The Mystery Woman (18 page)

I
don’t understand, Josh,” Hannah said. “Why are you and Beatrice leaving the train here in Upper Dixton? We won’t reach London for another hour and a half. This is nothing more than a small village.”

Beatrice looked out the rain-streaked windows as the train pulled into the small station. There were only three people waiting on the platform. They were all huddled under umbrellas. The rain was unrelenting. It was late afternoon but the storm had brought on an early twilight.

The news that the body of one of the local fishermen had been discovered on the beach had reached Alverstoke Hall just as she and the others were preparing to leave for the railway station. Lord Alverstoke and almost everyone else had been shocked by word of another mysterious death in the vicinity coming, as it did, on the heels of the murder in the antiquities chamber.

Joshua was the only one who had not exhibited surprise.
“He got rid of the oarsman”
had been his only comment. It was clear that he had been expecting the news.

“Miss Lockwood and I are stopping here because I am convinced that there is a high probability that we are being followed,” Joshua said to Hannah.

He was on his feet, pulling his black bag down from the luggage rack. Beatrice waited in the aisle outside the private compartment, her large satchel gripped in one hand, an umbrella in the other. Joshua had informed her that they could not afford to be burdened by her traveling trunk.

She had been as surprised as Hannah and Sally by Joshua’s sudden announcement a few minutes earlier. He had not informed them of his plan to depart the train in Upper Dixton until shortly before they arrived. She wondered if he had made his plans before they even boarded at the Alverstoke railway station forty-five minutes ago. Really, the man needed lessons in communication.

But she concluded that this was not the time to lecture him on the subject. The icy intensity that swirled around Joshua had set her own nerves on edge. She knew that he believed that she was in danger. He was no doubt convinced that his conclusion was founded on cold logic and his knowledge of his opponent. But she suspected it was his intuition, not sound reasoning, that was riding him so hard. Either way it all came to the same end. If Joshua feared that someone was planning to snatch her at the first opportunity, it was best to assume that he was right.

“I beg your pardon, sir,” Sally said. “But how does a person follow a train?”

“Think about it from the follower’s point of view,” Joshua said. “If someone watched us buy tickets for London, as I suspect, that individual will be convinced that he knows our destination. He will lower his guard and tell himself that he can simply pick up the trail at the other end—in London.”

“Yes, I see what you mean, sir,” Sally said. “What a chilling thought.”

“I sent a telegram to Nelson before we boarded,” Joshua said. “He will meet you at the station in London. He has instructions to watch for any indication that someone suspicious is waiting there or if a suspicious person alights from the train.”

Alarm sparked in Hannah’s eyes. “Do you suppose the watcher is even now on this very same train?”

“It’s possible,” Joshua said. “Which is why Beatrice and I will wait on board until the last possible moment. If he does attempt to get off at that point to follow us, he will expose himself immediately. It will be easy enough to spot him in this small railway station.”

“He will know that,” Beatrice pointed out. “This is a very tiny village, as Hannah said. Very few people will get off here. Strangers in town are bound to stand out.”

“Precisely,” Joshua said. “In his shoes, I would stay on board until the next stop and then try to work my way back to Upper Dixton by private cab. By then, we will be gone.”

“Where are you going?” Hannah asked.

“We will hire a cab to take us to the next village, and from there we will go on to London.” Joshua smiled his cold smile. “It will be interesting to see if we pass him on the road.”

“It all sounds very complicated,” Hannah said uneasily.

“The trick to losing a watcher is to put yourself in the one place he cannot watch,”
Joshua said.
“His blind spot is always behind him.”

Beatrice raised her brows. “Is that another quote from Mr. Smith?”

“Sorry, I’m afraid so,” Joshua said.

Hannah’s mouth tightened in grim disapproval. “That dreadful Victor Hazelton.”

“I am aware of your opinion of the man,” Joshua said. He looked at Beatrice. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” she said.

He gripped his cane and started to move out of the compartment. Hannah put a hand on his arm to stop him. Her eyes were very serious.

“You do realize what you are doing by leaving this train alone with Beatrice,” she said in low tones. “I am aware that you are taking measures to ensure her safety, however—”

“Do not concern yourself, Hannah.” His voice was equally soft. “I know what I am about.”

Hannah looked at him a few seconds longer and then glanced once more at Beatrice. Evidently satisfied, she sat back against the cushions.

“Be careful, both of you,” she said. “We will be waiting in London.”

Beatrice got the feeling that she had just missed something in the conversation, but there was no time to analyze the situation. Joshua was urging her to move quickly along the narrow corridor. He followed her to the door.

“Now,” he said.

She descended the steps just as the conductor turned to put them up and jump aboard. He regarded her and Joshua with surprise.

“I beg your pardon, ma’am, sir, but this isn’t your stop,” he said. “You’re for London.”

Beatrice summoned up a reassuring smile and raised her umbrella against the rain. “Change of plans, I’m afraid.”

“But your luggage, ma’am.”

Joshua put on his hat and came down the steps. “Arrangements have been made to collect the rest of our bags in London. My wife and I have decided to do some sightseeing here in Upper Dixton.”

The words
my wife
sent a small shockwave through Beatrice. By the time she had collected herself she and Joshua were on the platform, the conductor was on board, the door was closed and the train was pulling out of the station.

Beatrice turned to Joshua in disbelief, alarm stirring as it dawned on her just what that last exchange between Joshua and Hannah might have been about. None of her previous clients had ever been concerned about her reputation. She was a private inquiry agent, after all, not a high-ranking lady. The goal was to get her out of the house as soon as the investigation was completed.

But Joshua was not paying any attention to her. He was watching the doors of the railway carriages, waiting to see if anyone else elected to get off at the last possible moment.

Steam hissed. The train gathered speed. It rumbled out of the station and disappeared into the heavy mist.

“It appears that the watcher, if there is one, remained on board,” Beatrice ventured.

“So it seems,” Joshua said. He looked at the lone cab waiting in the street. The driver was hunched under a heavily caped coat and low-crowned hat. The horse stood stoically, one hoof cocked, head lowered against the steady downpour. “With luck this cab will take us to the next village.”

The driver looked down from the box. “Can I help ye, sir?”

“The motion of the train was making my wife ill so we wish to travel to the next town by cab.”

“Sorry, sir, afraid that’s not possible.” The driver sounded genuinely regretful. “The roads are rivers of mud. No one’s leaving Upper Dixton by cab until this rain stops. Next train is tomorrow morning.”

“In that case, we’ll need an inn for the night,” Joshua said. “Can you suggest one?”

“There’s two in town, sir. I recommend the Blue Fox. It’s clean. Decent food.”

“The Blue Fox it is.”

Joshua opened the cab door and tossed both bags inside. Then he ushered Beatrice up the steps. She folded her umbrella and went through the small door. Joshua followed and sat down across from her. The cab rolled forward down the village’s only street.

Joshua looked at Beatrice.

“I’m sorry about this,” he said brusquely. “I should have anticipated the possibility that the weather would interfere with my plans.”

“As a professional investigator myself, I am well aware that one cannot plan for every contingency.”

She was astonished by her own calm demeanor. But then, she was a professional, she reminded herself.

Joshua exhaled slowly and looked out the window. “You do realize that this means we will have to share a room tonight.”

“The inn might have two rooms available,” she ventured.

“We are posing as a married couple,” he reminded her. “It will not look right if we stay in separate rooms. Regardless, I do not want you out of my sight tonight.”

“I understand that you are very concerned for my safety, but that assassin has no reason to kill me.”

Joshua looked grim. “Perhaps not, but it is obvious that he is intent on kidnapping you.”

“It is difficult to believe that someone is still obsessed with Miranda the Clairvoyant after all this time. It makes no sense.”

“Lancing or whoever has his notebooks wants you because he is convinced that your paranormal talents are real.”

“What do my talents have to do with this?”

“I have a theory,” Joshua said. “It is only a theory at this point but everything thus far indicates that it is correct. I believe that Lancing or someone else has succeeded in re-creating the formula for the Egyptian Water.”

“Even if that is true, why would this madman want me?”

“When I told you the story this morning I did not explain one aspect of the case. Lancing and Emma were convinced that the statue of Anubis was the key to activating the special properties of the Egyptian Water.”

“I understand, but what does that have to do with me?”

“They believed that only a woman with a paranormal talent could channel the power of the statue into the preservative formula to ignite it.”

“Good grief.”

“At the time they planned to use Emma to focus the energy of the statue,” Joshua said. “They were both convinced that she had paranormal talents. But she is dead, so Lancing is looking for another woman he believes possesses psychical powers. For some reason he has fixed on you.”

“But why me and why now? A full year has passed. Why hasn’t he settled on some other practitioner? There are any number of them.”

“I expect he has tried to find a replacement.” Joshua smiled grimly. “But no doubt they all proved to be frauds. For whatever reason, he is convinced that you are genuine.”

She shuddered. “He is truly mad, isn’t he?”

“There is no doubt. Which is what leads me to believe that it is Lancing we are dealing with. What are the odds that a second madman found his notebooks?”

“I have no idea. I’ve never been good at probability theory.”

She knew she sounded tense. She could not help it. The knowledge that a madman was intent on kidnapping her was disturbing enough. The realization that she would be spending the night in the same room with Joshua was almost as unnerving. But the trepidation was laced with a stirring of excitement. What would happen? she wondered. Perhaps the more pertinent question was, what did she want to happen?

“Please believe me when I say that I never intended to put you in this position,” Joshua continued quietly. “I realize that the thought of spending the night in the same bedroom with a man who is not your husband must be extremely alarming, but I give you my solemn oath that I would never—”

“Oh, for pity’s sake, do stop apologizing,” she said briskly. “I am well aware of how things can go wrong in the course of an investigation. And I know that you would never take advantage of me. You are an honorable man, sir, a true gentleman. I do not fear for my virtue.”

For all the good my virtue has done me,
she added silently.

“Your reputation will be safe, as well,” he continued, as though he had not heard her. “No one will know your true identity tonight. Naturally I will sign the register with another name.”

“Not a problem, sir. I am quite accustomed to playing a role.”

“Yes, I know,” he said.

This new, excruciating politeness between them was as brittle as glass, Beatrice thought. She was not the only one who was on edge because of the prospect of sharing the same room tonight. For some reason, the knowledge that Joshua was uneasy about the plan was oddly reassuring, almost amusing.

There followed another uneasy silence. Beatrice searched for a safe topic of conversation.

“The rain appears to be getting heavier,” she ventured. “One cannot even see as far as the end of the street.”

“True,” Joshua agreed. “But on the positive side, this sort of weather is bound to complicate life for whoever is following us.”

She watched the rain for a time. “If Lancing is alive and if he is going to all this trouble to find me, including taking the risk of bringing you out of retirement, he must have a very good motive.”

“Yes.”

She clasped her hands together. “You believe that he managed to preserve Emma Hazelton’s body in the Egyptian Water and that now he plans to revive her, don’t you?”