The two Messerschmitts came out of the sun on his right. Kowalski could see them clearly, but he thought the two other squadron planes on his left might be blinded. He waggled his wings and dived, hoping that they would get the message to follow him. His radio was on the blink for some reason. As he bottomed out of his dive, he saw that his friends had been slow off the mark and the German planes were almost on them. Squeezing the maximum out of the Hurricane, he rose steeply and flipped back over and behind the Messerschmitts. His mistake was not to notice another German fighter coming out of the sun. The two RAF planes beneath him were now under fire. Flames began to flicker from one of them. Jerzy squeezed the trigger and sent a line of tracers beneath him, catching the tail of one of the Germans. Moments later there was an explosion and he could see that half of his left wing had gone. The third Messerschmitt closed in for the kill. Splinters of glass sprayed his cheeks as the bullets grazed the windscreen. As the plane began to spiral down, he managed to cross himself. He thought of the good things he had done and prayed forgiveness for the bad. He thought of Maria and Adam and the Stanislawickis. He thought of Jan and Miro. And he thought of Kilinski.
*
Merlin had asked the station commander at Northolt to call him when Kowalski returned from his mission. Back at the Yard, he picked at a currant bun that Bridges had brought in from Tony’s Café and pondered what to do. There was a brief knock on the door and the A.C. entered. “Ah, Frank. There you are.”
Merlin rose, but the A.C. nodded him back into his chair as his mottled teeth revealed themselves in a wintry smile. “Just a quick word. I thought you should know, I’ve had quite a bit of flak about your battle in Hampstead yesterday. No. No. You needn’t get worked up. I told everybody that it was an incident that would have happened whether you were there or not and the fortuitous fact of your presence prevented things getting much worse. In any event, the Home Secretary was most anxious that this matter get resolved as soon as possible. He was very shocked, of course – he used similar words to yours, though instead of talking about a cowboy gunfight, he said something about Chicago gangsters. The long and short of it is that you are to ignore the complaints of the Poles and if getting to the bottom of things requires a vigorous interrogation of this unfortunate Polish lady, you are to get on with it.”
“Thank you, sir.”
*
“I am afraid the Countess is still not fit to receive visitors.”
Merlin squeezed the telephone receiver tight in irritation. “Look, Doctor Molik. There have been two gunfights on the suburban streets of Hampstead. I have three bodies. All something to do with a pile of gold in the Count and Countess’ possession. The Countess is the only person who can cast full light on these events. Regardless of what you—”
“But, Chief Inspector, it is not only I insisting that the Countess be left in peace. General Sikorski, the leader of the Polish government in exile is adamant that—”
Merlin rose from his seat. “Look, Doctor, I don’t care whether it’s you, Sikorski, the Prime Minister or the King of England insisting. I am on my way to see the lady.” He slammed down the phone and grabbed his coat.