Beyond a Doubt

chapter Twelve




Gustav arrived in London weary and nauseous. The boat ride across the Channel had been uneventful. Not wishing to delay a moment longer, he decided to forego checking into his hotel and instead went straight to the gaol to speak with Charles Dubois.

Gustav was welcomed and taken to a private room. The door clicked closed, leaving him alone with his thoughts. When it reopened a tall, gangly man sauntered in and fell into a chair.

“Bonjour.”

“Bonjour, Monsieur Dubois.”

“I understand I’m being held so you may question me.”

“This is true.”

“Let’s begin. I wish to get out of this foul place.”

Gustav checked his temper. It wouldn’t do to upset the man before he received answers.

“I understand you were found in the possession of a certain trunk which did not belong to you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Charles.

“Very well.” Gustav stood and walked toward the door, pretending to leave.

“Wait a moment. What about me?” asked Charles.

Gustav faced him. “What about you?”

Charles held his tied hands forward. “Why am I still bound?”

“I would think it would be obvious.”

Slumping in the chair, Charles gazed at the wall. “I don’t know what trunk you mean.”

Gustav opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

“All right, all right. I found a trunk. But I don’t know who it belongs to.”

Pulling the door shut, Gustav studied Charles. “You’re lying.”

Charles lifted his hands in surrender. “No, I swear. I attended a party with lots of young women and men. When it was over, a maid drew me aside. She claimed my ‘companion’ had left the trunk. The maid asked if I knew if the owner planned to return. Of course I had no idea of what she spoke, but I did retrieve the chest. I told the house owner but he seemed unconcerned.”

Angered, Gustav contemplated cornering the man with his lies. “So you found the trunk within the house because of the maid’s information and you did nothing to it other than remove it.”

“Absolutely.”

Gustav tapped his head in thought. “You see, Monsieur Dubois, I’m having a bit of difficulty with your story.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t believe a person would leave a trunk behind and yet take all the contents out.”

“But—“

“Now, when you are willing to tell the truth about how you acquired the trunk and where its contents are stashed, then we may talk about your release.”

A feeling of remorse almost came over him. A vague possibility existed that the man was telling the truth. Perhaps the jailers had emptied the trunk against his orders.

Either way, Charles needed a few days to contemplate his future and Gustav planned to give them to him.

****

Gustav left the gaol and headed to the hotel. In Charles’ room, he searched the trunk. The container was devoid of even the smallest item. As far as he knew, the wooden box held no secret compartments.

He lifted the silken material around the edges, and found nothing. He knocked on the sides, but heard no hollow sounds.

Would L.L. have hidden the message in the trunk, or perhaps stitched the information within his clothing?

For the most part, L.L. was a mystery. During the last two years, Gustav had received covert messages from this individual. He knew not the agent’s occupation, age, or walk of life. All he knew was that L.L. sent messages through a London contact and the messages were always reliable.

The Huguenots, or members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France, were in constant peril. As supporters of John Calvin and his ideas, they had stepped outside the bounds of the Catholic Church, thereby ensuring their persecution. Henry II of France had had tongues sliced out and believers burned at the stake for accepting this newest of religious ideas. Many of these plots against the Huguenots originated in Scotland, the home of Henry’s ward and daughter-in-law, Mary.

Still primarily Catholic, the Scottish as well as the English queen, Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII, made life all the more difficult for the reformers.

L.L., a known traveler with the ability to change appearance quickly, had entered Scottish society. Vital information, collected on behalf of the Huguenot cause, had saved lives on more than one occasion.

Now the information the agent carried could mean life or death for the Admiral. His plan to announce a Huguenot colony in Brazil at a festival in Caen could be his undoing. Without L.L.’s information, the celebration would go forth.

The question for those involved became, How do you find operatives when you know nothing about them and they don’t want to be found?