He delighted that he gets on so well with Jennie and they spend the day sightseeing together in London. Terence Cragge breaks into the manor but fails to find the micro film despite now knowing where Rod had hidden it. Gerald and Rosemary's relationship flourishes whilst they are in Spain even though the strange happenings continue around them.

Chapter Sixty One

Bill woke up at seven to the sound of music as the clock radio turned itself on. He got up, quickly washed and dressed and knocked on Charlie's bedroom door.
"I'm awake," came the response.
"Bathroom's free. I'll put the kettle on."
He went downstairs without waiting for a further response.
The tea was made when Charlie came into the kitchen. Bill saw him look around. "We'll get breakfast at the canteen. You really don't want me cooking it"
"Fine."
Bill had promised him a tour of the police station before he took him back to Cheltenham to catch the three ten train.
When they got to the police station Bill took Charlie down to his office to meet Gavin, rang the lab to get them started on the gun, and then the three of them proceeded up to the canteen for breakfast.
During breakfast they more or less went through the same things that they had discussed the previous evening, just for Gavin's benefit. Gavin was in full agreement with them that Terence was involved. He suggested that they call the Cheltenham police and ask them to watch for him. After all, with a population of around ninety thousand people it would be a far easier place to hide than Wulfrum.
They lingered over breakfast. Gavin was particularly interested in the differences between British and South African police forces. Bill just wanted time to go by so that he could get an answer back from the lab about the gun.
It was almost tea-break time when they emerged from the canteen. Gavin looked at his watch. "Bill," he said, "I've got a meeting at ten-thirty so I'll have to leave you to show Charlie around.
He turned to Charlie.
"I probably won't be out in time to see you before you head off Charlie, but it was a pleasure to meet you." He said extending his hand.
"Same here Gavin."
"Well Charlie, it's not the biggest police station in the world so it won't take long to see it all."
After an hour they had finished the tour and were back in Bill's office when his pager went off. After looking at the message he tapped Charlie on the elbow.
"That's it," he said, "the lab has something for me."
He didn't bother going over to his own desk. He picked up Gavin's phone and dialed the lab.
"Bill Allington," he said when the phone was answered.
"Uh, uh."
"Uh, uh."
"Really?"
"We'll be right over."
"Sound's interesting." Charlie was full of curiosity.
"It certainly is. They found microfilm in the butt of the gun."
Now it was Bill's turn to look at his watch.
"If we leave now we can see it before you go back to London. You didn't leave anything at the house did you?"
"No."
"Good. The lab's in Cheltenham," he said as he scribbled a note to let Gavin know where he had gone.

Chapter Sixty Two

Rosemary hadn't felt too bad about the break-in, she was more angry about it than anything else. It had helped that Vic and Connie had done such a good job in tidying up. At least she hadn't seen it the way they had.
It hadn't taken much on Gerald's part to persuade her to eat out. She had thoroughly enjoyed the Spanish food but she was now ready for some British food and, as she had told him, she really didn't feel like staying in.
After some discussion they came to the conclusion that the events in Spain had no direct connection to the break-in, even if it had been Terence Cragge. She knew that Rod would never have let anyone upset her like that and even if he was still around, somehow, he would not be pleased.
As the evening wore on she began to think some more about the break-in and the more she thought of it the more upset she became. The fact that her home had been desecrated was at last beginning to hit her. They had finished eating and were taking coffee when Gerald noticed her flagging spirits. All the way to Cheltenham and as they ate she had appeared to be her normal cheerful self, but now he had noticed a discernible change in her demeanor.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"About what?"
The smile was cheerful enough except that her eyes did not back it up. He smiled back at her.
"I can tell that something is worrying you. You haven't seen anything again have you?"
"No, it's nothing like that. It's just that I'm realising that a stranger has been in my home and has rifled through all my private and personal things."
"I can understand that but if it's any help at all, they were looking for one thing. What, I don't know, but they more than likely didn't take any notice of your things."
"I suppose that's true, but it's still such an intrusion."
He reached over and took her hand.
"I know it is, and I wish I could do more to help."
"You can."
He looked surprised.
"I don't really want to go home tonight. Would you mind if I stayed with you tonight?"
"Of course not. I'll make up one of the spare rooms when we get back."
"That's not what I meant," she said, as a slight pinkish tinge covered her cheeks. "I meant that I want to stay with you."
She emphasized the 'you.'
He frowned. "You mean . . ."
"Of course I do. We're not two starry-eyed kids and we feel strongly about each other, don't we?"
"Yes," he said, holding her hand tighter. "Considering that we're not starry-eyed kids, I certainly feel like one."
Suddenly she felt a lot better and the break-in found it's way to the back of her mind.
His mind was now racing, should I ask her, should I not? What if she said no? What if she got upset? Go on, he urged himself. What are you, a man or a mouse?
"What is it?"
"Er."
"Come on, tell me."
He knew now that he really had to, anything else would sound too lame.
"For awhile now I've been thinking of asking you…" he paused and looked worried.
"Gerald?" she prompted.
"I was thinking of proposing, but I didn't because I was afraid of your answer. If it had been no, I don't know what …."
"It would have been yes."
"….I would have … you would have said yes?"
"Of course, so are you going to propose?"
"I can't. I haven't got a ring. I didn't want to appear presumptuous or want you to feel that I was taking you for granted."
"Well, tell me, are we engaged or not?"
"If you don't mind waiting for the ring, yes – if you do, then not yet."
"Stop waffling," she playfully hit his hand. "The ring can wait, but you can still ask."
He made to get up. She looked around the restaurant.
"Gerald Arding, don't you dare. Just sit back down and ask."
He sat down, looking sheepish.
"Rosie, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"
"In an instant."
They both sat silent for a moment, both of them expecting something to happen as it had before.
Nothing did.
Nervously he stood up, stretched over the table and gave her a kiss.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too."
"Do you have Mike and Pru's number on you?
"I do. Why?"
"Vic's at the Rising Moon and I need to let him know that I won't be home tonight or else he'll worry."
"And that's all you want to tell him?"
"Not exactly," she grinned, taking out her phone.
"Hi Mike, it's Rosemary Van der Velde. Is Vic there?"
"Oh. Ok, thank you."
"He left about half an hour ago. I'll call him at the house."
She dialed again.
"Vic, hi, it's me. I just missed you at the Rising Moon."
"No, we're not there, we're still in Cheltenham, I only called you there."
"No nothing's wrong, just the opposite," again she grinned at Gerald. "I just wanted to let you know that I won't be home tonight. I'm staying with my fiancé."
"No, you heard me right. Gerald and I are engaged."
"Thank you, me too."
She held the phone out to Gerald. "He wants a word."
Gerald took the phone. "Hello Vic. Thank you," he dittoed, "I will."
He handed the phone back to Rosemary.
"We'll see you tomorrow Vic." She said still beaming, "Don't forget to lock up."
"Ok. Bye."
"He seemed almost as pleased as I am."
"Yes, he told me he was delighted."
"I'm sure he did. He instantly liked you. In fact he predicted that this was going to happen."
"Really?" Gerald sounded pleased.
"Quite astute, my brother."
She shivered.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, I just felt cold for a moment. Somebody must have walked over my grave."
"Don't say that."
Again they both looked quickly around them. Again they saw nothing, nor did they feel anything strange. Maybe it was just a shiver. These days they were reading something into almost everything. They got their coats and left.

Chapter Sixty Three

Bill and Charlie arrived at the lab and were met in reception by Andy Cornwall, the forensic technician who Bill had spoken to on the phone.
"What have you got Andy?"
"We haven't run it yet Bill. It's about twenty or so years old but it's in good condition. We found it in the butt of the gun, protected with some silver paper from a cigarette packet."
"We're dying to see it."
"Let's go."
As they looked at it they were amazed.
"Christ," said Charlie," it's a complete record of Van der Velde's dealings. You have no idea how many cases we will be able to clear up now. No wonder Terence is looking for it. I would never have imagined that Rod would ever have been so stupid. He must have had his reasons but God only knows what they were. This will put Terence away for a long time. Any chance of getting a copy of this?"
"If it's all right with Bill it's fine with me."
"Sure, I'll get Jennie to bring it up to you at the weekend."
"I'll have a few copies made, you can pick them up tomorrow," Andy said to Bill as he showed them out.
"You are going to have to be very careful Bill. If Cragge knows exactly what he's looking for then he's aware of just how much he has to lose. He's an evil piece of work and if he feels that he's about to be caught he'll be even more dangerous. He may well be armed. If you need any advice, day or night, just call me."
They had just pulled into the railway station car park.
"I will."
They parked and Bill walked with him to the platform. Charlie couldn't stop talking about the film and Bill wasn't much better.
The train once more was on time. Charlie wound the window down. "Don't forget to give that to Jennie."
"I won't."
He gave one last wave as the train pulled out. He knew that Charlie would make sure that Jennie knew that she was to bring the film back with her.
As he drove out of the car park he was already looking forward to returning the following evening to pick up Jennie. Considering what was going on, he had momentarily thought about cancelling the weekend, but because of the short time she was in the country and the way they felt about each other he quickly dismissed the thought.
Before he returned to the police station he called in at the Manor. Vic was there.
"How's Rosemary? Has she got over the break-in?"
"A thing of the past. She and Gerald got engaged last night."
"Really?"
There may be another one coming up, he thought to himself. Bill's smile was somewhat broader than Vic would have anticipated and made him look twice but he past no remark on it.
"Please pass on my congratulations to them both."
"I most certainly will."
"Did you mention the gun to her?"
"I did, she doesn't care if she never sees it again. Did you find anything?"
Bill told him.
"Jeez, no wonder the guy's worried. Do you think he'll be back."
"To be honest Vic, if he knows what he's looking for then I'm sure he will, he's not likely to give up on it when it could put him away for a very long time. Maybe I should have a word with Rosemary."
"Sorry, she's out with Gerald."
"Perhaps you would have a word with her, just enough for her to be alert. If he does come back, you have my number. Call me instantly regardless of time, don't take any chances."
"Don't worry about that one. Remember, I know just what he's capable of."
Back at the police station he found that Gavin was of the same mind about the film as were he and Charlie.
"If only we could come across something like that to clear up some of our cases".
"If only" repeated Bill.
"What are we gonna do Bill? This guy's likely still around and obviously dangerous."
"I've told anyone connected to be careful and to call me immediately if they are in any way suspicious."
"Good. I take it you've had no sightings from the Cheltenham police?"
"None."
"Well, I suppose we can only wait."
"That's the way I see it."
"Jennie still coming down tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I'm a bit worried about it but there really shouldn't be any problems."
"I agree. Don't forget, I want to meet this girl. Any woman who can make you consider becoming an honest man has got to be one hell of a woman."
"Thanks Gav, she is, and of course I'll bring her to meet you."
"Make sure you do."

Chapter Sixty Four

"Stan," Terence was becoming increasingly agitated, "it's gotta be in that house somewhere, shit, it could be hidden in anything. We've got to go back even though they may be watching for us. If we don't find it, I'm finished. It's not likely to be in the furniture, that all looks new, which means it's in something she brought here from South Africa.. We can forget the kitchen stuff as well. So it's that stuff in the basement that seems favourite. You think of anything else?"
Stan pursed his lips, blew out his cheeks and shook his head slowly, letting out his breath slowly he said, "No, nothing. When you thinking of going?"
"I'm not sure, but we can't leave it too long. If the house is empty at the weekend like before, maybe then."
"How will we know?"
"We won't for sure. If we drive by and see no cars we'll ring the bell. If no one answers I guess we'll go in."

Chapter Sixty Five

Bill was back at Cheltenham railway station. This time he was three-quarters of an hour early. It turned out to be a very long forty-five minutes. The fact that he kept looking at his watch or one of the station clocks every few minutes didn't help the time to pass any quicker.
With only ten minutes to go he was getting a little excited and was pacing up and down the platform straining his eyes into the distance looking for the train. After five minutes of pacing a voice came over the tannoy system stating that the train was running fifteen minutes late due to an earlier incident on the line. No explanation was given as to what or where the incident was, but it was certainly nothing of a serious nature or he would, in his official capacity, surely have heard about it.
Now he still had twenty minutes to wait. It meant that they wouldn't get to eat until after nine o'clock. Still they could get a Chinese in Cheltenham before driving home. He stood out on the platform until the train arrived. The thought of yet another cup of coffee did nothing for him. Eventually the train pulled in.
He was surprised at how few people got off and didn't have any difficulty in seeing her the moment her feet touched the platform. He noticed that her bag was twice the size of the one Charlie had brought. He hurried up to her.
When they had finished hugging and kissing the train had gone and the platform was empty, apart from the two of them.
"You must be hungry by now?" he said, picking up her bag. It was part statement and part question. Not giving her time to answer he asked, "How about Chinese again? It doesn't have the same atmosphere as Soho, but the food's good."
"Sounds great."
"I take it that you are staying here forever."
"What do you mean?"
"Well by the weight of this bag you must have brought everything you own."
She just smiled. "I wouldn't mind," and hung on to his free arm until they reached the car.
I wouldn't mind either, he thought to himself, and then after the thought had gone immediately wished that he had said it to her. This time he had missed the chance, but there would be others.
"You were right," she said after they had eaten and were driving out of Cheltenham. "The atmosphere was not the same as China Town, but there again, you wouldn't expect it to be; however the food was every bit as good."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"I did, but just so that you're under no delusions, tomorrow night I pay."
"Hey, you're my guest this weekend."
"That's true, but tomorrow night I'm still paying."
He knew she would no matter what argument he put forward, so he didn't bother. After all, he had tried before.
As they drove into Wulfrum he pointed out the Manor.
"That's the house where all our problems have centered around."
"Looks like a pretty big place."
"It is, you'll see it better tomorrow when we pass it in the daylight. Another ten minutes and we'll be home."
"Good, I'm dying to see your house."
"Well, it's nowhere near as big as that one."
"I should hope not, I'd hate to think that you were that pretentious."
"You don't think I'm pretentious do you?" he sounded worried.
"No Bill," she reassured him, "not in any way at all. If you were, I wouldn't be here."
"Good, because I'm not."
"I know you're not. It's obvious you're not."
"I just didn't want you to think anything …"
"I don't think anything bad about you at all," she finished the sentence for him, "unless of course you have an inferiority complex."
He looked at her and saw that she was grinning at him and realised that she was only teasing him. It dawned on him that he was being paranoid. It was just that he wanted the weekend to go so well. This time he didn't let it pass, he told her. She reached over and took his left hand from the steering wheel and held it gently.
"I know you do, and so do I. I'm sorry, I was only teasing you. I'll try harder to behave myself."
He merely said "mmm" in such a way that showed her that he knew she was lying.
"Here we are," he said, turning into his short driveway and reaching up to the sun visor to activate the garage opener. The garage door did not open quickly enough and the car had to stop for a couple of seconds before he could drive in. She took a quick look around the garage. Typical man, she thought, nothing in the right place.
"I only tidied the garage yesterday."
"Really," she said raising her eyebrows behind his back.
Although very tempted she passed no remark. After all whatever it was that he had done he had obviously done it for her. Mind you it would have been interesting to have seen it before he had 'tidied' it.
As they went through the rear adjoining door into the kitchen she could tell at once that he had made much more of an effort with the house in readiness for her visit. No single man ever had a house looking this tidy unless he had female visitors and wanted to make an impression. He had probably spent so much time on the house that he didn't have time to be too conscientious with the garage.
Looking around her woman's eye could tell that he had told her the truth – there had been no other woman around for a long time, at least none that were close enough to have moved in.
He led her through the kitchen into the lounge. As she followed she noticed that all the pots and pans that were hanging up seemed hardly used, probably a sign of too many pub meals she thought to herself.
The lounge was large and rectangular and although adequately furnished, contained nothing that was unnecessary. It had a dark grey three-seater sofa with a matching armchair. It also had a dark brown leather recliner, which was lined up with the large screen television. A remote control was on one of the arms.
Between the chairs and the television was a good sized round glass-topped coffee table. On the shelf under the glass was a mixture of newspapers and sports magazines. She thought that they again were likely tidier than they normally were.
"Would you like a drink?"
"No thanks, I'm fairly tired."
"Ok, let me get your bag," he had left it in the kitchen, "and I'll show you upstairs."
There was no further need for any embarrassment or any further need to ask. He carried her bag into the master bedroom and laid it on the blanket box at the foot of the bed. He pointed to the dressing table. "Only the top drawer has anything in it and there are coat hangers in the closet. You unpack while I lock up."
"The bathroom?"
"Sorry, it's the door opposite."
"Is it all right if I shower?"
"Of course. I'll have one too, when you've finished."
She looked at him mischievously.
"Why waste water?" she grinned.
He couldn't remember the last time he had locked up so quickly. They finished up using far more water than they would have done had they had a shower each.

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