Jack Higgins - Angel Of Death

Hare grinned reluctantly. “So you’ve gone over?”

“Haven’t we all these days?” Dillon said and offered his hand.

After a slight hesitation Hare took it and turned to Ferguson. “There’s an office in the hangar we can use. The Gulfstream carrying Senator Keogh is twenty minutes out. As you can see, the helicopter is ready and waiting.”

“How much do you know?” Ferguson asked as they went into the hangar.

“Everything. I’ve been briefed by the Prime Minister himself, who stressed the need for total secrecy, which is why he’s not here himself. It would obviously attract too much attention.”

“Of course,” Ferguson said as they went into the office.

There was a tray with cups, a thermos flask and milk on a desk. Hare said, “Tea there if it takes your fancy.”

“How long to reach Drumgoole?” Ferguson asked as Hannah opened the thermos.

“Half an hour. I’ll wait until you’re ten minutes on your way and then I’ll telephone the mother superior, Sister Mary Fitzgerald. A good, kind soul. I know her well. The father confessor to the Little Sisters of Pity at Drumgoole is Father Tim McGuire, a decent ould stick. Just the nuns and the school kids there, and they’ll all go potty when they hear Keogh is coming.”

“But not for long. Ardmore House is what’s important,” Ferguson said as Hannah handed tea round.

“Well, I wish him well there,” Hare said. “I think he’s going to need it.”

“How close?” Grace was at Carson ’s shoulder now.

“Not far. Fifteen miles.”

“And where is Drumgoole Abbey from here?”

“We fly over it.”

“Good, I’d like to take a look.”

She went back to her seat and peered out of the window. The Conquest came out of cloud at two thousand feet into heavy rain and there it was in a pleasant wooded valley below, the Abbey, a schoolhouse, and several cottages. Grace took in the lay of the land, the approach road leading up from the valley and disappearing into a vast forest area.

The Conquest continued for another ten miles and during that time, she opened the suitcase, took off her tracksuit trousers, then dressed in the nun’s habit, not easy in the restricted space of the cabin, but years of having to change in cramped dressing rooms had given her a certain expertise. She finished off by pulling on a pair of black knee socks and black flat-heeled shoes. She took the shoulder bag out, pushed the case between two seats, and sat waiting.

Kilbeg was a desolate sort of place, the grass runway plain. There was a wind sock on a pole, a ruined cottage at the north end, a shed beside it, and as they landed she could see a dark green car parked inside.

The plane rolled to a halt close to the cottage and Carson switched off. When he got out of the pilot’s seat and saw her he looked truly shocked.

“God in Heaven.”

“The door, Mr. Carson.”

He got the Airstair door open and went down the steps, turning to give her a hand. She accepted, lifting the skirt of her habit with the other, and they ran through the relentless rain to the shelter of the shed.

The car was a Toyota saloon. The door wasn’t locked, but when she opened it there was no key in the ignition. She felt under the rubber mat and found it at once. She turned to Carson and held it up.

“Here we are.”

She got behind the wheel and put the shoulder bag on the passenger seat. “How long will you be?” Carson asked.

“Two to two and a half hours if I’m lucky.”

“I’ve got to have a time. Can’t wait forever.”

She looked up at him calmly. “Be here when I return, Mr. Carson. I need hardly remind you that Colonel Belov has a very long arm. There would be nowhere you could go that he couldn’t find you.”

He shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s just that I don’t want to hang around too long.”

“You won’t have to.” She switched on the engine and drove away.

The Gulfstream landed and taxied toward the hangars, taking up position beside the Lear jet.

Patrick Hare said, “I’ll go and get him.”

He walked out toward the Gulfstream under his umbrella and the door opened and the stairs came down followed by Sergeant Black. A moment later Captains Harris and Ford appeared. They lined up at the bottom of the stairs and Keogh joined them, shaking hands with each in turn. As Ferguson watched, Hare engaged the Senator in a brief conversation, then they walked toward the hangar.

“Brigadier, great to see you again,” Keogh said. “And you, Dillon.”

“Allow me to introduce my aide, Detective Chief Inspector Hannah Bernstein,” Ferguson told him.

Keogh gave her his best smile. “A real pleasure, ma’am,” and shook hands.

Dillon said, “We have a present for you, Senator.” He opened the hold-all he had been carrying. “Kevlar jacket, latest model.”

“Oh no,” Keogh groaned. “Must I? Those things make you look like you’ve put on twenty pounds.”

“They also stop most bullets from most modern rifles stone dead,” Dillon said. “Unless they’re armor piercing.”

“Am I supposed to feel happy with that thought?”

Keogh took off the jacket and waistcoat he was wearing and Hare and Dillon helped him into the Kevlar jacket. “We’ll get Armani to make this stuff into suits next season,” Dillon said. “It’ll save everyone a lot of trouble.”

They fastened the Velcro tabs and helped him back into his waistcoat and suit jacket. There was a small mirror on the wall and Keogh stood back and examined himself.

“Yes,” he said, “I can see now that I’ll definitely have to cut out the potatoes.” He grinned. “Can we go now?”

Grace Browning followed the road through the forest and paused while still in its cover to look at the Abbey. To her left there was a track leading into a further spread of trees. She drove along it, then paused while still screened from view, reversed and parked the Toyota pointing back the way she had come. She could see down into the Abbey gardens, various paths leading down to the Abbey itself although there was no one about in the heavy rain.

She turned to get her shoulder bag and noticed that there was a black folding umbrella on the backseat. Whether by accident or design, it didn’t matter. She pulled out the telescope handle, put the umbrella up against the rain, and went down through the gardens.

At that moment Patrick Hare telephoned Drumgoole Abbey and asked for Sister Mary Fitzgerald. There was a slight delay before she came on.

“Yes, who is it?”

“Sister Mary, it’s Chief Superintendent Pat Hare. I’ve got a shock for you. In approximately fifteen minutes a helicopter will be landing on your front lawn.”

“And why would it be doing that?”

“Because it has Senator Patrick Keogh on board. He wants to visit the Keogh Chapel and see the stained-glass window.”

“Holy Mother of God, I can’t believe it.”

“You’d better, Sister, because he’ll be dropping into your lap minutes from now.”

She slammed down the phone and ran into the main office, where three sisters were working at their desks.

“Drop everything, Sisters,” she cried. “I’ve just heard that a helicopter is arriving with Senator Patrick Keogh on board. We’ve fifteen minutes at the most. Sister Margaret – you and Sister Josephine get over to the school and have all the children taken to the Abbey church. Sister Amy, you will see that the acolytes are properly dressed for whatever service Father Tim wants to give. I’ll warn Father Tim. Now hurry.”

She chased them to the door, was about to leave herself when she remembered and went to the internal phone. “Sister Clara? We’re going to need the organ, so get over to the church. Senator Keogh is coming.”