“This may have been a mistake,” Higgins announced.
“How difficult can it be to find the center of a maze?”
“By definition, a maze is a puzzle solved by exploring its pathways.” He frowned. “Which could take hours.”
“We don’t have hours.” Eliza returned to one of the paths that wasn’t a dead end.
“Maybe we should figure out how this maze is laid out before we start exploring every opening. I mean it, Eliza. We’re running around here like one of those peacocks!”
“The maze is supposed to be in the shape of a rose. One of the paths leads to the right petal shape.”
“The blasted maze probably has dozens of paths. We should never have entered it without someone to guide us.” He cursed under his breath as Eliza set off down the pathway to their left. “We’re already lost. What if we run into Luther, who’s probably as lost as we are?”
She snapped her fingers. “You’re right. Why should he know how to get to the center of the maze any better than we do? Maybe he hasn’t found Clara and Richard. One of us needs to get there before he does.”
“One of us? We’re both in this maze.”
“That’s no reason for us to stay together.” She pointed at two pathways on either side, both lined with towering hedges. “You take one path, and I’ll take the other. This doubles our chances of finding Richard and Clara before Luther does.”
“Absolutely not. What if you find Luther? I won’t be there to protect you.”
She lifted up the six-inch long knife. “I’ve got this.”
“How will you fight off that madman with a cake knife?” Higgins said. “And stop running. You’re likely to trip and impale yourself on it.”
“Do you really think I’ve never carried a knife before? And with someone chasing me as well? Blimey, where do you think I was raised? Mayfair?”
“I don’t care what sort of improbable childhood you had, we’re sticking together. In fact, I advise we stay right here until Jack and his men reach us.”
“What if they get lost in the maze? I can’t let that monster hurt Clara, not if I can get—”
“Listen.” He held up his hand. “I think I hear voices. It could be Jack.”
But they were greeted only with the distant murmur of the reception guests.
His frustration grew. “Eliza, if we simply stay here, the police are sure to find us.”
“Then we should start yelling for them.” Before Eliza could say another word, a terrified scream sounded from somewhere in the maze.
“That sounds like Clara!” Eliza’s face paled.
“Clara, Richard!” Higgins shouted. “Where are you?”
Desperate to hear a response, he slowly turned around. Scanning the tops of the hedges, he hoped to see the greenery tremble with the approach of other maze visitors.
“I don’t hear a thing now.” With a defeated sigh, he looked over his shoulder at Eliza.
She was gone.
“Damnation! Eliza, where are you?” But he knew exactly where she was, running pell-mell down one of the pathways ... and waving a knife as well.
Hoping she had chosen the path to his right, Higgins darted through the privet arch, hoping to catch her. He’d never been in such a maddening place in his life. The pathway curved, then curved yet again. Although he was a tall man – well over six feet – the hedges were a good foot taller than he was. And they seemed as thick as concrete. All he could hear now were his feet hitting the moss covered paving stones beneath him.
Why would the killer strike again in a maze, especially one as complex as this one? It was far too easy to get lost in the damn thing. But Clara had screamed, which meant the bastard must have found them. Higgins turned down yet another green path. Who would know how to find the folly at the center of the maze? The Ashmore family, of course. And the servants, especially the gardeners and groundskeepers. He stopped.
After the Boer War, Smith’s father had been the groundskeeper. He would surely have known how to navigate the maze and might have revealed the secret to his son. Although now it seemed likely Thaddeus wasn’t actually the groundskeeper’s son. As Eliza pointed out, the portrait of the old baron in the entrance hall bore a strong resemblance to the red-haired organist. If Thaddeus were the natural son of Baron Ashmore, that explained why his education had been paid for by the old man. It might also be responsible for his deep-seated hatred of the family. After all, Thaddeus was born before any of the baron’s sons. If he’d not been illegitimate, the title and all the riches that went with it would belong to Thaddeus, not Richard. Was that enough for him to target the latest Baron Ashmore?
The privet hedge that lay before him suddenly shook. “Eliza, is that you?”
“Professor!” Jack’s voice sounded from the other side. “Stay there. We’ll find you!”
But another voice, one he recognized as Thaddeus Smith’s, broke in. “No. Keep walking north until the next fork, then turn left and wait, Professor.”
Higgins hurried forward, turning when the path split once again. Within minutes, Jack, Detective Ramsey, and Thaddeus Smith ran around the corner of the nearest hedge.
“Thank God,” Higgins said. “I thought I’d be spending the rest of the week trapped in this infernal maze.”
“We heard a scream,” Jack said.
“Where’s Miss Doolittle?” Ramsey looked about. “Did she scream?”
“No, she was with me when it happened. But you know Eliza. She took off down one of these paths, determined to find Clara.” He sighed. “She has a knife, too.”
Jack and Detective Ramsey exchanged worried glances. “Let’s hope she stays lost for awhile,” Jack said. “We have to get to the folly before she does. I don’t want her hurt by whatever is going on in there.”
Higgins looked over at Smith. “I assume you know how the maze is laid out.”
“My father taught me how to navigate the maze when I visited Banfield Manor. Follow me.” Smith set off through the maze, the other three men close on his heels. The fellow charged down one path, then another, with no sign of hesitation.
“Taral Misra told us he caught sight of a man entering the maze a few minutes before Richard and Clara went in. A man he thought was Luther. Then he informed us that you and Eliza had also entered the maze, which seemed like a recipe for disaster.” Jack sounded out of breath. No surprise. They were moving at a near run.
“We didn’t have much choice, Jack. Eliza was determined to help Clara and Richard. I don’t think it occurred to her that a maze would be so damned mazelike. I couldn’t let her come in here alone.”
“Which means you both got lost,” Ramsey remarked.
“That we did.” Higgins threw a look over his shoulder at the winding path behind him. It was as if every time they turned a corner, the hedges closed ranks behind them. “And I’m sure Eliza still is. We’ll have to send Mr. Smith after her next.”
“Assuming we ever find the center of this thing,” Jack muttered. “If these hedges weren’t so huge, we’d be able to see the top of that folly. The Dowager Baroness said it’s ten feet tall.”
“Never will understand the upper crust,” Ramsey said. “They build a fancy temple – a Hindu one, at that – then put it someplace hardly anyone can find.”
“Makes it more valuable, I guess,” Higgins said as the organist now veered to the right. “Smith, how much farther?”
He wondered if they should have trusted Thaddeus Smith. Then again, he’d been with the police when Clara screamed. So who – or what – had frightened the bride so much? A few yards after the last curve, the wall of hedges ended. In the sunlit center stood an elegant white stone edifice adorned with carved elephants. At last. They had reached the folly.
“Clara!” Higgins’s gaze swept over the wide grassy area surrounding the small building. All he saw were beds of flowers now reaching the end of their summer bloom.
“Richard and I are in here, Professor,” Clara called from inside the folly. “Stay away.”
The men threw confused glances at each other. “Are you both all right?” Higgins shouted.
“Is someone in there with you?” Jack asked. Although the folly was less than twenty feet in circumference, the stone-latticed walls didn’t allow them to see inside. Jack and Colin Ramsey began to creep closer. Higgins and Smith followed.
The murderer must be in the folly with the bridal couple. At least Clara was still alive. But was Richard already dead?
“Richard!” Higgins was close enough to the folly that he could see two figures standing next to each other inside. Was the killer holding Clara hostage after doing away with her unfortunate groom?
“I’m here too, Professor!”
Higgins felt a wave of relief when he heard Richard Ashmore’s voice.
“Is there anyone else in the folly with you?” he called.
“Yes,” Richard replied. “But – but I think he’s dead.”
At that, the detectives, Higgins, and Smith ran up the three steps of the folly. The newlyweds stood by a large stone pedestal in the center of the temple. Clara had her face pressed against her groom’s chest, one eye peeking out in obvious terror. Richard held her close with one arm, while with the other he held out his ceremonial sword.
“What is going on?” Higgins muttered.
The folly had only one entrance, and the latticed walls laced the interior with sun and shadows. No wonder he didn’t immediately see the prone figure of a man lying a few feet away. Higgins and Shaw started towards him, but Clara let out a shriek.
“Don’t move,” Richard warned, pointing the tip of his sword at the floor. “That’s an adder. They’re poisonous.”
A gray snake with a black zigzag pattern down its back lay coiled between them and the Ashmore couple. “Did the snake kill Luther?” Higgins asked, hardly daring to breathe.
“I don’t know who Luther is,” Richard said, his eyes never leaving the snake. “Unless you mean this poor devil on the floor. He was here when I arrived with Clara.”
Ramsey nodded. “That’s the suspect we’ve been looking for, all right.”
Thaddeus Smith cursed under his breath. “I wish we had a gun to shoot that adder.”
Higgins’s eyes had now grown accustomed to the shadowy interior, and he looked down at the unconscious man. With his face turned towards them, Higgins recognized the broken nose and craggy features of Luther North. Even with a poisonous snake a few feet away, he felt relieved. With Luther dead, no one would be murdered today.
“Was he alive when you got here?” Ramsey asked.
“Yes,” Clara said tearfully. “We found him on the floor. I thought he was some thief come to steal the jewelry Richard planned to give me. But he had already tossed the case aside.” She raised her head to look at them. “He wanted what was in the box instead.”
“Box?” Higgins and Jack said at the same time.
“That large wooden box on the floor beside him,” Richard said. “Looks like it contained gold coins, a few gemstones.” He paused. “The adder was still partially coiled in it when we arrived. The snake must have bit him. The man was unconscious on the floor when we walked inside. He was bleeding, too. I think he smashed his head open when he fell.”
“He scared me so much, I screamed,” Clara added.
“We didn’t see the snake at first,” Richard said, “otherwise we would never have come into the folly.”
Without warning, the snake uncoiled to its full length. Head now upraised, its black eyes focused on Higgins, Shaw, Ramsey, and Smith.
“Stand very still,” Richard said in a low voice. “If it sinks his fangs into you, that venom will act quick.”
But the snake seemed bent on attacking whether they moved or not. It shot towards them, as swift as a gray and black arrow. They didn’t have time to cry out before a whooshing sound filled the air. Richard had sliced the adder’s head off with his sword.
Clara moved first. She threw her arms around Richard, kissing him repeatedly. “You’re the bravest man I’ve ever met. The bravest, the most handsome, the dearest man.”
“He’s certainly the best swordsman in this group.” Higgins knelt down, grateful the blasted snake was dead.
“Let’s see about Mr. North.” Jack and Ramsey cautiously walked over to Luther.
“Are you sure you’re both all right?” Higgins asked the newlyweds.
Richard hugged Clara. “We’re fine. But I hoped for a better way to end our wedding.”
Thaddeus Smith cleared his throat. “You’re both alive. I can’t think of a better conclusion. Especially given what has occurred at the past few weddings.”
“Hear, hear. I’m just sorry your wedding was spoiled by a death.”
“He’s not dead, Professor,” Jack said. “In fact, he’s starting to regain consciousness.”
“Maybe the adder isn’t poisonous,” Ramsey suggested.
“Adders are the only poisonous snakes in England,” Richard said. “The gardeners on the estate have been instructed to kill them.”
“Poisonous doesn’t always mean deadly.” Smith nudged the decapitated snake with his foot. “My father was groundskeeper here. He got bit by an adder once. Made him beastly ill. If he survives, that fellow may wish he was dead.”
“He can do all his wishing in prison.” Jack pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his pocket. He and Ramsey rolled Luther onto his back and clamped the cuffs on his wrists.
“Liars,” Luther moaned. “Everyone lies to me.”
“Who lied?” Jack shook him. “And why did you come to the maze?”
Luther began to shudder. Then he jerked to one side and became violently ill. He’d be lucky to survive the next few hours, but Higgins felt no sympathy for the man. Not with the memory of Pearl Palmer being pulled from the Thames with a knife in her back.
“What’s this?” Ramsey had been going through Luther’s jacket and pulled out a piece of paper.
Jack took the paper from him and unfolded it. “It’s a map of the maze,” he said. “And there’s a note: ‘Your share of the treasure will be left in the folly. To escape notice, retrieve it at half past one. The bridal couple are cutting the cake at that time, and no one will notice that anyone has entered the maze. This fulfills our agreement. Our association is now at an end.’”
“Is there a signature?” Higgins asked.
“No. But whoever wrote this note did indeed lie to Luther. The wedding program clearly states the bride and groom would cut the cake at two o’clock after they returned from the maze. Sending Luther here at the same time as Richard and Clara meant he was certain to be caught red-handed with part of the treasure.”
“The adder was probably placed in the box as insurance,” Higgins said. “The ideal scenario was for Luther to be found dead.”
“He might be if he doesn’t get medical attention soon,” Thaddeus cautioned.
“Mr. Smith, please guide Detective Ramsey out of the maze as quickly as possible,” Jack said. “I need more of my men in here, as well as a stretcher. I want the full story out of Luther, and that won’t happen if he ends up dead or in a coma.”
Smith and Ramsey ran out of the folly.
With a tearful look at Luther North convulsing on the floor, Clara hugged Richard even tighter. “This is all so dreadful. He might die right in front of us.”
“Don’t feel sorry for him, Clara,” Higgins said. “He killed Pearl Palmer. And probably Ambrose Farrow and Clyde Winterbottom, too. He’s far more dangerous than any adder. You’re both lucky to be alive.”
“The note proves he was only in the folly to retrieve that box,” Richard said. “Although he may well have done away with us if he hadn’t already been bitten by the snake.”
Higgins turned his attention to the open box on the stone floor. Several gold coins lay scattered about; he picked one up. He’d read enough of Pickering’s scholarly work to know the inscription on it was Sanskrit. But there were no more than eight gold coins in sight. A topaz brooch in the shape of a monkey also lay on the floor and a pearl studded diadem. Having seen Ashmore’s Hindu collection, Higgins knew these pieces must be part of the Temple of Parvati. But what was in the box did not add up to anything valuable enough to kill for. If Luther came here to steal from the collection, why not take more?
“It looks like he’s stolen some of your pieces from the Parvati temple.”
“None of that came from my father’s collection, Professor. For one thing, all the gold coins were lost in the Bay of Bengal. And there was never a pearl diadem kept here.”
“It’s part of that missing treasure then. The treasure Ambrose Farrow hid, and Luther was trying to find.”
“I knew that treasure was cursed!” Clara grabbed Richard by the lapels.
“Shhh, darling.” He kissed her on the forehead. “We’ll discuss this later.”
Jack joined Higgins. “I thought the missing treasure was worth a fortune. What’s here would only garner a few hundred quid at most.”
Higgins stared down at Luther, who seemed in a desperate state. They’d not get a coherent story from him anytime soon. “He was lured to the folly by whoever does know the location of the treasure. The same person who left the box and the snake. Even though the evidence proves Luther killed Miss Palmer, there may be another murderer running free.”
Clara’s eyes grew wide. “What if he’s still here?”
Higgins felt a chill go up his spine. Like Clara, he suspected the killer might be somewhere in the maze.
So was Eliza.