The Palindrome Cult: A gripping, page-turning, crime suspense thriller, its fast pace takes you from London to New York, via Dubai and the Virgin Islands. (Hedge & Cole Book 1)

by Kevin Bradley

  Robinson looked slightly anxious, but said nothing.

  ‘My colleague and I have been tracking the proceeds of this crime across various countries,’ Cole continued. ‘You should be aware that this is now also a murder enquiry as several people have been killed, including one of my closest friends.’

  Robinson swallowed hard, but still said nothing.

  ‘There is in excess of fourteen million dollars being held by Reviver Limited, in various accounts. These accounts are easy to find as they have all been set up with particular account numbers. The largest one is numbered 84566548. Another one is 01177110. Do you get the picture Mr. Robinson? The clue is in the name of the group carrying out these frauds. They refer to themselves as The Palindrome Cult. They like numbers that read the same both ways you see.’

  Cole walked over and sat himself on the edge of the desk. He passed a folded sheet of white paper to Robinson.

  ‘We need you to transfer all of the fourteen million dollars to the Bank of England account detailed here. This needs to be completed within the next twenty four hours.’

  Cole picked up a gold plated paperweight from the desk. It was an intricately made model of a young elephant. It looked like high quality workmanship.

  ‘Expensive,’ Cole said and placed it back down on the desk. He stood up and moved towards the door.

  He pulled the door half open and suddenly turned to face Robinson once more. ‘By the way, the Reviver files indicated another account with considerable sums of money in it. Strangely though, that account was in the name of Mrs. Pamela Robinson. Does that mean anything to you?’

  ‘Ah yes indeed, that would be my wife’s personal account. I am not sure how that one got mixed up in the file of Reviver Limited,’ Robinson explained lamely.

  ‘Well just in case, probably best if you transfer the two million dollars from that account to us also. You will know the one I am referring to - the account number is 44055044!’

  Cole turned and walked out of the office. Hedge followed close behind. He looked at Robinson one last time as he shut the door. The man looked like he was suddenly very worried and he was sure he could see several beads of sweat running slowly down Robinson’s forehead.

  Chapter Forty Four

  Hedge and Cole had the next day free as their flight back to the UK didn’t leave until later the following evening. They needed to keep some spare time to check that the money transfers from Robinson had been made. Cole suggested they take the morning off and visit the Tortola Spa Centre. He had seen it advertised in one of the local newspapers.

  Hedge thought that was an excellent idea, and so they headed off in the direction of the Spa.

  ‘We have everything you need here to relax body and mind,’ promised the manager when they presented themselves at the front desk.

  ‘There is an exercise pool, a hot spa, a saltwater pool, a sauna and steam rooms.’

  Hedge decided he was going to swim some lengths in the exercise pool. It was only fifteen metres long, so he joked that he may have to do quite a few lengths to get any fitness benefit.

  Cole laughed at this, and decided to head off for the steam room. They agreed to meet up in an hour for a drink at the ‘Juice Bar.’

  Hedge swam for thirty minutes. The pool was cold, but the exercise kept his body warm. His mind began to relax, and he concentrated on his breathing as he pushed himself through the water. After this, he decided to take a dip in the saltwater pool. It wasn’t really a pool, rather a deep bath. It was circular in shape and the diameter was only about two metres across. A ledge ran around the edge of the pool about half way up the side. This provided somewhere for the users of the pool to sit and relax as they submerged their body. Hedge jumped in and sat on the ledge. There was no one else in the pool, and so he spread his arms and legs apart to maximise the cooling effect of the water.

  After a few minutes he pushed himself into the centre of the pool, and submerged his whole body. He held his breath as long as he could, maybe just over a minute he guessed, and then he raised his head slowly up to the surface. As he did so he felt something long and prickly caress his back. He was certain that he was still alone in the small pool, so he was unsure what it could be that had touched him.

  He was definitely alone, he was right about that. There was no other person in the pool.

  What he wasn’t aware of was the marine creature known as a Siphonophore that was sharing his pool. The other name for this kind of organism is a Portuguese Man of War.

  It’s an incredible thing this creature, as in fact it isn’t one creature at all, rather it is a colony of very small entities all binding together for their survival. There are several aspects to the Portuguese Man of War.

  Firstly, it has a sail, which is a gas filled sac that floats on the surface of the water, normally the sea of course. Then, it has several other parts which relate to feeding, reproduction and defence. The whole organism is a wonder of nature, but it is in the area of defence that it is truly amazing. Stretching out underneath for what can be up to fifty metres, are a series of venomous tentacles, used primarily to stun other sea dwellers and so enables it to catch food.

  The tentacles can cause serious pain to humans and sea swimmers who come into contact with them. It typically leaves them with long, red, whip-like marks across their body. The venom can cause shock, paralysis and even death.

  The animal sharing the pool with Hedge was just a small one, but nevertheless the tentacles were well developed and stretched to several metres long.

  As Hedge surfaced, he became aware of more sensations on his back and around his legs. He turned to see what was in the pool, but all he could see was a small, clear, plastic-like balloon on the surface of the water. It looked harmless enough, so he picked it up ready to throw out of the pool. As he did so, he suddenly felt stinging sensations all down his lower back and legs. The tentacles of the creature had wrapped themselves around his body and were reacting violently to his inadvertent handling.

  He found that his legs were now experiencing acute, needle like pain, and his hands seemed to be going numb. He was struggling to hold his balance. More of the tentacles had started to wrap around his legs, and the intensity of the pain was increasing. He tried to focus his eyes, but everything around him was a blur. His legs gave way under him and he sank further into the pool. His hands reached out towards the side of the pool, but they couldn't grab hold of the edge - his fingers didn’t want to respond to his request to tighten.

  The pain had now reached unbearable levels, and all down his legs it was as if he was being stung by thousands of bees simultaneously. His head went under the surface of the pool, and he breathed in a lungful of the cold, salty water. The last thing he remembered seeing were dozens of tentacles wrapping around his body, and amongst it all the concerned face of Cole looking down at him.

  Cole had finished in the steam room and had gone looking for his friend. He had succeeded in getting himself lost in the spa complex, and the manager had offered to guide him to the salt water pool, where he believed his colleague was.

  They had come into the room just a few moments after Hedge’s head had gone under the water.

  ‘Help me get him out,’ Cole had shouted to the manager.

  They had dragged him out of the pool. The manager had winced and backed away when he saw what was wrapped around Hedge’s body. He recovered quickly though, and he picked up two small towels and passed one to Cole. ‘Don't touch the tentacles.’

  Using the towels to protect their hands, they started to rip the long strands of sinew from Hedge's body and legs.

  Hedge was coughing up sea water and breathing erratically. Cole turned him onto his side and started to slap his back to try and help him to breathe properly. The manager finished pulling the tentacles off his body.

  Hedge had started to breathe more easily, and he lay still for a while as he tried to recover. Cole looked down at him and was appalled at the damage done to the surface of his skin.
He was covered in what appeared to be long, red scratches. He looked like he had been attacked with razor blades.

  Cole looked over towards the manager, expecting him to know what to do next. What he saw took him completely by surprise. The manager was standing over Hedge and was unzipping his trousers, and then incredibly he started to urinate all down Hedge’s back and legs.

  ‘There's nothing like kicking a man when he’s down,’ exclaimed Cole.

  ‘This is the best cure for this kind of thing,’ the manager replied. ‘Urine helps to neutralise the venom.’

  He finished urinating, and did up his trousers. ‘Now I will go and call for an ambulance. Your friend needs antibiotics and bandaging as soon as possible. The worst part is not yet over, he is still in a critical condition.’

  Chapter Forty Five

  For the next two days, Hedge seemed to be in a world of confusion.

  The first time he awoke, all he could see was a white painted room, with a plain ceiling above his bed. He had trouble focusing his eyes, and his mouth seemed horribly dry. His head was spinning and he felt like he had come back to consciousness after a very strong anaesthetic.

  There was a tube leading in to his arm, but he wasn’t sure why. His lower body was covered in a white sheet, but his arms and chest were clearly visible. He looked down at himself and was shocked to see red lines running in all directions across his body. The marks looked to him like he had been repeatedly whipped with thick, abrasive steel wire.

  He thought he must be dreaming. It certainly didn’t feel real. He tried to lift himself up from the bed, but although his brain sent the right signals to do so, there was no response from his muscles or limbs.

  The door to his left opened and a young, brown faced nurse came into the room. She walked over to the bed, checked the level of the fluid in the drip going into his arm, and then scanned his chart hanging on the rail of the bed.

  Hedge couldn’t make out her features as his vision was too blurred. He tried to speak but no words came out. Was she all part of the dream – he couldn’t be sure. His eyelids felt heavy and he started to fall down into that strange place once more.

  ‘Amanda, is that you?’ he tried to say. The words just echoed around in his head. His mouth didn’t move.

  The nurse finished her work and headed for the door. She turned to face him and spoke for a few seconds, but he didn’t hear her words.

  ‘Amanda, come back,’ he tried to say. Again no sound came from his throat.

  His eyelids felt very heavy, and he started to drift into some strange, misty place. There were all kinds of images moving around mysteriously in his head. His mum and dad were there, also his uncle, and some old friends from college. Various people he recognised, and some he didn’t. One minute he was getting off the bus on his first day at school, the next he was fighting with a boy in his dormitory. Then he was at a young girl’s birthday party, and as that image faded he could see the matron of his old boarding house as she was putting a bandage on his knee after he had injured himself during a cross-country run.

  It was all very strange, but also so real.

  Suddenly she was there. Amanda. He was just sixteen years old when he had first spoken to her. He was reliving it exactly as it had happened all those years ago. The haziness disappeared and everything came into focus. He remembered every part of it, all the details, as if it was only yesterday.

  It was a Sunday afternoon and Mr. Simms, a Science teacher at the college, had called Hedge into his office to ask him to run an errand for him. Alistair Simms got on well with the boys and so Hedge was happy to oblige. He was to go and find Miss Grey, and give her a letter from Simms. Hedge knew who Amanda Grey was. She was a young, incredibly attractive teacher who had recently arrived at the college. She taught English, mainly to the junior boys, and she was Simms’s girlfriend.

  Like many of the teachers, Miss Grey had a small apartment in the staff lodging house. This area of the college was normally out of bounds for the students, unless you had been specifically asked to go there by another member of staff.

  ‘Find Miss Grey and give her the letter. Don’t give it to anyone else. If she is not around, then bring it back to me. Don’t leave it with any other member of staff. You’ll recognise Amanda as she is very attractive, but then I am sure you already know that. Oh, and one other thing, when you see Amanda ask her if she wants me to come and visit her later today. Tell her I can always make time for her.’

  He winked as he said this last line, but Hedge didn’t really understand why. Although he was a likeable man, Hedge thought Simms was also a bit of an oddball. He wasn’t sure what attracted a girl like Amanda to him, but then there was a lot about relationships he thought he probably needed to learn.

  Simms finished issuing his instructions. ‘Now off you go, and don’t hang around over there. The other staff members don’t like you boys loitering around their apartments. I will be here in my room when you get back. Come and let me know if she has any reply to my letter.’

  Hedge took the letter from Simms and headed off in the direction of the staff lodgings. He was tempted to open it on the way to see what Simms had written but quickly dismissed the idea. It would be fairly obvious if he had tried to tamper with the letter. Anyway, he thought, it would be full of soppy messages, no doubt and Simms had been quite clear with his instructions, so he thought it best to do as he had been requested.

  Hedge walked at a brisk pace and arrived at the staff apartments about ten minutes later. Although he knew who Amanda was, he hadn’t spoken to her before, and so he was quite nervous. She was indeed attractive as Simms had said, and she appeared to be a very confident young lady. He guessed she would have been in her mid-twenties, and Simms was probably several years older.

  Hedge wasn’t used to speaking to female staff members. He was always a little shy in front of women, even more so when they were that much older than he was. For some reason it was worse when they were good looking, but he wasn’t quite sure why. As he approached the staff residence, he started to feel very anxious, partly because he didn’t want to bump into any of the other teachers and so have to explain why he was here, but mainly because he was worried about speaking directly to Amanda.

  He pushed open the main door to the block and headed up to the first floor as Simms has directed. Amanda’s room was number twenty two, and he found it quite easily and knocked at the door.

  He was tense, and kept looking left and right down the corridor to make sure no one saw him. After a few moments the door opened and Amanda stood in front of him.

  ‘So what have we here then? What a handsome young man you are. What’s your name and what can I do for you?’

  Hedge felt embarrassed and his face suddenly turned quite hot.

  ‘Mr. Simms has sent me to find you and give you this letter,’ he replied hesitantly.

  He held out his hand containing the white envelope. ‘He wants me to let him know if there is any reply for him.’

  ‘Well that’s nice isn’t it, but what does it say in the letter? Did he say?

  Hedge shook his head. ‘Don’t know Miss,’ he replied.

  ‘Come in for a minute, while I read the letter. Do you want a drink? I have some lemonade if you like.’

  Hedge didn’t reply. He was too nervous to say anything.

  She led him through to the main room in the apartment, and showed him to a small leather chair. While he sat, she opened the envelope and read the letter. He tried not to stare at her but he couldn’t help himself. She was very attractive he thought, and had a very good figure. Amanda was wearing tight blue jeans and a red woollen fleece. She wasn’t wearing any socks, he noticed, and her toenails were painted bright pink.

  She suddenly looked up from reading and caught him staring directly at her backside. He turned his head away quickly and pretended to look at a watercolour picture that was hanging from the wall nearest to him.

  A flicker of a smile crossed her lips, and her face h
ad the look of having just caught someone with their hand in the cookie jar.

  ‘He is a sweetie,’ she said. ‘I bet you didn’t know that Alistair was such a romantic man?’

  She continued to look across at Hedge as he sat quietly waiting. ‘So what else did he say, did he give you any other messages for me.’

  Hedge was taken by surprise with the question. He didn’t know how to answer. He felt awkward and was sure his face had again turned a deep red colour.

  ‘Oh, so he did say something else then, judging by your embarrassment,’ she said. ‘Come on, tell me. You don’t want to lie to a lady like me, do you?’

  Hedge didn’t want to hide anything from her, so he blurted it out.

  ‘He umm… he wanted to see you… I think,’ he stammered.

  ‘What else did he say?’ She smiled at him in such an angelic way that he felt his heart would melt any second.

  ‘He said something about always being able to ... to find time for you.’

  Amanda laughed. 'Well I wonder what he means by that. Do you think he wants to come and watch TV with me, or play chess perhaps?’

  Hedge’s mouth had suddenly started to feel very dry. He had the distinct impression that she was playing some kind of game with him. She took a step closer to where he sat and leaned down towards him.

  ‘Or could he be after something else. What do you think master Hedge?’

  Hedge couldn’t think. As she leant forward, her fleece had fallen open just a fraction and he could see the top half of her breasts. They looked soft, and her skin appeared smooth and white. He swallowed hard, and tried to move his eyes away from her cleavage, but they didn’t respond.

  ‘Well, what do you think it could be?’ he heard her saying.

  Oh no, he thought to himself.

  Chapter Forty Six