Chapter 8
Gatwick Airport
Wearily, Methos walked through towards the baggage claim, he had managed a few hours sleep on the plane but even in first class you never felt fully rested. He hadn't hurried, as he knew that the bags would take sometime to reach the carousel, only a few bags were left when he arrived. He snatched up the brown holder before walking through customs into the arrival area.
As he looked around the sea of faces, he noticed a familiar one holding a large white piece of cardboard with the name he was using written on it in black ink. He smiled warmly and waved as he walked over to the man in his late fifties with thinning brown hair.
"Charles Bridges, it's good to see you" Methos said as he held out his hand.
"Paul, my dear boy. I was beginning to give you up for dead and then out of the blue you call. What have you been doing with yourself the last 5 years?" Charles said as he vigorously shook Methos's hand. Methos just tilted his head on one side and narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, you're still with the service. Sorry old boy didn't mean to pry. The car is this way," Charles said as he led Methos towards the parking lot.
"So how are Melissa and the girls?" Methos had made sure he checked his notes before he left. "Arr...Melissa left me about 3 years ago for some actor fellow she met at a drama class".
"I'm sorry Charles" Methos replied.
"No problem, I've met a lovely woman, she's a little older than Melissa her name is Sally and the girls adore her." Charles fumbled in his pocket for his wallet pulling out 3 rather crumpled photographs. "This is Sally"
Methos looked down a plump, smiling face looked back. Sally was about in her mid fifties Methos thought but he could still see why Charles had been attracted to her. "And this is Alison or Ally as she wants to be called now and Debbie".
The last time Methos had seen them they had been on their way to school "Wow, they've really grown".
"Unlike my hair. I can't tell you the sleepless nights I've had waiting for them to come home".
"Well, they are beautiful" Methos smiled but in his mind he thought it was good that the 2 girls had their mother's looks.
As Charles drove towards the city he looked across at his friend half dozing in the passenger seat and shook his head, how could his friend look no older than he had the last time they had met? "Anyway, how long are you staying?"
Methos pushed himself up in the seat "Probably until the weekend. Did you manage to find anything on a Knight working in the diplomatic service, who died in the last 2 years?"
With one hand on the steering wheel Charles reached behind his fingers searching along the back seat until they managed to grasp a brown envelope. "This is all I could find at such short notice."
Methos took the envelope and opened it, pulling out a piece of paper. He ran his eyes quickly across the page there were 2 names on the sheet. The first was Craig Knight, he was born in Chelmsford, Essex in 1944; he went to University at Oxford and joined the diplomatic service after graduating with a degree in Political studies. He was married twice his first ending in divorce but he was survived by his wife and daughter when he died in 1998.
He then looked further down the page the other name was Jonathan Edward Knight. He was born in Cambridge in 1945 where he also at University. He had gone into the army after completing his degree in International Studies and reached the rank of Captain before he left 6 years later. He then joined the diplomatic service were he remained until his death in 1998. Methos could see that he had only married once and his wife had died 1983, a daughter survived him. There were no names for the wives or the children.
"I need more than this. I need the names of the wives and daughters," Methos said as he turned to his friend.
"I'm waiting on their personnel files, they should be here late tomorrow" Charles said as he turned the car onto a driveway outside a large white house. As he turned off the car he looked across at his friend and could see the disappointment in his face. "They're closed files so they have to come from central filing, that takes time but I'll call in the morning to see if I can jolly them along".
"Thanks, I don't mean to be pushy but this information could be very important" Methos said as he got out of the car. After picking his bag off the back seat Methos followed Charles up the steps to the front door. As Charles put the key in the lock he turned to Methos "The girls are staying with me at the moment, if all the lights being on wasn't a clue".
As the door swung open Methos could see that the hall hadn't changed much since the last time he was there. The same black and white tiles were on the floor, an ornate chandelier hung from the ceiling and the same paintings of Charles's family looked down from the walls. The choice of music that was filtering down from upstairs was very different from anything he knew his friend liked. As Methos put his bag down to take off his coat he heard a woman's voice call out from the top of the stairs "Daddy, you're home...and you've brought a friend".
Methos slowly turned round coming down the stairs was a tall, blonde haired young woman, Methos judged her to be about 19 to 20. "Alison, this is my good friend Paul Clavell he'll be staying with us for a few days".
As Alison reached the bottom of the stairs Methos walked over to her "Please, call me Paul".
The flush of her skin and the fact she didn't take her eyes from Methos was not lost on Charles "No, you can call him Mr. Clavell. Haven't you got a thesis to write?"
"But Daddy, it's not often we have company" Alison answered her father but her eyes stayed on Methos.
"That's not true I have friends over all the time" Charles replied.
"But this is the first time one of them is good looking" Alison replied but Charles just raised his hand pointing up the stairs. Methos smiled as he watched Alison start to walk up the stairs but she kept her eyes focused on him for as long as she could.
"I'm sorry about that Paul but you know how young girls and their hormones are," Charles said as he took Methos's coat from him, hanging it on the coat stand by the door.
"Now, something to eat, a good bottle of wine and some of your tall stories I think" Charles said as he opened the door to the dining room.
Joe's Bar
It was still early when Duncan arrived at the bar, he could see Richie sat on one of the stools at the end of the bar, with Joe the other side.
"Hey, Mac we weren't expecting to see you here today" Joe said as he reached for a glass "What will it be?"
"A beer. I was hoping Methos would be here," Duncan said as walked up to stand next to Richie
"He's gone out of town for a few days" Richie said as he picked up his glass. "Can't we help?"
Duncan took the glass of beer Joe handed to him "I just wanted to tell him that there is a simple explanation why he couldn't find Sandi in the Immigration records"
"What's that?" Richie said the suspicion in his voice very noticeable to Joe but thankfully Duncan hadn't seemed to notice. "Sandi isn't her given name. It's Alessandrine, so he can stop worrying I've seen her passport."
"So where is she now?" Joe asked. Duncan took a drink of his beer "She's at the Chester picking up a few things. I'm picking her up in half an hour. So where has Methos gone?"
Joe raised his hands "With the old man you never know".
London
Methos woke late and finding that Charles had gone out, he had spent the last few hours on the computer trying to find out more about Craig and Jonathan Knight. But he hadn't found out much more than was already on the paper beside the laptop.
Methos rubbed his eyes as he heard the bedroom door open "Did you get the files?"
"I didn't know I was looking for any?" Alison replied as she walked towards him with a bottle of wine and 2 glasses in her hand. "I thought you might like a little drink."
Methos looked down at his watch "isn't it a bit early?"
Alison sat on the edge of the desk the black mini skirt she was wearing rode higher up her thighs as she placed the glasses on the desk. "It's never too early".
Methos rolled his eyes this would be an awkward situation if his friend were to return. "I don't think your father would approve of you being here."
Alison slid closer as she poured wine into the 2 glasses "He's gone to his club. He'll be gone for hours".
Methos swallowed "look you're a very beautiful woman but I have a lot of work to do".
Alison smiled wickedly before leaning forward and running her fingers through his hair "All work will make Paul very dull."
Before Methos could reply Alison crushed her lips to his as she sat on his lap. At first Methos found himself responding until the sound of the front door slamming brought him back to his senses. Methos used his strength to lift her off him as he stood up "I think you should go...your father is here".
Alison straighten her skirt just as the bedroom door was opened
"Alison?" Charles said surprised on finding his daughter in the room.
"Arr Charles your back. Alison just brought me a drink and was telling me that you had gone to your club. Did you find anything?" Methos said as he walked over to his friend. Charles looked over at his daughter "I think you should get back to your books, don't you?"
Alison looked across at Methos and winked "I'll see you later"
Slowly she walked behind Methos letting her hand gently brush across his buttocks making him jump slightly. As the door closed behind her Methos turned to Charles "Now what have you got?"
Gatwick Airport
Wearily, Methos walked through towards the baggage claim, he had managed a few hours sleep on the plane but even in first class you never felt fully rested. He hadn't hurried, as he knew that the bags would take sometime to reach the carousel, only a few bags were left when he arrived. He snatched up the brown holder before walking through customs into the arrival area.
As he looked around the sea of faces, he noticed a familiar one holding a large white piece of cardboard with the name he was using written on it in black ink. He smiled warmly and waved as he walked over to the man in his late fifties with thinning brown hair.
"Charles Bridges, it's good to see you" Methos said as he held out his hand.
"Paul, my dear boy. I was beginning to give you up for dead and then out of the blue you call. What have you been doing with yourself the last 5 years?" Charles said as he vigorously shook Methos's hand. Methos just tilted his head on one side and narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, you're still with the service. Sorry old boy didn't mean to pry. The car is this way," Charles said as he led Methos towards the parking lot.
"So how are Melissa and the girls?" Methos had made sure he checked his notes before he left. "Arr...Melissa left me about 3 years ago for some actor fellow she met at a drama class".
"I'm sorry Charles" Methos replied.
"No problem, I've met a lovely woman, she's a little older than Melissa her name is Sally and the girls adore her." Charles fumbled in his pocket for his wallet pulling out 3 rather crumpled photographs. "This is Sally"
Methos looked down a plump, smiling face looked back. Sally was about in her mid fifties Methos thought but he could still see why Charles had been attracted to her. "And this is Alison or Ally as she wants to be called now and Debbie".
The last time Methos had seen them they had been on their way to school "Wow, they've really grown".
"Unlike my hair. I can't tell you the sleepless nights I've had waiting for them to come home".
"Well, they are beautiful" Methos smiled but in his mind he thought it was good that the 2 girls had their mother's looks.
As Charles drove towards the city he looked across at his friend half dozing in the passenger seat and shook his head, how could his friend look no older than he had the last time they had met? "Anyway, how long are you staying?"
Methos pushed himself up in the seat "Probably until the weekend. Did you manage to find anything on a Knight working in the diplomatic service, who died in the last 2 years?"
With one hand on the steering wheel Charles reached behind his fingers searching along the back seat until they managed to grasp a brown envelope. "This is all I could find at such short notice."
Methos took the envelope and opened it, pulling out a piece of paper. He ran his eyes quickly across the page there were 2 names on the sheet. The first was Craig Knight, he was born in Chelmsford, Essex in 1944; he went to University at Oxford and joined the diplomatic service after graduating with a degree in Political studies. He was married twice his first ending in divorce but he was survived by his wife and daughter when he died in 1998.
He then looked further down the page the other name was Jonathan Edward Knight. He was born in Cambridge in 1945 where he also at University. He had gone into the army after completing his degree in International Studies and reached the rank of Captain before he left 6 years later. He then joined the diplomatic service were he remained until his death in 1998. Methos could see that he had only married once and his wife had died 1983, a daughter survived him. There were no names for the wives or the children.
"I need more than this. I need the names of the wives and daughters," Methos said as he turned to his friend.
"I'm waiting on their personnel files, they should be here late tomorrow" Charles said as he turned the car onto a driveway outside a large white house. As he turned off the car he looked across at his friend and could see the disappointment in his face. "They're closed files so they have to come from central filing, that takes time but I'll call in the morning to see if I can jolly them along".
"Thanks, I don't mean to be pushy but this information could be very important" Methos said as he got out of the car. After picking his bag off the back seat Methos followed Charles up the steps to the front door. As Charles put the key in the lock he turned to Methos "The girls are staying with me at the moment, if all the lights being on wasn't a clue".
As the door swung open Methos could see that the hall hadn't changed much since the last time he was there. The same black and white tiles were on the floor, an ornate chandelier hung from the ceiling and the same paintings of Charles's family looked down from the walls. The choice of music that was filtering down from upstairs was very different from anything he knew his friend liked. As Methos put his bag down to take off his coat he heard a woman's voice call out from the top of the stairs "Daddy, you're home...and you've brought a friend".
Methos slowly turned round coming down the stairs was a tall, blonde haired young woman, Methos judged her to be about 19 to 20. "Alison, this is my good friend Paul Clavell he'll be staying with us for a few days".
As Alison reached the bottom of the stairs Methos walked over to her "Please, call me Paul".
The flush of her skin and the fact she didn't take her eyes from Methos was not lost on Charles "No, you can call him Mr. Clavell. Haven't you got a thesis to write?"
"But Daddy, it's not often we have company" Alison answered her father but her eyes stayed on Methos.
"That's not true I have friends over all the time" Charles replied.
"But this is the first time one of them is good looking" Alison replied but Charles just raised his hand pointing up the stairs. Methos smiled as he watched Alison start to walk up the stairs but she kept her eyes focused on him for as long as she could.
"I'm sorry about that Paul but you know how young girls and their hormones are," Charles said as he took Methos's coat from him, hanging it on the coat stand by the door.
"Now, something to eat, a good bottle of wine and some of your tall stories I think" Charles said as he opened the door to the dining room.
Joe's Bar
It was still early when Duncan arrived at the bar, he could see Richie sat on one of the stools at the end of the bar, with Joe the other side.
"Hey, Mac we weren't expecting to see you here today" Joe said as he reached for a glass "What will it be?"
"A beer. I was hoping Methos would be here," Duncan said as walked up to stand next to Richie
"He's gone out of town for a few days" Richie said as he picked up his glass. "Can't we help?"
Duncan took the glass of beer Joe handed to him "I just wanted to tell him that there is a simple explanation why he couldn't find Sandi in the Immigration records"
"What's that?" Richie said the suspicion in his voice very noticeable to Joe but thankfully Duncan hadn't seemed to notice. "Sandi isn't her given name. It's Alessandrine, so he can stop worrying I've seen her passport."
"So where is she now?" Joe asked. Duncan took a drink of his beer "She's at the Chester picking up a few things. I'm picking her up in half an hour. So where has Methos gone?"
Joe raised his hands "With the old man you never know".
London
Methos woke late and finding that Charles had gone out, he had spent the last few hours on the computer trying to find out more about Craig and Jonathan Knight. But he hadn't found out much more than was already on the paper beside the laptop.
Methos rubbed his eyes as he heard the bedroom door open "Did you get the files?"
"I didn't know I was looking for any?" Alison replied as she walked towards him with a bottle of wine and 2 glasses in her hand. "I thought you might like a little drink."
Methos looked down at his watch "isn't it a bit early?"
Alison sat on the edge of the desk the black mini skirt she was wearing rode higher up her thighs as she placed the glasses on the desk. "It's never too early".
Methos rolled his eyes this would be an awkward situation if his friend were to return. "I don't think your father would approve of you being here."
Alison slid closer as she poured wine into the 2 glasses "He's gone to his club. He'll be gone for hours".
Methos swallowed "look you're a very beautiful woman but I have a lot of work to do".
Alison smiled wickedly before leaning forward and running her fingers through his hair "All work will make Paul very dull."
Before Methos could reply Alison crushed her lips to his as she sat on his lap. At first Methos found himself responding until the sound of the front door slamming brought him back to his senses. Methos used his strength to lift her off him as he stood up "I think you should go...your father is here".
Alison straighten her skirt just as the bedroom door was opened
"Alison?" Charles said surprised on finding his daughter in the room.
"Arr Charles your back. Alison just brought me a drink and was telling me that you had gone to your club. Did you find anything?" Methos said as he walked over to his friend. Charles looked over at his daughter "I think you should get back to your books, don't you?"
Alison looked across at Methos and winked "I'll see you later"
Slowly she walked behind Methos letting her hand gently brush across his buttocks making him jump slightly. As the door closed behind her Methos turned to Charles "Now what have you got?"