A couple of weeks later, Obadiah Hakeswill and his men were assigned to evening patrol duty for a week. Because Anna's time was nearly at hand, Obadiah engaged the services of a teenage Indian girl to stay with Anna in the evenings while he was away, not wanting to leave her entirely by herself.
Normally, Obadiah would be grousing about pulling evening duty, but he didn't mind this time as it gave him more opportunities for stealing, with the cover of darkness aiding him. With the baby almost here, Obadiah knew he had to step up his efforts to find more plunder. Tonight was Saturday and most of the officers would be out seeking entertainment or having parties at home. He knew there would likely be several opportunities for a profitable burglary and being on patrol duty gave him the perfect excuse to be out and about in the areas where the officers' quarters were.
He and Anna had eaten a quiet dinner before he had to go on duty. As he went into the bedroom to put his uniform jacket back on, he said to her, "Are you sure you'll be all right here by yourself? I could take you to stay with Carrie Norris while I'm gone."
"I'll be fine," Anna assured him. "Padma will be here shortly and we've decided to spend the evening together doing some sewing. We'll be fine. If I need anything, Padma will go find Carrie and Sergeant Norris will be at home tonight as well."
"I can't help but worry, missy," Obadiah said, twitching. "It's my nature, it is."
"I'll see you around midnight, then?" she asked, as he got his equipment, ready to leave.
"As near as I can get," he promised.
"I'll be waiting up for you," she said, kissing him on the cheek.
At that moment, a knock came at the door. Hakeswill opened it to find the Indian girl, Padma standing there.
"Oh, there you are!" Anna called out. "Do come in!"
"I'll be going, then," Obadiah said. "Be back as soon as I can, I will."
"Stay safe," Anna said, kissing him goodbye just before he went out the door.
"Don't worry," he said, twitching. "I always looks out for myself. Been doing it since I was twelve, I have."
After leaving Anna, Hakeswill hurried off to the tent encampment to assign each of his men to a zone to patrol. He found his men finishing up their suppers and preparing for duty. After the men fell in, he assigned each one to a specific zone, making sure his cronies would be in the zones closest to his, if he decided he needed their help in breaking in to an officer's house.
"I'll be on Officer's Row, if any of you buggers needs to report something to me," Hakeswill told the group. "Grimsby will be at the opposite end, near the city gates, if any of you lazy sods on that end needs to report something."
Once the men nodded in acknowledgment, he added, "You'll be relieved at midnight by the next detail. Move out."
The evening was largely uneventful for Sergeant Hakeswill. Prowling through the alleys adjacent to the homes on Officers' Row, the scrawny sergeant remained unnoticed by those out and about in the main street. He was able to quietly slip into several places, either climbing in through unlocked windows, or by using the set of lock picks he always carried with him. Hakeswill had wasted no time getting what he was looking for and was in and out in less than five minutes, on the average. He went straight for the money, not bothering to try to steal anything else, not wanting to weigh himself down. He'd done this sort of thing so many times in the past, that he now had it down to a science.
Obadiah would have liked to have broken into Richard Sharpe's rooms, but Sharpie lived in a rooming house closer to headquarters, where there was always someone coming and going. He was certain that the blond sergeant had squirreled away a sizable amount of plunder, because the amount of money Sharpe was apparently spending couldn't be explained by simply fiddling with the books at the armoury.
No, he had to have another source of funds, and Obadiah strongly suspected that Sharpie was the one who'd killed the Tippoo months before and taken his jewels. But even though he couldn't ransack the upstart sergeant's quarters at the present time, Hakeswill was biding his time, waiting for just the right opportunity to lay his hands on those jewels and set himself and Anna up for life.
About an hour before midnight, Obadiah heard someone stumbling through the alley toward him. He didn't suspect a bandit, as the person was making too much noise for that. He heard the intruder curse drunkenly as he knocked over a couple of rubbish bins near the mouth of the alley.
Staying in the shadows, the lean sergeant waited to see what he'd be dealing with.
A malevolent grin appeared on his face as a drunken officer, who'd obviously lost his way, stumbled into view. Oh, this one was going to be easy pickings, Obadiah thought to himself as the dishevelled officer staggered closer. He became almost euphoric when he recognized the officer as Horace Perkins; Anna's father.
The perfect opportunity had just presented itself for Obadiah to seek revenge on Anna's behalf for what her father had done to her. As he approached the officer a plan quickly formulated in his mind on just how to carry it out.
Sidling up to the drunken man, he saluted smartly and asked, "Can I help you, sir? You seems to have lost your way, you have."
Perkins looked blearily at Hakeswill. He had no idea that his daughter had married this man, as he'd not had any contact with her since that day they'd encountered one another at the marketplace.
"Sergeant?" he slurred. Though his vision had blurred with intoxication, he still could make out the prominent white stripes on Hakeswill's sleeves. "Where am I? I'm trying to go home."
"In an alley, you are, sir," Hakeswill said, twitching with barely suppressed glee. "I can help you get home, sir, if you just tells me where that is."
"I live two doors down from Colonel Gore, toward the river," Perkins told the malicious sergeant. Turning his head suddenly away from Hakeswill, he sunk to his knees and began vomiting onto the ground.
Hakeswill waited until the inebriated officer had finished, then said, "You was going the wrong way, you were, sir. But I'll get you to the right place, mark my words."
"I'm much obliged, Sergeant," Perkins mumbled, as Hakeswill took his arm and half-guided, half-dragged the man in the right direction.
About fifteen minutes later, the two men arrived at the house in question, stopping twice so Perkins could throw up again. They didn't encounter anyone along the way, as the Saturday night revellers had gathered one street over.
As Hakeswill opened the door to the small dwelling, he said, "I'd best help you get inside and get to bed, I should, sir."
Perkins mumbled something unintelligible as he attempted to step over the threshold. He stumbled and fell flat on his face, lying sprawled in the entryway.
Hakeswill twitched impatiently as he yanked the rubber-limbed officer back to his feet. He dragged him inside, while kicking the door shut with his foot, then let him fall again to the floor.
After lighting a couple of candle sconces on the wall, he looked around until he found the other man's bedroom at the end of the hall. Obadiah found another sconce inside the bedroom and lit that before going back to where Horace Perkins was now snoring on the floor.
"It's almost too easy," he said to himself, twitching, as he hauled the intoxicated man to the bedroom where he unceremoniously dumped him onto the bed fully clothed.
"Time to say goodbye, you bleedin' sorry excuse for a father," Hakeswill rumbled. "You ain't never going to get the chance to hurt my Anna ever again, you won't."
By this time Perkins had passed out, so he never heard Obadiah's words, nor did he struggle much when the rawboned sergeant grabbed a pillow and put it over his face. As Hakeswill pressed the pillow down hard, Perkins thrashed around weakly for a short time, but it wasn't long before he went still. After a few minutes, Hakeswill removed the pillow then leaned close to make sure the officer was dead.
Satisfied with the job he'd done, Obadiah looked down in satisfaction at the dead man, before putting the pillow under his head. He figured that when Perkins was discovered, it would be assumed that the man's heart had given out from the excessive drinking, as the man smelled like a brewery. He turned to leave, not taking anything from the room, because he didn't want anyone to suspect the death was anything other than natural causes. Hakeswill knew that Anna would get anything of value that her father owned, in any instance, as the next of kin.
After blowing out the candles as he retraced his steps to the door, the sergeant opened it a crack to peer outside to make sure no one was around before stepping outside. Once he was certain, he quickly slipped out and into the nearest alley to make his way back to the army encampment, as it was nearly midnight.
Obadiah had no intention of telling Anna what he'd done on her behalf, figuring it would be easier for her if she believed her father had died of natural causes. He wasn't ashamed of what he'd done, as he'd do anything he thought necessary to protect his beloved wife, but knew that it was better if she didn't know.
Sergeant Billy Norris, along with his men, was waiting for Hakeswill as he returned to the camp.
"Anything to report?" Norris asked.
"Not a thing," Hakeswill said, twitching. "Quiet as a churchyard, it is."
"Good," Norris said, "I didn't fancy having any excitement going on tonight, not at all."
"Patrol is all yours then," Hakeswill said. "I'm going home."
Obadiah arrived back home a short time later, where he found Anna sitting at the table, struggling to stay awake. The Indian girl, Padma, was asleep, curled up on a mat on the floor.
He closed the door carefully, so as not to startle Anna. Walking over to the sleeping Indian girl, he nudged her gently with his boot. "Wake up, missy," he murmured lowly. "Time for you to go."
Padma opened her eyes to see the scrawny sergeant standing over her. She immediately rolled into a sitting position, eager to leave as she was thoroughly intimidated by Obadiah Hakeswill.
Once she'd gained her feet, Obadiah handed her a couple of coins, telling her to return the same time the next night.
After the young girl had left, he went to Anna and softly kissed her on the cheek. "I'm home, love," he murmured. "Let's go to bed."
Anna smiled up wearily at him, "I promised I'd wait up for you."
"And so you did," he replied. "But you needs to get some rest now, and so do I."
Anna was already fast asleep by the time Obadiah removed his uniform and slipped into bed beside her a few minutes later. He fell asleep shortly thereafter, his conscience untroubled by what he'd done that evening.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Two days later
Major Stokes sat at his desk impatiently drumming his fingers. He'd scheduled a meeting with Captain Perkins this morning and the man had the effrontery to be a half hour late. Perkins was usually punctual when they had meetings, so the Major couldn't figure out why he'd not shown up.
Calling out to Richard Sharpe, who was in the anteroom doing paperwork, he said, "Sergeant Sharpe, you did tell Captain Perkins to be here at ten, did you not?"
"Yes, sir," the blond sergeant affirmed. "And he said he looked forward to seeing you."
"Now that I think about it, I didn't see him in church yesterday, either," Stoke said, frowning. "Why don't you go over to his quarters, Sharpe, and see if he's all right."
"Right away, sir," Sharpe replied, turning to carry out the Major's order.
There was no reply when Sergeant Sharpe knocked on Perkins door a short time later. Standing there for a long moment in indecision, he finally tried the door and found that it was not locked.
"Captain Perkins?" Sharpe called out loudly as he stood hesitating in the doorway. When no reply came, his gut instinct told him that something was wrong, so he moved further into the house, looking around.
He saw that the door at the end of the hallway was ajar, so he went to look inside. He saw Perkins almost immediately. It was obvious that he was dead, as rigour had set in and he'd already begun to stink in the hot Indian climate.
"Oh, bloody hell," Sharpe swore under his breath as he looked at the officer, whose jacket was still flecked with bits of vomit. He didn't touch the man, but it appeared to him as if the man's heart had simply given out. Sharpe knew the man had a reputation for being too fond of strong drink, so he'd apparently drank himself to death.
Leaving Perkins just as he'd found him, Sharpe hurried back to the armoury to report what he'd discovered. No sooner had he opened the door to the armoury, than Major Stokes called out, "Sharpe? Is that you? Did you find Perkins, then?"
"I found him," Sharpe said heavily as he entered the Major's office."
"So where is he then?" Stokes demanded. "Find him with a bibbi, did you?"
"No, sir," Sharpe replied, sighing. "I found him dead."
"Dead, you say?" Stokes said, frowning in consternation. "Are you sure?"
"Quite sure, sir," the sergeant replied wearily. "He was stiff as a board."
"I suppose he won't be attending my meeting, then," Stokes said in a weak attempt at levity.
Sharpe rolled his eyes, but did not comment, waiting for his superior to continue.
"How did he die, could you tell?" Stokes asked a moment later. "Was he murdered?"
"No, sir," Sharpe replied. "At least I don't think so. I think the man just drank himself to death and his heart gave out. He still had vomit on his uniform from when he'd sicked up."
"Pity," Stokes observed noncommittally. "Send a detail over to the house to get the body, and have one of the doctors have a look at it. Then find the chaplain and tell him he'll be conducting a funeral."
"Right away, sir," Sharpe acknowledged. "Didn't he have a daughter who needs to be notified?"
Major Stokes frowned, heaving a loud sigh. "Yes, his daughter Anna lived with us for several months. But I've not seen her since she chose to move out without telling us. I have no idea where she lives now." After a moment, he reluctantly added, "But she needs to be notified of her father's death, even though they were estranged."
"I saw her one day a couple of weeks ago," Sharpe told him, grimacing at the memory. "She was in the company of Sergeant Hakeswill."
"Hakeswill?" Stokes repeated. "Isn't he that odd fellow with the twitch?"
"That's the one," Sharpe said with a sour expression. "Evil bastard, he is."
"Do you think Sergeant Hakeswill might know where Anna lives?" Stokes asked.
"It might be a good place to start," Sharpe said. "They seemed right friendly when I saw them together."
"I'll do it myself," Major Stokes said, feeling uncharacteristically charitable toward the newly orphaned young woman. "You have enough to do, Sharpe, without having to track her down as well."
"Thank you, sir," Sharpe said, obviously relieved. He had not looked forward to having to tell the unpleasant woman that her father had died, especially if she happened to be in Hakeswill's company yet again.
A short time later Major Stokes strolled into the enlisted men's encampment, which wasn't all that far from the armoury.
He didn't see the scrawny, bald-headed Hakeswill as he entered the area, so he approached a corporal who had just emerged from a tent.
"Corporal, where might I find Sergeant Hakeswill?" he asked the enlisted man.
"He went back to his quarters to have lunch, sir," Corporal Grimsby told him.
"Where might that be?" Stokes asked.
After Grimsby gave him directions, Stokes set off, a bit put out that Hakeswill wasn't where he'd expected to find him. And if the sergeant didn't know where to find Anna Perkins, he would be even more exasperated.
He arrived at the converted stable a short time later, knocking vigorously at the door.
"Keep yer britches on, I'm coming," Obadiah Hakeswill called out irritably from the other side of the closed door.
A moment later the door was yanked open and Stokes came face to face with Obadiah Hakeswill
"Sorry, sir, I thought it was one of my men coming to disturb my lunch, I did," Hakeswill said, with feigned contrition. "What can I do for you, sir?"
"I was wondering if you could tell me where I could find a woman named Anna Perkins," Stokes said. "Sergeant Sharpe told me that he'd seen her once in your company."
Hakeswill had a good idea why Stokes was here, so he decided to play along. "I should know where she's at, sir," he told the officer, twitching slightly. "She's my wife. She's Anna Hakeswill now."
Stokes looked at Hakeswill with one eyebrow raised in surprise. At least he now knew why his former houseguest had deserted his home; she'd found herself a husband, such as it was. He knew he shouldn't be surprised - a woman as homely as Anna Perkins was and with such a sour disposition probably couldn't do any better than the twitching sergeant who stood before him.
Remembering what he'd come here for, he said, "I'm afraid I have some bad news for Mrs Hakeswill."
"Who's at the door, Obadiah?" a woman's voice called out from inside the building.
"It's Major Stokes," Hakeswill reported. "He came here with some news for you."
Opening the door open a bit wider, Hakeswill said, "Why don't you come in, sir, so's you can give my Anna your news."
As Major Stokes stepped into the Hakeswill home, he was confronted by a hugely pregnant Anna glaring balefully at him. "What do you want with me?" she said suspiciously, moving to stand closer to her husband, who put an arm around her and drew her close.
"I'm sorry, Mrs Hakeswill, but I have bad news for you," he began. "I'm afraid your father has died."
Anna blinked twice, which was the closest she came to having an emotional reaction to the officer's words. Pressing her lips together tightly, she said, "When did this happen? How did he die."
"Sergeant Sharpe found him dead in his bed this morning," Stokes explained. "I sent him over there when Captain Perkins did not appear for a scheduled meeting." Taking a deep breath, he said, "It seems as if his heart gave out on him."
"I see," Anna said, her voice steady and quiet.
"The chaplain will be in contact with you about the funeral," Stokes told her. "You and Sergeant Hakeswill may go to the house whenever you feel ready and take whatever belongings of his you wish to keep."
"Thank you, Major, for coming to tell us, sir," Hakeswill said, walking to open the door again. "Mrs Hakeswill is in a delicate condition, see, and needs her rest now, she does."
"Oh, yes, of course," Stokes said, suddenly feeling quite uncomfortable. Before leaving, he said, "My condolences on your loss."
After shutting the door behind Stokes, Obadiah took Anna in his arms and kissed her.
"I should be glad he's gone," Anna said as he continued to gently rub her back. "But I regret that now I'll never have the chance to reconcile with him."
"Don't worry, missy," Obadiah murmured. "I'll always take care of you, I promise."
.