Around an hour and a half later he parked at the hotel in Falmouth, a country style two story resort Inn. After checking in Sean went straight to his room and started to unpack. Twenty minutes later there was a knock on the door and he opened it carefully. He let Lomax in and locked the door behind him.
‘Any ticks?’ enquired Sean.
‘None’, replied Lomax. ‘Did you see anyone follow me?’
‘Nope’, said Sean. ‘What about this place?’
Lomax removed a black plastic gadget from his pocket that looked very much like a battery tester. Checking the room and the bathroom for listening devices took less than two minutes.
‘It’s clean’ Lomax announced.
‘Like a drink?’
They made their way downstairs. While Lomax was getting the drinks Sean used the opportunity to look around and check out the clientele. Amongst several couples there were one or two well dressed men and women drinking alone. Lomax brought back a scotch for Sean without asking. Sean noticed Lomax’s glass contained nothing stronger than sparking water. That set the little cells ticking, but now was not a good time to ask Lomax about it.
‘What was your little tête-à-tête with Andrews about?’ Sean enquired.
‘Just some last minute updates for me.’
Lomax was making it quite plain he didn’t want to talk about it thought Sean. ‘Nothing I need to know then?’ He was pushing it.
Lomax turned to look at Sean. ‘Nothing you really need to know about, just a conversation about whether the Americans are already on to Campbell.’
Sean could see he would get no more out of Lomax. He changed the subject. ‘Have you made contact yet?’
‘Not directly’ replied Lomax. ‘I should have some info early tomorrow morning. In the meantime I suggest you grab some sleep.’
Lomax was true to his word. At 5:10 am he knocked on Sean’s door.
‘I’ve found him, but it’s bad news. A contact in the FBI told me that Ben was involved in a road accident. When I rang the hospital they told me he’d collided with an oncoming car. He was taken in with head injuries, ruptured spleen, broken ribs and a broken wrist and leg. The hospital contacted the girlfriend, a Miss Natasha Moore. She’s there now.’
‘Have you any info about her?’
‘She also works with Ben. Apparently she’s their resident expert on digital navigation and guidance packages — whatever that means.’
Sean started pulling clothes on. ‘It looks like we’re already too late’ he said sadly.
Less than an hour later Sean walked towards the ward where Ben was lying. Approaching the room he saw an attractive woman in her early thirties asleep on a chair in the corridor. Her head lay on a cushion, long dark hair spilling over and partially covering her face.
Sean guessed this was Natasha Moore. Not wanting to disturb her he looked through the window into the room beyond. He wasn’t able to tell at first if the person lying on the bed was Ben. Too much of his face was obscured by bandages. But there was something about the chin and the jaw that was familiar.
‘Are you a relative?’
Sean turned. She was sitting up. She had dark eyes and black hair framed an oval face. Her eyes looked a little puffy with sleep.
’No, just an old friend. I’m sorry to disturb you.’
‘Oh that’s OK’. She waved the apology away. ‘I’m Natasha, a friend of Ben’s.’
Sean leaned over to shake her hand.
‘I’ve been popping into hospital since I heard he was involved in a hit-and-run accident.’
‘It came as a shock to me’ replied Sean. ‘I’ve only just got in from England.’
‘Did Ben know you were coming — he didn’t say anything to me?’
‘Not really’ replied Sean. ‘He emailed an invitation some time ago. I happen to be here on business, and I thought I’d stop by to see him.’
Sean looked towards the ward reception. ‘The nurse said I would have to wait for one of the doctors to give me an update. I wondered if you know anything. How serious are his injuries?’
Natasha’s gaze slid to the floor. ‘Originally they said he might not make it’ she said quietly. ‘But he’s improved since and they’ve just moved him out of intensive care — so I suppose that’s a good sign.’
‘I see’ said Sean. He glanced down the corridor towards an approaching doctor.
The young man was wearing a white coat and had a stethoscope slung around his neck. He looked enquiringly at the pair. Sean introduced him and Natasha and asked the doctor about the accident.
‘I’m afraid I don’t know much about that, except he met a car head-on. His injuries are extensive but he has been stable for the last few hours, so you can go in to see him.’
‘Oh’ said Natasha. ‘The nurse said no-one was allowed to see him for another 24 hours?’
‘Never mind the nurses’ replied the doctor. ‘Sometimes they are a bit too protective. You can go in, but don’t stay long — no more than 5 minutes. I’m afraid he won’t be able to speak, he’s still under sedation.’
The room was lit by a dim overhead night light. Natasha went around the far side and took Ben’s hand in hers. Sean glanced around the small room which contained a chair and mobile bedside table. There was a TV and radio console, a window which looked out onto a lighted pathway, and a door which lead to an en-suite bathroom.
Sean turned back to the bed. He could see the regular rise and fall of the sheets as Ben breathed. But there was no indication he was aware of Natasha’s presence. A steady soft bleep came from the monitors. They stood in silence for some minutes.
‘Natasha’ Sean said softly. ‘You look worn out. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep. I’ll stay on for a while and let you know if anything happens.’
Natasha released Ben’s hand and sighed. ‘You’re right, I am exhausted. Thanks — here I’ll let you have my number.’ She wrote it on a piece of paper and handed it over. ‘It’s very kind of you.’
He followed her to the corridor to say goodbye. When she was out of sight he went back into Ben’s room, detecting the lingering scent of her perfume. Coming straight after Ben’s signal to the Section the accident could not be a coincidence — particularly the hit-and-run aspect. And once they realised he was still alive the opposition might come back for him.
Sean pulled out a pair of surgical gloves and slipped them on before making straight for the en-suite bathroom. Leaving the door slightly ajar, he could see the door from the corridor into the room and the partly obscured corridor window, but not the bed itself. He looked around and saw a bath with a shower unit fixed above it. There was a toilet, wash hand basin and mirror, and a window which opened outward onto the lawn.
He didn’t have long to wait.
He heard the door open and glimpsed the portly figure of a nurse as she bustled into the room. He could hear the rustle of her uniform as she moved about, presumably checking the instruments and making sure the patient was comfortable. Sean peeked through the crack in the doorway. He could see her back as she wrote up her notes. After she finished she replaced the clipboard and left.
Sean waited. He was prepared to wait all night if necessary but he didn’t have to. Nearly twenty minutes later the doctor they had met earlier entered. Sean was starting to think how efficient and well run the hospital was, when he sensed the stillness. He listened intently but he couldn’t hear the doctor moving around.
Sean slowly opened the door wider to see the doctor leaning over the bed, putting his whole weight onto the pillow over Ben’s chest and face.