This was not her first seizure but, to Sir Ben, it seemed the most severe. He’d become used to his mother’s short, sharp ‘absences’ and didn’t even bother timing those any more, much to the doctors’ dismay. This was different though. He did his best to calm her and stop her falling, but something told him this was the start of a new phase and if he couldn’t free up the cash to send her to the States soon, he’d lose her.
Once she’d settled, he called Dr Trevor Blaketon. This time he was taking none of his shit. He’d already amassed compromises against the medic to see him struck off, and this time the doctor would be in no doubt that helping him was his only other option.
The call went to voicemail but experience told him that he’d soon pick it up. The menacing message he left would secure the swiftest house call known to the medical world. When the gate buzzer sounded five minutes later though, even he was surprised.
He looked at the app and saw Tony Evans filling the video frame. He buzzed him in while walking to the front door.
Dispensing with any niceties, Evans said, ‘All done.’ For a moment, Sir 299Ben mentally searched for what his lieutenant could be on about, and then it came to him.
‘Oh, right. What did you use?’
Evans’s brow creased. ‘You sure you want to know? Deniability?’
‘I’m curious. From a pharmaceutical perspective.’
‘Spice.’
‘Spice?’
‘Yes, you know, synthetic cannabinoids.’
‘I know what spice is. I just thought you’d go for something more sophisticated. Are they dead?’
‘Not as far as I know, but it’s only a matter of time.’
Sir Ben was about to demand why not but, with his inside knowledge of pharmaceuticals, he had to concede that different people responded in different ways.
‘Where are they?’
‘At the Royal Alex. High Dependency Unit I’d imagine, for now.’
‘Have we any assets on the staff there?’
‘We’re working on that.’
‘OK, well keep me updated. Does Jo Howe know yet?’
‘I’d imagine so. We’re trying to find out but the school would have told her straight away. Oh, and something else about her.’
‘Go on.’
‘A little bird tells me she’s been ordered to drop Op Eradicate.’ Evans looked like he was due a medal.
‘How can we trust your little bird?’
Evans tapped the side of his nose.
Sir Ben allowed himself a second of optimism. Was this it? Had they finally won? Then he heard his mother scream out from the floor above.
‘That changes nothing. We’ve come too far and, in any case, she needs teaching a fucking lesson. I’m not having jumped-up coppers thinking they can come up against me and get away with it. She still needs to be punished.’ 300
‘You’re the boss,’ said Evans.
Sir Ben wandered into the kitchen and knew Evans would be following. ‘So, back to her brats. Even if they die, how will she know it was aimed at her? Won’t she just think it’s food poisoning?’ He perched on a breakfast bar stool. Evans did likewise.
‘She’s not daft and the chances of both her sons falling to some dodgy sandwich at the same time won’t escape her as suspicious.’
‘Is that what your guy did? Poisoned their sandwich?’
‘I just told him to spray something they’d eat in the lunchbox. Worked a treat.’
‘And where is your bloke now? We need to deal with him.’
‘Leave him to us.’
Just then the gate buzzer sounded again and, to his relief, Sir Ben saw Dr Blaketon’s car waiting for access. ‘It’s my mum,’ Sir Ben explained. ‘She’s in a bad way.’ Then he headed for the door.