“Well, Corporal, it’s good to see you with your eyes open. We’ll get the doctor to come and see you and have a chat with you. You have concussion and a fractured shoulder. I can see you are in pain so we’ll get you something to ease it after the doctor has seen you,” she told him.
“Thanks, Sister,” he tried to say but it came out as more of a weak croak. Jamie smiled his embarrassment.
“Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of you,” she replied. Then, to the nurse, “Go and get the duty doctor, Nurse. I’ll stay here with the patient for the moment.” The nurse hurried out of the room and Jamie could hear her footsteps going down the corridor. The sister checked his pulse again and found it to be normal. “Well, your pulse is normal. That’s a good sign,” she said to Jamie. She then took his chart from the end of the bed and made an entry on it, noting the time that Jamie recovered consciousness. More footsteps came their way and the doctor entered the room.
“Evening, Doctor,” said Sister Lazenby. “The patient recovered consciousness a few minutes ago. He’s in pain but his pulse is normal,” she told him.
“Thanks, Sister,” he said and then to Jamie, “Well, Corporal, you took quite a blow to the head and shoulder. The time in the sea didn’t help. You are very lucky to be alive from what I’ve seen in the report. We’ve set your shoulder but it is going to take about six weeks to heal. The blow to your head is a different matter. You’ve got concussion and you were unconscious for a long time. We will need to keep you in here for a while for observation. Now, I’m going to do some small checks now and then we’ll give you painkillers and something to put you to sleep until morning.” Jamie didn’t say anything. The doctor held his index finger up and said, “Watch my finger and follow it with your eyes but do not turn your head.” The doctor moved his finger from side-to-side and up and down, watching Jamie’s eyes. He noticed that Jamie’s eyes followed his finger without seeming trouble. “Now, could you see my finger all the time?” He got a nod. “Was it in focus all the time or did you see double or was it blurred at any time?” he asked Jamie. A shake of the head from Jamie was his answer. “That’s a good sign,” the doctor said. “Now I want to ask you some questions and I want verbal answers. “What is your name?”
“James Edward Rogerson,” was the reply.
“What day did you have this incident?”
“It was Tuesday,” Jamie said.
“That is all positive. I’ll let you get some rest now and we’ll see you again in the morning. Goodnight.”
“Thank you, sir,” Jamie said.
The doctor turned to Sister Lazenby and the nurse. “Check him regularly tonight, will you? Let me know if there is any change.”
“Yes, Doctor,” Sister replied and he left the room. The nurse also left and came back with a pill and a glass of water. Jamie swallowed the tablet and took a good drink of water. “That will help you to relax and go to sleep,” she said. Press the buzzer if you need help.”
“I need to relieve myself,” said Jamie.
“Nurse, will get you a bottle,” Sister replied. After that had been dealt with, Jamie settled back on the pillows and drifted off to sleep. Sister Lazenby told the nurse to check him every thirty minutes and then left the room and went back to her desk.
***
Commander Rice looked at his watch as he entered the lobby of the hotel. It was 8.34 p.m. (20.34 hours in his thinking but his watch was not a 24-hour watch). The clerk on duty told him that there was a message for him. He was handed the message and also his room key. Rice read it as he went up the stairs to his room. He was to call the London office. He turned round and went back down the stairs and out to the hotel yard where his car was parked. Rice got in and switched on the radiophone. After it had warmed up he dialled the London office and asked to be put through to the duty officer in his section. The duty officer came on and Commander Rice identified himself. “Wing Commander Hamilton left a message for you, sir. The check on William Enderby found several by that name. Only one fits the age group that we are looking for. He was born in Hastings in 1934 and killed in a car accident in Germany in 1956 and his body cremated over there. The Special Branch has been advised and they are arranging a search warrant. Officers will meet you at Parfleet St Peter at 08.00 hours tomorrow morning.” Rice thanked the duty officer and hung up. His gut feeling was to go out there immediately but realised that would be risky. If Enderby, or whatever his real name was, had attempted to kill Corporal Rogerson, then he would have no hesitation in attacking anyone else that could be a threat. He went back into the hotel and headed to the bar for a drink.
Berin sat considering his options. His instincts told him that the military-looking man in the pub was no ordinary serviceman. He looked and carried himself like senior operatives in the KGB. Berin had a telephone number to ring in case of these situations but he could not call it from a telephone in the village. It was too late to leave the village for a telephone beyond the local exchange. One option was to walk along the sea wall
