The Thunderous Enemy

Chapter 23

IT was just before noon on Thursday when Vanbrugh arrived at Paddington . Dwyer was waiting for him at the ticket barrier . They went into the station restaurant , ordered coffee and sat in a corner . . . . . . . .

Vanbrugh looked drained and lit a cigarette, something surprising for him. " Any indication of Pope yet ?"

I have figured out how to follow him to another location , since I wired you the photographs of him and those other two possibilities yesterday. Not a long way from here indeed. His proprietor says he moved out seven days prior with no sending address . I have a few men on it, yet it's really troublesome. You know what the labor position is in the C.I.D. right now ."

"You don't have to tell me." Vanbrugh ran a hand over his face. "As it occurs, you can quit looking. Pope's been away ."

"You've tracked down him, sir ?"

Vanbrugh shook his head . " Every thing I can perceive you is that he employed a vehicle in Taunton last end of the week . The administrator of the spot remembered him without a moment's delay from the photograph you sent ."

" Employing a vehicle's not really a criminal offense , sir ."

" Maybe, yet being in the space of the jail when his old fellow prisoner breaks out presumably is ."

" So you believe Rogan's as of now not nearby the jail ?"

Vanbrugh laughed. " What is it they say? Nobody at any point gets off the field ? Well Rogan did and most likely inside an hour of moving past the divider , from the state of affairs starting to get down to business ."

" Then , at that point , he should be in Ireland , sir . This is the fourth day , recall ."

Vanbrugh shook his head. " Assuming he'd arrived in Ireland , we'd have had some significant awareness of it , take my statement for that . No , he is as yet in England, I am sure of that . Yet , why , that is the issue ."

He gazed down into his cup , a slight disapprove of his face . " What might be said about Soames ?"

" I have Scott on the last follow now . I believe it's the perfect man . Genuine name Bertram Greaves . He was disbarred by the Law Society for misbehavior a decade prior . From that point forward he is been stirred up in a wide range of things under different nom de plumes . Soames should just be the most recent of at least twelve ."

" Any structure ?"

" A half year misrepresentations affectations in 1958 . That was strange . He is the sort who ordinarily figure out how to skate on lovely dainty ice without falling in ."

" Hopefully Scott concocts some thing then , at that point . Mean while , I might want to see Pope's proprietor . We are presumably burning through our time , however you never can tell ."

Dwyer had a crew vehicle pausing and they pulled up external a tight brownstone house in a mean road inside ten minutes of leaving the station . The one who made the way for them was cold and hard , a cigarette hanging from one corner of her limited mouth . . . . . Underneath the modest silk scarf, her head was a mass of firmly moved stylers .

" For the good of Christ , you once more ?" she said enjoyably when she saw Dwyer .

" Less of that ," he told her . " Boss Superintendent Vanbrugh would like a word with you ."

Something near regard showed up all over and she opened the entryway wide. " You would do well to come inside ."

There was a lifeless smell compounded of pee and cooking scents, and an unwashed child , stripped starting from the waist , remained by the kitchen entry way and took a gander at them with wide eyes , a tarnished finger in its mouth . . . . . .

The lady took them up the steps and opened an entry way at one side . " He lived here for seven days . I have a Jamaican moving in Monday . A horrendous sight more clean

than a portion of the rats we get," she added protectively . . . . . . . .

The room was very uncovered with the exception of an antiquated closet , a metal bedstead and a portion of flooring . They returned to the ground floor and she drove the way into the jumbled kitchen . . . . . . . . .

She remained with her back to the fire, one hand on the mantelpiece. " I told your man here all I knew , Mr. Vanbrugh . I wish I knew where he was, straight forward I do. He owed me for his week's lease ."

" There is nothing you , right? Nothing by any stretch of the imagination ?" Vanbrugh said . " A word , a name , anything ?"

She shook her head determinedly. " Nothing."

" No guests, even ?"

" Assuming you mean birds , I do not run that kind of spot ."

Vanbrugh moaned . " What you are talking about is that during the time he lived here , Jack Pope did not have any sort of contact with anybody . Not so much as a letter."

" Truth be told ." She gestured vivaciously and Vanbrugh turned towards the entry way. " Obviously , he got a postcard one day . Last week I think it was ."

Vanbrugh's sluggishness evaporated without a moment's delay . " A postcard? Where from?"

" For the wellbeing of Christ , Mr. Vanbrugh , how could I know ?"

" Was it from a shoreline place ?" Dwyer proposed .

She shook her head. " No , no place like that . I was a piece astounded ." Her face lit up . " Windermere , that was it. Lake Windermere."

Dwyer took a gander at Vanbrugh . " She can't be serious, sir . Who in creation would Pope know in the Lake District?"

Vanbrugh went to the landlord. " You have been extremely useful. Maybe more than you understand ."

She shrugged. " I realize which side my bread's buttered on , Mr. Vanbrugh . Assuming you truly do see that turf , you let him know I need my lease."

The kid began to cry and as she moved towards it with a revile, Vanbrugh and Dwyer left briskly. As they went down the way towards the vehicle, the driver inclined out of the window. "H.Q. on the radio, sir. They have a directive for you. Main concern."

Vanbrugh gestured to Dwyer. "You take it. Hopefully , it is something to be thankful for."

Dwyer inclined in the window and Vanbrugh lit another cigarette, a slight grimace weaving at his forehead. The Lake District. Presently that was a turn-up for the book. Scarcely the kind of spot one would hope to catch wind of from a man like Pope or the kind of individuals he connected with . . . . .

Dwyer turned, fervor all over. "That was Scott, sir. He is followed Soames to a location in Hendon. He told the proprietor he was disappearing for seven days on business. That was last Saturday. She hasn't seen him since."

"We should get rolling," Vanbrugh said. "This is starting to get fascinating."

They moved into a more settled, more arranged, universe of decent semi-disengaged houses with flawless supports and, despite the season, all around kept nurseries. There was little uncertainty that whatever else Soames and Pope shared practically speaking, it unquestionably was certainly not a comparable way of life.

They observed Scott holding up in his vehicle outside a little disconnected house toward one side of a calm circular drive. He was a tall , calm young fellow with a cut mustache that gave him rather a tactical air . . . .

" Anything doing ?" Vanbrugh requested .

Scott shook his head . " He moved out last Saturday . Told her he'd be away for seven days on business. She hasn't known about him since."

Vanbrugh gestured. " You stay here . We'll go in. What's her name ?"

"Mrs. Jones , sir . A widow woman and exceptionally irritated with regards to this , I may add ."

She had opened the entryway when they had climbed the means , a definite sign that she had been watching from in the background. She was a fairly fastidious, pouchyfaced lady, with light blue eyes and wearing a green dress . . . . .

"Mrs. Jones? I'm Chief Superintendent Vanbrugh and this is Detective Sergeant Dwyer. I might want to pose you a couple of inquiries about a man called Soames. I accept he's been remaining here."

"Truly, Superintendent, I let the young fellow know who called here before all that I know."

"There might have been a point or two he missed," Vanbrugh said persistently. "Maybe we could see Mr. Soames' room?"

She drove the way higher up, talking unendingly. "What my different visitors will think about this I truly don't have the foggiest idea and Mr. Soames appeared to be a most good courteous fellow. A specialist, he told me. Some place in the City."

"How long has he been remaining here?"

"Since early May of this current year. Only a half year."

She opened the entryway toward the finish of an extended section and drove the way in. The room was flawless and agreeable. There was an advanced washbasin in one corner, two fitted closets and a slick single bed. At the opposite end, past a room divider packed with books, was a chimney, a work area, two or three armchairs and a french window driving on to a little overhang which neglected the nursery.

"Scott let me know he'd experienced everything, sir," Dwyer said. "Couldn't track down anything recorded as a hard copy by any means."

Vanbrugh moved to the work area and opened the drawers in a steady progression with hardly a pause in between. They were all very unfilled. "A mindful bird, our Mr. Soames," he remarked.

Dwyer went through the two closets rapidly and hung different things across the bed. There was a robe, two suits and a few shirts on holders. Vanbrugh went along with him and they went through the pockets.

There were a couple of old transport tickets and the odd coin, however nothing else of worth, and the drawers of the dressing table contained just clothing, socks and towels.

Mrs. Jones had been watching them with a combination of vulnerability and ghastliness all over. All of a sudden,

Vanbrugh anticipated that she should request to see the court order he didn't have and he moved in to the assault with next to no further exercise in futility.

"You told Constable Scott that Soames left on Saturday, Mrs. Jones?"

"Truth be told, Superintendent. It was not long before lunch. I recall it especially on the grounds that he inquired as to whether he could have something to eat somewhat sooner than expected. He said he had a train to get."

"Did he take a taxi?" Dwyer said ideally.

"There's an Underground station toward the stopping point. It's speedier than a taxi nowadays, traffic being what it is."

"What's more Soames gave you no indicate all with respect to his objective?"

She shook her head. "Just said he was going on a little business outing. That he'd most likely be away for a week or ten days."

"Has he done something like this previously?"

"Gracious, indeed, frequently."

"Also he never leaves you a sending address for dire mail, etc?"

"I got some information about that once, yet he said there was no point, that he would be progressing the entire time."

"Shouldn't something be said about his public activity? Did he have numerous guests?"

"None by any stretch of the imagination. He once let me know that he liked to keep his business and hidden life totally different. He was a peaceful, respectful individual who remained quiet about himself. Most nights, he went for a stroll down to the George on the corner for a beverage, however he never remained for the greater part 60 minutes. He was partial to TV and he cared for the nursery for me. He was awesome with blossoms."

"What might be said about mail? Did he get a lot?"

She shrugged. "A few letters every day, generally handouts, etc."

"Anything especially fascinating?"

She harnessed without a moment's delay. "I've better activities, Superintendent, than to go through my visitors' mail."

"I wasn't proposing that you had been sneaking around, Mrs. Jones," Vanbrugh said quietly. "Yet, clearly, you should sort the mail each day after it's

been conveyed. It would be just normal for a canny individual to see anything surprising, any adjustment of the example."

She reacted promptly, nearly as a reflex activity. "It's interesting you should say that. Virtually all Mr. Soames' letters used to come from the London region, however during the beyond couple of weeks they've been coming from everywhere the spot."

"Would you be able to recall where?"

"He had a couple from Manchester and a few from the Lake District. The day he left, he had one from Taunton. That is in the West Country," she added. "I spent my days off close to there a year ago."

Dwyer had taken an abrupt, compulsory advance forward, however Vanbrugh stilled him with a speedy signal from one hand. "These letters from the Lake District, Mrs. Jones, would you be able to recall where they were from?"

"Gracious, yes," she said, "on the grounds that he answered all the time inside a little while. Once in a while I posted the letters for him. Kendal , that was the spot. He used to keep in touch with a Mr. Grant at Kendal ."

" Further more you can't recollect the location?"

She shook her head. "I'm apprehensive not. It was tended to mind of another person , I in all actuality do realize that. I generally expected it was a lodging or something almost identical ." She tapped her hair eagerly . " You realize there's actually nothing more I can tell

you, Superintendent ."

Vanbrugh gave her his most enchanting grin. "My dear Mrs. Jones, you've helped us more than you'll at any point know. I don't think we will have to inconvenience you once more ."

He went down the steps rapidly , Dwyer at his heels, opened the front entryway and went down the way . Scott was sitting tight for them. " Any karma, sir?"

" You could say that." Vanbrugh went to Dwyer . " A fascinating fortuitous event , isn't it , Soames and Pope being in contact with somebody in the Lake District."

" Be that as it may, what in heaven's name would they do there, sir?" Dwyer said . " It does not appear to be legit ."

" Gracious, I don't have the foggiest idea," Vanbrugh said. "It's remote, isolated and they will pretty well have the spot to themselves during this season ."

" Assuming they are there , sir ," Dwyer reminded him . . . . . . .

Vanbrugh smiled. "At the point when you've been at this game as long as I have, Sergeant, you'll gain proficiency with an intriguing reality. That police work is predominantly an issue of rather drawn-out daily practice , of Q & A , of sitting back , evaluating current realities and searching for an example ."

" I realize that much as of now , sir ."

" Yet , that is not all ," Vanbrugh continued . " As the years pass you will observe you foster a kind of additional personnel , a sense that lets you know a thing's along these lines , in any event, when you can't really demonstrate it. It's a decent copper's most significant resource ." He took out his line and held it solidly between his teeth . " Soames and Pope are either in Kendal or some place close ," he said. " I have never been so certain of anything in my life ."

" Also Rogan, sir?"

Vanbrugh shook his head and a portion of the fervor passed on in him. "Presently there you have me. The difficulty is, it doesn't appear to be legit. Neither does the way that he's stirred up with several reprobates like Soames and Pope. They're simply not his style."

" What's the following move, sir?"

" Directly to the Yard. I'll see the Assistant Commissioner and make game plans for us to leave for the Lake District on the double. I'll get him to fix up full co-activity for us with the County Constabulary."

" We won't arrive at Kendal before nine or ten this evening, sir," Dwyer called attention to. "We wouldn't do much work tomorrow."

" You said Soames was scratched in 1958, didn't you?" Vanbrugh requested. "The

least you can do is get his image from records and wire it to Kendal along with that one of Pope. The sooner we get the neighborhood men paying special attention to them, the better. What's more we'll require the County Constabulary in on this, as well ."

As the vehicle moved away , he sank back against the cushioned seat, at this point not drained, an empty hurt of fervor in the pit of his stomach . He was pretty much as sure as he had at any point been tied in with anything, that the solution to this entire issue lay in the exact opposite place in the country he could at any point have considered looking . . . . . . . . . . . . . .