The Atua Man: A Novel

Theodore Spencer stood on the corner of Wetherby and Bolton Gardens, having milked the crowd for their opinions about St. John’s appearance at the hospital. He was waiting for Samuel to bring the car around when Lillian St. John, in the black Range Rover, raced out of the Ministry’s garage.

Spencer grabbed his mobile and speed dialed Samuel. “Where are you?”

“Brompton, turning on Bolton now,” came back Samuel’s voice on the phone.

“Shake a leg. I just saw Mrs. St. John leaving the Ministry in a terrible hurry.”

Samuel drove up a moment later, stopped, threw open the passenger door, and Spencer jumped in. “Go down Wetherby. She’s in a black Range Rover.”

Samuel turned down Wetherby and accelerated when another car, a Jaguar sedan, flew out from the Ministry’s garage, forcing Samuel to slam on the brakes.

“What the … Who’s that?” Samuel asked.

Spencer thumbed through pictures of Ministry personnel in his notebook as Samuel picked up speed and followed the second car. “Looks like Gary Howell, their Head of Security, but I don’t know who’s driving. Head after both of them.”

Lillian kept looking in her rearview mirror but couldn’t tell if she was being followed. Her normal route took her along King’s Road to Fulham High Street for the fifteen-minute trip to Alex’s school. She had to assume that if Tony knew she’d left the compound, he’d figure out where she was going and would send a car after her. She needed to think and make some calls, not just rush ahead like the others might expect. She was only a couple of minutes from Putney Bridge and just beyond that was the Putney Exchange shopping center. She decided to duck into the shopping center to plan her next move

The traffic wasn’t bad. She crossed the Thames just as the signal changed, and knew that would give her a couple of minutes on whoever might be following her. She turned into the shopping center and drove up to the rooftop parking.

First Lillian rang Alex’s school. She knew Alex wasn’t allowed to answer his phone while on campus, but she also knew that the school recognized Alex’s need for additional security and in that way the school was very cooperative. She reached the Junior School secretary and asked her to pull Alex from his rehearsal and have him call her. Then Lillian called Sir William Boyd, their solicitor, and arranged a Skype meeting with Jason for the following morning. Lastly, she called Jason on Melanie’s phone and told him of his appointment with Sir William. She didn’t want to stay on the line for long and told him to check her MySpace page for more information. She reminded him that she left her password on the dining room table. A moment later her mobile rang.

“Mom,” Alex said anxiously, “what’s going on?”

“Everything’s okay, just a little change of plans. I’m coming to pick you up early, but not in our usual place. You know that pub across the street from your school? On Woodhayes Road? Run over there and wait for me in the little courtyard.”

“Why can’t you just pick me up in front of the school?”

“Donny and Mr. Howell are probably on their way and I don’t want you to go with them. Grab your things and go over to the courtyard now.”

Alex heard his mother ring off. The secretary released him, and he picked up his backpack from the foyer, and left the school. He ran over to the pub on the far side of the little triangle park and hid behind an iron fence in the pub’s courtyard.

A couple of minutes later Alex watched a Ministry Jaguar pull up in front of his school. Donny got out and rushed into the building. And then another car, one that Alex didn’t recognize, drove slowly past the school and turned off West Side Common to park across the street from the pub. Alex then saw his mother pass the school and the Ministry’s Jaguar. She didn’t slow down but looped around the little triangle common, and pulled up in front of the pub. She stopped the Rover so that Alex could get in without being seen. Alex left his hiding place in the patio and jumped into the car. As soon as he was inside and buckled up, Lillian pulled away and headed back the way she came.

Spencer stood beside his Vauxhall, leaned on the open passenger door and watched Gary wait for Donny in front of the school. He didn’t notice Lillian drive by.