For the Good of the State

State

‘Let me hold your coat, Sir Thomas,’ said Faith Audley.

‘And I’ll hold the other—’ Cathy Audley seized the weapon and its harness before anyone could stop her while Tom himself was trying to catch what Audley was saying. So all he could do was to give his coat to the wife and recover ‘the other’ as quickly as he could, but much too late for his peace of mind.

‘Ah!’ Audley returned to them, eyeing him critically as he put his coat on again. ‘ “Arma virumque cano”—“forced by fate, and haughty Juno’s unrelenting hate”… But I fear it would break your tailor’s heart—it doesn’t sit at all well under that good worsted, Tom. Makes you look like a soldier from Chicago, rather than a soldier of the Queen—what d’you think, love?’

‘I think you’re being your usual self, David,’

‘There now!’ Audley plainly couldn’t see that his attempt to lighten the occasion was only making it worse. ‘All the sympathy she can spare from herself, she freely gives to you, Tom. Which is probably not a lot.’

The sergeant coughed again. ‘If you would care to sign for the…

equipment, Sir Thomas. And we would like it back when you’ve finished with it, if you don’t mind.’

‘Well, love…’ Audley drew a deep breath ‘… after we’ve made ourselves scarce the sergeant here will take you both to your mother’s. And he’ll leave a man with you, just for form’s sake…

And he’ll also leave someone here too, just to mind the silver—

you do know how the burglar alarm works, don’t you, Sergeant?’

‘Yes, Dr Audley.’ The sergeant recovered his requisition form.

Price, Anthony - For the Good of the State

‘Thank you.’ The weight of The Thing reminded Tom how much he hated guns. But it would never do to admit that he didn’t want to start with it, never mind finish. But what he wanted to do most of all was to get at the police driver whom Audley had briefed.

‘Mrs Audley—’

‘Sir Thomas—’ She wanted to say more. But at least they both knew what couldn’t be said ‘—perhaps we shall see you again some time? I gather my husband was at Cambridge with your mother—?’ That was the most she could manage.

‘Yes—yes, I’m sure we shall… in much more agreeable circumstances.’ That was all he could manage in reply. ‘Miss Audley—’ But he had to do better in her case, so he patted the Chicago bulge before he offered her his hand in farewell‘—

goodbye, Miss Audley.’

Miss Audley opened her mouth, but then she caught her mother’s eye and all the things she wanted to say remained mercifully unsaid, so she didn’t say anything at all by way of farewell.

‘I’ll see you in the car, David.’ He transferred his serious smile from the daughter back to the mother without looking at Audley, disliking himself for taking the credit for his delicacy when all he really wanted to do was to talk to the police driver outside.

Outside, there were visible evidences of Limejuice, in the form of his own car now very close to the door, sandwiched between two police cars, and with armed men on the gravel beyond who were not in the least interested in him.

Price, Anthony - For the Good of the State The man he wanted must be in the lead car—

‘What was that you were discussing with Dr Audley?’

‘Sir?’ The driver blinked at him, then recovered. ‘Dr Audley was giving me a route to the main road, sir.’

‘Yes?’ That was logical, because Audley obviously knew the country roads in his own territory. But then so did the police driver. ‘Show me.’

‘Show—?’ The urgency of the order overrode the man’s surprise, and he reached for the same map which he had consulted in the porch. ‘We’re here, sir—’ he crinkled the map towards Tom and stabbed it with a blunt competent finger ‘—and we go as far as…

there, sir. Right?’

There was out of the spider’s-web of minor roads around Steeple Horley, along a main road. But it was well to the west of the direct line towards London, which Audley should have presumed was his direction—unless he knew better… But he bloody-well couldn’t know better—could he?

And there was something else, by God! ‘As far as you go?’

The man looked questioningly at him. ‘As far as you want us to go with you, sir… is what I meant… sir?’ He wasn’t sure now if he’d got it right.

‘Ah… yes.’ Tom nodded, and straightened up. If that was where Audley wanted to go, then it suited him very well, because it gave them good access to the westward motorway, so there was no need to countermand it. And once they were on that main road their escort would be superfluous, anyway.

Price, Anthony - For the Good of the State But now he heard the front door slam behind him. So the old man—

once Mamusia’s young man, but his old man now— the old man, who knew where he wanted to go— had made his proper untearfully stiff-upper-lipped farewells, and they were going at last. But now going, it seemed, to two different destinations—

‘Well, thank God for that!’ Audley stretched the seat-belt wide with relief, and then fumbled incompetently but quite happily to find its anchorage.

‘You don’t mind abandoning your family?’ Tom slammed him back into his seat with a clear conscience as the car ahead accelerated: the rule was to keep tight and fast, risking collision rather than a three-second clear shot for any potential sniper along the way; but it was Audley who was taking him for a ride now, not vice versa, anyway.

‘Not in the very least—quite the opposite!’ Audley let the strap wind itself up again. ‘The further I am away