Airwolf And I, Vice Versa

Chapter Fourteen

The white limousine pulled up outside the house of Mrs Hockley-Matthews in Oxford. It was an old house built in the eighteen hundreds and had a huge rose garden as well as climbing roses adorning the house covering up the very fancy brickwork. The architect that built it probably would be turning in his grave having his beautiful work of art covered with these thorny flowers.

Archangel and Marella got out and rang the bell on the door and waited.
A very elderly lady opened the door, her hair up in a bun and dressed beautifully. Even though she was well into her eighties one could already see that when she was younger she would have turned heads.

“Yes?” She answered.

“I am Michael Coldsmith-Briggs the third, we spoke on the telephone.” Archangel replied showing her his ID. “This is Marella.”

“Hello dear.” She smiled at Marella. “My you do remind me of myself when I was younger.”
“May we come in and talk to you?” Archangel repeated his request.

“Of course you can come in.” Mrs Hockley-Matthews told them shutting to door behind them. “Please come this way, I am about to have tea.”

“You have a lovely home.” Marella stated looking at all the photographs of her family. “Is this your husband?” Marella pointed to a black and white photograph of a ditinguised elderly man with a younger lady with a small child on her knee.

“Yes, that was Sidney.” Mrs Hockley Matthews confirmed. “Are you two married?”

Marella looked over at Archangel and blushed. “Er no Mr Coldsmith-Briggs is my boss.”

“That’s a shame dear, you make a good couple.” She told them. “Sidney my husband, died about twenty years ago.”

“I am sorry.” Archangel replied.

Mrs Hockley-Matthews continued. “So I am not sure what I can help you with. Sidney never talked about his work.”

They walked out of the room and went outside and sat on the patio. Roses were all around scenting the air gently. They sat down and a butler appeared and left a tea tray.

“Mrs Hockley-Matthews…”Archangel began.

“Please call me Elizabeth.” She told him pouring the tea.

“Thank you, I am here to talk about your son Charles and his father Charles Henry Moffet.” Archangel replied

Elizabeth stopped pouring the tea and placed the tea pot down. “How did you know?”

“Your son gave one of our operatives some DNA yesterday.” Archangel stated. “We do have lots of questions one of which is how your son got hold of a classified project that Moffet worked on.”

“Oh I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore not nowadays.” Elizabeth said remembering how she had to hide the fact that she was pregnant by another man.

“Did Moffet force you?” Marella asked trying to work out how anyone would even sit down with Moffet let alone go to bed with the menace.

“Force me? Oh no dear I had an affair with him.” Elizabeth told them seeing both their reactions. “That surprises you?

Both Marella and Archangel could not believe what they heard. They tried to hide their surprise on their faces but failed.

Elizabeth poured out the tea to her guests and settled into her chair. “I remember it like it happened yesterday. I was very young when I married Sidney barely 18, oh he was very academic and a lot older than myself, his father before him was the Dean. I should have realised that life out of London was going to be different but I didn’t realise how different.” She sipped her tea. “It was before the second world war and one of my husbands students, Charles Moffet had caught his and other professors attentions. He was so bright and the physics that he was doing was so very advanced. Charles came over one afternoon to leave a paper that he had done for Sidney. He was so debonair and charming.” She smiled as she remembered the spring afternoon in question. “I was so pleased at just having the company, someone nearer my age too, well just a couple of years older.”

Archangel and Marella listened quite not believing that Moffet could be even charming.
“We spent every Tuesday and Thursday afternoons together. We would go out in his car to the country, find a place for a picnic and just talk or sometimes just stay here.” She replied. “He loved me and I him. Then the second world war broke out. Charles was recuited by the Americans to go undercover, back then we all thought that the war would not last long but Charles wanted me to come to America, to divorce Sidney and go with him.” Elizabeth remembered the day in question. “I couldn’t leave, what would my parents think I had only been married a year and divorce was not something that people in polite societies do. So I made him leave. I told him that I did not love him and that what we had he meant nothing to me. It broke my heart to do it but it nearly killed Charles. He left and I never heard from him again.”

“So how did you have a son?” Archangel prompted.

“Well I was already pregnant when he left for America.” She remembered. “I had to think fast as Sidney and I, well lets just say it was a chore rather than a pleasure back then a husband and wife often had separate bedrooms. Anyway Charles was born and I told everyone he was a month early.” She continued. “Sidney was so busy with the univeristy and the OSI that Charles and I barely saw him. I am not sure if he guessed that Charles wasn’t his son but he never spoke about it.”

“Charles was to replace Sidney as Dean about twenty years ago but Charles was always working for other universities and other government departments that he turned down the post, this deeply affected Sidney..” Elizabeth continued. “He died shortly afterwards.”

“When did you last see Charles your son?” Archangel asked.

“Oh about 3 years ago, Charles is so busy with his work that he comes when he can, he does write to me every week though. A parcel came for him from America. I called Charles and he came to visit and opened it.” Elizabeth remembered. “I remember it came from California it was sent overnight on one of those expensive courier companies, I had to sign for it.”

“I don’t suppose you know what was in the parcel?” Archangel asked.

“Well yes, charles opened it here.” Elizabeth replied. “Those computer discs, lots of them, you know the silver ones and a couple of manuscripts. They all had a strange logo on it. I thought it was just one of my sons projects that he was working on.”

“What was the logo?” Archangel asked.

“Oh dear well I can’t quite remember that. I know it had teeth on it.” Elizabeth replied finishing the last of her tea. “Is that important?”

Marella looked into Archangels briefcase and showed the cover of one of the files in the briefcase to Elizabeth. Elizabeth picked up her half moon glasses that she needed to read from the table and put them on.

“Oh yes dear that was it.” Elizabeth confirmed. “I always thought it looked scary you know with the teeth. I am really surprised that Charles would be involved with something like that.”

Marella put the Airwolf file back into the briefcase.

“It was designed by his father, Charles Moffet.” Marella stated.

“Oh my, really? My Charles was so nice I don’t believe he would design such a thing, are you sure.” Elizabeth remembered the Moffet that she knew before the war.

“Well the Moffet we knew was somewhat different.” Marella stated.

“Really dear, how so?” Elizabeth enquired.

“Well for starters he did that to Archangel….” Marella started to speak.

“Marella please.” Archangel cut Marella off.

Archangel decided to lie to save the very elderly lady from the truth of what Moffet had become. The Moffet that she knew was before he had changed to the cold, cruel, sadistic mind that Archangel knew.

Elizabeth looked at the man dressed in white with one eye and a walking stick.
“Charles hurt you?” Elizabeth pieced a couple of things together.

“Well, it was an accident.” Archangel lied. “Well we have taken up so much of your time and we ought to get back. Thank you again.”

Archangel and Marella went to the door and Elizabeth followed them. Archangel was just about to get into the Limousine.

“Charles Moffet was a good man and I loved him very much and had his son.” Elizabeth told him. “I do wish that he could have met his son but I felt that we should never meet again. I will always regret that decision and wish I had run away with him.”

“If you speak to your son we would be delighted to have a chat with him about that parcel.” Archangel replied. “Thank you again for your time. Good bye.”

The limousine pulled away and Archangel looked at Marella.

“Well we know now why Moffet hated women so much.” Archangel mused. “Being turned down by Elizabeth must have taken its toll.”