On impulse he opened the door and followed her along the flagged path. It was warm inside and very quiet. For a little while he stood there listening intently and then he sat down in a pew at the back of the church.
She was on her knees by the altar. As he looked down towards the winking candles it seemed to grow darker. He leaned forward and rested his head on a stone pillar. All the strain and excitement of the past twelve hours catching up on him. In some strange way it was as if he were listening for something.
He pushed the thought away from him and sat back and watched as she got to her feet and walked back along the aisle. She became aware of him there in the half darkness and paused abruptly.
‘That was foolish of you. You could have been seen.’
He shrugged, stood up and took her arm as they went to the door. ‘If you think like that you act suspiciously; if you act suspiciously, you get caught. I’m an old hand at being on the run.’
They stood on the step and the wind blew a fine drizzle of rain into the porch as she looked up at him search-ingly. She smiled and it was as if a lamp had been turned on inside.
‘Hannah Costello, Mr. Rogan,’ she said and held out her hand.
He took it and grinned. ‘A fresh start makes old friends of bad ones/ he said. ‘A proverb my grandmother was fond of. Would it be too much to ask where you’re taking me?’
‘The other side of the lakes. On the coast, near a place called Whitbeck.’
‘Is Colum O’More there?’
‘Waiting for you.”
‘In the name of God, let us go then. There’s a farm in Kerry my father’s growing too old to cope with. It’s time I was home again.’
The smile vanished from her face and she gazed up at him searchingly. She seemed about to speak, but obviously thought better of it and turned and led the way back to the car.
Dick Vanbrugh was tired, damned tired, and the heavy rain driving against the bathroom window wasn’t calculated to improve the way he felt. He finished shaving and was towelling his face tenderly when the door opened and his wife looked in. ‘Phone, darling. The Assistant Commissioner.’
Vanbrugh stared at her, a deep frown creasing his forehead. ‘You’re joking, of course.’
‘I’m afraid not. I’ll get your breakfast on the stove now. From the sound of him, you’ll be moving off in a hurry.’
Vanbrugh pulled a shirt over his head, tucking it into
his trousers as he went downstairs. His tiredness had vanished completely. Whatever this was, it was something big. You didn’t get the Assistant Commissioner on the phone at seven thirty in the morning just because somebody’s warehouse had been turned over.
He picked up the phone from the hall stand and leaned against the wall. ‘Vanbrugh here, sir.’
‘Morning, Dick. I’m afraid I’m going to put you off your breakfast.’
‘Not the first time,’ Vanbrugh said.
‘Rogan’s out.’
Vanbrugh suddenly felt a little light-headed. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and then opened them again.
‘When?’
‘Some time during the night. They found him missing at seven o’clock turn-out. The Governor’s just been on the line to the Old Man.’
‘How did he get out?’
‘Nobody seems to know. They may come up with something later, but the first quick check disclosed nothing.’
Vanbrugh laughed gently. ‘In the Maquis, they called him the Ghost, did you know that, sir?’
The Assistant Commissioner ignored the remark. ‘You’re in charge, Dick.’
Vanbrugh took a deep breath and stood up straight. ‘I’d rather not-not this time.’
‘He won’t take no for an answer, Dick. After all, you know Rogan better than anyone else.’
‘That’s the trouble, sir.’
‘There’s a fast train for the West Country at nine from Paddington. Take Dwyer with you. I’ll see that the local constabulary give you every co-operation. The longer he’s out, the worse it will be. The newsboys will start digging up his war record and so on and before you know where you are, we’ll be in it right up to our necks.’