The Rainbow Conspiracy

by Stuart Hopps

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  LONDON FRIDAY

  Flight BOAC 212 was on time and Clive and Shirley finally boarded their aeroplane to London, via New York. They were both suitably impressed by the rather handsome air steward who showed them to their seats and although Clive still experienced a certain amount of his usual anxiety as he fastened his seatbelt, more pressing matters fortunately distracted him from the take-off. Once their plane had reached the horizontal, the two Brits placed their orders for two Manhattans with their charming airline attendant and tried to settle back for what they knew was to be a long journey home.

  After they had almost downed their cocktails, Shirley was the first to break the silence. She confessed that although she realised that they were both exhausted, she had a very important matter to discuss. Clive admitted that he was somewhat worn out by it all, but was more than happy to let her go ahead. Shirley quickly set about getting the attention of the young attendant to order more drinks. While the steward went off to do as bidden, his two passengers drifted off into their own worlds as they waited for their martinis to be replenished, and once the fresh drinks were in their hands, Shirley felt prepared enough to be able to resume.

  ‘I’m sure things have been weighing heavily on your mind too, and although I realise that Michael’s behaviour has caused both of us a great deal of concern, I feel his possible involvement with Allen is not worth losing much sleep over … although it does leave us with rather an unsolved Poledri conundrum.’ Then without giving Clive the chance to comment on her last remark, she focused her attention on Dr Levitt. ‘I feel that Allen is quite another kettle of fish, however. After what he tried to attempt on board that ferry, I’m now more convinced than ever that he’s going to turn up in London and strike again!’

  Clive agreed, and remembered that, during his check-up, Allen had actually asked him where the Spoke Associates office was in London. He told Shirley that at the time, he had not attached that much importance to Allen’s question, but now, in the light of what had happened on the ferry, he admitted that they should consider it as a warning.

  ‘All joking apart,’ continued Clive, ‘I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he wasn’t already in St Martin’s Lane with Nurse Edith Grant in tow, keeping a watchful eye on number fourteen Cecil Court, and waiting to bump us both off!’

  Shirley pretended to be amused by Clive’s last remark and told her boss that was exactly what she wanted to talk to him about. However before addressing their current problem, Miss Morris declared that she needed to open up to Clive a little more about her private life and he would soon understand why. She revealed that although he knew that she had only been married once, for professional reasons she had always used her maiden name. Without wanting to go into too much detail, she told Clive that her late husband, Roger Rowlands, had not died in some ordinary car crash – he’d actually been killed in a car chase while trying to catch a criminal. ‘You see, Roger was a police officer and was killed while on active duty.’

  Clive was truly surprised by Shirley’s revelation, but his manners, as impeccable as ever, prompted him to tell her how very sorry he was to finally learn about her loss, and so he took hold of her free hand to demonstrate the depth of his sincerity. She said that although the tragic event felt like a lifetime ago, she had continued to remain in contact with her brother-in-law, Peter, who was also a member of the constabulary. With a good deal of pride she went on to inform Clive that Peter Rowlands was now a chief inspector in central London, and although she only met up with him for the occasional drink, he had always made it quite clear that if ever she was in any sort of trouble he would always be there to help in any way he could. Up until now she had never felt the need to call upon his services, but because she trusted Peter implicitly, believed that this might be the right time to get in touch with him.

  Clive sat patiently listening to what Shirley had to tell him but that Spoke nose of his knew what was coming next, and so he beat her to it. ‘So, own up, Shirley darling: you’ve contacted him and told him about what’s just happened to us, haven’t you?’

  From the tone of her boss’s voice, Shirley deduced that he didn’t sound at all cross or too put out about what she might have done, and although she thought she might have crossed the line yet again, this time she made it quite clear and openly admitted that she only had their best interests at heart.

  ‘Clive, I’m so glad you think I’ve done the right thing: after all, this is an emergency. We both think Allen and that nurse of his are more than likely tailing us and therefore I felt that it was essential to get some sort of protection in place before our plane touched down in London.’

  She finally confessed that she had called her brother-in-law before they had left Toronto and that Peter, who thought he knew Shirley quite well, had sounded astonished to learn what had taken place in Columbus. Although he knew Shirley to be somewhat theatrical, she felt that he had realised that she couldn’t possibly have fabricated such a series of events. Knowing that it wasn’t like her to come to him for assistance, he had immediately volunteered to help in any way he could.

  Before letting Shirley add one more word, Clive announced: ‘So you’ve organised an armed escort to meet us at Heathrow. Well, Shirley darling, I think that’s a splendid idea!’

  Their plane landed safely in New York and there was a quick turnaround before they set off from Kennedy Airport. More passengers had now joined their flight and as was customary when travelling on a night flight, their seats were adjusted into the horizontal, and the onboard team recommended that all passengers try to get some sleep, which is what Clive and Shirley endeavoured to do. As they lay side by side, Clive joked with his travelling companion about how it was the nearest they’d ever got to sharing a bedroom! At the same time he confessed that it had also crossed his mind that Allen and his nurse might have boarded their plane, which made falling asleep rather difficult for both of them.

  Our two weary British protagonists finally touched down at Heathrow the following day just after midday and as they came through customs and kept a sharp lookout for the two Americans, Shirley was relieved and delighted to find her brother-in-law waiting for her in the arrivals hall with his posse, although clearly the police presence alarmed some of the other passengers. She lost no time in introducing Peter to Clive, and with such formalities over, our intrepid travellers were escorted by their armed guard back into the customs area.

  Chief Inspector Rowlands explained that before leaving the airport, he and his colleagues had a few questions to ask, and so they were duly shown into a small room. Clive provided Peter with a brief resumé of what had happened and another police officer, whom they later discovered was Peter’s assistant, took copious notes while the chief inspector informed Shirley that he needed to know exactly what the two Americans looked like, although they could easily have decided to disguise themselves once they had had their passports stamped and passed through customs.

  Clive handed over the film with the negatives of the photographs he’d taken at Michael’s dinner party, and went to great lengths to try to give an accurate description of Dr Levitt and Edith Grant. As the police interrogation proceeded, Clive began to unwind and not for the first time the thought crossed Clive’s mind that he was truly blessed in having Shirley as his PA.

  The last and most important detail that remained for Clive to reveal was his account of their visit to Allen’s clinic and the description of what he had removed from Dr Levitt’s office. With that accomplished, he handed over the stolen contents, which he had managed to get through customs.

  Once they had left the airport building, with umbrellas raised to avoid the pouring rain, they were finally escorted to a waiting police car. Eventually, as they both approached the Hogarth Roundabout, they breathed in the London air and then simultaneously exhaled a huge sigh of relief. However, there just remained the important matter of the Columbus Couple, who were now their major preoccupation, since they were both convi
nced that they would show up at some point and strike one more time.

  Before driving down St Martin’s Lane, Chief Inspector Rowlands ordered their car to a standstill and told them that he wanted them to know what his plan of action was. He explained that they would be under strict surveillance from now on in by two plainclothes officers, whom they wouldn’t even realise were tailing them. Once out of the police vehicle, he assured them, they would be closely followed and would only have to walk a few blocks carrying some of their luggage before turning into Cecil Court and entering the Spoke office building.

  Clive said that he knew he was speaking for Shirley when he told Peter that they were both most indebted to him and his men for taking such good care of them. He also confirmed that they had absolutely no objections to the chief Inspector’s plan. It was decided that they drive round the block one more time, and our two protagonists were deposited on the corner of Old Compton Street and left to make their own way to Charing Cross Road. Peter advised them that it was very important that they appear as relaxed as possible and were in no way to be on the lookout for the Americans. However, should the Columbus Couple make an appearance, Clive and Shirley were to set off the tiny silent pocket alarm device that they had each been given. It would not only alert the two plainclothes officers close by, but would also warn the backup team installed by Peter, and then they would also spring into action.

  Before Clive and Shirley attempted to walk through their familiar neighbourhood, they turned to each other and admitted that they had both never been through an ordeal quite like the current one before and, though using all their thespian skills to cover up their true feelings, they both declared that, underneath it all, they were scared shitless. Having got that off their chests, they put on brave faces and made for Spoke Associates.

  They crossed Cambridge Circus, made for Seven Dials, walked down Monmouth Street and finally reached St Martin’s Lane. As they approached the Albery Theatre, they almost came to a standstill and tried hard to keep going. They just couldn’t believe their eyes as they caught a glimpse of Dr Levitt and Nurse Edith having a cigarette outside the Salisbury pub, on the corner of St Martin’s Court. Pressing their devices, they immediately let their armed escort know that Dr Levitt and Nurse Grant were in the vicinity. As they walked on past the pub and approached Cecil Court, they appeared engrossed in animated conversation and laughter. As they drew nearer to their office, they just hoped that they had convinced the two Americans that they had not noticed them and had consequently not given the game away.

  Within ten yards of reaching their destination, they heard the sound of a scuffle and raised voices come from behind them and, as they turned around to see what was going on, they witnessed Allen and Edith being taken away. The Columbus villains were finally bundled into a police car, and Clive and Shirley watched as they were driven away.

  Then, not for the first time in the last twenty-four hours, they breathed an immense sigh of relief as Chief Inspector Rowlands came walking towards them and informed them that once they had deposited their bags in their office, they needed to accompany him to police headquarters near Charing Cross Station, where Dr Levitt and Nurse Edith had been taken.

  As they sat in the police waiting room, not far from Trafalgar Square, Clive reached out for Shirley’s hand.

  ‘Shirley I’ve been thinking. Now that all this mishigas is nearly over, I have something important to say to you.’

  ‘Now surely you’re not going to propose to me at long last, after all these years?’

  ‘Don’t be silly! Seriously, now – I have another proposition. I think it’s high time I made you a partner in the firm. What do you think?’

  ‘Clive, I don’t know what to say…’

  ‘Everyone knows you’re fifty per cent of the business, so I think it’s high time I made it official. Your promotion is long overdue.’

  ‘That’s really most generous of you. I’m truly gobsmacked, and these are tears of joy, by the way.’

  ‘I think that from now on we should call the agency Spoke and Morris: we don’t need “Associates: any more. I’ll get our graphics design team on to it first thing in the morning, because we’re going to need a new logo.’

  ‘Clive, now I’ve got something to say to you.’ Then, in the most eloquent of Spoke-speak, Shirley turned to her boss and announced: ‘Clive, darling, what more is there that I could ever possibly say?’

  A NOTE ON THE AUTHOR

  Stuart Hopps is an eminent, award-winning choreographer. He has worked on many major feature films with directors such as Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jarman and Ang Lee. He has also produced work for the Royal Opera House and Welsh National Opera and has taken his own work to the Edinburgh Festival. He lives in Deal, Kent and this is his first novel.

  COPYRIGHT

  First published by Muswell Press in 2017

  Typeset by e-Digital Design Ltd.

  Copyright © Stuart Hopps 2017

  Stuart Hopps has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  Printed and bound by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  ISBN 978-0-9954822-3-4

  Muswell Press

  London

  N6 5HQ

  www.muswell-press.co.uk

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