Peril in Paris. Katherine Woodfine

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СКАЧАТЬ was a good detective, but she’d never taken on a case like this before. If only Lil were here, she’d have made the assignment seem fun and exciting – an adventure in a foreign city. Lil was an actress, and the idea of going undercover in some extraordinary role never daunted her in the slightest. But now Lil was miles away – who-knew-where – and Sophie would have to manage this by herself.

      For a moment, she saw Carruthers’ sneering face again, and then heard the Chief say: ‘Your friend is a very courageous young woman.’ Was the implication that she herself was not? But surely that wasn’t fair: her mind flashed at once through scenes of underground passageways and rooftops and standing in an empty office, face to face with the Baron himself. But that had been different, she realised. Then she’d always had Lil by her side.

      As she came out into the street and flagged down a cab, she told herself she was being silly. There was no reason at all that she couldn’t handle this just as well as anyone else. She oughtn’t to let Carruthers rattle her; the Chief had faith in her, or he wouldn’t have given her the job.

      ‘Sinclair’s department store, please,’ she said to the cab driver as she clambered inside.

      ‘Off to do a spot of shopping, miss? And very nice too.’

      Sophie didn’t bother to correct him. She was fairly certain that the cab driver wouldn’t believe her if she explained that she wasn’t going shopping at all, but that in fact the young girl with the blue parasol was the coproprietor of Taylor & Rose detective agency, and even now making arrangements to embark on a secret undercover mission.

      A secret undercover mission! Well, there was no turning back now, she thought. She’d told the Chief she would do it, and after all, it was hardly likely that there were any other young ladies working for the Secret Service Bureau who could go undercover as Celia Blaxland.

      Besides, it was not as though she’d be entirely alone, Sophie reminded herself. The Chief had said that Miss Blaxland was always accompanied by a lady’s maid. Before she did anything else, she should make sure that she would be too, and luckily she knew exactly the person she wanted to help her.

CHAPTER FIVE

      Taylor & Rose Detective Agency Sinclair’s Department Store, London

      ‘No. No chance whatsoever. Absolutely not,’ declared Tilly at once. ‘Look around you! I’m far too busy!’

      Sophie obediently glanced around Tilly’s workshop, though in fact, calling it a ‘workshop’ made it sound a good deal grander than it actually was. In reality, the little office that Tilly had claimed at Taylor & Rose was scarcely bigger than a large cupboard. But Tilly had been adamant that she must have a place of her own to work, no matter how small it might be. She was a student at University College London, and had a passion for all things mechanical and scientific. When she wasn’t studying, she provided Taylor & Rose with a good deal of technical help with everything from developing photographs to testing for fingerprints. She had even invented several useful and unusual devices to help them in their detective work.

      Tilly was presently taking a course in chemistry, which went some way to explaining why the table in front of her was covered with a jumble of glass bottles, jars and test tubes. Behind her, shelves were crammed with thick books, stacks of papers and a framed photograph of Madame Curie, the French scientist who was Tilly’s greatest hero. In the midst of all this was Tilly herself – a tall, brown-skinned girl with a lot of curly black hair. She was wearing a large apron over her frock, and what looked like a pair of old motoring goggles on her head, and her hands were placed firmly on her hips.

      ‘I’ve got an examination in two weeks. I can’t just go haring off to Paris at the drop of a hat to be a lady’s maid !’ she insisted.

      ‘I know it’s rather a lot to ask. But this assignment is for the Secret Service Bureau. It’s jolly important – the Chief said it could be a matter of national security.’

      ‘Surely one of the others could go instead?’

      ‘But no one else would be nearly as good at this assignment as you. Miss Blaxland is a terribly wealthy young lady. You know exactly what someone like her would be like – you could help me to impersonate her. And you know you’d be able to play the role of her lady’s maid to perfection.’ It was true – though Tilly was now a London student, it was not long since she’d been working as a maid in a grand country house. What was more, Sophie knew that she was practical, sensible and extremely clever – exactly the person she needed to help her solve this case. ‘If you can’t come, I suppose I’ll have to ask one of the others. But I do wish you would come with me. It’s a very important assignment, and I’d really value your help.’

      Tilly’s face softened a little. ‘It’s not that I don’t want to help, Sophie. You know I’d do anything for Taylor & Rose. It’s just . . . would I really have to be a lady’s maid? Honestly, I can’t bear the thought of going back to doing nothing but saying “yes, ma’am” and “no, ma’am” and fussing with hair and petticoats.’

      ‘I promise you wouldn’t have to think about so much as a single petticoat,’ said Sophie gravely. ‘You have my word on that. You’ll only need to pretend to be a lady’s maid when we’re in company. The rest of the time you’ll be working with me to solve the case.’

      Tilly said nothing, but Sophie could see she was wavering. ‘Besides, it would give you the chance to see Paris, and the Sorbonne – isn’t that where Madame Curie studied?’ Remembering something she’d read in the morning newspaper, she added hurriedly: ‘And there’s that big air race too starting in a few days, isn’t there? The Grand Aerial Tour of Europe. You might be able to go and see all those new aeroplanes.’ Sophie knew that Tilly was fascinated by the new flying-machine technology, though personally she couldn’t think of anything worse than flying in an aeroplane. The thought of someone launching themselves into the air in a fragile-looking craft like those she’d seen in the newspapers made her feel queasy. But she knew Tilly would love to have the chance to see the latest aeroplanes up close.

      ‘Well, all right then,’ said Tilly at last. ‘I suppose I could manage, as long as it really is only a few days. And as long as I can bring my chemistry books so I can prepare for my examination,’ she added hastily.

      Sophie grinned in relief. As far as she was concerned, Tilly could bring all the books she wanted, just as long as she’d be there to help her go undercover to investigate a murder in an unknown city.

      After agreeing their plans for the following morning, she closed the door, leaving Tilly to finish her work. As she emerged into the small reception area of the Taylor & Rose office, Sophie felt a familiar glow of pride. This was their place – the place that she and Lil had built together. There were the pictures they’d chosen on the walls; a vase of Lil’s favourite roses on a table; the sound of voices and the cheerful trill of a telephone bell. Two or three people were sitting waiting for appointments, whilst at the reception desk, a business-like young lady, with glossy black hair and a blouse with a neat bow at the neck sat busily typing. Mei Lim was the youngest member of the Taylor & Rose team, and acted as their receptionist. She looked up at once and smiled as Sophie came in. ‘Oh, there you are. These letters have come for you.’

      Sophie took the stack of letters then glanced quickly around at the people sitting fanning themselves or sipping tea. ‘Come into my office for a minute,’ she said in a low voice to Mei. ‘I’ve got something to tell you.’

      Mei got up at once, СКАЧАТЬ