Death Run (13 page)

He stood there for a while, his mouth hanging open in shock. All thoughts of somehow climbing down or escaping from the castle and running for help… gone in an instant.

“You have got to be kidding,” Rich said out loud.

* * *

“I'm sorry, sir, I should have realised.” Goddard was looking embarrassed as he stood before Ardman's desk. “I thought it was a funny coincidence. But now, well…”

“What is it?” Ardman demanded.

“You've found it, haven't you?” Jade realised. She felt a moment's elation. Then it subsided as she remembered Rich's predicament. “You've found Calder.”

“Have you?” Dad demanded. “Do you know where or what it is?”

“I think so, yes.” Goddard went to a bookcase and pulled out a map – one of a whole set of Ordnance Survey maps. He unfolded it across Ardman's desk. Jade joined her father and Ardman as they looked at where Goddard was pointing. It was a map of the north of Scotland.

“Calder is just here.” Goddard's finger jabbed down at a point on the coast. “It used to belong to the state, but a small company has leased it in perpetuity.”

“Can they do that?” Jade wondered.

“They can if a Minister of the Crown lobbies hard enough for them.”

“Sir Lionel?” Dad asked.

Goddard nodded. “And that same small company
used to be owned by Sir Lionel Ffinch himself. He still retains a large shareholding. Forty per cent, I think.”

“So what is Calder? A house?” Jade asked.

“Not exactly. It's a castle. Been there since the fifteenth century and incredibly well preserved. Sir Lionel's company had it renovated and made into a conference centre with accommodation, and even a helicopter landing area in the main courtyard.”

“Helicopters,” said Jade quietly.

“And you need them,” Goddard said. He lifted his finger so they could all see that it had been covering a small ragged island just off the coast. In neat black print it was labelled: CALDER CASTLE

“An island,” Chance said.

“The castle covers it entirely,” Goddard explained. “There's a small jetty at the main gates and the helicopter pad. Other than by boat or helicopter, it's impossible to get on or off the island.”

Rich stared out over the battlements. He watched the waves crashing into the craggy rock on which the castle was built. He could just about make out the thin ribbon of the mainland in the distance – across the churning, freezing water.

He felt the cold, salty spray on his face and he knew there was no way he could get away from the castle to find help. He was trapped.

Ardman was holding a small war council in his office. Apart from Ardman himself, Jade and her dad were the only others present.

“We have to work on the assumption that Sir Lionel is the Tiger,” Ardman said.

“Can't you just arrest him?” Jade asked.

“I doubt very much that I'd get permission.”

“And if he gets any hint that we are on to him,” Dad said, “he'll make a run for it, or have Rich and the Banker moved, or both.”

“We have to tread very carefully,” said Ardman. “He keeps us on a tight leash so it will be difficult to do anything without him knowing. Goddard tells me that we even need his signature to order paperclips.
Now, normally, we'd go ahead and act, then worry about justifying the cost afterwards. But he'll be keeping an eye on us. A very close eye.”

“But we
are
going to rescue Rich,” Jade insisted. “We can't abandon him.”

“Of course we can't. But at the moment, it's tricky. As well as keeping tabs on the paperclips – or more importantly any travel we authorise or equipment we check out – I wouldn't put it past him to have MI5 watching us. If we make any move, he'll know.”

“Can't you do something unofficial?” Jade wanted to know. “Fly up there with guns and sort this Tiger out?”

Dad was shaking his head. “Authority for weapons on a plane would go through Sir Lionel's office. And even if we got there, as soon as we tried anything, he'd have it blocked from here. He'd insist we call it off. We use anyone directly connected with this office and he'll know about it.” As he finished speaking, Dad glanced at Ardman.

Ardman was looking back at Dad and Jade sensed there was something they were both thinking but not saying. “I'll go over Sir Lionel's head,” Ardman decided, looking away. “Cut him out. With luck, he won't know. We've got enough circumstantial
evidence to make a case for bypassing the system. If I go to Henderson in the PM's office, he can get the armed forces involved and Sir Lionel need never know. In theory we report to COBRA, the Cabinet Office emergencies committee, except they've delegated that to Sir Lionel.”

“So, let's do it,” said Jade. “What are we waiting for?”

“There are channels, formalities. It all takes time. The higher up the chain you go, the less time people have and the longer everything takes.”

“Trouble is,” Dad said, “we don't know how much time
we
have. It may already be too late. We need something now – something completely unofficial. Deniable. But in play.”

Ardman frowned. “And if we're wrong about Calder, if we've misinterpreted the evidence against Sir Lionel, if we mess it up and come away with nothing…”

“Then we lose our jobs,” Chance said. “More that than we lose my son.”

Jade had had enough. She stood up and leaned across Ardman's desk. “So – are you going to do something or not? We're just sitting round here talking, and God knows what's happening to Rich or to your precious Banker.”

“Indeed, but as you see our hands are tied.”

“All I see is two grown-up men nattering away and doing sod all.”

“Jade!” her father snapped. “That isn't fair. This is a very delicate and complicated matter.”

“And what about you, Dad? I don't see you rushing to Rich's rescue. He got you out of Krejikistan and now you won't lift a finger to help him.”

“Because Sir Lionel – the Tiger – is watching. He knows I'm desperate to get Rich back. Hell, maybe that's why he was taken in the first place, as a hostage to ensure I'd do what I'm supposed to. Out of all of us, it'll be
me
he's watching to see if we've worked it all out yet and know where Rich has gone. Or he may already have had them moved from Calder – we just don't know.”

“Well, maybe someone should find out.”

“I think it might be best if you leave this to us,” Ardman said. “Why don't you take a bit of time out. We're pretty central here – get some air. Do a museum or the shops or something. But don't get involved.”

“You mean kick my heels while you drink coffee and do nothing?”

“We're doing all we can,” said Dad. “I think Ardman's right. You need to clear your head and cool off. Try to see what is possible and what isn't, OK?”

She was getting nowhere here, Jade thought. She might as well get out. Do… something – anything. But she had no idea what. Not until Dad went on:

“And leave it to us, all right? The last thing we need right now is you charging off on some daft rescue mission. That's the sort of crazy thing Dex Halford would do. But I know you're clever enough to realise it would do no good.”

The door closed behind Jade and there was silence for several moments.

Ardman smiled. “It's risky, but I think that was very nicely done.”

“Thank you,” said Chance. “I just wish there was something else we can do. She's right – we just talk. Our hands are tied.”

“I wonder if she realised we want her to go?”

“But I
don't
want her to go. Though I doubt I can stop her, and we don't have any other options. I just hope she has the sense to let Halford take the lead. He'll at least be cautious until we can get a full team up there.”

Ardman's phone rang. He listened for a moment, then turned to Chance. “Maybe we aren't so helpless after all. Eleri Fendelmann has regained consciousness. Let's see what she can tell us.”

From the battlements, Rich could see there was a wooden jetty outside the main gates of the castle. Beside it, a cobbled roadway sloped gently down into the sea. Perhaps long ago the castle had been on a hill, but the sea had risen or the ground had subsided until it became an island. Or maybe the ‘road' was just an old slipway for boats before the jetty was built.

Rich's best bet now was to try to get a message out. He might get lucky and find a phone, in which case he had to hope that, “I'm in a castle on an island” was more help than just, “I'm in a castle”. He could try to signal to the mainland somehow. But there was no sign of life and it could be anywhere. What language did they speak, even? Failing that, it was message in a bottle time. But for the moment, Rich decided to explore.

There were two armed guards close to the main gates. Another patrolling the walkway round the battlements. But all their attention was focused outside the castle, keeping a lookout for boats or
helicopters. No one knew that Rich was even there, which made it easier to keep out of sight. But he knew that if he was spotted he'd be locked up with the Banker if he was lucky, or on his own in a bleak stone-walled cell if he wasn't. No, he decided – if he wasn't lucky he'd be chucked in the sea.

With that thought in mind, he ducked back inside and made his cautious way along one corridor after another. Eventually, he found a stone staircase. Up would take him to more rooms and eventually to the top of the tower he was in. Down might be more useful.

He could feel a draught on his face as he reached the bottom of the stairs. This part of the castle seemed unused. There were no lights, just the sun filtering round a single wooden door. Rich reckoned he was at the back of the castle, the other side from the main gates. He peered through the crack between the door and its frame and he could see the sunlight on the water.

The door was locked, but it was neglected and rotten. A good kick and the lock broke away from the wood. The door creaked open and Rich found himself outside. There was a narrow strip of paving, then a drop of about ten metres to the sea below. Rich sat on the edge of the paved area, dangling his feet over the drop.
The breeze and the spray on his face were refreshing. With the view over the water, Rich could almost believe he was back in Venice. Except it was bitterly cold.

He looked up and realised that anyone on the top of the castle tower above would have to lean right over the battlements to see him. He might not have found a way to escape or send a message, but at least here – for the moment – he was safe.

She was propped up in bed in a private hospital room. A saline drip was plugged into the back of her hand, held in place with surgical tape. Ardman had brought flowers and a nurse had arranged them in a vase.

When he and Chance were alone with the woman, Ardman explained briefly who he was and what had happened to the Banker.

“Poor father,” she said weakly. “Do you know where he is?”

“We have a good idea,” Ardman said. He glanced at Chance before adding, “Someone is on the way. We'll know soon.”

“You are sure it is the Tiger who has him?” Concern as well as pain were clear in her expression.

“I'm afraid it seems very likely. He'll want the
account numbers and access codes that your father has.”

Eleri struggled to sit up more. Chance reached across to help her.

“But he doesn't,” she said, almost in tears. “He can't tell them anything. Father only knows half the information. It was always that way. As a precaution. If either of us was captured or taken hostage, they could not tell where the money is or how to get it.”

“He must know,” Chance said. “There must be some way of finding out. I mean – what if one of you was hit by a bus? And how do you access the money when your clients want it?”

“It's automated. The computer system knows the account numbers, but they are encrypted. We have passwords to get into the system. But then we each have to enter our own personal codes. Of course we have a back-up. The accounts and codes never change. There is a master list, somewhere safe. Somewhere only my father and I know about. Somewhere that no one would ever guess to look.”

“Well,” said Ardman slowly, “I know you've been to a lot of trouble to protect the information. But that information is a condition of our helping you and your father to start a new life. We need to know.
If you can't tell us the accounts and codes, then you have to tell us where that list is kept.”

Eleri bit her lip, but nodded. “I understand. That was the deal. We give you the information and you freeze the accounts.”

“So?” Chance prompted.

“The information is all kept in a secure bank vault in Zurich.”

Chance had his mobile out already. “Name of the bank?”

“Doesn't matter. It isn't there any more. I took the list and I brought it with me. That was my agreement with my father. Once I was certain he was safe and you were keeping to our agreement, I would bring the list and also diamonds we had kept for emergencies. I took it from Zurich after I left Venice, when I was sure you were not double-crossing my father.”

Chance nodded. “That was just a little misunderstanding with some old friends. Quite unrelated.”

“So you brought the list here?” Ardman said. “You mean, you have it with you?”

“The Tiger's men found me. Followed me. I tried to get to Father to warn him and to get him and the
list to you. You know what happened at the school.”

“But where is this list now?”

She looked up at them, eyes wide and moist. “I don't know,” she said quietly. “I had it when I arrived at the school. And no one would guess. The account numbers and access codes that you need, that the Tiger is so desperate to get hold of, are laser-etched into a large diamond, actually burned into the heart of it. Almost invisible to the naked eye, unless you know to look for them. But they will show up easily with a magnifying glass.”

“Let's hope the Tiger hasn't already got it,” Chance said.

“Or if he has, that he doesn't realise the significance of that diamond,” Ardman agreed. “If he gets that data, he could empty every account. Whereas if we get it, we can back-trace the funds and round up criminals and terrorists across the world.”

“And if neither of us gets it?” Chance wondered.

“Then the money will simply stay where it is,” Eleri said. “You won't be able to freeze the accounts, but you won't need to. No one else will be able to get at the funds, ever.”

“We can't risk the Tiger getting that diamond.
Under the circumstances,” Ardman said, “let us hope the diamond is lost forever.”

A large wave crashed down on the rocks below, sending spray splashing into Rich's face. It was cold and salty. He would have to move soon or he'd freeze.

Rich pulled a hanky from his pocket to wipe the water from his face. Something caught the light as it fell from his handkerchief and clinked across the top of the sea wall where he was sitting.

The diamond sparkled as it bounced and spun. Rich grabbed for it, almost caught it, knocked it further – right to the edge. The diamond bounced again – and fell over the edge.

Rich lunged and just managed to get his fingers to it. Fumbled, almost dropped it. His heart was thumping as he held tight to the diamond. So close, He had forgotten he even had it and then, for an awful moment, he'd thought the diamond would fall into the sea and be lost forever.