‘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.