“Well. There is something I didn't tell you. Three days ago I got an anonymous letter threatening something similar. Well not a letter really, it was a message made up of letters cut out of magazines.”
“Have you still got it?” I said.
“No, thought it was a crank and threw it away. Why did you run away from hospital? I couldn't believe it when I heard.”
“Frankly, I was scared. The accident seemed like an attempt to kill me and I was lucky to get out alive. On top of that there was this business of being followed, and lying there in hospital I felt like I was a sitting duck if someone wanted to try again. I have even stopped using my credit cards so they can't locate me.” I did not feel like telling Alec about Adrian's problem.
“You're being crazy Martin. We may have a problem here but tracing you through credit card use is something that only police and security services could do. Don't you think you are going over the top?”
“Maybe,” I said, “You're call from Plavsic puts a different light on it. However there is something else I need to tell you.” I then described the home visit and threat I had from the man in the trench coat.
“Why did you not tell me before, and why have you not told the police?” said Alec.
“I'm not really sure why I kept it to myself,” I said. “The more I thought about it; there was really very little to tell the police that they could act on or use to identify the bloke, and I suppose I was a bit shocked. Frankly I am not a great fan of the police, probably stemming from the days of getting beaten up during student demonstrations, so I decided to leave it. The only action I took was to change the locks on the front door, he obviously had a key.”
“I think we now need to involve the police, straight away. Tell them everything that has happened and see what they make of it. If you put the whole thing on a formal basis with the authorities that might restrain these people or at least make them think twice. ”
“I suppose you are right.” I said. “Technically I might be considered to be on the run. There was a uniformed police officer stationed at the reception desk in the hospital. I am not sure if the crash was someone trying to kill me or just warn me off.”
“Well I think that you need to talk to the police. If you are by any remote chance right that security services are involved in this then bringing in the civil police is probably a good idea. I met someone the other night that might be able to help us. She had just been promoted to head up the Bristol CID. I will have her card back at the office.”
“Ok, you could be right, let’s go” We jumped on the next ferry across the harbour and were soon back in Alec's office.
“Here it is,” said Alec “Chief Superintendent Alice Fleet. I will call her now.”
While I stood looking out of the window at the superb view Alec made the call.
“Can I speak to Chief Superintendent Fleet please? Yes, I met her a week or so ago and would like to talk to her.”
“Chief Superintendent Fleet, Alec Bell, I don't know if you remember me, we met at that Scouts fund raising night a week ago.”
“Yes it was a successful night. Look to get to the point, my colleague and I are being threatened and believe we should talk to the police, perhaps you can help us.”
“OK, you are at College Green, is that right? We could be over there in say 30 minutes would that be convenient? That's good of you, see you then.” He hung up and said, “let's go”.
Half an hour later, after waiting for a few minutes at the police desk, we were shown up to a meeting room on the second floor. A slim striking woman in her mid to late forties with greying hair met us as we came out of the lift. She introduced herself as Chief Superintendent Fleet and showed us in to a room just down the corridor where there was a man waiting whom she introduced as Inspector David Lloyd. We all sat down round the table.
“Now Mr Bell how can we help you?”
Alec went through the details of our story with me adding in bits as necessary.
“I think I saw something about you on our crime sheets this morning” said Lloyd looking at me. “You're the guy who stole a car from outside Frenchay hospital?” I nodded.
“We understand that the car was recovered undamaged, but it was still a serious offence,” he said. “You could be charged but no doubt the local police will be in touch with you. I assume the theft was all part of this story you have been telling us about?”
“Yes, I felt I had to get away from the hospital in any way I could. Since then I have calmed down a bit and Alec here has talked some sense in to me and persuaded me that we needed to talk to you.”
“We'll come to the car later,” said Fleet. “In the meantime we had better see if we can find out a bit more about your threats. With your permission we will h ave a look at the company's phone records to see if we can identify the caller who made the phone threat and also pay a visit to Mr Plavsic. We will follow up with the local police and see what they have on the ownership of the Volvo you describe as in your crash. In the meantime Mr Bell, can you see if that threatening letter can be found, perhaps the rubbish has not been thrown out. Over and above that there is not a lot we can do unless more evidence surfaces or something else happens. In the meantime I would suggest you are both careful and report anything to us that seems suspicious. Inspector Lloyd here will be in charge of this, so talk directly to him.”
We exchanged cards with Lloyd and after thanking Fleet for her time and seeing them so promptly we left.
Out in the street I said, “We didn't get much out of that, did we?”
“What did you expect? The whole story does sound a bit unreal.”
“What!”
“Don't over react.”
“It’s not you who they keep beating up!”
“We both know that there is a problem Martin, but we didn't really have much for them to act upon, lets see if they turn up anything new. In the meantime I have a mountain of stuff on my desk and I suspect you do as well, so lets get back to the office.”
I had a meeting of the technical department heads that afternoon which went on all afternoon. Afterwards I was sitting in my office making a few meeting notes when Alec popped his head around the door.
“Just been talking to Lisa, she asked if you would be free to come over to dinner this evening?”
“Would love too, although I won't stay late. I think a reasonably early night is called for.”
We left about half an hour later. I followed Alec's 7 series BMW in my little hire car that I had arranged to be delivered earlier in the afternoon. A small sporty hatch back that was probably a lot more sensible than a Range Rover in the dense evening traffic. Alec lived in a penthouse apartment in Clifton village, an affluent suburb of Bristol, and only a short walk to the gorge and downs. After guiding me in to a vacant visitors spot in the secure car park beneath the block we went up to the flat.
“Look, no need to tell Lisa the gory bits yet, no need to alarm her, OK?”
I nodded.
Lisa met us at the door and greeted me by grabbing me and giving me a big hug.
“Haven't seen you for ages Martin, how are you?” I winced and it was all I could do to contain a scream as the hug generated a shooting pain up my right side.
“Oh, sorry Martin, I forgot, is it bad?”
“No not really, I have always been a coward when it comes to pain.”
“Come and sit down,” she said. “Alec get him a Scotch, I think he needs one.”
“That sounds a great idea but only if you two are having something as well.”
Alec went across to his drinks cabinet to do the necessary and handed me a glass of his best malt, no water no ice, neat, just as he knew I take it. “Lisa what would you like, a white wine?”
“Yes please darling,” she said as she gave him a peck on the cheek, “there is a bottle open in the fridge” and went out to the kitchen followed by Alec.
He returned a few minutes later and we went and sat out on the balcony. It was a pleasant evening now, not exactly balmy but tolerable and with the fresh air and the view I started to relax for the first time in several days. The lights of the sprawling city spread out to the left and open country to the centre and right.