Lost Cause (A Daisy Dunlop Mystery ~ Book 1)

Chapter Two

The drive up the motorway from Southampton to the historic town that was home to Langdon College had been uneventful, and parking easy to find. Fortified by a ham sandwich and a hot cup of tea from a delightful café on the main street, Daisy strode with a sense of importance. She crossed the cobbles, skirted around a group of Japanese tourists snapping pictures of everything in sight, and ducked down the narrow street that led to an old church.

Her feet sank into the moist, freshly mowed grass that lay like a green blanket in front of the gothic house of God. After one last glance at the ancient façade, she made her way through back streets full of crisp white-walled and dark-timbered houses decked out with hanging baskets of brightly colored busy lizzies, petunias, and geraniums that filled the air with the sweet scent of summer's last hurrah.

As she approached the college she pondered how to gain entrance. Maybe she should have booked an appointment, but it was too late now. She could pretend to be some hopeful parent, desperate for her son to be educated in the best of British style. However, if she were such a parent, she would know a little more about Langdon College than where to find it.

She decided to bluff her way in by claiming she had a meeting with the Principal, although if the porter checked she'd be stuck outside. It could be days before the Principal agreed to meet with her, and by then someone else might have found Toby.

An elderly gentleman fell in step beside her. "Are you here for the tour?"

"The tour?"

"Aye. The next one's at two. Looks like we might have a fair crowd joining us."

Daisy glanced over her shoulder. The gaggle of Japanese tourists she'd seen before were being herded toward her. Result.

She paid her six pounds at the gate and lost herself in the group. A middle-aged tour guide, resplendent in an old-fashioned gown and mortarboard, looked the business. Daisy could almost believe they'd stepped into the life shown in movies like Mr. Chips. Did they still cane the pupils? Everyone knew the stories and sniggered at the political scandals involving dominatrices and naughty boys. Maybe a childhood in a school such as this set the poor sods up for a life of sexual repression and quirky desires.

The guide grasped the front of his gown. "I'm Dempster Blanchette. At all times you must stay with the group. Should you wander off you will be prosecuted for trespass. These hallowed halls are home to scholars from some of the country's most eminent families, and their safety and security is paramount. Follow me."

He set a cracking pace. Daisy trailed behind the group, paying no heed to the guide's endless drone and the twittering of her fellow tourists. Dempster marched across another quadrangle pointing at various parapets, gargoyles, and windows. Cameras clicked around her as the Japanese photographed everything. Daisy hung back, feigning interest in a window box.

The group traversed the beautifully manicured grass, and Master Blanchette swept through a high stone arch with an imperious demand that everyone, "March this way." Instead, Daisy stepped to the right, out of his line of sight.

Pressed against the high stone edifice that had undoubtedly witnessed more than she could ever imagine during its long life, she held her breath. As the tour guide's voice faded into the distance she let the tension go, sagging against the wall. Now what? The place appeared to be an enormous ancient labyrinth with no signs pointing the way to anywhere.

She kept close to the wall, in the hope no one would look out of one of the many sparkling windows and set up a hue and cry to capture and eject the female invader from their elite masculine enclave. They would probably be as offended by her working-class background as her gender. No amount of practice had softened her northern accent. One word and the jig would be up.