Midnight Runner - Jack Higgins [49]
Blood tests at the hospital had established the presence not only of alcohol but of Ecstasy. As was the usual practice, the hospital administrator informed the police and then phoned the principal of St. Hugh's College with the sad news. He canvassed other students in the residence hall and discovered that some of them had been on the bus with her and Alan Grant. The principal then phoned the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square, and it was the American Ambassador who, because of Daniel Quinn's status, had the unhappy task of phoning the President on his direct line.
A t the White House, Jake Cazalet was in the Oval Office. He listened in horror, then put the phone down and rang Blake Johnson in the Basement and told him to come upstairs at once.
Blake arrived in shirtsleeves, with a sheaf of papers. "I had stuff for you anyway."
"Never mind that," and Cazalet gave him the grim news.
Blake was staggered. "I can't believe it, especially the drug suggestion. I've met Helen many times. She just wasn't the sort."
"I can't comment. Students on a day out, who can say?" Cazalet sighed. "Drugs are the curse of modern life. Where is Daniel now?"
"He reported in yesterday from a place called Prizren. It's in the multinational sector of Kosovo. You were busy, so I spoke to him."
"What's he doing in this Prizren place?"
"There's been an outbreak of fighting, Albanians ambushed by Serbs, or something like that."
Cazalet said, "I'll tell him myself. It's the least I can do."
"Thank God it's not me. How do we handle it?"
"He'll want to be in London as soon as possible. Using Presidential authority, how soon can that be arranged?"
"A helicopter north from Prizren to Pristina. Then a direct flight to the U.K. I should have it arranged within an hour."
"Do it then. But first get him on the phone for me."
Q uinn was outside Prizren with a small detachment of French paratroopers, part of the multinational force. Four Serbs had been killed, and they waited in their body bags in the village square for a helicopter to arrive.
One of the men gave Quinn a cup of coffee, and their captain, a young man named Michel, was on a mobile. Quinn was drinking his coffee when his own special mobile sounded and he switched on.
"Quinn."
"Daniel? Jake Cazalet."
Quinn was astonished. "What can I do for you, Mr. President?"
Cazalet hesitated. "What are you up to now?"
"Oh, sheltering from heavy rain at the arsehole of the world outside Prizren. I'm with the French. We've got a few Serbs in body bags to get out of here, and we're just waiting for a helicopter. What's this about, sir?"
Cazalet said, "Daniel, I've got heartbreaking news for you."
Quinn said, "What would that be, Mr. President?"
And Cazalet told him.
A short while later, Quinn switched off the phone, experiencing a feeling he had never known before in his life. Michel clicked off his mobile and came to him.
"Hey, mon ami, I'm told they're diverting another helicopter to here just for you. It's taking you to Pristina. You really must have some kind of influence, eh?"
"No. It's a personal thing." He stared almost blindly at the Frenchman. "My daughter, Helen. I've just been told she's dead."
"Mon Dieu," Michel said.
"Twenty-two years old, Michel. I mean, who dies at twenty-two years old?" He buried his head in his hands and wept.
Michel snapped his fingers at his Sergeant, a half bottle of cognac was produced, and Michel unscrewed the cap. "You'd better take a large one, and another if you need it, mon ami. Just take your time." There was the sound of a helicopter in the distance.
"They're coming for you now."
T he President spoke to the chief of staff at the London Embassy, who was eager to please. They spoke in conference, Blake listening.
"You're an old London hand and you're also a lawyer, Frobisher," the President said.