Newbury & Hobbes 04 - The Executioner's Heart (17 page)

CHAPTER

16

Bainbridge had a concerned look etched on his face. In fact, thought Veronica, he was looking decidedly uncomfortable.

“What is it, Charles?” said Newbury quietly, so as not to draw attention to their small group as they stood on the sidelines of the search lamp exhibit, watchful for the arrival of Professor Angelchrist.

“It’s just … these faces, Newbury,” he replied, quietly. “There are men in the crowd that I recognise.”

“How so?” asked Newbury.

Bainbridge frowned, but didn’t answer.

“From the Yard?” said Veronica.

“No. They’re Service men. Archibald’s men,” he replied, after a moment, as if lost in thought.

“You mean to say that we’re presently surrounded by agents of the Secret Service?” said Newbury. His expression was a little strained, and Veronica wondered again what was going through his head. Was he having second thoughts? Doubts about Angelchrist’s motives?

Bainbridge nodded slightly. “In a manner of speaking,” he replied, glancing from side to side. “Yes. I’d say we’re pretty much surrounded.”

Veronica swallowed. “A trap? Is that why Angelchrist picked this place?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” snapped Bainbridge, a bit too hastily. He shook his head, adjusted his tone. “That’s not it at all. There must be something else going on here. Something that we’re not aware of.”

“Well, it’s hardly surreptitious,” said Veronica. She glanced round, searching the faces in the crowd. She couldn’t help imagining that any one of them might be watching her with malicious intent.

Directly behind them was the giant bird exhibit. To the left was a singing and dancing automaton of a woman, clothed in a fine red dress, its hips swaying provocatively as it mimed to the recording of an opera singer. To the right, a skeleton that looked like it came from a prehistoric giant was mounted on a large stone plinth, the fossilised bones dark and roughly hewn from the bedrock. It towered above the people below, posed as if reaching out a hand in supplication. Each of the exhibits were surrounded by thronging masses of people. Any or all of them might have been Secret Service agents, as far as Veronica knew.

“How many?” asked Newbury.

“At least a dozen,” said Bainbridge. “There may be more that I’m unaware of, but that’s half the men we have in London, concentrated around this exhibit.”

“Concentrated around the exhibit where Professor Angelchrist suggested we meet,” said Veronica, sceptically.

“Something’s certainly going on,” continued Bainbridge, ignoring her remark. “An operation, perhaps.”

“I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation,” said Newbury. “This has to have something to do with that ‘misunderstanding’ Archibald referred to.”

“Look, here he comes,” said Bainbridge, visibly relaxing now that he’d caught sight of the professor. “I’m sure he’ll set everything straight.”

“Remember, Charles,” said Newbury, a note of caution in his voice, “we must be careful here. If it gets back to the Queen that we’re having this meeting at all…”

“I know, I know,” said Bainbridge, irritably. “Although I fear it may already be a little late for that, given that we’re presently surrounded by Archibald’s associates.”

“Yes, well, be that as it may, we mustn’t simply throw caution to the wind. Just keep in mind that, as far as any onlookers are concerned, we’re here to take in the exhibits. Any conversation we have with Archibald must be conducted with the utmost care,” said Newbury, firmly.

Bainbridge nodded.

The professor continued to circle around the perimeter of the exhibit, giving the lamp what appeared to be an appraising look. He was smartly dressed in a brown tweed suit, white shirt, and black cravat, and carried a smouldering briar pipe in his left hand. He was wearing an expression of devout concentration as he slowly edged through the crowd, finally coming to stand beside Newbury a few moments later. He placed the pipe in the corner of his mouth and folded his arms over his chest.

“There’s a lot of fuss being made over such an unobtrusive little object,” he said, turning to meet Veronica’s eye and smiling. “Good afternoon, Miss Hobbes.”

“Good afternoon, Professor,” she said. He offered her an impish grin. Once again, now that she was faced with the man, she felt herself warming to him. He was nothing if not charming, and she could see why Newbury and Bainbridge had been taken in by those charms. But the fact remained: They were currently encircled by a team of agents at least four times their number, possibly more. She couldn’t help but feel as if she’d been lured into a trap.

“Gentlemen,” said Angelchrist, acknowledging the others.

“A lot of fuss?” asked Newbury.

“Indeed,” said Angelchrist. “I’ll come to that in a moment. We don’t have a great deal of time, however, so I think it’s best we get straight to the heart of the matter. I had the gist of it from Clarkson, of course. I gather Her Majesty has rather taken against our little operation.”

“To put it somewhat mildly,” said Bainbridge. “She’s accused the Service of being behind the recent spate of killings, the victims of which, it transpires, all happen to be agents affiliated with the Crown. It’s preposterous.”

Angelchrist smiled. “I can’t blame her, Sir Charles. Of course, she’s quite wrong. I’m as baffled about these deaths as you are. But it doesn’t surprise me that she feels threatened by the growing strength of the Service, however noble our motives.”

“We’ll have to tread carefully from now on, Archibald,” said Bainbridge, quietly. “She’s ordered us to sever all links with you and your men.”

Angelchrist nodded. His face looked a little drawn and tired. “So be it,” he said, levelly, giving away very little.

“We do, however, have another possible lead in our investigation,” said Newbury. “I understand from the Prince of Wales that there are foreign agents abroad in London, and in particular agents of the Kaiser, here with the express intent of undermining the Queen’s position. It seems likely that they may be responsible for targeting the Crown agents in an effort to further such aims. Charles thought you may be able to shed further light on the subject.…”

“Indeed I can, Sir Maurice, but I fear it may not be the answer you’re looking for.” He glanced at Bainbridge. “I imagine you’ve noticed we have company?”

“If you mean that the place is swarming with Service men, then yes,” said Bainbridge. “I had rather noticed the fact.”

Angelchrist nodded. Again, he met Veronica’s eye, as if reading her mind, knowing that his explanation was needed more for her benefit than the others’; that he still had work to do to convince her of his trustworthiness. “You’re right about the Germans, in that they do have agents here in London. Their motives, however, are somewhat different from what you’ve imagined.”

“Go on,” said Veronica, drawn in to his explanation despite herself.

“The Kaiser fears his grandmother has designs on his throne. It’s clear that the Queen wishes to extend the reach of the Empire, but Wilhelm refuses to bend to her will. As a result, the Queen is furious with him, and he’s now attempting to arm himself in preparation for her reprisal.” Angelchrist glanced back at the search lamp. “Our investigations have suggested that the Kaiser’s agents will make an attempt to seize this experimental search lamp today. As you can see, it’s designed to be mounted beneath the gondola of an airship, so that the column of light might shine down upon the landscape or city streets below. However, a German hermetist, Gruder, has posited a theory that such a lamp could be focused through a narrow lens, intensifying the beam and turning it into a formidable weapon.”

“A focused beam of light and heat,” said Newbury, astounded. “The devastation they could wreak from the skies … They could set the entirety of London aflame.”

“Quite so,” said Angelchrist, lowering his voice. “Which is why we’re now surrounded by as many service men and women as I could muster. The creator and his plans have already been secured. We cannot allow them to get away with this prototype.”

“But why not simply remove the prototype?” asked Veronica. “Why leave it here in an exhibition hall full of people, at risk?”

“A trap,” replied Angelchrist. “An opportunity to send a message to the Kaiser, to put an end to the schemes of his agents here in London, at least for a while. If we can draw out his agents, expose them, perhaps even capture and interrogate some of them—well, then it will be worth the risk.”

“Even if innocent people are harmed in the cross fire?” asked Veronica, feeling her impatience swelling.

Angelchrist sighed. “We all have to make difficult decisions, Miss Hobbes. Surely you know that more than most.”

Veronica stiffened. What was he getting at? Did he know something about her, about the choices she had been forced to make?

“One thing I
am
sure of, however,” Angelchrist continued, “is that the Kaiser’s men are not responsible for the murders of the Queen’s agents. They’ve been single-minded as they’ve planned the execution of their mission. We were able to plant a double agent amongst their ranks, and he has given every indication that they are not even aware of the identity of the Queen’s agents, let alone harbouring any desire to murder them and abscond with their hearts. The Kaiser is not, contrary to the beliefs of some of the Court, spoiling for a war. He is simply working to raise his defences, should Her Majesty grow tired of his rebuttals and decide to put matters into the hands of the military. The theft of an experimental electric lamp would not be looked on kindly. The murder of the Queen’s prized agents would be quite another thing, tantamount to a declaration of war.”

“So you’ve lured us here under false pretences?” said Veronica, stiffly. “You’ve dragged us unwittingly into the middle of an operation.”

“Not at all,” said Angelchrist, his tone conciliatory. “Clarkson said you needed to understand what the Germans were planning.” He shrugged. “Since we couldn’t meet openly as once we might have, this seemed as good a way as any to demonstrate the veracity of my words. I wanted to demonstrate to both you and Sir Maurice the value of the Service, and to clear up any little misunderstandings regarding its motives.” He glanced from Newbury to Bainbridge. “And yes, I suppose I am guilty of wishing to have my friends by my side as we charge headlong into battle.”

Bainbridge nodded. He glanced at Veronica, and then back at Angelchrist. “You have my support, Archibald. And thank you. Although it damn well sets us back to the start. We’re no further towards discovering who’s responsible for these murders than when we found the first corpse.”

Newbury clapped Bainbridge on the shoulder. “It’s only a matter of time, Charles. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

Veronica suppressed her frustration. She decided, for the others’ sake, that she would allow events to play out as intended. “So what next?” she asked Angelchrist, moderating her tone. “Do you know what the German agents are planning?”

Angelchrist smiled appreciatively. “There is soon to be a changeover of personnel,” he said, indicating the man in overalls operating the lamp, swinging it back and forth on its pivot to the appreciative murmurs of the audience. “The German agents have inveigled their way onto the exhibition staff. Once the changeover has occurred and a new operator has arrived, he’ll declare the lamp to be faulty and in need of repair. A crew of engineers will move in and begin dismantling the housing. We’ll step in at that point and apprehend the lot of them before they can get away, preferably with minimum disruption to the exhibition.” He glanced down at his pocket watch, which he’d extracted from his jacket whilst he talked. The long, golden chain pooled in his palm as he studied the timepiece. “In fact, the changeover is due to occur at any moment.”

“Forgive me, Archibald, but it sounds rather optimistic to imagine the German agents are simply going to roll over and give themselves up without a fight,” said Newbury, frowning.

“We’re ready for any eventuality,” said Angelchrist, patting his jacket pocket pointedly. Veronica could see from the bulk of it that he was carrying a pistol. She felt a cold sensation spreading throughout her stomach, something akin to dread. She feared this operation was not going to end well. As soon as they started shooting at one another, things would degenerate. Innocent people were going to end up dead.

She glanced round at the other faces in the audience, but she couldn’t tell which of them were Service men, or which might be German agents incognito, waiting for the signal to strike. She felt helpless, impotent.

Newbury gave her a gentle nudge to get her attention. When she looked round, he nodded in the direction of the lamp.

The man in overalls was glowering at his watch, clearly frustrated by the late arrival of his replacement. He sighed visibly, then circled the lamp on its pedestal one last time. Then, as if tired of waiting, he allowed the lamp to swing about in its housing, the beam stuttering briefly and then shutting off. “There will be another demonstration in a short while,” he announced to the gathered onlookers, before turning and excusing himself as he pushed through the sea of people. Within a few moments he’d been swallowed entirely by the crowd, disappearing as he waded off into the depths of the exhibition hall.

The gathered audience began to drift slowly away, other nearby exhibits catching their attentions. Veronica was grateful for that, at least—it might mean there was less chance of them being swept up in the coming altercation.

She glanced at Angelchrist, who was looking on intently, his foot tapping nervously as he waited. She felt Newbury’s grip on her elbow and allowed herself to be drawn away from the search lamp.

“I thought it best if we removed ourselves from the immediate vicinity,” said Newbury, quietly, in her ear. “We can always intervene if the situation demands it.”

Veronica nodded. She could feel his warm breath against the back of her neck as he leaned in. They were standing in the shadow of the giant bird enclosure, and just to her left she could sense the creatures eyeing her through the glass wall. She looked round to see one of them pawing at the ground with its talons, raking furrows into the heaped sand. It was as if the beast could sense the heightened tension in the vicinity and was responding in kind, ready to unleash all of its pent up energy and frustration. It saw her looking at it and stalked forward, craning its neck inquisitively to look her in the eye.