The Bellingham Bloodbath

Book 2: Colin Pendragon Mystery

by Gregory Harris

Genres: Historical Fiction; Historical Mysteries

Synopsis

Colin Pendragon's reputation as a brilliant detective is undisputed in Victorian London. But when murder strikes inside the closed ranks of Her Majesty's Guard, he must penetrate a wall of silence and secrecy to discover the dark truth. . .

After a captain in Her Majesty's Guard and his young wife are brutally murdered in their flat, master sleuth Colin Pendragon and his partner Ethan Pruitt are summoned to Buckingham Palace. Major Hampstead demands discretion at all costs to preserve the reputation of the Guard and insists Pendragon participate in a cover-up by misleading the press.

In response, Pendragon makes the bold claim that he will solve the case in no more than three days' time or he will oblige the major and compromise himself. Racing against the clock--and thwarted at every turn by their Scotland Yard nemesis, Inspector Varcoe--Pendragon and Pruitt begin to assemble the clues around the grisly homicide, probing into private lives and uncovering closely guarded secrets. As the minutes tick away, the pressure--and the danger--mounts as Pendragon's integrity is on the line and a cold-blooded killer remains on the streets. . .

"Colin has Holmes' arrogance but is dimpled and charming, while Ethan is a darker Watson. . .the relationship between the leads is discreetly intriguing." --Kirkus Reviews

Release date: August 26, 2014

Publisher: Kensington Books

Print pages: 304

Sample

One of Her Majesty’s coaches was waiting to whisk us off to Buckingham Palace. We had only just been told about the killing of a captain in Her Majesty’s Life Guard and his wife, and were being summoned, presumably, to solve their murders. The sergeant they’d sent for us had made it sound like an ugly business indeed.

I stared across the room with a mixture of dread and morbid curiosity as I watched Colin continue to fiddle with one of his derringers. Surely he meant for us to leave . . . yet there he sat, painstakingly wiping every centimeter of the little gun until I could finally stand it no longer: “What the bloody hell are you doing?”

He looked up at me with an inconceivably guileless expression. “What?”

“Buckingham . . . ?!” I blurted as though speaking to someone quite undone. “The sergeant who came to fetch us is waiting outside . . .”

“I know,” he answered simply.

“Well, are we going?”

“The sergeant’s a pompous little twit. He can wait.”

“He’s an officer of Her Majesty’s Life Guard—”

“I don’t care if he’s having it off with the old girl herself; let him wait. Be good to teach him some manners.”

“So we’re back in school then?” I parried just as a loud and insistent pounding burst up from the door downstairs.

“See what I mean,” Colin grumbled.

“I’m sure he’s only trying to follow orders. He wasn’t sent here to polish the cobbles pacing.”

A second pounding, even more determined, brought Colin to his feet. “If he does that again I shall go down there and shove my boot up his orders.”

“No doubt Mrs. Behmoth will beat you to it,” I said as the sound of her lumbering from the kitchen to the front door drifted up among her curses. I was certain she would roundly upbraid the young sergeant the moment she got the door open, but no such diatribe ensued. Instead I heard the voice of our elderly neighbor curl up the stairs. “It’s Mrs. Menlo,” I said with little enthusiasm.

“And what is she complaining about now?” He shook his head as he set his derringer onto the mantel. “Is the soldier out front giving her vapors?”

“I should think she’s trying to wheedle information out of Mrs. Behmoth. You know how she despises not knowing our business.”

“Yes . . .” He snatched up his dumbbells and began curling them over his head. “And I’m sure we could cause her a good deal of apoplexy with some of the things we get up to.” He snickered. “For the moment, however, I believe it’s time we learned something about this poor captain and his wife. We mustn’t show up at the major’s office completely unawares.”

I stared at the stack of unread newspapers beside the hearth as he continued to train the already-taut muscles of his arms. “Fine,” I exhaled. “Let me see what I can find of it.”

“Excellent,” he muttered, dropping to the floor and busting out a set of push-ups on his dumbbells.

Turning my attentions back to the pile of papers, I was relieved when my search proved brief. Stretched across the morning edition of yesterday’s paper was a banner that cried: QUEEN’S CAPTAIN AND WIFE BUTCHERED IN BLOODBATH. I read the article aloud while Colin continued his fevered push-ups, and it was only after I finished that he finally sat up, ran a sleeve across his sweating forehead, and asked me to read it again. This time he listened.

“Sometime during the night of Sunday last, Captain Trevor Bellingham, 32, of the Queen’s Life Guard, and his wife, Gwendolyn, 29, were brutally murdered in the Finchley Road flat they shared with their young son. Miraculously, the young boy, just past his fifth birthday, was found unharmed in his bedroom. Police had to break the boy’s door down, as it had been wedged tight, almost certainly by the murderer, though one source close to the investigation suggested that one of the parents may have secured the door in order to save their son.

“Mrs. Bellingham was reported to have been shot and killed in her bedroom, but Scotland Yard has yet to release the cause of death for Captain Bellingham, stating that the matter was still under investigation.” I glanced over to where Colin remained sitting on the floor. “I wonder why the secrecy?”

“We shall have to find out.”

“Police did state that there did not appear to be any signs of forced entry, pointing to the possibility that the killer may have been known to Captain and Mrs. Bellingham. Scotland Yard’s Inspector Emmett Varcoe”—I read his name enunciating it with mock esteem—“assures that everything possible is being done to solve this terrible crime against one of the Queen’s own men and his young wife. However, the Times would like to remind its readership that Inspector Varcoe is the same investigator who remains befuddled by the identity of the vicious killer known only as Jack the Ripper.”

“It all sounds rather odd,” Colin muttered as he stood up and hurried off toward our bedroom, “though a spot-on summation of Varcoe. He should have retired a decade ago.”

“That he should . . . ,” I agreed as Colin returned with his straw-colored hair slicked back and our coats over his arms.

“Shall we . . . ?”

Twenty minutes later the carriage that had been awaiting us swung around the drive of Buckingham Palace and once again I was struck by how austere and remote it looked. Partially colonnaded in the Federalist style, it appears like neither a true palace nor a home. Sprawling behind its massive bronze and iron fencing with a contingency of guards precisely stationed across its front, it seems very much to be holding itself with the same reserve as our Queen.

I took note of the lone Union Jack on the roof and knew Victoria was not in residence. Her colors would be flying atop Sandringham this time of year, though even if she had been here I knew it would have made little difference. One does not happen upon Her Majesty in the hallways. Nevertheless, it would have been the closest I had ever come to royalty.

The coachman brought us alongside the gates and slowed almost to a stop as they began to swing inward at the behest of our escort, Sergeant McReedy. We were ushered through and driven across the parade grounds to the far side of the building under the watchful eyes of a throng of spectators.

“They must think us special.” I chuckled.

“We are,” Colin murmured as he surreptitiously squeezed my hand.

“Perhaps so, but they’ll still be disappointed when we climb out.”

He laughed as I turned to watch the stiff-postured guards we were clattering past with their blazing red jackets and high bearskin hats. They ignored us as we went by, none so much as moving his eyes to follow our progress. “You can always count on this lot to put us in our place,” Colin said.

Before I could answer we came to an abrupt stop and both doors were immediately swept open. Sergeant McReedy dismounted and led us through a side portico and down a hallway of unremarkable design that I decided no royal had ever passed along. Tiny offices lined both sides, providing the only contrast in the otherwise stark space. It was hardly what I had expected until I reminded myself that these were the niches of those who kept the palace functioning; what use did they have for moldings, ormolu, filigree, or even art?

The sergeant stopped at an office near the end of the corridor and barked out, “Colin Pendragon and Ethan Pruitt!”

An alabaster-skinned young man who looked too young to be in the service sat behind a small desk in the anteroom to a much larger office. “Oh . . . ,” he said with notable surprise as Colin and I walked in. “Oh . . . ,” he repeated as his eyes fell on me before quickly shifting back to Colin. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Pendragon,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m Major Hampstead’s attaché, Corporal Bramwood.” His gaze drifted in my direction again and I knew what was coming. “I am terribly sorry . . . ,” he said coolly, “. . . but there seems to have been a misunderstanding.” He looked back at Colin. “The summons from Major Hampstead was meant for you, Mr. Pendragon, and you alone.”

“Ah . . . then there has indeed been a misunderstanding.” Colin offered a smile. “I’m afraid I don’t work alone, Corporal. You and your major will take us together or you will settle for my regrets.”

Corporal Bramwood opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I saw him glance behind me to where Sergeant McReedy remained in the doorway and then heard the sound of the sergeant moving off. This young man was apparently on his own.

“Have a seat . . . have a seat . . . ,” he mumbled quickly. “I shall let Major Hampstead know you are both here.” He gave an awkward nod before disappearing through the door behind his desk, making sure it latched firmly behind him.

“This lot seems to think they’re all ordained by God,” Colin muttered as he sat down.

I snickered. “I don’t think that young corporal is used to having his major’s orders countermanded.”

“I was civil about it,” Colin blithely protested.

Before I could say anything more the inner door burst open and Corporal Bramwood hurried out with an older man at his heels. “Mr. Pendragon . . . Mr. Pruitt!” he sputtered. “This is Major Hampstead.”

The major stepped forward, a tall man somewhere in his late fifties with a generous middle. He wore a thick white mustache and sported huge sideburns that fanned out several inches along his jawline. His deportment suggested he had been a leader most of his life: ramrod straight with a swagger of marked self-assurance. “It is an honor to meet you, gentlemen,” he said, and I knew he was also a diplomat.

“It is always a pleasure to meet one of Her Majesty’s lifers.” Colin smiled.

Major Hampstead snorted a laugh. “I should doubt the son of Her Majesty’s emissary to India is so easily impressed. I would say your father has given nearly the whole of his life in service to her.”

“He has.” Colin flashed a tight grin. “But the life of a diplomat hardly compares to the work of a regimental guard. You mustn’t give my father too much credit.”

“I doubt that I am,” he chortled. “Please come in, gentlemen. Tea, Corporal,” he ordered before retreating back to his office and seating himself behind his massive desk.

Corporal Bramwood brought in a tray of tea and biscuits with a speed that conveyed just how much time he spent in that endeavor. The straining seams along the sides of the major’s red tunic also attested to that fact. “I appreciate your willingness to come here without the slightest notice,” he said. “I’m afraid I have a very difficult matter to discuss. One that requires the utmost discretion.”

“You are referring to the murder of that captain and his wife?”

The major winced. “I am. It’s an awful business that has been made even more unseemly by the newspapers heralding it the way they’ve done.”

“I’m afraid our countrymen are always keen for a scandal.”

“Which is precisely my point.” I could see him relax a bit at Colin’s pronouncement. “The Queen’s Guard simply cannot be party to any such scandal. It is inappropriate and unacceptable.”

“That may be, but it would appear it is already done.”

The major knit his brow. “I would venture otherwise, Mr. Pendragon. I have asked you here because I believe you can do a great deal to help us staunch this damage. You can impact the public record to not only cease the gossip concerning this very private, very regrettable event, but to allow us to deal with it ourselves, outside of the public’s lecherous purview.”

“Us . . . ?”my

“The Guard, of course.”

“I see,” Colin said even as his own brow creased a notch. “You have summoned us here to divert the newsmen while you and your regiment, untrained in such things, attempt to solve these murders?”

“It is the Guard’s business and should be handled as such.”

“It is the murder of two British subjects, Major Hampstead, one of whom was in service to the Queen. I’m quite certain the public will remain very concerned about it until it is resolved. The inference being, of course, that the very men prescribed with protecting Her Majesty cannot even protect themselves. Trying to steal this behind the public’s eye will be quite impossible, Major. Unless, of course, you are trying to hide something. . . ?”

“Hide something . . . ?!” His face creased into a scowl. “I trust you are being facetious, Mr. Pendragon.”

“I’ve been accused of worse,” he muttered.

“Let me assure you that my request comes only out of concern for Her Majesty’s Guard,” the major said in a tone as filled with condescension as assurance. “The first lesson a man learns when he enlists is that it is not about the individual, but the regiment. Every man who serves under Victoria’s banner understands that.”

“While I’m sure that’s true,” Colin allowed with a tightening smile as he fished a crown out of his pocket and began effortlessly weaving it between the fingers of his right hand, “I don’t see how it is relevant.”

“Then you are missing my point,” the major sniped. “The Queen’s regiment has a prestige to uphold and cannot afford to be mired down in such things. This Bellingham situation is anathema to everything the Guard represents.”

Colin instantly palmed the crown. “Do I understand you correctly, Major? Do you presume to speak for the Queen with such rhetoric?”

“Now Mr. Pendragon”—he exhaled deeply before popping a biscuit into his mouth—“you misunderstand me. Captain Bellingham was one of my most trusted leaders and a man I considered a personal friend. No one in this company is more determined to bring the perpetrator of his murder to justice than I. And I had the utmost respect and adoration for his lovely wife. A kind and wonderful woman whose senseless killing demands all the resources at the Guard’s disposal. Yet even so, decorum dictates that it must be done with discretion. You said yourself that the public will have no faith in our Guard if they perceive that we cannot even fend for ourselves. I’m sure I do not need to remind you that Her Majesty’s Life Guard represents the finest of our country’s protectors and as such cannot bear so much as a whiff of scandal. This matter will be solved by this regiment, but we shall do it outside of the gaze of the common masses.”

“The common masses?” One of Colin’s eyebrows arched up. “Does Victoria encourage her Guard to look down on the very people God has granted her the authority to rule?”

“Mr. Pendragon . . . ,” he started to say, only to fall silent. The ticking of the small clock on the major’s credenza was the only sound to be heard for several seconds until Colin began to coax the coin between his fingers again. I started to wonder if we weren’t about to be dismissed, but I had miscalculated the major. Quite suddenly, without the slightest hint that it was coming, he abruptly let out a bellowing laugh. “You are toying with me, Mr. Pendragon. You mean to prod me into a rise and you almost succeeded. But I shall not be so easily dissuaded.” He leaned forward. “I’d bet you would like to see the Bellingham flat for yourself. There is much the newspapers have not reported. Much they do not know.”

A cool smirk overtook Colin’s face. “And now you are toying with me.”

“So I am.” He leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smile. “You must understand my position, Mr. Pendragon. Anything concerning the Queen’s Guard inevitably implicates our sovereign as well. And I’m sure I needn’t remind you that Her Majesty is seventy-seven and in failing health.”

“That woman is as delicate as a plow horse,” he shot back. “And I find it hard to believe she has any but the most passing familiarity concerning the murder of one of her guardsmen with whom she probably never once spoke. I believe you are trying to hide behind her skirts, Major.”

“Do you presume to be privy to what goes on in Her Majesty’s household?”

“My father transferred John Brown from Victoria’s stable to her personal duty after Albert’s death, so I would say I know a bit more about Her Majesty’s household than you think. What I don’t understand is why you want to bring me here to feed nonsense to the press? I don’t control those men.”

“You underestimate yourself, Mr. Pendragon. They hang on your words like they are spun from gold.” A cloying smile clung to his lips. “If you were to release a statement that you had conducted an investigation and determined the case to be closed, say a burglary gone bad, or a case of mistaken identity, why, they would be only too happy to embrace your conclusion and return their attentions to the horses at Ascot and which lady is wearing what. Everyone would be satisfied, which would allow me and my men to handle this case with the delicacy Captain Bellingham and his wife deserve.”

“And the perpetrator?”

“I will personally see to it that their murderer receives the full wrath of the law.”

Colin sat up and neatly tipped the crown back into his vest pocket. “And what makes you think these murders will be so easily dispatched? Murder is a complex business in the simplest of cases—”

“I said I will take care of it,” the major repeated with noticeably greater force. “And I could use your help with Scotland Yard. I’ve got them circling like schoolyard boys, on top of which the Times is calling the Guard’s reputation into question, and the public is terrified for their safety. Until we can release a conclusive statement, Mr. Pendragon, this discord will be relentless.”

Colin stood up. “I’m sorry, Major. You seem to have gotten the notion that my integrity can be bargained for. If I have earned the respect of the press it is because I do not spin fables, and, in spite of your desire for discretion, cannot see why I should start now. If you would like to hire me to solve this case I will gladly do so, but until you come to your senses I will bid you good day.” He turned for the door.

“Mr. Pendragon!” The major sounded perplexed as I got up to follow. “Mr. Pendragon!” he howled as we reached the door. “With all due respect to your esteemed integrity, the public wants immediate answers to their fears. They want the world to return to the status quo. They will not tolerate remaining under a veil of anxiety. You can blame the unsolved Ripper murders for that. And that’s why there are men like you and me. To ensure that our republic gets what it needs. Now I am beseeching you, Mr. Pendragon, to offer the public a reasoned solution to a horrible crime so that they can get on with the mundanity of their lives. Where is the harm in that?”

“If that’s what you’re after, Major, then I would suggest you get the Yard to be your mouthpiece. Inspector Varcoe is always good for hot air.”

“Nobody wants to hear from that blasted lout. You will do this for me, Mr. Pendragon. You are the only man with the reputation for it and I will insist.”

“Insist?” Colin chuckled. “Are you proposing sticking a hand up my bum to move my lips?”

“You will be handsomely compensated. Now how can I convince you to perform this service for the Crown?”

Colin pursed his lips and I could tell he had already thought of something. “There is one way I can conceive . . . ,” he said casually, “. . . and it is the only way I would consider it. . . .” He let a moment pass to emphasize his determination. “You must announce to the press that you have retained my services to solve the murders of the captain and his wife. . . .”

“Yes . . . ?”

“And then give me the next three days to do so. During those three days you must ensure I have the full cooperation of this regiment as well as access to whomever I want.”

“Not Her Majesty or her family.”

“I should hardly think that will be necessary.”

“And at the end of the three days . . . ?”

“I will deliver the truth of the case to you.”

“And if you cannot?”

“I will.” He smiled harshly, even as my stomach clutched at the very idea. I couldn’t fathom how he had come up with the notion of three days.

Major Hampstead frowned. “Absolute proof, Mr. Pendragon. You must bring me absolute proof of whatever supposition you’re championing or I shall have your word that you will face that mob of newsmen and sell them whatever I deem appropriate.”

Colin gave no more than an ambivalent nod.

“Three days then.” The major glanced back at his clock. “That would be twelve o’clock on Friday.” He turned back to us. “I shall give you until seventeen hundred. Plenty of time for the newsmen to make their Saturday morning edition.”

“Most generous,” Colin muttered.

“Corporal Bramwood!”

“Sir?” The young man opened the door so quickly I knew he had to have been hovering nearby.

“Alert the newspapermen that Her Majesty’s Life Guard has retained the services of Colin Pendragon to bring a swift and just conclusion to the tragic murders of Captain and Mrs. Bellingham. And let them know that Mr. Pendragon will have an announcement to make at seventeen hundred hours this very Friday.”

“This Friday, sir?”

“Yes, Corporal. This Friday.”

And with that, the young man was gone, though I did notice he left the door ajar.

“I will solve this crime, Major Hampstead,” Colin said with the simplicity of one discussing the weather. “I shall bring you the resolution Friday and we will see what gets delivered to the press.”

“I admire a man of confidence,” the major replied with a tense grin. “But listen very carefully, Mr. Pendragon, because if, at the end of your three days, you should find yourself stymied by this case, then I alone will decide what is told to those newsmen. You will say what I decide and you will walk away. Are we clear?”

Colin flashed an equally rigid smile. “You have been most clear, Major. And now I should indeed like an escort to the Bellingham flat so I may get started. Someone from Captain Bellingham’s regiment would be my preference.”

“Sergeant McReedy will take you. He reported to the captain.” Major Hampstead’s smile relaxed and I couldn’t help but feel it was with the arrogance that comes when one perceives imminent success.

I joined Colin on the parade grounds as soon as I concluded the financial details of the condensed investigation he had bound us to. My negotiations with the major had gone well considering he was only hiring us for three days, the very thought of which set my stomach lurching. Nevertheless, he had meant what he’d said with regards to making sure Colin would be well compensated.

“Are we set then?” Colin asked as I joined him beside a young private with a mop of tight, curly brown hair hugging his head.

“We are in terms of money.” A pained smile was all I could come up with.

“Have faith,” Colin chided as he gestured to the young man beside him. “Private Newcombe here has been tasked to wait with us while Sergeant McReedy summons a carriage. A dreary task, I should think.”

“I’ve done worse.” The. . .