by Jens Kuhn
Tapper felt sweaty, partly because his body was still hot from the sauna, partly because of the excitement. He only wished he had a real weapon. Being virtually decommissioned for the winter season, he only had his own sailor’s knife which he of course carried at all times. But those traitors could very well have pistols or worse, perhaps a garrote? He shuddered. If they realized that he was following them, they might feel threatened and... Tapper pushed the thought away. They were, after all, in the middle of the city and there were other people around. Surely they would not want to attract any further attention by starting a fight.
When they reached the old town with its narrow streets and high buildings, Tapper had to keep closer to the two men in order not to lose them. There were fewer people here as well. He tried to keep track of where he was going, but soon he felt increasingly lost. He was a sailor, after all, and being on land was awkward enough without having to navigate this maze of narrow streets and alleys. He wished he had a compass. But he would not be able to see it in this poor light anyway. And a bosun was not supposed to navigate at all that was what officers were for.
Tapper moved round the corner of a building just in time to see Dillquist and Winther disappear into a doorway. Carefully he followed, trying to make as little sound as possible. The door looked like it belonged to a shop, but there was nothing in the window next to it that would reveal what kind. Tapper peered though the window, but it was too dirty and it was dark inside. He hesitated. Going in after them was probably dangerous. At least it was stupid. Still, Tapper thought, he might just have a tiny look through the door? He could not just go home, could he? What would Anna think of him, surely she would have gone in without another thought.
Tapper eased the door open carefully and entered the building. Stopping directly inside the door, he listened. There was nothing. He took another step forward, then hesitated. He had a feeling that he wasn’t alone. There was a movement in the air to his side. He turned towards it when something hard hit him over the side of his head and everything went black.
Chapter 11 – Inquiries
The next morning, Anna and Eric were having breakfast in the inn’s dining room when an obviously disheveled Karin burst through the door. She looked searchingly around the room and seeing the couple at their table, her face lit up with relief.
“Karin,” Anna cried. “Over here. Come and have a seat.”
Eric rose from his seat and held out a chair for her. Seeing the girl’s unhappy expression, Anna took her hand and asked: “what’s wrong, Karin?”
Karin gulped and tears started to roll down her cheeks. “It’s Carl...he...” she swallowed. “he did not come back yesterday,” she said finally.
“He didn’t come back?” Anna asked, patting her hand.
Karin wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, trying to pull herself together.
“Why don’t you start from the beginning?” Eric said softly.
Karin nodded. “Well, after you had left the sauna yesterday,” she looked at Anna who smiled encouragingly. “He stayed behind for a while...to take a bath.” A sob escaped her throat.
“Then those men came again.”
“They did?” Anna’s eyes widened.
“Yes. They stayed perhaps for an hour. We couldn’t hear what they were saying, they sat on the opposite side of the room, and there was another girl there so I could not attend to them without it being...suspicious?”
Anna nodded.
“We didn’t really know what to do. Carl first wanted to send for you or go himself, but we were afraid they would leave before you came and then we would have lost them again wouldn’t we?”
“Yes. So Tapper followed them by himself?” Anna asked.
Karin blinked. “He said he would only find out where they went and then come back to the bathing house. But he never did.” She looked at Anna. “He did not come here, did he?”
“No,” Anna said. “He didn’t. I’m sorry.”
Karin covered her face with her hands and started to sob again.
“We’ll take her up to our rooms,” Anna said to Eric in a low voice. “You take care of her. Then I’ll go and find Tapper.”
Eric af Klint raised an eyebrow. “How are you going to do that.”
Anna smiled. “Clandestinely,” she replied.
Captain Baker paced his quarterdeck, feeling utterly useless. It was a little warmer now and work aboard the frigate had been resumed as usual. There were men aloft, clearing the sails and rigging from ice and repairing damage to blocks and fastenings. Still the ice was thick and solid for several miles until more open water could be had. That fact was annoying enough – a sailor does not want to be stuck anywhere by any force other than his own doing. But the worst of it was that he had no communication at all with the capital. There had been no word from the embassy. He had no idea what was going on and he was getting tired of it.
Baker saw the first lieutenant ascending the ladder from the gun deck and called him over.
“A word, Mr. Reeman, if you please.”
“Sir?”
“Ah, well. I am going into Stockholm again, Mr. Reeman. You will have the ship during my absence.”
“Aye aye, sir.”
The trip into the capital was much easier than the arduous ride the other way after his last visit. There was no blizzard this time, he could clearly see the tracks of sleighs, carriages and horses, and the white landscape was positively aglitter in the sunlight. There even were other travelers on the road, in fact so many that Baker had to slow down several times when met by big cargo sledges, drawn by six horses and loaded with huge amounts of wood, barrels or crates.
Baker passed the boatman’s cottage where he had spent the night during the winter storm. He saw no-one and didn’t want to be delayed by stopping by anyway. Perhaps on the way back, he thought.
Finally stopping at an inn close to the town port, he gulped down some light beer and ate a piece of bread with some suspicious glutinous substance smeared all over it. There was some commotion at the town port that made him curious. Several soldiers were standing together with two men in gray greatcoats, apparently having some agitated discussion. Not able to understand what was being said, Baker shrugged and mounted his horse in order to proceed through the port into the town. But he was stopped by one of the gray clad men.
“Who are you, sir?”
“I am a post captain of the British navy to see my ambassador,” Baker replied, trying to look commanding.
The gray clad man considered that, but didn’t look like he was particularly impressed. Baker started to become impatient.
“Look, here, I don’t know who you are and what your business is, but the captain of an allied warship is essentially a diplomat. Are you aware of that at all?”
The gray man looked him right into the eyes and smiled wearily.
“That might be true. Still, we have to protect our king. A foreign military presence could, perhaps, complicate things...”
“I’m not a military presence. I am only one man!”
The gray man laughed unexpectedly.
“You may be one man, but you are also a symbol. Still I will let you pass. Please be careful, though.”
Baker raised his hand to his hat and urged his horse forward, wondering what all this was about.
“Those two?” Gray laughed. “They aren’t a threat to anyone except themselves.”
Anna raised an eyebrow. “But you know who they are then?”
“Yes, of course. Dillquist and Winther. They have been looking for someone to help them throw over the king for weeks. They even talked to me.” He chuckled.
“Oh. What did you tell them then?”
“Well, I told them there wasn’t going to be a revolution if there isn’t anyone to take command afterwards. It’s not just about getting rid of the king. There must be order.”
Anna sat quietly for a while, thinking, while she looked at Gray. There was something wrong with him. She co
uldn’t tell what it was, but her instinct told her Gray wasn’t completely honest. And usually her instincts didn’t betray her.
“Do you have any idea where to find them?” she asked eventually.
“Of course I do.” Gray looked at her questioningly. “But why do you want to know?”
Anna hesitated too long for Gray not to notice. Raising an eyebrow he smiled. “Look, if you want me to give you information, you will have to play along. How do those men concern you. You aren’t secret police, are you?”
Anna sighed. “Of course not. Alright, I will tell you.”
Half an hour later Anna and Gray arrived at the shop in the old town. Gray produced a pair of pistols from under his greatcoat, checked their priming and handed one of them to Anna. Carefully, he pried the door open and they entered, pistols cocked and ready.
There wasn’t much light inside the shop what with the window dirty and small, so they waited for their eyes to adjust to the twilight before they moved further. Perhaps they should have brought a lantern, Anna thought. She shrugged and hurried after Gray who was about to disappear through another door in the back of the room.
“There is nobody here,” Anna said disappointedly after they had finished searching the shop.
“No,” replied Gray. He had found a candle at last and was busy lighting it. Anna blinked when the flame came alive, then they started to look around more thoroughly.
“Is this blood?” she asked, having discovered several small stains on the wooden floor planks near the door.
Gray held the candle to the stains and put a finger into the sticky substance. “Yes, and it’s not completely dry yet. Somebody was here until quite recently”.
“Damn,” Anna burst out.
Captain Baker was once again sitting opposite ambassador Merry. Trying to calm down, he took a sip of his port.
“Ambassador Merry, sir,” he started, then hesitated, coughing. “Do you have any idea as of what is going on in this country?”
The ambassador frowned. “Well, my dear captain, frankly, no.” He rose from his chair and started to pace the room.
“There is some news about rebel troops on their way to Stockholm from Karlstad. There is also word of another conspiracy right here in the capital.”
“Any names?” Baker inquired.
“No. Well, yes the rebel troops are led by Adlersparre, an general I think.”
Captain Baker wished the ambassador would sit down, this pacing about made it difficult to think. But Merry went over to the drink cabinet and filled his glass, looking at Baker questioningly. Baker shook his head and raised his glass, showing it still being half full. Shrugging, the ambassador returned to his desk and, thank God, sat down.
“Anything I can do, sir?” Baker asked?
Merry considered that. “Well, your ship can’t. But perhaps...”
“Yes?”
“You do have some Swedish acquaintances? From last summer, do you not?”
Baker nodded. “Yes, a gunboat squadron commander...but I can’t see...”
“Meet him anyway. Just ask if he knows anything, will you?
“Of course, sir...but...”
“Yes?”
“Well, I think it would be easier if I had a reason to call on him.”
Merry raised an eyebrow. “And do you have anything in particular in mind?”
“As a matter of fact I do. We...that is, the Royal Navy, owes him a share of prize money.”
Chapter 12 – Before the storm
“He is probably dead,” Karin sobbed. She was sitting on Anna’s bed at her room at Beckens inn, her head in her hands. Eric af Klind stood at the window, looking out, not really knowing what to do with the sobbing girl.
Anna, who had returned empty-handed from her rescue mission, sat next to Karin, one arm around the girl’s slender body, comforting her. Of course, there was the probability of him indeed being dead. But she didn’t really think so.
“Now, my dear, please don’t fret so much. There wasn’t nearly enough blood for him being seriously hurt, let alone dead.”
Karin wasn’t convinced. “They may have taken him away and killed him somewhere else...,” she cried.
That was, of course, a possibility Anna had to admit. But she had a feeling that Dillquist and Winther wouldn’t take the risk of attracting attention by killing someone. Also they had no idea why Tapper was following them in the first place, which would make them want to question him rather than kill him. At least question him first and perhaps kill him later.
Anna thought about Gray. Talking to him might have been a mistake. The man was definitely not completely honest. Christ, he even admitted having talked to the two revolutionaries.
And there was so little time. Gray had filled her in about the ongoing revolution – or coup d’etat. In about a week Adlersparre’s troops would arrive in Stockholm. The king was planning to make a stand in Norrköping – or try to move loyal troops to the capital from there – which alternative was the most probable, Gray did not know – or tell.
But there was something else. Something Gray had not told her. And unfortunately, there was no way for her to ever find out. She almost chuckled at the memory.
Anna had met Gray shortly before the war. He was a dark handsome man and he had this mysterious flair around him that attracted her immensely. And he had immediately sensed her talent for clandestine work. He taught her everything she needed to know, which wasn’t much as most of it came to her by instinct.
And of course she had tried to seduce him. But failed. Failed most thoroughly and completely, standing naked in front of him, flushed with anger, and desire while he stood unimpressed, smiling at her. Then he had told her his secret. Gray wasn’t attracted to women at all.
They had worked well together since, but Anna always felt unsure of him, because her most effective weapon she could not use against him.
She pushed away the thought, returning her focus to the problem at hand.
“Eric?” she said softly.
He turned towards her and looked into her eyes, seeing something there he hadn’t seen before. Insecurity? Doubt? Then it passed and she looked as confident as ever.
“Yes, dear?”
“Eric, I think we must let the police look for Tapper.”
Erik nodded. “Yes. Your contact, he can’t help?”
“He did help a lot. We found the shop, the blood, but there are no clues as to where then bosun has been taken. And Gray...my contact..he has other things on his mind. The revolution is perhaps only a week away...”
Eric’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
“He is. There are rebel troops on their way here as we speak. And there might be another conspiracy right here in the capital.
“Oh?”
“Well, Gray didn’t say anything about that, but I know he is hiding something and he keeps saying these two officers, Dillquist and Winther, aren’t dangerous because there isn’t anyone to lead the country after the king is overthrown. But I think he is hiding something from me.”
Eric looked at her quietly.
“...and that might just be that there are people who are planning to take over. I can’t even rule out that he is one of them himself...and...”
Eric moved towards the bed and sat down next to her, putting his hands to her face. Her eyes had that expression again and he suddenly knew that she was completely at a loss.
“Anna,” he started.
“No, Eric. I must do something. I cannot just sit here. But I have no idea what I should do.”
Eric held her face between his hands and kissed her softly. “You will, just rest a little and it will all become clear.”
Anna nodded. Pulling herself together, she turned her face to Karin who still was sobbing quietly. “Listen, darling, why don’t we all go down to the dining room and have something to eat. That might cheer us up.”
Charlotte and Johan Kuhlin were having coffee when the maid announced a visitor.
&n
bsp; “A foreign officer he is, can’t understand a word of what he is saying, but he left this.” She held out a small card to the commander. Kuhlin took it and read it carefully. Then he smiled.
“It’s our captain Baker of course. Please let him in.” Looking at his wife he continued, “it says he wants to discuss a naval matter. Perhaps we get our prize money after all.”
Baker, all glittering gold and lace, post captain style, was shown in by a deeply blushing maid, seated comfortably and offered coffee.
“Unfortunately, my dear captain, we do not have any wine,” Charlotte explained, “but if you want a tot of vodka in your coffee, you are very welcome to it.”
Baker accepted the offer gladly, thankful for anything that would warm his deep frozen body.
“I do not at all fathom,” he said, “how you can cope with this awful weather weeks and months on end.”
Charlotte smiled at him. “It’s probably only a question of getting used to it, dear captain.”
Baker grunted.
Kuhlin, never having been a man of great patience, cleared his throat and started. “May I enquire, captain Baker, sir...”
“Ah, yes...the naval matter.” Baker smiled. “As a matter of fact it is about the prize money from the Russian brig you took last summer.”
“Yes?”
“Well, I have been assured by our ambassador, here, that the money indeed will be forthcoming.”
Kuhlin smiled. “Very good, thank you, sir. But I assume there are...conditions?”
Baker frowned. “Why should there be?”
Kuhlin laughed. “Come, captain, you know that the Royal Navy does not send out post captains to distribute prize money. You want something in return, don’t you?”
