Thursday

by David Ridgway

  “Can I help you?”

  “We were wondering whether Andy could drive us to London Wall.” David explained that his mother had been trying to phone his father, but that his father’s phone was constantly engaged. “And then to Scotland Yard.”

  “Why on earth do you want to go there?” Sebastian raised both his eyebrows, being so surprised by Jackie’s comment that his self-control briefly slipped. He quickly regained his inscrutable attitude.

  “My Dad works there.” Jackie explained, without reacting to the sharpness of his question.

  “Over to you, Andy.” Seb waved his right hand in the direction of the cabbie.

  “That’s fine with me. Do you want me to get you home after that?”

  “Well, yeah! That would be great,” replied David

  “Right then. How soon do you want to go?”

  “As soon as you’re ready, if that’s OK?”

  “Sure. Give me a couple of minutes with Mr Fortescue Brown and I’ll be right with you.”

  The two youngsters thanked Sebastian for opening up his hotel and left the room. They walked back to the front door, joining hands in a show of mutual respect and consideration. Back in his office, Sebastian finished his conversation with Andy and then commented that David’s father was Michael Varley at Le Grove Investments.

  “That’s a bit of a coincidence, Gov,” Andy remarked.

  “Yes. It might well be. But, there’s no need to let on that you know that.”

  “No, Gov.”

  Andy left the office and after collecting Jackie and David, they all climbed into his cab for the journey to the city.

  At much the same time, Alice gently knocked on Michael’s door and entered with a piece of paper in her hand.

  “What’s that?”

  “I’ve started drafting up the office requirements. We will need a minimum of three executives, each controlling a team of two managers, one secretary and one computer operator. In addition, we must have an overall IT specialist and, in due course, there will be a need for a compliance officer. All this will require space. Apart from my own office, each team will need its own accommodation. I wondered about open plan but, on balance, I feel that separate offices for each team will be better. The secretaries will need a separate room and the compliance officer will need a private office. In addition, we’ll need a sizeable meeting room. Taken all together, that will virtually fill a complete floor of this office block.”

  “So now you can see, Alice, why I felt that you could head up this operation. I’ve been thinking, in very broad terms, on much the same lines. I don’t suppose you are aware that the floor below us is also retained by Le Grove Investments. It has been sub-let in the past, but it’s completely empty just now.”

  Michael continued. “To set all this in motion, I suggest we set up a new company and Le Grove will lease the appropriate space to that company.” He shrugged. “I will also have to find a replacement for you!”

  “And what am I supposed to use for capital?”

  “In the short term, you can leave that with me. As a partner in this venture, I can assist with the capitalisation.”

  “How soon do you think that we will obtain some form of short term understanding from the Treasury?”

  “I am hoping to have some confirmation of that around lunchtime.”

  “Well, I need to contact electrical contractors, IT hardware companies and a builder who can create the space and rooms we need.” Alice looked at Michael. “Without wanting to ask a silly question, how soon do you want this operation up and running?”

  "And without giving you a flippant answer, this afternoon would be good. However, I think we’ll all have to work over the weekend to be ready first thing Monday morning. I’ve also prepared three lists for you. The first is a list of financial institutions that have already agreed to support our venture, together with the appropriate contact names.

  "The second is a list of potential executives, to run your teams. There are five names in all, two of whom are already signed up. You’ll have to select the third from the balance.

  "Lastly, there is a list of potential managers. I would advise that you work closely with the new executives to complete your teams.

  “I’ll leave the other employees to you. I’m sure you’ll be able to pick up very suitable people pretty easily.”

  Alice took the lists and left Michael’s office, feeling more empowered than ever in her life. As she walked down the corridor to her own office, the discreet front door bell rang, making her start. She opened the door to find Andy the cab driver together with two teenagers outside.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Good morning!” David greeted her. “I don’t think we’ve met before, but I am David Varley, Michael’s son.”

  “Please come in.” Alice opened the door for them all to enter the reception area. “But, why are you here?”

  “It’s a bit of a long story. Is my father here?”

  “Yes. He’s in his office, but he is really very busy. Hang on a sec. I’ll buzz him.” She picked up her telephone, which was answered very quickly.

  David could hear his father say, “What is it Alice? You know I’m waiting for calls.”

  “Your son, David and a young lady, as well as Andy the cabbie, are all here in reception.”

  “You’d better send them all through to me. And I wonder if you can make some coffee?”

  “Of course.”

  Alice turned to David. “His office is at the end of the corridor on the right.”

  “Thanks. But please don’t make any coffee. We only want to make sure that he’s OK before we track down Jackie’s dad at Scotland Yard.”

  David, holding Jackie’s hand walked towards the office door and gently knocked, before opening the door. Michael was behind his desk, talking on his iPhone. As they entered, he cut the call and looked at the pair questioningly.

  “Hi, Dad. This is Jackie, my girlfriend.” Michael nodded. “We were in London yesterday afternoon and got caught up in the flood. We had to spend the night in a hotel in Kensington. Anyway, I spoke to Mum this morning who said that she had been trying to call you but that your phone is permanently engaged. She’s very worried and has left you a number of messages.”

  “You’re right!” David lifted his right hand to stem the flow of words. “We’ll discuss later why you were in London and not revising for your exams.” He stood up.

  “Jackie, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He came round his desk to shake her hand. “Strange circumstances, of course. But that’s why I’m really busy. This flood has caused enormous damage and the country will require immediate access to funds in order to rebuild. But, you’re right! I should have phoned your mum and I’ll do that straightaway.”

  “We’ve only come in to check that you’re OK.”

  “Well, you can see that I am. But you’ll have to let me get on. I’m waiting for calls from the Treasury as well as other colleagues and I really shouldn’t miss them.”

  “OK, Dad. We’ll get out of your hair. Anyway, we’ve got to go the Scotland Yard now, to check on Jackie’s dad.”

  “Why Scotland Yard?”

  “Because that’s where he works.”

  “Oh! OK.” Michael was somewhat surprised and his mind was quickly assessing and storing that information. “Well, don’t let me keep you. And you can tell your cabbie to bill me for the fares.”

  David, followed by Jackie, left Michael’s office as he was dialling his wife. They collected Andy from reception and after saying good bye to Alice, they all returned to the taxi for the journey to Scotland Yard.

  As the roads were unusually quiet, especially with the temporary cancellation of all public transport, within ten minutes Andy was driving down the Embankment. He slowed down before he reached the junction with Temple where the pleasure boat was still stranded. He pointed out to the youngsters in the back the place he had picked up the other refugees, before driving up Temple to the Strand. He
continued down the Strand to Trafalgar Square and turned down Whitehall. When the cab reached Richmond Terrace, they saw all the police vehicles crushed up against the gates. A policeman was on duty at the pedestrian entrance.

  “Off you go, you two,” Andy said cheerily. “I’ll wait here until you get back.”

  “OK. Thanks.” David got out and then helped Jackie. Together they crossed the pavement to the policeman.

  “Good morning,” David said politely. “Can we come in?”

  “Not really.” The policeman explained that, “Everything’s in a bit of an upheaval, what with the flooding an’ all.”

  Jackie fixed him with a stare and said that she wanted to see her father.

  “And who might he be, miss?” the policeman replied, somewhat patronisingly.

  “Chief Superintendent Kevin Bleasdale.”

  “Oh! Right. I’ll call through.”

  He turned to a small box, just inside the gate and dialled a number. It was answered almost immediately and after a brief conversation, he ushered Jackie and David inside the gate, pointing to the door where he said they would be met.

  Even before they had reached the door, it opened and a fresh faced constable emerged.

  “Are you here for Chief Superintendent Bleasdale?”

  “Yes.”

  “Please come this way, miss.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I’m afraid we’re avoiding the lifts until they’ve been thoroughly checked, so we’ll have to climb the stairs. Your Dad’s on the fourth floor.”

  “That’s fine. We’ve done worse.”

  They climbed up the four flights, with the constable chatting about nonentities all the way until, finally, they reached Kevin Bleasdale’s door. It was already open and he was already walking from his desk by the window to greet them.

  “Hello Jackie.” She rushed to him and hugged him. After a little while, he took hold of her shoulders and held her at arm’s length. “Are you all right?” He looked over at David. “Both of you?”

  “Yes, sir!” David replied. “For reasons that are too complicated to explain, we were both in London when the wave came up river and flooded all the south bank and parts of Westminster. We spent the night in a small hotel in Kensington and spoke to Mrs Bleasdale just after breakfast. She advised us that she hadn’t heard from you since yesterday, but she realised that you would be busy with organising your teams.” David stopped.

  “Now then, young fella,” Jackie’s father responded. “I’m not too sure I like the sound of my daughter staying in a hotel with a young lad and for it to be talked about so casually.”

  “Daddy.” Jackie decided to take control of the conversation. “After the flood, David and I saw this bus that had been washed onto its side. He organised the extraction of all the survivors and when we had got them all onto Waterloo Bridge Road, he flagged down this taxi. We were then ferried to this hotel where the staff looked after us. I shared a room with a Bulgarian immigrant and a Woman Police Officer. I think you know her – Liz Drury?”

  “It all seems highly irregular to me but, here you are, large as life.” He hugged his daughter once more.

  “Yes, Daddy. We are. And we’ve come here to tell you to call Mummy and let her know that we’re OK.”

  “All right. All right.” The Chief Superintendent knew that he would get no more out of his daughter.

  “Anyway, we’re going home now.”

  “That’ll be difficult. There’s no public transport and no trains.”

  “Doesn’t matter, Dad. We’ve got a cab waiting downstairs.”

  Chapter 18

  Friday Lunchtime and Afternoon

  As the deep depressions slowly filled and drifted away over northern Europe, the weather in Britain turned unseasonably warm. Although it was still only February, the birds were singing and there was a detectable heat in the sun. The anticyclone that followed in the wake of the two vicious storms brought clement weather northwards from Africa, across Spain and the western Mediterranean. New weather fronts in the western Atlantic were forced much further to the north towards Greenland and Iceland and the forecasters were firmly predicting fair weather for as much as the next two weeks.

  The peak of the spring tides passed and the job of clearing up the flood damage all around the south and east coasts commenced. Nowhere, however, was that damage as great or as grave as in the Thames Estuary and London.

  After his two-hour catnap at the sea wall, Martin was finally persuaded to follow his family, neighbours and friends back to the farmhouse. His eyelids were so heavy that it was a conscious struggle to keep them open. He felt bone weary but strangely exultant. Helen helped her father into the back of the Landrover and, with Wayne sitting next to her in the passenger seat, she set off. They crossed over the ditch before driving up the fields towards the railway embankment. The land was now deeply rutted with the tyre tracks from all the trucks that had driven down through the long night. The track itself was quite slippy but after engaging four wheel drive, Helen made good progress. She and Wayne were chatting quietly in the front, while Martin sat on the backseat alone with his thoughts. As they drove up the field towards to railway bridge, he could feel the warmth of the sun on his right arm.

  “Now we can see clearly, can we stop and look at the damage to the bridge?” He asked.

  “Righty oh!” Helen replied.

  She stopped the vehicle in front of the wrecked bridge and they all got out.

  In the sunlight, it was frightening to see how much of the embankment had been eroded by the flood of sea water. The brick bridge was completely destroyed. Except for the hard core track through the embankment itself, all the bricks had disappeared. Rubble infill was now falling onto the track. The bricks from the walls and the roof of the bridge had been transported during the night down to the sea wall breach there they now helped to form a key part of the rushed and temporary repair. As they looked at the bridge, they could see above them that the only the rails remained, twisted and buckled. All the concrete sleepers had gone and of the original bridge only the foundations of the arch remained.

  “And to think that all your trucks came through that gap,” Martin muttered to Wayne.

  “I know. I’m really sorry about the jib knocking the bridge itself down.” Martin turned the younger man to face him and put both hands on his shoulders. He looked straight into his eyes.

  "I suggest you don’t mention that ever again to anybody. As far as I’m concerned, the flood did that and our diggers had to force a passage through the rubble. I made the decision to knock off the sleepers before we cleared the rubble out of the way, because of the potential danger to the drivers of the trucks driving through the gap.

  “Mind you, I’ll have to speak to the Environment Agency, but I expect they’ll have their hands pretty full today.” He turned to his daughter. “Thank you, Helen. I always knew that you were dependable, but I never appreciated the real depth of your spirit. I rather feel that your mum and I have created three really special children.”

  With tears in his eyes, he turned back to the Landrover.

  “Come on,” he said over his shoulder. “I need some breakfast.”

  Helen glanced at Wayne and lifted her eyes to the sky. He smiled at her and mouthed ‘And I agree!’

  “Stop it,” she whispered, as they walked back to the vehicle.

  As soon as they arrived at the farmhouse, Jennifer very quickly had hot coffee and a full breakfast waiting for each of them. No sooner were they sitting down at the big family kitchen table, than Martin’s two sons and their wives drifted into the room.

  “How are you feeling, Dad?” James asked. “Helen told us to leave soon after you had nodded off. Are you feeling rested?”

  “Actually, I feel really elated as though we have achieved something quite remarkable,” Martin replied. “If you boys and Helen hadn’t been here, the sea would have reclaimed the land. And without Wayne and his team and our neithbours, we would have been
completely stuffed. You must all be exhausted. I know that I am.”

  “And as soon as you’ve finished your breakfast,” Jennifer said as she put her hand on his shoulder, “It’s a hot bath and bed for you, Martin.”

  “Well, there is something else I’ve got to do first.” He stood up and left the kitchen. He returned after a couple of minutes with a small package and an envelope in his hand.

  “Today is a very special day,” he announced. “We have our complete family with us and I’m really pleased that Wayne is still here. Today is our fortieth wedding anniversary and this is a small token of my love for you, Jennifer.” He handed her the envelope together with the package that had been gift wrapped in the store.

  Jennifer sat down at the table to open the card and slowly read the inane poem. She then removed the wrapping paper from the display box and opened it. The rubies on the necklace twinkled up at her. She gasped and felt the blood running up her neck and into her face.

  “Where on earth did you find something as beautiful as this?” she asked. “And the earrings match the necklace. They are truly wonderful. I really don’t know what to say.”

  “Don’t say anything at all.” Martin put his arms around his wife and kissed her fondly on the cheek. “You have been my rock for all these years and, together, we have produced three exceptional children. This family is a strong family and we are so lucky to have them all with us, Helen, the boys and their wives of course. This damned flood has been a bit of an intrusion, but I now realise that they are all here to help us celebrate our forty years.” He shrugged. “And they said that it wouldn’t last!”

  “I’m sorry, Dad, but the Regiment has been on the phone and I’ve been recalled from leave.” James quickly explained that the Army was now fully committed to organising the relief and clear up in London and elsewhere. He and Megan would have to leave very soon.

  “Of course I understand. I expect that there will be plenty of other breaches in the sea wall as well. All the way round the coast as far as Norfolk, probably. A lot of work to be done.” His voice tailed off as fatigue began to take over. He sat down. “I’ll just finish this coffee and get off upstairs.”