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He felt bad for having left the lad in the middle of a gun battle, but there was no safe way out of the woods.
“The cavalry has arrived,” Joe muttered. “About time.”
He nodded to Barnaby, who shook his head at them and motioned that someone was following them. He lifted his gun, but Marcus waved him off, fearing that it might be Ben.
Sure enough, seconds later, Ben appeared behind them.
“Is it over?” He asked cautiously.
Marcus shook his head.
“No, we have one in the house, and Gillespie is still at large, and Lloyd, the magistrate. I have reason to believe he is Sayers.”
The mention of the gangster’s name was enough for Kieran, Connor, Jacob, and Callum, to all emerge out of the dense undergrowth and join them. Marcus briefly brought them up to date on what had happened since he had written to Barnaby.
“Well, where is this boarding house? Is anyone there?” Barnaby asked.
Marcus was indecisive. He desperately wanted to go to the Grant residence to see what it was that Sayers and his men were protecting so fiercely, but he needed to see that Jess was alright. He wouldn’t be able to concentrate until he knew she was safe.
“Jess,” Marcus bit out. “I need to see Jess. Come on.”
“W
here is Sayers?” Joe asked with a frown. “I did see another man stomping around in the woods, but he vanished not long after the firing started.”
Marcus swore. “They were trying to pin us down while he got away. This is Sayers we are discussing. They will protect him.”
The men quickly organised themselves and left Callum to gather up the captives while Connor and Jacob guarded Grant’s house and its rather curious occupant.
Marcus, Barnaby, Ben, Joe, and Kieran, all raced across the village toward the boarding house.
“You stay with me, Ben,” Marcus ordered as they approached the house. He turned to his colleagues. “This is Ben. He has been invaluable in helping me search the house, and gather information on Sayers and his gang.”
“Can you use one of these without taking your head off?” Barnaby demanded as he pulled a second gun out of his cloak pocket.
Ben nodded and grinned. “I live in the country. I have been using guns since I was eight.”
“Good, then here. Make sure you don’t shoot one of us or your sister.”
Ben took the gun from him and looked considerably happier now that he wasn’t so vulnerably unarmed.
“Still stay with me, Ben. Gillespie is Sayers; the worst criminal in London. Don’t challenge him. If you do have to shoot him, then target his legs or arms, not his body. He will use his mouth to abuse you, but just ignore whatever he says. Don’t rise to his bait. Clip him, disable and disarm him but, whatever you do, make sure he stays alive. We are going to get Jess, and go through those rooms again. I have a feeling Sayers may have to return to the boarding house to try to look for those gems, especially now he knows he can’t go back to the grant house.”
“Where are they?” Barnaby panted as he raced with Marcus through the village.
“He won’t find them,” Ben assured him. “I will not have them in the same room as Jess, so I moved them.”
“Where are they?” Marcus growled.
“Hidden,” Ben replied.
They slammed to a halt outside a solitary house in the furthest, quietest corner of the village. At any other time, it would have been quite pretty. Surrounded by shadows and menace as it was, it was too isolated to bring any succour to anyone who looked upon it. Barnaby shivered and shook his head, curious to see what this Jess looks like.
“We will go around the back,” Marcus advised.
“Someone has just passed the dining room window, but I don’t think it was Jess. She isn’t that tall,” Ben whispered.
Everyone watched the window for several moments. Sure enough, a tall, dark shadow appeared and disappeared as a man paced around.
