“Well, sir, there was no incident till about two miles past Charing, when the Majendie’s brake, followed by the plain blue van from Kellett’s, pulled into the forecourt of a public house. One of Mr. Majendie’s men was seen to get out and go into the lavatory at the side of the court, whereupon both men left the blue van and entered the front of the brake, which immediately drove off at speed. At the time, both vehicles were thought to form one party, but all the same it seemed remarkable that one should have been abandoned in view of our belief that they were both loaded with valuables.” Beddoes glanced swiftly at Brett. “Accordingly our nearest car proceeded to give chase, which, owing to the considerable speed necessarily maintained, soon became obvious. The brake began to be driven recklessly. As a result of radio communication with the County Constabulary, patrols were diverted to intercept, and in swerving to avoid them on their appearance, the brake overturned at the side of the road. Fortunately the occupants escaped with bruises and shock. When apprehended, the men from the van volunteered that they had been heading for Richborough, and confirmed that a helicopter was expected there at six-thirty, giving the exact location of landing. They had been ordered to follow and seize the brake because it was believed that it might contain an article of value, which they were to deliver at Richborough. The information was immediately communicated to the County Constabulary—”
“Who thought that as he’d had such a let-down over the van he’d been chasing,” broke in the Superintendent with a smile, “they’d restore his spirits by letting him in on their party. It’s all right, we got the O.K. from your end.” The Superintendent smiled again. “Our Inspector, you see, he knows that marsh like the back of his hand—local chap. The plan was for him and another to lie up in the nearest drainage ditch—the place is netted with them—wait for the landing, send up a flash for lights, and dash forward to secure the helicopter, leaving the rest to the ring closing in. Of course, when we’d been given the exact spot we were able to take up much tighter positions than we’d expected, which was a great improvement, and we had cars at the road points to stop any escape on wheels. When we picked up Sergeant Beddoes here, the Chief suggested that as he’d been responsible for that helpful bit of information, he might care to replace our Sergeant—you know the idea, big gesture, Christmas, and all that. Plenty of time to get him here from Charing, so that was soon settled.”
“What was?” asked Brett.
“Why, that he should nip up to the helicopter too. And so he did. The plan didn’t go quite without a hitch. They couldn’t run as fast as they’d have liked on account of the snow. Isn’t that so, sergeant?”
“Yes, sir.”