Legacy by Alan Judd

Author:Alan Judd [Judd, Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781471101052
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

6

During a wet rush-hour morning a week or so later a London bus hit a car which hit a drunk, causing traffic to back up in all directions from Notting Hill Gate. Drivers were ill-tempered or wearily resigned, the hunched pedestrians morose and indifferent. Charles sat in the back of a Ford Cortina parked in Pembridge Square, off the Bayswater Road where it led past the Soviet Embassy. The mild exhilaration consequent upon being part of, and apart from, the workaday world, had faded. The Times was now refolded on his lap as he watched congregations of starlings in the bare plane trees. Conversation had lapsed and the only human sounds were the occasional crackling, staccato announcements over the VHF surveillance net, such as ‘Red Four Two off. Out.’ Jim, the driver, rested his arm on the door and stared straight ahead. Sue, in the front passenger seat, read a paperback. Charles opened one of the windows a little. It began to rain again.

Charles no longer paid any attention to the people walking past. At first, everything had been interesting; now, there was only waiting. The high spot of the morning had been when two drab youths had tried fiddling the lock of a newish but dirty and bird-spattered XJ6 Jaguar parked a few cars ahead. They ran off when Jim put his fist on the hooter.

‘Would you have called the police if they’d broken in?’ Charles asked.

Jim grimaced in the mirror. ‘Difficult one, that. On the one hand, we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves. On the other, we hate seeing the bastards getting away with it. If it was serious we’d tell control to get on to the police and give them descriptions.’

‘You wouldn’t follow them?’

‘Not when we’re on a job like this, no. Unless it was murder or something.’

‘Or they were good-looking,’ said Sue.

An hour and a half later, after the humiliation of his first ever attempt at The Times crossword, a walk in the rain had become an exciting prospect. ‘Any chance of a stretch of legs?’ he asked.

Jim looked at his watch. ‘You two have a cup and smoke. We’ll park round the corner.’

They went to a café with red plastic tables and a notice advertising breakfast all day. Jim parked across the road in sight of it and checked with control via a microphone concealed in the sun-visor. ‘You wired up?’ he asked Sue as she and Charles got out.

She nodded. ‘No need to call, just flash us. We’ll see you.’

They sat in the window with frothy cappuccinos. The background music was non-stop Rod Stewart. She lit a cigarette and Charles, for the sake of doing something different, accepted one. ‘Is surveillance always as exciting as this?’ he asked.

‘Sometimes even more exciting. You can spend a whole week not getting out of the car. Targets drive more than they used to. That’s why everyone’s always keen on a bit of footwork, if there’s any chance of it. Car seats make backache an occupational illness.

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