Chapter 22 Too Close for Comfort
It was a shame that such an opportunity had been missed by Dodd because in his pillion luggage box he had a gun that slotted together and he was going to kill two birds with one shot so to speak. He had decided that if he caught up with Wragg he definitely was going to kill him and he had decided while he had the gun already primed he was going to do the same to Lodge. It was fortuitous that Sergeant Stone had seen Dodd through the window. It was this that was going through Dodd’s mind and he couldn’t take any chances. The rifle he had today only had a short range, whereas his exhibition rifle he took on demonstration events had a possible range of half a mile or maybe even longer. He had to be well away from his target and a clear route out and also enough time to dismantle the weapon and place it back into the box and then put it in a leather sheath so it looked like a fishing rod. Dodd had learnt his lesson the hard way as one day someone asked if he could take a look at Dodd’s fishing rod and got hold of the sheath with the rifle in it before Dodd could stop him and he had to knock the man out and now every time he had his rifle with him he attached the fishing rod sheathe to one side, so any embarrassing questions could be avoided by a quick twist of the wrist to show the fishing rod. The rifle wasn’t heavy, it was just the wrong shape to be identified as a fishing rod.
* * *
Wragg wasn’t going to take any chances. He and the two sergeants as body guards decided to stay the night and go back Sunday morning. Brian Crosby left by the police car that he had ordered to come and collect him at a given time. As he was going in the opposite direction from London and as no-one knew he was there in the first place, it seemed logical to get away as quickly as possible.
The following morning after breakfast Wragg telephoned Scotland Yard to say that he and his sergeants had been threatened and would they send a couple of cars to collect them. Wragg had informed whoever he was speaking to that one of the persons had a firearm on his person.
Two hours later three cars pulled up and six policemen came through the door. After drinks of coffee and tea ordered by Wragg they set off in a convoy back to Scotland Yard. Wragg wrote out a report regarding the meeting and the incident that had befallen the four involved. Although no action had been taken by Dodd, Wragg had noticed the leather sheath on Dodd’s bike as he rode off from the public house.
Wragg finished his report by writing four words, “Too Close For Comfort.”
* * *
Dodd couldn’t believe what had occurred. He was perspiring and this happened only when he wasn’t in control of events. He signalled to Lodge to stop and they both glided into a lay-by. Dodd dismounted his bike and walked over to Lodge who was still straddling his bike. Lodge could see that Dodd was upset and hadn’t seen him looking so disturbed before. He always thought he was so masterful and everything he said had to be obeyed. It was a something new and Lodge secretly enjoyed this new found situation.
Dodd didn’t speak to Lodge; he just sat down on the grass verge cradling his head in his hands. Lodge looked into the distance and saw a man walking his dog coming their way, but then the man changed his mind and walked back the way he had come.
Dodd grunted and got up and strode to his bike. He unzipped the sheath and began to dismantle the rifle and placed it in the presentation box and put in his secret hiding place under the pillion seat. He tried to undo the stitches of the fishing rod sheath that was attached to the rifle sheath, but was unable to do so as he remembered that he had used twine. ‘Lodge, have you a knife with a strong blade?’ Lodge rummaged through the luggage boxes attached to his bike and found what he was looking for, passed it over to Dodd who began to cut the stitching and when it was completed, he folded the sheath and went into the wooded area and dug a hole with his hands and buried the sheath as best he could. He put the fishing rod back into the cloth sheath and placed it in the special holder he had made on the bike. The rod came in four pieces so it was easy to pack it so that it didn’t interfere with riding the bike. He handed back the knife to Lodge, mounted his bike and rode off, leaving Lodge to follow on. Apart from asking Lodge for a knife, everything was done silently.
Dodd knew that Sergeant Stone might have recognised him as the person who was walking passed the window of the public house and if so Dodd expected some confrontation when reaching his house and having the sheath with a rifle would raise questions of why he had it with him. Dodd had the necessary documents for owning two rifles, but as they were to be used only in competitions, he wasn’t allowed to take them to other public places. Dodd arrived home and there was nobody there to greet him. He purposely left the bike out with the fishing rod sheath in full view. He entered his house and waited by the window. There was no movement outside and no-one approached the house. Dodd waited for a couple of hours. If Dodd was hoping for something dramatic to happen he was going to be disappointed. He moved his bike into the garage and deliberately came out at the front with the fishing rod sheath undone showing its contents. If anybody was looking they would be in no doubt what it was. Dodd would be able to retrieve his rifle in secret by using the pass door between the kitchen and the garage. Everybody knew there was one, but what the eye doesn’t see….! He wasn’t in any hurry to get his rifle and it was safe enough with a locked garage and a locked bike. He would go after supper when all was quiet.
* * *
Dodd would have been right, the area around his property was swarming with police, but it was obvious from that fact he hadn’t spotted anyone remotely connected with the police. Obviously his powers of detection weren’t good enough for the police force and the sooner he was out of circulation the better.
