CHAPTER 19
W
ere it not for Colin's pocket watch it would have been impossible to tell the hour by the time we finally took our leave from Warren Vandemier's office. The rain had stopped for the moment, but the temperature had dropped in tandem. With the addition of saturated horse droppings, rotten produce, and assorted other leavings littering the streets it was all I could do not to cringe as I pulled my cloak tighter about myself. Even still, it all smelled better than the residual of opium that had hung about Warren Vandemier.
“We aren't more than fifteen minutes from Stepney Green . . . ,” Colin said, flipping his own collar up. “Fancy a walk?”
“Well, I suppose,” I answered. “So long as the rain holds out.”
We came to a halt in front of Michael and Angelyne's walk-up and all I could think about was going inside to get warm. Even the stale residue of opium that assailed us as we entered did not bother me. “ 'Oo's there?” the familiar voice of Mademoiselle Rendell barreled out in response to Colin's knock.
“Mr. Pendragon and Mr. Pruitt.”
There was a great sigh as a flurry of locks and bolts were unlatched before she abruptly halted and called out, “Talkin' don't pay me bills.”
“This time it will.”
“Two cost extra.”
Colin leaned forward and placed his mouth close to the door. “Let us in and I shall make it worth your while. Persist in keeping this sorrowful rectangle of rotting wood between us and I'm afraid I shall have to tear it down and we'll converse for free.”
“All right . . . all right . . .” Another dead bolt unseated as Mademoiselle Rendell finally yanked the door open. “We ain't all born to the colors, ya know.”
“Whatever that means, I'm sure it's a good thing,” he muttered.
I tried to ignore the scowl she leveled on me as I followed him inside. We remained on our feet awaiting an invitation to sit down, if such a space could be found, but none was forthcoming anyway. Instead she moved away from the door and said, “Wot?”
“May I?” Colin gestured at her well-worn divan still cluttered with all manner of papers and magazines.
“If ya must.”
“Not feeling hospitable this evening?” He smirked as he shoved the mess to the end of the couch and sat down, motioning for me to do the same, which, grudgingly, I did. “We haven't come here to set you in a foul state. If you'd rather not be given the opportunity to respond to the statements of your Bulgarian friend . . .” He shifted a blank gaze to me.
“Vitosha Harlacheva,” I filled in, wondering what he was up to.
“Yes. Mr. Harlacheva. We can just take his word.”
“ 'Oo?” Her stance remained unwavering, but her voice betrayed a hint of vacillation.
“He's one of the couriers for the Bulgarian attaché. Rather a broad-faced, bearded gentleman whom you met at the pub by the Russian embassy the other night. The one who informed you that your mutual business was finished for the foreseeable future.”
“Toshy?” She blurted the name out as a furrow creased her brow. “And what did that shite say about me?”
“That you're blackmailing him,” Colin replied.
“You're lyin'.” She shook her head and laughed, but her eyes remained wary.
“Am I? Perhaps you'd like to come with us to the Bulgarian embassy and confront Mr. Harlacheva?” I admired his bold stroke given that I thought it likely she might choose to, but she did not. She
harrumphed
and stalked across the room, tossing a pile of garments to the floor as she sank into a chair and wound her arms tightly around herself.
“Go on,” she said.
“Your friend . . . your Toshy . . . ,” he flashed a smirk, “. . . has been under surveillance by the Yard for some time now.”
“ 'E ain't no friend a mine,” she sneered.
“Nevertheless, it would seem he may be involved in everything from the illegal drug trade . . . ,” I noticed he had slowed his speech and was keeping a watchful eye on her, “. . . to passing sensitive government information, and quite possibly involvement in a child slavery ring he claims
you
spearheaded.”
She bolted up, her face a cloud of rage. “ '
Ow dare 'e!
That weren't my idea, it were
'is
.” She began pacing and cursing under her breath. “I've a right mind to go down there and kick 'is bloody, lyin' arse.”
“Why don't you just help us get Angelyne back? Doing a good turn will get you high praise from me and I'm sure Inspector Varcoe will . . .” Colin let his voice trail off as Mademoiselle Rendell swung around and glowered at him.
“I see 'ow it is,” she sneered. “I must look like a right dumb slag ta you, but I know what you're up to.”
He pursed his lips and leaned back. “And what would that be?”
She wagged a finger at him, shaking her head and chortling with great self-satisfaction. “Toshy didn't tell you no bollocks 'bout me headin' nothin'. You're just tossin' about for information on that pissant little bitch.”
“She's only twelve.”
“I 'ad me a list a clients long as me arm by the time I was twelve. So what?!”
“And look how well you turned out.”
“This is getting us nowhere,” I jumped in, stopping her before she could say anything further. “The choices you've made for yourself are your business. You'll hear no judgments from us. But doesn't Angelyne deserve to make her own too?”
“I ain't makin' no apologies!” she snapped.
“None are warranted,” Colin said.
“There's a need fer what I do.”
“Of course . . .” I could hear his patience ebbing.
“I weren't born no 'ore.”
“Education is the backbone of every profession.”
“That's right.”
He smirked as he leveled a gaze at her. “Did you deliver Angelyne to Mr. Harlacheva?”
“Don't you look down on me!” she fired back.
“My dear . . .” He turned his head away. “I shan't even look at you at all.”
She glared at him as though trying to gauge whether he was still playing her for the fool and I doubted this ploy would work, either. Nevertheless, he neither moved nor slid his eyes back to her, holding himself with remarkable stillness. I hardly knew where to look myself, so I settled on dropping my gaze to the well-worn floor, heavily stained with the accumulated remnants of too many people. “ 'E pays me real good,” she finally confessed to my amazement.
“How many have there been?”
“Seven.”
“And where does he take them?”
“I don't know. I never see 'em again. It ain't me business. I don't ask.”
He turned back and looked at her. “Thank you for telling the truth.”
“A girl 'as ta make a livin'.”
“As we all must, but at what cost?”
“A livin' don't cost nothin'.”
He stood up and moved to the door with me close on his heels. “Yours will cost you your freedom if I ever find you involved in business like this again. If you wish to prostitute yourself that's your right, but you will
never
make such a decision for another human being again.
Especially for a child
. Do I make myself clear?”
“Are you threatnin' me?”
He gave a tight smile. “Absolutely.”
CHAPTER 20
B
y the time we got outside again we discovered that the sky had finally begun to let loose its watery burden, which meant that we were well wet by the time we reached the Bulgarian embassy. Though he'd managed to flag a carriage without too much trouble, it turned out to have a tear in its roof the length of my hand, which had allowed the pelting rain access throughout the entire fifteen-minute journey. When we finally reached the embassy and I took proper refuge under the building's huge stone portico, I turned back just in time to see Colin thrust his hand up through the gash in the roof to hand the driver his fare.
We hurried inside the colonnaded foyer and I was struck at once by its grandeur. Massive inlaid teak panels stretched all the way to the ceiling two floors overhead and wide swaths of jade green marble lay beneath our feet. Freedom from Turkish rule had clearly done the Bulgarians some good.
“We are here . . . ,” I heard Colin addressing a dark-eyed beauty behind an ornate counter across from the entrance, “. . . to speak with one of the ambassador's diplomatic couriers. A Mr. Vicâ” His voice abruptly wound down.
“Vitosha Harlacheva,” I filled in as I came up behind him.
“Do you hev an appointment?”
“Colin Pendragon and Ethan Pruitt.”
The young woman's eyes drifted up and were as black as the waves of hair falling about her shoulders. “Vot?”
“Our names . . . Are we in the appointment book?”
“You do nut know yourselves?”
“Would we have come all this way on such a dreadful evening without an appointment?” Colin smiled easily.
The woman glanced over at one of the two apathetic young guards posted on either corner of her desk, but neither returned her gaze. I wondered if indifference was a Bulgarian trait before realizing that it was likely neither spoke much English.
“Vot is your nem again?” Exasperation had crept into her voice.
“Colin Pendragon. I'm with Her Majesty's Foreign Ministry Office. I investigate accusations of improprieties at the embassies. I'm sure we'll have no such issues here, unless there's some problem with my addressing Mr.â”
“Harlacheva,” I quickly piped in.
The woman flicked her eyes between Colin and me before finally saying, “You vill vait here.”
“As you wish.”
She exited through a door behind her desk, leaving us to slowly accumulate small puddles around our shoes. I tried to figure out where he meant to go with this ruse and then wondered if he even knew himself. I shot a quick glance at the two guards and decided it was safe to press him while we waited. “What are you going to say to this man if she lets us in?” I said in a sort of half whisper just to be sure. “You can't just walk in there and accuse him on the word of Mademoiselle Rendell.”
He shrugged. “Something will come to me. It always does.” He turned to the guard standing closest to him. “Might I trouble you for the time?” The man's eyes slid to Colin's face, but there was no comprehension in them. “No?” He glanced at the other man. “How about a pistol? Am I allowed to bring a pistol in with me?” Again there was no response, the second guard not even bothering to shift his gaze.
“They can't be much use if they don't even understand what anyone's saying.”
“All they need to understand . . . ,” Colin smirked, “. . . is that if you make a move to go through that door uninvited, you are to be stopped.”
“That's all good and well, but didn't you find Mademoiselle Rendell too eager in confessing her sins?”
He looked at me. “Whatever do you mean?”
“She took your word on Mr. Harlacheva without much of a fuss.”
“Why would she trust him? It's all a dirty business.”
“She earns her keep with her cunning.”
“She earns her keep on her back.”
I shook my head and chuckled. While he had a point, he could be sorely mistaken if he presumed that truth made her imprudent. Maw Heikens was living proof of that. I considered reminding him of that fact even though I knew he would curl up his nose at the mention of her name, but the receptionist suddenly popped her head out from behind the door.
“You vill follow me,” she said before barking a harsh, guttural command at the two guards. The men stamped their feet in unison, bounced the butts of their rifles off the floor, and stepped back from the desk to allow us to pass.
“Nicely trained.” Colin snickered.
We followed the young woman down several plain corridors, the embassy's budget clearly having been exhausted in the foyer. A series of short, squat guards stood at loose intervals along the hallway, making me suspect that as the budget for the building went, so did the dimensions of its soldiers. We were led through successive halls until I began to fear that we were about to be ushered right out the rear exit, but to my relief, the receptionist made an abrupt right turn and brought us into an empty conference room.
“You vill vait here,” she said without further explanation, gesturing us to seats around a table at the room's center. As soon as we settled in, she took a practiced step backwards and pulled the door shut, leaving us on our own.
“Well . . . ,” I glanced at him, “at least we've made it this far.”
“We've got quite some way to go yet,” he answered distractedly. “Do you have a notebook with you?”
“Don't I always?” I passed him the little leather folio I carry about with its small nib of pencil. “What are you going to do?”
“I have a thought,” he answered smoothly as he began to scribble something onto several sheets.
“Is that Latin?”
“Very good.” He smiled cannily just as the door opened to reveal a tall, broad-shouldered man wearing full military regalia. As he strode in I realized he was
not
Vitosha Harlacheva.
“Zer is no Pendragoon at ze British Foreign Ministry Office,” the towering man informed us as he scowled from across the room. “Who are you and vot do you vant?”
Colin stood up but made no effort to move toward the man, a wise choice since he was easily half a foot shorter than him. “My apologies to the great and honorable nation of Bulgaria for having used subterfuge to gain entry.” The man's brow furrowed with noncomprehension. Colin smiled. “I did indeed fabricate that story, but only because there is a most urgent and personal matter that I must discuss with Mr. Harlacheva.”
“All matters vit Mr. Harlacheva must go through me.” He bit the words harshly.
“Of course.” Colin nodded. “I did mention that it is of a personal nature?” he said, letting his voice trail off and giving me a sudden inkling as to what he was up to and why he'd written in Latin.
The giant man flicked his eyes between us, his great bushy brow furrowing deeply. “You vill see nothing but ze alley unless you discuss your matters vit me.”
“Very well . . .” And now Colin did step closer to the man. “We're from the London Lock Hospital and Rescue Home on Harrow Road and your Mr. Harlacheva came to our offices the other day. He was complaining of some discomforts. . . .” He gestured below his waist and then flipped open my little notebook and thrust it under the man's nose. “You can see from the results of the tests we've run that Mr. Harlacheva is suffering from the French disease. The syphilis. Andâ” He got no further before the man stepped back, unconsciously dropping his hands in front of his nether regions.
And then he uttered two words I would never have dreamed I'd hear: “Mademoiselle Rendell,” he gasped.
“It's a misnomer, you know,” Colin barreled on. “It doesn't just strike the French.” He glanced at me and chortled in a way that urged me to do the same. “Be that as it may, we will need to retest Mr. Harlacheva to see if there's been a mistake. That does happen from time to time. And we'll need some information regarding the possible genesis of his condition.” Colin eyed the man. “Who was that woman you just mentioned?”
“Vait,” was all the great bear said before disappearing out the door with a dexterity that would have rivaled a prima ballerina.
“How did you ever come up with that?!” I shook my head as Colin tossed my notebook back at me.
“It seemed like a good way to get a man's attention.” He shrugged.
I started to laugh but quickly turned it into a cough as Vitosha Harlacheva came stomping into the room. It was obvious by the rapidity with which he joined us that he'd been hovering close by. I wondered if he hadn't suspected meeting with us was likely to be unavoidable. It was hard to say, and his heavily bearded face gave little away.
He had broad shoulders and was of average height, much like Colin, but the similarities ended there. Mr. Harlacheva's eyes were dark and rooted deep within his broad, flat face, and his expression truly was nearly impenetrable, buried as it was within the wiry hair that seemed to spring from his cheekbones to the collar of his shirt. And while Colin's frame is solid, revealing no softness or paunch, Mr. Harlacheva had a layer of fleshy padding that covered the circumference of his frame. While I did recognize him from his tête-à -tête with Mademoiselle Rendell, if pressed I would have said he was taller, handsomer, or at the very least more presupposing than this square ape of a man. Nevertheless, he permeated a gravitas that I could not deny.
“Vat is this about?” he growled.
“It's about an abomination.” Colin remained where he was, his shoulders squared and his chest puffed out in his own rite of domination.
“You haff no authority here. You are standing in Bulgaria just now.”
“That may be. But this Bulgaria is in the heart of Her Majesty's England. And I happen to have a great deal of authority here. I would be happy to demonstrate if you'd like.” He flashed a humorless smile.
“I have done nothing.”
“Seven young girls have been handed over to you by a woman . . . a whore. She goes by the name of Rendell.”
“You haff me confused with someone else. Good day.”
The man turned and made to leave before I spoke up. “I saw you. I followed Mademoiselle Rendell two nights ago to that pub by the Russian embassy. You told her your business with her was over for now. That you were leaving the country for a time.”
He stopped but did not turn back. It was as though he was trying to determine how best to react in order to effect the quickest end to the conversation. “You are a liar,” he finally said. Which was not the best choice.
With barely an intake of breath Colin hurled himself down the length of the table and punched Mr. Harlacheva in the kidneys, dropping him in a gasping heap before the man even realized what had happened. “You will
never
speak to Mr. Pruitt that way again,” he seethed through gritted teeth. “Nor will you waste our time one second more or else I'll tear your ruddy kidneys out with my bare hands.”
“Help!”
the man gasped in a pitifully small voice.
“Allow me.” Colin stepped over him and yanked a handkerchief from his pocket. He pressed it over his mouth and pulled the door wide to reveal the towering military officer standing just outside, clearly waiting to be summoned if the need should arise. “This man is contagious!” Colin shouted into his face. He stood back and gestured with his free hand. “Quarantine.
Kapahtnh! Now!
”
The security officer nearly tripped on his feet as he stumbled backwards, his eyes as big as a fawn's. He only kept himself upright by virtue of some gravitational anomaly that I would have bet against, spinning on his heels and disappearing down the long hallway with all due haste.
“Ka-pat-nah?”
I repeated as Colin slammed the door.
“It's Russian. I don't know any Bulgarian.” He dropped down beside the panting Mr. Harlacheva and whispered into his ear, “In about four minutes that officer is going to return with a phalanx of guards whose sole function will be to keep you locked in this room until I can have you properly hauled away. Or maybe they'll just come in here and shoot you and put an end to the whole feral mess. It makes little difference to me. Unless you start talking. Now.”
To his credit Mr. Harlacheva squeaked out, “I spit on you.”
“Unless that's a Bulgarian custom meaning you're about to purge your conscience”âColin fished a small knife wrapped in a bit of cloth from his breast pocketâ“then we shall have an issue.” He leaned forward and waved the knife over the man's lap. “Seven little girls,” he said.
“Go to hell,” came the wheezing reply, a thin film of sweat shining on his forehead like a grease slick.
Colin's hand flashed like a striking serpent and for a moment I didn't know what he'd done. Mr. Harlacheva gave a short, high-pitched yelp and my heart rocketed as I tried to see if Colin had actually stuck him.
“I shall cut your bits off one at a time,” Colin seethed into the man's closest ear, “and then fix it so you have to squat to piss. That'll teach you to mess with children.”
My eyes shifted south and I finally spotted the knife tucked up between the cowering man's legs, the point obviously being driven home in a most convincing way, since Mr. Harlacheva was not moving a hair. Colin gave another quick jerk and sheared through the crotch of the man's slacks and undergarments, releasing his cowering genitals.
“You are devil,” he started to blubber.
Colin poked the scalpel up against his tender flesh. “I won't ask again.”
“They are gone. They vent on ship.”
“What ship? To where?”
“St. Petersburg. Ve make papers for them and they go vork for Russian nobles. Not bad life.”