Early the next morning, a knock roused Evette from her sleep. She slipped into one of Claire’s old wraps and went to answer her bedroom door.
Mr. Franke stood in the hallway. “Monsieur McDougall is here to see you. He’s waiting in the parlor.”
“Thank you. I’ll be right there.”
Evette dressed, then brushed and pinned up her hair. She supposed it was fair that McDougall had disturbed her sleep; she’d done the same to him the night before.
The Donovans’ new cook had already brought coffee and rolls into the parlor when Evette arrived. McDougall brushed a few crumbs from his hands and stood to greet her.
“I apologize for waking you, but I have something urgent.”
“What is it?”
“No one came to retrieve the note.”
“They probably checked while I was watching his home or reporting to you.”
McDougall nodded. “Aye. And we questioned the man we nabbed last night, but we do not believe he is the mastermind.”
“He’s in the middle? Taking orders from someone else and passing them on to the saboteurs?”
“Yes. He bribed the guards, hired the saboteur, and learned the train schedule. He admitted to working for the League.”
Evette took a seat. “Did he say who his contact with the League is?”
“No. Said the man always contacts him, not the other way around. We will continue to question him, but I have a feeling that even if we find the saboteur and the guards, we won’t get the League man.”
“So it’s a dead end.”
“Perhaps. I have one idea, but it is rather a long shot. The man we arrested had a dog. I want you to take it for a walk. See if it recognizes anyone coming to visit his master. I shall arrange to have backup nearby to assist if the dog finds our man for us.”
“All right.”
“I need to coordinate a few things, but I will meet you in an hour. Anything earlier would be uncivilized.” McDougall glanced at his watch. “Which means I disturbed your sleep at a rather uncivilized hour, but I shall make it up to you, I promise.”
McDougall took another roll and let himself out. Evette looked at breakfast, but she had no appetite.
She remembered Claire’s desire to help and stood, leaving breakfast untouched. On her way to her friend’s room, Evette almost bumped into Mr. Donovan when she came around a corner too quickly. “I’m sorry, sir.”
“Don’t mention it. I have an early meeting, but will you tell Claire I’ll try to join her for supper?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Thank you.” He smiled his gratitude.
When Evette knocked on Claire’s door, she heard a sleepy voice telling her to come in.
Claire was still fastening the tie on her robe when Evette entered. “I hope you were involved in something exciting yesterday. You missed the best dessert I’ve had in ages.”
“I was catching a saboteur.”
Claire’s jaw dropped.
“But there are a few of his friends to catch still, if you’d like to help. I need to walk a dog.”
* * *
McDougall was waiting with a leashed terrier when the women arrived. His lips turned down when he recognized Claire.
Evette spoke first. “She offered to help, sir. I thought if we switched off it would look less suspicious.”
“Perhaps, but don’t let Captain Flynn know I’ve dragged you into espionage. If he finds out, he may never speak to me again.”
Claire’s eyes widened in mock innocence. “Why should Warren care if I get involved in a little spying? One of the reasons Evette came to live with me was to help relieve boredom. Besides, the United States is bound to declare war soon. I want to help my country.”
McDougall hesitated before answering. “I supposed this assignment is safe enough. Two gendarmes are waiting in the man’s rooms, watching through the window to see if the dog recognizes anyone. I would appreciate your report when all is finished, Mademoiselle Touny.”
“Yes, sir.”
When McDougall was out of earshot, Claire put her hand on one hip. “The last time I saw him, I was certain he fancied you, but today he seems cold.”
“I doubt he slept much last night. He oversaw the arrest, then he helped question the man they caught.”
Claire bent down to scratch behind the dog’s ears. The terrier yipped cheerfully. “I wonder what sort of questioning they do.”
“Nothing we want to know about.”
Claire frowned. “We shan’t think of it, then. And a great deal of romance novels have heroes who appear cranky at first. No doubt McDougall is simply hiding his feelings.”
Evette chuckled. She’d long ago learned not to argue with Claire about romance.
They spent the morning walking the dog back and forth along the street in front of the saboteur’s home. At first they went together, then they took turns while one of them took a break on a nearby bench. By noon, the dog needed a rest.
“Come on, boy,” Claire said. “Don’t you want to walk a little longer?”
The dog lay on the new spring grass and put its head on its front paws.
Clair sighed and sat beside Evette. “Fiddlesticks. I suppose you’ll have to tell McDougall the dog stopped cooperating.”
“Maybe he needs a nap.”
“Maybe.”
They sat there for perhaps a half hour, watching people pass by. The puppy ignored them all. Finally, a hatless man in a well-worn suit coat walked past them. The puppy wagged his tail and stood, then trotted to the man, who looked from the dog to the women and then back again.
“Do you know this puppy, sir?” Evette asked. “We found him wandering about, and we’re trying to find his owner.”
The man bent and picked up the dog. “Yes, I know where this one belongs. I’ll take him if you like.”
Evette handed over the leash, wondering if she was handing it to the saboteur or to the League man. It felt dishonest, trapping him this way, but soldiers like her brother were desperate. If this man really planned to destroy a train full of munitions, he was a traitor and had to be stopped. She forced a smile. “Thank you, sir.”
“You’re welcome.”
Evette and Claire watched the man walk into the row home. Ten minutes later, he came out under arrest.
“I almost feel sorry for him,” Claire said. The dog came out after the gendarmes and their prisoner, but the men ignored the animal. “And I do feel sorry for the dog. It’s not his fault his previous master was a traitor. Do you think McDougall would mind if I took him home with me?”
“I’ll ask.”
Claire scooped up the puppy. “I’ll bring him with me for now. I doubt he’s been fed, and we wore the poor little thing out.”
The two of them walked back to the Donovan manor. From there, Evette took her bicycle to McDougall’s office to make her report.
“We found a man, sir. I have no proof that he’s involved, but he knew the puppy. I suppose the gendarmes will report to you soon.”
McDougall closed a file of papers and locked it in a desk drawer. “Well done, Evette. Thank you.”
Evette’s eyes had wandered to the window, but she turned back to him sharply. McDougall had never called her by her first name before.
“I didn’t mean to be forward. But I thought perhaps we were on friendly enough terms to call each other by our given names. If you prefer Mademoiselle Touny, I shall continue to call you that. But in either case, please call me Howard.”
“Evette would be fine, sir. I mean, Howard.”
He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I still need to monitor the arrest at the train station, but hopefully after that, things will calm down. I will fill you in tomorrow. You can take the rest of the day off.”
“Claire was hoping to keep the puppy. Did you have other plans for it?”
“She can have it. If I need it again, I shall know where to find it, eh?”
When Evette returned to the Donovan manor, the little terrier was a firmly established resident. Evette heard Claire’s giggles from the front parlor the instant she stepped inside.
“You’re back.” Claire grinned when she saw Evette. “I think our little puppy will be a perfect fit here. He took an instant liking to Papa.”
“Just remember the dog is your responsibility,” Mr. Donovan said with an indulgent smile.
“You already told me that, Papa.”
“Yes, but last time you had a puppy, I ended up doing most of the work.”
“That was thirteen years ago!”
Mr. Donovan laughed. “Yes, I suppose you deserve another chance.”