46

Monday, June 21

James, Elizabeth, and I were all appropriately attired for the occasion and waiting outside the dean’s office when the Very Reverend Robert Gregory arrived. A robust man in his sixties, on the day before the most important day in his position he had no time for unannounced visitors.

“Who are you, what do you want, and why should I care?” he said. “I’m usually not an ogre, but I’ve no time for pleasantries today.”

James produced his badge and note from the police commissioner. “Then I’ll be blunt as well, Dean, and no offense to either side. I need to know if you’ve had any electrical work done in the cathedral recently.” The dean hesitated and began to speak, then caught himself and shook his head. “Sorry, Inspector, nothing affecting the cathedral in the last couple of years. If that’s all, I’ve work to do.” Without another word he entered his office and closed the door, the interview concluded.

I was grateful not to be in male attire at this moment, or my collar would have been too tight. “You’d think we were selling brushes door to door, not trying to save the queen!”

James shrugged and turned to Elizabeth. “Let this be an example. Not every clue leads to something. It was promising, and we were right to pursue it, but never pin your hopes on just one piece of information solving the case.”

I suspected this lecture was as much for my benefit as Elizabeth’s, and I suddenly understood one reason James attracted me so. He was kind, patient, and sensitive to the feelings of others. Perhaps that last quality made him not only a better man but a better detective. My anger faded as I looked at him. It was a dead end, but no matter. We would go forward . . . together.

“What do we do now, Father?”

“Might as well go to the roof and see the view.”

“Oh, let’s!” Elizabeth said. “That would be wonderful, don’t you think, Margaret?”

“I think you two intrepid detectives can do quite well without me as my knees are bothering me and the climb would be tiring. There is a café on the north side of the plaza. I can await you there and save you both a seat. You can wave at me if you like. Will that do?”

Elizabeth paused, “Yes, of course.” She gave me a sympathetic glance, and I could see my secret fear of heights was safe with her.

“Now go off and climb mountains. You know where to find me when you return to a sensible height.”

Elizabeth and James went off to find the stairs and as they turned to go, she slipped her hand into her father’s for just a moment. I noticed he stood a little taller as they made their way off.

Elizabeth was stunned by the view. The roofs of the buildings facing the cathedral across the plaza were covered with wooden bleachers, the carpenters making final adjustments here and there. Vendors for the rental of cushions were setting up their booths, and another for the rental of opera glasses was putting the finishing touches on his kiosk. In the plaza below, officers and sergeants were going through their maneuvers, their troops dismissed. All troops had to do was obey orders. Those who gave them had to know their business, however.

Elizabeth suddenly understood, in a way she could not explain, how an empire that spread across the world would be completely focused on this small space for a moment. That moment would then pass, and that power and attention would diffuse back to the globe it inhabited. She was standing on the tip of a needle wielded by a giant that briefly knit the world together.

“Being a detective is the grandest thing in the world,” she sighed. “Solving puzzles all day, stopping criminals. What fun!”

James shook his head. “There’s satisfaction, yes, but you can’t lose sight of why you’re employed. Our assassin is from Germany. Relations between us are tense already due to the status of British citizens in South Africa. The Kaiser recently congratulated the Boers for putting down a rebellion by our people, and that did not sit well in the House of Commons, I can tell you. If Ott were to murder Queen Victoria literally before the eyes of the entire British Empire, the calls for war would be unstoppable. We aren’t chasing this man merely for sport, but to save a life, and thereby potentially thousands of others.”

“Sorry, Father. It’s just so exciting to be with you and to help, in some small way.”

James placed his hand on his daughter’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. “It has been hard on you, hasn’t it? You’ll be grown soon enough. I promise to be the father you once knew, as long as you’re mine to care for.”

Elizabeth stood silent beside him, her head leaning against his shoulder, with only the pigeons of the cathedral as witnesses.

James’s thoughts returned to the problem at hand. He looked left toward the boarding school, but the trees between the school and the plaza blocked his view of the second-floor window. He noted the roof was flat on the right, southern end, but would be in plain sight from the roofs of adjacent buildings. No hiding place for a sniper there. Plus, the statue of Queen Anne and its massive column would partially block the view. No. The roof was no threat. He considered. No harm in looking, though.

He started to turn for the stairs when he remembered Margaret. He looked off to his right, and there she was in her bright blue dress.

He waved, and she waved back. He reached for Elizabeth’s hand and they headed for the stairs back down.

Freddy Cummings could no longer hide his condition. Even the choirmaster could not fail to note his flushed face and shivering. He was sent to his room with the school nurse, Mrs. Foster. Freddy bawled at not being able to see the queen, so the nurse moved him to the bed on the second floor, next to the window. “Tomorrow,” she said, “If you’re up for it, I can prop you up and you can watch the whole affair.” Freddy sniffed, but allowed how that might be acceptable, under the circumstances.

His fever was one hundred and three, and his cough was deep and troubling. Mrs. Foster reached for the bottle with a cherubic little girl clutching a puppy on it: Doctor Seth’s Cough Killer had never failed to stop a child’s cough, and Freddy was soon fast asleep.

James decided to go directly to the school from the cathedral to save the walk to Margaret and doubling back. James knew Elizabeth would be denied entry as even female family members were not allowed inside.

“I’ll go back to Margaret and wait for you there,” she said. “Don’t be long! Ladies don’t like to be kept waiting.”

James choked back a reply on the last bit of wisdom. As he trudged to the boarding school, his mind was fixed on the roof as a sniper’s platform. As he drew near and walked beneath the tree limbs, he noted windows on the first and second floors on the corner. Best see to those, too.

The custodian was taking his ease at the reception area when he walked in. With the boys practicing at all hours, they weren’t present long enough to generate much rubbish or general disorder. As far as he was concerned, the Jubilee should be an annual event, like Christmas.

“Inspector Ethington, Scotland Yard,” James said. “I’d like a look at your roof as a security precaution for the ceremony.”

The old man shrugged and pulled out a large ring of keys. “Very well, Inspector. I keep the door to the roof tightly locked, so my little hellions can’t drop things on passersby.”

They talked as they climbed the three flights up to the small steel door. “I imagine you’ll be catching the view from here on the big day, eh?” James asked.

“Aye, me and the missus, and the rest of the staff. We’ll have a view you’d pay twenty-five guineas for in the main square.”

“How many people, all together?”

“Why do you ask, Inspector? Planning on joining us?”

“Please, just answer my question.”

“Twenty folks, or thereabouts.”

The old man had averted his eyes, and James understood. The custodian had entered into some free enterprise and had sold a few spaces on the roof.

“How many staff, and how many paying guests? I won’t tell the dean. I just need to be assured there will be a goodly number of people here.”

The custodian relaxed. “Then you’ve got naught to worry about, Inspector. I reckoned we’d have room for about forty people, all standing.”

“Good. Let’s see the space.”

James was even more relieved when he saw the roof for himself. The door let out onto a small terrace with rails on two sides. There was a limited view through the trees between the school and the steps, but a sniper would have a difficult time of it. The other half of the roof would give a clearer shot but was steeply pitched and in plain view. No chance there.

“I’m satisfied, but to be sure, I’ll leave a bobby at the entrance the day of the ceremony. Give your special guests a password, and my man will let them through. Fair enough?”

The custodian brightened. “Aye, fair enough. I was gonna lock the entrance, but if I did and the choirmaster sent a boy for something and couldn’t get in, I’d never hear the end of it. One less thing for me to worry about.”

“Just two more things, and I’ll be off.”

The custodian winced. “Yes, Inspector?”

“I noticed two windows, on the first and second floors, which also face the cathedral. I’d like a look at them.” James could tell by the man’s crestfallen state that he’d stumbled upon another source of income. “How many spaces did you sell for them?”

“You’re a hard man, Inspector. Five spaces per window, but I’ve had to give five their money back. One lad’s taken ill, and the nurse set him up by the window on the second floor. She’ll be there with him the entire time.”

“Very well, but I’ll have a look all the same. Let’s go.”

The first-floor window was high, and James had to climb to the top bunk to see out. Given the crowd, the height of the carriage and the surrounding horsemen, a sniper would have a near-impossible shot. Still, it was the best opportunity he’d seen yet.

At the entrance to the room on the second floor, the barrel-shaped Mrs. Foster blocked his way. “Freddy just fell asleep, and I’ll not have you waking him.”

James noted the bottle beside the bed. “Madam, if you gave the child a dose of that syrup, given the amount of alcohol and morphine it contains, I am incapable of waking him. I will not step on him, but I must see if an assassin could take a potshot at Her Majesty from this vantage point. Surely you understand the need for precautions.”

She glared but backed away. “Be gentle then, and quick.”

James eased himself up the ladder to the top bunk until he was teetering on the next to top rung. He looked out the window. The angle was good. High enough to clear the crowd, low enough to be beneath the boughs of the trees, and far enough to the right so that the statue of Queen Anne didn’t block the view. If I were a sniper, this is where I’d be.

James carefully clambered back down and was relieved Freddy didn’t stir. Nurse Foster’s protective instincts were fully aroused and given her dimensions, he didn’t care to anger her further. “You’ll be here the entire time of the ceremony, with the boy?” he asked.

“Aye. Freddy so wanted to see the queen, so I put him here. We’ll watch the whole ceremony together.”

“Very well, Miss, I’ll leave you two alone. I hope your patient gets better soon.”

“It’s Missus, sir, thank you very much. He’ll pull through. These rascals always do.”

I’d best make that two bobbies at the entrance! James thought. I’d rather catch him, but if I can scare him off, I’ve done my duty. He wished the forbidding Mrs. Foster a good day and retreated from her lair. If all else fails, she’ll make an excellent guardian.

James was deep in thought as he exited the building and failed to notice the clumsy Russian across the street. Herman had been doing his own surveillance. The Inspector’s sudden interest in the boarding school worried him, but there was no place else to go. Whatever measures the man put in place, he’d have to deal with them. He shook his head. How many lives must I take before I kill an old woman? Where does it end? He ran his hand over his face. When this is over, I’ll never touch a weapon again. I pray Immanuel can someday forgive me.

But he might need another weapon to deal with any security the inspector put in place, something small and silent. He remembered a reference in a penny dreadful about a cat burglar. Yes, that would do perfectly. The afternoon shadows were lengthening but he still had time if he hurried. Soon he was back at the Dog’s Head. He wasn’t sure how welcome he’d be, but it was the only place he knew where he might find a seller for what he wanted.

He saw two men at the end of the bar. One sported a black eye patch and the other wore a shabby topcoat, and Herman recognized them as some of Keys Malone’s hangers-on. He took a deep breath and strode up. “Good evening, gentlemen. May I buy you two a drink?”

The two men sported a week’s beard each, and likely at least that much filth, so they grinned at the title “gentlemen.” Still, a drink was a drink.

“Howie!” one said as he motioned to the barman. “Three ales. This gentleman is buyin’.”

The barman didn’t stir until Herman laid a half crown on the scarred wooden surface. Only then did he pour three mugs full of ale and bring them over. Once the man retreated and Herman’s two new friends downed a long pull of their ale, Herman got down to business.

“I need something I think you two may be able to help me find.”

“What’s that, eh?” said Eye Patch. “Keys warned us to keep away from you.” Eye Patch leaned in closer, “he didn’t say why.”

“You took my ale readily enough,” Herman pointed out. “I just need to know where I can buy a simple item. I’m in a hurry and willing to pay well for it.”

“What is it, then?” Topcoat asked. “We ain’t a bloody store now, are we?”

Herman laid down a five-pound note. “If you don’t mind, I’ll ask the questions.”

James returned to his ladies awaiting him at the café. “I’d best report in. I want two men posted at the entrance to the school. I’ll need to get that request in today, to ensure it happens, else I’ll be trapped there myself. I’ll see you two at home later.”

At Scotland Yard, he shared his concerns regarding the boarding school with Murdock. “The roof’s unlikely unless the custodian is an anarchist and can hold off a wave of sightseers on his own. The lower window would also be a poor choice, but the upper window might pose a risk. I’d like to post two men at the entrance to the school, if you’ll allow.”

Murdock frowned. “That’ll mean two less for crowd control. I’ll get some grief for that, but your two men will be there, though probably not too happy about it, given how they’ll miss the spectacle. Well, can’t be helped. Anything else?”

“Where do you want me tomorrow?”

The senior inspector leaned back to consider this. “Ott is our greatest threat. No one knows him like you do. I want you on the roof of the cathedral, looking for risks. Get some field glasses from the armory and scan the crowd, the windows, the rooftops. Look for anything out of the ordinary. I’ll have a police sergeant on both the east and west sides of the plaza, and if you see something, signal to them and point to the threat. Understood?”

“Aye, sir. It seems like a sound plan to me. I’ll be there.”

In the tumult of the preparations, Herman walked into the boarding school unchallenged and slipped down the stairs to the basement. He found his auxiliary switch as he’d left it and tripped it, thus grounding the main power line to the water pipe, then walked back outside into the general bustle. He was confident that when the light switches were turned on that night, the entire building would go dark. He’d be ready.

Police Constables McFadden and O’Reilly were called out of the evening muster by their sergeant. “I’ve got a very important assignment for you lot,” he said. “Coming direct from the Yard.”

“What’s that, sergeant?” McFadden asked. “Guard the queen’s jewels while she’s away?”

“Even better, lads. You’re to guard the entrance to the boarding school for the choir. Can’t be having anyone steal their sheet music while they’re serenading Her Majesty. Report there at seven o’clock tomorrow morning. Clear?”

“Aye, sergeant.” O’Reilly shrugged. “Pity, we’ll be missing all the excitement.”

Queen Victoria returned from Windsor Castle that afternoon and was impressed by the sea of Union Jacks and flowers covering the city. As she attended a state banquet that night, she chatted with the young man next to her, Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

“It is an honor to be included in your procession tomorrow, Your Highness,” he said. “I am still unsure what is to occur at the cathedral, however.”

“It shall be brief, sir. The entire procession shouldn’t take much over an hour, save the twenty minutes or so for the ceremony itself.” She noted his thick waist, “We shan’t be late for luncheon.”

The board was set, all the pieces in place. The opening move awaited nothing more than the pull of a switch.