“All right,” Rodney said, breaking the silence at last. “You’re right, Lady Elizabeth. I saw Tess rush into the kitchen and she was obviously upset. I followed her in and heard her yelling at Sutcliffe. She was accusing him of cheating on her with another woman.”
“Rodney-” Daphne began, but he held up his hand.
“No, let me finish. I hid behind the door because I didn’t want to embarrass my daughter. I heard her slam the cellar door shut and run out. Sutcliffe was banging on the door so I guessed she’d locked him in. I was furious with him and wanted to give him a piece of my mind. I unlocked the door and saw he had a knife in his hand. I reacted without thinking. I punched him in the jaw and knocked him down the stairs. He was holding a box of confetti in the other hand. Some of it must have sprayed over me.”
Daphne moaned. “He must have stabbed himself when he fell.”
“He couldn’t have,” Rodney said shortly. “The knife fell out of his hand at the top of the stairs. I saw it lying there when I left.”
“Locking the door behind you,” Elizabeth said quietly.
Rodney looked startled. “No, I don’t think I even stopped to close the door. I was so enraged and worried about my daughter. All I could think about was finding her to see if she was all right. The knife had unnerved me. I didn’t know she’d threatened him with it.”
“Then if you didn’t lock the door again, I wonder who did.”
“I locked the door,” Daphne said, her voice quivering.
Rodney uttered an exclamation and stared at his wife.
“Of course. You knew about the other woman, too,” Elizabeth said. “Which is why you called him a cheat and a liar the other night.”
“Yes.” Daphne looked down at her hands twisting in her lap. “I saw Rodney go into the kitchen, and a moment or two later Tess came out looking upset. I thought she’d been arguing with her father, so I went to the kitchen to find out what had happened. I was just in time to see Rodney punch Brian in the face. I left before he saw me. I didn’t want him to know I’d seen what he’d done. But then, later on, I began to worry about Brian. So I went back to the kitchen to see if he was all right.”
Rodney muttered something under his breath.
“I’m sorry, darling,” Daphne said quickly, “but if the man was hurt I didn’t want you to get into trouble for it. I couldn’t see anything from the top of the stairs, so I went down there.”
She shuddered, and tears started rolling down her face. “I could see he was dead,” she said, her voice hushed. “The knife was sticking out of his chest and there was blood everywhere. I thought he’d fallen on the knife when he tumbled down the steps. I knew Rodney would get the blame for his death. Everyone would think he did it on purpose.”
She paused while she hunted for a handkerchief in her sleeve, dabbed at her eyes, and blew her nose. “I locked the door and tried to put the key on the shelf to hide it,” she continued, while Rodney seemed transfixed, his gaze pinned to his wife’s face. “I thought if the body wasn’t found until after we’d gone, no one would suspect Rodney. I couldn’t quite reach the shelf and the key fell into the milk. I went out and found Rodney and told him I had a headache. By then the speeches were nearly over, so we left.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Rodney almost shouted. “Did you really think I’d stoop to murder? Sutcliffe wasn’t worth that.”
“I thought it was an accident.” Daphne began to sob in earnest. “But his death would have been your fault.”
“Oh, good Lord.” Rodney buried his head in his hands.
Elizabeth stared thoughtfully at him. “You are absolutely certain the knife was at the top of the stairs when Brian Sutcliffe fell.”
“Absolutely.” Rodney groaned and raised his head. “Why do you think I’ve been so worried about my daughter? I can’t help wondering if she went back and finished the job after I left.”
“It’s a possibility,” Elizabeth said slowly. “There’s one person I haven’t spoken to about all this. And it’s just occurred to me that I should.” She got to her feet. “Try not to worry too much. I think we should be able to clear this up fairly soon, if I’m right.”
Rodney rose, too, his eyes full of hope. “Right about what?”
“I’d rather not say at this point.” Elizabeth touched Daphne briefly on the shoulder. “I promise to tell you just as soon as I have it sorted out.”
Daphne nodded and blew her nose again.
“I appreciate your efforts, Lady Elizabeth,” Rodney said, as he walked with her to the door. “If there’s anything I can do, please let me know. I’m anxious to see a solution to this, for many reasons.”
“I’m sure you are.” Elizabeth paused in the doorway. “I’ll do my best to get this settled just as soon as possible.” She left, hoping she could keep her word. The Winterhalters deserved some peace after all they’d gone through.
She was crossing the hall when the bell at the front door started chiming. Martin was probably already in bed, and Violet was in the kitchen. Since she was right on top of the door, she reasoned, she might as well open it.
Surprised to see Polly there, she opened the door wider, her smile fading when the girl almost fell into the hallway, gasping something she couldn’t understand.
“Calm down, Polly,” she said as she closed the door again. “Tell me what’s happened.”
“They’ve got her,” Polly said, fighting for breath. “I… couldn’t find… her.”
“Couldn’t find who, dear?”
“Sadie!” Polly waved a hand in front of her face and took a huge gulp of air. “She disappeared. Just like the others.”
Frowning, Elizabeth shook her head. “But she’s here, isn’t she? She usually lets us know if she’s going out.”
“No, m’m. We went to the windmill to look for Nellie and Florrie and Sadie climbed all the way to the top and I had to piddle and when I came back Sadie was gone and-”
“For heaven’s sake, child, take another breath.” Elizabeth fought to calm her own sense of panic. “Did you talk to George yet?”
“No, m’m. I came straight here. I didn’t even tell me mum yet.”
“All right, you get on home and let your mother know you’re all right, and I’ll go down to George’s house and alert him.”
“I can’t go home till I know what happened to Sadie, m’m,” Polly wailed. “I want to come with you. It’s all my fault. I left her alone up there.”
“I’m quite sure Sadie is all right,” Elizabeth said, not at all sure about anything. “She might have missed you in the dark and got worried about you, too.”
“Oh, I hope so,” Polly moaned. “I’ll never forgive me-self if something happens to her. That’s why I went with her in the first place.”
“Well, you were very silly, both of you.” Elizabeth headed out the door with Polly hot on her heels. “You shouldn’t have gone out alone knowing those hoodlums are on the prowl out there. Especially since we don’t know what happened to Nellie and Florrie.”
Polly began to sniffle, and Elizabeth mentally chastised herself for being so insensitive. The truth was, she was greatly concerned about Sadie’s disappearance. If there was one person she thought she could count on to take care of herself, it was the tough East Londoner. The Cockneys had a reputation for being fearless and indestructible. If Sadie had fallen into the clutches of those criminals, what chance did the rest of the females in the village have to defend themselves?
“You’d better ride in the sidecar,” Elizabeth said, as she wheeled her motorcycle out of the stables. “You can tell me if I’m straying off the road. This dratted blackout makes it impossible to get around after dark.”
Still sniffing, Polly scrambled into the cramped sidecar and clung to the sides. She looked scared, but determined, which Elizabeth rather admired. The girl had some pluck, she’d give her that.
She drove far more carefully than usual down the hill to George’s cottage. Even so, the ride was far from comfortable. There was no moon to light the way, and more than once Polly called out a warning that they were too close to the ditch.
At last they reached the lane that led to George’s cottage, and rather than risk taking the motorcycle down there in the dark, Elizabeth left it parked at the end of the lane. Polly kept close to her side and they walked briskly to the path that led up to George’s front door.
At one time there had been a wrought-iron gate across the front of the garden, but the War Office had taken all the wrought iron in the village away to use in the airplane factories. Elizabeth sorely lamented their disappearance.
George’s wife, Millie, opened the door in answer to Elizabeth’s knock. She seemed startled to see her guests and immediately called out to her husband. “George? Her ladyship’s here to see you!”
George appeared a minute later, looking somewhat disheveled. He wasn’t in uniform and had obviously pulled on a suit coat rather hastily, since the collar was tucked inside and his tie was askew.
“Sadie’s gone,” Elizabeth said, before he could speak. “That’s three women, George. Now, what are you going to do about it?”
George fumbled with his tie. “I’ll get me bicycle and be right with you, your ladyship.”
“No time for that. I have my motorcycle at the end of the lane. You can ride in the sidecar, Polly can sit behind, me and we’ll go back to the place where Sadie was last seen.”
Polly looked even more scared, while George exchanged glances with his wife. “If it’s all right by you, your ladyship,” he said, “I’d rather go on me bicycle.”
“No, it’s not all right with me. I need you to come with me right now.”
“You’d better go, dear,” Millie said, giving her reluctant husband a little push.
“If I don’t come back,” George told her grimly, “you know where the wills are kept.”
Polly uttered a faint squeal, while Elizabeth swung around and hurried back down the path. “Come on, both of you. We’re wasting time!”
It took several moments to get George squished into the sidecar. Elizabeth then climbed aboard and beckoned to Polly to hop up behind her on the saddle. She could feel the child’s body shivering as she wrapped both arms around Elizabeth’s waist.
“Where are we going?” George shouted rather belatedly as the motorcycle’s engine shattered the peace of the quiet countryside.
“To the windmill!” Elizabeth shouted back.
George yelled something back she couldn’t hear, but he didn’t sound too pleased. That was possibly due to the problem she was having keeping the motorcycle moving in a straight line. George’s weight in the sidecar, added to Polly’s reluctance to lean with the motorcycle, made the machine a trifle unwieldy.
“Ditch!” Polly yelled in her ear.
Elizabeth twisted the handlebars, sending the motorcycle across to the other side of the road. “Sorry!” she called out, once she had control of the vehicle again. “It’s a little tricky riding this thing without lights.”
George yelled again, but she still couldn’t hear him. She leaned toward him as far as she dared. “What?”
The dratted machine swerved again and Polly yelped. Elizabeth fought to right it, letting out a sigh of relief when they were going straight once more.
“I can’t hear you, George,” she shouted. “You’ll have to speak up!”
“He said to turn on the lights!” Polly screeched in her ear.
“But what about the blackout? It’s against the law to run with lights!”
George yelled again.
“What did he say?” Elizabeth called out to Polly.
Polly yelled back. “He said to hell with the bloody law!”
“Well, really!” Elizabeth sent George a scandalized glance.
George answered with yet another bellow.
“He says it’s an emergency,” Polly shouted. “He says we’ll be killed if you don’t use the lights. I left out the swear words, m’m.”
“Thank you, Polly. I heard him this time.” Elizabeth found the switch and turned on the headlight. A beam of white light swept up the road ahead of her, nearly blinding her with the contrast.
“Blimey!” Polly yelled. “I’d forgotten how bright that is. Hope there’s no Germans flying overhead!”
“If there are,” Elizabeth called back, “we’ll have George to thank for our demise.” Concentrating now on getting to the windmill as fast as she could without spilling them all onto the road, she opened up the throttle and swept up the coast road. Her turn into the lane caused a moment of panic when the sidecar brushed against the hedge and bounced along the grass verge before she found the pavement again.
George yelled something and Elizabeth called out to Polly.
“What did he say?”
“You don’t want to know, m’m,” Polly called back.
Elizabeth allowed herself a faint smile. There was no doubt George was having a rough ride, but if it meant finding Sadie and the other two women before harm came to them, she was quite sure he would forgive her.
Her smile faded. That was if they found them. The more time that went by, the harder it would be. Something told her it had to be tonight, or they might not see Sadie, Nellie, or Florrie again.
“I spy with my little eye something beginning with F.”
Nellie stretched her legs out in front of her and groaned. “I’m getting tired of this silly game. I’m hungry, too. I’ve had nothing but a pork pie since last night.”
“P’raps they’ll bring some food back with them when they come back,” Florrie said hopefully.
“Don’t bet on it.” Nellie started drumming her heels on the wooden floorboards to get the circulation back in her legs. “Now they got what they wanted from me, I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t come back.”
“They’ve got to come back.” Florrie pointed to the ground below. “They left their bicycles here. I don’t think they’re going to drive a Jeep all the way back to North Horsham.”
Nellie stared at her. “How’d you know they come from North Horsham?”
Florrie looked smug. “I heard the ginger-haired one say they’d need the bicycles to get back home and the fat one said he hated the thought of riding all that way to North Horsham.”
“They’re getting really stupid,” Nellie said, scowling. “I can’t believe we’ve been imprisoned up here by such a bunch of idiots.”
“I still can’t believe you helped them get on the base.”
“I didn’t help them much. I told them about that broken fence post because it’s all the way back behind the rec center. If they try getting to the main quarters from there they’ll run into the guards.”
“Well, we’re not going anywhere for a while, so we might as well keep playing ‘I Spy.’ It will pass the time.”
“I hate that game.” Nellie yawned. “Besides, it’s getting dark. I can’t see what you’re spying.”
“Well, just finish this one. It’s a good one, and you don’t have to see it to know what it is. It begins with F.”
Sighing, Nellie tried to concentrate. “Floor?”
“No.”
“Fruit.”
“There’s no fruit in here!”
“How’d you know if we can’t see nothing?”
“I know. Now guess again.”
Nellie groaned. “I can’t. I’m too hungry to think. I give up.”
“It’s me! Florrie!”
Nellie glared at her. “You can’t spy yourself!”
“Why not? I-” Florrie broke off as a faint creak echoed up from below. “What’s that?”
“Probably rats,” Nellie said gloomily.
Florrie gave a little squeal, then cut it off with a hand over her mouth as another creak was followed by a scraping sound.
Nellie tensed and crept to the edge of the ledge. She could see a thin sliver of light between the doors. “Someone’s out there,” she whispered.
“They can’t be back already,” Florrie whispered back. “They only left a few minutes ago.”
“Shh!” Nellie shifted closer to the edge. Her eyes widened when she saw one of the doors easing open, an inch at a time. Signaling Florrie to be quiet, she pointed at the door.
Florrie slithered forward on her backside until she could see over the edge.
As they watched, the door opened even wider and a figure slipped through. For a moment or two there was complete silence, then a voice called softly, “Nellie? Florrie? Are you in here?”
“Oh, my God. Sadie!” Nellie jumped to her feet, almost sending Florrie over the edge in her excitement. “Up here! We’re up here!”
“Thank heavens,” Sadie said more loudly. A beam of light from a torch hit Nellie in the face, momentarily blinding her. “What the heck are you doing up there? The whole village has been looking for you two.”
“Well, they didn’t look very far-that’s all I can say. Move that torch off my face. I can’t see a bloomin’ thing.” Nellie dangled her legs over the edge while Florrie jumped up and down making little squealing noises.
“You’d better get down here”-Sadie walked over to where the ladder leaned against the wall-“before them musketeers get back. Where were they going, anyhow?”
“They’ve gone to the base. And they’re not the musketeers. They’re just a bunch of silly schoolboys up to no good, that’s all.”
Sadie dragged the ladder over to the ledge. “Are you telling me little kids trapped you both up there?”
Seeing Sadie’s grin, Nellie said hotly, “They’re not so little.” She’d have said a lot more, except just then the ladder slammed against the ledge, sending up a shower of dust that made them both cough.
“Go on,” Nellie said, giving Florrie a little push. “You go first. Make it fast, will you? I don’t want to be here when those hooligans get back.”
“That’s if they come back here.” Sadie stood aside and waited for Florrie to climb down. It took her a long time, since she stopped at each rung to feel the next one below her.
Seething with impatience, Nellie waited for her to get to the bottom. “Well, their bicycles are here and they have to get back to North Horsham somehow. Unless they plan on waiting for the bus tomorrow.”
“So what are they doing on the base?”
“Dunno, they wouldn’t tell us. But they sent a Jeep over the cliff last night and stole another one, so they’re not going to just shortsheet the beds, are they. Whatever it is, it’s bound to cause some kind of damage.”
“We ought to notify the Yanks, then,” Sadie said.
Nellie barely waited for Florrie to get clear of the ladder before she scrambled down it. “I don’t suppose you’ve got anything to eat on you?” she asked hopefully.
“Sorry.” Sadie hauled the ladder back in place. “I didn’t think to bring anything. To be honest, I really didn’t think I’d find you.”
“How did you know where we were?” Florrie asked, brushing dust and bits of hay from her skirt.
“I was up the top of the windmill, looking out that little window, and I saw this Jeep go tearing across the field. I guessed it was the musketeers-at least we thought they was musketeers-so I watched until they went through the gate and up the lane, then I came looking. This barn was the only place they could have hid someone, so here I am.”
“You took a chance, coming out here on your own,” Nellie said, impressed at Sadie’s bravery.
“I’m not alone. At least, I wasn’t.” Sadie brushed her hands together, then wiped them on her skirt. “Polly was with me. I don’t know what happened, but when I got back down she’d disappeared. I went looking for her, and I thought I heard her scream, but then I went to get my bicycle and hers was gone, so she must have gone back home.”
“Probably got scared,” Florrie said, nodding. “I don’t blame her. I was scared to death. I thought we were going to die.”
“We might if we stand around here talking,” Nellie said. “Come on, I’m going home. I’m so hungry I could eat a flipping horse.”
“Wait a minute.” Sadie held up her hand. “By the time we get back to the village and tell the bobbies, we’ll probably be too late to stop those boys.”
“Probably,” Nellie agreed. “Too bad.”
“We could wait here for them to get back and capture them.”
Nellie stared at her. “Are you crazy? I’ve been stuck up on the flipping ledge since last night. I’m filthy, I’m dying of thirst, and I’m starving. I’m going home. Let the bobbies catch the buggers.”
“I think Nellie’s right,” Florrie said nervously. “After all, it’s not our job to catch them.”
Sadie tilted her head to one side and looked at them both in turn. “Don’t you want them to pay for what they did to you?”
“Well, of course we want them to pay,” Nellie said crossly. “But we know their names and we know they live in North Horsham. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find them.”
“You know their surnames?”
Nellie sighed. “No, we don’t, but-”
“North Horsham’s a big town. Do you really think the bobbies are going to waste their time looking for three schoolboys up to mischief?”
“The Yanks will if those chumps do some damage on the base.”
“No, they won’t,” Florrie said. “They’ll let the constables take care of it. They got more important things to worry about right now.”
“She’s right,” Sadie said. “Our best chance of catching them is to wait here in the dark for them to get back. There’s three of them and three of us. We should be able to take them, right?”
Nellie thought about it long and hard. She wanted nothing more than to eat a plate of fish and chips, drink a gallon of tea, and crawl into her nice, soft bed. On the other hand, it didn’t seem right that those bums should get away with all the stuff they put her through. It would feel very, very good to hand them over to the bobbies.
“All right,” she said, plopping onto a pile of hay. “Count me in.”
Sadie nodded. “Florrie?”
It was too dark to see Florrie’s expression, but Nellie could tell she was scared when she said, “Well, I’m not going to walk all the way home in the dark by myself. I suppose I’ll have to stay here with you.”
“Good for you!” Sadie sat down on the hay next to Nellie.
“How are we going to get them back to Sitting Marsh?” Florrie asked, as she joined the other two on the ground. “They’re not going to just walk quietly back with us.”
“I thought about that.” Sadie didn’t sound quite so confident, much to Nellie’s dismay. “I’m hoping that Polly will raise the alarm and bring the bobbies back here.”
Nellie leaned back against the wall. She had to be crazy to agree to this. There were too many things that could go wrong. They could end up worse off than they were before.
It was too late now, though. She couldn’t back out even if she wanted to, or the others would think she was a coward. No, she was the one that had got them all into this; she had to stick it out now. She only hoped that Sadie was right, and that Polly would bring help. She had a nasty feeling they were going to need it.