The sides of the street disappeared and, from the swirling of the fog, I judged that we had come into an open s.p.a.ce. Our driver pulled the horses up and spoke for the first time since we had left Marylebone Station. *Here we are, sir."
The inspector peered about us. *Are you sure?"
*Yes, sir. My brother works here. And all my uncles."
Inspector Pound clambered off and I could hardly see the hand held up to help me down into a deep puddle.
*Good job you aren"t wearing a nice dress," he said as I slithered about.
The driver pa.s.sed us a lantern but it produced no more than a weak halo, casting the inspector"s face into a ghoulish yellow glow.
*It should be straight on, sir. If you find yourself swimming, you"ve gone too far to the left."
*Mind your tongue and wait there," Inspector Pound said. *And you had better keep hold of me, Miss Middleton. At least that way we will go over the edge together."
*It cannot be much wetter," I said and slipped my arm through his.
*That should be the Aphrodite." The inspector pointed. There was a faint red light and we inched our way towards it, me sliding my feet and my companion tapping ahead of us with his cane. The water was slapping against a wall and I could hear voices, some shouting, and the ships creaking and banging against the piers. I stepped into another slimy puddle and our light went out.
*Blast that man." Inspector Pound shook the lantern. *The oil has run out. I sometimes think I am working in an inst.i.tution for the mentally defective, and don"t you dare tell Mr Grice I said that."
I laughed and said, *I think we need to go more to the left."
*How so?"
*Because I can see the green starboard light as well now, and those yellow lights must mark the end of the wharf."
*If you say so."
We changed direction and, as I began to make out the outline of a ship before and above us, I heard a familiar voice raised close by.
*I do not care if you are Admiral of the Fleet with the King of Siam on board, you will not set sail until I say so."
A lower gruffer voice said, *You have no authority on land or at sea, Mr Grice, and as my first mate has already told you, if you put one foot on to my gangplank, I shall have you cast in irons for mutinous trespa.s.s."
Sidney Grice stood under a lamp with a small group of men round him.
*Having a bit of trouble?" Inspector Pound called out as we approached.
My guardian peered out from under the wide brim of his soft felt hat.
*Why have you brought her?"
*Well, there is a nice welcome," I said.
*She insisted," Inspector Pound said.
*Well, do not get in the way," my guardian told me. *Inspector, kindly tell this maritime muttonhead that if he does not let us on his ship you will have Customs and Excise swarming over it for a week."
*Ever the diplomat," the inspector murmured, and held out his hand. *Good evening a or should I say morning? a Captain. My name is Inspector Pound of the Metropolitan Police."
The captain shook his hand suspiciously. *Friend of yours, is he?"
*He has no friends."
*You amaze me. This man thinks he has the right to step aboard my ship and poke about it when we have still half our stores to stow before we can set sail."
*Then you will have to postpone your voyage," my guardian said. He had soot on his cuffs and smudges on his face, but this did not seem a good time to tell him.
The captain raised his arms to the invisible stars. *Have you any idea what it costs to run a ship this size? There is a crew of forty-eight men to pay for a start."
Sidney Grice pointed at the captain"s chest. *You know better than I that not a man jack receives a bra.s.s farthing until you weigh anchor."
*Yes, but there are forfeits to be paid on the moorings if we miss our sailing time."
*Which are nothing to the forfeits incurred by harbouring a murderer on board," Inspector Pound said.
*I cannot be held responsible if a criminal stows away on my ship."
*This criminal is a pa.s.senger a a lady by herself," I said.
*We have no single women on this voyage."
*You are sure of that?" I asked.
*I know my manifest. We have very few women at all. A nun and-"
*The nun..." I said.
*Is your criminal seventy-nine and blind with both legs missing below the knee?" the captain asked. *Because my nun is. I helped her on board myself this very afternoon. She"s a sweet old girl but how does she kill people? Bless them to death?"
*Who are the other women?" my guardian asked.
*Two married couples. Tell a lie a one married couple, the Malmondsleys who are regular travellers with us a the other couple cancelled at the last moment."
*And what was their name?" Inspector Pound asked.
*How would I know?" The captain b.u.t.toned up his coat. *Their names have been scratched."
Sidney Grice looked at me, then turned back to the captain. *And you are absolutely certain that they are no longer booked on this ship?"
*They had better not be," the captain said. *Their cabin has been occupied by a Chinaman and his cats, and I do not think they want to share."
*What time do you sail?" I asked.
The captain looked at his half-hunter and said, *In about six hours, providing you keep out of my way and this fog lifts enough."
*Eight o"clock?"
*Thereabouts."
*Do you know what time the shipping office opens?" I asked.
*About the same time, I should think. How would I know?"
My guardian gave him a long hard look and said, *It is still a capital offence to conceal a murderer. Even if you are doing it unwittingly, at the very least you will lose your master"s licence. If I find out you are lying I can get a police launch to you long before you leave territorial waters."
The captain looked coldly back at him and said, *I would give up my pension to have you serving under my command."
*I would rather sail off the edge of the earth," my guardian said.
*I would rather he did too," the inspector whispered and Sidney Grice turned sharply.
*Stand still," I said, and brought out my handkerchief to wipe the soot off his face.
67.
The Booking Office The booking office was closed when we arrived at ten to eight. It stood on a cobbled alley which sloped down to the jetty. Sidney Grice paced outside the door for half a minute, then hammered with his fist.
*Open up." But the room through the etched-gla.s.s window was in darkness.
The Aphrodite had sailed early at seven, but my guardian hardly glanced at it as it glided through the lifting fog down the river. It was of no more interest to him now than the little girl who begged a copper from me for the baby sister she carried in a canvas bag.
The voyage to India was awful. My father and I were not good sailors and the seas were rough from the start. We sailed with the troops. The Jenny Brown was overcrowded and there was an outbreak of cholera. Forty men died before we reached Cape Town. We unloaded the sick and continued round the tip of Africa where nature rose in a fury against us, roaring winds and tumbling cliffs of foaming water. The sails were lowered and for four days and nights (though we could not tell the difference) our ship was thrown helpless as a stick in a weir. My father tied me to my bunk where I lay listening to the screams and crashes of the warring oceans a the Atlantic battling to throw us out and the Indian to throw us back. The boards of our ship squealed in the agony of being stretched apart, the frothing black water forcing in between them before they snapped back into place.
Three crew members, we were told later, were washed overboard. *Sailors never learn to swim," my father told me. *Why take hours to drown when you can do it in a minute? Death can be kind if you allow him to be a sometimes."
*Open up." Sidney Grice banged on the door again and the gla.s.s pane rattled, but the lights stayed down.
*In a hurry, are you?" Neither of us had noticed the small, smartly clad lady who came up behind us.
*Yes, I am," my guardian said, *but the fool of an agent will not open the door."
*Perhaps you are stopping the fool of an agent getting to the door," the woman suggested, and gently pushed between us to slip her key into the lock. *We are not due to open for another five minutes, but you had better come in before you ruin the paintwork."
It was a large room with several unoccupied desks, each with a green-chimneyed oil lamp. The lady lit one of them and offered us seats across a desk from her.
*What time does your employer get here?" Sidney Grice tapped his cane on the floor.
*My employer never gets here." The lady swivelled in her chair. *For I have none. It is my husband"s name over the door because, being a mere woman, I cannot easily own a business, but he is no more than a sleeping partner and, believe me, my husband is very good at sleeping. They could exhibit him in the Crystal Palace and the crowds could gawp all day without disturbing him."
I said, *So you are..."
*Mrs Woodminster." The lady nodded. *What urgent business brings you here?"
*I am on the trail of a murderess," my guardian said and Mrs Woodminster blinked. She had field-mouse eyes, tiny, bright and alert.
*I hope you do not suspect me." She took her gloves off and dropped them on the desk.
*We are looking for a Mrs Grace Dillinger," I said, and Mrs Woodminster shook her head and answered, *The name means nothing to me."
*But we have reason to believe that she booked a voyage through your office," my guardian said. *Perhaps one of the other people here dealt with her."
The lady"s eyes flicked about. *As you can see there are no other people working here, nor have there been for a long while. The small independent booking agent is a rare breed in these days of commercial gigantism, Mr..."
*Grice."
*Not Mr Sidney Grice?"
*Yes."
*Then I am delighted to meet you. I cannot wait to tell my friends that I a.s.sisted you in a murder enquiry."
*Well," my guardian told her, *you have failed to give me any a.s.sistance so far."
Mrs Woodminster"s face stiffened. *You asked me if a Mrs Dillinger had booked a voyage through my office and I informed you that she had not. I would remember if a single lady had made her own booking. I have never known a lady to do so, and in the case of married couples the husband usually attends to such matters on his own."
*Do couples ever come to your office together?" I asked and my guardian shot a glance at me.
*We are not looking for a couple."
*There was a couple recently." Mrs Woodminster opened a drawer and brought out some crochet work. *And they were highly unusual."
*I dare say they were," Sidney Grice said.
*In what way?" I asked, and my guardian shifted restlessly.
*In many ways." Mrs Woodminster picked up a short broad needle. *Firstly, the fact that they came together. Secondly, the wife did almost all the talking."
*Sounds like any other wife to me," my guardian said.
*Not in matters of business." She selected a bobbin of thread. It was yellow. *Thirdly..."