Codename Angel (The Angel Chronicles Book 1)

by Jason Chapman

  Tuesday 1st December 1953

  Frederick and Agent Cones were led down a long corridor by a hospital orderly. Patients could be heard all around shouting and screaming, which made Frederick feel uneasy. Frank Cones also looked about nervously at inmates who wandered up and down the corridor. A woman clutching what appeared to be a scruffy looking doll approached the three men.

  ‘Have you brought any milk for baby?’ She asked the orderly.

  ‘For Christ’s sake Rosie go back to your room.’ The orderly snapped.

  ‘Baby wants milk!’ The woman demanded blocking their path.

  The orderly snatched the doll out of her arms and hurled it down the corridor.

  The woman started to scream and lunged out, striking the man across the head. ‘BABY NEEDS MILK!’ She screamed lashing out again.

  ‘Mental bitch, here’s your fucking milk!’ The orderly shouted before punching her in the side of the face.

  The woman fell backwards onto the floor and started to cry.

  ‘Now piss off back to your room you mental cow!’ The man ordered.

  ‘Was that necessary?’ Frederick questioned with growing concern.

  ‘Listen, you don’t have to deal with these head cases day in day out!’ The orderly complained. ‘I bloody well do!’

  Frederick didn’t say anything more and followed the orderly to the doctor’s office.

  Jimmy

  10:32am

  Dr James Baxter poured a glass of whiskey. ‘Would you care for some?’ He offered.

  ‘Don’t mind of I do.’ Cones accepted the glass.

  ‘None for me thank you doctor.’ Frederick declined.

  ‘Wise man.’ Baxter said sitting down. ‘Alan told me you were coming, but I am surprised to see an American in these parts.’ He said looking at Cones.

  ‘I’m here on request of Jimmy’s family I’m an old friend, stationed here during the war.’

  Baxter nodded before sipping from his glass. ‘Well as I told Alan Good, there really isn’t all that much to tell. Jimmy has vanished twice in six weeks, before mysteriously turning up. Last time he was found wandering the hospital graveyard.’

  ‘Any witnesses?’ Frederick asked.

  ‘No, well unless you count Rosie.’

  ‘The woman with the doll?’ Cones said.

  The doctor nodded again. ‘We let some of the less serious patients wander but our orderlies keep an eye on them of course.’

  ‘So the last time Jimmy vanished from his cell, when was this?’

  ‘About two weeks ago, he went missing for two days before just turning up. One of the orderlies found him wandering in the hospital graveyard.’

  ‘Why has it taken so long for you to contact anyone about it?’ Frederick asked.

  ‘I didn’t feel the need until last week, when he started to draw.’

  ‘I take it we can see the patient?’ Cones said.

  Baxter got up from his chair and finished his whiskey. ‘Of course.’ The doctor led Frederick and Cones through a series of corridors lined with patients. ‘Good morning Captain.’ Baxter greeted one of them.

  The man dressed in a stained white robe stood to attention and saluted. ‘Sir, good morning sir.’

  ‘This is the captain, he’s been with us since just after the war. Helped liberate some of the death camps. Proved all too much for him poor fellow.’

  Cones walked by the man and made brief eye contact. Without warning the Captain grabbed Cones with ferocious speed and pinned him against the wall. ‘Frank we have to get off this beach, we’re all dead.’

  ‘Captain, let the man go.’ Baxter ordered.

  ‘We’re Fucking dead anyway!’ The captain screamed.

  Cones shuddered as images of Omaha beach flooded his mind. Paralysed he stared into the eyes of the captain.

  Baxter grabbed the Captain’s arm. ‘Let the nice man go captain!’

  ‘You should have stayed where you were, you shouldn’t have left him.’ The captain now began to cry. ‘Why did you do it Frank?’

  Another orderly appeared and helped Baxter pull the captain away. ‘Take him to the shock room, have Doctor Dale administer a small dosage.’

  Cones remained where he was, while the doctor walked calmly down the corridor, as if nothing had happened.

  ‘Agent Cones are you ok? Agent Cones!’ Frederick waved his hand in front of the American’s face.

  Cones snapped out of his trance. ‘Yeah.’ He nodded. ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Frederick asked.

  ‘I’m ok Professor!’ Cones snapped.

  Both men joined Doctor Baxter who was looking through a small square window. ‘He’s been misbehaving today so we’ve had to put him in here.’ The doctor unlocked the door and opened it.

  Jimmy was sat on a chair with his knees hunched up to his chest. Frederick and Cones stepped through the door into the padded room.

  Jimmy looked up at the three men before fixing his stare on Cones. ‘Mr Cones!’ Jimmy jumped to his feet. ‘Mr Cones you shouldn’t be here.’

  ‘Hey buddy, how you doing?’

  Jimmy shook his head, he walked up to Cones and put his arms around him. ‘Mr Cones why have you come?’

  ‘I wanted to see you of course.’

  Jimmy started to cry. ‘They’re all dead Mr Cones.’

  ‘Who Jimmy.’

  ‘Mum, dad, Stephen and Andrea, the nasty man from the church Mr Cones, he killed them.’

  ‘Have you seen the nasty man from the church Jimmy?’ Frederick asked.

  Jimmy nodded. ‘He visits me.’

  Baxter took a deep breath. ‘Clearly delusional.’

  Cones ignored the doctor’s comments. ‘What does he say to you Jimmy?’

  ‘He says he wants to give us medicine, make us all better.’

  ‘What medicine Jimmy?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ He sobbed before returning to his seat and curling up in a ball.

  ‘You won’t get any more from him, he’ll stay like that for hours. We’ve given him some electric shock therapy.’

  ‘This man doesn’t need therapy he needs to be with family.’ Frederick seethed.

  ‘We are his family now, and I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself.’ Baxter replied dryly. ‘I think that’s it for today gentlemen, as you can see the patient is doing well. The doctor will be doing his rounds later to check up on him.’

  ‘The doctor?’ Questioned Frederick. ‘Doctor who?’

  ‘He’s a specialist, comes in from up North somewhere.’

  Cones and Frederick exchanged glances. ‘Do you have a name?’

  Baxter stood deep in thought for a moment. ‘I’m afraid I don’t, look if there’s nothing else gentlemen I suggest you come back tomorrow when Jimmy’s more responsive.’

  The Angel Hotel – Abergavenny – 8:32pm

  ‘You haven’t been very talkative since we left that hospital today.’ Frederick commented.

  Cones stared at his dinner plate and then looked up at Frederick. ‘How the hell did that guy who grabbed me know my name, let alone what happened on Omaha in forty four.’

  ‘I’ve no idea but I suspect there’s more here than meets the eye. I didn’t find that doctor Baxter very cooperative.’

  ‘We shouldn’t have let them just dump Jimmy at that hospital.’

  ‘The committee didn’t say anything about putting him in a psychiatric hospital..’ Frederick stopped in mid stream and looked up. ‘What on earth?’

  ‘What is that?’ Cones asked listening to the sound.

  ‘It sounds like an air raid siren.’ Frederick guessed. A waiter walked past their table. ‘Excuse me but what does that siren mean.’

  ‘It’s a warning siren; it usually goes off when one of the nut cases from Pen-y-Fal escapes.’

  Chapter 81

  Insanity

  Pen-y-Fal Psychiatric hospital – 8:59pm

  ‘I told you to come back tomorrow!’ Dr Baxter growled.

&
nbsp; ‘We heard the siren.’ Frederick explained. ‘I didn’t expect to see you still here doctor.’

  ‘I have a room in the hospital grounds.’

  ‘Who’s escaped?’ Cones asked.

  Baxter remained silent.

  ‘Is it Jimmy?’

  ‘I suggest you gentlemen return to your hotel.’ Baxter warned.

  ‘Not until we see Jimmy.’ Cones demanded.

  ‘I’m afraid that’s not possible.’

  ‘Why?’ Frederick asked.

  An orderly suddenly appeared at the door of the doctor’s office. Blood streaked down the side of his face. ‘Doctor Baxter.’ He panted. ‘The patients are out of control.’ The sound of screaming and shouting could be heard in the distance.

  ‘I’ve telephoned for help they should be here soon.’

  ‘Is there anything we can do?’ Frederick asked the orderly.

  ‘You could help me secure the doors, the more we lock the more we can contain the patients out of control.’

  Baxter looked at the orderly for a few moments before nodding. Frederick and Cones followed the man down the corridor.

  ‘Where are the other orderlies?’ Asked Frederick.

  ‘Most of them have buggered off, don’t blame them, I know four went to try and restore order in the canteen.’ The man explained. ‘But that was the last I saw of them.’

  ‘How many patients are loose?’ Cones asked.

  ‘A couple of dozen, they’re in the main canteen smashing things up.’

  ‘That cut looks rather serious.’ Frederick commented, indicating to the cut on the orderly’s head.

  ‘I’ll be ok the most important thing is to contain the patients... watch out!’ The orderly shouted.

  A Wooden chair came hurling down the corridor narrowly missing Cones who barely had time to jump out of the way.

  The young woman they had encountered earlier stood in the centre of the corridor clutching her doll. ‘They took Jimmy again.’

  ‘Rosie sweetheart, go back to your room.’ The orderly said calmly.

  ‘They took him.’

  Frederick stepped forward. ‘Rosie, my name is Ralph, can you tell me who took Jimmy?

  ‘Them.’ She simply replied.

  ‘Who is them Rosie?’ He asked in a calm and even tone.

  Rosie smiled back at Frederick. ‘You’re a nice man, I like you.’

  ‘Thank you, now could you tell me who took Jimmy?’

  She continued to smile, pointing at the ceiling. ‘The angels of course silly, such a beautiful light.’

  Frederick looked at Cones and noted the sweat running down his face. ‘Are you ok Agent Cones?’

  Cones had focused on the screaming off down the corridor.

  ‘Agent Cones!’ Frederick said louder.

  Cones seemed to jump. ‘Sorry I’m feeling a little out of focus that’s all.’

  ‘Do you want to go back to the hotel?’

  Cones shook his head. ‘No, I’m fine Professor.’

  ‘They won’t be coming back this time.’ Rosie said. ‘They’ve taken Jimmy to heaven.’

  ‘Rosie could you please go back to your room.’ The orderly said more firmly.

  Rosie looked at him smiling. ‘Will you come and visit me later, I like it when you visit me late at night.’

  The man looked nervous. ‘I can’t tonight Rosie I have work to do.’

  The woman didn’t respond, she looked at the doll she was clutching and then walked towards the door she had appeared out of. The orderly shut the door and locked it. The shouting continued as the three men drew closer to the canteen. The sound of crockery being smashed grew louder. ‘Well at least they’ve stayed in the canteen.’ The orderly tried to sound optimistic.

  ‘When did all this commotion start?’ Frederick asked.

  ‘About an hour ago.’

  ‘Is that when you noticed Jimmy was gone?’

  The man nodded. ‘I can’t understand I checked on him earlier and locked his room but he still managed to get out.’

  ‘You set off the siren?’ Cones asked.

  The orderly nodded.

  The three men made their way down a long dimly lit corridor. When they turned a corner the damage that the patients had caused was clearly evident. The main door to the canteen had been smashed off its hinges. The noise had died down, but patients could still be heard inside.

  The captain suddenly appeared in the doorway clenching a broken chair leg. He looked straight at Agent cones and smiled. ‘Hey Frank, come on you dopehead lets go don’t want to be late.’

  Cones stepped back shaking.

  Frederick clasped his arm. ‘Agent Cones ignore him, focus on the task in hand.’

  A Tear trickled down Cones’ cheek as he stared at the man in the doorway. A cold breeze enveloped him causing him to shiver and close his eyes. When he opened them again he looked around.

  Army Recruiting station – New York – USA

  Friday 12th December 1941 10:45am

  ‘Come on Frank.’ His younger brother Michael grabbed his arm. ‘We don’t want to be late.’

  ‘Are you sure we’re doing the right thing Mikey? When dad finds out we’ve enlisted he’s going to blow his stack.’

  ‘Stop worrying you dopehead besides you heard the radio last night. The President says every able bodied man has to enlist. We’ll teach those Jap bastards for messing with us. After we enlist we’ll go down to Benny’s and shoot some pool. You and Debbs can smooch in the corner.’’

  Cones smiled at his younger brother.

  Frederick waved his hand in front of Cones’ face. ‘Agent Cones!’

  Cones ignored Frederick’s attempts to bring him back.

  ‘What’s the matter with him?’ The orderly asked.

  Frederick shook his head. ‘He’s in some kind of catatonic state.’ He grabbed the American’s arm. ‘Agent Cones listen to me!’ Frederick’s tone became aggressive as he shook Cones’ arm.

  Cones smiled at the man stood in the canteen entrance. ‘Hey Mikey wait up will you!’ He shouted wrenching himself away from Frederick’s grip and making a dash for the canteen. He joined the captain and disappeared inside.

  ‘Bloody hell!’ Frederick seethed. ‘We need to get back to Doctor Baxter’s office I need to use the telephone.’

  The orderly nodded.

  Malcolm Chambers massaged his brow and picked up a glass of brandy taking a sip. ‘Where is he now?’

  ‘In the main canteen as far as I know.’ Frederick replied. ‘Malcolm there’s something more going on here in this hospital than meets the eye. How soon can you get help?’

  ‘The local police won’t be of any use this time of night, but I’ll make a phone call and see what I can drum up, there's an army camp a few miles outside Abergavenny. In the meantime old boy you’re on your own.’

  Frederick nodded. ‘Ok, I’ll try and get Agent Cones away from the patients then find some kind of safe haven.’

  ‘Where’s this Dr Baxter you mentioned?’

  ‘I don’t know he’s not in his office anymore.’

  ‘Ok Ralph, sit tight and help will arrive.’

  Frederick put the phone back on the receiver and looked at the orderly. ‘I’m afraid we’re on our own for now. We need to get my colleague away from the canteen. Is there somewhere safe we can stay for the night after we reach him?’

  ‘The laundry block would be our best bet, it’s warm and the food stores are there.’

  Frederick nodded. ‘Lets go.’

  Minutes later Frederick found himself staring at the entrance to the canteen. A few patients had left and were wandering the corridors. Doctor Baxter suddenly appeared in the doorway.

  ‘Doctor Baxter thank god.’ The orderly said.

  Baxter seemed to look right through the orderly and Frederick. ‘The doctor will soon be here, you don’t have to worry. He will put everything right.’

  ‘Doctor Baxter are you ok?’ Frederick stared at the man with suspicion.
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  ‘The doctor will make things better you’ll see.’ Baxter vanished back into the canteen.

  Frederick and the orderly walked cautiously towards the entrance, and peered in. Tables and chairs were scattered about. Broken crockery littered the floor as well as tinned food the patients had found. One patient had managed to break into a tin and was scooping out the contents shoving it into his mouth. Blood streamed down his arm as a result of cutting himself on the jagged edges of the tin. A group of patients were sat in a circle and stood at the centre was Doctor Baxter, staring at the ceiling. ‘The doctor is coming!’ he yelled.

  Frederick spotted Cones who was sat on his own arms folded staring at the floor, rocking back and forth. ‘Agent Cones.’ Frederick called out cautiously.

  Cones didn’t respond.

  ‘Agent Cones it’s me Professor Frederick.’

  Still no response.

  Frederick walked over to Cones reaching out and tapping him shoulder.

  Cones leapt off the chair without warning. Frederick also failed to notice the chair leg he was clutching, which came crashing down on his shoulder.

  Frederick leapt back stumbling over the unconscious body of a man the patients had knocked out. He lay on his back winded, glaring up at Cones who was about to reign another blow down on him. The orderly dived at Cones. Both men were sent sprawling into a stack of wooden chairs. The orderly managed to disarm Cones and held him in a half nelson lock.

  Frederick scrambled to his feet out of breath and winced as pain stabbed at his shoulder. ‘We have to get him somewhere safe.’

  The orderly nodded. ‘I know just the place.’

  Professor Frederick looked on in shocked silence at Frank Cones who sat cross legged in the middle of a padded room. Both men had managed to find a straight jacket and had wrestled the American into it. The sketch that Jimmy had drawn dominated Frederick’s thoughts, he now realised that the sketch Jimmy had drawn was not for Agent Cones, but was for him.

  The orderly locked the door of the cell and looked at Frederick. ‘What do we do now?’

  Frederick rubbed his sore shoulder. ‘We need to get Doctor Baxter away from those patients.’

  The orderly shook his head. ‘No, we’ve rescued your friend, we need to hold up in the laundry block until help comes.’