Lamont followed the car’s progress all the way to the front gates, where it came to a halt. A guard stepped out of the gatehouse, clipboard in hand. He spent a few moments talking to Heath before the gates swung open and the MGB proceeded up the long drive before disappearing from view.
Lamont picked up his radio and pressed the red button. ‘OSC has arrived and entered the grounds.’
‘Call me the minute he comes back out,’ responded the Hawk.
‘Will do, sir.’
Lamont began to pace around among the trees, uncomfortably aware that the success or failure of the operation was now in the hands of others. ‘Did you remember the sandwiches, Jackie?’ was all he had left to say.
‘Yes, sir. Cheese and tomato, or ham?’
‘Cheese and tomato.’
‘William?’
‘No, thank you,’ he said, recalling that less than forty-eight hours ago he had been with Beth, sitting in a restaurant in the Campo de’ Fiori, enjoying linguine alle vongole and a bottle of Barolo from a vineyard in Piedmont.
Twenty-six minutes later, the gates opened and Heath’s car reappeared. They all watched in silence as it came closer and closer, until he drove past their hiding place and disappeared back over the hill. Lamont radioed the commander and brought him up to date.
‘In theory,’ said Hawksby, ‘the next car should be the first of the dinner guests. Maintain radio silence until they’re all accounted for.’
They didn’t have to wait long before a green Jaguar sailed past them, the passenger in the back completely hidden behind grey-smoked windows.
‘If the windows in the back are clear, the passenger has nothing to hide,’ remarked Lamont.
‘I can’t imagine many of Faulkner’s friends having nothing to hide,’ said William, as he recorded the number plate in his pocket book. Three more cars followed in quick succession, and three more number plates were noted by William, before the radio crackled to life again. It was the temporary porter at the local railway station.
‘Yes, DC Adaja?’ said Lamont.
‘One of the guests has just arrived on the 7.32 from Waterloo and is on his way to Limpton Hall in the first of our cabs.’
‘That means we’ll get someone past the gates and up as far as the house, if only for a few minutes.’
‘I told him to report to you when he comes back out.’
‘Good thinking, Paul. Keep sweeping the platform.’
A few minutes later a black cab passed them and flashed its headlights twice. The photographer smiled for the first time as he had a clear view of the passenger. Lamont followed the taxi’s progress all the way to the front gates, a stopwatch in one hand, binoculars in the other. Two minutes and eighteen seconds later, the guard finished checking the invitation and the gates swung open once again.
‘With any luck,’ said Lamont, as another large chauffeur-driven car sped by, our man should be back with us in a few minutes’ time, and I’ll be able to ask him some questions we don’t yet have an answer to.’
‘Crooks seem to prefer Rolls-Royces,’ observed William, jotting down the latest number plate as another Silver Cloud purred by.
‘And not last year’s model,’ remarked Danny.
‘Nothing more than vulgar status symbols to show their place in the criminal pecking order,’ snarled Lamont.
William took a sip of water, but still ignored the last of the ham sandwiches. He was wondering if his heart could beat any faster, when the taxi reappeared and, moments later, pulled off the road to join them. Jackie took over binocular duty, while the cab driver joined them in the car.
‘Did you pick up any worthwhile information about your passenger?’ was Lamont’s first question to the driver.
‘He’s a banker, but I couldn’t find out which bank. His accent would suggest he’s from the Middle East. I slowed down as I passed you, so the photographer could get some decent shots. I can tell you, my taxi’s back windows have never been so clean. Just like you see in films.’
‘How long did it take you to get from the gates to the front door of the house?’
‘One minute and forty seconds, but I didn’t hurry, so you could knock at least twenty seconds off that.’
‘And the guests’ cars, are they parked in the driveway outside the house?’
‘No, sir, in a paddock behind the conservatory. To judge from the noise that was coming from there, I think the drivers are having a party of their own.’
‘But they won’t be drinking. And we can be sure there will be one or two of the heavy brigade among them, whose driving skills aren’t the reason they’re here tonight. Well done, constable. Get back to the station, but hang about, because we might need some back-up later.’
‘I hope so, sir,’ he said, causing them all to laugh.
‘Nine guests accounted for,’ said Jackie, as another large car swept past them.
Lamont watched as the final guest pulled up outside the gatehouse, and the driver presented his invitation. He kept the binoculars trained on the car until it could no longer be seen.
‘A full house,’ he said, before picking up his radio to bring the commander up to date. Next, he briefed the inspector in charge of the squad cars, and finally DC Adaja, who was still sweeping the platform while he waited for the next train. ‘Now let’s concentrate on how we get past the gatehouse,’ he said. ‘The guard looked to me like a professional, and you can be sure he has plenty of bells and whistles in case of an emergency, so we’ll have to take him out before he realizes that, unlike Cinderella, we don’t have an invitation to the ball.’
‘When are you thinking of moving, sir?’ asked William.
‘Just after ten. That should give them more than enough time to finish
