Breaking the Code - Chapter 22
Numb3rs/Foyle's War crossover, set in WWII
Characters: Don, Alan & Charlie Eppes, Colby Granger, Larry Fleinhardt, Christopher Foyle, Samantha Stewart, Paul Milner, Hilda Pierce
Rating: T for some violence and ethnic slurs
Beta: The one, the only, the amazing Digeediva!
Note: Some of my characters, good guys and bad guys, have attitudes that might be offensive to 21st century readers. I decided to let my characters' attitudes reflect their times rather than the sensibilities of readers in 2010. If you find this offensive, I sincerely apologize.
“Wait,” Charlie said, as Milner started to follow Sergeant Brooke. “You need to be careful how you handle this. You don’t want to let Baker know that we know about the kidnapping plot.”
Milner stopped and turned to Foyle. “Sir?”
“Tell DCS Dalgleish that we just want to ask Mr. Baker a few questions about an American photographer. Tell him we think she may have been a spy.”
“What?!” Anna jumped to her feet. “Sharon was not a spy!”
Charlie took Anna’s hand. “Anna, please, sit down. He’s just employing classic misdirection. If Baker thinks we’re on to him, he may try to run again and this time warn the others. This way, Baker will think he can help mislead the police. Personally, I don’t think he’s the sharpest tool in the shed, so he may buy the whole story.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Buonaroti,” Foyle said, “I should have warned you.” He turned back to Milner. “Have Sam drive you over to Eastbourne so you can have a talk with Mr. Baker.”
“Wait,” Charlie said again as Milner and Brooke reached the doorway. “I’m sorry,” he said to Foyle, “but since the story is going to be that an American might be a spy, don’t you think we should have Don go along, since he is the senior American officer here, to talk to Baker? I think it would be natural for the United States Army to be involved with a supposed case of espionage.”
Foyle glanced at Don and stifled a smile. “I think that’s an excellent idea. Captain Eppes, would you mind accompanying Sergeant Milner and Miss Stewart to Eastbourne?”
“Not at all,” Don said, standing. “I think that’s a great idea. Thanks, Buddy,” he said to Charlie. “See you later. Colby, you stay here in Hastings in case Mr. Foyle needs your help with anything.”
When the door closed behind the three men, Foyle said, “Back to where we left off. Miss Pierce, do you know anything about our three suspects?”
“No. I’m afraid not. But I may be able to cast some light on the way these groups operate. Would that be helpful?”
“We’ll see,” Foyle said. “What do you have in mind?”
“I’m thinking about how the messages were brought here. Have you had any reports of incursions along the coastline?”
“Not recently.”
“And, of course, all German nationals have been moved inland or put in camps.”
“Of course,” Foyle agreed.
“Hastings is a pretty little city, on the coast, with some places of interest to tourists. Have you seen any foreigners here?” She smiled as she glanced at Charlie. “Present company excepted, of course.”
“There was a Spaniard here two months ago. He hired a couple of local boys to perform acts of sabotage.” Foyle’s lips tightened as he scowled at Morse. “He had diplomatic immunity, so we weren’t able to do anything to him. But, fortunately he’s gone now. I don’t know of any others. They may be here, but just not causing trouble. I’ll have my men canvass the local hotels and inns. Without making a fuss, of course.”
“We can ask Mrs. Weeks at the White Feather,” Charlie offered. “But I thought travel was restricted.”
“Oh, it is,” Morse said, “but we do permit diplomats and select businessmen from Sweden, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal. The rest of Europe is, of course, occupied by the Nazis, and we wouldn’t permit anyone from those countries to come here.”
“Except as refugees,” Larry said. “Though I would imagine the travel of refugees is even more restricted.”
The colonel slapped his hands on his thighs, showing his impatience to this line in the discussion. “Well, then, have we done enough talking? Are we ready to start tracking these blighters down?”
“I think we are,” Foyle said. “Unless anyone else has any information they’d like to share? Or any questions? Mr. Morse? Are you satisfied?”
Morse took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “I suppose it’ll have to be at this point. Though you may be certain I will put a stop to the investigation or whatever you want to call it if it looks like the princess is in any danger at all.”
“I would expect nothing less.” Foyle stood. “Thank you all for coming.”
“Thank you for having us,” the colonel said, standing and shaking Foyle’s hand. “I think Morse and I are staying in town for the time being, aren’t we, Morse?”
“I think that’s wise,” Morse said. “We do need to make sure things are going well. I took the liberty of reserving rooms at the hotel across the street.”
“An excellent choice,” Foyle said.
“Do you have anything you’d like us to do?” Charlie asked.
“I don’t think so, at least for the moment,” Foyle said. “Thank you so much for your assistance. We wouldn’t have even known about this plot if it weren’t for you.”
“You’re welcome,” Charlie said automatically. “You’re sure you don’t have anything else we can do to help?”
“Charles,” Larry said, “we are needed at the Code and Cipher School.”
“I know. But this is the first time I’ve ever gotten to see the fruits of all our code breaking work. I mean, we usually sit in one of Turing’s huts for hours on end, cracking codes. It’s satisfying when we finally come up with a solution, but it’s nothing like this. When we finish there, we send our solutions off to someone a million miles away. This time, we’re actually in the middle of the action. Don’t tell me you don’t find that exciting?”
“It’s exciting, all right,” Larry said. “All that excitement landed you in the hospital.”
“Mr. Foyle,” Hilda said, “don’t you think we might still have need of the professors’ help? There is, after all, another message coming.”
“But you already have the keyword for that. A five year old could decipher that message,” Charlie muttered.
“You’re also trained in logic, aren’t you? Not that I doubt Mr. Foyle’s competency to handle this investigation, but this is a matter of international importance. Time is of the essence and I believe having you here will expedite things.”
Foyle nodded, “I agree, Miss Pierce. It would be foolish to turn away any help at a time like this.” To Charlie, he said, “Would you mind staying around until this is resolved?”
“Come on, Professor,” Colby said. “Maybe when this is done we can get you into the OSS or maybe even the SOE.”
Charlie turned to Larry. “What do you think?”
“I think I’d better say yes, or you’ll never let me hear the end of it.” Turning to Foyle, he said, “We’d be happy to stay and offer whatever help we can.”
Charlie grinned. “We’ll stay. I don’t know about the OSS or SOE. By the time this is over, I’ll probably regret not going back to my safe little hut far away from the action.” He grimaced as he massaged his bruised ribs.
“All right, then.” Foyle stood. “Why don’t you gentlemen go back and get some rest? I think we’ve got some questioning and investigating to do.”
---------------------
As Colby, Charlie, Larry and Anna walked back to Colby’s jeep, Colby turned to Charlie. “You know, Professor, I was only half kidding about the OSS. We’re not all field agents. We have analysts too. When you finish your assignment in the Code and Cipher School, you might want to have your brother look into it for you.”
“With any luck, this war will be over soon,” Charlie said wistfully. “As stimulating as all of this is, it would be nice to get back to normal. To get home with our families and back to teaching.”
“Are you a career soldier, Lieutenant?” Anna asked.
“Please, call me Colby, Ma’am. I come from three generations of men who’ve served their country. I think my Grandpa would give me a whupping if I quit the army.”
Anna glanced at Colby’s muscular arms. “Your grandpa must be really something if he could give you a whupping.”
“Oh, he is, Ma’am. He’s gotta be near eighty now, and he still gets up at the crack of dawn to milk the cows and plow the fields. He’s really something else.”
“Listen, if I’m going to call you Colby, you’ve got to call me Anna, okay?”
“Okay, Ma’am, I mean Anna.” They reached the jeep. “Where to, folks?”
“How about we go back to the White Feather?” Charlie suggested. “I could use some rest, and, Larry, I imagine you have some work to do.”
“I do,” Larry said, “though I must say I agree with what you said in Mr. Foyle’s office. It is stimulating to actually see where our work is leading. Speaking of which, we should ask Mrs. Weeks if she’s had any foreign guests.”
“Other than us,” Anna said as she let Charlie help her into the back of the jeep and slipped in beside her. “Say, Charlie, suggesting Don go along with Milner and Sam was very clever.”
Charlie shrugged. “I thought he’d want to spend more time with Sam. Their date got interrupted last night and I figured he’d want to make up for lost time.”
“With stone faced Milner as a chaperone,” Anna said, giggling.
----------------------
Bessie Weeks looked up from her desk as the front door opened. “Good morning!”
“Good morning, Mrs. Weeks,” Charlie said. “This is Lieutenant Granger. He’ll be staying with us for a few days. Would you have a room available for him?”
Bessie chuckled. “Look around you, Dr. Eppes. We’re not exactly overrun with tourists. Lieutenant Granger, welcome to the White Feather.” She had him show his identification, sign the register, and then handed him his key. “I’ve put you next to Captain Eppes. Is that all right?”
“That’s fine, ma’am. Thank you.”
“Speaking of tourists, Mrs. Weeks,” Charlie said, “I have a rather odd question for you.”
“I’ve been in this business long enough that I think I’ve heard every odd question there is. What is it, Dr. Eppes?”
“Present company excepted, have you had any foreign guests here in the past few weeks?”
“There have been a few. We’ve had a Canadian, and a Spaniard. Oh, and Monsieur Dupras from Switzerland checked in this morning.” She held out her hand, displaying a beautiful wristwatch. “He brought me this. He works for Rolex. He always visits here when he has business in London.”
“That’s a beautiful watch,” Anna said. “Isn’t Hastings a little out of the way for him, though?”
“I asked him that once. He said that since Switzerland is landlocked, he loves coming to the coast. But I think he has other motives for coming to Hastings.”
“What motives?” Anna asked.
“I think he has a lady friend here. I’ve seen him around town with a very pretty young woman.”
“Really? Any idea who she is?” Anna asked.
“I’m afraid I don’t know. I don’t think she’s local, though. Why?”
Anna shrugged. “Sorry. Just a reporter’s curiosity.”
“Do you know if Mr. Dupras is in?” Charlie asked.
“I’m afraid not. I saw him leaving about half an hour ago.” Bessie looked worried. “What is going on? Is Monsieur Dupras in trouble? I checked his papers myself.”
“Please, don’t worry,” Larry said, “I’m sure everything is in order. We were just discussing how few foreigners we’ve seen here on the south coast. The war must be wreaking havoc with the tourism business.”
“Right,” Anna said. “I’d like to include that in the article I’m writing about how the war has affected England”
“Oh, you don’t know the half of it,” Bessie said. “Of course, with everything else that’s gone on, the bombing, our poor boys coming home wounded, or not coming home at all, the lack of business is a minor inconvenience.” She smiled at Colby, “We all appreciate your service, Lieutenant. We can just hope and pray that this awful war is over quickly”
Colby grinned, “We’re doing our best, Ma’am.”
“Would you like me to give Monsieur Dupras a message?”
“Oh, no need,” Charlie said quickly, “it was just idle curiosity on our parts.” He turned to the others. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to hit the hay.”
“Sounds good to me,” Anna said. At Bessie’s startled glance, she blushed and hastily added, “I mean you really must be tired and sore after all you’ve been through. Besides, I need to work on my article anyway. Even with all this going on, I still need to make a living.”
“Speaking of which,” Larry said, “Charles, before you take your nap, could you have a look at my calculations for Dr. Turing? My math is acceptable, but I’m always a little unsure of myself when presenting information to a genius of his level.”
Charlie grinned. “And yet you have no such reservations when presenting information to me. Does that mean you don’t think I’m at the same level as Turing?”
Larry hesitated, then returned Charlie’s smile. “Not at all, Charles. It’s just that I know you better and you’re not my boss.”
“Good point,” Charlie chuckled. “All right, I’ll take a look, but after that, I’m going to study the inside of my eyelids.”
----------
When Sam, Milner and Don reached the Wolseley, Don waited beside the rear door. Milner opened the front passenger’s side door and said, “Why don’t you sit up front with Sam?”
“That’s all right,” Don said. “You go ahead.”
Milner chuckled. “I’m accustomed to sitting in the back, and I imagine you and Sam would like to spend some time together. We’ll be driving along the coast to Eastbourne, and she can point out the sights to you as we go.”
“You sure?” Don asked. “You’d have more leg room up front.”
“I’ll be fine. It’s only about fifteen miles. I insist.”
Don shrugged and climbed into the passenger’s seat. “Thanks. Say, I forgot to tell you, I met your wife at the hospital this morning. She stopped by to say hello. She’s a very nice lady.”
Milner smiled wistfully. “She is wonderful. I’m a lucky man.”
Don glanced at Sam. “Maybe I’ll get lucky too some day.”
Sam reddened slightly. “Stranger things have happened,” she said as she pulled away from the curb. “Now, Captain Eppes, have you been to the south coast before?”
“No, I haven’t. I would like to come back some time when the beaches aren’t fenced off with barbed wire.”
“It certainly looks a lot nicer that way.”
“You know,” Milner said from the back seat, “A couple of weeks ago, we were called out because a stretch of wire was cut.”
“Spies?” Don asked.
“No,” Milner said, laughing, “a man who wanted to let his dog have a romp on the beach. He claimed the poor dog loved the beach and had been pining away since the wire went up.”
“Oh, man. Did you arrest him?”
“No. I told him if he did it again, I would have to arrest him and he’d have to find someone to take care of his dog.”
“What did he say to that?”
“He said the war had bloody well be over soon or he was going to have to move to the north so he could let Shep have his swim.”
Sam giggled, “And then he asked me if I’d watch his dog if Milner arrested him. I told him my landlady wouldn’t let me have pets.”
As they drove along the beach, Don noticed once again how few cars there were on the road. “I’ll bet you normally have a lot more traffic this time of year.”
“It is a bit early in the season, but by mid-June, the traffic would normally be bumper to bumper along this road,” Sam said. “When the war is over, things will be back to normal.”
“One can only hope,” Milner said. “Though I must say I don’t miss all the London folks coming here on holiday. We’d never make it to Eastbourne this quickly.”
When they rounded the bend approaching Eastbourne, Don noticed a white cliff in the distance. “I’ve heard of the white cliffs of Dover. Is that the white cliff of Eastbourne?”
“That’s Beachy Head,” Sam said with a chuckle.
“That’s an odd name,” Don said. “I know you call coastal cliffs ‘headlands.’ Is that where the head in Beachy Head comes from?”
“I don’t know,” Sam said as she turned the car away from the beach into the town center of Eastbourne. “That’s its name. You’ll have to look it up in an encyclopedia if you want any more than that.”
“Too bad Larry isn’t with us,” Don said. “He seems to know something about everything.”
Characters: Don, Alan & Charlie Eppes, Colby Granger, Larry Fleinhardt, Christopher Foyle, Samantha Stewart, Paul Milner, Hilda Pierce
Rating: T for some violence and ethnic slurs
Beta: The one, the only, the amazing Digeediva!
Note: Some of my characters, good guys and bad guys, have attitudes that might be offensive to 21st century readers. I decided to let my characters' attitudes reflect their times rather than the sensibilities of readers in 2010. If you find this offensive, I sincerely apologize.
“Wait,” Charlie said, as Milner started to follow Sergeant Brooke. “You need to be careful how you handle this. You don’t want to let Baker know that we know about the kidnapping plot.”
Milner stopped and turned to Foyle. “Sir?”
“Tell DCS Dalgleish that we just want to ask Mr. Baker a few questions about an American photographer. Tell him we think she may have been a spy.”
“What?!” Anna jumped to her feet. “Sharon was not a spy!”
Charlie took Anna’s hand. “Anna, please, sit down. He’s just employing classic misdirection. If Baker thinks we’re on to him, he may try to run again and this time warn the others. This way, Baker will think he can help mislead the police. Personally, I don’t think he’s the sharpest tool in the shed, so he may buy the whole story.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Buonaroti,” Foyle said, “I should have warned you.” He turned back to Milner. “Have Sam drive you over to Eastbourne so you can have a talk with Mr. Baker.”
“Wait,” Charlie said again as Milner and Brooke reached the doorway. “I’m sorry,” he said to Foyle, “but since the story is going to be that an American might be a spy, don’t you think we should have Don go along, since he is the senior American officer here, to talk to Baker? I think it would be natural for the United States Army to be involved with a supposed case of espionage.”
Foyle glanced at Don and stifled a smile. “I think that’s an excellent idea. Captain Eppes, would you mind accompanying Sergeant Milner and Miss Stewart to Eastbourne?”
“Not at all,” Don said, standing. “I think that’s a great idea. Thanks, Buddy,” he said to Charlie. “See you later. Colby, you stay here in Hastings in case Mr. Foyle needs your help with anything.”
When the door closed behind the three men, Foyle said, “Back to where we left off. Miss Pierce, do you know anything about our three suspects?”
“No. I’m afraid not. But I may be able to cast some light on the way these groups operate. Would that be helpful?”
“We’ll see,” Foyle said. “What do you have in mind?”
“I’m thinking about how the messages were brought here. Have you had any reports of incursions along the coastline?”
“Not recently.”
“And, of course, all German nationals have been moved inland or put in camps.”
“Of course,” Foyle agreed.
“Hastings is a pretty little city, on the coast, with some places of interest to tourists. Have you seen any foreigners here?” She smiled as she glanced at Charlie. “Present company excepted, of course.”
“There was a Spaniard here two months ago. He hired a couple of local boys to perform acts of sabotage.” Foyle’s lips tightened as he scowled at Morse. “He had diplomatic immunity, so we weren’t able to do anything to him. But, fortunately he’s gone now. I don’t know of any others. They may be here, but just not causing trouble. I’ll have my men canvass the local hotels and inns. Without making a fuss, of course.”
“We can ask Mrs. Weeks at the White Feather,” Charlie offered. “But I thought travel was restricted.”
“Oh, it is,” Morse said, “but we do permit diplomats and select businessmen from Sweden, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal. The rest of Europe is, of course, occupied by the Nazis, and we wouldn’t permit anyone from those countries to come here.”
“Except as refugees,” Larry said. “Though I would imagine the travel of refugees is even more restricted.”
The colonel slapped his hands on his thighs, showing his impatience to this line in the discussion. “Well, then, have we done enough talking? Are we ready to start tracking these blighters down?”
“I think we are,” Foyle said. “Unless anyone else has any information they’d like to share? Or any questions? Mr. Morse? Are you satisfied?”
Morse took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “I suppose it’ll have to be at this point. Though you may be certain I will put a stop to the investigation or whatever you want to call it if it looks like the princess is in any danger at all.”
“I would expect nothing less.” Foyle stood. “Thank you all for coming.”
“Thank you for having us,” the colonel said, standing and shaking Foyle’s hand. “I think Morse and I are staying in town for the time being, aren’t we, Morse?”
“I think that’s wise,” Morse said. “We do need to make sure things are going well. I took the liberty of reserving rooms at the hotel across the street.”
“An excellent choice,” Foyle said.
“Do you have anything you’d like us to do?” Charlie asked.
“I don’t think so, at least for the moment,” Foyle said. “Thank you so much for your assistance. We wouldn’t have even known about this plot if it weren’t for you.”
“You’re welcome,” Charlie said automatically. “You’re sure you don’t have anything else we can do to help?”
“Charles,” Larry said, “we are needed at the Code and Cipher School.”
“I know. But this is the first time I’ve ever gotten to see the fruits of all our code breaking work. I mean, we usually sit in one of Turing’s huts for hours on end, cracking codes. It’s satisfying when we finally come up with a solution, but it’s nothing like this. When we finish there, we send our solutions off to someone a million miles away. This time, we’re actually in the middle of the action. Don’t tell me you don’t find that exciting?”
“It’s exciting, all right,” Larry said. “All that excitement landed you in the hospital.”
“Mr. Foyle,” Hilda said, “don’t you think we might still have need of the professors’ help? There is, after all, another message coming.”
“But you already have the keyword for that. A five year old could decipher that message,” Charlie muttered.
“You’re also trained in logic, aren’t you? Not that I doubt Mr. Foyle’s competency to handle this investigation, but this is a matter of international importance. Time is of the essence and I believe having you here will expedite things.”
Foyle nodded, “I agree, Miss Pierce. It would be foolish to turn away any help at a time like this.” To Charlie, he said, “Would you mind staying around until this is resolved?”
“Come on, Professor,” Colby said. “Maybe when this is done we can get you into the OSS or maybe even the SOE.”
Charlie turned to Larry. “What do you think?”
“I think I’d better say yes, or you’ll never let me hear the end of it.” Turning to Foyle, he said, “We’d be happy to stay and offer whatever help we can.”
Charlie grinned. “We’ll stay. I don’t know about the OSS or SOE. By the time this is over, I’ll probably regret not going back to my safe little hut far away from the action.” He grimaced as he massaged his bruised ribs.
“All right, then.” Foyle stood. “Why don’t you gentlemen go back and get some rest? I think we’ve got some questioning and investigating to do.”
---------------------
As Colby, Charlie, Larry and Anna walked back to Colby’s jeep, Colby turned to Charlie. “You know, Professor, I was only half kidding about the OSS. We’re not all field agents. We have analysts too. When you finish your assignment in the Code and Cipher School, you might want to have your brother look into it for you.”
“With any luck, this war will be over soon,” Charlie said wistfully. “As stimulating as all of this is, it would be nice to get back to normal. To get home with our families and back to teaching.”
“Are you a career soldier, Lieutenant?” Anna asked.
“Please, call me Colby, Ma’am. I come from three generations of men who’ve served their country. I think my Grandpa would give me a whupping if I quit the army.”
Anna glanced at Colby’s muscular arms. “Your grandpa must be really something if he could give you a whupping.”
“Oh, he is, Ma’am. He’s gotta be near eighty now, and he still gets up at the crack of dawn to milk the cows and plow the fields. He’s really something else.”
“Listen, if I’m going to call you Colby, you’ve got to call me Anna, okay?”
“Okay, Ma’am, I mean Anna.” They reached the jeep. “Where to, folks?”
“How about we go back to the White Feather?” Charlie suggested. “I could use some rest, and, Larry, I imagine you have some work to do.”
“I do,” Larry said, “though I must say I agree with what you said in Mr. Foyle’s office. It is stimulating to actually see where our work is leading. Speaking of which, we should ask Mrs. Weeks if she’s had any foreign guests.”
“Other than us,” Anna said as she let Charlie help her into the back of the jeep and slipped in beside her. “Say, Charlie, suggesting Don go along with Milner and Sam was very clever.”
Charlie shrugged. “I thought he’d want to spend more time with Sam. Their date got interrupted last night and I figured he’d want to make up for lost time.”
“With stone faced Milner as a chaperone,” Anna said, giggling.
----------------------
Bessie Weeks looked up from her desk as the front door opened. “Good morning!”
“Good morning, Mrs. Weeks,” Charlie said. “This is Lieutenant Granger. He’ll be staying with us for a few days. Would you have a room available for him?”
Bessie chuckled. “Look around you, Dr. Eppes. We’re not exactly overrun with tourists. Lieutenant Granger, welcome to the White Feather.” She had him show his identification, sign the register, and then handed him his key. “I’ve put you next to Captain Eppes. Is that all right?”
“That’s fine, ma’am. Thank you.”
“Speaking of tourists, Mrs. Weeks,” Charlie said, “I have a rather odd question for you.”
“I’ve been in this business long enough that I think I’ve heard every odd question there is. What is it, Dr. Eppes?”
“Present company excepted, have you had any foreign guests here in the past few weeks?”
“There have been a few. We’ve had a Canadian, and a Spaniard. Oh, and Monsieur Dupras from Switzerland checked in this morning.” She held out her hand, displaying a beautiful wristwatch. “He brought me this. He works for Rolex. He always visits here when he has business in London.”
“That’s a beautiful watch,” Anna said. “Isn’t Hastings a little out of the way for him, though?”
“I asked him that once. He said that since Switzerland is landlocked, he loves coming to the coast. But I think he has other motives for coming to Hastings.”
“What motives?” Anna asked.
“I think he has a lady friend here. I’ve seen him around town with a very pretty young woman.”
“Really? Any idea who she is?” Anna asked.
“I’m afraid I don’t know. I don’t think she’s local, though. Why?”
Anna shrugged. “Sorry. Just a reporter’s curiosity.”
“Do you know if Mr. Dupras is in?” Charlie asked.
“I’m afraid not. I saw him leaving about half an hour ago.” Bessie looked worried. “What is going on? Is Monsieur Dupras in trouble? I checked his papers myself.”
“Please, don’t worry,” Larry said, “I’m sure everything is in order. We were just discussing how few foreigners we’ve seen here on the south coast. The war must be wreaking havoc with the tourism business.”
“Right,” Anna said. “I’d like to include that in the article I’m writing about how the war has affected England”
“Oh, you don’t know the half of it,” Bessie said. “Of course, with everything else that’s gone on, the bombing, our poor boys coming home wounded, or not coming home at all, the lack of business is a minor inconvenience.” She smiled at Colby, “We all appreciate your service, Lieutenant. We can just hope and pray that this awful war is over quickly”
Colby grinned, “We’re doing our best, Ma’am.”
“Would you like me to give Monsieur Dupras a message?”
“Oh, no need,” Charlie said quickly, “it was just idle curiosity on our parts.” He turned to the others. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to hit the hay.”
“Sounds good to me,” Anna said. At Bessie’s startled glance, she blushed and hastily added, “I mean you really must be tired and sore after all you’ve been through. Besides, I need to work on my article anyway. Even with all this going on, I still need to make a living.”
“Speaking of which,” Larry said, “Charles, before you take your nap, could you have a look at my calculations for Dr. Turing? My math is acceptable, but I’m always a little unsure of myself when presenting information to a genius of his level.”
Charlie grinned. “And yet you have no such reservations when presenting information to me. Does that mean you don’t think I’m at the same level as Turing?”
Larry hesitated, then returned Charlie’s smile. “Not at all, Charles. It’s just that I know you better and you’re not my boss.”
“Good point,” Charlie chuckled. “All right, I’ll take a look, but after that, I’m going to study the inside of my eyelids.”
----------
When Sam, Milner and Don reached the Wolseley, Don waited beside the rear door. Milner opened the front passenger’s side door and said, “Why don’t you sit up front with Sam?”
“That’s all right,” Don said. “You go ahead.”
Milner chuckled. “I’m accustomed to sitting in the back, and I imagine you and Sam would like to spend some time together. We’ll be driving along the coast to Eastbourne, and she can point out the sights to you as we go.”
“You sure?” Don asked. “You’d have more leg room up front.”
“I’ll be fine. It’s only about fifteen miles. I insist.”
Don shrugged and climbed into the passenger’s seat. “Thanks. Say, I forgot to tell you, I met your wife at the hospital this morning. She stopped by to say hello. She’s a very nice lady.”
Milner smiled wistfully. “She is wonderful. I’m a lucky man.”
Don glanced at Sam. “Maybe I’ll get lucky too some day.”
Sam reddened slightly. “Stranger things have happened,” she said as she pulled away from the curb. “Now, Captain Eppes, have you been to the south coast before?”
“No, I haven’t. I would like to come back some time when the beaches aren’t fenced off with barbed wire.”
“It certainly looks a lot nicer that way.”
“You know,” Milner said from the back seat, “A couple of weeks ago, we were called out because a stretch of wire was cut.”
“Spies?” Don asked.
“No,” Milner said, laughing, “a man who wanted to let his dog have a romp on the beach. He claimed the poor dog loved the beach and had been pining away since the wire went up.”
“Oh, man. Did you arrest him?”
“No. I told him if he did it again, I would have to arrest him and he’d have to find someone to take care of his dog.”
“What did he say to that?”
“He said the war had bloody well be over soon or he was going to have to move to the north so he could let Shep have his swim.”
Sam giggled, “And then he asked me if I’d watch his dog if Milner arrested him. I told him my landlady wouldn’t let me have pets.”
As they drove along the beach, Don noticed once again how few cars there were on the road. “I’ll bet you normally have a lot more traffic this time of year.”
“It is a bit early in the season, but by mid-June, the traffic would normally be bumper to bumper along this road,” Sam said. “When the war is over, things will be back to normal.”
“One can only hope,” Milner said. “Though I must say I don’t miss all the London folks coming here on holiday. We’d never make it to Eastbourne this quickly.”
When they rounded the bend approaching Eastbourne, Don noticed a white cliff in the distance. “I’ve heard of the white cliffs of Dover. Is that the white cliff of Eastbourne?”
“That’s Beachy Head,” Sam said with a chuckle.
“That’s an odd name,” Don said. “I know you call coastal cliffs ‘headlands.’ Is that where the head in Beachy Head comes from?”
“I don’t know,” Sam said as she turned the car away from the beach into the town center of Eastbourne. “That’s its name. You’ll have to look it up in an encyclopedia if you want any more than that.”
“Too bad Larry isn’t with us,” Don said. “He seems to know something about everything.”