The Vulture of Sommerset Read online

  Following behind them with fresh towels and offers of free dry-cleaning, Isabella continued to try and calm her guests. ‘I’m terribly sorry about the frogs,’ she said diplomatically. ‘But I’m sure you understand that these things happen.’ Then she smiled hopefully and said, ‘Perhaps I will see you both at the Summer Ball?’

  The duchess stopped dead and turned to Isabella, her face covered in a series of bright red slap marks, her eyes erupting with scorn.

  ‘You,’ she spat, ‘you were never going to be on the guest list for the Summer Ball. Are you mad? My ball is for people with breeding and refinement. The Winterbottoms have neither. You are as common as dirt. My daughter and I came here tonight, Miss Winterbottom, for the same reason people like you attend the circus; to laugh at the clowns.’

  Then she grabbed her daughter’s hand and walked out of Sommerset House.

  ‘I’ll kill you!’

  Gripping what remained of the lamb roast, Isabella was chasing Hannah Spoon around the kitchen, trying desperately to beat her. Only the combined strength of Adele, Mrs Hammer and Levi was able to hold her back before blood was spilt.

  ‘The frogs were your job, Hannah!’ she raged. ‘Are you really so useless that you can’t cook a few lousy frogs?’

  Hannah, cowering near the hearth, shook her head. ‘I couldn’t kill them, miss,’ she sobbed. ‘I tried but . . . I just couldn’t kill the poor little creatures.’

  ‘So you decided it would be better to serve them to us alive?’ Isabella leaped towards the maid, lamb raised, and took a swing. ‘You ruined everything!’

  ‘I left the bowl by the serving table covered with a cloth,’ cried Hannah, ducking as the roast lamb flew at her head. ‘I went looking for Mrs Hammer to tell her I couldn’t do it and while I was away one of the serving maids must have picked up the bowl, thinking the frogs were ready to serve and . . .’ She lowered her eyes. ‘You know the rest, miss.’

  ‘Yes, I do!’ screamed Isabella. ‘My guests were attacked by their dinner!’

  ‘Isabella, calm down,’ said Adele, straining to hold her cousin back. ‘What happened was an accident, a terrible accident, but it’s not the end of the world. I’m sure in time the duchess will understand.’

  ‘She hates me!’ yelled Isabella. ‘She said –’

  ‘NO!’ It came from the front of the house and stopped them all dead. And then . . .

  ‘AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!’

  The cry seemed to grow like a wave, rolling down the vast corridor and crashing into the kitchen. The voice was unmistakable. Time seemed to float. Fearful looks were exchanged.

  ‘Aunt Rosemary,’ whispered Adele.

  They raced from the kitchen, her scream still ringing in their ears.

  VANISHING

  Milo Winterbottom looked like a ghost child beneath the enormous dome, the moon’s pale light reaching through the glass panes and washing his face in a silvery mask. Even the red rose clasped between his fingers looked frosted and grey. Outside, in the corridor beyond the great hall, he could hear the pounding of hurried footsteps drawing ever closer.

  Craning his neck, Milo’s eyes followed the vertical climb of the elevator shaft, surveying the landings of each floor. For a brief moment he thought he saw something move in the thick shadows on the fourth floor. He squinted, staring intently into the milky darkness. All was still.

  ‘Where is Aunt Rosemary?’ cried Adele, storming into the entrance hall.

  Milo turned and saw Adele’s pale, frantic face. Isabella and Mrs Hammer were following close behind, the old woman gasping and out of breath.

  ‘We heard her screaming,’ said Adele. Her eyes swept urgently around the hall and she noticed that the front door was wide open. ‘Milo, where is she?’

  The boy looked at his cousins and Mrs Hammer for what felt like days. Then he said, ‘I don’t know. I was in the study and I heard a noise – a crash or something. Then Aunt Rosemary screamed and I ran in here . . . but there was no sign of her.’

  ‘Where did you get the rose?’ said Isabella with a frown. ‘Aunt Rosemary was wearing that in her hair at the dinner party.’

  Milo pointed to the floor at his feet. ‘It was lying there.’

  ‘Mercy!’ cried Mrs Hammer. ‘I don’t like this one little bit.’

  ‘Let’s not panic,’ said Adele, trying to untangle all of the thoughts that rushed through her head in unison. ‘Milo, you said you heard a crash before Aunt Rosemary screamed?’

  The boy nodded. ‘This will sound strange, but it sounded like a pair of cymbals hitting the ground.’

  ‘Well, of course it sounds strange,’ said Isabella tartly. ‘Aunt Rosemary is bonkers but I doubt even she would be running around the house with a pair of cymbals.’

  ‘I think I can explain,’ came a voice from behind them.

  Every head turned and saw Levi standing in the entranceway holding a silver tray in one hand and the matching lid in the other. ‘These were on the ground just outside the front door.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ said Adele.

  Levi walked into the great hall and placed the dented tray and lid on the table beside the vase of orchids. ‘Your aunt used these to trap all of the frogs,’ he explained. ‘She waited until your guests had gone and then went down to the great lake to set them free. I offered to go with her, given the late hour, but she said there was no need. Your aunt was gone exactly twelve minutes when I heard the scream.’

  ‘Perhaps the frogs escaped,’ said Isabella hopefully, ‘and when they leaped from the tray Aunt Rosemary got such a fright she dropped the tray and screamed.’ Isabella’s face lightened. ‘Why, she is probably outside chasing those slimy creatures this very minute.’

  Levi shook his head. ‘I think not, Miss Isabella. I have been all around the house and I could find no sign of her.’

  ‘Something is very wrong,’ said Milo, his green eyes clouding over.

  ‘Mercy,’ said Mrs Hammer suddenly. She was pointing to the glass dome high above them. ‘What on earth is that?’

  In the pale glow of the moon-streaked dome a shadowy object was falling, blowing from side to side like a pendulum. Every set of eyes fixed on it as it fluttered and dived, riding unseen currents.

  ‘Is it . . .’ Isabella was squinting furiously. ‘Is it a bird?’

  It curved, sweeping up in a loop then dropped again, brushing the mahogany banister on the first-floor landing.

  ‘It looks like paper,’ said Milo slowly.

  As the dark slip dropped, lurching wildly, the children began to chase it around the great hall. Milo and Adele jumped for it several times but never managed to grasp it. Finally it glided just above the stone floor and made a silent landing in front of the elevator.

  Adele scooped up the black sheet as her cousins huddled tightly around her. The first thing they noticed was the thick white ink scrawled across the black parchment. Next they were aware of the ornate, delicate handwriting. And then they began to read, each word draining more of the colour from their faces.

  Dear Winterbottoms,

  Your Aunt Rosemary has been taken. The price for her release will be made known to you shortly. Cooperate fully and she will be returned to you unharmed. However, breathe a single word of your aunt’s kidnapping beyond these walls and I will end her life. The choice is yours, children.

  Will she live or will she die?

  CLOSER TO HOME

  ‘I called her a mean old carbuncle!’ sniffed Isabella, grabbing another tissue from the box in her lap and blowing her nose loudly. ‘That is the last thing I said to her and now I feel terrible. Oh, if only Aunt Rosemary hadn’t been such a cow at dinner – she practically forced me to be unkind. But I will not hold it against her. In fact, if she came through that door this very second I would forgive her everything!’

  Isabella sat on the floor of the conservatory beside a potted fig tree, stroking Thorn’s tail and trying very hard to fill the menacing silences which splashed darkly around them. In bet
ween staring at the black and white checked floor and talking incessantly, she stole looks at her cousins. Milo was standing with his back to the room, looking out through the enormous bank of windows into the night, ever silent. Meanwhile Adele walked in circles in front of the white marble fireplace, staring at the black ransom note as if she were waiting for the words to change.

  ‘I think we should call the police,’ declared Isabella. ‘What other choice is there?’

  ‘The kidnapper was very clear,’ said Milo. ‘If we tell anyone outside Sommerset that Aunt Rosemary has been taken she will be killed.’

  The children heard a gasp and turned to find Mrs Hammer standing at the French doors, holding a tray and looking utterly stricken. ‘Let us not give in to gloom,’ she said shakily, placing a pitcher of freshly made lemonade and a plate of toasted bread smothered in lashings of butter and honey on a table near the hearth. ‘Now, I know you children are in no mood for eating, but you must keep up your strength at a time like this.’ She sniffed. ‘It’s what your aunt would want.’

  ‘Thank you, Mrs Hammer,’ said Adele softly. ‘Perhaps once Levi and Hannah have returned we will try to eat something.’

  The head butler and the maid were in the grounds of Sommerset, tracking down some information at Adele’s request.

  ‘Very well,’ said Mrs Hammer. ‘If you need anything, anything at all, you just let me know.’ She looked forlornly at the children before taking her leave. When they were alone again, Adele cleared her throat and made an announcement.

  ‘We cannot just sit here and wait,’ she said firmly. ‘Aunt Rosemary was snatched right under our noses and whoever did this cannot be trusted to return her unharmed. Besides, we have no idea what the kidnapper is after.’

  ‘Well, surely he is after money,’ said Isabella, ‘and goodness knows we have plenty of that.’

  Milo shook his head. ‘Even if we give him what he asks for there is no guarantee he will hand Aunt Rosemary back. We cannot expect honour from an evil mind. If Uncle Silas taught us anything it was that.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Isabella, giving her nose another blow, ‘I suppose he did. But if we are not going to call the police and we do not trust the kidnapper to keep his word, what exactly are we supposed to do?’

  ‘It’s simple really,’ declared Adele. ‘We must find Aunt Rosemary before the kidnapper names his price. After that, it may be too late.’

  Isabella stood up and walked to the plate of buttered honey toast. ‘That is all very well,’ she said, picking up a slice and taking a bite, ‘but where on earth are we to start looking? I know it’s horrible to say it, but Aunt Rosemary is probably miles away by now.’

  ‘I do not think so,’ said Levi, walking rapidly into the conservatory.

  ‘You have news?’ said Milo urgently.

  ‘I just interviewed the guard at the gate house,’ explained the tiny butler. ‘Only two cars left Sommerset tonight. The first was Cook at approximately six-thirty; the second, the duchess’s limousine at seven-fifteen.’ He turned to Adele, arms behind his back. ‘We know that your aunt was heard to scream at least fifteen minutes after the duchess’s car left the island, so I am thinking, Miss Adele, that your theory may be correct.’

  ‘What theory?’ asked Milo and Isabella in unison.

  In order to understand Adele’s theory it is important to note the very unusual security system put in place by the previous master of Sommerset, Silas Winterbottom. Sommerset sat on an island surrounded by a swamp infested with alligators. The single point of entry was a bridge which lay under the swampy water and was only raised when in use. Two guards were stationed at the gate house around the clock.

  ‘The theory is a simple one,’ said Levi, looking at Adele with considerable admiration. ‘But it is also quite breathtaking. Miss Adele believes that your aunt is close by.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ said Milo with a frown.

  ‘Well,’ said Adele, scratching anxiously at her coiled red hair, ‘if we know that the last car to leave the island was fifteen minutes before Aunt Rosemary vanished, then it stands to reason that Aunt Rosemary never left Sommerset.’

  ‘Never left?’ said Isabella, her blue eyes widening. ‘Wait, you think Aunt Rosemary is still on the island?’

  ‘Actually,’ said Adele quietly, ‘there is every chance she is still in this house.’

  A series of spotlights punctured the darkness, casting a row of halos across the length of the portico. A small crowd was gathered outside Sommerset House, staring expectantly at the twelve-year-old girl standing a few feet from the front door. The only person not there was Milo, who had managed to slip away from the conservatory without being seen. While his absence was noted by all, nobody spoke of it.

  ‘Whenever you’re ready, Miss Adele,’ said Levi.

  ‘Thank you, Levi,’ said Adele nervously, her stomach aflutter. She cleared her throat and began. ‘The tray and lid were found right where I am standing. You’ll remember that Milo said that he heard them drop before Aunt Rosemary cried out. So reason would suggest that Aunt Rosemary got to the front door – here.’ Adele stepped up onto the threshold. ‘We know she opened the door because it was still open when we ran into the hall.’

  ‘And she saw something inside that made her scream,’ suggested Isabella.

  Adele nodded. ‘Yes, I think she did. If my theory is correct, Aunt Rosemary rushed towards whatever it was that alarmed her, and that is when we heard her scream.’

  Mrs Hammer frowned. ‘Miss Adele, are you sure about that? I’m no detective, mind you, but if your aunt was scared enough to drop the silverware, wouldn’t it make more sense for her to run away from whatever it was that frightened her so?’

  ‘I quite agree,’ said Isabella haughtily, not entirely thrilled with Adele’s new position as house detective. ‘In fact, I have a theory of my own. Could I have everyone’s attention, please?’ Clapping her hands like a schoolteacher, Isabella joined her cousin on the doorstep. ‘I believe Aunt Rosemary opened the front door, spotted the dastardly intruder, screamed her face off and ran like a madwoman from the house. The kidnapper ran after her and, given Aunt Rosemary’s enormous belly and short chunky legs, had little trouble catching his victim. Then he fled with his captive into the night.’ She glanced at Adele, the satisfaction sparkling in her eyes. ‘Surely that makes far more sense than your theory, Cousin?’

  Adele’s mouth went dry. Every instinct in her body told her to agree with Isabella and step aside. Yet she could not. A life was at stake.

  ‘Your theory is good, Isabella,’ she said, much to her cousin’s delight. ‘But it doesn’t explain the one real clue we have – the rose.’

  Suddenly Isabella looked less delighted. ‘What about it?’

  ‘Well, if Aunt Rosemary ran off after she spotted the intruder inside the house, then how did the rose end up all the way on the other side of the entrance hall?’

  ‘How should I know?’ snapped Isabella, crossing her arms. ‘I didn’t say my theory was perfect, Cousin.’

  ‘Maybe it is time we put both theories to the test,’ said Adele. She gave Levi the signal and the butler rushed inside Sommerset House. Moments later the service bell rang above the antechamber behind the great hall. Taking her cue, Adele stepped back under the portico. And then she began to scream.

  ‘Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!’

  Isabella and Mrs Hammer jumped several feet into the air and clutched each other like two passengers on a sinking ship.

  ‘Have you lost your mind, Cousin?’ said Isabella, feeling rather awkward as she untangled herself from Mrs Hammer.

  Adele didn’t answer her. Instead the young girl walked inside the house and across the entrance hall, stopping just in front of the elevator cage. The service bell rang again. Without warning she released another bloodcurdling scream, her freckly face burning like the sun.

  ‘Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!’

  ‘Good lord, she’s delirious,’ cried Isabella, rushing inside. ‘Quickly, Mrs Hammer,
call the doctor, my cousin has taken leave of her senses. Oh, they will lock her up, I’m certain of it! The newspapers will have a field day!’

  Before Mrs Hammer could respond, Levi came running back into the hall.

  ‘It is as you predicted, Miss Adele,’ he said eagerly. ‘The first scream I could hardly hear, but the second was big. It filled the kitchen. Your aunt was definitely inside the house when she screamed.’

  Adele smiled bashfully. ‘Good work, Levi.’

  ‘It is just as I suspected,’ said Isabella, nodding her head in agreement. ‘Aunt Rosemary screamed, dropped the tray and ran into the entrance hall.’

  Figuring out what to do next was made easier when Hannah Spoon returned from her fact-finding mission. Adele had asked her to take a torch and search the gardens and meadows, looking for any unusual tracks or footprints, or any sign of a hidden vehicle on the estate.

  ‘Nothing,’ she reported back. ‘I talked to the gardeners, the gamekeeper, even Flick down at the stables – nobody saw a car or anyone strange lurking about. I’m sorry, miss.’

  ‘Do not believe her,’ hissed Isabella. ‘Anyone who would refuse to kill a few little frogs cannot be trusted. Don’t you agree, Cousin?’

  Hannah Spoon’s gaze had dropped to her feet.

  ‘No, I don’t, Isabella,’ said Adele firmly. She turned to Hannah and smiled. ‘Please don’t be sorry, Hannah. I am pleased you didn’t find any signs of an intruder outside.’

  ‘You are?’

  The girl nodded. ‘From everything we’ve learned tonight, it would seem that my aunt never left Sommerset House.’

  ‘Heavens, miss!’ Hannah looked utterly bewildered. ‘You’re saying . . . you think your aunt is here?’

  ‘That is what we are going to find out,’ said Adele, looking around the enormous hall. ‘Levi, could you have every maid, butler, footman and kitchen hand assemble in the library in ten minutes?’

  ‘Yes, miss,’ said Levi, taking off at speed towards the staff quarters.