An African Adventure (Vince Hamilton Private Investigator Book 4)

by Patrick Slaney

  Once we had eventually fought our way through the entrance, there were masses of families with the same idea as us, and the queues were long. I quickly found out that thirteen-year-old boys do not want to do the same things as eight-year-old girls. The girls were too scared to do the more daring rides. They wanted to go on the rides that Michael wouldn't have been seen dead on. Fortunately, the queues for the tougher rides were much longer than the ones the girls wanted to go on, so I left Michael queuing while I kept an eye on the girls.

  Michael was keen for me to join him on the scary rides, but I excused myself because, of course, I had to look after Victoria and Anne. Although I was highly trained as an SAS officer, I was still terrified of going on the rides that Michael saw as fun.

  The only respite I got from my caring duties was when we found a restaurant where we could have lunch. I terminated our day out at Legoland at around 3.30pm. They didn't want to leave, but I convinced them that we needed to get away before the rush hour traffic. I was utterly exhausted and a nervous wreck from my parenting duties.

  I dropped Anne off on the way, and we arrived home just after five. My mobile hadn't gone the whole time that I was out so presumably the white van still hadn't arrived at its destination.

  I checked in with the tracking centre to get an update. The phone was answered by the operator that I knew best.

  'Good evening Major Hamilton; I was just about to call you. The van has been stopped for the past hour, and it is not outside a hotel.'

  'Where is it?' I was impatient to find out where Reggie would have to go to.

  'It is in a small town called Pernik which is on the outskirts of Sofia in Bulgaria.'

  'Crikey, that is a long way down.' I was shocked. 'I know nothing about Bulgaria or Sofia, I have never been there.'

  'I have the GPS co-ordinates for you.'

  'Hold on, I will get a piece of paper.' I put my mobile down and grabbed a piece of paper from the bureau.

  'Go ahead, I'm ready.'

  He gave me the details, and I read them back to him to check that they were correct.

  'I had better get my man’s travel organized before they move on. Thanks for the information. If there are any further developments, please get hold of me immediately.'

  'I will do, Sir. Have a good evening.'

  As soon as he was off the line I contacted Reggie. He answered immediately so was apparently waiting for my call.

  'Reggie you must travel to Sofia on the first available flight. The travel agent will be closing at 6.00pm, so you need to get over there immediately. I will phone them as soon as I stop talking to you and will meet you there in a few minutes.'

  ‘I’ll be there in five minutes Vince. I'll bring my bag with me as it is already packed.'

  Daphne wasn't home yet, so I called up the stairs to tell Michael that I was going out for about an hour.'

  In fact, it turned out that there was no rush. The first available flight was on EasyJet and only left from Gatwick at 6.25am the following morning. The travel agent said that he couldn’t book the flight and I would have to do it myself as the only way of purchasing a ticket was on the internet.

  'Will it not be too late to fly out to Sofia tomorrow morning?' Reggie inquired.

  'There is nothing that we can do about it. There is no way of getting there until tomorrow.'

  'But what happens if the van and motorbike have disappeared in the meantime?' Reggie looked very down.

  'You will have to find out what is at that location and why they stopped there. You may be surprised with what you turn up.'

  'How do I get my ticket?'

  'You will have to come home with me now, and I will book the flight on the internet. We can also print out your boarding pass.'

  'But Vince, how am I going to get to Gatwick by four thirty tomorrow morning. I don't have a car?'

  'Relax Reg. I will give you the money for a Taxi. If you get to Gatwick by five, it should be in plenty of time. The roads won't be busy at that time of the morning.'

  We passed a cash machine on the way to my house, and I drew out four hundred pounds for him.

  Booking the flight on the EasyJet website was trouble free, and he had his boarding in his hand half-an-hour later. Fortunately, he had brought his passport with him, so we had all the information we needed to book him in for the flight.

  'How do I get hold of you, Vince, if anything goes wrong?'

  'Simply contact me on my mobile as I will be travelling to Tonbridge in Kent tomorrow. If there is no signal for your mobile, use a telephone from a hotel. I have no idea what the technology is like in Bulgaria.'

  'Thanks, Vince, let's hope all goes well.'

  'Good luck Reg and don't do anything that puts you in danger.' I shook hands with him and let him out.

  I just wished that he was going to somewhere that I knew. What Sofia had in store for him God only knew.'

  Daphne came in just after Reggie had left.

  'He looked a bit flustered,' she commented.

  'That's putting it mildly. I have booked a flight for him to travel to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It leaves Gatwick at six-thirty tomorrow morning, and he is panicking a bit.'

  'Are you sure that he will be safe?'

  'I told him to phone me immediately if anything goes wrong.'

  'Here we go again Vince. I can see you having to head out there when he screws things up.'

  'All he has to do is find a location and report back on what he has found. Even Reggie can do that.'

  'I wish I had your confidence in him. We shall see.' Having made her point, she left me to cook the dinner.

  I put a call through to Carol's house to make sure that Brian and Alex would be ready to depart in the morning when I arrived to pick them up. Brian answered the phone.

  'Hi Brian, how are things going without your Mum?'

  'Everything is fine, but we are a bit bored being stuck at home because our grandparents won’t allow us to visit our friends.'

  'Well, at least, tomorrow we will be going to your school at Tonbridge so you'll have a day out.'

  'What time are you going to pick us up at?'

  'Would there be any chance of you taking the tube to East Putney and meeting me there?' I didn't particularly want to travel by car across the city at rush hour to pick them up.

  'We could do that if you tell us what trains to catch.'

  'Have you got some money for tickets?'

  'I can borrow the money from Gran. What time do you think that we should leave here at?'

  'It will take you about forty-five minutes on the tube, so if you leave at eight o'clock, that should get you here in plenty of time. I will meet you at East Putney station.'

  'That shouldn't be a problem. I haven't used the tube much, so you had better tell me what trains we need to catch.'

  'Take the Jubilee line heading south at your local station. Get off at Embankment and take the District line heading west towards Wimbledon. Stay on the train until you reach East Putney.'

  'That sounds simple.'

  'There is only one place that you can go wrong. Make sure that you take the Wimbledon train at Embankment and not any other District line train otherwise, you will end up very far away in Ealing or some such place.'

  'So we need to be careful when catching the train at Embankment,' Brian repeated.

  'That's right. Do you have a mobile number in case we miss each other?'

  'I do.' He gave me his number.

  'I'll see you and Alex in the morning then.'

  'Looking forward to it.'

  I pressed the red button on my phone. The two boys coming on the tube would take more than ninety minutes driving time out of the journey I would have to make tomorrow.

  I thought about telephoning Inspector Baird to get an update but decided that I would let sleeping dogs lie. If he needed to get hold of me, he had my contact details.

  We had a great family evening without any pressures. I had done my fatherly duty by t
aking the kids to Legoland, and my wife was pleased that there were no tensions caused by my life as a Private Investigator. She seemed to have also accepted the fact that I had to go with Carol's two boys to their school in Tonbridge tomorrow. We had a good meal and a few glasses of wine.

  The following day I was at East Putney station at twenty to nine although I didn't expect the boys until closer to nine o'clock. In fact, they appeared at 9.05am and looked a bit flustered.

  'Good morning boys,' I called out to them.

  'Good morning Uncle Vince,' Brian said. 'We were worried that the trains were late, and we would miss you.'

  'We still should be in plenty of time,’ I said. ‘The car is parked at my house, and that is only five minutes from here.'

  With my limp from my war injury, I wasn't the fastest walker, so I had difficulty keeping up with the two fleet-footed boys.

  At my home, we didn't bother going into the house but climbed into the car and were off straight away. Brian sat in the front beside me while Alex got in the back.

  'Brian, I won't have a problem finding the way to Tonbridge, but you will have to direct me once we get off the A21 close to the town.'

  'It is not far out of the centre, and I know the way well as I have walked it many times over my years at the college,' Brian replied.

  'As far as I can remember the Headmaster's name is Mr Copeland, is that right.'

  'Yes, that's his name.'

  'What sort of a person is he?' I wanted to know what I would be up against.

  'He's quite old, in fact, I think he is close to retirement, but he is not too bad.'

  'Let's hope that he listens to me and is sympathetic to your cause,' I said. Brian and Alex remaining at the school depended on Carol selling the house and being able to purchase a home in Tonbridge, There is no way that she could pay the boarding fees for the two boys.

  'Wake me up when we get close,' Brian said. 'I am going to catch up on my sleep.'

  So much for having company to keep me awake while I drove.

  The roads were fortunately not too busy, and I made good time around the M25. I woke Brian up when we pulled off the motorway and joined the A21.

  'Is your brain awake now?' I asked him.

  'Yes I'm all set to go,' he said somewhat sleepily.

  He was an excellent navigator and guided me through Tonbridge to our destination. It was close on eleven o'clock when we pulled up in front of the school.

  'Right boys will you please show me the way to the Headmaster's office, let's get this over and done with.'

  'Do you want us to go in with you?' Alex asked.

  'No I think that it is better if you wait outside,' I suggested.

  We went into the outer office that was occupied by the Headmaster's secretary.

  'Good morning Brian, is this your father who has the appointment with the Headmaster.

  Brian smiled; 'No this is Major Hamilton, who is a friend of my mother's, he is the one who needs to speak to the Headmaster.'

  'And is this your younger brother Alexander.’

  'That's right,' Brian replied.

  'Can they wait for me in your office or would you prefer that they leave you in peace and wait elsewhere.' I smiled at her.

  'I am afraid that they can't wait in my office. They can go to the main entrance and wait for you there.'

  'I'll pick you up on the way out Brian. See you in a little while.' The two boys meekly retreated from the office leaving me alone with the formidable lady.

  'I'll go in and tell Mr Copeland that you have arrived.' She vanished into the inner room where presumably the Headmaster was waiting for me.

  It wasn’t long before she was back.

  'You may go in now Major Hamilton; he is ready for you.' She held the door open, closing it behind me.'

  Mr Copeland was sitting behind a massive mahogany desk. He certainly looked as if he was at retirement age, but he had a friendly face.

  'Good morning Major Hamilton, what can I do for you. I gather you want to talk to me about Brian and Alexander Newsome.'

  I sat down facing him with the vast acreage of the desk between us.

  'That's right; I am a close friend of Mrs Newsome, the boy's mother, and she asked me to come and see you as she had to go to Australia for the week.'

  Perhaps you had better explain the situation, so I understand all the circumstances affecting the boys' home life.

  I explained as concisely as I could how Clive Newsome had been arrested in Australia and how his business hadn't been doing well and, as a result, Mrs Newsome was having financial problems.

  'So what you are saying is that she can't pay boarding fees at the moment as a consequence of the mess her husband has got himself into.'

  'In summary, that is the situation.'

  'So why have you come to see me?' He raised his eyebrows as he looked over his glasses at me with an intimidating look.

  'I needed your advice as I have a plan that would result in the boys enrolling as day boys, but we would like them to stay as boarders until the end of this term.'

  'Well tell me your plan Major.' The Headmaster had a sympathetic tone to his voice.

  'I have recommended to Carol Newsome that she sell her house and the business in St Johns Wood, London. She will then be in a position to buy a house in Tonbridge. The boys will be able to still attend Tonbridge School but as day boys. She will have enough funds from the sale of the house and the business to live on.'

  'That sounds perfectly reasonable and shouldn't present a problem. They are both excellent students, and I wouldn't want to lose them.'

  'She may have to default on one of the payments due for this term as it is going to take some time to sort out her financial affairs.'

  'Again that shouldn't pose a problem, and I don't see any need to take the boys away. I fully appreciate what she and her family are probably going through, and I don't want to make it worse for them.'

  'So they can remain as boarders until the end of the Summer term and then, all being well, enrol as day boys.'

  'I can give you my assurance on that.' He smiled and stood up to shake my hand in confirmation of his agreement.

  I thanked him profusely and left his office.

  I said goodbye to the lady in the outer office and went off to find the boys to tell them the news. At least, I would have good news for the boys. I felt as if I had just escaped being punished by the Headmaster. It was as good an outcome as I could have expected.

  I found them sitting on the steps that led up to the main entrance to the school. I sat down beside them.

  Brian looked at me with a worried face.

  'Well, how did it go? Do we have to leave this school immediately?'

  'Which result do you want; to stay or to leave?' I teased them

  'To stay, of course,' they both chorused.

  'The Headmaster said that you could stay. You are both such excellent students that he doesn't want to lose you, and he fully understands your situation.'

  They both gave me a beaming smile.

  'So Mr Copeland said that we can both stay as boarders until the end of the summer term and then return as day boys for the new school year?' Brian inquired.

  'That's correct; of course, all this depends on your mother being able to sell her property in London so as she has the money to buy a house within commuting distance of your school.'

  'I think that there a lot of day boys who live in Tunbridge Wells,' Alex piped up. 'Perhaps it will be easier to buy a house there.'

  'Once your mother gets back from Australia at the end of the week she can sort everything out,' I added. 'Let's go and get something to eat. I take it that you are hungry after your early start this morning.'

  'I'm starving,' Brian said, and Alex echoed his sentiment.

  'Do you know where we can get some food?' I asked.

  'If you park in the town centre there are plenty of places around there,' Brian suggested.

  'OK, let's go and celebrate.' W
e were all in bubbling form after our successful morning. It had been a worthwhile trip.

  Chapter 8

  We were just finishing our fish and chips when my mobile rang.

  I didn't recognize the number.

  'Vince, is that you?' It sounded like the boys' grandad.

  'Yes; have you a problem?'

  'I am sorry to trouble you, but we are extremely worried. Nick went out to the local shops and hasn't returned. I took a walk to the shop he said that he was going to, in the hope that I could find him, but, he is nowhere to be seen. I'm desperate and don't know what to do.'

  His news wiped the smile off my face.

  'We are still in Tonbridge but will leave immediately. I also will put a call through to Detective Chief Inspector Baird at Hampstead CID and get his advice.'

  'What should we do?' he asked me.

  'Stay where you are in case Nick comes home. If he turns up, let me know immediately. We will leave here immediately and come as fast as we can.'

  Brian and Alex had been listening to my side of the conversation and were looking at me with a concerned look on their faces.

  When I terminated the call to their grandad, Alex asked me. 'What has happened to Nick?'

  'He went out to the shops and hasn't returned. Your Grandad went to the shop to see if he could find him without any luck. He seems to have just vanished.'

  Both boys looked in a state of shock. This bit of unexpected news had stunned them.

  'What are you going to do now?' Brian asked me.

  'I will telephone a Police Inspector that I know well to see what he recommends.'

  I found the Inspector's mobile number in my contact list and pushed the green button.

  As I was about to give up on the phone being answered, I heard the Inspector's voice.

  'Hi Vince, presumably something has happened for you to be contacting me.'

  'I have just received a call telling me that Nick Newsome, the seven-year-old son of Clive Newsome, has gone missing.'