“I am head of the Star Elite,” Hugo explained, glancing at Dominic and Peter. “The rag-tag group of ex-soldiers and friends you rounded up to help you hunt for the smugglers in Norfolk are still together, mostly.”
He watched Dominic shift forward in his seat, clearly intrigued by the latest news.
“Ashley Carrington?”
Hugo nodded.
“Simon Montague?”
Hugo nodded again.
“David Petersen, Rupert Samuels and Jonathan Arbinger?”
Hugo hesitated and shook his head slowly. “Not David Petersen, I’m afraid. He got married a few weeks ago and has decided to return to Yorkshire to run his family estates. He has been replaced by som
eone else, though, who is equally well trained. Except for Pie Masters and Archie Balfour, everyone else has changed too.”
Dominic and Peter exchanged a searching glance. “They are now called the Star Elite?”
Hugo nodded. “When you, quite rightly, returned home and left the men back in Norfolk to tie up loose ends, they went after the smuggler who got away. Determined not to be beaten, they have spent the time since locating him and gathering a wealth of information on his activities. We have unearthed a lot, I can tell you.”
“Over the course of the past few months the men have been specially trained in gunmanship, espionage and all sorts of special skills that have made them the elite of the War Office. They were given a name under which to work, and now consist of Rupert Samuels, Jonathan Arbinger, Pie Masters, Archie Balfour, Simon Ambrose, Stephen Montague, Harper ‘Harry’ Hamilton-Smythe and Jamie Montford. They are the Star Elite.”
Peter swore, shaking his head in wonder as the names of at least five men he went to school with, were mentioned.
“So they have been on Scraggan’s tail ever since?”
Hugo nodded cautiously. “Among others, but mostly we have been keeping an eye on Scraggan, as he is the ringleader; the head smuggler, if you will.” He turned to Jemima. “We always managed to only get so far, though, before we were blocked in one way or another. Until your father brought his valuable information to the War Office. That is what gave us a new lead to follow, which has proven richly rewarding.” He held up his hand when Peter tried to interrupt.
“Let me explain. We have men undercover. Although you know who the Star Elite are, it is important that you don’t know who is in Padstow as they are heavily disguised. They are able to feed us the information we need to find out about Scraggan’s activities before they happen, but there is a lot information missing. Because we had men already undercover when your father came to us, we heard that you and Eliza had left Padstow and Scraggan had sent his men after you.”
“So you knew that because of their father’s visit to the War Office, they were in significant danger? Why did you not give them protection?” Peter demanded, impatience lining his every word.
“Because they left before we could find them,” and he turned to Jemima, his eyes sad and full of sympathy. “I would like to take this moment to offer my sincere condolences to you on the loss of your father. He was an exceptionally brave man who gave his life for the welfare of his country. You should be very proud of him.”
Silence settled over the room for several moments. Jemima nodded her thanks, unable to speak past the huge lump in her throat.
“If it wasn’t for your father, and his valuable contact in the village, then we wouldn’t have had the leads we had. We have been able to capture several French spies on British soil as a direct result of your father’s bravery.”
Jemima gasped, feeling a thrill of pride at the knowledge that her father’s actions hadn’t been ignored after all. She blinked back tears, determined to hear the rest of Hugo’s explanation. Although she still didn’t trust him, some of her initial horror had started to fade, leaving curiosity in its wake.
“But there is a lot more work to do. We need a lot more information about Scraggan’s activities before we can arrest him and put him before a judge. He has been very careful not to be seen doing things himself. He has always sent his men out to do his work for him. But someone has been arranging meetings with the captains of the ships carrying the cargo, and someone has been setting up the network of people who smuggle the spies through the country. We know it is Scraggan, but we just need more information. He will certainly hang for his crimes; it is just a matter of when.” Hugo began to pace backward and forward before the fireplace, clearly lost in the intricacies of the case against Scraggan and his many criminal activities.
“We need to get into a position where the insurmountable evidence we put before a judge will ensure a swift trial, and give the judge no alternative but to pass the death sentence upon him. But to do that, we need to find direct evidence of his personal culpability in the smuggling activities going on in Padstow. We know that he has been involved ...” Hugo paused, wondering how to phrase it.
“But you need to catch him holding the weapon, so to speak, to be able to arrest him,” Jemima added into the silence, thinking of her own ordeal. She watched a startled respect enter Hugo’s eyes at her blunt and accurate analysis of the situation.
Nodding thoughtfully, Hugo stared at her. “Exactly. By gathering as much information as we can on his activities, and getting as much paperwork we can as proof, we can not only bring Scraggan down but we can prevent what happened in Norfolk from happening again. We don’t want anyone involved in this relocating and starting again. Everyone involved has to be brought to trial, and punished, for playing their part. Unfortunately, that means we have to have a direct link to Scraggan’s personal involvement in crimes. So far, we know which of his men were sent to kill, and which of his men led which smuggling gangs.”
“But you haven’t got anything on Scraggan himself,” Peter sighed, wondering what it would take to bring the man down.
Dominic quietly left the room, returning a few minutes later with a sheaf of papers that looked familiar to Jemima.
“On Jemima’s instructions, Edward gave Eliza these papers. Apparently, when the ladies left Padstow, they each carried some documents that were needed together to be of any use. I think you will find them interesting.” He held out the pale cream parchment, resuming his seat as Hugo carefully unfolded them and began to read.
“Good God!” Hugo stared in shock at Jemima. “You and Eliza were carrying these?”
Jemima nodded slowly, knowing the significance of the papers now in the government’s hands.