Barbara Cleverly - The Blood Royal

‘Bacchus was engaged elsewhere at the time. I checked.’

‘… the massacre must be a true bill. They died there and were buried in the forest. Poor creatures! But you mentioned a British presence. How on earth did his majesty’s agents fetch up here in the wilderness?’

‘Ekaterinburg may be a far-off outlandish sort of place, but where there’s money about, and in enormous quantities, there you’ll find international interest also. There’s a whole boulevard taken up by embassies of one sort or another. The British have an outpost there. And we have in our consul, Thomas Preston, and vice-consul, Arthur Thomas, two active, intelligent, Russian-speaking officials of the highest calibre. Bold too, I may add. The vice-consul went along to bang on the table and make demands of the local soviet concerning the security of the Romanov family once too often. He was almost shot on the spot by a gun-toting official. They did what they could and kept the villa where the Romanovs were held under very close surveillance, remaining in touch, telegraph permitting, for as long as possible. And then, of course, we have our man Lockhart out and about and up to mischief. I can say no more. Just accept that we know far more than ever appears in the pages of the London Times .’

‘I’m thinking this is a puzzle of a painting I’ve been handed.’

‘Yes. Intriguing possibilities here … A potentially dangerous work, though. It could cause difficulties for you if it got about.’ Joe began to pad about the room. ‘You see — it’s empty, the grave. It’s been dug but there are no bodies. Not a sign of one. Do you think the artist would have been able to restrain himself from adding a symbolic smear of blood-red staining the oily puddles of the taiga floor if …’ He was muttering almost to himself as he stared again at the painting. ‘I wonder if I could use this to our advantage? The uncertainty?’ He took a few more steps about the room and then: ‘Look here — I think you should leave the picture with me. It was addressed to you, care of Commander Sandilands after all. I’ll put it away in my cupboard.’ He watched as her expression changed. ‘Oh, all right. Let’s agree to wrangle about that later. Come and sit down. I need to hear your female opinion. Let me move your chair round here; you’ll want to take a look at this file with me. Bacchus managed to come up with something he thought we might find useful. It’s all we have on Anna Petrovna. Now, come on, constable! She’s in here … the woman and her motives. We have to get into her skull. We have to understand what she’s up to and why on earth she’s turned assassin. And, most importantly, how much further does she intend to go?’ He opened the file with a flourish. ‘First let’s take a look at her. Not much in the way of photographs but here’s what we have.’

He found two sepia prints and laid them out on the desk. ‘First, a line-up of nurses. Hair concealed under those white headdresses they wear. The imperial ladies, led by the Empress, rolled up their sleeves and did some pretty basic nursing work in military hospitals during the war. The older girls, Olga and Tatiana, worked like Trojans apparently. Tatiana, the sprightlier of the two, inevitably, having led such a sheltered life, fell hopelessly in love with a White Army officer under her care. Her first and only love,’ he added. ‘Bacchus’s gossip … not sure that’ll be in the notes.’

‘Oh, dear! I can’t imagine much good would have come of that,’ Lily said sadly.

‘No indeed. He must have been a spectacular young man, however. Even the Empress — the fussiest and most snobbish woman on earth — liked him and was reported to admit he’d have made a wonderful son-in-law, if only …’

‘An imperial archduchess would be destined for one of the European royal heirs. Our own Edward? Oh, goodness — now, there’s a thought. Well, I’m glad to hear the girls had a taste of real life before …’

‘We think this girl here, the tall, full-bosomed one, is our Anna. Hard to be certain. Some of their friends did join them on the wards. And then there’s this snapshot, in different mode. A rather distant and blurred shot of five girls on a summer’s day — the imperial daughters plus Anna and, honestly, she could be any one of them. They all look alike to me. A froth of white lace, a glimmer of jewels and a gallery of sulky faces. Has a Romanov ever been observed to smile ?’

‘That one’s our girl, sir,’ said Lily, pointing without hesitation.

‘Now how do you know that?’

‘The princess showed me a photograph. She wouldn’t part with it. But I can remember her features well enough to be able to identify her from this. She’d be the one standing next to Tatiana. Beauties, both.’

Sandilands peered. ‘We can’t use this for identification. Not clear enough and five years out of date. They all look alike to me though I think I can spot Tatiana! What a girl.’ He looked again. ‘Her raven-haired friend is spectacular too. The face is similar but she looks … heavier … than the taxi girl, Miss Hampshire.’

‘Puppy fat, sir? Some girls are blessed with it and lose it with age. And after all, there was a war on over there in Russia too.’

‘As you say. But then … Anything to reveal about her character before I open these pages and find out what she’s really been up to?’

‘Quite mad, the princess would have us believe. “A loose cannon” she called her. Utterly devoted to the imperial family. A Royalist to the core. But there are other things we can work out for ourselves, sir.’

‘Go on.’

‘She’s clever. She got the better of Bacchus, after all. She doesn’t act on instinct — she plans ahead. Six weeks ahead in the matter of her preparation for the Prince of Wales’s assassination. She’s ready to get her hands dirty in the pursuit of her aim — as Hopkirk, was it, said, she must be a strapping lass to survive the kitchens of a London hotel. And the address she gave … it was carefully chosen. She was always going to have early warning of interest from the Special Branch. Any strangers coming calling would receive a hostile and probably noisy reception where she sent them. The children would act as her guard dogs. She knew she’d have time for a quick exit round the back.’

‘So — resourceful and tough.’

‘But there’s another side to Anna. I sense her people are genuinely fond of her and would go to some lengths to protect her. Even to the extent of sending the forces of law and order on a fruitless chase around London while she goes into hiding. And the children — the street kids in Hogsmire Lane … I know she bribed them with lollipops but there was something more. Kids aren’t easy to deceive. And these ones really truly liked her and were concerned for her welfare. If they’d known I was a policewoman on her trail, I do believe they’d have turned their father on me!’

‘So what are you saying?’

‘That we’re looking for a girl of good character who’s been diverted — cut loose from her moorings like a ton of bronze cannon to crash about the decks — by some apparently overwhelmingly strong force that’s turned her mad. She now has a mind to murder and nothing’s going to stop her trying. Again and again.’

Joe’s nod said that he had already reached this point. ‘Let’s see if we can identify the force that turned her loose on us, shall we, Wentworth?’

‘Born 1897. Which makes her twenty-five these days. High class family. Mother a lady-in-waiting to the Tsarina. I expect the little Anna was considered a suitable companion for the royal children. They had few enough of those. English is her first language, with French, German and Russian, of course.’