پاسگاه

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The Police Station

At a hundred kilometres an hour, the motorbike carrying Tommy Logan and Bob Steel roared through the centre of Bristol. Peter’s big lorry raced after them. Behind Peter came a police car with its blue light flashing.

Tommy Logan looked quickly over his shoulder to see if Peter was any closer. Peter was much closer. Tommy looked ahead again and saw a sign, “LOW BRIDGE AHEAD”. With a smile, Tommy drove the motorbike under the bridge.

Peter saw the bridge coming, but the lorry was going too fast to stop. The lorry was quite high and Peter thought it would hit the top of the bridge and crash. With a loud roar, the lorry went under the bridge and missed the top by a few centimetres. Peter wiped the sweat from his forehead.

‘That was close,’ Peter said to himself.

Peter looked in the mirror again. There were now two police cars behind! He could see their blue lights flashing, but he decided he wouldn’t stop. He had to drive on.

Slowly but surely, Peter got closer and closer to the motorbike. Soon he was next to it. The motorbike and the lorry screamed down the street side by side. A car coming in the opposite direction saw the lorry and motorbike and drove up onto the pavement to avoid a crash. Finally, Peter got a little in front of the motorbike and slowed down to make it stop.

Tommy Logan also slowed down. Then he suddenly drove the motorbike up onto the pavement and passed Peter again. The people on the pavement jumped for their lives when they saw the motorbike coming towards them. Bob Steel’s face was white with fear as he held onto Tommy Logan’s back. Tommy drove the bike onto the road again. He was now fifty metres ahead of Peter.

The road was straight now for nearly a kilometre. The two police cars behind the lorry were now much closer. Peter could see the flashing lights of another police car in front of them. Tommy Logan saw the police car coming too and started to slow down. A moment later, Tommy turned the motorbike around and came roaring back towards Peter.

Peter stopped the lorry in the middle of the road. The two police cars behind the lorry screamed to a stop, one on each side of the lorry. Now there was no space for the motorbike to pass. Peter jumped out of his lorry and started running towards the motorbike. Tommy Logan drove the motorbike straight at Peter, but at the last moment Peter jumped aside. The motorbike crashed into the lorry.

Peter stood still in the middle of the road for a second. He watched the motorbike hit the back wheel of his lorry. Behind him he could hear the policemen getting out of their cars and running towards him and the motorbike. In front of him, another policeman pointed at him and shouted, ‘Stop’.

Tommy Logan was not hurt. He jumped up immediately and started to run away. Peter chased after him. As he ran, Peter quickly looked behind him. Bob Steel was lying on the ground by the motorbike with a policeman standing over him. Two other policemen were chasing Peter.

Peter could run faster than Tommy Logan. He got closer and closer and finally jumped and caught Tommy by the shoulders. They both fell to the ground, with Peter holding on to Tommy’s coat. Then Peter felt two strong hands pulling him away. He looked up and saw two policemen.

‘All right, you two; stop fighting. You’re both under arrest,’ said one of the policemen.

Peter and Tommy both stood up and looked at each other.

‘Now, come with us,’ said the policeman, who was now firmly holding Tommy’s arm. And the four of them walked back to the police cars.

Another policeman was waiting for them with Bob Steel. Bob Steel had some blood on his face, but he looked more frightened than hurt. The motorbike was put in the back of Peter’s lorry and a policeman drove it back to the police station. Peter, Tommy Logan and Bob Steel followed in the police cars.

When they arrived at the police station, they were taken to see the sergeant.

The sergeant took their names and addresses. ‘Now then,’ he said, ‘what’s all this about?’

Bob Steel and Tommy Logan said nothing.

Peter thought for a minute and then he spoke. ‘It’s about the murder. The murder of Mr Stevens.’

‘Really?’ said the sergeant. ‘You were driving through Bristol at a hundred kilometres an hour because Mr Stevens was murdered, were you?’

Peter tried to explain the situation, but the sergeant didn’t want to listen.

‘If it’s about the murder,’ the sergeant said, ‘you can talk to the Inspector. He’s out now, but he’ll be back in half an hour. I hope you’re telling the truth, because the inspector is a very busy man. He’ll be very angry if he thinks you’re wasting his time.’

‘He’s mad,’ shouted Bob Steel, pointing at Peter.

‘All right, be quiet, all of you,’ said the sergeant. ‘You can all talk to the inspector when he comes.’

The sergeant took Bob Steel and Tommy Logan and put them in one room. Then he opened another door and pushed Peter into a different room.

‘Peter!’ shouted a voice.

Peter looked up. It was John.

‘Peter, how good to see you. Is everything all right now?’ asked John. ‘Are they going to let me go?’

‘No,’ said Peter sadly.

‘Then what are you doing here?’ asked John.

‘I’m under arrest, too,’ said Peter.

‘What for?’ John asked in surprise.

‘Dangerous driving,’ replied Peter. He told John the whole story and John listened without saying anything. Then John told Peter that the police had asked him lots of questions, but that he hadn’t told them anything.

‘I think it’s about time you did tell us everything,’ said a voice from behind them. It was Inspector Shaw.

‘Now,’ said Inspector Shaw, ‘you’re both in bad trouble. I want the truth.’