“That, Professor, is the million dollar question. Whoever these people are, they successfully infiltrated one of the most secure organizations in the Western world. You can imagine what level of security we had on this research.” Potzner leaned forward again. “Professor Dracup, is there anything you can remember from the diary that we could use? Any detail at all? Take your time.”
Dracup closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. “There was a diagram – in the diary – cuneiform script. I only had a brief look at it.”
“Brief may be enough...”
Dracup clicked his fingers. “Hang on!” The Plant Sciences lab, the photocopier. “I might still have something…”
Potzner’s eyes lit up. “Are you telling me you have some information regarding the contents of the diary?”
“Maybe.” Dracup was cursing himself for a fool. How could he have forgotten? He stumbled to his feet. “My girlfriend has it. It’s safe.”
Potzner pushed back his chair and grabbed his coat. “But she may not be, Mr Dracup. She may not be.”
Chapter 5
Dracup’s worst fears were confirmed when he saw the police cars outside Sara’s house. He threw himself out of the car and battered on the front door.
Sara’s surprised face met them in response to Dracup’s frantic knocking. “Simon – thank goodness you’re here – there’s been a break-in. They’ve made such a mess –” She registered Dracup’s drawn, anxious expression and took his arm. “It’s all right. I’m okay.” Then she turned her attention to Potzner. “Hello again. You’d better come in.”
He felt Sara’s arm guiding him. “Simon, is there any news? This is – trivial – it’s just a pain. I don’t think anything’s missing.”
Dracup shook his head and stepped aside to make way for a policeman. “No news. We need to see the diary copies. Can you get them?”
“I’m sure – I know where I put them – oh, you don’t think...” Her hand flew to her mouth. “Just a minute. Make yourselves at home.” She left them in the front room and after a minute or so Dracup heard her footsteps descending again. Potzner stood by the window, hands in pockets, waiting, analyzing. His eyebrows raised the merest fraction as Sara came back in.
“Gone.” Sara spread her arms in a hopeless gesture. “I can’t believe it.”
“Right.” Dracup said. “Wait here.”
“Where are you going?”
“Back to the campus. I’ll be fifteen minutes. No more.”
Potzner’s face took on a quizzical expression. “I’ll be waiting, Mr Dracup.”
Dracup screeched to a halt in the Plant Sciences car park. He ran through the doors, impatiently brushing the large transparencies aside as they swung open. He strode briskly down the corridor past the reception desk, answering the receptionist’s unspoken query with a fierce proprietary stare in return. She withered and returned to her paperwork. Dracup found the office and pushed his way past a group of students loitering in the passage. A middle-aged lady in a tweed suit was flicking through the contents of a filing cabinet and tutting lightly to herself. She looked up as Dracup entered and gave him a brief look up and down. Evidently satisfied of his respectability she resumed her task.
Dracup went to the photocopier and slid his hand down the back of the machine. His hands found paper, and he carefully moved the A4 sheets out from their imprisonment between the copier and the wall. At last he had enough paper protruding to make a grab for them. Seven sheets came out. The first was blank and his heart did a little dance of despair. The following sheets bore the familiar marks of his grandfather. He whooped aloud, and the tweed lady looked up in surprise. By then he was gone and running down the corridor. Ten minutes later he was back at Sara’s house. The police cars were gone.
Potzner strode out to greet him. “May I?” He took the papers from Dracup and smiled, nodding his head in appreciation. “You’re a resourceful fellow, Mr Dracup.”
Sara appeared at the door and her eyes widened as she saw the papers. She looked at Dracup with surprise. He returned one of reassurance. It’s okay.
Sara held the door open. “Simon, how –”
“Just my cautious nature. I set the ‘number of copies’ counter to two and stashed the second batch behind the copier.”
Sara gave him a tense grin. “I’m impressed.”
“We’ll give you a hand with this first.” Dracup indicated the trashed sitting room. For forty-five minutes they cleared and tidied while Potzner made telephone calls from his car. Dracup signalled to him from the window, and Potzner came back in and hung his raincoat over the back of the sofa. His face was sombre and Dracup thought he detected a slight film of water over the American’s eyes.