tell him she’s been kidnapped.”
“I gather that was Mrs. McHattie,” he said to the almoner. “What’s happened?”
“Perhaps I should let her tell you herself.”
Mrs. McHattie’s voice came over the wire. She was breathless, her voice high-pitched.
“Somebody’s kidnapped my girl. What’s going on, Inspector? I feel like I’m being driven mad.”
“Mrs. McHattie. Try as best you can to tell me what has happened. Why do you think Shirley has been kidnapped?”
“I don’t just think it. I know it. She’s been taken. Somebody came into her room and took her.”
Tyler could hear that the woman was on the verge of hysteria.
“When did you discover she was missing?”
“Just now. She went to bed ages ago. She’d said she wasn’t feeling well.” The woman’s words were pouring out. “I stayed in the sitting room so as not to disturb her, until I couldn’t keep my eyes open. When I did go into the room, she wasn’t there.” Tyler could hear her gulp back her panic. “The light was still on. Her handbag was on the chair, and her nightie was on the bed. She hadn’t even got undressed.”
Mrs. McHattie struggled for control and Tyler waited. He could hear that Sister Rebecca was trying to comfort her.
Tyler kept his voice neutral. “Mrs. McHattie? Did you check to see if she is anywhere else in the hospital? With her brother, for instance?”
“She’s not. I went there straight away. He was fast asleep.” Again she made the impatient snorting noise. “You’ve got to come, Inspector. We’ve got to find her.”
Tyler braced himself, trying not to be pushed by Mrs. McHattie’s fear.
“You say you think she has been ab—”
She interrupted him. “The bedroom window was wide open. She was took that way. If she went out the front door, I’d have seen her.”
“Mrs. McHattie, could Shirley have gone out by way of the window just so you wouldn’t see her?”
“Why? Why would she do that? Where would she go?”
“Is there anybody in the town she might want to be with?”
“No. We hardly know anybody. I tell you, Inspector, she’s been kidnapped.”
She broke into sobs, all the more heart-rending because she was trying so hard to hold them back.
“Mrs. McHattie, will you put Sister Rebecca on the line, please?”
The almoner was there immediately.
“Is it at all possible the girl has just gone out of her own volition?” Tyler asked.
“Not out of the question.”
He sighed. He felt like a wrung-out dishcloth already and he didn’t fancy racing back to St. Anne’s only to discover a sulky young woman had been trying to escape her mother’s over-zealous attention. On the other hand, a pitch-black night was not particularly inviting for a heavily pregnant girl to be out in.
“I’ll come over.”
“Thank you, Inspector. I know you don’t have a proper vehicle, so perhaps I can fetch you myself in our car. We still have some petrol ration.”
“Sounds like a good offer.”
She hung up.
Rowell had been hovering anxiously and Tyler filled him in.
“I understand that women can get very restless before they’re due,” said the sergeant. “Go for walks at the oddest of times. That sort of thing. Perhaps that’s all it is.”
What the sergeant said rang true. Shortly before giving birth to each of their children, Vera had begun to rise early, and sometimes she’d go out for a stroll around the town. He never accompanied her. She didn’t ask and he didn’t offer. Tyler felt a pang of guilt at the memory.
“I pray that’s what it is, Oliver. I truly pray.” He hesitated briefly. “You know what, Sergeant, I think given all these occurrences, it might be good to have a firearm.”
“Funny thing. I was thinking that myself, sir. The killer is certainly armed.”
“What have we got?”
“There are two Webleys with holsters over in the station.”
“Are they in working order?”
“Yes, sir. I make a point of maintaining them myself. Shall I fetch one for you?”
“Yes, please.”
52.
TYLER WENT OUT TO THE STREET TO WAIT FOR SISTER Rebecca, who soon arrived.
“I checked the room myself,” she said as they drove off. “I could see no evidence that Shirley has been taken unwillingly. I sleep right next door, and the walls are paper thin. I went to bed shortly after you left. Just before ten o’clock. I did fall asleep right away, but if somebody did get in via Shirley’s window and overpowered her, he would have to have been awfully quiet about it or I would have heard something. As it was, I was woken by Mrs. McHattie calling out. Before I rang you, I checked with the constables on duty, and they both said they saw no one. I simply cannot fathom how Shirley got out of the grounds.”
“And you’re sure she’s not inside the hospital somewhere?”
“Positive. There’s nowhere she could be.”
“Is everybody else accounted for?”
She bit her lip. “Yes. I went straight to Sister Virginia, who is on ward duty. The wards, both men’s and women’s, have been completely quiet. We checked each room. All the patients are present.” She glanced over at Tyler. “I’m just keeping my fingers crossed Shirley will be waiting for us when we get there, wondering what all the fuss is about when all she’s done is go for some fresh air.”
The sliver of the waxing moon came out from behind a cloud and briefly lit the river as it rippled over the shoals near to the bridge.
“Stay out, moon, we might need you,” said Tyler, but the moon did not oblige and the night was plunged once again into darkness.
Within moments, they were at the hospital. Sister Rebecca parked the car and Constable Mady stepped forward from the shadow of the gate.
“Has the girl returned, Constable?” Tyler asked.
“No, sir. No sign of her.”
Tyler’s heart sank. He’d been hoping Shirley might indeed have gone for a bit of a stroll and was now safely back home having a cuppa.
They went through the gate and, guided by the meagre light from the almoner’s torch, walked around the side of the house to the nuns’ quarters. All was dark, the blackout rigorously obeyed. As they drew close, a figure emerged from the darkness. He had a shaded torch of his own.
“Sir. Constable Biggs here.”
Tyler thought he sounded nervous.
“Keep a good eye out, Constable. Sound the alarm if so much as a bird tweets out of turn. Who’s on watch at the cottage?”
“Constable Eaves, sir. He has not reported anything amiss.”
“I asked Mrs. McHattie to wait in the sitting room,” whispered Sister Rebecca as she unlocked the front door. “Sister Clarissa is with her.”
Martha McHattie was in the same chair as before, her face white and agonized. Sister Clarissa was in her nightclothes, a grey flannel dressing gown and, rather incongruously, an old-fashioned white bonnet that tied under her chin.
Mrs. McHattie looked up at once. “Any news?”
“No, I’m afraid not.”
“She’s been kidnapped, I told you.”
“Perhaps I could take a look at the bedroom.”
“I’ll come with you,” Mrs. McHattie said.
The older nun rea
ched out and placed a hand on her arm.
“Maybe you should wait, my dear.”
Without a word, Mrs. McHattie shook her off.
Tyler followed Sister Rebecca down the dimly lit hall, Mrs. McHattie right behind him. The doors to the nuns’ individual rooms were closed. No light showed. Nobody else was stirring.
The room the McHatties had been using was at the far end. Tyler opened the door.
There were two single cots close together, a dark mahogany wardrobe and dresser, a wooden chair, a crucifix on the wall. On one of the beds was laid out a pink nightdress, pretty and feminine. The single window was open, the sash pushed up as far as it would go.
Tyler went over to have a closer look. The sill was quite low and it was feasible that Shirley climbed out that way, although it would have been awkward. Had she? If so, why? She wasn’t being held captive here. If she wanted to go for a walk, she was entitled to. But seeing the narrowness of the window, Tyler could not imagine a heavily pregnant woman being removed through it against her will. And there was no evidence of a struggle. A rag wool rug lay straight and tidy on the floor. Nightdress undisturbed. The cot was still made, the cover smooth.
He leaned out of the window and flashed his torch, but there was nothing obvious. No visible footprints. He swung his legs over the sill and climbed out. Easy for him. The surrounding wall was only a few feet away and he walked towards it, aiming his torch at the ground. Again, no sign of footprints. He put out his hand to guide himself, keeping his torch low, and followed the wall to where it curved. The nuns’ quarters completely blocked the view from the main house. Tyler rounded the corner and found himself close to the east gate and the trellis. The gate was not bolted. It seemed very likely that Shirley had exited the grounds this way.
He retraced his steps to the window and climbed back in.
“Well?” said Mrs. McHattie.
“I think she must have exited through the east gate.”
“Was taken, you mean.”
“I don’t know that yet.”
“Where were the guards? Sitting on their duffs?”
“They didn’t hear anything,” interjected the almoner. “It’s very dark. Somebody moving quietly would not have been noticed.”
Mrs. McHattie glared at the almoner. Tyler jumped in to intercept the harangue he knew was about to erupt.
“Mrs. McHattie, you said that Shirley left behind her handbag. Do you mind if I take a look in it?”
“It’s over there.”
The handbag was of newish-looking red leather with a jewelled clasp. He snapped it open, took out a dainty silver compact and an eyebrow pencil, and placed both items on the dresser. There was also a handkerchief and a couple of shillings. Other than Shirley’s identity card, that was it.
“Did she have a lipstick? It doesn’t seem to be in here.”
Mrs. McHattie snatched the handbag and scrabbled inside it, then upended it and shook it hard. Nothing.
Her eyes met Tyler’s. “It’s not here.”
“She had it last night,” interjected Sister Rebecca. “I saw her use it.”
Mrs. McHattie’s voice went to an even higher pitch. “I know what you’re getting at, but Shirle wouldna just go off like that. Not at a time like this. She’d know I’d worry myself sick.”
“Perhaps she left a note. It might have slipped off the dresser. Do you mind if I take a look?”
“Help yourself.”
Tyler bent down and looked underneath the beds. Nothing. No note, no lipstick.
“What was she wearing?”
“What she’s been wearing for the past two days, seeing as how we can’t get into our cottage. She was in her pink maternity smock.” Mrs. McHattie went over to the wardrobe and jerked open the door. She paused. “Her cardie’s not here.” She turned around to face Tyler. “That doesna mean anything. She probably felt a bit chilly. Are you going to get up a search party or not?”
“Let’s put it this way, Mrs. McHattie. I have limited resources. It’s pitch-black outside, and I cannot use lights without violating the blackout. But more to the point, I’m not convinced your daughter has, in fact, been abducted.”
“So, you’re saying you’re going to do bugger all.”
Sister Rebecca attempted to intercede. “Mrs. McHattie. We can understand your worry, but we have to be sensible. Please listen to what the inspector is saying.”
Mrs. McHattie whirled around. “I’ll look for her myself then. If she’s dead, you lot can have it on your conscience for the rest of your lives.”
She rushed for the door, but Sister Rebecca held out her arm to block her.
“I think we can do much more good if we sit down calmly and go over the situation.”
Tyler wasn’t sure which way the struggle would resolve itself until, abruptly, Mrs. McHattie sat down on the edge of the cot. She held her head in her hands and said in a low voice, “I can’t take much more.”
Sister Rebecca knelt beside her.
“I do think the best thing to do right now is to talk to Inspector Tyler. Why don’t I go and make us some tea while you do that?”
The other woman nodded.
“I won’t be long,” said Sister Rebecca, and she left.
Tyler waited for a moment. “Mrs. McHattie, when we spoke on the telephone you said that you knew no one in Ludlow itself. But are you absolutely certain that Shirley wasn’t in contact with somebody in town?”
“Like who? She never said so. Besides, she hardly ever went out beyond the grounds. Just a walk down to the bridge and back to stretch her legs. When we did go to the pictures in the town hall, she went with me or her brothers.”
“If she left of her own volition, and without letting you know, I can only assume that she had a compelling reason.”
Mrs. McHattie turned her head away from him. “Perhaps somebody got in and put a gun to her head. That’s a compelling reason.”
“True. But then I’d have to ask, why? Why risk coming in the room, obviously by way of a narrow window, to forcibly abduct a pregnant woman? One would expect protest, struggle, noise. None of that seems to have occurred.”
“Somebody killed my husband and my son. Now my daughter’s disappeared. What in God’s name is going on?”
“I wish I had an answer for you, but I don’t.”
Finally, her eyes met his. “Do you have children, Inspector?”
He paused, choosing his words carefully. “I have a daughter. She’s about Shirley’s age.”
“So you’ve got some idea what it’s like. The girls are the ones you worry about. Jock and me – well, especially Jock – were very protective of our Shirley. But she was a handful from day one. Oo, she could be so defiant. When he could catch her, Jock would wallop her, but it didn’t make no difference. She’d stand up to him till he knocked her down. She took advantage of him being blind and she’d stay just out of reach, taunting him. Terrible scenes we had. He was ready to disown her more than once. Not that he would have, of course, but she did drive him to the brink.”
She halted, lost in her own unhappy thoughts.
“You’re saying that in spite of the situation it’s not out of character for Shirley to disregard your feelings and take off on some adventure of her own?” Tyler spoke quietly.
Mrs. McHattie sighed. “No, I suppose it’s not out of character, as you put it. I knew when she told me she was pregnant there would be nothing but tragedy ahead of us, and that’s what happened. Jock was livid. Forbade Shirle to have anything to do with the man. Ha. Too late. The horse was out of the barn by then.”
“Do you think this lover might be in some way implicated in what has happened?”
“I don’t see how. He’s gone overseas.”
“Shirley told me she didn’t even know his surname. He couldn’t tell her because he was on a highly secret mission.”
“That’s what he said.” Again Mrs. McHattie scowled. “Could have been a pile of horse manure what he was dropping us in. Fa
ct is, he got her up the stump and left her in the lurch.”
“And your daughter has had no contact with this man since he left?”
“Couple of postcards with no return address. Nothing recently. I’m the one who sees the post first, so I make sure. She hasn’t received anything. Maybe he’s dead. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say.”
53.
SHIRLEY McHATTIE WAS FEELING DECIDEDLY UNDER the weather. Her back was aching something awful and her stomach felt queasy. The pain had begun when she was in the boat, but now it was getting worse.
Polly had been waiting for her at the riverbank. She was chipper as could be and gave her a big hug as she helped her get into the rowing boat. Don’t worry. One of my many undisclosed talents, Shirle dear, is that I can row awfully well. And so she could, although it had been hard going against the current. Soon they disembarked at a derelict dock and Polly led her to this church. The perfect hiding place, and I’ve made it all cosy. Shirley couldn’t help but get into the spirit of adventure and her heart was beginning to pound in anticipation of seeing Rudy. She’d caught hold of Polly’s hand. Oh, Pol, I can hardly stand it. Do you think he will have changed? Do you think he’ll be put off because I’ve lost my figure? Polly had pinched her cheek. Silly goose, of course not. Things will be just the same, you’ll see. It’s his baby after all.
But the sense of excitement was fading fast. Even Polly seemed subdued. She’d lit a couple of candles, but they didn’t give off much light and the church was dark all around them. Shirley hadn’t been in a Catholic church before and the shadowy statues and stained glass windows were vaguely disturbing. She knew how her own minister felt about papists, as he called them.
Worse, however, was the man who’d arrived shortly after them. Polly said he was a friend of Rudy’s, a soldier pal from training school. He’d agreed to act as a go-between as an act of friendship. She couldn’t reveal his name, “for security reasons.” He didn’t say a word – no greeting, no acknowledgement of Shirley, nothing. He was wearing dark clothes and a balaclava that covered his face. He sat in one of the pews outside the circle of light. He was so silent and still, he was almost invisible, but Shirley could feel his presence behind her.
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