The Angel Court Affair (Thomas Pitt 30) (37 page)

Melville Smith appeared from the wings and moved into the centre of the stage, trying to protect Nazario, who evaded him and came further forward.

‘Is this how you “Christians” behave?’ he demanded. ‘Is this what Englishmen do?’

There was a sudden hush. It caught everyone by surprise.

Pitt looked around and saw Teague, his fair head visible above the mass. For an instant he too looked taken aback. Then he turned and spoke to those closer around him, his arms held up in a gesture of calm.

Not far from him Barton Hall stared, ashen-faced, hatred in every line of his features. Teague did not appear to have seen him, although he was not more than ten feet away.

Nazario was still speaking, but half his words were drowned out.

‘Let’s go find her!’ someone shouted. ‘Search for her!’

Half a dozen allies took up the cry and pushed towards the exits.

‘Stop it!’ Nazario shouted, and then the noise obliterated his next words. He spread his arms beseechingly. ‘Please! You can’t help like this . . .’

‘You want her to die!’ someone else yelled furiously. ‘You’re behind this!’

Nazario’s answer was lost.

More people changed their minds about leaving and started to swarm up towards the stage again.

Police were beginning to come in from all the doorways, slowly clearing the hall. Even from where Pitt stood now, almost at the steps up to the stage, he could see scuffles here and there, the occasional hat knocked off, or deliberately thrown. One man was trying to clear a way by lashing out with his walking stick.

More people were surging up to the steps on the far side. Someone had already reached them and was starting to climb up.

At the back of the hall a woman began to scream, a high, thin wail rising in pitch.

There were two men on the steps up to the stage at the far side. One of them reached the level and lunged towards Nazario, shouting abuse.

Nazario turned to defend himself a moment too late. He was struck on the side of the head and collapsed to the floor. The man who had attacked him raised his arm high. Pitt saw the gleam of light on a blade. He started up the steps two at a time, but before he could reach the man an old woman flew forwards out of the wings and launched herself at the man, hands around his throat. They both crashed to the floor as Nazario began to haul himself up on to his hands and knees, dizzy, unable to get his balance.

The woman lashed out at the man with the knife, hitting him so hard he let the knife fall, grabbing the woman by the hair, which came off in his hand. He tore at her clothes, and they too came apart.

Pitt reached them and put his hand on the woman’s shoulder and felt the iron-hard muscles beneath the cloth. This close to, he recognised her. It was the old woman who swept the yard at Angel Court, except that it was now quite obviously a man.

Castillo! Of course. Hidden where everybody looked at him, and nobody saw.

Pitt threw all his weight and strength into dragging him off the man who had attacked Nazario – not that he was fighting back any more. He lay motionless on the boards of the stage, his neck at a crooked, broken angle.

Castillo stopped resisting.

Nazario clambered to his feet, still dazed.

The knife lay gleaming on the floor, the stage lights angled upwards making it almost invisible.

Teague was on the stage now too. He was staring not at Pitt or Nazario, or the dead man on the floor, but at Castillo, who was wigless, but still wearing the remnants of the dress.

Castillo stared back at him for a frozen second, then wrenched himself free from Pitt and fled the stage, disappearing into the wings as if somehow they would have closed behind him.

Teague made as if to pursue him, and then gazed for a moment at Pitt, and with a half-smile, waved one of the police forward to do it instead. Brundage went to the outside to catch Castillo should he reach the back door.

Teague stood facing Pitt, then turned to Nazario, his face utterly wiped clear of expression.

‘What the devil are you doing, Pitt? This is a complete fiasco.’ He glared at the dead man on the floor. ‘Who the hell is he?’ Finally he turned to Nazario. ‘Do you know him?’

Nazario smiled bitterly, and did not answer. He was still shaking.

There was silence in the audience. They were stunned, embarrassed, some were ashamed.

Teague turned towards them, holding up his hands for attention. Instantly even the faintest stir of movement stopped. They faced him expectantly.

‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he said gravely. ‘This terrible tragedy must come to an end. I have done everything I can, with all the time, money and influence I can command. I had intended to tell Commander Pitt of Special Branch first, as a courtesy, but these circumstances tonight have changed all that. I must tell you all, and send you home in some peace and assurance.’

He glanced at Pitt, but his expression was unreadable. He looked back at the audience.

‘I am certain that I know where Sofia Delacruz is being held prisoner . . .’

He was obliged to stop by the cries and cheers. Several people waved their arms.

Teague gently urged silence again. He turned to Pitt and offered his hand.

Pitt could not refuse. He would appear surly and ridiculous. He took it, trying to force a look of happy surprise to his face. He felt like a gargoyle.

‘We must rescue her,’ Teague said loudly and clearly. ‘My men are ready and willing. What do you say, Commander?’

There was only one possible answer Pitt could give.

‘We will make plans immediately. Thank you.’

Teague smiled broadly and turned to face the crowd.

Brundage appeared at Pitt’s elbow, breathless.

‘Castillo escaped, sir,’ he said. ‘Poor devil could be anywhere.’

Teague turned to Pitt and his face was unreadable but Pitt felt a sudden chill, as if his blood had turned to ice.

PITT TOOK a deep breath. Now he had no choice at all. It did not matter whether it was Hall, Teague or circumstances that had outwitted him, he must move tonight; as soon as they could gather the men together and make some sort of plan. Whoever held Sofia would hear of this within an hour or two, if they didn’t know already.

‘Don’t worry about Castillo,’ he said to Brundage. ‘Get Stoker and as many other men as you can find in the next quarter of an hour.’ He turned to Teague. ‘We must plan this carefully. Any mistake could be fatal . . .’

‘Of course,’ Teague agreed immediately. ‘There’s got to be somewhere quiet in this place where we can meet. I have half a dozen men I can have here in thirty minutes, once I find a telephone.’ He looked at the crowd still milling around, excited, frightened, angry, unintentionally blocking the ways out.

‘One along the street, sir,’ Brundage said, pointing to his left. ‘Couple of hundred yards.’

Teague thanked him. ‘I’ll be back,’ he said to Pitt, then went quickly down the stage steps and started to pick his way towards the doors.

Pitt turned back to Brundage. ‘What happened to Castillo? Is Nazario all right? He took a pretty hard blow. Does anyone know who that lunatic was? I suppose he is dead?’

‘Yes, sir.’ Brundage looked a little pale. ‘Don’t know whether it was just an unlucky blow, or if he meant it. Either way, no one is sure where Castillo went, or what happened to him. From what the local police say, Nazario’s assailant was known to them. A bit off his head. Took religious fancies and thought he was an avenging angel, or something of the sort. He’s been in trouble for abusing people before, even attacked one or two, but nothing like this.’

‘And Nazario?’

‘He’ll be damn sore for a while, but at the moment all he can think about is finding Sofia.’

‘Good. Be back in twenty-five minutes at the outside, with whoever you have. Speed is more important.’

Brundage hesitated. ‘Are we going to rely on Teague’s men, sir?’

‘I was thinking rather more of keeping an eye on them,’ Pitt said grimly. ‘We can’t afford to have them go ahead without us.’

Brundage looked relieved. ‘No, sir. I wouldn’t trust that lot half as far as I could throw them. They might make a pig’s breakfast of the whole thing, or if they do get her out alive, next day’s newspapers’ll be full of how they did Special Branch’s job for them!’

‘There’s also the matter of catching whoever has her,’ Pitt added.

‘Alive?’ Brundage asked.

‘I don’t know that I care,’ Pitt replied frankly. ‘I just don’t want to have to arrest one of Teague’s men, and especially not Teague himself, for having killed the bastard.’

‘Papers would make a big thing of that too,’ Brundage agreed. ‘“Special Branch arrests hero of the hour.” That would make us look even worse.’

Pitt understood exactly how Brundage felt. He too was still very aware of their own failures in the case. Teague would overlook none of them.

‘You sure it’s Hall, sir?’ Brundage asked.

‘Not absolutely certain, but almost. If he bought this enormous part of Manitoba thinking there were gold or diamonds there, and then discovered it was a hoax, he’d be desperate enough to do anything. The fact that it was in any way connected to Sofia Delacruz, who had already caused his family considerable embarrassment, would only add to his fury.’

‘Right, sir. I’ll get everyone I can.’ He started to move away.

‘Brundage!’

‘Yes, sir?’

‘Get guns for as many as you can. This could turn very nasty.’

‘Yes, sir. May take a little longer.’

‘Make it a very little!’

‘Yes, sir.’

Pitt went back behind the stage to find Nazario. He wanted to know for himself if he was all right, but even if he were not, he had a great many questions to ask him, starting with how much of this fiasco with Castillo he had foreseen, and intended. Had he known from the beginning who Castillo was? If he had lied about anything at all, now was the time to admit it.

The first two side rooms were empty. Nazario Delacruz was sitting in a very old armchair in the third. One of Pitt’s men was with him.

‘Thank you, Hollingsworth,’ Pitt said with a nod to the man. ‘Wait for me outside. We’ve got to get started as soon as I’ve seen Señor Delacruz. Let me know, regardless, when Mr Teague gets back. Regardless, understand?’

‘Yes, sir.’ Hollingsworth stood to attention for an instant, then turned on his heel and went out, closing the door behind him.

Pitt studied Nazario. He was clearly very shaken and in some pain, but his eyes were clear and there was a gravity and an understanding in them that reassured Pitt he was fully conscious and alert.

‘We’re going as soon as Teague gets back from collecting his men,’ Pitt said, pulling up one of the hard-backed chairs and sitting down. The room was sparsely furnished, just a plain table large enough for half a dozen people to sit around, presumably for meetings of some sort, and sufficient chairs.

‘And your men?’ Nazario asked, straightening himself up with a wince as the pain caught him from his injured neck and shoulder.

‘Brundage will have them here by then, all that he can. We can’t afford to wait.’

Nazario nodded, just a brief movement of his head without involving his neck. ‘I’m coming with you.’ It was a statement.

‘If you can keep up,’ Pitt smiled very slightly. ‘But before we get to that, it’s past time you told me all you know of this. I haven’t time to argue, but we could make a fatal error through ignorance. And on the assumption that you did not set this up with the intention of martyring your wife, either for the cause, or simply to get rid of her, you will want us to succeed.’

Nazario was startled, and momentarily angry. Then he realised the truth of what Pitt was saying, and set aside his emotions.

‘I did not know she brought Castillo here with her,’ he said, speaking rapidly. ‘I never met him as himself, only as an old woman who had been turned out of her home and needed a place to live, just for a while.’

‘And the hoax?’ Pitt went on. ‘Did you know about that?’

Nazario looked confused. ‘What hoax? What are you talking about?’ There was a new, stranger edge of fear in his voice. ‘Sofia would not trick anyone.’

‘The hoax to sell a huge area of relatively useless land in Canada, just empty prairie land, on the false evidence that there were diamonds or gold there.’

‘Diamonds? In Canada? I have no idea what you are talking about.’

‘There are many minerals in Canada,’ Pitt replied. ‘Certainly diamonds in some areas, but none in Manitoba so far.’

‘Is that what Castillo said?’ Nazario frowned, trying to make sense of it.

‘That was the hoax,’ Pitt explained. ‘Hall paid a fortune for the land, on behalf of the Church of England. He has much of their money to invest.’

‘Ah!’ Nazario smiled ruefully. ‘That is why Sofia was going to see him, to warn him. But she was too late. He had already committed the money. Now he has to silence her, but first he must find out what she has done with Castillo, because he knows.’

‘Yes. Apparently when his partner in the hoax was murdered and left as a warning he understood. But instead of running away to somewhere he could never be found, he went to Sofia and confessed. She must have told him confession was no use without repentance.’

‘That is what she would do,’ Nazario agreed. ‘She would make him give back the money. So where is it? If Castillo still has it then we will never get it back now.’ He shook his head. ‘But if he had it, Mr Pitt, I think he would have returned it by now. Why come at all, if he did not mean to give it back?’

Pitt saw the answer only too clearly. ‘He didn’t have it,’ he said wearily. ‘Maybe this other man did. Does he have a name?’

‘I know only that he was called Alonso. And if he had it then why would Hall not take it from him and leave Castillo alive? This is too much trouble simply for revenge. Too dangerous, and too bloody.’

‘Yes,’ Pitt agreed again. There is someone else beyond this: probably whoever thought up the scheme in the first place. He could be anywhere, and certainly safe from us.’

He was interrupted from further decision by Brundage’s return. He knocked on the door and came straight in.