Red Hawk Rising

mouth and mending fishing pots. It wasn’t the time to talk to him. The pub was closed for another couple of hours so he decided to go for a walk along the sea wall. Jamie headed north. He had been along the path before but this time he would try to identify things he might not have noticed before. After walking for about five minutes he noticed a well-trodden path leading up onto the sea wall from a track that ran between two fields. It seemed that people regularly accessed the sea wall from it. He wondered if they were local farm people or RAF personnel or both. Below the seaward side of the wall Jamie noticed a small hide with a couple in it watching the birds through binoculars. They also had a camera set up on a tripod. They were wearing overcoats against the chill air. A cool breeze blew from the north to spoil the effects of the autumn sun. The woman turned at the sound of his footsteps above them. Andy waved to her and walked on. In the distance, walking toward him, was another couple. Out to sea there were ships sailing from the Humber on the full tide. One, obviously an oil tanker, was riding high above its Plimsoll line after discharging its cargo. Several hundred yards offshore, one of the local fishing boats had its nets out. There was another much farther out to sea. He couldn’t see the third one so presumed that it was fishing further south. Jamie looked at his watch and decided that he had better turn back. He didn’t want to keep Yvonne waiting. Turning, he noticed the RAF base to the north-west. Missiles pointed skywards and the radar aerial rotated steadily. Apart from that, the place seemed quiet but Jamie knew that it was on constant alert. Walking back, the cool breeze was on his neck and Jamie turned up the collar of his anorak. It had seen better days, being one that he wore out in the mountains of Scotland.

Back in the village, Jamie headed to the fish shop-cum-cafe. The smell of fried fish and chips came through the door. In the harbour area, people sat out of the breeze eating their fish and chips. Others were sitting in their cars. It made Jamie feel hungry but he knew it was just the sight and smell. The fishing boats that had returned were now unloaded and the catches moved to the co-operative cold room. A couple of local women were working in there, gutting and filleting fish to fill a large order from a hotel in Louth. Yvonne was tidying up in the shop after the rush of customers. She saw Jamie walking towards the shop and set about making his coffee — white with two sugars, if she remembered correctly. Since it was an espresso machine, she decided to have a coffee herself. Yvonne then went to the cake counter and picked out the nicest looking rock bun for him as the machine hissed its contents into the two cups. Jamie walked through the door with a smile for her that made her feel good. It was a genuine smile that included his eyes and not just the face. She could see that he was pleased to see her and was more relaxed now that the crowd had gone. “Pick a table by the widow,” Yvonne said to him, “and I’ll be with you in a moment.” She heated the milk at the machine, the hot steam making a lot of noise as it heated the milk, poured it into the cups and set a tray. Picking the tray up, Yvonne walked from behind the counter and went over to the table that Jamie had sat down at. She put the tray down and unloaded it, then leaned the tray against the table leg. “It’s good to see you again,” Yvonne said.

“Likewise,” responded Jamie.

“How have you been, Jamie?” she asked. “We didn’t have a chance to talk yesterday. Will you be able to come to the dance?”

“Don’t know yet,” he replied, “but I’ll know during the week. When I do, I’ll let you know.”

“I hope you can come,” was Yvonne’s response. She looked at him dreamily. Jamie decided to change the subject.

“I see Walmar had a third man on his crew yesterday. That was unusual, wasn’t it?” he asked.

Yvonne straightened up at the question. “I heard that he was a friend of Bill Enderby’s wanting to go out to see what it was like to work on a fishing boat,” she said.

“How did he go?” asked Jamie.

“That’s the funny thing. Apparently he didn’t come back with them. Dropped him off up the coast, I heard,” Yvonne responded.

“Ah, well. It takes all sorts,” said Jamie and thinking, “It looks as though he is linked to the other incidents that Hamilton was on about.” Changing the subject again, he said, “I can be a bit flexible about a day off. When do you have yours?”

Yvonne said that it usually depended on the tides but that the next week didn’t work in so she would have to arrange for a casual to come in and look after the shop for her. “I’ll work something out tomorrow and ‘phone you at the pub, okay?” Jamie said that it would be fine. He looked at his watch and said that he would need to head off within ten minutes. “What do you do for transport, apart from the boss’s van?” Yvonne asked.

“At the moment, the local bus, but I plan to buy a motorcycle to knock around on,” Jamie replied.

“I’ve got an old Morris Minor. I’ll pick you up when we go out. Okay?” Yvonne responded.

“Okay,” said Jamie with a laugh.

A customer came in and Yvonne got up to serve her. “Don’t go until I’ve served the customer, please,” she said. Jamie nodded.

The customer