Passport - Part Four by Yvonne Witter

Martuska knew that she was being followed but kept her stride with her head held high. When she heard the car pulling up alongside her, she quickly jumped in and it sped off. She turned to see in the distance the exasperation on their faces, and she smiled ruefully. Again, she had allowed her feelings to override her better judgement and compromise her position. Becoming so emotionally invested in Henry was never a sane idea.

“I thought I was supposed to meet you at the Water Tower” she said nervously

“There has been a change of plans” he replied without meeting her gaze, his jaw tightening as he meandered through the beautiful park, speeding past the tranquil water fountain.

Jack couldn’t believe the valuation that Mr Gregory had put on the bureau. It was a provisional figure but even so she had to stop herself gasping down the phone. Even a quarter share would set her up nicely, but maybe there’d be a way of getting a bigger share.

No sooner had she finished the call when the doorbell rang. A man wearing a homburg stood there – a whiff of cologne, a buttonhole and impeccable manners. Please call me Stanley. He’d read in the press about her father’s death and had come to give her news.

She explained about her father’s house being cleared. Most of his belongings had been removed but there were still two chairs and a kettle in the kitchen. Over mugs of tea she listened to his news. Had she not already discovered her father’s passport it would all have come as a total shock. It sounded to her like a script from an over-written 1970’s cold war film.

“I thought it important to give you some background, my dear, because I also have a message for you, a request that you to travel to Hungary, to meet a man known as KT.”