The Golden Gate (21 page)

'One way or another.'
'No way, I suppose, of replacing that seal on the cardiac unit once it has been broken?'
'You mean in case our suspicious Mr Branson visits the ambulance again. No.' He smiled. 'It just so happens that I am carrying two spare seals inside the box.'
Revson smiled in turn. 'Just goes to show. A man can't think of everything. still on the side of law and order? still like to see Branson wearing a nice shiny pair of bracelets?'
'It's becoming a distinct yearning.'
'It might involve bending your code of ethics a little.'
The hell with the medical ethics.'
Hagenbach positively snatched the sheet of typewritten paper from his decoder. He glanced rapidly through it, his brow corrugating by the second. He said to Hendrix: 'Revson appeared to be perfectly normal when you left him?'
'Who can tell what Revson appears to be?'
True. I don't seem to be able to make head or tail of this.'
Richards said acidly: 'You might share your little secrets with us. Hagenbach.'
'He says: "It looks as if it's going to be a lousy night, which should help. I want two fake oil fires set now. Or a mixture of oil and rubber tyres. One to my south-west, say Lincoln Park, the other to the east, say Fort Mason - a much bigger fire there. Ignite the Lincoln Park one at twenty-two hundred hours. At two-two-oh-three, infra-red sights if necessary, use a laser beam to destroy the radio scanner on top of the rear coach. Wait my flashlight signal - SOS - then ignite the other. After fifteen minutes blacken out bridge and northern part of San Francisco. It would help if you could at same time arrange a massive fireworks display in Chinatown-as if a firework factory had gone up.
'"Submarine at midnight. Please provide transistorized transceiver small enough to fit base camera. Pre-set your frequency and mine and have submarine patch in on same frequency."'
There was a lengthy silence during which Hagenbach, perhaps very understandably, again reached for the scotch. The bottle was rapidly emptied. Richards finally passed his judgement.
The man's mad, of course. Quite, quite, mad.'
Nobody, for some time, appeared inclined to disagree with him. Richards, pro tern, the Chief Executive of the nation, was the man to make the decision, but, apart from his observations on mental instability, he was clearly in no mood to make any kind of decision. Hagenbach took the decision out of his hands.
'Revson is probably a good deal saner than any of us here. He's brilliant, we've had proof of that. Almost certainly, he lacked the time to go into detail. Finally, anyone here got any better idea-let me amend that, anybody here got any idea?'
If anyone had, he was keeping it to himself.
'Hendrix, get hold of the deputy Mayor and the Fire Chief. Have those fires set. How about the fireworks?"
Hendrix smiled. 'Fireworks are illegal in San Francisco. Nineteen hundred and six and all that. It so happens we know an illegal underground factory in Chinatown. The owner will be anxious to co-operate.'
Richards shook his head. 'Mad,' he said. 'Quite, quite mad.'
TEN
From far out at sea came the first faint flickers of lightning and the distant rumble of approaching thunder. A now-recovered if somewhat wan April Wednesday, standing with Revson by the centre of the bridge, looked up at the indigo sky and said: 'It looks like being quite a night.'
'I've a feeling that way myself." He took her arm. 'Are you afraid of thunderstorms as you appear to be of everything else?'
'I don't much fancy being stuck out on this bridge in the middle of one.'
'It's been here for almost forty years. It's not likely to fall down tonight.' He looked upwards as the first drops of rain began to fall. 'But getting wet I object to. Come on.'
They took their seats inside the lead coach, she by the window, he by the aisle. Within minutes the coach was full and within half an hour most of the occupants were dozing if not asleep. Each seat had its own individual reading light, but without exception those were either dimmed or completely out. There was nothing to see, nothing to do. It had been a long, tiring, exciting and in many ways a nerve-racking day. Sleep was not only the sensible but inevitable recourse. And the sound of drumming rain, whether on canvas or on a metal roof, has a peculiarly soporific effect.
And that the rain was now drumming was beyond dispute. It had been increasing steadily ever since the passengers had entered the coach and could now fairly be described as torrential. The approaching thunderstorm, though still some miles distant, was steadily increasing in violence. But neither rain, thunder nor lightning were any deterrent to the prowling Kowalski: he had promised Branson that he would keep his eye on Revson all night long if he had to, and that he clearly intended to do. Regularly, every fifteen minutes, he entered the coach, peered pointedly at Revson, spoke a few brief words to Bartlett, who sat sideways on guard, in the seat next the driver's, then left. Bartlett, Revson apart, was the only alert person in the coach and this, Revson suspected, was due more to Kowalski's recurrent visits than to anything else. On one occasion Revson had overheard Bartlett ask when he was to be relieved and been curtly told that he would have to remain where he was until one o'clock, which suited Revson well enough.
At nine o'clock, when the rain was at its heaviest, Kowalski made another of his routine checks. Revson took out and armed his white pen. Kowalski turned to go. His heel was just descending the riser of the first step when he appeared to stumble. Then he fell, heavily, face-first out of the coach on to the roadway.
Bartlett was the first to reach him, Revson the second. Revson said: 'What the hell happened to him?'
'Lost his footing, far as I could see. Coach door has been open all evening and the steps are slippery as all hell.' Both men stooped to examine the unconscious Kowalski. He was bleeding quite heavily from the forehead which had obviously taken the main brunt of his fall. Revson felt his head gently with his fingers. The needle protruded almost a quarter of an inch behind Kowalski's left ear. Revson removed and palmed it
Revson said: 'Shall I fetch the doctor?'
'Yes. Sure looks as if he needs one."
Revson ran to the ambulance. As he approached, the light came on inside the ambulance. Revson took the aerosol can from O'Hare and thrust it into his pocket. The two men, O'Hare carrying his medical bag, ran back to the lead coach. By this time quite a number of curious journalists from the coach - activated, almost certainly, by the inbuilt curiosity that motivates all good journalists, were crowded round the unconscious Kowalski.
'Stand back," O'Hare ordered. The journalists made way respectfully but didn't stand all that far back. O'Hare opened his bag and began to wipe Kowalski's forehead with a piece of gauze. His opened bag was quite some distance from him, and in the dim light, the driving rain and aided by the total concentration of all on the injured man, it was no great feat for Revson to extract an oil-skinned packet from the bag and send it spinning under the coach. He, but only he, heard the gentle thump as it struck the kerb on the far side. He then pressed in among the curious onlookers.
O'Hare straightened. 'A couple of volunteers to help me move him across to the ambulance.' There was no lack of volunteers. They were about to lift him when Branson came running up.
'Your man's had a pretty nasty fall. I want him in the ambulance for a proper examination.'
'Did he fall or was he pushed?'
'How the hell should I know? You're wasting what could be valuable time. Branson.'
Bartlett said: 'He fell all right, Mr Branson. He slipped on the top step and hadn't a chance to save himself.'
'Certain?'
'Of course I'm bloody certain.' Bartlett was justifiably indignant. He spoke again, but a crashing peal of thunder drowned out his next words. He repeated himself. 'I was within two feet of him at the time-and I hadn't a chance to saVe him.'
O'Hare paid no more attention to him. With the help of two others he carried Kowalski across to the ambulance. Branson looked at the group of journalists still there, caught sight of Revson.
'Where was Revson at the time?'
'Revson was nowhere near him. He was in his seat, five back there. Everyone was in their seats. Christ, Mr Branson, I'm telling you. It was a pure bloody accident.'
'Must have been.' Clad only in already totally sodden shirtsleeves and trousers, Branson shivered. 'Jesus, what a night!' He hurried across to the ambulance and as he arrived the two men who had helped O'Hare to carry Kowalski came down the ambulance steps. Branson went inside. O'Hare had already had Kowalski's leather jacket removed and his right sleeve rolled beyond the elbow, and was preparing a hypodermic injection.
Branson said: "What's that for?'
O'Hare turned in irritation. "What the hell are you doing here? This is doctor's work,. Get out!'
The invitation passed unheeded. Branson picked up the tube from which O'Hare had filled his hypodermic. 'Anti-tetanus? The man's got a head wound.'
O'Hare withdrew the needle, covered the pin-prick, with antiseptic gauze. 'I thought even the most ignorant layman knew that when a man has been injured in the open the first thing he gets is an anti-tetanus injection. You've-obviously never seen tetanus.' He sounded Kowalski with his stethoscope, took his pulse and then his temperature.
'Get an ambulance from the hospital.' O'Hare pushed Kowalski's sleeve further up and started to wind the blood-pressure-band round it
Branson said: 'No.'
O'Hare didn't answer until after he'd taken the pressure. He then repeated: 'Get the ambulance.'
'I don't trust you and your damned ambulances.'
O'Hare didn't answer. He jumped down the steps and strode off through rain that was now rebounding six inches high off the roadway. He was back shortly with the two men who had helped him carry Kowalski across. O'Hare said: 'Mr Grafton. Mr Ferrers. Two highly respected, even eminent journalists. Their words carry a great deal of weight So will their word.'
"What's mat meant to mean?' For the first time since his arrival on the bridge Branson wore just the slightest trace of apprehension.
O'Hare ignored him, addressed himself to the two journalists. 'Kowalski here has severe concussion, possibly even a skull fracture. The latter is impossible to tell without an X-ray. He also has shallow, rapid breathing, a weak and feathery pulse, a temperature and abnormally low blood pressure. This could indicate a few things. One of them cerebral haemorrhaging. I want you gentlemen to bear witness to the fact that Branson refuses to allow an ambulance to come for him. I want you to bear witness to the fact that if Kowalski dies Branson and Branson alone will be wholly responsible for his death. I want you to bear witness to the fact that Branson is fully aware that if Kowalski dies he will be guilty of the same charge as he recently levelled against persons unknown -murder. Only, in his case, I think it would have to be an indictment of the first degree.'
Grafton said: 'I shall so solemnly bear witness.'
Ferrers said: 'And I.'
O'Hare looked at Branson with contempt. 'And you were the person who said to me that you'd never in your life been responsible for the death of a single person.'
Branson said: 'How am I to know that once they get him ashore they won't keep him there?'
'You're losing your grip, Branson.' The contempt was still in O'Hare's voice: he and Revson had deliberated long enough on how best to wear down Branson psychologically. 'As long as you have a President, a king and a prince, who the hell is going to hold a common criminal like this as a counter-ransom?'
Branson made up his mind. It was difficult to tell whether he was motivated by threats or a genuine concern for Kowalski's life. 'One of those two will have to go tell Chrysler to call the ambulance. I'm not keeping my eyes off you until I see Kowalski safely transferred to the other ambulance.'
'Suit yourself,' O'Hare said indifferently. 'Gentlemen?'
'It will be a pleasure.' The two journalists left. O'Hare began to cover Kowalski hi blankets.
Branson said with suspicion: 'What are you doing that for?'
'Heaven preserve me from ignorant laymen. Your friend here is in a state of shock. Rule number one for shock victims - keep them warm.'
Just as he finished speaking there was a massive thunder' clap directly above, so close, so loud, that it was positively hurtful to the ear-drums. The reverberations took many long seconds to die away. O'Hare looked speculatively at Branson then said: 'Know something, Branson? That sounded to me just like the crack of doom.' He poured some whisky into a glass and added a little distilled water.
Branson said: 'I'll have some of that.'
'Help yourself,' O'Hare said agreeably.
From the comparative comfort of the lead coach-comparative, for his clothes were as soaked as if he had fallen into the Golden Gate-Revson watched another ambulance bear away Kowalski's stretchered form. For the moment Revson felt as reasonably content as was possible for a man in his slowly chilling condition. The main object of the exercise had been to get his hands on the cord, canister, torch and aerosol. All of those he had achieved. The first three were still under the bus by the kerb-side: the fourth nestled snugly in his pocket. That all this should have been done at the expense of Kowalski, the most relentlessly vigilant of all Branson's guards and by a long way the most suspicious, was just an added bonus. He bethought himself of the aerosol. He gave April Wednesday a gentle nudge and, because people were still talking in varying degrees of animation about the latest incident, he did not find it necessary to keep his voice especially low.
'Listen carefully, and don't repeat my words, no matter how stupid my question may appear. Tell me, would a young lady of - ah - delicate sensibilities - carry a miniature aerosol air-freshener around with her?'
Beyond a blink of the green eyes she showed no reaction. 'In certain circumstances I suppose so, yes.'
He placed the can between them. Then please put this in your carry-all. Sandal wood, but I wouldn't try sniffing it'
"I know very well what's in it.' The can disappeared. 'I suppose it doesn't matter very much if I'm caught with it? If they bring out those old thumb-screws - '
'They won't. They already searched your carry-all, and the person who made the search almost certainly wouldn't remember the contents of one of a dozen bags he's searched. No one's keeping an eye on you: I'm way out on my own as Suspect Number One.'
By ten o'clock silence and sleep had returned to the coach. The rain had eased, until it could be called no more than heavy, but still the lightning crackled and the thunder boomed with unabated enthusiasm. Revson glanced over his shoulder to the south-west. There were no signs of any unusual activities in the direction of Lincoln Park. He wondered if those ashore had misinterpreted his message or deliberately ignored it. Both possibilities he thought unlikely: more likely, because of the heavy rain, they were having difficulty in igniting a fire.