Part 21 (1/2)
Bullet grew more and more excited, and when I clipped his leash on his collar, he immediately ran out across the driveway, dragging me after him. He was a h.e.l.l of a lot stronger than I had antic.i.p.ated, and he seemed to be even more determined to find Jill than I was.
”I'll call you!” I shouted back to Mya Foxley.
As we turned on to the main London to Brighton road, I had a sudden thought.
”George-can you take me to Dr. Watkins's house?”
”We're going to be pretty pushed for time, old man.”
”How long will it take us to reach Southampton?”
”It's about sixty-five miles. If I really step on it, we should make it in an hour.”
”OK . . . but I really need to go the Laurels first.”
I directed him to Pampisford Road, and he slewed to a halt on the gra.s.s verge outside the Laurels. The two bobbies on duty recognized me, and they saluted and said ”Morning, sir!” and let me through without any trouble. Inside the house, I went directly to Dr. Watkins's surgery and opened up his fridge. ”Morning, sir!” and let me through without any trouble. Inside the house, I went directly to Dr. Watkins's surgery and opened up his fridge.
Inside, there were dozens of bottles of various vaccines-smallpox, diphtheria, yellow fever. On the middle shelf, on the right-hand side, there were a dozen bottles of Salk anti-poliomyelitis vaccine, with their distinctive red caps. I grabbed a handful and put them in my coat pocket. Then I went to the stainless-steel trolley beside the examination couch and took two 5cc syringes.
Bullet barked excitedly as I returned to the car, and we pulled away from the Laurels with the Rover's rear end sliding sideways in the gra.s.s.
I checked my watch. It was ten minutes of eleven already.
”Don't worry,” said George. ”If I keep my foot flat on the floor, we should get there in time.”
”OK, then,” I told him. ”Try not to kill us, that's all I ask.”
The sky began to grow increasingly thundery as we sped southwestward through Surrey and Hamps.h.i.+re. The clouds rolled in so quickly they looked like a speeded-up film, and by the time we reached the town of Havant, huge warm drops of rain had begun to patter on to the winds.h.i.+eld of George's Rover.
I had never been frightened by anybody's driving before, not even during World War Two, when I was driven in a Jeep between Brussels and Nijmegen by a stogie-chewing marine sergeant who had drunk a bottle and a half of Napoleon brandy. But George drove so furiously that I found myself gripping the door handle to keep myself from sliding from one side of my seat to the other, and constantly jamming my foot on an imaginary brake pedal. that I found myself gripping the door handle to keep myself from sliding from one side of my seat to the other, and constantly jamming my foot on an imaginary brake pedal.
He hardly ever dropped below 50 mph. He drove the wrong way along dual carriageways. He even drove right over the middle of a traffic circle, leaving parallel tire-tracks in the gra.s.s. He ran countless red lights and blasted his horn at anybody who looked as if they might slow him down. All this time he smoked one cigarette after another, lighting a fresh one from the burned-down b.u.t.t of the last.
”Do you know who I admire the most?” he asked me, as we slewed around the corner into Havant High Street. ”Fangio. What a driver. The last lap of the German Grand Prix, he averaged ninety-one-point-seven miles an hour. Averaged Averaged.”
We reached the outskirts of Southampton at three minutes of twelve. It was raining hard and the Rover's winds.h.i.+eld wipers were having difficulty in coping, so that George had to drive more slowly. But as we approached the docks, I could see the Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth's two red funnels over the rooftops, and as we turned the corner to the Cunard Terminal, and the sheer black wall of the liner's sides came into view, it was clear that she wasn't yet ready to sail.
George parked by the railings at the terminal entrance. A policeman in a raincape came up and knocked on the window.
”Can't leave it here, mate.”
George produced his ident.i.ty card. ”I think you'll find that I can,” he said, with public-school self-a.s.surance. ”Look after it for me, will you, constable?” that I can,” he said, with public-school self-a.s.surance. ”Look after it for me, will you, constable?”
”Yes, sir,” said the policeman, grudgingly. ”You'll be wanting Chief Inspector Holloway, sir. He's inside the terminal, at the information desk.”
We climbed out of the car. I turned my coat-collar up against the rain, which was hammering down all across the docks. ”Come on, Bullet,” I urged him. ”Let's find Jill, shall we? Come on, boy.”
We crossed the wet, reflective asphalt. Close up, the Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth was enormous, over a thousand feet long and nearly two hundred feet high, its sides streaked with runnels of rain. Pa.s.sengers were looking down on us from the upper decks and waving, even though the s.h.i.+p's gangways were still down, and the dock was still cluttered with vans and trucks and luggage. The air smelled strongly of brine and diesel. was enormous, over a thousand feet long and nearly two hundred feet high, its sides streaked with runnels of rain. Pa.s.sengers were looking down on us from the upper decks and waving, even though the s.h.i.+p's gangways were still down, and the dock was still cluttered with vans and trucks and luggage. The air smelled strongly of brine and diesel.
We went through the swing doors into the reception area, which was still noisy and crowded with pa.s.sengers and relatives. We found Chief Inspector Holloway next to one of the stainless-steel counters, surrounded by detective constables and at least fifteen uniformed officers. Chief Inspector Holloway was very tall and lugubrious-looking, with a thin sallow face and a nose like a fire axe. His brown trilby hat was soaked with rain and the lapels of his flappy brown double-breasted suit were curled up.
”I don't know why Hamps.h.i.+re Constabulary can't be trusted to deal with this,” he said to George, even before George had introduced himself.
”It's what you might call a specialist operation,” I put in.
”You're American American,” said Chief Inspector Holloway.
”That's correct, sir. Captain James Falcon, seconded to MI6.”
”This is all very very irregular.” irregular.”
”Yes, sir. You're right. It is irregular. Have you checked the pa.s.senger manifest?”
One of the detectives held out a clipboard. ”Mr. Terence Mitch.e.l.l made a telephone reservation early this morning and booked a middle-cla.s.s cabin, M64. He hasn't checked in yet. Cunard have promised to let us know as soon as he does.”
I said, ”OK, officer, thanks.” Then I turned to George. ”I need to get on board now. Duca's here already, I can feel it.”
”But he hasn't checked in yet.”
”It won't. It doesn't have to. It can get on board without anybody seeing it. Christ-it could climb straight up the side of the s.h.i.+p if it needed to. All it needs is a cabin for itself and Jill while it crosses the Atlantic.”
I looked down at Bullet. I think Bullet had picked up the scent, too. He was quivering, and staring toward the doorway which led out to the pier.
”Come on, boy,” I told him. ”There's one little thing we have to do before we go on board.”
I asked one of the uniformed girls behind the Cunard counter if there was a spare office I could use. Then I led Bullet into the back, and opened up my Kit. I took out two pots of white and black paint, and a paintbrush.
”What on earth are you doing?” asked George.
”Hold Bullet's head still, would you? I'm giving him an extra pair of eyes.”
Duca at Bay.
Bullet and I walked up the gangway with the rain drumming on the canvas awning above our heads. Two detectives came with us, so that we wouldn't have any trouble getting on board. A smooth-faced Cunard purser greeted us at the top of the gangway and he looked down at Bullet with amus.e.m.e.nt.
”I've seen plenty of four-eyed people, but this is the first time I've ever seen a four-eyed dog.”
”Please,” I said. ”He gets embarra.s.sed very easily.”
”Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.” I guess the purser was experienced in dealing with eccentric pa.s.sengers.
Once we were on board, I told the detectives to wait where they were.
”Can't really do that, sir. We're supposed to stick close, just in case you need us.”
”You're that eager to die?”
One detective looked at the other detective. ”If you put it that way, sir, we can wait here, yes. But call if you need us.”