Gideon's Sport by John Creasey

Author:John Creasey [Creasey, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, Police, Gideon; George (Fictitious Character)
Publisher: Harper & Row
Published: 1970-09-10T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Cross-roads

Gideon put down the receiver after talking to Henry, and knew that he himself stood at the cross-roads of decision. He had never faced such an anxiety; not even when — years ago — there had seemed a real danger of separation between him and Kate. Nor, much later, when their oldest daughter had been near to death, her first child stillborn.

Now, he was conscious of a strange and compelling pressure; yet despite it he had his job to do. Slowly, other thoughts filtered into his mind; he was returning to normal in one way, at least.

Lemaitre was due to telephone from New York in less than half-an-hour, he remembered. And there was the Madderton bank job to review: when the financial big-wigs were upset it always caused trouble, and he wanted to be completely au fait with the case before he was called on to report.

Hobbs asked: “What can I do, sir?”

“That was Henry,” Gideon told him. “The Jamaican girl’s missing. He wants to know whether to question the people she was working with, or let it go for a while. If we question them, they’ll know we’re after them and they’ll be quite sure she’s on the Force. If we don’t —” He broke off, and picked up the receiver. “Get me Mr. Henry, of AB Division.” He looked hard at Hobbs. “No question about it, of course, we’ve got to find the girl. Might put the fear of God into the young hotheads, while we’re at it.”

“Or the fear of Gideon,” Hobbs murmured.

“How anyone could be afraid of telling me the truth — !”‘ Gideon snorted, then broke off abruptly. “Alec, you mean to tell me—?” He drew the mouthpiece closer: “Hallo-Chas? Yes — didn’t need the fifteen minutes, after all. Do you know the names and addresses of this Action Committee? And the Central Committee . . . Good . . . Round them all up -every mother’s son of ‘em! Put several cars on the job,

then use a Black Maria and pick ‘em up where the cars have found them . . . Yes, tell the Press about the round-up — but better not say it’s a Lords demonstration. Eh? . . . Yes, that’ll do . . . Get ‘em all together in one room — if you can . . . The canteen’ll do fine! Right.” He put down the receiver and gave a grim smile. “He’s satisfied, anyhow — that’s what he wanted to do.”

“Will you go and see the crowd?” asked Hobbs.

“I’ll see. Now, what else is — ?” Gideon frowned. Then asked, almost humorously incredulous: “Alec, is Penny scared of me?”

“In some ways, yes,” replied Hobbs, flatly. “In some ways you’re a pretty terrifying person, George. You set standards which —”

He broke off as the internal telephone rang: this might well be Information, with news of Kate. Gideon lifted the receiver quickly, smoothly, with no sign of tension.

“Yes?”

“There’s no one at your house in Harrington Street, sir,” the Chief Inspector in charge of Information reported.

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