Captain Jones sees Lord John Grey with an update about the investigation in Lord John and the Haunted Soldier Part 3A. It’s not good news.
The chapter initially starts with John trying to see Quarry about Oswald and getting information about Anne’s jewelry. It ends with him getting a disappointing but intriguing update about the cannons that exploded.
There is far more to the investigation than meets the eye. John seems to be the one that everyone looking for real answers can trust.
Breaking down Lord John and the Haunted Soldier Part 2B
The chapter starts with John getting back from London. Tom and Jack Byrd head to pawn shops in search for Annie’s jewelry, while John goes to the Beefsteak in the hope of seeing Quarry about Oswald and his potential bribe-taking. John is shocked to find out that everyone in the Beefsteak knows that he is the Hero of Crefeld.
John does learn from Tom that Fanshawe has been buying back everything of Anne’s that he can. All that Tom has right now is a locket, but there is no word on where Anne is staying right now. John decides he needs to talk to Fanshawe about this.
Later on, John gets a visit from Captain Jones. It turns out that Gormley and pieces of Tom Pilchard are missing. In fact, the parts of the cannon pieces have been melted down, leading to the investigation to come to an end. Jones knows that there is something else going on.
It turns out that Jones is a spy for the Arsenal. He’s spying for someone called Bowles, and he knows that only Tom Pilchard and other exploding cannons are the ones that are missing. Jones also fears that Gormley has been taken or killed because of what he has figured out. Jones and Gormley relaized that the copper used for the cannons is more brittle than it should be, so liable to explode. He doesn’t think it was to do with the gunpowder, although there was some proof that grape shot cartridges were packed with more powder than they should have been.
Jones tells John that the piece of shrapnel in his chest is all that is left of the cannons. He needs to keep that safe.
John and Tom need to find press gangs that may have been involved. None were operating near the Arsenal, but there was a shipyard busy with repairs. Tom is able to see a press gang head out to a big ship on the water and not come back. John speaks to Captain Hanson to allow Jones on The Sunrise to search for Gormley, connecting a burly man known as Ape, as a potential abductor. Hanson hasn’t sent out press gangs, but it’s possible that Ape has been working alone.
Well, there is a connection closer to John than he would like. Neil Stapleton is involved. John needs to be careful here as it could mean he is outed as a gay man. He also needs to get to the bottom of the cannon situation, which he thought must be connected to Howard Stoughton, The Master Fonder.
Sure enough, Stoughton and Neil are trying to get to away. Fortunately, John and Jones are able to catch up due to some luck with the water’s current. It’s time to get some answers.
Could this chapter be used in a TV series?
If there is a Lord John Grey series and this story was used, this chapter would be needed. This is the one that is packed with action as we finally get some answers. It’s clear that John has caught the man he needs to get to the bottom of the exploding cannons.
I could still see this storyline being used within Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade if that was used for an adaptation. It would make sense keeping this storyline connected to that, especially as I think it helps John gain some closure over the exploding cannon that almost killed him. The parts with Annie and Lister aren’t as important for John’s character development.
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