Out of Time: . (Steamside Chroncles Book 1) Read online

“Here,” he said as he handed the envelope to Jacob, “These are instructions on the test to perform at the autopsy. If people start to become suspicious,” he added handing Jacob the box, “you might find the contents of this comes in useful. Don’t open either of them until you get home. When you have read the instructions, destroy them. When you’ve done the autopsies have the results sent here, to me.”

  Jacob took the envelope and placed it inside his coat. He squeezed the box tightly under his arm and without a further word was shown to the door. Moments later Jacob once again found himself standing in the freezing fog which engulfed Grosvenor Gardens. The same man who had collected him showed Jacob into a waiting hansom and Jacob was on his way home.

  ***

  Kate had brushed her teeth with the toothbrush provided and whilst the toothpaste jar had a familiar name on the label the taste was definitely not what she was accustomed to. The decision to wear the same dress as she had the previous day seemed a straightforward one until she remembered the rip in the skirt. She quickly looked through the dresses hanging in the wardrobe that she had borrowed from Miss Wheaton and decided on a cream dress with a high neck and black lace roses covering the buttons on the front. When she was ready Kate made her way downstairs for breakfast. She walked into the dining room and saw Miss Wheaton and Grace were already sat down.

  “Good morning,” said Grace as she looked up and smiled.

  “Good morning,” Kate replied unable to stop herself from returning the smile.

  Ivy was clearing plates from the table.

  “Morning miss, can I get you anything?”

  “Just some coffee and toast please.”

  “I trust you slept well last night, Miss Lockwood,” said Laura.

  “Not too bad, thanks,” replied Kate. She had, in fact, lain awake most of the night running her situation through her head before drifting off into a sleep filled with dreams of steam driven cars and airships, “but please call me Kate.”

  “Of course, but only if you call me Laura,” the governess smiled.

  “Why are you wearing Miss Wheaton’s clothes?” asked Grace. The question had Kate lost for words.

  “Miss Lockwood has been travelling and has yet to have her luggage delivered,” said Laura, rescuing Kate after a short pause. The explanation seemed to appease Grace, but only momentarily.

  “Travelling, where?” Grace said suddenly animated. “Have you been anywhere exciting? Have you been to America? Daddy comes from America. Have you been to New York? I’d love to go to New York.”

  “Grace,” said Laura interrupting the stream of questions, “It’s bad manners to ask so many questions of our guest. Now apologise.”

  Grace looked down at her plate, the contents of which had hardly been disturbed, “I’m sorry,” she said in a small voice. She looked up at Kate and stifled a giggle when Kate winked at her and smiled.

  “Laura, it’s alright. I don’t mind,” said Kate, before looking back towards Grace. “I have been to America. I’ve been to New York and San Francisco and Florida.”

  “Florida?” said Grace. “What’s in Florida?”

  Kate was momentarily lost for words, “Nothing…yet,” she said eventually.

  Kate looked at Laura and wondered how much she knew.

  Ivy came back into the room and Kate watched as she placed a pot of coffee onto the table. Kate looked at Grace as she held a glass of what looked like apple juice to her mouth. She was pale and Kate could clearly see a film of perspiration on her face.

  “Grace,” asked Kate, “are you feeling alright?”

  “I feel very thirsty,” said Grace taking another gulp from the glass.

  Laura put the palm of her hand against Grace’s forehead.

  “You feel cold and clammy,” she said with some anxiety in her voice, “It feels as though you have a fever. I think you had better go to bed and we’ll wait for your father to return.”

  “But Miss Wheaton I’ve only just got up,” she looked imploringly at the governess and then turned her stare to Kate.

  “If you go up now,” said Kate, “I’ll tell you all about New York.”

  Grace’s eyes lit up. She pushed herself away from the table, looked at Kate and waved. Kate waved back as Grace smiled and left the room to go upstairs.

  “Where is Doctor McKinley?” asked Kate

  “He was called out very early this morning but he did say he should be back for breakfast,” said Laura. “If you will excuse me I’ll just check on Miss McKinley.” Laura pushed her chair back and stood. “She does seem to have taken rather a shine to you,” Laura looked around the room to make sure they were alone, “unlike Miss Calthorpe.”

  “Yes,” said Kate, “having met her haughtiness I can’t imagine many people taking a shine to her.”

  Laura had almost reached the door when Kate suddenly asked, “What happened to Grace’s Mother?”

  Laura’s hand went to her mouth and Kate could see a tear start to form in the corner of her eye. Kate heard her stumble over the words, “I’m sorry,” before hurriedly leaving the room. Kate followed to apologise, but stopped in the hallway at the sight of Ivy showing in a slim man in his early sixties. The man gave Ivy his overcoat and top hat, revealing an immaculate grey suit and a receding hairline to match.

  “If I could wait for Jacob in his study, I trust he won’t be long?”

  “He said he would be back for breakfast sir.”

  Kate wasn’t sure whether to follow Laura upstairs or to retreat into the study. In that split second of indecision, the man looked straight at her.

  “I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t realise Jacob had company,” he said. “You don’t mind if I wait do you?”

  “Err…no. Not at all.”

  “Ah, splendid. We haven’t met before have we?”

  “No we haven’t,” said Kate, regaining a little composure.

  “Forgive me, where are my manners? My name is Solomon Polperro, I’m a friend of Jacob’s. I was just dropping by to invite him to dinner tonight. I’m terribly sorry, but I don’t know your name.”

  “Oh, my name is Kate. Kate Lockwood. I’m…just visiting for a short while.”

  “I take it that is not a London accent I can hear.”

  “No. I’ve lived in London for a couple of years but I come from Lincoln originally.”

  “Ah, Lincolnshire, a beautiful, if flat, part of the country.”

  “I wouldn’t call the Wolds flat. And if you’ve ever been to Lincoln itself and walked from the High Street to the Cathedral you’ll know why they call it, ‘Steep hill.’”

  Polperro smiled, “Lincoln is indeed a beautiful city, although I must say I do prefer the area around the cathedral to the bottom of the hill. Especially with the binge drinking culture that seemed so prevalent when I was there.”

  “Yes, I…” Kate looked up in surprise and was about to question the newcomer when the study door opened.

  “Solomon, how are you? I see you have already met Miss Lockwood.”

  “Yes we have had a most interesting chat,” said Polperro looking again at Kate.

  “Miss Lockwood and I were going to come and see you this afternoon Solomon if that would be convenient?”

  “Unfortunately Jacob, I have a meeting this afternoon with one of the hospitals benefactors. I actually came to invite you to for dinner tomorrow evening. If you would both like to come that would be wonderful. Would eight o’clock be suitable?”

  Jacob looked to Kate whose eyes were fixed firmly on Polperro.

  “Yes, eight would be perfect. Thank you.”

  “That’s marvellous. Well, I shall see you both tomorrow evening then. Goodbye, Jacob, Miss Lockwood.”

  Polperro walked into the hall, collected his hat and coat and strolled out of the front door without being shown out. Jacob watched him walk onto the pavement and into a waiting steam car that was parked on the road outside the front gate. He shut the door and turned to see Laura walking down the stairs.

/>   Grace has a fever,” she said. “She has gone back to bed to rest.”

  Kate watched as Jacob went upstairs to see his daughter, returning a short time later.

  “I hope I wasn’t too forward in accepting the dinner invitation on your behalf Miss Lockwood,” he said.

  “No, it should be very interesting,” said Kate, “but would you please stop calling me Miss Lockwood.”

  “Of course …Katherine.”

  “Katherine? Only my Dad ever called me Katherine and only then when he was angry with me,” she stared at the floor. “Please, just call me Kate.”

  “Of course, if you insist…Kate. I hope you don’t mind but my business takes me to the morgue. I have two autopsies to perform.”

  “Will one of them be the governess from Kempsford Gardens?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact one of them is the governess”

  “What changed your mind?”

  “The other body was found in Lavender Pond last night. He has scratch marks to the left side of his face,” said Jacob changing the subject. “I believe he may have been involved in the murder of the governess.”

  “How long will it take us to get there?”

  “Us?” said Jacob shaking his head. “A morgue is no place for a young lady at the best of times and certainly not when an autopsy is being done.”

  “I’ve seen dead bodies before and been to more than one post-mortem. I’m not squeamish and I don’t like being patronised.”

  “It’s most irregular and I’ll have some explaining to do, but…” Jacob looked at Kate and knew there was no point in arguing, “…as you wish,” Jacob opened the study door. “Ivy,” called Jacob in a loud voice, “would you hail a cab please?”

  Jacob picked a large cape from a peg on the wall and handed it to Kate, “If you insist on coming you may as well be warm,” he said before walking back into the study. He put the plain wooden box he had received at the Embassy in a drawer of his desk and locked it. He then took the envelope from his pocket, read the contents of the note and threw both the note and envelope onto the fire.

  Jacob walked to the sideboard, opened a door and took out a leather case containing the close quarter examination goggles he had used to examine the governess at Lord Ashbury’s house. Jacob walked out of the house followed closely by Kate and into a waiting cab. Their thoughts on the journey to the morgue going in two very different directions, Kate wondering if the mysterious Solomon Polperro was from her own time, Jacob considering the connection between the upcoming post-mortem and his deceased wife.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Amos watched as the thick rope was wound around the quayside mooring and pushed a thin brass lever forward. When he was satisfied the small tug had come to a complete stop he hopped onto the quayside and started walking towards a check-in station to hand in his transfer documents. He had almost reached the hut when a small automaton scuttled in front of him. Amos stopped, more in surprise than fear, and studied the contraption. It had a humanoid brass head and ovoid body sat on five crab-like legs with rubber grips on their ends holding onto the cobbles. There were no features where the face should have been, instead, a smooth glass panel curved around the front showing the workings inside. The head jerked spasmodically, studying Amos before inching towards him.

  With a slow, deliberate movement Amos reached inside his coat and moved his hand around the waistband of his trousers to where he kept a loaded revolver. He had almost reached it when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure standing just to his right. It was John Hobson.

  “Don’t move,” said Hobson, “it’s checking your plate.”

  “My plate?”

  “The brass plaque pinned to your coat,” said Hobson. “Once it recognises the code it’ll leave you alone.”

  “What if it doesn’t recognise the code?” asked Amos.

  “Don’t worry,” smirked Hobson, “we’ll tell your next of kin.” Laughing at his own joke, Hobson walked past Amos and into the wooden check-in station.

  The head stopped moving and Amos saw a glass lens inside the head point directly at the brass plate on his lapel. The automaton whirred and clicked for several seconds before, apparently satisfied, the head and body spun to face the opposite direction and it scuttled away towards a nondescript steamer with no marking.

  Amos followed Hobson into the hut and handed his paperwork over.

  “What the hell was that?”

  “A security automaton,” said Hobson without looking up.

  “It scurried back to that steamer with no markings. What’s it carrying that’s so important?”

  Hobson slapped down several coins onto the desktop. “Mr Polperro is very security conscious. He doesn’t like thieves,” he made a point of looking at Amos, “or snoopers.” Hobson gestured towards the coins, “There’s your pay for the day. Come back first thing in the morning if you want any more work.”

  Amos was scraping the coins into his hand when Hobson grabbed his wrist. “And if you don’t want any trouble, don’t ask any more questions.”

  Hobson released his grip and Amos pocketed the coins before walking outside. He looked back towards the mysterious steamer before deciding to get a cab into the centre of London.

  ***

  Jacob had decided that the journey to the mortuary at Shoreditch should be as comfortable as possible and as a result, he and Kate found themselves turning onto the Chelsea Embankment in a brand new brougham.

  Kate looked out of the window towards Battersea Park. Through the clearing mist, she could just make out the blackened tower near the boating lake.

  “The tower,” said Kate suddenly.

  “The Tower of London?” replied Jacob.

  “What? No. The tower in Battersea Park,” Kate pointed through the window, “It looks old and burned out. Why is it there? What happened to it?”

  Jacob leaned forward so he could see through the window, “It’s an airship docking pylon, or at least, it was,” he said as he leaned back into his seat. “About six years ago an airship was docked there. It was transporting prisoners when it went out of control. The envelope containing the hydrogen exploded. The airship was destroyed and everybody on board was killed.”

  “How many people were on board?”

  “I seem to remember there were one hundred prisoners and fifteen crew members. There was quite a controversy about it. Lord Ashbury said it was caused by pilot error and introduced a bill in Parliament that enforced a forbidden flying area over London. A radius of three miles with Buckingham Palace at the centre.”

  “The heart of the Empire,” said Kate, vaguely realising her acceptance of her situation. “Why would that be controversial?”

  “The assumption that the accident was caused by pilot error,” said Jacob. “The Admiralty were furious as there was no evidence to support the claim. But equally, because everything was vaporized in the explosion, there was no evidence to refute it either. The remaining crew, who were on the ground at the time, were disgraced and Lord Ashbury tried to have charges brought upon the captain. The police and the courts couldn’t agree what to do. In the end it was agreed there was insufficient evidence to bring a trial.”

  Jacob studied the silver top of his cane absently.

  “And of course there was the matter of the size of the forbidden flying area.”

  “Why?” said Kate. “Three miles would cover all of central London. It seems a good distance.”

  “It’s a perfect distance for Solomon Polperro.”

  “Why? What’s he got to do with it?”

  “Three miles to the East includes the Regent Docks, London Docks and also every dock in Southwark and Rotherhithe. The East and West India Docks and the Millwall Docks lay just outside the no flying area and all three just happen to be owned by Polperro.”

  “So the two of them are in it together,” said Kate, “creating a stranglehold on the docks.”

  “That’s the way it seems, although no-one has proved any ki
nd of link between the two men…yet,” Jacob added the last word with a certain emphasis. “It has certainly improved Polperro’s fortune. Not that he needed it. He says the bill has protected the jobs of his workers but rather neatly ignores those working inside the no-fly area.”

  “Why are we going to dinner with him? He doesn’t exactly sound like a close friend,” said Kate as she watched as the brougham moved onto Grosvenor Road and the pylon was out of sight.

  “He isn’t exactly what you would call a friend.”

  Kate switched her gaze from the window to Jacob.

  “He’s a very generous benefactor to a number of hospitals, including the ones I work at, and we often have dinner, but…” his voice trailed off as he shook his head.

  “You think he has an ulterior motive.”

  “He questions me about the patients, but only the ones I treat at Bethlam. He seems to take a great deal of interest in the fantasies of some of the most deluded.”

  “Perhaps someone he cared for suffered from mental health problems and he just wants to give something back,” said Kate.

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. Mental health?”

  “It’s just a modern…” Kate stuttered as she saw Jacob’s eyebrows arch, “…different way of saying ‘madness’ or ‘insanity’.”

  Jacob nodded, “Maybe,” he said looking out of the brougham window, “maybe.”

  ***

  “Order. Order.” The speaker of the House of Commons struck his gavel several times against a wooden sound block and members on both sides of the chamber settled into silence. He looked down to his right at the rows of seated men and along the front row until his eyes rested on one individual. “Lord Ashbury,” the Speaker said as he nodded his head slightly.

  Lord Ashbury stood and surveyed the opposition benches before turning his head to the Speaker.

  “Thank you my, Lord Speaker,” Lord Ashbury smiled. “I would normally beg to move that the bill be now read a third and final time. Lord Speaker this is an important bill which has been much improved by the scrutiny through this House and I would like to thank all members, even those members of the opposition, for the approach which has been taken.”