Page 21 of No Man's Land

Josef’s heart jumped. “What sort of eyes?”

“Bright. Like a rat’s, reflecting the light. But…too tall for a rat.” He held his hand at eye level. “Human size.”

A chill ran up Josef’s spine that had nothing to do with the weather. His encounter with Alex had pushed his oddexperience at Blackfriars Underground out of his mind, but it came rushing back to him now. It was stupid, though, utterly ridiculous, and he certainly didn’t believe in any queen of the rats. Nevertheless, he heard himself ask, “What colour eyes?”

“Blue. Pale as ice.” He cocked his head, measuring Josef. “You’ve seen something like it, ain’t you?”

“I don’t know.” A cold breeze tugged at his scarf, and he shivered. “I thought I did. In one of the tube tunnels.”

“Aye. They do say she gets out and about. That’s how she finds her men, see? Lures them back into the dark and…” He struck a match and put it to his pipe. “The men aren’t happy. I’ll tell you that much. Won’t go anywhere down here except in pairs.”

“Did you mention any of this to the police?”

“The coppers?” He snorted around the stem of his pipe as he sucked on it. “Wouldn’t give me the time of day. Told the army bloke, though. He was interested.”

Ah yes, the army officer. Josef said, “He wasn’t called Captain Winchester by any chance, was he?”

“Nah, it was a funny name. Lieutenant Twisleton.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a dented card. “Told me to contact him if anything else happened. I liked him.Hetook us seriously. Told us to be careful down there.”

“May I?” Josef took the card and scribbled down the address and telephone number. He didn’t bother with the fake name; Alex would be good enough. “I can’t say I believe in your Queen Rat,” he said, returning the card. “But something queer is going on, and whatever it is it’s dangerous. Lieutenant Twisleton is right—you should be careful.” He dug out his own card. “If you could let me know if anything else happens, I’d be grateful.”

“The lieutenant offered us ten bob for useful information,” the man said, taking Josef’s card and examining it.

“The lieutenant has deeper pockets than me.” And wasn’t it typical of a bloody toff to think he could buy anything he wanted? “Butheplans to hush up whatever’s going on. I want to warn the world. So…” He shrugged. “Make your choice when you decide who to speak to first.”

***

“I’m telling you it’s a story.”

May regarded him across her desk, fingers steepled and eyes sceptical. “A Queen Rat seducing men in the sewers? TheDaily Clarion’sa newspaper, Joe, not a penny dreadful.”

“Not that.” He waved it aside with a flick of his hand. “That’s a myth, obviously. But thereissomething going on. I’ve seen these men’s wounds, May. Two in Flanders, one here. I’ve seen them with my own eyes. And I saw—” He hesitated about confessing the rest, but if he didn’t tell May everything, she’d never believe him. “I saw something in the tunnel at Blackfriars yesterday. Eyes, blue eyes.”

Her lips pressed together. “Eyes.” Her tone was as flat as her Mancunian vowels.

“I know it sounds mad, but I swear I saw it. And… and I’ve seen it before, too. Back in Poperinge.”

“Joe…” Her gaze slid sideways, and he realised she looked embarrassed. “You’ve not been back long—”

“I’m not imagining it! Look, I thought that too at first. That maybe my nerves were dinged or something, but the men working in the sewer saw the same thing.” And that had to mean something, didn’t it? It meant he wasn’t imagining it, that his mind wasn’t playing tricks.

“And you think it’s a giant rat woman—?”

“Of course I bloody don’t. But Idothink it’s something—and that this bloke, this Lord Beaumont, or Captain Winchester, or whoever he is, knows what it is.” He hesitated again, althoughGod knows why, and added, “Why else would he have come round the Cohens’ shop yesterday to warn me off?”

That got her attention. “He warned you off?”

“Yep. Said if I didn’t stop poking my nose into it, I’d get myself killed.”

“Blimey, Joe.” May sat forward over her desk, suddenly interested. “All right, that’s something. And you think this Lord Beaumont is Intelligence Corps?”

“I do. He denied it, of course.”

“Well, he would.”

“Right. Hedidconfess to working for the War Office, though. He said this thing’s an infection, but I reckon that’s bollocks. God knows what the bastards have cooked up, but my guess is it’s some kind of weapon. Maybe a new gas they’re testing in the sewers before they get the sappers to deploy it under no man’s land. Maybe it…seeps up into the enemy trench? Something like that. Only…well, something must have gone wrong.”

May let out a low whistle. “Who else knows about it?”

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