Beyond a Doubt

chapter Thirty-Six




Lucy fled the scene. She stumbled upon the uneven ground as bile rose in her throat. Fear coursed through her veins as her feet slapped the sidewalk in a run. A black hackney loomed nearby. She quickly boarded it and gave directions to her street, avoiding the exact address for her home.

Once the driver stopped, Lucy stepped off. She waited until he left, and then ran around the corner to her own home. She flung the door wide, burst through, and skidded to a stop in the study.

Where was it? Books flew through the air as she searched through every one. No stray papers fluttered to the ground. Next she searched the desktop. After finding nothing on top, she pulled the desk drawers open and threw them to the floor, letting the contents spill out.

Spotting nothing, Lucy lit every candle she could find. The house blazed with light, and Lucy returned to the study. She lifted the Mai Ogi fan. Light hit the material and cast a shadow, revealing the secret message.

As far as Lucy knew her father had held only one piece of the puzzle. The agent received just the coded message. From there the coded message passed to the contact. Perhaps the contact held the key? Or the message passed hands again; Lucy didn’t know.

What she did know was that her contact, Joshua, or in this case Reginald Spalding, was dead, and that because she didn’t have the ability to decode the message, the situation hadn’t changed. This was still a matter of life and death.

Somewhere in this room there had to be information on who to report to if Joshua perished.

Lucy continued to search for the information she needed. She removed portraits from the walls, overturned furniture, and pulled coverings to the side to search the stuffing. The dirt from plants she scooped out into containers. Surely Father had created a hiding spot in this room. With persistence, the place would be found.

She rapped the walls with her knuckles. Pain shot through her hands and up her arm. Around the room, from floor to ceiling, she worked. She crawled toward the door, stopping as her eyes spied the thick legs of someone familiar. Bryce.

She lifted her head, her gaze slowly taking in the figure before her. The expression upon his face showed confusion and genuine concern. Lucy ignored him and continued her hunt.

When every surface had been tapped and touched, Lucy sat in a chair behind the desk. Tears of frustration welled in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. She held her fist to the air and shook it. Why was this happening? Mission after mission successfully completed, until now.

Without Joshua, her link to the underground died. Without the code’s key, she couldn’t decipher the message. Without a contact list, she couldn’t pass the message along to the next person in line. What was she to do? The entire situation was a hopeless mess.

****

Words poured forth from Lucy’s mouth in an incoherent babble. Lucy looked like a little lost child sitting in the ransacked study, a mound of papers surrounding her, portraits lying upon the floor, and dirt engrained in the rugs.

Bryce approached her with a slow, reserved gait. It wouldn’t do to startle the lass and send her away. Each step he made was carefully placed. Unsure of the importance of the articles scattered about the room, he didn’t wish to risk ruining any of it.

When Bryce reached her side, he squatted next to her. He expected the babbling wild-eyed girl to continue, but instead she stopped talking and threw herself into his open arms.

“What am I going to do?” she cried.

He massaged the upper part of her back and shoulders. He remained silent, uncertain as to what she wanted or needed.

A steady flow of tears soaked his tunic. He tried to follow the meaning of her one-sided conversation, but it was impossible. Messages, shadows, missing papers; none of it made sense to him. Hopefully when Lucy calmed down, a more rational conversation could ensue.

After about ten minutes, Lucy leaned back, wiped the tears from her face, cleared her throat, and stood. “I’m sorry.”

Bryce waited patiently for more explanation, but was disappointed when she said nothing more. He watched in confusion as Lucy resumed her search. Finally she stopped, stood in the middle of the room, and screamed. The sound echoed off the walls and reverberated along his spine.

Bryce rushed to her side. Worry gnawed at his gut. What could have caused such a change in her demeanor? “Lucy, what is wrong with ye?”

“You wouldn’t understand,” she replied.

“Try me.”

Lucy rounded on him. A fierce glint lit her eye as she pushed him into a corner. “I’m a spy, an undercover agent for the Huguenots in France. I work to help them keep their property and lives intact. Tonight I watched my contact die. A dagger consigned him to an early grave.

“Now I have a secret message I can’t decode, nor do I know who to pass it along to. All I do know is, if this message is late in its arrival, someone will likely perish.”

Out of breath, Lucy’s chest rose and fell as she circled him. Bryce’s mind filled with every piece of information Lucy spewed upon him. What did it all mean?

A question formed on his lips but was interrupted by a knock. Bryce and Lucy turned their heads at the same time. Before either one of them could move, they heard the squeak of an opening door.

“You forgot your pie.”