by Jack Murray
The goliath let out a yelp of pain. An already bad morning had just gotten worse. His plan had failed, there would be no set-for-life diamonds to enrich him, the hell-child had thrown up over him, he had endured a bruising fall down a laundry chute and now, a poncey-looking posh bloke was handing out what he would, no doubt call, a thrashing.
Johnny Mac snapped. Roaring in rage, he charged at Kit only to be met with a stiff left jab, made with the heel of Kit’s fist. However, his momentum carried the big man forward and he crashed into Kit. Both men fell to the ground.
The size and weight of Johnny Mac came to his advantage and he managed to roll Kit onto his back. Now he had the upper hand. He raised his fist to deliver a hammer set of blows when all of a sudden an arm appeared around the giant’s neck which yanked him backwards.
The man responsible looked very like Sergeant Ryan, and he looked none too pleased with Johnny Mac.
‘Where’s my son?’ yelled Ryan at Johnny Mac.
The Ulsterman leapt to his feet, grinning madly and stepped towards Ryan. In the background, Kit could see Bulstrode regarding the scene with some concern but not taking any action.
He didn’t need to.
Ryan tore into Johnny Mac with a ferocity and a hatred that had been building for days and reached a peak when it was apparent he had kidnapped his boy. The fight, if it can be so described, was mercifully short but just long enough for a Johnny Mac to experience a severe rearrangement of his features, a possible broken jaw, and a pain in his groin that would discourage conjugal relations with his cell mates for quite a long time.
Kit and the two policemen had to drag Ryan off the colossus before there were more serious consequences to the violent retribution being meted out. Ryan was in tears, mad with rage, crying with worry.
‘Joe,’ shouted Ben, ‘Look.’
Walking towards the group and the stricken figure of Johnny Mac was the leader of the ‘Elephant Boys’ holding a gurgling toddler in his arms. He handed the child over. Ryan buried his boy in an embrace.
Relief flooded through Kit. He looked at McDonald and nodded. Then Jellicoe arrived on the scene. He glanced at McDonald and said, ‘Well done.’
McDonald acknowledged Jellicoe but said nothing. Then he put on his trilby and turned to his men and said, ‘Time to go.’ He started to walk away then stopped. Moments later he turned around and came back to Jellicoe.
‘I don’t suppose there’s any chance of a lift?’
Chapter 33
As the police car approached Caroline’s house on Eaton Square, it was apparent there was a big crowd of newsmen, photographers and passers-by standing outside. Mary saw immediately that it would be impossible for Caroline to return there.
‘Keep driving,’ ordered Mary and then gave an address in Grosvenor Square where they should go.
A few minutes later, Mary helped Caroline into up the steps of Aunt Agatha’s house. She knocked on the door which was soon answered by Fish. They walked through to the drawing room. Agatha and Betty were there drinking tea.
‘Good lord,’ said the ladies in unison.
‘Meet Caroline Hadleigh,’ said Mary and sat her down on the sofa. “Fish, more tea please.’
‘What happened?’ asked Agatha, unable to contain her curiosity.
Mary took the next few minutes to explain the events at the prison.
‘And the child?’
‘I don’t know, we’re waiting for news.’
The two ladies looked at Caroline, still distraught by the possibility of any harm coming to the child.
‘You mustn’t blame yourself, my dear. These are wicked men. You’ve done nothing wrong.’
This last statement was a little disingenuous. After all, Caroline had been a co-conspirator in a number of robberies. However, it seemed churlish to point this out although it was clear to Mary by the look on Agatha’s face the thought had crossed her mind.
The tea arrived and with it came the miraculous cure that this astonishing drink has delivered for Englishmen and Englishwomen over countless generations. Caroline finally regained her composure but with it came confusion. She looked at Mary, now unsure as to whether she was a saviour or her enemy. Mary could see the conflict in her eyes.
‘I should introduce these ladies more formally, Caroline. They, after all, helped crack this case, even if it did cause you some discomfort.’
Caroline looked askance at the two elderly ladies. They both seemed harmless enough although one of them certainly looked like she had a low tolerance for fools.
‘May I introduce Lady Frost. She is the aunt of my fiancé, Lord Aston, who you met earlier. And this,’ said Mary, indicating Betty, ‘is Lady Simpson. Both ladies have followed the career of your father with, I must say, something close to fascination.’
‘He’s a great man,’ said Betty excitedly. ‘And now that I know he was also doing his bit for us during the War, well, I must say, he has gone even higher in my estimation.’
The process of thawing towards this group of ladies was now well under way for Caroline. It was clear, despite everything, they had her interests at heart. With such knowledge comes an obligation. Continuing to be ‘put out’ was no longer either sensible, rational or right. But the words to frame such thoughts would not come. Tears welled in her eyes. Once more she felt Mary’s arm around her shoulders.
Less than an hour later there was a knock at the door. From inside the room they heard the sound of Kit’s voice as he entered the house. The four women looked at one another. All shared the same sense of dread and hope. Each held their breath. The only noise on the drawing room was the sound of a carriage clock on the mantelpiece. Even Agatha found herself experiencing a level of apprehension that she had rarely felt before. The doors to the drawing room finally opened. In walked Kit followed by Sergeant Ryan.
‘Ben,’ exclaimed Caroline rising from the sofa and running towards the detective.
Mary looked up at Kit, her eyes brimming. Kit smiled to her and nodded. All at once the fear dissolved and the guilt was swept magically away from Mary to be replaced by relief. She, too, leapt up from the seat.
‘We found the child. It’s going to be alright,’ said Kit. Moments after saying this Kit, once more had to deal with an adult running at him full tilt. This time it was in the smaller and more attractive form of his fiancée. Mary jumped into his open arms and buried her head on his shoulder.
Agatha looked at the smiling Betty with reproach, ‘The lack of control from young women nowadays is most unseemly. You shouldn’t be encouraging it my dear. You wouldn’t have caught me doing this, I can tell you.’
‘Oh do give over Agatha.’
Coda – One Year Later…
February 14th, 1921: St Bartholomew’s Church, Little Gloston
Kit’s face broke into a smile as he looked at his friends Charles ‘Chubby’ Chadderton, Dr Richard Bright and Aldric ‘Spunky’ Stevens. They were sat together providing Kit with some badly needed moral support. The moral support was in the form of a brandy they were swigging from a hip flask, magically produced by Spunky.
‘I knew this would come in handy, bloodhound,’ commented Spunky.
‘Good thinking old boy, just what the doctor ordered,’ added Bright, taking his turn to have a nip.
‘I meant to ask you Spunky, that affair with the Phantom, last year. I’ve been reading a few of reports about a series of robberies on the Riviera. Same sort of thing, jewels stolen off suspiciously rich big wigs from the continent. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve said they were committed by a mutual friend of ours.’
Spunky grinned and put his monocle in his one good eye.
‘Would you now? Well, obviously I’m not in a position to confirm or deny anything. As you know, I stay well away from the factory floor.’ This brought an eruption of laughter from the men. Spunky held his hand up as he wished to add something else.
‘All I will say is that “C” also drew my attention to said, dastardly crimes infl
icted on our dear continental cousins and I can report he was virtually dancing a jig of delight.’
This brought more uproarious laughter from the three friends.
‘I must say, I’m sorry I missed that show,’ said Chubby.
‘Me too,’ added Bright. “What happened to the little boy?’
Kit smiled and said, ‘Well, as a top notch medical practitioner, you will be delighted to hear that he has spent the last year being taken care off by his family in warmer climes and that, if not cured then, at least, he’s enjoying much better health.’
‘Where did the money come from?’ asked Bright.
‘A number of offers were made, shall we say, but one in particular stood out. The father and mother are now gainfully employed at a house in the south of France. A toast to my aunt Agatha for that. The heroic, in my book, actions by Sergeant Ryan inevitably cast a shadow over his career with the police but, thankfully, common sense prevailed. He is now working with a small, multi-national police task force which liaises on pan European crimes. Funnily enough he’s also based in the south of France. This means he’s near his brother and nephew.’
‘And what of that rather scrumptious daughter of Hadleigh’s?’ asked Chubby.
‘Too late, old chap,’ said Kit, ‘She and Ryan married. I presume she’s with him in the south of France. And, by the sounds of it, she’s not too far away from her father either.’
Spunky held his hands up and indicated nothing short of torture would obtain the truth from his lips. At this point there was a knock at the door and in walked Harry Miller, in a pitch of excitement.
‘Sir, the car has just pulled up. Lady Cavendish will be here in a minute.’
The four men leapt to their feet. The door opened, and they walked into the brimming church. Soft organ music piped around the church. At the altar, Kit could see Reverend Simmons, whose face broke into a wide grin when he spied Kit. As they trooped in to the church, Spunky tugged Kit’s arm.
‘By the way Kit old boy, I meant to say before now, it would be really useful if you could divert your honeymoon towards Cairo. Winston’s up to high doe about what could happen at the Cairo conference with our friends from ORCA.’
‘It depends on Mary, old boy. I can’t do anything without her say so.’
‘I’ve already asked, bloodhound,’ laughed Spunky. ‘I hope you know how to ride a camel.’
The End
If you liked the story, please write a short review for me on Amazon. I greatly appreciate any kind words, even one or two sentences go a long way. The number of reviews an eBook receives greatly improves how well it does on Amazon.
I hope you enjoyed the second Kit Aston book. Please consider leaving a review so that others may find it and, hopefully, enjoy also
If you have not already done so, there are other books in the Kit Aston series you may enjoy, also available on Amazon
The Affair of the Christmas Card Killer (The First Lord Kit Aston mystery)
The Chess Board Murders (The Second Lord Kit Aston mystery)
The French Diplomat Affair (The Third Lord Kit Aston mystery)
A Note from the Author
I have made every effort to ensure historical authenticity within the context of a piece of fiction. Similarly, every effort has been made to ensure that the book has been edited and carefully proofread. Given that the US Constitution contained around 65 punctuation errors until 1847, I hope you will forgive any errors of grammar, spelling and continuity. Regarding spelling, please note I have followed the convention of using English, as opposed to US, spellings. This means, in practice, the use of ‘s’ rather than a ‘z’, for example in words such as ‘realised’.
This is a work of fiction. However, it references real-life individuals. Gore Vidal, in his introduction to Lincoln, writes that placing history in fiction or fiction in history has been unfashionable since Tolstoy and that the result can be accused of being neither. He defends the practice, pointing out that writers from Aeschylus to Shakespeare to Tolstoy have done so with not inconsiderable success and merit.
I have mentioned a number of key real-life individuals and events in this novel. My intention, in the following section, is to explain a little more about their connection to this period and this story.
For further reading on London gangs I would recommend Brian McDonald who has written several books including ‘Elephant Boys’, ‘Gangs of London’ and ‘Alice Diamond and the forty Elephants’. There have been many biographies of Alfred Hitchcock. I can recommend Patrick McGilligan’s, ‘Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light’.
The Conference of London 1920
The Conference of London, took place, around a year after the Paris Peace Conference. Britain, France, and Italy met to discuss the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The negotiation formed the basis of the Treaty of Sèvres. Under the leadership of British prime minister David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of France Alexandre Millerand, and Prime Minister of Italy Francesco Saverio Nitti, the allied powers finalised this treaty at the San Remo conference.
Arthur Balfour (1848 – 1930)
The 1st Earl of Balfour was Prime Minister of Britain between 1902 and 1905. He was very much an elder statesman at the Paris Peace Conference, supporting Lloyd George as his Foreign Secretary. Famously brilliant in debate, he lacked interest in the detail of management, preferring abstract thought to concrete action. However, his famous letter, which came to be known as the “Balfour Declaration” was a pivotal moment in the formation of Israel.
Alfred Hitchcock (1899 – 1980)
Alfred Hitchcock was born and educated in London. After studying art at the University of London before doing various jobs. In 1920, Hitchcock entered the film industry with a full-time position at the Famous Players-Lasky Company designing title cards for silent films. Within a few years, he was working as an assistant director. He began to direct his own films from the mid-twenties and had notable success from the thirties with films such as The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and 39 Steps (1939). He went to Hollywood in 1939. One of his most popular films was about a retired cat Burglar, John “The Cat” Robie, starring Cary Grant with Grace Kelly, one of her last films before her marriage to Prince Rainer.
John MacGuffin (Johnny Mac)
John McGuffin is, of course, entirely fictional. The surname MacGuffin or McGuffin was used, famously, by Hitchcock to describe a plot device. In 1944, Time Magazine reported Hitchcock saying, "The McGuffin is the thing the hero chases, the thing the picture is all about ... it is very necessary." There are various theories on its origin. This is mine and mine alone.
Charles ‘Wag” McDonald (1885 – 1943)
McDonald was a leader of a south London criminal gang known as the ‘Elephant Boys’ who were based in the Elephant and Castle area of London. He was assisted by his brother Wal and they formed an effective partnership with Billy Kimber (who features in the TV series ‘Peaky Blinders). McDonald led an interesting life. He fought in the Boer War before to returning to England to take over the leadership of the Elephant Boys. He then volunteered for active service during the Great War. When he came back from France he took over leadership of the gang once more before escaping to the US in 1921. He worked in Hollywood for several years getting to know many of the stars. His life and the life of gangs in the area have been captured in a number of books by his descendant, Brian McDonald.
About the Author
Jack Murray lives just outside London with his family. Born in Ireland he has spent most of his adult life in the England. His first novel, ‘The Affair of the Christmas Card Killer’ has been a global success. His follow up novel, ‘The Chess Board Murders’, continues the story from where the previous novel finished. ‘The French Diplomat Affair’ is the third novel in the series, however the events, in early 1919, take place before the first two books.
Acknowledgements
It is not possible to write a book on your own. There is a contribution from so many people eit
her directly or indirectly over many years. Listing them all would be an impossible task.
Special mention therefore should be made to my wife and family who have been patient and put up with my occasional grumpiness when working on this project.
My brother and John Convery have also helped in proofing and made supportive comments that helped me tremendously.
My late father and mother both loved books. They encouraged a love of reading in me also. In particular, they liked detective books, so I must tip my hat to the two greatest writers of this genre, Sir Arthur and Dame Agatha.
Following writing, comes the business of marketing. My thanks to Mark Hodgson and Sophia Kyriacou for their advice on this important area.
Finally, my thanks to the teachers who taught and nurtured a love of writing.
