Chapter 5
Goodbye, holiday!
It was a beautiful morning. 'This is good,' thought Philip Cox. 'I love holidays. I can sleep and eat and do nothing. I can be with my family and go and look at the city of York. The hotel is very nice,' thought Philip.
He sat on the large bed and drank his coffee. He never had breakfast in bed at home. There was too much work. There was a television in the hotel bedroom. 'I can watch television and eat my breakfast in bed,' he thought.
'Is it OK if I turn on the television?' he asked his wife.
'Why not?' she said. 'You're on holiday.'
Philip turned on the television.
'Good morning,' said the woman on the television. 'I'm Susan Peters. With me this morning is Detective Jenny Brown.' Jenny Brown smiled.
'I hope you can help us,' said Detective Jenny Brown on the television. 'Last Friday, here in York, a woman died. Her name was Mary. We know that she had dinner with a man called John Roberts. We want to talk to John Roberts.'
There was now a picture of a man on the television.
'Do you know this man?' asked Detective Jenny Brown. 'Is John Roberts his name? Does he have another name? Please, please phone this number if you know him.'
'Oh, no,' said Philip Cox to his wife. 'I know that man. He's in the hospital back in Exeter. We called him John Doe. Goodbye, holiday!'
Philip phoned the number that was on the television programme. He talked to Detective Jenny Brown.
'My name is Doctor Philip Cox. I'm in York on holiday. The man you called John Roberts is in our hospital in Exeter.'
'Can you come to the police station now?' asked Detective Brown.
'Yes, of course,' said Doctor Cox to the detective. 'I can come now.'
The police station was near the hotel and five minutes later Doctor Philip Cox was in Detective Jenny Brown's office.
'Thank you, Doctor Cox,' said Detective Brown. 'Thank you for coming here. I know you are on holiday.'
'That's OK,' said Doctor Cox.
'I phoned your hospital,' Detective Brown said, 'but the man you call John Doe isn't there. He left yesterday.'
Doctor Cox thought for a moment. 'There's a house we use sometimes for people who don't have homes. Is he there?'
'No,' Detective Brown answered. 'I phoned that house. The hospital told him to go there. But the people at the house say he never came. No one knows where he is.'
'This is bad,' said Doctor Cox.
'Yes, it is,' said Detective Brown. 'John Roberts is a very dangerous man.'
'Do you think he's still in Exeter?' asked Doctor Cox.
'I don't know,' said Detective Brown. 'Does he know anyone else in Exeter? Did he talk to anyone else at the hospital?'
'Nurse Angela,' said Doctor Cox. 'I asked Nurse Angela to talk to John Doe a lot, to ask him questions.'
'Can you speak to her?' asked Detective Brown.
'I can phone the hospital,' said Doctor Cox. He phoned the hospital.
'She's not there,' he told Detective Brown. 'She went home three hours ago.'
'Phone her at home!' said Detective Jenny Brown. 'Quick! Quick! Doctor Cox! Get Angela's home telephone number. Find out where she lives. I'm going to phone the Exeter police.'