The Enemy. Desmond Bagley
– yet.’ I was thankful for the saving grace of that final monosyllable. She laid her hand on mine. ‘You idiot – I thought you’d never ask.’
‘I had it all laid on, but circumstances got in the way.’
‘I know.’ There was melancholy in her voice. ‘Oh, Malcolm; I don’t know what to say. I’ve been so unhappy today, thinking about Gillian, and seeing her in such pain. And then there was that awful task you laid on me tonight of questioning her. I saw it had to be done, so I did it – but I don’t like one bit of it. And then there’s Daddy – he doesn’t say much but I think he’s going through hell, and I’m worried about him. And now you come and give me more problems.’
‘I’m sorry, Penny; I truly am. Let’s put the question back in the deep freeze for a while. Consider yourself unasked.’
‘No,’ she said. ‘You can’t unask a question. In a way that’s what my work is all about.’ She was silent for a while. I didn’t know what she meant by that but I had sense enough to keep my mouth shut. At last she said, ‘I will marry you, Malcolm – I’d marry you tomorrow. I’m not one for non-essentials, and I don’t want a white wedding with all the trimmings or anything like that. I want to marry you but it can’t be now, and I can’t tell you when it will be. We’ve got to get this matter of Gillian sorted out first.’
I took her hand. ‘That’s good enough for me.’
She gave me a crooked smile. ‘It won’t be the usual kind of engagement, I’m afraid, I’m in no mood for romantic frivolities. Later, perhaps; but not now.’ She squeezed my hand. ‘Do you remember when I asked you to come here and meet Daddy? It was the night we had the Chinese dinner in your flat.’
‘I remember.’
‘It was a diversion. I had to stop myself from doing something.’
‘Doing what, for God’s sake?’
‘Marching into your bedroom and getting into your bed.’ She disengaged her hand and finished her drink. ‘And now you’d better take me home before I change my mind and we start behaving badly.’
As I escorted her to the car my heart was like a singing bird and all the other guff poets used to write about. They don’t any more; they leave it to the writers of pop songs, which is a pity. I drove her home and stopped the car before the gates, and we had five minutes’ worth of love before she got out. She had no key and had to press the button for someone to come.
I said, ‘We won’t announce the engagement, but I think your father ought to know. It seems to be on his mind.’
‘I’ll tell him now.’
‘Are you going to London tomorrow?’
She shook her head. ‘Lumsden has given me a few days off. He’s very understanding.’
‘I’ll pop out to see you.’
‘But what about your job?’
I grinned. ‘I have an understanding boss, too.’
There was a rattle at the gate and it swung open, pushed by Wills, the dour and unfriendly type who had let me in that afternoon. Penny kissed me and then slipped inside and the gate clanged shut. I stepped up to it, and said to Willis, ‘Escort Miss Ashton up to the house, see her safe inside, and make sure the house door is locked.’
He looked at me for a moment in silence, then smiled, and it was like an ice floe breaking up. ‘I’ll do that, sir.’
I was in the office early next morning and first I had an extended chat with Nellie. I had just moved to the typewriter when Larry came in with a pile of newspapers which he dumped on his desk. ‘Thought you were out on a job.’
‘I am,’ I said. ‘I’m not here. I’m a figment of your imagination.’
I finished my list and took it in to Ogilvie, and wasted no time in getting down to the bones of it. I said, ‘I don’t mind fighting with one hand tied behind my back but I object to having both hands tied. I’ll need a list of Ashton’s present overt activities and affiliations.’
Ogilvie smiled and pushed a file across the desk. ‘I anticipated you.’
In return he got my sheet of paper. ‘That’s more of what I need.’
He scanned it. ‘Six men, six cars, telephone ta …’ He broke off. ‘Who do you think we are – the CIA?’
I looked studiously at the back of my hands. ‘Have you ever been in the field, sir?’
‘Of course I’ve …’ I looked up and found him smiling sheepishly. The smile disappeared as he said irritably, ‘I know; you people think we desk-bound types have lost touch. You could be right.’ He tapped the paper. ‘Justify this.’
‘I have to do a twenty-four hour secret surveillance of three – perhaps four – people. It’ll be …’
He caught me up on that. ‘Which three or four?’
‘First Ashton and Penny Ashton. Then Gillian Ashton. Just because she’s been attacked once doesn’t give her a lifelong exemption. I might be able to arrange with Honnister to have one of his chaps at the hospital if I ask him nicely enough. That’ll take some of the load off us.’
‘And the fourth?’
‘Benson. I pushed the lot of them through the computer until I lost them in Code Purple.’
‘Benson, too?’ Ogilvie thought about it. ‘You know, the computer might be going by the address only. Anyone living there might be classed with Ashton.’
‘I thought of that and it won’t wash. Mary Cope, the maid, lives in and I put her through as a control. Nellie has never heard of her. If Ashton is so damned important then he’s six-man-important.’
‘I agree – but you can’t keep an eye on four people with six men. I’ll let you have eight.’ He smiled slightly. ‘I must be going soft-headed. If Harrison was handling this he’d cut you down to four.’
I was taken aback but rallied enough to discuss who we were going to use on the operation. I said, ‘I’d like to take Laurence Godwin.’
‘You think he’s ready?’
‘Yes. If we don’t use him soon he’ll go sour on us. I’ve been keeping an eye on him lately; he’s been right more times than he’s been wrong, which is not bad going in this trade.’
‘Very well.’ Ogilvie returned to my list. ‘I agree that Ashton’s telephones should be tapped. If he’s being threatened we want to know about it. I’ll have to get authorization from upstairs, though; but I’ll be as quick as I can. As for the postal surveillance, that’s trickier but I’ll see what I can do.’ He put his finger down. ‘This last item worries me. You’ll have to have a damned good reason for wanting a pistol.’
‘Benson’s carrying a gun in his oxter, and Ashton is carrying another. If they are expecting that sort of action I think we should be prepared.’
‘You’re sure of this?’
‘Dead certain. I’d like to know if they have gun permits.’
Ogilvie considered it. ‘Under the circumstances Ashton might. I don’t know about Benson. I’ll check.’ I’d have given a lot to know what those circumstances were but I didn’t ask because I knew he wouldn’t tell me.
We settled a few more minor details, then Ogilvie said, ‘Right, that’s it. Round up your boys and brief them. I want a recording made of the briefing, the tape to be given to me personally before you leave. Get on with it, Malcolm.’ As I was leaving he added, ‘I’ll