‘Emergency services, which service do you require?’ said a cool voice.
‘Police please,’ said Arnold, trying not to sound nervous. He heard a click, then another voice came on the line and said, ‘Police service. What is the nature of your emergency?’
Arnold looked down at the pad in front of him, and read out the statement he had just prepared. ‘My name is Arnold Pennyworthy. I need to speak to a senior police officer, as I have some important information concerning the possibility of a serious crime having been committed, in which terrorists may be involved.’
Another click, another voice, this time with a name. ‘Control room. Inspector Newhouse.’
Arnold read his statement a second time, word for word.
‘Could you be a little more specific, sir?’ the inspector asked. Once Arnold had told him the details, the officer said, ‘Hold on, please, sir. I’m going to put you through to a colleague at Scotland Yard.’
Another line, another voice, another name. ‘Sergeant Roberts speaking. How can I help?’
Arnold repeated his prepared statement a third time.
‘I think it may be wise, sir, if you didn’t say too much more over the phone,’ suggested Roberts. ‘I’d prefer to come and see you so we can discuss it in person.’
Arnold didn’t realize that this suggestion was used to get rid of crank callers and those who simply wanted to waste police time.
‘That’s fine by me,’ he said, ‘but I’d prefer it if you visited me at the bank rather than my apartment.’
‘I quite understand, sir. I’ll be with you as soon as I can.’
‘But you don’t know the address.’
‘We know your address, sir,’ said Sergeant Roberts without explanation.
Arnold didn’t leave his office that morning, even to carry out his usual check on the tellers. Instead, he busied himself opening the post and checking his emails. There were several phone messages he should have responded to, but they could wait until the man from Scotland Yard had come and gone.
Arnold was pacing up and down in his office when there was a tap on the door.
‘There’s a Sergeant Roberts to see you,’ said his surprised-looking secretary. ‘Says he has an appointment.’
‘Show him in, Diane,’ said Arnold, ‘and make sure that we’re not disturbed.’
Arnold’s secretary stood aside to allow a tall, smartly dressed young man to enter the office. She closed the door behind him.
The sergeant introduced himself and the two men shook hands before he produced his warrant card.
‘Would you like a tea or coffee, Sergeant Roberts?’ Arnold asked after he had carefully checked the card.
‘No, thank you, sir,’ the sergeant replied, sitting down opposite Arnold and opening a notebook.
‘Where shall I start?’ said Arnold.
‘Why don’t you take me through exactly what you saw taking place, Mr Pennyworthy. Don’t spare me any details, however irrelevant you may consider they are.’
Arnold checked through his notes once again. He began by describing in great detail everything he’d seen during the past month, ending with a full account of what he’d witnessed in the flat opposite the previous night. When he finally came to the end, he poured himself a glass of water.
‘What’s your neighbour’s name?’ was the sergeant’s first question.
‘Good heavens,’ said Arnold, ‘I have no idea. But I can tell you that he’s recently moved into the block, and has taken a short lease.’
‘Which floor are you on, Mr Pennyworthy?’
‘The fourth.’
‘Thank you. That will be more than enough to be going on with,’ said the sergeant, closing his notebook.
‘So what happens next?’ asked Arnold.
‘We’ll put a surveillance team on the building immediately, keep an eye on the suspect for a few days and try to find out what he’s up to. It could all be completely innocent, of course, but should we come up with anything, Mr Pennyworthy, be assured we’ll keep you informed.’
‘I hope it won’t turn out to be a waste of your time,’ said Arnold, suddenly feeling a little foolish.
‘We’ll find out soon enough,’ said the young detective with a smile. ‘Let me assure you, Mr Pennyworthy, I only wish there were more members of the public who were as vigilant. It would make my job much easier. Good luck with your new job,’ he added as he stood to leave.
As soon as the policeman had left, Arnold picked up the phone on his desk and called his mother. ‘Can I come and stay with you for a few days, Mother, before I move to Bury St Edmunds?’
‘Yes, of course, dear,’ she replied. ‘Nothing wrong, I hope?’
‘Nothing for you to worry about, Mother.’
Once Arnold had moved to Bury St Edmunds, running the branch took up most of his time, and as the weeks passed and he heard nothing from Sergeant Roberts, the incident at Arcadia Mansions began to fade in his memory.
From time to time he read reports in the Daily Telegraph about police raids on terrorist cells in Leeds, Birmingham and Bradford. He always studied the photos of the suspects being led away by the police, and on one occasion he could have sworn that...
Arnold had just finished interviewing a customer about a mortgage application when the phone on his desk rang.
‘There’s a Sergeant Roberts on the line,’ said his secretary.
‘Just give me a moment,’ said Arnold. He could feel his heart racing as he bustled the customer out of his office and closed the door behind him.
‘Good morning, Sergeant.’
‘Good morning, sir,’ came back a voice he recognized. ‘I was wondering if you were planning to be in London during the next few days. It’s just that I’d like to bring you up to date on what our surveillance team has come up with.’ Arnold began to thumb through his diary. ‘If that’s not convenient,’ the sergeant continued, ‘I’d be happy to visit you in Bury St Edmunds.’
‘No, no,’ said Arnold, ‘I’ll be coming up to London on Friday evening. It’s my sister’s birthday, and I’m taking her to see The Sound of Music at the London Palladium.’
‘Good, then I wonder if you could spare the time to pop in to Scotland Yard, say around five o’clock, because I know that Commander Harrison is very keen to have a word with you.’
‘That will be fine,’ said Arnold, looking down at the blank page. He made a note in his diary, not that he was likely to forget.
‘Good,’ said the sergeant. ‘I’ll meet you in reception at five o’clock on Friday.’
As the week went by, Arnold couldn’t help thinking that he was looking forward to meeting Commander Harrison more than he was to seeing The Sound of Music.
Arnold left the office just after lunch on Friday, explaining to his secretary that he had an important appointment in London. When he arrived at Liverpool Street station he went straight to the taxi rank, as he didn’t want to be late for the meeting.
The taxi swung into the forecourt of Scotland Yard a few minutes before five, and Arnold was pleased to see Sergeant Roberts standing by the reception desk waiting for him.
‘Good to see you again, Mr Pennyworthy,’ said Roberts. They shook hands, and the sergeant guided Arnold towards a bank of lifts. He chatted about The Sound of Music, which he’d taken his wife to see at Christmas, while they waited for the lift, and about the parlous state of English rugby while they were in the lift. He hadn’t even hinted why Commander Harrison wanted to see Arnold by the time the lift doors opened on the sixth floor.
Roberts led Arnold to a door at the far end of the corridor, which displayed the name Commander Mark Harrison OBE. He gave a gentle tap, waited for a moment, then opened the door and walked in.
The commander immediately rose from behind his desk and gave Arnold a warm smile before shaking hands with him. ‘Good to meet you at last,’ he said. ‘Can I offer you a drink?’