The Royal Assassin (22 page)

“Not for certain, no. But because the police took custody of the goods they'd stolen and Nadia's relationship with the princess, they are thought to be the kidnappers.”

Sir Broderick looked around the room and continued. “Nadia Andropov and Andrei Griekev are believed to be the masterminds behind the ‘dynamite burglaries,' and Nadia is the princess's bastard sister.”

“Do we know where they might have taken her?” Jacob asked.

“We've checked the two places where we know they had been living and hiding their loot, and they aren't at either one. They probably had already created at least one more hideout in the East End that we're unaware of,” Sumner said.

“No. It's near the Greek chapel where Russian Orthodox services are held. Probably within sight of it,” I said.

“Why do you think that?” Sir Broderick asked.

“One of the servants at Hereford's said Princess Kira and Nadia would sneak out at night and go to the church where the services are in Russian. Princess Kira would pray—there certainly
aren't any services late at night—and Nadia would meet with Griekev. The princess told me that's where she met him. She said Griekev lived practically across the street.”

“Where's this Greek chapel?” someone asked.

“Welbeck Street. West of here, just past Cavendish Square.”

“Nadia and Griekev could have invited the princess there without arousing her suspicions.” Sir Broderick looked around the room. “It's certainly one place to focus our search.”

“Is there a deadline for delivering the jewels?”

“Dawn.”

“Can it be done that quickly?”

“Yes. Victoria has commanded the government to save the princess by any means necessary.”

“Do we know if the princess is still alive?” Sumner asked.

“No. But everyone is proceeding as if she is,” Sir Broderick replied.

“Nadia hates Kira. I suspect the princess will die as soon as her half sister gets her hands on the jewels. We have to get her back before the jewels are handed over,” I told them.

“Are you certain?” Sir Broderick asked.

I thought of the look I'd seen Nadia give the princess from the top of the stairs. And she'd made no move to rescue the princess from the dynamite. “Yes,” I said. “I'm certain.”

“I
F
you think Nadia will kill the princess, then we need a small group to scour that neighborhood,” Sir Broderick said. “We can't wait for the ransom to be paid and the princess released.”

Several of the men, including Sumner, volunteered. Emma and I did, too.

“Ladies, I don't think—,” Sir Broderick began.

“We've been part of this from the beginning. We're going,” I told him.

“You have your knife, Emma?” Jacob asked.

She gave Sumner a smile. “Of course.”

“Before we go, we need to have Blackford do something for us in these negotiations,” I said, and everyone turned and looked at me. “We don't know which house they're in. We need to have one of them depart after we're in position to see which house they exit.”

“By all means, Georgia. Call him. He's at Whitehall.”

I picked up the telephone and asked for the Foreign Office. It
took the man on duty in the Foreign Office some time to track down Blackford, probably because the halls of government were full of dukes, but finally his forceful baritone came over the line. “The Duke of Blackford here.”

“It's Georgia. I'm at Sir Broderick's. We think we know where Nadia and Griekev might be hiding Princess Kira, but we need you to get one of them to leave the house in a half hour. That way we can pinpoint the exact building.”

“Griekev isn't at any hideout. At least we don't think he is. He has us passing written messages through a lad, and from the speed with which one of the replies came back to us, we think he's somewhere close to Whitehall.”

“Is it your turn to respond?”

“Yes.”

“Wait fifteen minutes, and then send a message saying you want proof they have the princess and she's alive. Ask for her hat. Do you know what she was wearing when she was taken?”

“No.”

I tried not to sigh into the telephone. I still found it amazing the duke wouldn't think of something I considered important. “Call your house and have someone find out. Mary Thomas is acting as the princess's lady's maid and she should know.”

“I'll do that. And Georgia, be careful.”

“We will. Remember, don't send the reply for fifteen minutes.”

We took a late omnibus west on Oxford Street and walked north from there. This was a neighborhood of middle-class shops, homes, and respectability. Streetlamps were numerous, their glow shimmering on the wet pavement. There was no fog to hide our movements. No one was on the street but I could see lights burning behind many curtains.

We walked silently in groups of two or three, obvious to
anyone who glanced outside. I kept quiet when all I wanted to do was shout out my fear. What if this didn't work? What if Griekev had lied about living here? What if he had another hideout somewhere in London?

All our hopes were riding on this one place. This area I had insisted we watch. I wrapped my arms around myself to fight the cold burrowing deeper inside me. If anything happened to the princess, it would be my fault.

I'd have been the one to misdirect the search. The Russians would blame me, the British government would disown me, Blackford would consider me a fraud. And I would have failed and caused another death.

I wanted to cry out, to discover if anyone else thought this was a good way to proceed. But it was too late. We were committed to my plan. I stayed silent.

As we approached the church, we began to separate, slipping into alleys or shadowed courtyards where we could each watch different buildings. I'd almost reached my spot when I caught movement in an alley.

The movement became a shadow and dashed out of the alley toward me. Beside me Jacob moved his hand in such a way that I knew he held some sort of weapon. And I stood my ground, waiting for the blow to come and fisting my hands. But instead of striking as the shadow came near, I saw Mary Thomas peer into my face. “Miss Georgia?” she said, exhaling a relieved gasp.

“What are you doing here, Mary?”

Rain dripped off Mary's hat and her cheeks looked chapped with cold. “The princess told me not to tell anyone when she left with Nadia. I thought you'd wonder where they went, so I followed them. So far as I can tell, they're still in there. What are you doing here, miss?”

“Nadia and a man called Griekev kidnapped Princess Kira and sent a ransom note to the Russian embassy. We knew Nadia used to meet Griekev down the street at the Greek chapel, so we thought he lived around here.”

“Kidnapped?” In the light from the streetlamp, I saw her eyes widen.

“Which house did they go in?”

“I'm not sure. I was too far away. I took an omnibus until their cab turned off on a side street, and then I had to follow by foot the rest of the way. I saw their hired carriage pull away, though, and I heard them arguing before a door slammed. They must have gone into one of the houses on this side of the street between this alley and the corner.”

I glanced at Jacob. “I'll watch from across the street,” he said and hurried off.

“Griekev's been told to bring her hat as proof he has her. He'll have to go to where they're hiding her to get it. Then we'll know which house,” I told Mary. “Do you want to go home and get out of the rain?”

She looked like a drowned pup, all big brown eyes and water dripping from her clothes. “No sense in that now. And I want to see this through.” She sounded more like a guard dog.

We hid in the alley between a newsman's shop and a confectioner's, knowing the Greek chapel was a half block farther on our side of the street. From my post I could see the houses across the street, and I knew Jacob had squeezed in between two houses from where he could watch my side of the road.

All we could do was wait silently for Griekev to return as the cold in the alley seeped into my half boots and through my dark cloak. Fortunately, I had slept during the afternoon or my eyes would never have stayed open. I stomped my feet from time to
time to keep my blood circulating as every muscle stiffened. I was cold and bored. Mary kept shivering, but she refused my offers to send her home.

Twice I heard boots clomp along the sidewalk. One set belonged to an old man who went in the doorway next to a glass shop. A moment later, I saw a light go on in the rooms above. No one left that doorway. The other set belonged to a man who went into a doorway on my side. When he didn't reappear, Jacob signaled that all was well.

What if Griekev had refused to get Whitehall the proof they requested?

I heard another pair of boots moving quickly. I held still as the footsteps stopped nearby. When they didn't resume, I wondered if I had missed the sound of a door opening and closing. Mary grabbed my arm in a fierce grip and inhaled deeply. Finally, a man hurried past me muffled in a workman's coat, cap, and scarf. A moment later, I heard a door shut.

Mary let out a loud exhale. I watched Jacob, waiting for a signal.

Seconds dragged on into minutes, and then I heard a door shut so softly I nearly missed it. Then the speedy footsteps sounded again as the man in the cap and scarf passed. This time he was carrying a small satchel. He didn't stop and wait this time, but continued on until I could no longer hear his steps.

At that moment, Jacob came out from his place in the shadows and I came out to meet him. “Third building down,” he whispered.

I glanced at the house with two steps up to the door and a bay window on one side. “We need help to guard the back.”

“I'll go,” Mary said and vanished into the alley.

Jacob said, “I'll get Fogarty,” and walked down the sidewalk. I waited where I was, watching the house for any sign of someone trying to slip away.

Jacob was back within two minutes. “Sumner and Emma have the back along with Mary.”

Adam Fogarty walked up to join us. “Have the house?”

“Yes. Can you pick the lock?” I asked.

“On the force we were more about knocking down the door.”

“I can do it,” Jacob said. “I've been practicing on more than just my accounting ledgers.” I could see his smile in the light of the streetlamp.

The three of us tiptoed to the building. The ground floor was a tobacco shop. A door to one side of the bay window led to the upper floors. Jacob pulled out some thin, oddly shaped pieces of metal. He bent over the lock and a moment later he turned the handle and let us in.

The stairs in front of us were in darkness and the building had the gloomy silence of emptiness. A lantern sat on the bottom step. Jacob put away his tools and struck a match. Then he gestured up the stairs.

We walked near the wall, but one of the stairs still squeaked in protest, the sound echoing around us. So much for surprise. Above us somewhere I heard an answering creak.

No longer worrying about a stealthy entrance, we hurried up one flight. There were two rooms, both empty. Up to the next floor. The front room was empty. The door to the back room was locked.

Adam didn't wait for Jacob's lock-picking skills. He went at the door with his shoulder and the door swung open. He stumbled to a halt as Jacob and I rushed in behind him and collided in our efforts to stop.

The room was lit by two delicate lamps decorated with flowers painted onto the milk glass shades. I could clearly see Nadia standing over Princess Kira with a shiny revolver in her hand.
The princess was bound to a straight-backed chair and gagged. There was a look of terror in her eyes.

“Don't come any closer.” The pistol was now aimed at the three of us. It looked huge.

I held out a hand to her, fighting off the urge to faint or scream. “Nadia, stop this before something goes wrong.”

“You will address me as Princess Nadia.”

“Where are you planning on going? France?” As a question, it wasn't much, but hopefully we could keep her talking until we could think of a way to rescue the princess.

“What do you care?”

I shrugged, trying to look unconcerned while I hid my shaking hands. “I don't. I've just heard the Russian aristocracy is very popular in the highest circles of French society.”

“We are. And I am demanding my rightful standing as a great-granddaughter of Nicholas the First. If Kira can be a princess, so can I.” She swung the gun back toward the princess's head again.

I nodded. It would cost me nothing to agree with her. “It makes sense. You have the same father, and he's the one descended from the tsar.”

“Did you know my father and his wife had my mother killed because she embarrassed them? Kira's mother, that bitch Sofia, tried to have me killed, too, she was so angry that I existed, but I was too smart for her. For all of them.”

“You've been clever all along, Nadia. But you've run out of luck and now would be a good time to start negotiating.”

“There's nothing to negotiate.”

“Who can award you the title of princess? Is it the ambassador? Grand Duke Vassily? The tsar? Someone needs to make your position official.” I wasn't sure how that worked, but I was willing to bet Nadia didn't, either.

“They won't do it.”

“You're holding Kira. Of course they will. As long as she's alive and unharmed, they're going to present the title to you.” It sounded good. Right now, that was all I could hope for.

“And once it's done, it can't be undone.” Nadia smiled and put the barrel of the pistol against Kira's head.

Kira's eyes begged me to do something.

“You don't want to double-cross these people. Honest dealing will get you a lot further,” I told her.

“Why should she stay alive and unharmed? Her mother killed my mother. Her mother tried to kill me. Perhaps she should lose her well-loved daughter instead.” Hatred simmered in her eyes. The same hatred I'd seen when she looked at Princess Kira in Hereford House.

“Think back, Princess Nadia. Do you really think Kira's mother loves her? I think she's been disappointed by having a daughter who paints.”

Nadia nodded. “You're right. Kira's mother has always been a stupid woman. Everything is for appearances.”

“Alive, Kira's your means to get your title and passage to France. Dead, there's no reason not to hang you.” I kept my tone relaxed, as if I were discussing the weather. But my stomach trembled and my knees thumped together.

“Bring me the letter awarding me my proper title, and I will let her go. Otherwise, Griekev will be back with the jewels soon. Once we have the jewels, no one will care if my title is genuine or not. And I will have no need to spare her life.” She spoke the last with a royal sneer.

“Jacob, go back to Sir Broderick's and telephone to Whitehall. Tell Blackford what we need and tell him to bring the letter as quickly as possible.” I hoped Jacob would tell Blackford all and alert Sumner and Emma in the back alley.

“I'll hurry.” He left the room and we heard his feet clattering down the stairs. Then the front door banged shut.