The Girl from Cobb Street (30 page)

She knew no one. Or did she? Grayson’s was the name that came to mind. He fitted her description perfectly. But it couldn’t be him. He was committed, wasn’t he, to stopping the protesters, not aiding them? In the aftermath of the riot, she’d seen him striding through the crowd to apprehend them. Or had it been to protect, to hurry them away out of reach of the police? There was no way of knowing. And nothing to say why he’d been at the maiden. The police and the army were there to restore order, so why would Grayson be needed? He’d never explained his presence that day, never told her in fact what he was doing in Jasirapur. Had he become a rogue officer, she wondered, and somehow got himself involved with criminal elements? He’d come to India to work in the Civil Service, a respected member of ‘The Incorruptibles’ as she’d heard them called. But what if the work had badly disappointed? In the past he’d turned down the opportunity to join the army, and he hadn’t settled to the sugar business either, so might he have quickly grown discontented with the ICS? He’d always struck her as a man looking for adventure, and the mundane duties of a District Officer did not fit the image she had of him.

Her mind hazed. She liked Grayson, she liked him a lot, but he had never completely gained her trust. That didn’t mean, of course, that he was guilty of this most shocking crime. She hated to think ill of him, but she couldn’t stop suspecting. She must stop though, she told herself. It was foolish to allow her mind to be caught in an endless circle of speculation. Pointless, too. She would wait for Gerald to come home and do what was right. In the meantime she would think no more.

She jumped at the voice, so startled by the sudden noise that she almost bounced to her feet.

‘Hallo there!’

Despite her best efforts, her mind had been elsewhere, lost in its own labyrinth. Anish had ridden up to the house, mounted the veranda steps and walked halfway across the sitting room before she heard a sound.

She stood facing him, her hand clutching at her chair. The sight of his familiar face blew her vow of calmness to the winds. ‘Thank goodness, Anish, thank goodness you’re here!’

He blinked, taken aback it seemed by her intensity, but said in his usual smooth fashion, ‘I came in the hope of persuading you back onto a horse—tomorrow, perhaps? It’s been a while since we rode and you’re at risk of growing rusty.’

When she didn’t reply, he walked further into the room, his eyes fixed on her face. ‘My poor girl, you look quite ill.’

She ignored this and tugged urgently at his sleeve. ‘You must help me.’

‘I’m at your service, Daisy,’ he said gallantly, and gently released her fingers, ‘but what has made you so upset?’

‘I’m sorry, I’m not making much sense, I know. This morning has been … I can’t believe …’ She broke off and held up her hand in a cautioning gesture. ‘We should walk in the garden.’

‘This is all very cloak and dagger,’ he joked, but he followed her obediently down the steps and into the wilderness.

They strode a short way along the path before he put out a hand to stop her. ‘If you don’t mind, we’ll stay here. I’ve no wish to meet an irritated snake.’

‘I’m sorry to drag you from the house, but we mustn’t be overheard.’ The seriousness of her tone made him look at her in surprise.

‘So what has happened this morning to put you on edge? Unless you tell me what’s going on, I can’t offer much assistance.’

She hardly knew where to begin. ‘I saw someone last night. It was the Indian I’d seen before in the garden, but last night he was outside my bedroom door.’

‘Good gracious. What was the man doing there? Did Gerald see him?’

‘Gerald wasn’t here. I don’t know—didn’t know,’ she corrected herself, ‘why the man was in the house. And he seemed to disappear into thin air before I could think. I didn’t know what to do. It was the middle of the night and I was alone, so I went back to bed.’

‘Very sensible. Then you woke up this morning and found that it was all an unpleasant dream?’

‘It wasn’t a dream.’

‘But surely it must have been,’ he coaxed. ‘I have to tell you, Daisy, that even in India a stray man roaming through one’s house at night is unusual. And don’t forget, you were the only person to see this
chap. I
imagine you’re sleeping badly. We all are. It’s likely that in your sleep you saw yourself getting out of bed, opening the door, and finding the man outside. But really he was just part of your dream.’

‘He was real,’ she said flatly, ‘and I have proof.’

For the first time, Anish looked interested. ‘Proof that an unknown Indian was wandering your home in the middle of the night?’

‘Proof of where he went. He didn’t leave the house, at least not while I was watching. I couldn’t work it out at the time, but now I know. He disappeared down into the cellar. Did you know there was a cellar to the bungalow?’

He shook his head, mystified.

‘Well, there is. And in that cellar there are guns, Anish. Hundreds of them. And I think they’ve come from the regiment’s armoury.’

He said nothing, and she wondered if he’d heard her. ‘There have been weapons stolen, haven’t there?’ she prompted.

‘Yes, but—’

‘They’re here, beneath our feet. Or at least they would be if we were standing in the house.’

‘But how, why? It makes no sense.’

‘That’s what I’ve been trying to work out. I’m almost sure that Rajiv is responsible and the Indian I saw is his accomplice. I think they’ve stolen the guns—though I don’t know how—but they mean to make money by selling them, that’s clear. I imagine there are plenty of agitators who will pay well.’

‘Do you mind if I say that the whole thing sounds crazy?’

‘I know it does, but I’m telling the truth. Really, I am. And the regiment needs to know of it immediately. I was waiting for Gerald, but he still isn’t back. That’s why I’m so glad to see you. It’s vital the authorities know before Rajiv guesses his crime has been discovered. Would you ride to the camp straightaway and tell them to come quickly?’

‘And what if I bring a senior officer back with me and there are no guns in the cellar?’

‘There will be,’ she said grimly, ‘I’m not moving from here until the Colonel comes to see for himself.’

Anish did not appear to share her urgency, and she was forced to prompt him again, ‘Will you go now?’

‘Of course I will, but—’ He broke off, seeming to be deep in thought.

‘But?’

‘What if it’s not just Rajiv and his friend involved? It must take more than two to move such huge loads in and out of the cellar, even supposing they were able to transport them here in the first place.’

He didn’t believe her, she thought hopelessly. He wasn’t going to do anything. She would have to take him to the cellar to see for himself. But then Rajiv would know he’d been discovered and make his escape.

‘There could be a gang, I grant you, though I’ve only ever seen the one man. But however many there are, it’s surely better to arrest the two we know before they can leave. Then if there are more—’

‘That’s the problem.’

‘What do you mean?’

He didn’t answer her directly, but said, ‘Perhaps it would be better simply to move the guns.’

She was puzzled. ‘Move the guns? Why would we move the guns?’

‘It might save a reputation or two.’

She was even more puzzled. Was he wanting to help the officers who’d been in charge of the armoury? ‘You think we should take the guns back to the regiment?’

‘Not exactly. We can’t restore them. If guns that have been lost were suddenly to reappear, questions would be asked. No, I was thinking of losing them completely as though they’d never been here.’

‘But then Rajiv would not be punished.’

‘I wasn’t thinking of Rajiv.’

‘And neither would the other man or any of their gang.’

‘Think, Daisy, who else could be implicated?’

His face was kind and concerned, but she couldn’t see what he was driving at. ‘Where, for instance, was Gerald last night? You said he wasn’t here. Do you know where he was?’

‘Gerald?’ she faltered.

Where
had
he been last night when she looked for him? And where on the other night she couldn’t find him? At the time she’d assumed he was visiting Jocelyn, but that had proved false. In any case, the girl had left weeks ago, so what about last night? The question had become all-important, yet she fought against the obvious answer.

‘You can’t think he’s involved,’ she protested, but her voice held the first glimmers of doubt.

Even as she spoke, she was reminded of Gerald’s recent volatility. If he were involved in a criminal business, the stress he must feel would go a long way to explaining his rapid changes of mood over the past weeks.

‘I hope not. Sincerely, I hope not. But have you never wondered why he chooses to live in such an isolated place? Why he employs only one servant? It’s been a talking point in the regiment for some time, and I must admit I’ve always thought it odd.’

‘But he’s an honourable man. He would never do such a thing. It would mean jeopardising the career he loves. He’d be ruined if he were discovered. Why would he risk that?’

Anish’s eyebrows rose slightly. He didn’t need to remind her. Gerald was in debt, badly in debt. Was this how he’d decided to solve his problem? He’d had merchants chasing him for the money he owed, and then suddenly they were no longer on his tail. She’d never asked him how he’d repaid those men, and he had never explained. Could it possibly have come from selling stolen guns?

Her mind was finding it difficult to take in the enormity of what was happening. Beads of perspiration dotted her face and trickled down between her breasts. Gerald! It wasn’t possible. But it wasn’t impossible either. If you were thinking at all sensibly, was it likely that he would be ignorant of a cellar beneath the house he’d lived in for months, or ignorant of the activities of the one servant he employed? If Gerald were involved in the whole dreadful business, it would explain why he’d been so insistent that she went to Simla. He’d wanted her out of the house as much as Rajiv.

He had wanted her out of the house … he was an accomplice too. He was behind the so-called accidents she’d suffered. She covered her eyes with her hands. She’d had few illusions left about her marriage but the very last of them had just crashed to the ground. Her husband had planned to harm her. It was as monstrous as that.

She felt Anish looking at her, felt his eyes infused with sympathy. She had to say something. ‘If Gerald knows of the guns, he must have been responsible for the bad things that have happened to me,’ she stammered. ‘He’s been plotting against me.’

‘That’s quite a leap. I’m sure Gerald could never wish to harm you,’ Anish said softly. ‘And when you say bad things, what do you mean?’

‘A lot of so-called accidents which weren’t accidents at all. One night I was made a prisoner in my own room, then a dangerous snake was let loose in the bathroom and at the temple—the day I met you on the road—a slab of stone fell from the roof and narrowly missed me.’

‘I can see how you’ve been frightened, but every one of those could quite easily have been the accidents you supposed. And if they weren’t, if they were deliberate, then what’s to say that only Rajiv was behind them?’

‘He couldn’t have been responsible for the accident I had riding with you. That had to be someone with permission to be in the cantonment.’

‘I can set your mind at rest there. That really was an accident. The girths were badly worn and I was negligent in not noticing.’ He took her hand and pressed it tightly. ‘You’re very upset and leaping to conclusions. A moment ago you thought Gerald an honourable man, and you must believe that or you’d never have married him. So let’s think sensibly. It would seem Gerald has made a bad mistake but at heart he’s sound, and we can help him, you and I together. If we don’t, he’ll be court martialled and disgraced. And not just in a military court but in the world outside. He’ll be judged a criminal and go to prison. Neither of us would want that, would we?’

‘No, of course not,’ she mumbled. ‘But to risk his whole career in this way …’

He let go of her hand and walked a few paces into the garden, then turned back towards her. ‘Do you remember asking me how common debt was among young officers? Gerald has been extremely stupid and dug himself a deep pit. He may have been so desperate for money that he believed this was the only way out of the mess.’ Anish pulled down the corners of his mouth in a grimace. ‘I guess that’s what comes of being doted on. I believe he’s the only child of an elderly father.’

She was astonished he knew so much about her husband. She’d imagined Gerald had stayed as silent to the world as he had to her and, though the situation they faced was critical, she wanted to hear more. ‘Has he talked to you about his father?’

‘Very little. All I know is that his family doesn’t fit the usual mould for an officer in the Indian Army.’

No, she thought, the family didn’t fit at all. Not if she’d guessed right. It might be time to be honest. ‘I found a letter … I think it came from Gerald’s father.’ She wouldn’t mention that Gerald had told her his parents were both dead. She couldn’t bring herself to be that honest. ‘The letter was signed Joseph Minns. I believe Minns is Gerald’s real name, and Mr Minns senior was once a master tailor in the East End of London.’