Page 24 of The Amsterdam Enigma (The Continental Capers of Melody Chesterton #3)

W hen the group reconvened later that evening and heard about Rat’s discoveries, it became even clearer that they had no choice but to return to Huis Jansen under the cover of night.

“Bomb parts!” Melody exclaimed.

“Well, that is hardly surprising,” Rat pointed out. “We already knew the Germans were planning a bombing.”

He was right, of course. However, it was one thing to decipher a message and quite another to find physical evidence of an actual bomb; this made the possibility seem very real.

Suddenly, this made the likely mass fatalities feel more than abstract, and reminded Melody of her earlier conversation with Rat and Alessandro regarding their main objective: to ensure that blame was appropriately assigned to Germany.

The fight to join the nighttime adventure was as Melody had anticipated. “It’s far too dangerous, Melody,” was her brother’s position.

“This is not about so-called fairness,” was Alessandro’s. “It is about a successful mission, nothing more.”

Melody bristled at the idea that success necessarily precluded her involvement.

“We believe someone is watching and following us. What if they follow you to Huis Jansen tonight?” she posed to Alessandro .

“Then Matthew and I will deal with them. What possible help will you be if that’s the case? All your presence will do is distract us if we need to protect you.”

There was little that Alessandro could have said that would have set Melody off quite as much as that sentence did.

“Protect me? Is that what you believe you will have to do? Need I remind you both that it was Captain Somerset and I who saved my brother in Morocco and in doing so facilitated your release from jail, Alessandro? Perhaps I will be called upon to protect you, again!”

Rat could see where this argument was leading, and it would not be helpful.

He intervened. “Alessandro, Melody is correct; we do need her help. We need someone to be a lookout on the street. If we are followed there and caught inside, we will be like lambs to the slaughter.” Rat realised this was hyperbole; he was sure that the two of them could manage whatever situation they found themselves in well enough.

However, allowing Melody to accompany them but remain outside seemed the best compromise they were going to reach.

Whether Alessandro intuited the reasoning behind Rat’s concession or was simply tired of arguing, he gruffly capitulated. “Fine, but you stay outside at all times. We will provide you with a mechanism to communicate with us if you believe we are in danger. Is that understood, Melody?”

She was tempted to continue the debate, but realised they needed someone to be a lookout, and it made the most sense for her to fulfil that role.

Alessandro looked her up and down. “You cannot go dressed like this.”

“I have a black dress I can put on,” Melody answered.

“A woman standing alone on a dark street at night is going to attract all the wrong kinds of attention,” Alessandro pointed out. “Matthew, do you have clothes that would fit your sister and are dark enough?”

Fortunately, since Rat was slender and not very tall, he realised his clothes would likely fit his sister well enough. “I have a hat that is a little big for me that will accommodate her hair as well,” he answered.

As eager as she was to accompany them, Melody wondered how believable a young man she would make.

When she expressed this, Alessandro told her confidently, “During the day, not at all. At night, if we keep to the shadows, you will pass well enough. It will also throw off anyone who is following us.”

They agreed to wait until nearly midnight to ensure the streets were as quiet as possible.

They would need to walk to Huis Jansen, which would take at least thirty minutes, so they decided to leave the hotel shortly after eleven.

Rat already knew how to enter and exit the hotel without going through the lobby and suggested that Alessandro return home to change, and that they meet him at the back of the hotel at the designated time.

It was fortunate that they had some time before the meeting, as Rat’s clothes didn’t fit Melody as well as he had hoped. It required some of Mary’s needlework skills to assemble an outfit that was suitable for an evening of skulduggery.

While Mary usually asked no questions, even her typical reticence was overcome at the thought of her darling Melody leaving the hotel at night, dressed as a man.

Although neither Melody nor Rat wished to provide her with a full explanation of their plans, Rat assured her that Melody would not be in any danger.

“I know it isn’t my place to question your actions, Mr Sandworth, and I would never question your care of Miss Melody. Still, I am not sure how a situation that requires her to dress as a man and go out in the middle of the night can be considered ‘no danger’.”

“Mary, I promise you I will be safe,” Melody assured her with just a hint of irritability in her voice. “Now, please, don’t fuss.” Mary pursed her lips and shook her head, but made no further comment on their evening plans.

By the time Melody had dressed in Rat’s altered clothing and tucked her hair into a flat cap, it was easier to believe she would pass for a young man, at least in the night’s darkness.

Luckily, there was almost no moon that evening, making it simpler to stick to the shadows.

Of course, the absence of moonlight meant it would be more difficult for her to see if anyone was watching when Rat and Alessandro broke into Huis Jansen.

At a quarter past eleven, Rat led Melody to the back staircase, and they made their way downstairs, hoping they wouldn’t run into any hotel staff at that time of night. They slipped out of the back door and looked around for Alessandro.

“Over here,” they heard whispered from the shadows. Alessandro revealed himself and looked Melody up and down. “You’ll do,” he conceded. “I hope you brought your gun,” he added.

“I did. And we brought a torch and each of us has a knife.”

“And of course, I have my picks,” Rat added.

They walked in almost complete silence to Huis Jansen. No one wanted to risk anyone catching Melody’s higher-pitched tones in the evening’s stillness.

Then they arrived on the street where Huis Jansen was located, and Alessandro whispered, “I don’t think we were followed.”

“I didn’t hear or sense anything,” Rat agreed.

“Good. Then we are ready to go,” Alessandro decided. Melody noted that neither man appeared to care what her assessment was.

Melody had observed that Alessandro was carrying something. Now, he held up what resembled a lantern. It was a compact, utilitarian item, made of blackened tin with four narrow panes of smoky glass and a hinged handle for carrying.

“The most important feature is this adjustable metal shutter,” he explained, demonstrating how a sliding panel could be drawn across the front to block or reveal the light in controlled bursts.

Alessandro pulled out a box of matches and lit a single wick inside the lantern, which burned low and cast a soft amber glow until he moved the shutter.

“The light can be dimmed to a sliver or extinguished entirely with a flick of the thumb, allowing you to signal discreetly or move unseen. I want you to stand across the street and keep an eye out. If you see anything suspicious, unshutter the lantern and hold it up so the light shines through the window.”

Melody could immediately see the flaw in this plan. “When you are in the office where the ledgers are, you can’t see into the main room that the windows look into.”

“I know. I am going to have Matthew position himself so that he can see any light and can also keep watch for anyone coming in through the back. I will go into the office and look around.”

It was a good thing that it was dark and Alessandro couldn’t see Rat’s face; he wasn’t thrilled at being relegated to a role barely one step above Melody’s as lookout .

Alessandro handed the lantern to Melody. Its body was warm to the touch, and when shuttered, it disappeared into the dark.

“Please keep your wits about you. It’s late and dark, and this is a rough area at night. There is much danger lurking around these streets, besides whoever might be following us.”

As tempted as she was to deliver a sharp retort, Melody knew he was right and merely nodded her head.

With that, Alessandro tapped Rat on the shoulder, and the two men slipped into the darkness.

Alessandro believed there was a narrow alleyway beside Huis Jansen, which he hoped would lead them to a back door.

Melody hadn’t wanted to ask how he could be certain the building had a back door, and instead prayed he knew what he was doing.

With the two men gone, Melody became acutely aware of how exposed she was, standing alone in the dark.

While she was glad to be dressed as a young man, she wondered just how much protection that would afford her against drunkards, thieves, or worse.

She did her utmost to shrink into the shadows, giving thanks for the cover of the night.

It occurred to her it was so dark that if she heard or saw anything and shone the lantern into the window, Rat would not be the only one to notice it.

Then, Melody waited. Given how warm the days had been, she shivered. Melody pulled Rat’s jacket close around her and used the lantern’s heat to warm her hands. Had she done the right thing by insisting on accompanying them tonight?