means. After all, I’d spent the majority of the lecture sneaking about Sir Nigel’s house and necking with the major. Nevertheless, I had an eye for these things, and it didn’t look authentic. Probably best not to keep the good stuff in an unguarded beach house in wartime, I supposed.
“What are we looking for?” I asked the major.
“Incriminating evidence against Sir Nigel, for a start.”
“Isn’t the fact that his house is being used enough?”
He shook his head. “Anyone in his social circle is likely to know about this house; it would be an easy enough thing for them to gain access, just as we’ve done.”
We passed through the living area and into the front hall. The major moved into another room, which was probably the study, and I decided to go upstairs.
The stairs led to a long hallway that ran the length of the house, with several doors on either side. I opened the first door and found a sparse bedroom. Likely a spare used for guests. Several more doors revealed more of the same, as well as a bathroom with a tub large enough to host a swimming party.
There was very little to see here. At last, I entered the bedroom at the very end of the hallway. It seemed someone had been staying in this room, and recently, for the bed was unmade and I spied, across the room, some clothing hung in the open wardrobe.
I was just about to go and report this to the major when I heard the unmistakable sound of a car pulling up the drive.
CHAPTER THIRTY
I darted from the room, ran down the hall, and started down the stairs. The major was halfway up, and, when I came around the landing, I propelled myself directly into him. It was rather like hitting a wall. He caught me with one arm, steadying us both with a hand on the railing.
“Go back up,” he whispered into my hair. “We don’t have time to get out the back.”
Turning out of his semi-embrace, I began going back the way I had come with him directly behind me.
“Here,” I whispered, opening the door of the first bedroom. I had noticed during my exploration that the room seemed untouched. Hopefully, whoever had arrived wouldn’t think to look here.
The major followed me and closed the door behind me.
“Who is it?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I didn’t see.”
Well, this was a fine mess. I wasn’t sure how we were going to work our way out of this one. Unless, of course, the major shot our way out, and I wasn’t too keen on that outcome.
“What now?” I asked.
“Now we wait,” he said.
I wasn’t too keen on more waiting either, but I supposed it wasn’t to be helped.
“Stay away from the windows,” the major commanded. But I had already edged closer. I couldn’t help it. Some part of me had to know what we might be dealing with.
It was then my eyes fell on a steamer trunk near the window. It was a relic of an older time, heavy wood with weathered leather straps and studded strap tabs. But it was the lock that caught my attention. There were several large scratches on it that looked to be fresh.
“Someone’s tried to pick this lock,” I said, running my fingers over the grooves in the metal. “And did a poor job of it.”
The major moved to my side. “Can you open it?”
“Yes.” This was a simple lock, as locks went. I took the tool kit again from my pocket and withdrew a flat-tipped file. Inserting it carefully into the trunk’s lock, I pushed it at an angle and began to slowly turn the pick in a clockwise direction. I felt the pins release and held the file tight to pull the lock out. And just like that, the lock gave way. Whoever had tried to open this trunk clearly had no experience with locks.
Unlatching the two burnished brass latches, I pushed open the lid of the trunk.
The major and I looked inside. The contents proved disappointing. A few items of men’s clothing, carefully folded. A hat. A pair of worn but carefully cleaned leather boots. A stack of well-read novels. A wool coat. I searched the coat’s pockets, just in case, but they were empty.
My attention was drawn away from the trunk by the sound of a car door closing. Whoever had been driving up had arrived. Throwing caution to the wind, I rose from the trunk’s side and moved to the