India Black and the Shadows of Anarchy (A Madam of Espionage Mystery) by Carol K. Carr

Author:Carol K. Carr [Carr, Carol K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780425255957
Amazon: 0425255956
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Published: 2013-02-05T05:00:00+00:00

TWELVE

It was made of hessian cloth and, by the smell of the thing, had once contained turnips. It was not a pleasant sensation, but hessian cloth is loosely woven and I was in no danger of being suffocated. The more frightening aspect of the affair was the fact that a pair of burly arms was wrapped around my torso, squeezing my arms against my body so that I couldn’t reach the revolver in my purse. The fellow’s grip was so tight, in fact, that my nerveless fingers slipped open and the purse tumbled out of my hand. I confess I was disappointed in myself. I’d been so preoccupied with sharing my ingenious plan with Dizzy and French that I’d neglected to keep a sharp eye out for villains.

I lowered my head and then snapped it back as hard as I could, straight into my attacker’s face. He grunted loudly when my skull struck his nose and staggered a step or two, which gave me the time I needed to execute the second part of my plan to escape. I prayed I was still facing the front door of Lotus House, but even if I wasn’t, I had a fair chance of catching the rogue off guard. I sagged against the bloke who’d seized me, lifted my feet and extended them. To my utter joy, I planted them against the hard surface of the house. Then I pushed off with all my might. My captor and I reeled backward, teetered precariously at the top of the steps and then tumbled down them to the pavement.

When it comes time for me to write my manual for female agents of the Crown, I shall be sure to include the instructions for this form of escape, along with a proviso that it hurts like billy-o when you hit the ground. The ruffian’s arms loosened, and I rolled to one side, eluding his searching hands. A dandy move, that, and it would have succeeded except the fellow who’d bagged me had brought along a second chap, who now fetched me a clip on the ear that prevented me from hopping to my feet. Then the first fellow scrambled to his feet and yanked me upright, enveloping me again in his fierce embrace. Rough hands seized my legs and lifted my feet into the air. I was being hauled away from Lotus House like, well, a sack of turnips. I tried to scream (little good that would have done, anyway, as the local plod was more inclined to arrest me than come to my assistance), but the chap who had clamped his arms around me was as strong as an orangutan and I struggled just to draw breath.

The two brutes who had nicked me were moving at a shocking pace, and I knew if I didn’t do something quickly I’d soon feel the sharp end of Mother Edding’s pigsticker. I began to wriggle like an eel in a basket, twisting my upper body and trying to bend at the waist to loosen my captors’ grip.

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