Hell Is Too Crowded - Jack Higgins [28]
He turned and smiled. "Maybe you're right, but sitting here on my backside isn't going to help. I'd better get started."
"Don't be a fool." She laid a restraining hand on his arm. "You can't go walking round London for long and expect to get away with it. Sooner or later, you'll turn a corner and walk right into the arms of some young constable, pounding his beat and just dying for quick promotion. What would that prove?"
"What do you suggest?" he demanded impatiently.
"I'll hire a car for the day. It won't cost much and there's a garage just round the corner. You'll be a lot safer driving round London than walking."
He took hold of one of her hands. "I'm beginning to wonder where I'd be without you."
She flushed and stood up, with a slight smile. "Flattery will get you nowhere. If you want to work for your keep, you can clear the table while I go and see about the car."
The door closed behind her and he sat there for a while, finishing his cigarette and thinking about her. He stood by the window and watched her go down the steps and walk along the sidewalk and suddenly, there was a hollow ache in his stomach and he knew that she had become important to him.
He cleared the table and had just finished washing up when she returned. "That was quick," he said.
She smiled. "Oh, they know me. I've done this several times since I've been living here. I've checked up on Dell Street, by the way. It's near Regent's Park. Allowing for the traffic, it shouldn't take us more than twenty minutes to get there."
He frowned and gripped her arms tightly. "There's no need for you to come. I don't even know what I might be running into."
"The car's in my name," she said calmly. "And according to the insurance, no one else is supposed to drive. I'm in this up to my neck now, Matt. You'll just have to get used to the idea."
He sighed. "Okay, Anne. You win. Let's get going."
The car was a small Morris saloon, just the thing for the heavy London traffic and she handled it expertly, nosing her way into the main traffic stream of the Bayswater Road and turning into Marylebone Road towards Regent's Park.
They found Dell Street with little difficulty, a quiet backwater near the park, tall Victorian town houses in their own grounds.
Professor Soames's premises were certainly imposing and the flat-roofed extensions at the rear of the house looked as if they had only been recently completed.
The large double gates stood open and Anne drove past and parked the car in a small cul-de-sac a few yards along the street.
Brady looked out through the rear window to the gold-painted board fastened to the wall by the gate. It said Deepdene Nursing Home and underneath Professor H. Soames--Naturopath,
"Quite a set-up," he said.
Anne nodded and switched off the engine. "What now?"
He shrugged. "I'll just walk in and ask to see him. Pretend to be a prospective patient. It's the only way to handle it."
"And then?"
Brady grinned. "I think he'll see reason. If he's running a place like this, scandal's the last thing he'll want."
She shook her head decidedly. "It's no good. Perhaps he isn't available today. He may even be out of town."
"Then what do you suggest?"
She shrugged. "It's obvious. I go in first and ask for an appointment. If he's available, then there's no harm done. If he isn't, we can come back later." He opened his mouth to argue and she stopped it gently with one hand. "The less people see of your face, the better."
She got out of the car and closed the door. As she started to move away, she paused and took the car keys from her purse. "Here, you'd better have these," she said. "Just in case you have to move in a hurry."
After she had gone, Brady lit a cigarette and settled back in his seat to wait. She was quite right, of course. There was no sense in his simply walking in, taking the risk that someone might recognize him and all to no purpose. Certainly there could be no danger for the girl in simply asking for an appointment. At least he would know whether Soames was available or not.