Half way through the journey, Dewar began to see his accompanying police officers as the solution to his problem. He leaned forward and said he’d like to speak to Tulloch. The officer in the passenger seat made radio contact and gave the handset to Dewar.
‘Superintendent? I’d like to requisition your officers for another assignment. I’d like them to accompany the case to its final destination and oversee it’s destruction.’
‘Won’t these vials be required as evidence?’
‘We can sterilise them without destroying them physically. No one’s going to check what they contain is still alive.’
‘I’m not sure that tampering with evidence is … ‘
‘My responsibility,’ interrupted Dewar.
‘As you say.’
‘Square it with your men, will you?’ Dewar handed back the handset to the front seat officer and listened in while Tulloch told him that they should take their orders from him.’
‘Are you armed?’ Dewar asked.
‘This is an armed response vehicle, sir.’
‘Good. I’m going to hand over a package to Dr Steven Malloy when we get to the Scottish Office. You are going to accompany Dr Malloy to the Institute of Molecular Sciences at the university and watch him sterilise this package in a steam steriliser. Although this is a formality, at no time is the package to leave your sight. Understood?’
‘Sir.’
‘There will be a temperature gauge on the steriliser. Watch the needle climb over 120 degrees centigrade and watch it stay there for at least fifteen minutes. After that you can relax and return to normal duty.’
‘Does this mean there’s a chance Dr Malloy won’t comply with the sterilising procedure, sir?’ asked the officer.
‘A very slight one.’
‘What then?’
‘You inform him that you’re armed; show him your gun and tell him to hand over the package. Bring it back here.’
‘And if he argues?’
‘Shoot him and recover the package. Stay where you are and telephone me.’
‘Bloody hell.’
‘”Bloody hell” is what could happen if the package escapes. Is that all clear?’
‘Sir.’
The rest of the journey was completed in silence and one officer held the door for Dewar when he got out at the end. He was escorted inside. Hector Wright was there to meet him.
‘Well done, Adam,’ said Wright.
‘Christ, I’m knackered,’ said Dewar, anxious to avoid embarrassment. ‘Is Malloy here yet?’
‘Not yet, but the vaccine is. It arrived half an hour ago.’
‘I know, I stopped at one of the centres in the estate.
Dewar took the case upstairs and opened it up to add the vials he’d brought back from Tommy Hannan’s flat to the padded bundle. He added yet more padding and
several layers of adhesive tape round the outside. He emptied the case of everything else and put the vials back to bring it downstairs where Malloy was now waiting.
‘Hello Steve,’ he said. ‘We got all of them back.’
‘Well done. What do want me for?’
‘We want the vials sterilised but not destroyed; they might be required as evidence. I though you could autoclave them at the institute?’
‘Sure, if that’s what you want. Right now?’
‘Is that a problem?’
‘No,’ replied Malloy.
These police officers will take you over and bring you back when it’s done.’
‘There’s no need for that,’ said Malloy. ‘I’ve got my car outside.’
‘We’ll have to do this by the book, I’m afraid,’ said Dewar. ‘Still, it’s not often you get an armed escort to work.’ He opened up the case and showed Malloy and the two police officers the contents. ‘It can go straight into the steriliser,’ he said.
Dewar could tell by the look on Malloy’s face that he’d taken all the key points on board. The police weren’t letting him out of their sight; they were armed and there was no reason for him to open up the package.
Malloy looked Dewar in the eye and said accusingly, ‘I’ve no problem with that, Adam. Still looking for a bogey man at the institute?’
‘Just procedure, Steve,’ said Dewar but he felt bad.
TWENTY FOUR
Dewar sat alone in his room until he was informed by the police that the vials had been put through the steriliser without incident. The feeling of relief that the news brought him and the knowledge that the actual source of the outbreak had now been destroyed increased his feelings of tiredness until he found it difficult to keep his eyes open. Despite that, he knew the affair was still a long way from over. He’d accounted for the stolen vials but the others were still out there, taken by an unknown man from an unknown location to an unknown location. Staring out of the window didn’t help. It had just started to rain.
He checked the message centre on his laptop. There was still no word from Sci-Med. about Kelly. What were they playing at? He punched in a memo reminding them of the urgency of his request and sent it off down the line with an impatient stab of his finger on the ‘send’ button. The message disappeared from the screen and left him feeling empty. There was nothing to do now but wait. He considered ringing Steven Malloy and trying to make things right between them but decided it was perhaps too soon. He checked his watch and called to the hospital to ask about Ian Grant’s condition. Grant was in Intensive Care but he was stable.
Dewar put down the phone and let out a long sigh. He gazed unseeingly at the wall for a moment, concentrating on the word, ‘stable’ and trying not to think of ‘Intensive Care’. ‘Stable’ had a nicer ring to it.
It was late. Dewar was exhausted. He knew he must rest but he felt guilty about sleeping when there was still so much to be done. He compromised by making one last call of the day. It was to Simon Barron. Nothing had changed. The Iraqis still seemed to be waiting. As usual, the only place they’d been out to was the Bookstop Cafe round the corner. They were now on friendly terms with both the staff there and other regular customers.
‘Frankly, we’re all bored out of our skulls,’ complained Barron. ‘Maybe we should just join them in the cafe. It’s hard to motivate people to be vigilant when they’re seeing less action than a museum attendant. Are you really sure these guys are after smallpox?’
‘Yes,’ replied Dewar, ‘I am.’
Still fully clothed, Dewar lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
DAY EIGHT
The phone rang at seven and Dewar wished it hadn’t. He rubbed at the stiffness in his neck as he put the receiver to his ear.
‘How are you this morning?’ asked Karen.
‘I’m okay,’ Dewar assured her. ‘You’re up early,’ he added, glancing at the clock.
‘We’re just about to leave for the vaccination centre. I thought I’d call first and see how you were. I probably won’t get much of a chance later on.’
‘That’s a fair bet. You can’t have had much sleep. What time did you finish last night?’
‘It was just after one o’clock when we got the last of the vaccine unloaded. We’re opening the doors at seven thirty. They’re waiting for me outside. I’d better go. I hope you’re going to take it easy today?’
‘I might just do that. Take care. Talk to you later.’
Dewar was caught in two minds. One half of him was saying that he should get back into bed, the other was saying that as he’d already got up he might as well stay up. He probably wouldn’t sleep much if he went back to bed. The second option won. He turned on the shower and examined the bruising on his forehead in the bathroom mirror while the water temperature settled. The discolouration didn’t seem too bad although the spot where the brick had hit him was very tender to the touch. ‘Bastards,’ he muttered, although he was thinking more about Grant’s condition when he said it. He’d call the hospital as soon as he had showered and dressed.
He felt better after a long soak in the shower which got rid of a lot of the stiffness in him. He put on clean clothes and called the infirmary. Grant had had an uncomfortable night but his condition was still stable. He’d be undergoing a series of tests throughout the morning.