Red Hawk Rising

of the factory with two other men and they headed for the cafe. Berin followed them down at a discreet distance. He noticed that they were all smoking cigarettes that they must have lit up as they came out of the works and it gave Berin an idea. The men went into the cafe and ordered their lunch and ate it there. Afterwards, they lit up cigarettes again. Berin walked in and ordered some food and coffee. Receiving the order at the counter, he took the table next to the three men and sat behind Eddy Dennis. He ate some food and then took the packet out of his pocket and opened it and took the cigarette out. The recording started to play. Berin tapped the cigarette and hummed a tune in time to that on the recording. He noticed Eddy Dennis, the man in the photo, tense a little. Then Eddy told his companions that he had to go back to work. Berin put the cigarette back into the packet and put the packet in his pocket. Eddy got up and headed back to work. His companions got up and followed him out, both of them grumbling. Berin finished his food and left the cafe and walked back toward Jennings Industries. He knew that he couldn’t leave until he knew that the work was completed. Berin walked past the main entrance to where he couldn’t be seen from the gate office and found a convenient spot to wait. After about fifteen minutes he saw Eddy Dennis come out of the main gate and head down to the Foleshill Road. Berin followed at a discreet distance. The bus stop for Eddy to go home was on the other side of the road and Eddy appeared to be waiting for traffic to clear. Suddenly, as a heavy lorry came along north-bound, Eddy stepped off the pavement and appeared to trip and fall in the path of the lorry. The driver stamped on the brakes but he couldn’t stop before a wheel went over Eddy’s body, crushing it and the truck dragging it along the road before stopping. Eddy flailed an arm and then it went limp. Passers-by rushed to the scene. The driver of the lorry sat in the cab in a state of shock. A shop-keeper, on seeing the accident, rang ‘999’ and asked for police and ambulance. Berin stayed at a distance and watched. Soon, the clanging of the bells on the police car and the ambulance were heard as they raced up the Foleshill Road.

About a minute later, they pulled up and the ambulance team went over to Eddy. They checked for a pulse but there was none. One of them shook his head to the policeman and called out, “Sorry, he’s dead already.” Berin moved off down the road away from the scene of the accident, walking two hundred yards down the road before crossing over to get a bus into the city centre. An hour later a policeman knocked on the door of Eddy Dennis’s home to give the news to Eddy’s wife.

***

While events had been taking place in Coventry, at RAF West Sanby there was a lot of activity in the JSTU area as equipment and furniture was being unloaded and installed in the new headquarters building. Andy had been detailed to oversee the locating of it all. It was mid-morning and the control unit and missile had arrived from Argonaut Industries without incident. By lunchtime the headquarters personnel would start arriving from RAF Low Fenton. Then Andy would be directing them to billet allocations. More personnel were being posted in and would arrive on the morrow. Among them would be two progress clerks for Andy’s section. Later, as the trials really got underway, there would be more progress clerks, including a corporal. It would relieve the pressure for Andy since he would need to focus on the analysis of data from the trials. On top of this he had his assignments from Lutterworth.

In Louth, Jamie and Yvonne were enjoying a walk around the town before they had lunch somewhere. Yvonne had picked Jamie up from West Sanby village and then driven to Louth. She had a couple of deliveries she had to make and had done that. Now they were free to enjoy time together. Yvonne wanted to look for a dress for the dance at Parfleet St Peter. Jamie patiently went with her and sat as she tried dresses on and sought his view of each. Thinking about this, Jamie found it hard to believe what he was doing. This had always been a ‘no-no’ to him and his mates. Maybe it had something to do with how he was starting to feel about this woman. Later, they sat having scones and coffee in a little cafe. The conversation turned to fishing and the village. Yvonne was telling Jamie about the different families. She commented on Walmar and how he had come and settled there. Now happily married to a local girl and proud of his family, he was well respected in their community. Then Yvonne commented on the different crewmen that would come for a while and go again. She thought it strange and couldn’t understand why Walmar didn’t employ a local. “The present guy, Bill Enderby, is one to be careful of,” she said. “There’s something about him that makes me wary.” But Yvonne couldn’t explain why. “He got the bus to Louth yesterday and was getting the train to Lincoln,” she said, “and will be away for two or three days. I feel more comfortable while he’s away.”

“Any idea what he’s gone away for?” asked Jamie.

“None,” replied Yvonne. Jamie decided that he would report this urgently. He also wondered whether he could go through Enderby’s flat and see what he could find. Jamie decided to bring the conversation back to the families and also the forthcoming dance so he asked Yvonne who she had