11 - Ticket to Oblivion (23 page)

‘What are you babbling about?’

‘Who is this person to whom you refer?’ asked Tallis.

‘His name is Clive Tunnadine,’ said the artist, spitting out the name, ‘and he is destined to marry my cousin, Imogen.’

‘That’s a preposterous allegation,’ roared Sir Marcus, ‘and you ought to know better than to make it. Really, George, I’m ashamed of you. Withdraw that charge at once, then leave us to deal with more important matters.’

‘What I have to tell you has a direct bearing on these so-called more important matters, Uncle Marcus. Imogen has been kidnapped and we all wish her to be released very soon. But what is the point of liberating her,’ he went on, gesticulating, ‘if you’re going to chain her in marriage to a monster who resorts to violence?’

‘Leave the room at once. I’ll hear no more of this.’

‘No, wait,’ said Tallis, intervening. ‘Since your nephew is moved to come here, we must listen to his complaint in full. Like you, Sir Marcus, I do not believe that Mr Tunnadine
is capable of the assault described to us, but then, I doubt if your nephew would take the trouble of coming here unless he has incontrovertible evidence to the contrary. Do you have such evidence, Mr Vaughan?’

‘I do,’ replied the artist, trying to compose himself. ‘I apologise for bursting in like this but I implore you to hear me out. It’s high time that both of you became aware of the true character of Clive Tunnadine.’

The letter was slipped under the door of the hotel room. By the time that Alban Kee had flung the door open, the messenger had gone. He picked up the missive and handed it to Tunnadine then he shut the door and locked it. Kee watched as the other man opened the letter and read it.

‘It’s from the kidnappers,’ said Tunnadine. ‘They’ve specified the time and place.’

It was remarkable. Lady Paulina Burnhope began to improve. Weakened by illness and racked by grief at the disappearance of her daughter, she somehow found the strength to rally. The key to her recovery was the presence of Percy Vaughan. His mother had done her best to comfort her sister but Cassandra’s gifts did not run to tenderness and the long bedside vigil tested her patience to, and almost beyond, the limit. Her elder son, on the other hand, had an inexhaustible supply of sympathy and understanding. When he talked, he knew exactly what to say and he also sensed when silence was the best medicine. Cassandra had brought a kind of subdued truculence to bear on her sister’s condition. The Reverend Percy Vaughan was altogether more serene, sensitive and practical.

‘I can’t thank you enough,’ said Paulina with a first smile in days. ‘I feel so much better.’

‘That’s good to hear, Aunt.’

‘You have a skill that your mother lacks – and, I must add, your brother.’

‘George has other skills,’ he said.

‘None that can rival yours – you are curate, doctor and magician rolled into one. Your parishioners were blessed when you came among them.’

‘It’s true, Aunt Paulina, but not for the reasons that you’ve just given. I am praised in North Cerney simply for being there. The rector has an extraordinary capacity for being elsewhere on Sunday. Baptisms and burial services are always left to me. When I’m ordained as a priest, services of holy matrimony will also be solely mine. Oh, I’m not complaining,’ he said, raising a palm. ‘In fact, I enjoy being so fully involved in the care of the parish. It’s a labour of love.’

He was sitting beside the bed in which she was resting on large pillows. A Bible stood on the table nearby but he’d had no need of it because his favourite passages were engraved on his memory and could be produced whole whenever they were required.

‘You always were such a thoughtful boy,’ she said, admiringly. ‘All that George ever thought about was running around and playing pranks. Yet, for some reason, he was the undoubted favourite of your father.’

‘It was right that he should be, Aunt,’ said her nephew, hiding the sting he felt at the reminder. ‘George was the younger and smaller son. He needed more attention.’

‘God decided that we had only one child, alas, and I fear that we gave Imogen far too much attention. Well – to be candid –
I
certainly did. It’s taken this terrible situation to make me fully aware of it,’ she went on. ‘I kept her on a
leash, Percy. I controlled everything she did and everywhere she went.’

‘You were only doing your duty as a mother.’

‘I wonder. My sister gave her children more licence and more freedom to grow. You, George and Emma have blossomed into maturity whereas Imogen is still a child at heart. The fault lies with me.’

Percy Vaughan made no reply. His aunt had finally recognised something that had been abundantly clear to him for years. She’d penned her daughter in and now felt guilty that Imogen was so unprepared to face the real world and cope with the ordeal in which she now found herself.

She grabbed his arm. ‘Imogen will come through this, won’t she?’

‘I’ve prayed for her continuously.’

‘What are they
doing
to her?’

‘One can only guess, Aunt Paulina.’

‘I’m so frightened.’

‘I understand your fears.’

‘How can I still them, Percy?’

‘Have faith in God’s mercy and trust in Inspector Colbeck.’

Releasing his arm, she eased herself back and closed her eyes. The curate thought that she’d dozed off and he waited quietly at the bedside for several minutes. When he felt certain that he was no longer needed, he rose to steal away. Instantly, she opened her eyes.

‘May I ask you something, Percy?’

‘You may ask anything you wish.’

‘Do you think that Imogen should marry Mr Tunnadine?’

He was taken by surprise. ‘My opinion is immaterial,’
he said. ‘The only person who can answer that question is Imogen herself. I assumed that she was very happy with her choice.’

‘The engagement owed much to my husband. There’s nothing amiss in that, of course,’ she added, defensively. ‘Parents have a perfect right to shape their daughter’s destiny. We felt that it would be an advantageous marriage to both parties.’

‘When it takes place,’ he said, masking his displeasure, ‘I’m sure that it will be everything that you and Uncle Marcus wished for.’

‘But I’ve been having second thoughts, Percy.’

‘Indeed?’

‘I haven’t simply been wringing my hands and listening to your mother,’ she explained. ‘I’ve been regretting all the mistakes I made in bringing up Imogen in the way that I did. I promised myself that, once this nightmare is over, I’ll do all I can to show her more love and allow her more scope. And I’ll be quite frank with her.’

‘I’ve always thought of you as a very forthright person, Aunt Paulina,’ he said. ‘In that respect, you resemble Mother.’

‘No woman could be as blatantly forthright as my sister, Percy,’ she said with a pained expression. ‘I’ve often been the victim of her forthrightness. On this subject, however, I have come to agree with her.’

‘And what subject is that?’

‘It’s the man I was just asking you about.’

‘Mr Tunnadine?’

‘The awful truth is that … I don’t think I like him.’

Clive Tunnadine and Alban Kee took all the precautions they felt necessary. Both carried concealed weapons and, in the privacy of a hotel room, they practised bringing them out at a moment’s notice. It took only seconds for them to have a pistol in their hands. Kee had a second, smaller firearm hidden in his top hat. That, too, could be brought out in a flash. The two men were satisfied with their rehearsal. After checking his pocket watch, Tunnadine nodded.

‘Let’s go and surprise them,’ he said, picking up the thick, leather bag containing the ransom.

‘Don’t hand anything over until you’ve actually seen the two hostages.’

‘There’s only one hostage that interests me.’

‘We need both of them, sir.’

‘Why?’

‘After we’ve rescued her, Sir Marcus’s daughter will need her maid to look after her. They’ll have been through a lot together. Adversity binds people.’

‘I’m the best person to look after her.’

‘She needs female company.’

‘That’s for me to decide.’

Kee stepped back from an argument. ‘Yes, of course, sir.’

‘If we have to sacrifice her maid in order to secure her release, so be it. As far as I’m concerned, Rhoda Wills is expendable. She can go to hell, for all I care.’

Kee was startled by the heartless remark. He appreciated single-mindedness in his clients but he was less impressed by the cold-blooded streak that had just manifested itself. Even though he’d be well paid by Tunnadine, the detective was having doubts about working for him. He was beginning to
see him in a new light that was exposing unpleasant aspects of his character.

‘Are you sure that there’ll only be two of them?’ asked Tunnadine.

‘That’s my belief, sir. The kidnapper will need an accomplice to keep an eye on the hostages when he’s not there. They’re greedy men. That’s obvious. They know that the more people involved, the less each individual would get of the ransom. Two people are all that it will take. One of them will bring the two ladies and the other will watch the exchange from a concealed position.’ Kee patted the gun under his coat. ‘That’s the man I’ll shoot and disable.’

‘I’d still prefer to put a bullet through both men’s skulls.’

‘By doing that, you’d only be helping them to escape justice.’

‘You think too much like a policeman, Kee.’

‘That’s how I was trained.’

Tunnadine regarded him shrewdly. ‘Why did you and Colbeck quarrel?’

‘He thought he was a better detective than me, sir.’

‘And was he?’

‘You’ve met him, Mr Tunnadine. What do you think?’

‘I found him too arrogant.’

‘That was the least of his faults. Pose yourself another question, sir.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Where is Inspector Colbeck now?’ asked Kee, triumphantly. ‘He’s nowhere to be seen. While he’s cooling his heels in London with Victor Leeming, we’re about to bring this whole business to a proper conclusion.’

‘This case means a great deal to you, doesn’t it?’

‘Yes, Mr Tunnadine – I have a personal stake in it.’

‘Why is that?’

‘It could be my redemption, sir.’

‘Really? In what sense?’

‘I left Scotland Yard because I was not valued properly,’ said Kee, bitterly. ‘My skills were disregarded. What you’ve given me is the perfect opportunity to show everyone there that I can compete with Inspector Colbeck on equal terms and surpass him. I have a point to prove to the superintendent. When Tallis sees what I’ve done – what
we’ve
done together, that is – he’ll be begging me to return to the fold.’

They were wrong. Expecting to be traduced by Tallis when they returned to Scotland Yard, they were instead confronted with some astonishing information. Colbeck and Leeming were told about the visit of George Vaughan.

‘Can this be true, sir?’ asked Leeming, agog.

‘I don’t know. I need you to verify the allegations.’

‘How can we do that?’

‘You must call at Mr Vaughan’s studio immediately.’

Leeming was unsettled. ‘Do I have to, Superintendent?’

‘Don’t worry, Sergeant,’ said Colbeck, reassuringly. ‘I’ll be there with you. I’d like to hear from the young lady herself.’ He turned to Tallis. ‘How did Sir Marcus react to the news?’

‘He refused to believe a word of it,’ replied the other.

‘Yet the evidence sounds very convincing.’

‘Mr Tunnadine is a close friend and a future son-in-law. That puts him above reproach in Sir Marcus’s eyes.’

‘We’ve had experience of that attitude already,’ said Colbeck, ruefully. ‘Instead of being remanded in custody
for shooting someone dead, he was set free by the magistrate on the advice of Sir Marcus.’

‘That matter is still unresolved,’ said Tallis, curtly. ‘Nobody is above the law. Mr Tunnadine will be taught that in the fullness of time. Meanwhile, we have this lesser charge of assault on a young woman with whom he supposedly had a liaison.’

‘But he is betrothed to Sir Marcus’s daughter,’ said Leeming, deeply shocked. ‘Would any man sink so low as to dally with another woman when he’s already made such a commitment?’

‘Unhappily, it appears so.’

‘What do you believe, sir?’

‘I want the facts corroborated before I make a judgement.’

‘That’s very sensible of you, sir,’ said Colbeck. ‘Come on, Sergeant. It’s time to find out a little more about the private life of Mr Clive Tunnadine.’

A few minutes later, they were sharing a cab that took them in the direction of Chelsea. Leeming’s mind was filled with anxieties about meeting Dolly Wrenson once again. Colbeck, however, was thinking of the implications of what they’d heard.

‘Would you call George Vaughan an honest man, Victor?’

‘Yes, sir – he’s very straightforward.’

‘Why should he invent such a tale?’

‘I’m not sure that he did.’

‘Neither am I,’ said Colbeck. ‘It had the ring of authenticity somehow. I’m wondering which of the allegations Sir Marcus found more unpalatable – that Tunnadine kept a mistress or that he beat the poor woman senseless.’

‘Either is enough to damn him, sir.’

‘I agree.’

‘No matter how close they are, even Sir Marcus would draw back from letting his daughter marry such a man.’

‘Imogen Burnhope has already fled from him. That’s how she ended up in jeopardy. Whatever happens, the wedding will never take place.’

‘The lady is in no position to marry anyone at the moment.’

‘Let’s put her aside,’ said Colbeck. ‘Our first task is to speak to Miss Lucinda Graham. That’s the only way to get the full measure of Tunnadine.’

Their disillusionment had come full circle. From the moment they boarded the train at Shrub Hill station, Imogen Burnhope and Rhoda Wills had been in a kind of dream. Met at Oxford station, they evaded attention by means of a stratagem they’d both loved. They’d been taken to a hotel with every luxury imaginable and treated with the utmost care and attention by the two former soldiers. Imogen had been floating on a cloud of romance. It was her maid who’d remained a little closer to reality. They had now come down to earth. The hotel in which they were being kept was cheap, shoddy and totally lacking in any refinement.

‘Will they never let us go?’ wailed Imogen.

‘Not as long as they can use us,’ said Rhoda, sadly. ‘We’ve already earned them a lot of money by the sound of it, and they want more.’

‘Father will surely have contacted the police.’

‘Then where are they?’

‘Detectives must be looking for us by now.’

‘That’s why Captain Whiteside and the sergeant have taken such trouble to cover our tracks. We’ve been rushed here, there and everywhere. Nobody will find us in Crewe.’

‘It’s a beastly place, Rhoda, full of noise and stench.’

‘We were spoilt, living in the solitude of the countryside.’

‘I realise that now. Why did I ever run away?’

Rhoda said nothing. Both of them had been asking themselves exactly the same question many times a day. Neither of them relished the replies they had. They had lost everything and were now in limbo. While their immediate future was black, even the prospect of escape could not cheer them. The joyous welcome that Imogen would receive from her family would turn to hostility when the truth was revealed. Then there would be a searing confrontation with Clive Tunnadine. Wherever she looked, there was more pain and anguish.

The sound of a key in the lock made both of them jump to their feet. When the door opened, Whiteside and Cullen marched into the room.

‘Put on your hats, ladies,’ said Whiteside, briskly. ‘We’re leaving.’

‘Where are we going?’ asked Imogen.

‘I need to put you on display.’

‘Why did you take our luggage away from us?’

‘It’s waiting at the station.’