Policeman's Progress (20 page)

There was a silence, then a thoughtful voice came over the line. ‘No-o, I can't think of any of the masters touching a job like that.' His voice became brisker. ‘But look here, sir, I just ruddy thought of something! What about the
Bella
?'

Bolam was in a fog. ‘Bella? … who the hell's she?'

Leadbitter sounded really agitated now. ‘No, the
Bella
… Jackie's own boat, sir … a big twin-screw diesel.'

Bolam felt a pulse suddenly begin to beat in his neck.

‘He's got his own boat? … Christ, why didn't someone tell me!' He calmed himself with an effort. ‘Ernie, look … tell me about it.'

‘That's about all to tell … a big cruiser, best part of forty foot. He only bought it last summer. Moored up the river.'

‘Where?'

‘At the Scotswood pool … beyond the Vickers factory.'

Alec stood still, holding the phone. ‘I'll be straight down, Ernie. Probably nothing in it, but we'd better check. Can you take me up there, just in case? They may have been there, or they may be aiming to hide out on it. I'll be with you in five minutes, get a boat standing by.'

He jiggled the phone button and rang the Information Room, requesting the nearest motor patrol to go to the moorings at Scotswood. Then, scooping up Jimmy, he took a CID car to go down to the River Police Station at the Swing Bridge.

Halfway there, the ‘beep-beep' standby signal of the radio was replaced by the impassive voice of Information Room calling them.

‘L-K to Q-6 … L-K to Q-6.'

Bolam snatched up the handset. ‘Q-6 to L-K … over.'

‘G-8 wishes talk-through with you … go ahead, G8.'

An agitated Geordie voice came through direct from the police car that Bolam had sent down to Scotswood. ‘G-8 to Q-6 … that you, Mr Bolam?'

‘Yes – what's the panic?'

‘That boat, sir – the
Bella
. She's gone!'

Alec's heart seemed to rise and stick somewhere below his chin. ‘Are you sure you've got the right one?'

‘Yessir … I've got the local PCs here in the Panda van … they know the boat. She was here yesterday. They check up for vandalism and that. It was definitely here then, it's the biggest one on the moorings.'

Alec swore into the radio, momentarily paralyzed by the news.

The patrolman spoke again, almost apologetically. ‘One thing, Mr Bolam … there's a Vauxhall car parked nearby, in a queer spot. Radiator's still warm. There's a sticker on the window says “Salter's Car Hire, Darlington”.'

Alec got a grip of himself. ‘Right, thank God for something. Get through to Information to check on who hired it.'

‘Will do – G-8 out.'

The CID car was in Pilgrim Street by now, with Jimmy driving and bursting with anticipation.

‘Step on it, Jimmy … it looks damned likely that Jackie has made a run for it in his boat.'

The Austin shot forward to rip around into Market Street and race down the elegant slope of Grey Street.

‘Surely they're not going to risk running abroad in a motor boat?'

‘Jackie was a sailor – this
Bella
seems to be a big, powerful craft. Why the hell didn't somebody tell us he had a bloody boat?'

They tore down the steep hill of Dean Street towards the Tyne, screeched around the bends near the Guildhall and shot across the deserted Swing Bridge to the old red brick police station.

Almost before Jimmy had stopped, Bolam was out and was clattering into the building. In the front office he found Leadbitter and two constables drinking the inevitable tea before a glowing stove.

‘Jackie's on the run in his blasted boat,' he blurted. ‘Has anything passed here?'

The river policeman looked at him incredulously.

‘Not a thing in the last hour – the ash hopper was the last craft through the bridge,' said Ernie.

He hurried to the window and looked out into the segment of river that lay between the High Level and Swing bridges.

‘Nothing to be seen … they can't have passed down.'

‘Could you see a boat as small as that? He might have his lights out,' said Bolam.

‘He'd not risk getting stopped just for that … I reckon he'd leave 'em on. No, I'll swear nothing's gone down since the hopper.'

‘Got a boat ready?'

‘Right at the door – we were going on patrol when you phoned.'

He grabbed his hat and made for the door, followed by the phlegmatic Horace, his crewman once again. Bolam and Jimmy hurried after them, Bolam turning as he reached the door to speak to the duty constable.

‘Will you ring Information, tell them that Stott and Blunt are thought to be on the run in a boat – inform Chief Superintendent MacDonald. Tell them we'll radio further information as soon as we have any.'

He ran after the others and clambered down slimy wooden steps to the lapping water. Leadbitter held the launch close to the jetty for him and as soon as he was aboard, Horace gunned the engine and swung off upriver.

The wind had freshened a lot during the last hour and the policemen stood huddled on the open after-deck, collars turned up and hands deep in their pockets, as they stared ahead at the river.

‘Have to take a chance on going upstream – but I'll swear nothing's come down past us,' yelled Leadbitter against the noise of the Perkins engine at their feet. ‘It's about fifteen minutes run from here to the moorings.'

‘What if he has gone through already?' shouted Bolam.

Ernie moved towards the cabin. ‘I'll call up Shields and warn them.'

They roared up river while the sergeant radioed the distant River Headquarters at South Shields. A few moments later he was back.

‘Mike Milburn is on patrol halfway down the river, somewhere around Wallsend. Control have given him the story – nothing has passed him down there, he says.'

‘So Jackie is still on the river?'

‘Unless he left hours ago – though I'm sure someone on patrol would have noticed him. That
Bella
is a big, fine boat. You don't get many pleasure craft on the river in December!'

They were interrupted by a shout from Horace. ‘Navigation lights! … just beyond Dunston Staithes!'

They all peered ahead and twinkling faintly against the gloomy background, they eventually picked out two lights, the higher one yellow and other red. The hull was invisible at that distance.

‘Take her over that side, Horace,' commanded Leadbitter. The police launch began slanting across the river to the downstream channel and the distance between the two craft rapidly lessened.

Both Horace and Ernie Leadbitter shouted simultaneously. ‘It's her – it's the
Bella
!'

‘That high cabin and the canvas canopy give her away – nothing else like it up this part of the river,' hollered the sergeant excitedly.

The gap between them lessened every second.

‘What the hell do we do now?' asked Jimmy, ‘Jump aboard with cutlasses in our teeth?'

‘We've got to catch her first,' shouted Leadbitter. ‘That boat can run rings around us when it comes to speed. Our engine is governed down to twelve knots in case we hit floating wreckage.'

He stood to the cabin entrance and shouted at Horace. ‘Come up ahead of her and try to force her in towards the bank. Don't give her any sea-room and for Gawd's sake don't let her get abeam of us or she'll be away like a dose of salts.'

The launch swerved to port, then swung back so that the two boats seemed to be racing together on a collision course.

‘We'll only have a second or two to get aboard,' yelled Ernie. ‘Horace will try to slide up past her as we touch. Get ready to jump for it!'

The three police officers crouched along the gunwale, but their nervous tension was wasted.

Horace tried to cross the path of the
Bella
at the last moment to force her to give way whilst he slid alongside, but Jackie and his twin Volvo engines were too good for him. He had been running down river at much less than full power and as Horace got into position, Stott flicked open his throttles. The big white boat fairly leapt forwards, swinging away from the police boat at the same time.

Horace's craft was completely outclassed and in seconds, he was left staring at an empty stretch of river.

‘Hang on!' he yelled and cranked the wheel full over. Under full power, the black launch lurched as she came about, but by the time they were facing downstream again, the
Bella
was a hundred yards ahead and pulling away rapidly.

‘We haven't a hope in hell of catching her now,' Leadbitter roared, ‘Let's hope Milburn has better luck … he's got a slightly newer boat than this old tub, though it still won't come near the
Bella
for speed.'

He dived back to the radio to give Control the news and to offer Mike Milburn a few words of advice on how to tackle Stott's craft.

‘What the hell are we going to do now?' yelled Jimmy Grainger, his teeth juddering with cold.

Bolam huddled close to save his voice. ‘Let's hope the big white chief in Headquarters can get something organized … at least we know where Jackie is now … we've flushed him out into the open … there's nowhere he can go except out to sea.'

Although the
Bella
had initially spurted ahead, she settled down to keep a steady distance from them, Stott soon finding that Horace's top speed was far below his own.

‘He's throttled back,' observed Leadbitter, coming from the radio. ‘Saving fuel and making sure he doesn't get holed by any of that flotsam … a canny sailor, Jackie must be.'

‘Where's Milburn's boat now?' asked Bolam.

‘Belting up from Wallsend – he's just passed Swan Hunter's shipyard. He says he's going to hide out behind the stern of a ship fitting out at Walker Naval Yard and wait for the
Bella
to come round the bend of the river at St Anthony's … then he can surprise her, he hopes.'

Their own boat was pounding along at full speed, but Stott kept the same lead on them.

‘Only a hundred yards away, yet he might as well be in the Suez Canal for all we could do to him,' snarled Alec Bolam, huddled in the open cabin to keep away from the worst of the ever-freshening wind.

‘If the weather keeps up like this, even yon
Bella
's going to have a rough time once she gets beyond the pier heads,' observed Ernie Leadbitter.

‘Let's hope to God she never gets that far to find out,' retorted the detective.

‘What happens if Milburn fails to get aboard, like us?' asked Jimmy.

‘Let's wait and work that out when it happens –'

The loudspeaker screwed to the windshield pillar rasped tinnily.

‘Tynepol Control for
D for Dog
– Control calling
D for Dog
.'

Leadbitter went forward to take the handset out of the cubby and a moment later waved to Bolam to take it. ‘Mr MacDonald is on the phone to Shields Headquarters – they can't talk through on this set. He wants to know what's going on.'

‘I'll bet he does,' said Bolam, taking the instrument. ‘Control, tell the chief superintendent that Stott's boat is on its way down driver. Our first interception failed, another is to be attempted shortly. Ask him to arrange alternative method of arrest if this fails.'

There was a pause, then acknowledgment before the radio went back to standby.

Bolam climbed out on to the open deck to join the other two, who had gone to stare once more after the fleeing
Bella
. He stood feet wide apart as the police launch went flat out down the dark river.

‘Any sort of weapon on board?' he shouted over the roar of the engine in its box alongside them.

‘Nothing – only the starting handle for that,' replied the sergeant, pointing.

‘They're a tough pair, Jackie and Joe … and desperate. They've got nothing to lose now. They'll be facing a life sentence whatever happens, so we want to watch ourselves.'

‘We got to get aboard first,' growled Ernie in disgust. ‘If Mike Milburn manages it, he'll give 'em their money's worth – hard as bloody nails, he is.'

They were on a barren part of the river now, nearing St Anthony's Point.

‘Wicker's Naval Yard is just around the corner,' called Leadbitter, ‘There's a big cargo liner half-finished, moored on the north bank – Mike says he'll be lurking behind that.'

Around the bend, the cranes of the yard came into view, just visible against the glowing background of the Walker street lights. The
Bella
was still running easily ahead, cutting the corner as she moved from the right-hand channel towards the shipyard. The river had a wide bulge in it here, where the Danish passenger boats swung around during the summer months. The two launches were dwarfed for a few moments in the expanse of water.

‘He's keeping to the middle, rather than the south bank,' observed Leadbitter in satisfaction. ‘Gives Milburn a better chance to get near him as he goes past.'

The bulk of a fourteen thousand-ton cargo-passenger liner loomed up ahead. The light was slightly better here, and Bolam watched in fascination as the white motor cruiser passed the half-finished ship.

Suddenly, with an audible revving of the engine, a police launch shot out from the darkness under the cargo ship's stem and headed straight for the
Bella
.

Jackie Stott was almost caught by surprise.

‘He's going to get him!' yelled Jimmy exultantly. The smaller black boat, headed slightly upstream, tried to come alongside bow to bow, as Horace had attempted further up river.

‘He'll do it – he will!' shouted Ernie, standing up on the gunwale for a better view.

Milburn
almost
did it.

Jackie, caught unawares, opened his throttles at the last moment as the police launch suddenly appeared in front of him. He swung his wheel over and Milburn followed suit, then Jackie unexpectedly jerked back in the opposite direction.