"Lets hope he appreciates it; your deference." He qualified his sarcasm, opening the tower room door for her.
"He will. Can you use a computer?" Her mind was again on the problem at hand and his sarcasm had irritated her.
"Yes. I can help?" He closed the gap between them quickly on closing the door, one step behind her going up the stone steps, her jean clad bottom swaying with each step and made him grit his teeth to stop his growl from escaping.
"Take over from Drake, please. I'll tell you the codes to key in. What is the situation, Drake?" Rhoda moved to the frowning man's side and looked at the screens.
"The train driver is aware of the situation and is keeping steam up at a short distance away, though he can't do it for long, because of the through train about to arrive at ten past four. He's near a siding, so he's going to be safe enough, but the lever has to be pulled over manually, because the siding is a disused one, hopefully he will find it in working order and be off the track in ti..!" .He gasped an expletive and then. "If we need to wait that long. Look! She's not going to wait!" Drake became excited, seeing the woman and two children descend from one of the back carriages and run towards a fenced field.
"Go and fetch her in, on foot. Tell her Lord Dreux sent you and that the man chasing her is being interviewed. I will cope this end. Speed is essential." Rhoda took charge again and let Hassan take the seat Drake had vacated.
Rhoda gave Hassan the code number to patch her into the train drivers telephone, then picked up the mobile, telling the driver to go, that the lady was safe and that he could go into the station without worrying. That he had fifteen minutes to get there before the through train would go through on its normal track. She thanked him for his trouble and assured him he wouldn't get into trouble for being late, then cut the connection, watching the screen as she put the mobile back on its rest.
The train slowly edged forward and gathered speed, the screen splitting again when Rhoda gave Hassan a code number to key in, the woman and children being followed on his monitor with the through train being pictured and also its expected time of arrival being displayed and calculated on the on-screen clock. "Do you want me to follow it through the station?" He asked her.
"Yes, please. Just to make sure." Rhoda picked up the mobile again and used the dials to call the police inspector, apologising to his secretary, when she answered, for having shouted at her, and was put through to Inspector Brinchly straight away.
Rhoda explained the changed situation to him and thanked him for his help, promising him tickets for his wife to go to her next fashion show, then made a follow on call to a friend at the Re'seau Express regional office and explained what she had done with their four-am train to Houden and why, praising the driver and his initial reaction not to take any notice of her without back up from the police. Making sure he would be commended for his action rather than in trouble for it. Her friend assured her he would fix it and they said goodbye, leaving Rhoda free to watch the screens without having to worry about the driver, ever conscious of her jiggling nerves at Hassan's close proximity.
The trains crossed each other safely at the the multi-track station, five minutes after the first one arrived there, and Rhoda gave a low cheer, letting Miles and Hassan take the satellite trace off them and to concentrate on the grey jaguar; almost at the moat; and the woman with her children, crossing the dark field towards the chateau, a jogging figure almost abreast of them in the next meadow, where the dairy cows were resting.
"Have you got infrared lenses on the satellite?" Miles asked, watching the meeting between Drake and the woman, who grasped the children to her, obviously afraid and mistrustful of the man who had appeared out of no-where.
CHAPTER NINE
Start from the beginning
