Page 100 of An Eye for an Eye

‘That’s very kind of you,’ said Ross, slipping the letter back into its large brown envelope, ‘but sadly I must leave you if I’m to get to Heathrow in time to catch the last flight to New York this evening.’

‘Then I won’t hold you up any longer,’ said Lady Hartley,rising from her place, and without another word, she accompanied her guest back to the front door.

‘Thank you once again,’ said Ross as he stepped out onto the drive. ‘And congratulations on your son’s release – I know you must be relieved.’

‘More than I can say,’ said Lady Hartley. ‘But can I ask you one more thing before you leave, Inspector?’

Ross stopped in his tracks. He waited for a question he’d been anticipating but had hoped she wouldn’t ask.

‘Does that mean Mr Faulkner will be expecting me to return his money, because I fear …’

‘No. I can promise you, Lady Hartley, you won’t be hearing from Mr Faulkner again,’ said Ross, as he climbed into his car. She couldn’t hide her relief as she watched him drive away.

Ross waved to her as he drove out of the grounds and back onto the main road. An innocent bystander, he thought, who was about to play a major role on the world stage without even realizing it.

Once he was back on the motorway, Ross pressed a number on his mobile, aware that his co-conspirator would be on the other end sitting at his desk, anxiously waiting for the call.

A voice answered after one ring and said, ‘James Buchanan.’

‘I have the letter you require,’ said Ross, ‘and with a fair wind, I should be landing at JFK at around ten tomorrow morning.’

‘I’ll be there to meet you when you get off the plane,’ said James, ‘and by then I should have everything in place. Have a good flight.’ Not a man who wasted words or gave anything away that might be overheard.

Ross switched off his phone. When he wasn’t looking out for airport signs revealing the number of miles to go, he was continually checking the clock on his dashboard that wasticking over far too quickly. It was going to be tight, even though he continued to ignore the speed limit while he was on the motorway. Once he joined the slip road leading to the airport, he ignored several amber lights, forgetting he was an ordinary citizen and not a policeman on official duty.

On arrival at Terminal Three, he dumped his car in the short-term car park, jumped out and began running, now checking his watch every few seconds.

As he charged into the airport, he looked up at the departure board to see Gate 19 flicking over to be replaced by the words Gate Closed. He accelerated out of the blocks like an Olympic sprinter, and began to follow the signs to Gate 19, relieved he was only carrying a briefcase, which contained his passport, ticket, mobile phone, car keys and the large brown envelope. But by the time he arrived at the check-in desk, he looked out of the window only to see the aircraft steps being wheeled away.

‘I’m so sorry, Mr Hogan,’ said the lady after checking his ticket, ‘but as you can see your flight is about to take off.’

‘Are there any other planes going to New York tonight?’ he asked desperately, between breaths.

‘Only Concorde,’ she replied. ‘But I can book you on to our first flight in the morning.’

‘That will be too late,’ Ross said without explanation, as he wondered what a flight on Concorde would do to his bank balance. ‘Are there any seats available on Concorde?’ he asked, painfully aware he’d been left with no choice.

‘Let me check,’ said the attendant as she began tapping away on her computer. Moments later, a smile appeared on her face. ‘Yes, I can still get you on that flight, but you will have to hurry.’

‘Thank you,’ said Ross, who set off again, and this timemanaged to reach the Concorde desk with a few minutes to spare. He handed over his credit card, relieved when moments later he saw the word APPROVED appear on the little screen.

He quickly made his way to the departure gate, still out of breath. Once on board, he settled into his seat and phoned James Buchanan just before the plane took off. ‘Slight change of plan!’ he announced.

•••

Ross woke to find a flight attendant standing by his side. ‘Mr Hogan?’

‘Yes,’ said Ross, stifling a yawn as he looked up at him.

‘Once we land, we’ve been allocated an airport apron and my supervisor has asked me to make sure you’re the first passenger off the plane.’

‘Thank you,’ replied Ross, and then frowned. ‘I had a bad dream.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that, sir.’

‘Could you please open the compartment above me and tell me what you see?’

The flight attendant carried out the passenger’s request, and said, ‘A black leather briefcase with the initials RH etched in gold.’

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