2nd May
It was early evening when Mr. and Mrs. Cobb checked into a small bed and breakfast in the Norfolk village of Great Melford.
John Cobb placed his suitcase on the bed and then walked over to a mirror that hung on the far wall.
He looked at his own reflection. ‘Well, Mrs. Cobb,’ I said, ‘I think I would have preferred Daniel Craig.’
Mrs. Susan Cobb looked across at me. ‘I would have gone for Jennifer Anniston myself,’ she said. ‘Etienne would have made the same comment as he did about our first selections though,’ she added with a feigned sigh. ‘He seemed rather worried that having Tom Cruise and Jennifer Lopez turning up in a small Norfolk village might attract unnecessary attention to a covert mission.’
There was a knock at the door. I opened it, and Etienne came in.
‘How’s your room?’ I asked.
‘Fine,’ he replied.
Helen used the controller to turn on a small, wall-mounted television. The early evening news had just begun, and there had evidently been some incident in America of interest to UK viewers. American police cars were shown surrounding another vehicle in one of the vast expanses of American desert.
A CNN reporter was speaking to the camera: ‘The Nevada Chief of Police has refused to comment on speculation about alien abductions. What we do know is that an English cleric, Bishop Horatio Rycroft, disappeared without trace from his vehicle within ten miles of Area 51. We also know that another Englishman, who has not been named, also appears to have vanished from a cabin about fifty miles away near Ash Springs. UFO hunters in the area report several sightings of unknown lights in the sky during the past twelve hours.’
Etienne’s phone rang. He listened for a few seconds and then set the device to loudspeaker mode. ‘It’s Joan,’ he said.
Helen muted the volume on the television.
‘We’ve just been watching the evening news about Rycroft,’ I said, guessing what her call was about.
Joan’s voice could be heard from Etienne’s mobile. ‘The unnamed Englishman was Leadbetter.’
I could not help feeling impressed. ‘He’s pretty enterprising, isn’t he?’ I observed.
‘He used Hunter’s credit card to book flights and get money,’ Joan explained. ‘He must have got Rycroft’s location from Hunter too.’
Helen was watching the story silently unfold on the TV screen. ‘What were they doing in Nevada near Area 51?’ she said.
‘As the Americans used to say,’ Joan replied, ‘that’s the thirty-thousand dollar question.’
‘Poor old Leadbetter, abducted by extraterrestrials,’ I joked. ‘I wonder if they’ll finally understand him.’
‘There are no extraterrestrials,’ Joan replied. ‘In the past, I’ve talked with those involved in British and American government projects that have looked into UFOs. There are unidentified flying objects,’ she continued, ‘because there are a lot of objects that are flying and some can’t be easily identified. No government, however, has ever found a shred of evidence for extraterrestrial visits to Earth. No,’ she concluded, ‘if there are lights in the sky and abductions going on near Area 51, they’re down to the Americans.’
‘Is there a plan to follow this up?’ asked Etienne.
‘Robin Marsh and Paul Maple, disguised as Swan, are leaving
for Washington tomorrow,’ Joan replied. ‘They’re meeting the president and his security advisor on the fifth of May. The agenda included the asteroid; the missile plan; ARK; Arkangel; Walt Cooper and Hartnell. It now includes Rycroft and Leadbetter.’ Joan paused. ‘When will Swan and Helen be meeting the Reverend Holland?’ asked Joan, changing the subject back to the current mission.
‘We’re visiting him on the day after tomorrow,’ I replied.
‘It’s very useful that I’ve had family connections in Norfolk,’ I added. ‘Helen, I mean Susan, and I wishing to renew our vows in St. Sigebert’s has given us a credible reason to make an appointment to visit him.’