Colin Forbes - Deadlock

'I'm Timms,' the stranger went on. 'Ex-Inspector of Coastguard stations.' He produced his wallet, extracted a card and handed it to Newman. Ronald Timms. Followed by a Brancaster address and phone number. 'If you've ever got a spare half-hour you'd always be welcome to drop in, have a drink.'

'Very good of you.'

Newman slipped the card into his own wallet, made a mental note to throw it away later. Too many cards in his wallet already. Timms went on, again pointing with his stick.

'Those two hulks are magnetic – and dangerous – attractions for children, especially. You walk out towards them and the tide comes in. Behind you. By the time you realize it you're marooned and it's too late. The tide covers all those sandbanks.'

"Thanks for the warning.'

'See that far hulk?' Timms persisted. 'Bit of a mystery. It ran aground one storm-ridden night. I strolled out to have a look-see one day – with my camera. Bit of an amateur photographer. Got to pass the time somehow at my age. I found someone had changed the original name of the vessel. Came up when I'd developed the pictures I'd taken. Fishy business. But by then the insurance had been paid so I left it alone. They don't like you trying to reopen a case once the claim is settled. If it turned out they'd been wrong someone would say they hadn't checked properly in the first instance. Desk wallahs for you.'

'I did want to ask you a question,' Newman said quickly before Timms resumed his monologue. 'I'mlooking for a Captain Caleb Fox who lives in Brancaster. He runs a coaster shuttle between Rotterdam and Blakeney…"

'Rotterdam. Europort. That's something to see. Biggest port in the world. Handles half the freight which keeps Europe going. Food, oil, you name it…"

'Caleb Fox," Newman repeated.

'Never heard of him. Mind you, Brancaster spreads out a bit. Sorry, can't help you…"

'I think we'd better get back to the car,' Newman interjected, looking up at the sky. 'I think another squall is on the way.'

'Well, good to meet you. Don't forget my invitation…'

'Very kind of you. Hope to see again. Goodbye.'

The rain began to pound down again as they made for the car. They ran the rest of the way. The wind was so strong Newman had to heave at the heavy door of the Mercedes to get it open. He flung his raincoat on the rear seat beside Nield and dived behind the wheel as Butler joined him.

'I said you'd get soaked,' Nield told them. 'Was it worth it?'

'Not really. We bumped into an old boy who talks the hind leg off a donkey,' replied Newman.

'Thought he'd never stop,' Butler agreed.

'He's lonely,' Newman said as he started up the engine. 'He made that remark about passing the time somehow. I was worried he'd start talking about my book again. I never know what to say when people do that. Now, straight back to The Duke's Head, a good lunch, a bit of a rest, and we'll be ready for our SAS attack on Cockley Ford -whatever that may hold for us.'

– – Part Two

The Long Pursuit

– – 21

Tweed plunged into furious activity the morning he arrived at Park Crescent. Monica was away with flu, so he put Paula in her place. He decided to tell her everything that had taken place in Switzerland – including his interview with General Lysenko.

Sitting at her own desk – she refused to sit at Monica's – she listened, her thick eyebrows furrowed with concentration. Tweed had warned nothing must be put down on paper. Except the special Moscow phone number Lysenko had given him.

He was relieved to find that Howard was away – also with the flu – and that the PM was visiting the North-East. For the moment he had the show to himself. He handed her the sheet Beck had given him with the details Geneva Forensic had provided of the probable height and weight of the killer of Gaston Blanc.

'Convert those decimals into feet and inches, stones and pounds. I never did like it when we went decimal.'

'One hundred and ninety centimetres,' she read out. 'Weight a hundred and ten kilogrammes. The man is a giant, as Beck said. Will do …'

Take these,' Tweed continued, pulling sheets of paper out of his brief-case and a plastic bag. 'You remember Colonel Romer said the sheets were chemical analyses of the explosive used to blow the vaults in Basle. The bag has debris collected from inside the same vaults. The lot goes urgently to Commander Bellenger of Naval Intelligence. You'll find his number in Monica's red card index box, top right drawer. Here's the key she left in my drawer. Don't tell Bellenger where I got them from – I just want to know if he can tell me the explosive used.'

'Will do…'

'Call this chap, Jacob Rubinstein, gold bullion merchant. Mention Colonel Romer's name. Make an appointment for me to see him today. Tell him I'm Special Branch. Give him my phone number if he wants to call back to check. Tell him fifteen minutes of his time will be enough if he tries to delay the appointment. Oh, ask Bellenger to send a courier to collect that stuff. It's top secret.'

Tweed paused, realizing he'd been firing instructions like a machine-gun. Paula's raven mane was bent over her desk, hand flying across her notebook as she made shorthand notes.

'I'm sorry,' he said. 'You're new and I'm piling it on a bit.'

'Are you?' She looked up and smiled. 'You've forgotten -I ran my own pottery business. Often I'd have two phone calls on the go at once – a buyer from San Francisco wanting urgent delivery, the Wisbech factory on the other line so I could give immediate information. The Americans like that.'

'Just as long as you can cope…'

She had continued writing in her notebook as he spoke. Now she looked up again. 'I've converted those decimal figures. A giant of a man. Height six foot three, weighs seventeen stone.'

'Doesn't sound like Zarov. I'll call that Moscow number. No, leave it to me. You deal with the other jobs…'

The Moscow girl operator asked him to wait after he'd given her the number. To Tweed's surprise Lysenko came on the line within thirty seconds.

'Something you missed giving me on Zarov,' Tweed told him. 'His height and weight.'

'Let me check the file. That was a bad omission on my part.'

Tweed cupped the mouthpiece with his hand, speaking to Paula. The Bear is friendly. Because he wants something. That is, he wishes to give me the impression he wants something…'

He broke off as Lysenko came back on the line. 'Ready? I have the data. Height one hundred and eighty-three centimetres, weighty seventy-eight kilogrammes. Has there been a development?'

'Absolutely nothing. One thing else I wanted to know. Are your own people still searching for him?'

'Of course. But with no hope of success. I told you, Tweed. The devil knows our organization, the people and places to avoid. I understand you interviewed Yuri Sabarin. You have been active. Was Sabarin a help?'

'He did his best. But it didn't take me any further. Thank you for the data. With the Identikit picture it gives me a more complete picture of Zarov. If he's still alive. I am still very doubtful.'

'We have heard more disturbing rumours – that the Americans are behind the planned catastrophe…'

'Somebody was short of material for a report. That's pure idiocy. Where did the report come from?'

'Paris,' Lysenko said after a brief pause. 'And you will be reporting progress to me?'

'I told you before I work in my own way. You've dropped this in my lap – leave it there. Goodbye.'

Tweed cut the call before Lysenko could reply. Paula was watching him. She hadn't understood a word because they had spoken in Russian. Tweed clasped his hands behind his head, shook it.

'Zarov is a hundred and eighty-three centimetres tall, and weighs seventy-eight kilogrammes. Translate that into English for me.'