Page 38 of Betrayal from Beyond
Breathing hard, he circled, checking behind chimneys and peering down over the sides of the building. On the furthest side, he leaned over, straining to see in the dark. Was that a door,standing open into the alley? From the end of the lane he caught a wisp of motion.
Cursing, he turned to run back, and found Kara coming out onto the roof.
“She’s not here any longer,” he said. “We’ve got to get back down.”
Without comment, she turned and followed. Niall flew down the stairs, passing the still-quarreling couple at full speed and hitting the ground floor at a run. He searched around the back of the house until he found a room that appeared to be used for the collection of rubbish—at the back of it was the open door he’d spotted.
He was swearing in frustration at the empty lane when Kara came up behind him.
“I swear I saw her, Niall.”
“I know you did.”
“I didn’t imagine it,” his wife insisted. “She knew we were in Tom Hawkins’s rooms. She was watching.”
“I don’t doubt you, Kara.” He gestured into the lane. “Look. Those droppings are fresh. She had someone waiting here. I caught a glimpse of the cart as it turned out of the lane into the street.” He struck the door with a hand. “Damn it! It’s a maze down here near the docks. She could be anywhere by now.”
“We’ll never find her,” Kara said glumly.
“Not tonight.” Reaching for her, he pulled her close. “But wewillfind her. We were close on her tail tonight. I hope it riles her.”
“Do wewanther to be riled up?”
“Yes,” he said. “It’s when she’s angry that she makes mistakes.” He draped an arm across her shoulders. “Come along. Let’s go home. We’ll start fresh tomorrow.”
Kara fell asleep against him on the long ride back to Bluefield, but Niall’s mind was too busy to let him rest. Theyneeded a new lead, a new thread to follow. The problem was that they didn’t know enough about Petra Scot. That meant that they were going to have to start investigating what they didn’t know—and Stayme was not going to like it.
*
“Oh, you arenot going to like this,” Stayme said.
It was the next afternoon. Niall and Kara had slept late. They had taken breakfast together while they discussed their options in continuing the search for Petra. Niall warned her that Stayme had already discouraged the line of enquiry Niall thought most promising.
“That was meant to be my line,” Niall told the old man now.
“We’ll go first,” Stayme said, indicating Turner as his partner. “Ours is bound to be shorter. And more disappointing.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Kara said sourly.
They had gathered in the guest room, where Turner was still confined by doctor’s orders. Kara sat in a chair close to the bed and Niall stood behind her. He watched the viscount and the butler exchange glances.
“Is this about the spy in our household?”
“It is.” Turner patted her hand. “The good news is that we don’t believe it was any of our usual staff who betrayed us.”
“Who was it, then?” Niall asked gruffly. He hated the idea of someone lurking here, in what had always been Kara’s safe retreat.
Now Turner looked abashed. “On the day that you returned home, earlier, before you arrived, I interviewed a young man for a footman’s position. He didn’t have the necessary experience, and frankly, he didn’t appear to have the temperament I require in the household. He seemed quite taken aback, however, that I did not hire him on the spot. He protested that he neededa position, a place to live. I sent him down to the stables to see if they might wish to take on a groom. He set off in that direction, but your arrival distracted me. I forgot to follow up with the stable master about him. I didn’t recall the interview until yesterday, when Stayme came to me about someone in the household possibly working with Petra Scot.”
“We talked to the stable master,” Stayme said, taking up the story. “The boy never spoke with him. He was never seen in the stables at all. But he was spotted setting out in that direction from the house.”
“In the same direction as the laboratory,” said Turner.
“So you think he placed the biscuits in Kara’s lab?” asked Niall.
“He’s the likeliest suspect,” Stayme said. “And I didn’t think he would be.” He shot Kara a sheepish look. “I’m afraid I put most of your staff to a bit of a grilling yesterday. They are all steadfastly loyal to you, Kara. And to Niall.” He ducked his head. “I had to smooth more than a few ruffled feathers, they were so insulted at the idea of any of them betraying you.”
Niall saw a bit of tension ease in his wife. Hearing Stayme confirm her staff’s loyalty smoothed a few of his own ruffled feathers. “But what of the notes? You think the same young man stuck them to the front door?”
