Chapter Nineteen

LAURIE WAS SITTING on the sofa in Nick’s spacious basement apartment, hugging her knees to her chest, while keeping her face buried in her arms. Her conscience was in shreds, her shame so complete that she just couldn’t bring herself to look at him.

Next to her, Nick was staring at nothing, his face devoid of colour, his eyes livid with shock. Both of them were naked, still trapped in the nightmare of what had just happened, and the explosion of tempers that had followed.

They’d stopped shouting now, but it was only a temporary reprieve, for Nick’s struggle to rein in his fury was fast turning into a losing battle. ‘This wasn’t the way to do it,’ he finally growled. ‘This wasn’t the fucking way to do it.’

‘I know, and I’m sorry. I wish to God … I –’

‘Just stop saying you’re sorry. It doesn’t make it any better,’ and getting up he went to pull on the jeans that she’d virtually torn from him the instant she came in the door. ‘I don’t mind being used for sex,’ he shouted, suddenly rounding on her again, ‘that’s fine, because who wouldn’t want to fuck you, you’re beautiful, and you give as good as you get, but I do mind being thrown off in the middle of it because I’m the wrong fucking man.’

‘That’s not how it was,’ she cried, pushing a hand roughly through her hair. ‘When I arrived I wasn’t thinking straight. I was so angry with him …’

‘That you couldn’t wait to fuck me just to get back at him!’ he snarled. ‘Yes, you already told me, thank you very much, I don’t need to hear it again.’

‘You surely wouldn’t have wanted me to carry on once I realized,’ she said angrily.

‘I would have preferred we never got started,’ he spat. ‘Jesus Christ, of all the fucking moments to choose to tell me that you can’t go on …’ Enraged, he spun away and slammed a fist hard into the wall.

Never having felt more wretched, she lowered her head again and fought back the tears. He was right, there hardly could have been a worse moment for her to realize she was only making love with him because she thought Elliot was doing the same with Andraya.

‘You know what really sickens me,’ he raged, turning back to her, ‘is how I fucking fell for it all. You told me you were going to end it with him last night. You let me believe that you were going to be a part of my life, and I bought it all. I even told my daughter, do you know that? That’s how big a deal it was for me, that you and I were going to be together, but why the hell should you care? All that matters to you is that you get your revenge on him for shagging some Brazilian piece and if the rest of us get hurt while you do it, well what the hell does it matter?’

‘That’s not what it was about,’ she shouted. ‘I was with you because I care for you and because …’

’That’s exactly what it was about. You wanted to show him he wasn’t the only one who could be unfaithful, and that you had the power to hurt him the way he hurt you. Jesus Christ. I should have seen this coming … I should have known you couldn’t give him up …’

‘I’m not saying I can’t give him up! And anyway it’s immaterial now, he’s with her, and I don’t want to lie to you. That’s why I made you stop. Not because of him, because of you. It’s not what you deserve.’

‘Spare me the sanctimonious bullshit,’ he snarled bitterly. ‘I don’t need it, and I sure as hell don’t need it from you.’

Flinching at his tone, she watched as he turned away and dashed a hand through his hair.

‘Nick, you’re the last person in the world I want to hurt,’ she said, going to him, ‘and if I could …’

‘Don’t touch me,’ he said, raising an arm to block her. ‘I don’t want your pity any more than your lies.’

‘It’s not pity. I want to hold you because I think we both need to be held.’

‘Get it from him,’ he growled, swinging round. ‘You know he wants you so …’

‘He’s with Andraya now,’ she cried, ‘and I don’t want to be here because of that, I want to be here because of us.’

He was shaking his head. ‘I don’t want to hear any more,’ he told her. ‘It’s over between us, Laurie. I’m not waiting around while you sort out your mess, listening to your false promises and supplying you with sex when he crushes you again. We’re through, so don’t even think about coming here again.’

‘Nick, please don’t let’s end it like this. You’re angry now, and upset …’

‘Angry and upset doesn’t even begin to cover it,’ he told her savagely. ‘Now, if you don’t mind putting your clothes on, I’ll get what you came here for and you can be on your way.’

‘I’m not going anywhere, or doing anything while you’re like this,’ she said.

‘Don’t you get it?’ he shouted. ‘It disgusts me to see you like that now, so for God’s sake cover yourself up.’

Her face paled, and quickly turning to grab her clothes she was almost out of the room when the phone started to ring.

He kept his eyes averted as he lifted the receiver, nor did he look at her when he said, ‘Elliot. No, it’s OK. You’re not interrupting.’

Her heart somersaulted, then started to slow as he listened to what Elliot was saying, until frowning deeply he said, ‘Christ. Does he know?’ He listened again, then said, ‘Sure. I’ll pass you over.’ As he handed her the phone he said, ‘A warrant’s been issued for Tom’s arrest. Apparently they’re on their way to pick him up now.’

Her eyes immediately widened with alarm, and grabbing the phone she said, ‘When did you hear?’

‘About ten minutes ago,’ Elliot responded.

‘I take it Tom knows.’

‘Of course.’

‘So what’s he going to do?’

‘It’s in hand. Do you still have the camera in the car?’

‘Yes. Why?’

‘I want you to drive down to Katie’s now and get whatever you can on record. They’ve got a good head start, but they’ll probably still be there by the time you arrive. Apparently they want to do this out of sight of the press, so let’s make damned sure they don’t.’

Attempting to drag on her clothes, she said, ‘Where are you?’

‘At the flat, about to leave. Tell Nick to carry on as planned with Europe – if you’re going with him …’

‘I’m not,’ she cut in.

There was a pause before he said, ‘It wasn’t what you’re thinking. Andraya. I didn’t ask her to come.’

Realizing she probably already knew that, she said, ‘Let’s talk about it later.’

As the line went dead she dropped the phone on the sofa and continued to dress. Nick had disappeared, but as she zipped up her jeans he came back holding a large brown envelope.

‘The full ’97 version,’ he told her, tossing it on to a chair next to her bag.

‘Thanks,’ was all she could think of to say. ‘Elliot said to continue with Europe.’

He made no response.

When she was ready she scooped everything up and turned to look at him.

‘Just go,’ he said shortly.

She took a breath. ‘Nick, I –’

‘I said, just go.’

Realizing that he had to get over his anger before they could even think about becoming friends, she quickly went up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, then without saying any more she left.

‘Come on, come on,’ Katie was muttering under her breath. ‘Where the hell are you?’

She was standing at the kitchen window making a pretence of washing up as she watched two men in a wine-coloured Mondeo parked in front of the pond. That they’d made no attempt to come in yet, though were doing nothing to disguise their presence, was confirmation enough, according to Tom, that their orders didn’t include making the actual arrest.

‘They’ll be the advance troops,’ he’d said after Elliot’s call had put a quick end to the delicious meal that was still sitting half-eaten on the table. ‘It’ll be their job to make sure I stay put until the big boys arrive.’

‘So what are you going to do?’ Michelle had asked, looking as unnerved as Katie had felt.

‘Figure out fast how to refuse my invite to the party,’ he’d responded with typical irony.

Since he knew neither the territory, nor anyone nearby, it was Katie who’d finally said, ‘OK, here’s what we’re going to do.’

Now Tom and Michelle were standing at the far end of the sitting room, close to the front door, eyes fixed on Katie as they waited for her signal to go.

Katie swallowed hard and quickly cut off any thought of the consequences they might all have to pay for her sudden flash of inspiration, for they could be dire. Instead she just focused on her loathing for the power maniacs who were behind all this. They weren’t going to win. They just bloody well weren’t.

‘Anything?’ Tom said.

She shook her head, then Judy’s grey Panda came nosing into view, and her heart went into free fall. ‘OK, she’s here,’ she said in a loud whisper. ‘Don’t move yet,’ she cautioned, sensing Michelle and Tom ready to burst out of the door.

The Panda was edging up behind the Mondeo which was face on to the pond. The Panda slewed slightly to the left, looking as though it was about to turn round, but instead came to a stop across the back of the Mondeo, totally blocking it in.

‘Go!’ she cried.

Immediately Tom and Michelle tore open the front door, raced to the fence, leapt over and dived into Michelle’s hire car. As they went Katie had visions of all the adventures they’d faced together in the past, and wondered how high this one rated on the danger list. The tyres squealed madly as Tom made a swerving reverse, then threw the car into first and roared off up the lane almost before the two watchdogs had time to stumble from the Mondeo. Judy was still sitting behind her steering wheel, looking every bit the bemused Sunday tourist who’d lost her way and stalled her engine mid three-point turn.

Seconds later one of the watchdogs was yelling at her to move the car. Pumped up with indignation, Judy leapt out to give him a piece of her mind. Wasting no more time he shoved her aside, jumped into the driver’s seat, and shot the Panda forward. Then, abandoning it with the door open, he threw himself into the Mondeo as it screamed out of its trap, spun round and sped off up the lane in pursuit of the red Peugeot.

Catching Judy’s eye Katie saluted her with a champagne glass, then downed what was left in it while thanking God again and again that Molly wasn’t here to make things really exciting.

Outside, Judy slipped back into the Panda, turned it around and tootled off towards home. By the time she got there, if all had gone to plan, Michelle’s Peugeot would be tucked away inside Dave and Judy’s garage, Michelle would be watching for the Mondeo to go roaring out of the village, and Tom would be heading south to Cornwall in Dave’s ancient Renault 4, possibly with Dave at the wheel, or possibly driving it himself, Katie would have to wait to find out about that. In the meantime, she hit the champagne again and prayed to God that Judy and Dave didn’t end up paying a horrible price for helping a wanted man to avoid arrest.

Feeling far too hyped up to tackle any more dishes, she was engaging in another quick one-to-one with God, asking him to bring Michelle back in the next few minutes, when the telephone suddenly shrilled into the silence. Fearing the worst, which had plenty of potential, she hurriedly snatched it up.

‘Katie. It’s Laurie. Is Tom still with you?’

‘No. Are you on your way?’

‘Yes. I’m just passing Swindon. Who’s with you?’

‘No-one at the moment, but I’m expecting a houseful any time.’

‘I’ll be there as soon as I can. Is there anyone you can ask to come over, so’s you’re not on your own when they turn up?’

‘Michelle should be back any second. If not, I’ll work something out. Just don’t be long.’

As she rang off the kitchen door opened and she almost swayed with relief as Michelle came in, looking pale, breathless and disturbingly wild-eyed. ‘It worked,’ she announced softly. ‘Dave’s gone with him, Chris is meeting them halfway.’

Aware that she’d probably had too much champagne, Katie clasped her in a hug, saying, ‘It’ll be fine. He’ll make it. I know he will.’

‘He always has before,’ Michelle responded, sounding slightly less certain.

‘They’re looking for a red Peugeot,’ Katie reminded her. ‘And by the time they realize they’re not, he probably won’t even be in the country any more.’

Michelle forced a smile, and tried to ignore the misgivings that seemed to be gathering on a close horizon. ‘I wish I could have gone with him,’ she said, picturing Tom beside Dave in the clapped-out Renault as they’d driven out of the village. She’d had a dreadful premonition come over her in those moments that, thank God, was no longer with her, but she’d been so convinced at the time that she was seeing him for the last time that she’d almost run after him. Of course she’d never have caught the car, and even if she had, what would she have done? She couldn’t go with him, nor would she have tried to persuade him to stay. She understood as well as he did that the official warrant for his arrest meant that they’d now gathered, fabricated and doctored enough evidence against him to feel secure in their efforts to silence him.

‘What’s even worse,’ she said to Katie, ‘is that he’s just turned himself into a fugitive, so maybe we’ve played straight into their hands, because there’s nothing, not even the law, to stop them now. They could even kill him and claim he was resisting arrest.’

‘They’re not going to do that,’ Katie protested. ‘There are too many of us who know the truth. They’d never get away with it.’

‘With a charge of conspiracy to terrorism hanging over him, they can do anything. They’ve rewritten the law books, remember, here and in the States, and if they think they can make it stick …’

‘Let me remind you again who he is,’ Katie said firmly. ‘And frankly, they’ve got more to worry about, because they’re the ones taking these desperate, insidious measures to stop us exposing what lengths they’re prepared to go to to hang on to power and jackboot through the world. Trying to brand a reputable journalist a terrorist is going to be their downfall.’

As she finished Michelle’s eyes came to hers. They continued to look at each other, the meaning of the last few words becoming more apparent with each passing second.

Still slightly stunned by what she’d inadvertently stumbled upon, Katie said, ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’

Michelle nodded. ‘This could be our proof.’ she said.

‘It’s been staring us in the face all along.’

Again Michelle nodded.

Needing to spell it out, Katie said, ‘Why would they go after Tom like this, go to such extremes to silence him, if the P2OG doesn’t exist and all our deductions are wrong? They wouldn’t. So it has to exist, and all we have to do is report everything that’s happened since he received those documents, then sit back and let them explain.’

‘Because we’re not presenting it to a court of law,’ Michelle continued, ‘but to the court of public opinion, so it’s a question of who’s most likely to be believed. Us or them. The media or the hawks.’

Katie got to her feet. ‘Actually, it hasn’t been staring us in the face,’ she said, ‘it’s been building, coming into focus with each step of the process. Someone, our anonymous benefactor, knows what he’s doing. He can’t get the proof to us, so he’s helping us create another kind of proof, and one that can’t be traced back to him.’ She spun round to look at Michelle. ‘We need Elliot’s opinion on this,’ she said, ‘but I’m convinced we’re right, and if we are, the only issue we’re facing now is one of credibility. We have to pull it together in a way to make it utterly believable and virtually irrefutable, which shouldn’t be hard.’

‘There has to be something in the ’97 version that’s going to seal it,’ Michelle said. ‘Why else would someone keep pointing us in that direction?’

‘And Nick has that version now.’

Hearing a car approach, Michelle turned sharply to the window and immediately felt her blood run cold. ‘OK, looks like they’re here,’ she murmured, as a dark grey saloon drove in alongside Katie’s Fiesta, followed by two more similar vehicles that came up behind, totally blocking the lane. ‘ Remember, Elliot said their instructions are to keep it low key, so if they start threatening to arrest us, hold firm. It’s unlikely they’ll do it today.’

‘Oh lovely,’ Katie muttered, ‘something to look forward to tomorrow.’

As the car doors opened Michelle’s alarm began to grow. There wasn’t a uniformed officer amongst them, only men in bulky sports gear and trainers, or plain grey suits. ‘Eight,’ she finished counting, as they came towards the house. ‘Why so many? They’re bound to know by now that he’s not here.’

Downing the last of the champagne, Katie fought back her nerves and braced herself for combat. She was well used to taking on authority, had made quite a career of it in fact, but she had to confess she’d never faced it at this level before, or from the unfortunately shaky ground of having just helped a wanted man to escape arrest. Without question this gave them the upper hand, but it didn’t give them the right to go trudging all over her garden, poking about without introduction or invitation as though Tom was secreted under a flower pot, or riding a bucket down the well.

‘The bloody nerve of it,’ she declared, as one of them began turfing her spades out of the shed, but as she started towards the door Michelle pulled her back.

‘Don’t antagonize them,’ she warned. ‘We can be fairly certain they’ve got the power to do pretty much as they please …’

‘Not in my house they haven’t.’

‘Katie, please. If they want to arrest us they probably can.’

At that Katie deflated, and wishing she hadn’t had quite so much champagne, she tried to assimilate her thoughts as Michelle went to open the door.

‘Good afternoon, gentlemen,’ she said politely. ‘Can we help you?’

Fellowes turned from where he was watching the search to face her. Seeing who it was, his left eyebrow arched. ‘Michelle Rowe,’ he stated, looking her up and down.

Since he’d almost certainly have been told she was with Tom in the getaway car, she understood his surprise. ‘Legal Attaché Fellowes,’ she responded. ‘Can I ask what this is about?’

‘You know why we’re here,’ he retorted, ‘so don’t let’s waste each other’s time. You’ve just assisted a suspected felon to escape arrest, now you tell me where he is, and I won’t arrest you.’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who’s the suspected felon?’

His eyes seemed to cut right through her as taking two paces forward he came breath-smellingly close. ‘We know you were tipped off, we even know who made the call, so I’ll ask the question again, where is he?’

Her eyes stayed rooted to his. This man was full of hate, she could sense it as though it were crawling all over her. ‘I don’t know,’ she answered.

He stared back and waited, but was the first to look away as DI Wilding joined them. ‘Time to get them inside,’ Fellowes said roughly. ‘Make sure they give it a thorough going-over, and take the computers for forensics.’

After glancing at Michelle, though making no attempt to reintroduce himself, Wilding barked the order, and stood aside as the other officers came swarming towards them. Michelle went in ahead and shot Katie a warning look as they began filling up the kitchen.

Katie watched, then tensed with outrage as they began pulling out drawers, rifling the contents, then dumping them on the floor.

Michelle moved swiftly to her side. ‘Just think of Molly,’ she muttered. ‘You want to be here when she gets back.’

Katie looked at her, then at Fellowes as he squeezed in behind the others.

‘Mrs Kiernan,’ he said. ‘Let’s hope you’ve got more sense than your sister.’

‘If you want anything from me, you can tell these men to stop their vandalism right now!’ she retorted fiercely.

‘This house is known to have been used by a suspected terrorist,’ he responded smoothly. ‘It has to be searched.’

Michelle’s heart was thudding. ‘You know damned well he’s no terrorist,’ she said, unable to keep the contempt from her voice.

Fellowes’s face was an unpleasant mask of distaste as he turned back to her. ‘What I know,’ he said, ‘is that scum like him should never be allowed to call themselves an American.’

‘What the hell?’ Katie exclaimed, as something smashed in the sitting room, and charging in there, she saw one of her mother’s vases in pieces on the hearth. ‘What have you done?’ she cried, glaring at the man who was turning a couple of pieces of paper over in his hand. ‘Why did you do that? You could have just taken them out. They’re my daughter’s premium bonds, for God’s sake.’

Seeing she was right, he tossed them on to a chair and continued his search.

Behind her, Fellowes said, ‘Mrs Kiernan, if you tell us …’

She spun round.

‘If you tell us where he is,’ he continued, ‘we can be out of here in a couple of minutes.’

‘I don’t know where he is,’ she retorted. ‘And I’d like to know what jurisdiction you have here in this country, and in my house.’

Ignoring the demand he said, ‘The fact that he was here makes you a co-conspirator, Mrs Kiernan.’

Katie’s eyes moved to Michelle. ‘Tell him what happened,’ she said. ‘When you left here, tell him where you went, and what happened.’

Michelle turned calmly to Fellowes. ‘We drove to the station,’ she said. ‘There were no trains due, so he took the car and I came back here. So neither of us knows where he is now, or where he’s heading.’

Fellowes’s mouth curved in disdain. ‘You’re not helping yourselves, ladies,’ he told them. ‘You’ve got to know what a bad position you’re in, so why do this? You could be looking at as much as ten years for your part in all this.’

Overcome by a strong need to sit down, Katie started towards a chair. As she got there she heard the sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs, telling her that the bedrooms were now about to be ransacked too. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and gave a couple of little pants – a small effort to block the creeping exhaustion that was starting to claim her limbs.

Dragging her eyes from the window where she’d spotted Laurie moving in behind one of the cars, Michelle looked at Katie and felt immediately concerned. She was horribly pale, and clearly had somehow to be released from this ordeal, so turning abruptly to Wilding and Fellowes, she said, ‘Could I speak to you gentlemen outside please?’

As she closed the door behind them, she said coldly, ‘I think you probably know how ill my sister is, so all you’re achieving right now is considerable distress to a terminally sick woman whose only crime is to be related to me. She didn’t know Tom was coming here, and when he arrived he certainly wasn’t a wanted man. The minute we heard that he was he left, so she’s provided no safe haven, nor was she in any way involved in his departure. Now, I’ve told you the part I played, you know he isn’t here, you also know that not one of us, including Tom, is a terrorist, so can we please end this farce before my sister collapses under the strain.’

Fellowes’s expression turned thunderous as his face closed in on hers. ‘The evidence is stacked so high against your boyfriend, Ms Rowe, that none of you is going to escape the shadow. And you think she’s the only one with cancer in there? Well, let me tell you, we’ve got a world full of cancer out here, thanks to the scumbags your boyfriend knocks about with. Oh yeah, we know all about him. We’ve got his every move tracked from Somalia, to Afghanistan, to Pakistan, and whose footsteps does that put him in? Eh? The most wanted man on the planet’s, that’s whose …’

‘He’s a journalist, for God’s sake. Those are the kinds of stories …’

‘… he covers,’ he finished for her. ‘And what a great cover, except we’re seeing right through it. Sure, he might report the stories, but you know what he’s really up to, you’ve known for years, because you’re in on it too. You’re Arab-lovers, the pair of you. Anarchists. Subversives. You’ve turned against your own to join their war and help them kill, maim and terrorize the innocent people of your own countries. That’s who you are. You there in those refugee camps, stirring up hatred, recruiting for your boyfriend who hands them over to the madrasas where they get turned into the filthy, murdering bastards who spread out like a plague into the civilized world, waiting their time to tear it apart. Tell me, since when did either of you live in your own countries? Since a very long time. So it’s all bullshit about your sister. You’re only here, Michelle, to make contact with some sleeper cell to start …’

‘Are you completely out of your mind?’ she said tightly. ‘If that’s what you’ve been told, and you believe it …’

‘He’s been in those Afghan training camps,’ Fellowes hissed. ‘He hangs out in those hate-breeding Islamic schools and back-street cafés. His friends are all Arabs and Pakistanis and devout followers of the Prophet. He even dresses like them. Shit, he’s even got himself an Arab name. And now he’s got you here, doing his dirty work for him, connecting up with other operatives.’

Being quite clear now of the spin they were putting on Tom’s life, and her own, Michelle turned to Wilding and said, ‘This man who sounds very like a white supremacist, and certainly a racist, has clearly been successfully brainwashed by the far right-wing elements of his own government into believing exactly what they tell him, so there’s little point in me standing here trying to defend myself against such raging prejudice. But what would you say, Inspector Wilding, if I told you that the plans Legal Attaché Fellowes is referring to originate from a top secret task force known as the P2OG? That’s Proactive Pre-emptive Operations Group, whose brief is to incite acts of terrorism in order to facilitate a swift military response in countries where the US has something to gain. And who’s behind the P2OG? Who’s giving the orders? For that we go straight to the highest corridors of power, where a small but select group of neo-conservatives is contriving by all means possible to keep the world’s biggest power base under their control. Wreaking fear on their own people by constantly upping and dropping security alerts, cancelling flights, and sending sniffer dogs into crowded areas to search for non-existent dirty bombs is a part of it. As is subjecting anyone with a swarthy complexion to despicable human and civil rights abuses, and dispensing with due process of law if anyone, such as Tom Chambers, challenges their authority. The other part of it is to prove to the American people that the threat still exists – which it does, no-one’s arguing with that – but that it still exists in a form that can reach them on their own soil, even in their own homes. To allow an attack on the American homeland would suggest they’re not in control, but an attack on Britain, their staunchest ally, and partner in a special relationship, now that would be effective. Even an aborted attack, if its intent were lethal enough, would get the American fear level soaring, just prior to a presidential election – and that’s the date on this plot Legal Attaché Fellowes has told you about – and who’s going to vote for a change of leadership when there’s an emergency on?’

Fellowes started to applaud, a slow, sarcastic clap that earned him an unruffled smile from Michelle and an unreadable stare from Wilding. ‘Congratulations,’ Fellowes said scathingly, ‘you just keep that up, because you’re putting a big fat noose round your own neck with all that subversive bullshit.’

‘I don’t think so,’ Michelle responded, watching Laurie as she came around the corner of the house with a camera on her shoulder. Fellowes and Wilding had their backs to her, so weren’t immediately aware of her presence, though she’d been there the whole time, Michelle knew that. It was why she’d let Fellowes rant on just now, hoping Laurie was getting it all on tape, and had then gone into so much detail herself on their version of the story. What she didn’t know was why Laurie was showing herself now.

Glancing in the direction Michelle was looking, Fellowes’s eyes suddenly bulged with shock. ‘What the fuck!’ he spat when he saw Laurie, and grabbed the camera so fast she had no time even to tighten her grip.

‘Who the fuck are you, and what the hell are you doing here?’ Fellowes raged, tearing open the camera to check for tape.

‘That’s my property,’ she said, ‘and you’ve got no right …’

‘Just get the hell out of here,’ he hissed, snatching out the cassette and pocketing it.

‘But I’m not trespassing, and this isn’t a crime scene … Is it?’

Fellowes thrust the camera back at her. ‘Disappear, or you’re going to find yourself in a whole lot more trouble than you can handle.’

Laurie’s smile remained pleasant. ‘I think you know who I am,’ she said, ‘but just in case, my name is Laurie Forbes. I’m sure you’ve heard of me, so you’ll be aware that one phone call from me is all it will take to fill this village up with press.’

Fellowes looked murderous. ‘Are you threatening me?’ he demanded.

‘It probably sounds like it,’ she conceded. ‘Though it’s really just a statement of fact.’

‘You do realize I could arrest you right now for obstruction of justice?’ he snarled.

Laurie nodded. ‘I don’t think you want the publicity though – do you?’

Fellowes looked at Wilding, as though expecting him to deal with this mess.

Wilding pulled him to one side. ‘You’ve got the tape,’ he muttered, ‘the house has been searched. We’re not going to achieve anything else here today.’

Fellowes was boiling with outrage, but Wilding was right. Chambers was long gone and what they were engaged in now was tantamount to intimidation, which wasn’t going to read well with his superiors should it ever find its way to the airwaves. So biting back his temper, he fired a blistering look at Laurie, then throwing open the kitchen door he shouted, ‘Time to go!’

Katie was still at the kitchen table, feeling slightly better now, but still tense enough to jump severely at the yell. She wondered what Michelle had been saying out there, and what damage had been done to her belongings.. She wasn’t used to just sitting there while chaos erupted all around her, but the exhaustion that had suddenly taken her had been so debilitating that even now she was finding it hard to stand. However, she was in no pain, nor was she wholly dispossessed of her senses, so she was fully aware of the exodus as it happened, and the relief of seeing Laurie come in with her camera once they’d all gone.

‘Are you OK?’ Michelle said, going straight to her.

‘Yes, I think so. It must have been all the champagne. I came over very peculiar for a while, but thank God you’re here,’ she said to Laurie. ‘Look at the place. You have to shoot it. We have to get visual evidence of what they’ve done.’

Laurie was looking around in disgust. ‘The bastards,’ she muttered.

‘So let’s get to it,’ Katie cried impatiently.

Coming to her senses, Laurie said, ‘I need the tape I left here yesterday. There’s plenty of space on it, and it’s all I’ve got to shoot on.’

‘Why on earth did you let them know you had a camera?’ Michelle demanded. ‘When I knew you were there … Did you get anything?’

‘Come with me,’ Laurie told her, and leading the way back outside, she raised the lid of the dustbin and extracted a videotape from under an empty carton of milk. ‘He’s taken a blank,’ she said, ‘which is really going to piss him off, so I can probably expect a bit of harassment from that direction now. The important thing is to get this to a safe place, because it’s pretty powerful stuff – short on pictures, I’m afraid, but the sound should be perfect, and if we lay it over the shots of the mess inside …’

‘They’ve taken the computers,’ Michelle was saying, as they started back into the kitchen. ‘And God knows what else. I guess we’ll find out. Did you bring the document from Nick?’

‘Three copies of it. They’re in the car, which I left behind the pub. I didn’t want to bring it any closer in case anyone saw me arrive.’

‘Where’s Katie?’ Michelle said, frowning.

‘Up here,’ Katie called from the top of the stairs. ‘Let’s get Molly’s room cleared up before she comes back. She’ll go berserk about her computer, but thank God it doesn’t look as though anything’s been broken.’

As they joined her Laurie’s phone started to ring. ‘It’s Elliot,’ she told them, clicking on. ‘Hi. Where are you?’

‘Just coming into the village. How’s it going there?’

‘OK. They were still here when I arrived. I’ve got some excellent footage, and I’m about to get some more, because they’ve left the place in a dreadful mess.’

‘Is Katie all right?’

‘I think so. A bit shaken up.’ Her eyes went to Katie. ‘She’ll probably enjoy a visit from you.’

‘I’ll be there any second,’ he said.

‘No news from Tom, I suppose?’

‘There won’t be. He can’t risk it, and it’s best if none of us knows where he is. Have you got the stuff from Nick?’

‘Yes. There are lots of copies now, so it won’t do anyone any good to confiscate one.’

‘OK. I’m just turning into the lane. Can you meet me outside?’

By the time she got downstairs he was pulling in next to Katie’s car, so she walked across to the gate and waited for him to join her. ‘Where have you been?’ she asked, looking up into his eyes and thinking of those dreadful moments earlier with Andraya.

‘I came via Portsmouth,’ he said. ‘I wanted to lead them to a channel port, so they’d think I was meeting Tom to make a dash for France.’

‘Is that still the proposed destination?’

He nodded. ‘But now I’ve made it look obvious, perhaps they won’t focus on it quite so much.’

She was about to open the gate for him to come in when he said, ‘About this morning – I know how it looked, and what she said, but I swear I had no idea she’d be there.’

She nodded. ‘I think I know that,’ she responded softly.

‘She left straight away. I didn’t let her into the flat.’

‘Good.’

‘I think she’s got the message now.’

‘Let’s hope so.’ Then because he needed to hear it, she said, ‘It’s over with Nick.’

She sensed the relief that went through him, and felt it too, for in spite of there still being a long way to go, it was just the two of them now, with no-one else to add to the complications or turmoil. However, now wasn’t the time to take it any further, so she stood aside for him to come in, saying, ‘Who tipped you off?’

‘Chris,’ he answered. ‘He had a call from a woman who didn’t give her name, but was American apparently and, interestingly, knew he was the right person to get hold of.’

‘Elliot,’ Michelle said, pulling open the door. ‘Judy just rang. She’s had a visit from the police. They’ve obviously traced the Panda to her, and now they know that my car is in her garage.’

Not having been party to Tom’s getaway, Elliot was confused. ‘What does this mean?’ he said.

‘That they know Tom left in a Renault 4 with Judy’s husband.’

His eyes closed in frustration. ‘The traffic police will already have been alerted,’ he said, quickly going through the ramifications. ‘And if we call to warn him, we’re going to lead them straight to him. Shit, they were fast!’

The trusty blue Renault 4 was roaring along the M5 at fifty miles an hour, swaying in the slipstream of mightier cars and shuddering in the wake of high-sided lorries. There was a blinding spray on the windscreen that the wipers were diligently smearing, and the sinister grating sound coming from somewhere up front seemed to be getting worse.

The journey so far had been uneventful, but that was about to change, for a fleet of three police cars was bearing down on the unassuming vehicle like hounds on a limping fox. Dave glanced in the rear-view mirror, and blinked at the dazzling display of blue flashing lights. Resisting the urge to stick his foot down, mainly because it might go through the floor, he carried on zipping along, whistling tonelessly and scratching his unshaven face as he pondered his predicament.

The police cars were on him in seconds, forcing him on to the hard shoulder, and pulling up alongside, in front and behind.

‘Tom, my friend,’ he muttered as he wound the window down, ‘you’re a lucky man. And it looks as though I’m a popular one,’ he added, as he watched his rusty old heap being surrounded by fluorescent jackets and chequer-band caps.

‘David Penwright?’ an important-looking flat cap demanded.

‘That’s me,’ Dave responded. ‘Is everything all right? I wasn’t breaking the limit, was I?’

‘Step out of the car please,’ the flat cap responded, clearly not amused.

Obediently Dave struggled with the handle, then shouldered open the door and clambered out on to the tarmac. The noise was almost deafening as the traffic thundered by, though several motorists were slowing up now to catch a glimpse of what was going on. No gore and guts over here, Dave was thinking, or not yet anyway. ‘What’s the problem?’ he asked, as two officers began inspecting the inside of his Renault, whilst another opened the back. ‘I haven’t got any drugs.’

‘We’ve received information that you’re assisting a suspected criminal in avoiding arrest,’ the flat cap told him. He glanced down at his notes. ‘Thomas Chambers. US citizen.’ He looked at Dave, clearly waiting for an answer.

‘If you’re talking about my mate Tom, who I was giving a lift to,’ he said, ‘then you’re out of luck. I just dropped him off. But he’s no criminal, not Tom …’

‘Where did you drop him?’

Dave shrugged. ‘Back there, at the services.’

Immediately another officer began speaking into his radio. ‘Suspect thought to be at Exeter services,’ he said, spreading the word.

‘Where was he going from there?’ the flat cap asked Dave.

Dave pulled a face. ‘He didn’t say. He just wanted a lift down that far, which I was happy to do, you know, give the old girl a bit of a run, she don’t get out much …’

‘Did anyone meet him? Did he hire a car? Take a taxi?’

‘I think he just went in to have a cup of tea,’ Dave answered.

‘Or to wait for someone?’

‘I don’t know. All I know is he got out of the old girl here, and gave her a friendly slap on the roof as I drove off. I didn’t want to stop the engine, see, in case I had trouble starting it again.’ That much at least was true, but he didn’t have to tell them the rest of it, that Tom’s lift was already waiting when they got there, pulled up in front of Burger King, as arranged, or that it was a top-of-the-line S class Merc that had got his juices flowing, and the old girl’s dander up, the way she’d coughed and spluttered as they’d lurched back down the slip road to start the journey home.

No, Tom was long gone by now, zooming off to only he knew where, with only he knew who, because Dave certainly didn’t. Nor did he want to. His part was over now. He’d just given a lift to a friend of a friend, and being the obliging fellow that he was, he hadn’t even accepted any money for gas, as his mate Tom had called it.