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“The letter was obviously composed in haste,” he said cautiously. “And yet I am struck
by what it does not say.”
“No mention of grief for his mother,” the Queen said.
“Indeed,” said Trevor. “And no insistence that justice should be done on her behalf. His
only concern is freeing the stepfather, but even his defense of Mr. Weaver is rather oddly stated.”
The Queen slowly nodded. “He does not say that Anthony Weaver would not have killed
his wife because he loved her. Instead he suggests this would be impossible only because Mr.
Weaver is an honorable man.”
One motion Trevor had never seen the Queen make was a shrug; as the dominant
monarch of the civilized world, it would never do for Victoria to show either indifference or
uncertainty. And yet she came close to the gesture now, her shoulders rising and dropping ever so
slightly. “I was not touched by this letter in the least, Detective,” she said. “The line about him
trusting that I remember the details of his true father’s death was nothing more than a bully of the most
direct sort. He all but said that his father was a decorated hero and thus that I must help him. I do not
like to have my hand forced in such a manner.”
Now she did shrug. “The trouble, of course, is that his father was a decorated hero and
thus I indeed must help him. I was about to compose a directive to the Bombay police this afternoon,
but put the matter aside to grant you an audience. And now it strikes me that this seeming coincidence
is not coincidence at all, but rather an indication that the Weaver murder has more wide-ranging
significance than I originally understood.”
The Queen paused. “I recall Miss Bainbridge’s unique personality most specifically,”
she softly added. “I can only assume that she too plans to depart for Bombay?”
“I imagine that she is packing now, your Majesty.”
“Do you further imagine that our Miss Kelly and the charming young doctor will
accompany her?”
“Yes, Emma is Geraldine’s companion and Tom is her nephew so I feel safe in
predicting that they are packing as well.”
“And so shall you,” said the Queen.
Even though Trevor had come to Windsor with just this intent, the swiftness of the
Queen’s decision stunned him. “You wish me to go to India, Your Majesty?”
“Yes, and take the others. The clever Jew and that young bobby who looks like a
choirboy. The report from Bombay was sadly limited, so it is impossible to predict what you will
find when you arrive there, but something about all this is…it seems very queer, Detective. I shall
write precisely the directive that Michael Everlee requested, but on your behalf. Informing the local
authorities that your team will be conducting an independent investigation at my special request and
instructing them to grant you every courtesy in your efforts.”
And won’t they just love that, Trevor thought. The one thing the Everlee pup had gotten
right was when he called British interest in an Indian crime “an intrusion.” But Trevor nodded to the
Queen and, following her wave of dismissal, rose to his feet.
“Speed is essential, Detective,” Victoria said. “I doubt you shall be able to overtake
Michael Everlee in his journey, but with any luck you shall join him in Bombay before he manages to
do any real damage.”
“Damage to the case, Your Majesty?”
“Damage to the crown.” The Queen looked at the letter on the table beside her with
distaste. “We do not trust him.”