Chapter Fourteen #2
She didn’t have much time. There was a jewellery box on the bedside table.
Sparks flipped it open to find the usual assortment of earrings, hairpins and a necklace.
There were no secret compartments that she could discern.
She was about to close the box when one pair of earrings caught her attention.
They weren’t made from any precious metal, nor did they hold any gemstones. They had small, thin metal hooks at their ends and were bedecked with soft filaments – no, fragments of feathers that had been dyed yellow and pink, which flowed in the air as she picked them up like—
Like wings.
Rather pretty, she thought as she replaced them.
She closed the door behind her, hoping Lowle would blame its unlocked status on Mrs Cowell, then returned to the bathroom and flushed the toilet. She ran the water in the sink for a moment to complete the performance, then went down the stairs to rejoin the others.
‘Sorry I took so long, Mrs Chesworth,’ she said apologetic-ally. ‘Something I ate last night disagreed with my innards something fierce. Mrs Cowell, you were a lifesaver. Thanks awfully.’
‘Not at all, dearie,’ said Mrs Cowell sympathetically.
‘I’ll be sure to call you soon with my decision,’ said Mrs Chesworth, rising to her feet. ‘You have been a most gracious hostess, Mrs Cowell. My thanks for your hospitality.’
‘It was nice to meet you, ladies,’ said Mrs Cowell. ‘I hope your cousin comes to join our little group soon.’
The two women exited into the street and walked away.
‘Any luck?’ asked Gwen.
‘I think so,’ said Iris. ‘I need to get to a telephone right away.’
Mrs Cowell’s place was on a side street off Theobalds Road. They found a telephone box on the corner. Iris looked up a number in her book, dropped a coin in the slot, then dialled. A moment later, a man answered.
‘It’s Sparks,’ she said.
‘Sparks?’ barked the Brigadier. ‘You’re not supposed to have this number.’
‘No time for that, sir. I need you to do something.’
‘Do you? May I remind you how the chain of command works here?’
‘I think I can crack the book code for the messages hidden in Danforth’s flat,’ she said. ‘Would that be of interest to you?’
‘Tell me how you got this number first.’
‘I was with Edwards when he rang you from the hospital, remember?’
‘He’s not supposed to let you see him dial.’
‘He didn’t,’ said Sparks. ‘But I know how to identify the numbers by listening to how long the dial takes to return to position. Satisfied?’
‘Useful trick,’ he said. ‘Fine. Tell me about the code.’
‘It’s Thucydides, but you had the wrong translation and edition,’ she said, pulling out her notebook. ‘You were using the Crawley. Try the Jowett translation instead.’
She read off the publisher and edition.
‘Got it,’ he said. ‘I’ll send a man out to get a copy and see if you’re right. Where did you find this book?’
‘I’m not telling you until you verify that it’s the right one,’ she said. ‘I’ll call back in a few hours to confirm.’
‘Sparks, either you tell me right now, or—’
She hung up, then leaned her forehead against the telephone.
‘Promise you’ll visit me in prison,’ she said.
‘I expect they’ll let us share a cell,’ said Gwen. ‘What’s all that about a book code?’
‘Both parties need to have the same book. Then you use two numbers to locate a word. The first is the page number, the second is how many words from the start of the page. The process is tedious but impossible to crack without knowing which book it is. They found coded messages in Tony’s flat after the fire that appeared to be encrypted by that method. ’
‘That sounds rather incriminating,’ said Gwen.
‘Very,’ said Iris. ‘Miss Lowle suggested they try the edition of Thucydides that he bought at Maggs Bros, but it didn’t work.’
‘Why not?’
‘If I’m right, it’s because she faked those coded letters herself and planted them to be found,’ said Iris. ‘Only she used the wrong edition and translation. She must have assumed he bought the newer version. I found a copy on her desk.’
‘You are a wonder, Iris Sparks,’ said Gwen with a grin. ‘Now, if it’s a match, what then? Do you think the Brigadier will absolve Tony?’
‘Maybe,’ said Iris. ‘Maybe he’ll only give Lowle, or Charlotte, the sack.’
‘What do we tell Parham, then? He still has a case to solve.’
‘And solve it, he shall,’ said Iris.
She dialled another number.
‘Detective Superintendent Parham, please,’ she said. ‘Miss Iris Sparks calling.’
She was connected a moment letter.
‘Miss Sparks, good morning,’ said Parham. ‘Do you have something for me?’
‘I do,’ she replied. ‘Is PC Godfrey your fingerprint man on the Danforth case?’
‘He is.’
‘Send him to Grenville House. Tell him to fingerprint the door to the roof there.’
‘The roof of Grenville House itself? How could anyone throw a bottle into a window from the roof of the same building?’
‘Trust me, sir. Send Godfrey, then come meet me outside Danforth’s room at St George’s at two thirty.’
‘Why there? Do you think he has more information to give us?’
‘If I’m right, the guilty party will be coming there later,’ she said. ‘Bring your handcuffs.’
She hung up.
‘Lowle is coming to the hospital?’ asked Gwen.
‘The Brigadier ordered me last week to get Tony to add her to his visitor list,’ said Iris. ‘Tony agreed, but wanted to wait until Tuesday so he could get through his initial treatment.’
‘Which is today,’ said Gwen. ‘So she will be coming by after work.’
‘And we will be waiting for her,’ said Iris.
They had lunch, then took the Tube to Hyde Park Corner.
‘We’re early for Parham,’ said Gwen as they walked in.
‘That’s fine,’ said Iris. ‘I need to call the Brigadier and find out if I was right about that book. And I need to ask my new boyfriend Carlton something.’
Edwards was lounging near the telephone boxes when they came in. Iris went straight up to him.
‘Got a minute?’ she asked.
‘You could at least pretend to make this look casual,’ he said irritably. ‘Come on.’
The three of them moved further back into the room where they were somewhat concealed from view.
‘You know she’s part of this, right?’ said Iris, nodding at Gwen.
‘Yeah. So?’
‘The night Danforth was attacked you were following him, weren’t you?’
‘You don’t think I had anything to do with it, do you?’ asked Edwards, bristling.
‘I don’t,’ said Iris. ‘But did you maintain surveillance on Grenville House after he came home from his date?’
‘Yeah, I stayed across the street from the entrance,’ said Edwards. ‘I didn’t see the Molotov go off. I heard it, ran to the corner and saw the flames, so I went to call 999 like a good citizen.’
‘I assume you kept track of anyone going into the building after Danforth.’
‘Where are you going with this, Sparks?’
‘Did you see anyone carrying fishing gear?’
‘I did, come to think of it,’ he said. ‘Male, thirties, five ten, black hair.’
‘Would you recognise him if you saw him?’
‘That is my job,’ said Edwards huffily.
Iris smiled.
‘First drink will be on me,’ she said. ‘I need to call your boss and let him know his new girl is a bad girl. And she’s not going to have her second date with Danforth today.’
‘Wait, you mean Lowle?’ said Edwards. ‘She’s already having it.’
‘What do you mean?’ exclaimed Iris. ‘She’s supposed to come after work.’
‘She got here about five minutes ago,’ said Edwards. ‘Gave me a wave. Amateur.’
‘We’ve got to stop her,’ Iris said, turning to move towards the lift.
‘Hold on,’ said Edwards, grabbing her arm. ‘You can’t go up there. You’ll muck up the whole operation.’
‘Let go of me!’ said Iris, trying to pull away. ‘I think she came here to kill him.’
‘You’re not going anywhere,’ said Edwards as he grabbed her other arm. ‘Not until I know what’s—’
He stopped abruptly, sagging against her as his arms fell to his sides. Then he crumpled to the floor.
She turned to see Gwen standing over him, her umbrella still raised with the reinforced handle up high for a second blow. Iris stared at her in shock.
‘Go!’ Gwen commanded her. ‘I’ll take care of him.’
Iris turned and ran to the lift. Gwen watched until the doors closed, then called, ‘Excuse me? I need some help here! This man needs medical assistance!’
She sat down on the floor by Edwards who was coming to, groaning and clutching his head.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she said, patting his shoulder sympathetically. ‘I’ve never used this before on a live target, and it’s so difficult to gauge how hard to swing it to disable temporarily without causing permanent damage. Can you hear me?’
He grunted something unintelligible.
‘I do hope it’s not a concussion,’ she said. ‘I had one of those last year. Long story. In any case, let me explain to you what’s going on right now.’
The constable on duty outside the room checked her ID, then consulted his list.
‘There you are,’ he said. ‘There’s a nurse in there with him. You’ll have to wait until she’s done.’
‘That’s fine,’ she said.
A minute later, the door opened and the nurse came out.
‘Oh, are you here for our Mr Danforth?’ she asked.
‘I am.’
‘I’m afraid he’s asleep right now,’ said the nurse sympathetically. ‘He’s had rather an exhausting set of procedures, and he’s heavily sedated.’
‘Oh, no!’ she exclaimed, tearing up. ‘It’s my first chance to see him since, since it happened, and I begged the afternoon off from my job to come here.’
‘Oh, gosh, are you Miss Lowle?’ exclaimed the nurse.
‘I am,’ said Lowle. ‘How ever did you know?’
‘I was the one who read your note to him,’ confided the nurse. ‘Goodness, I was crying myself by the time I was done. Oh, dear, I wish he was awake for you. I know he was looking forward to your visit.’
‘Do you think perhaps that I could just sit with him for a while?’ asked Lowle. ‘Maybe he’ll sense my presence somehow. I’m sure it will do him some good.’
‘Of course you may,’ said the nurse. ‘Come in. I’ll put the chair by the bed.’
They went in together, and the nurse moved a chair up by the head of the bed. Lowle sat down and looked at him.