THE MAN WHO ESCAPED (Episode 17)
SYNOPSIS: Coke has just found out that Masters owns an antique shop somewhere near Red Lion Square. He and Kate have gone there in a taxi. They do not know they are being followed.
"Would you mind driving round the Square once?" Kate asked the driver. Red Lion Square was deserted. There were a number of dark side streets around it.
"It's obviously not on the Square itself," Coke said. They got out of the taxi, paid the driver and started exploring.
There were antique shops on several of the side streets but they all either had names like "Connoisseur's Corner" which told them nothing about who owned the shop, or other names like "Richards", and "Harvey Keen". Masters' name was not among them.
Half an hour later they were still looking. Kate kept glancing over her shoulder. She had the [bad word] feeling that someone was following them but she could not see anybody. "I don't like wandering round the dark streets at this hour," she said. "Someone's bound to notice us!" she went on. "I don't like doing it, either, but what else can we do? We can't stop looking now. It might be our last chance," Coke answered.
Suddenly something in the window of a shop across the road caught his eye. The street was very dark but the thing gleamed. It reflected the light of a passing car. They crossed the street. The thing was an old military sabre and it was in a window marked "Antique Weapons and Military Antiques." There were old pistols, helmets and other swords in the window. Coke became excited. "This must be it!" he said. Kate lit a match so that they could see a bit better. There was no name on the window but there was a phone number on the door. Coke copied it down.
It was around midnight when the phone rang in Eric Masters' flat. The voice on the other end was hard and cold. "This is Hugo," it said. "Why didn't [bad word] to the Green Rider?" "I'm sorry, Hugo. I... I don't enjoy going there any more. Not since Coke escaped. I... I thought it might be dangerous." Masters was nervous. He became even more so when he heard what Hugo had to say. "There was an old blind man in the pub. He had a young woman with him. He asked about you and then went to your shop." Masters blinked in surprise. His voice cracked slightly. "But I don't know anybody like that. What did they want?"
"How do I know, you fool? Just watch out for them, that's all!" Hugo said furiously and hung up. Masters slept very badly that night.