Page 68 of Tattered Huntress
I risked a look. They had their backs to me and were standing in front of one of the display cabinets. Humphrey appeared as relaxed as usual; by contrast, Greenwood lookedstiff and unyielding, tension in every line of his body. He was not a happy man. Good. I wondered if he already knew that his captive menagerie had escaped.
‘Let’s get this over with, shall we?’ he muttered. ‘I’m sure you are busy and have plenty of other things to be doing with your time.’
Humphrey clapped him on the back and the sound of his friendly blow echoed through the room. ‘No rush, my friend. No rush.’
Greenwood acted as if he hadn’t heard him. As he leaned towards the cabinet, he searched his pocket for something. I caught a flash of metal and realised it was a key. He unlocked the cabinet door and reached inside. I already knew what he was extracting and I sagged with disappointment. I had been so close, so damned close.
‘Here,’ Greenwood said. ‘One Jacobean artefact, as requested.’ He handed it to Humphrey.
‘Wonderful.’ Humphrey smacked his lips with satisfaction. ‘Simply wonderful.’
Greenwood didn’t respond immediately. I twitched; this would be a good time to rush them both. I could take them by surprise, knock them to the floor and snatch the third and final key part from Humphrey’s fingers, then it would be only Hugo and me in the final. I’d truly be a treasure hunter extraordinaire. I could do it. I was sure I could do it.
I pulled back. Humphrey had the key part and it belonged to him, fair and square. I didn’t know how he’d managed to locate it or persuade Greenwood to hand it over, but it wasn’t mine to take.
I’d lost. I wasn’t a treasure hunter and I wouldn’t be taking part in the final search for the Loch Arkaig gold. It had been a mistake to think I was ever in the running. I was a failure – and I had to acknowledge that sad truth. My hunt was over.
I heard more shouts from outside; the fire at the pavilion was clearly not abating. It was impressive that Greenwood could stand there and hold a polite conversation with Humphrey as if nothing were going on. That vile excuse for a man was obviously an accomplished liar.
‘Why don’t I stay a little longer?’ Humphrey said. ‘We can have a good chat over a cup of tea. I remember those wonderful little cakes your cook made last time I was here. I’d love another one of those.’
There was a long pause before Greenwood replied. ‘I can speak to her and see what’s available.’
‘You are a good fellow,’ Humphrey told him. ‘A very good fellow.’ A moment later, they turned and walked out, still oblivious to my presence.
As soon as they’d gone, I leaned against the cabinet and sighed. So that was that.
‘I’m sorry, Daisy,’ Otis whispered. ‘If we hadn’t stopped to rescue everyone in the pavilion, you would have got to the key part.’
I managed a half-smile. ‘We did the right thing. If I’d had the choice between finding the Loch Arkaig treasure or rescuing those poor bastards, I’d have chosen the rescue. Always.’
‘We can’t let that man get away with what he’s done,’ Hester said.
‘We won’t,’ I promised. ‘Alisdair Greenwood will get what’s coming to him.’
She brightened. ‘You’ll use Gladys to stab him in the heart?’ There was an answering buzz of delight from the blade.
‘No. We will not be killing anyone.’
Hester pouted. ‘Trust me,’ I told her. ‘He won’t go unpunished.’ I pushed away my disappointment and concentrated on the satisfaction I would feel when I saw Greenwood clapped inhandcuffs. The day had not been an entire disaster, not by a long shot.
‘Let’s steal stuff,’ Otis said. ‘As much as we can carry.’ I looked at him and he shrugged. ‘What? I have no problem with it now I know what Greenwood is really like.’ His tiny face took on a malevolent gleam. ‘We need to fuck him up.’
I gave him a pointed look. ‘No stealing. And no touching. We can’t leave any fingerprints. And stop swearing!’
Now Otis was pouting. I sighed. ‘Come on, you two. Let’s get out of here.’ There was no longer any reason to stay.
It was far easierto sneak out of Greenwood’s property than it had been to sneak in. For one thing, most of the staff were occupied with putting out the fire. For another, when I called the police and the fire brigade and they forced Greenwood to open the iron gates at the end of the driveway, I could simply stroll out.
I’d given the police more than enough information over the phone to arrest Greenwood. Once they saw the evidence within the destroyed pavilion, there was no doubt that he’d be sent down for a long time. I didn’t have to worry; his comeuppance was on its way.
I moved left, preparing to retrieve the motorbike from its parking spot around the corner. As I lifted my head, I spotted Eleanor standing beside a gleaming black car, watching the commotion at the gates and fiddling nervously with her bag. When she saw me, her mouth dropped open in shock – and relief.
‘Daisy!’ she exclaimed. ‘I had no idea you were here, too! What’s happening? Is everything alright? Is Humphrey okay inthere? He told me to wait here for him but then I saw the fire engines and the police and?—’
I held up my hands to stop her. ‘Humphrey’s fine. It’s Lord Greenwood who’s having a few problems. You shouldn’t worry.’
She stared at me wide-eyed. ‘What sort of problems? He’s an old schoolfriend of Humphrey’s. They’ve known each other for years.’
