Nash read the first part of the report, which was mostly incomprehensible. It contained a list of seven different chemical formulae, which meant nothing to a layman. The conclusion, however, where the doctor had summed up the effects, was dynamite.
‘There is little doubt that the person who administered these drugs to Dr North was well aware of the effect they would have. It is a combination no ethically minded physician would prescribe, and no pharmacist would make up. Briefly, the combination is that of a complex variety of hallucinatory drugs, aphrodisiacs, mood suppressants and sedatives. The combined effect would be to render Dr North incapable of decision making, outside of his own sphere of work. He would be compliant to the wishes of others and subservient to the sexual demands of persons close to him to whom he felt attracted. Although it is difficult to judge how the balance of the drugs was arrived at, or
the length of time they had been administered, my own examination of the patient would tend to suggest a period of months, if not years, and the resultant state of mind is that Dr North is in urgent need of long term, in-depth psychiatric care.’
Clara watched Nash’s face change as he read it. His expression was grim. ‘The problem’s going to be how we get round this.’ He tapped the report.
‘Having him sectioned, you mean?’
He nodded. ‘Let me have a word with Jessica, alone. Tell Dr North I need to take a statement from her about the kidnapping. Get him another cup of tea or something.’
Nash opened the door. North was still clutching the photograph in one hand, whilst the other was holding Jessica’s. ‘I’m going to ask my sergeant to get you another drink, whilst I take a statement from Jessica about the man who abducted her. If I was you, I’d opt for tea, her coffee’s lousy. Either that or ask DC Pearce to make it. Clara’s coffee tastes like something that’s been drained out of a car engine.’
North seemed to accept this. He let go of his daughter’s hand. ‘You won’t keep her long, will you?’ North asked; his voice tremulous.
‘Not a minute longer than necessary,’ Nash reassured him. ‘And she’ll be right next door.’ He pointed to his office.
North smiled, a major achievement given the contents of the report in Nash’s pocket. Jessica followed the detective into his office; a worried frown on her face. As soon as Nash closed the door she asked, ‘What do you need to know. I mean, that you don’t know already?’
Nash studied her. Something about Jessica, the way she acted, the way she spoke of the time she’d spent with Hirst made him suspicious. He decided to test her out. ‘Nothing you’re not prepared to tell me.’ He smiled. ‘And I guess there could be quite a bit, one way or another.’
‘I’m not sure what you mean.’ Jessica’s blush gave Nash his answer.
‘It’s all right, I was only teasing you. I only met Steve once, and that was in awful circumstances. But I liked him a lot.
Obviously not as much as you did.’
Jessica’s face was beetroot. ‘Please, don’t tell my father. He’s in a bad enough state to begin with.’
‘What could I tell him? I don’t know anything. I might have my suspicions, but that’s probably my dirty mind. And in any case that wasn’t the reason I asked you in here. I don’t want to know anything about your abduction; or your relationship with Steve Hirst. That’s your private business. What I wanted to get you on your own for was this.’ He fished the report from his pocket. ‘Sit down before you read it. Along with everything else you’ve learned it proves what evil bastards they are. And when I tell you about the phone call I’ve just had, you’ll realize how dangerous they still are.’
She wouldn’t sit. She was too strong for that. Nash realized the core of steel within her, much as Hirst had done. She read the report, her face whitening with anger. At the end she was ashen; her lip trembled as she fought with her tears. ‘Is there no end to this?’ She turned towards Nash and almost flung herself into his arms, weeping, inconsolable. Nash put an arm round her shoulders, stroking her, soothing her.
The door opened and Clara coughed. Nash looked up. ‘Jessica’s a bit upset, Clara. Come in, close the door behind you. I don’t want Dr North to see her in this state.’
Jessica pulled herself upright, as much a mental act as a physical one. She dried her eyes on her sleeve and managed a watery smile. ‘Sorry,’ she muttered, ‘everything just got to me. I was all right before. I got used to hating Mother and Adam for the way they behaved. But knowing they were being poisoned, that makes it unbearable. Then to find out they’ve been doing the same to Dad; that was too much. Why didn’t they have a go at me, I wonder?’
‘I think I can answer that. You were unavailable for two thirds of the year, being away at school. The drugs they used were designed for long term effect. They couldn’t get to you. Now, what do you want to do about this?’ Nash tapped the paper.
‘I don’t like the thought of him going into an institution.’
Jessica shrugged. ‘But you’ve seen what a state he’s in. That man out there’ – Nash noticed the girl’s hand was trembling. With anger as much as distress, he thought – ‘That isn’t my father. Not the father I knew. Not the father who cared for us, played games with us when we were little. That’s as much a ruined shell as our cottage. So, yes, call your doctor and make the arrangements.’ She sighed wearily. ‘I’ll sign the papers. But what I’ll do whilst he’s in care, I’ve no idea.’
‘Why don’t you have a word with Sonya Williams? She might have some ideas.’
If Nash had any doubt about Jessica’s resilience it was resolved by her retort. ‘I could do, perhaps. She might let me stay for a while. Then I could always go out for the evening, if she was entertaining someone.’
Clara’s laughter and Jessica’s smile were the brightest spots of the day so far, Nash thought. Until he remembered Sonya’s parting promise.
‘Mike, the chief and Ruth are downstairs talking to Jack,’ Clara told him.
‘Right, stall them when they come up, will you. I’ll phone and make these arrangements. Introduce them to Dr North; then bring them in here. I’d like them to meet a very brave young woman.’
After Pearce left to take North and Jessica to the doctor’s surgery, Nash met with the chief constable and Superintendent Edwards. He handed them each a copy of the file transcripts.
‘Before you read these, they refer to the people involved in this case, so let me fill you in with the details. Basically, the idea was American in origin. It was a development of the MKULTRA scheme, which was dreamed up by the CIA as early as the 1950s. Incidentally, there are documents to confirm this. They found that if they fed soldiers with certain hallucigenic drugs, principally LSD, it made them less susceptible to both pain and fear. The experiments continued right through the Vietnam War, up until the administration got spooked by the Watergate affair. The CIA was instructed to stop all trials, and any evidence relating to MKULTRA was destroyed on the orders of Richard Helms, the then Director. Although there was no official involvement or backing, it seems certain pharmaceutical companies took up the baton after the Gulf War, and began experiments using the new generation of drugs that was becoming available. Dr North had already been headhunted to work for one of these companies. The American military was approached, but they were unwilling to commit to the scheme in an official capacity, although they probably kept abreast of developments. However, the British forces were keen to see what was achievable, so they assigned a high ranking scientific officer to set up a small company that would continue work on the project. Helm Pharm was that company. Dr North, who by
now was the leading expert, was brought back from America to work on the scheme.
‘However, he had serious reservations about the use the drugs were being put to, particularly the use of human guinea pigs in the form of soldiers serving in the front line. To ensure his compliance, the head of the project, who we now know to be Dr, or Colonel Dunning, set about a three-pronged attack that would ensure North’s compliance. She fed him mood altering drugs, the main part of these being an aphrodisiac. Then she allowed North to seduce her, ensuring there were plenty of candid photos of his adultery. At the same time she became a “family friend”, spending a lot of time at the North household. She fed Lara North a cocktail of drugs that turned her into an uncontrollable nymphomaniac, and at the same time became her lover too. This “treatment” continued on and off for several years, ensuring the deterioration in the marriage. Somewhere along the line, she introduced North’s son, Adam, to class A drugs, principally cocaine laced with an additional addiction fixer that ensured he couldn’t be weaned off them.’
Nash paused and looked at the two senior officers, noting the look of horror on their faces. ‘If you think that’s cold blooded and callous, wait until you hear the rest. Recently, Dunning found out that Lara had begun to suspect that she was in effect being poisoned. She might well have threatened Dunning with exposure. Unfortunately for her, there was a break-in at the laboratory, and the disks containing all this information were stolen. That effectively signed the death warrant for Lara and Adam North. For Jessica too, but for the fact that someone guessed what they had in mind for her and removed her from harm’s way. Dunning’s second in command, a military intelligence officer by the name of Major Smith, was detailed to carry out the assassinations. You both know what happened. Lara and her lover, a man whose name we don’t know, were burned to death in a fire at the North home, one that was rigged to look like an electrical fault. A few weeks later, Adam North was placed in the stocks and suffocated with superglue.
‘Smith was probably under the influence of one of Dr
North’s drug cocktails, a product aptly named MAD. It stands for modified amphetamine dependency. It was first trialled recently by a party led by Smith whilst abroad. Their mission was to attack a far superior Taliban group. Smith was instructed to make sure none of his fellow soldiers returned from that mission. One did, however, and it is thanks to him that this information has come out. He is also responsible for Jessica North being alive today.
‘As I see it, Dunning is responsible for the deaths of those soldiers as well as those of Mrs North and her son. In addition, there are countless charges relating to the drugs administered that are down to her. That is the woman in the cells downstairs. The woman whose release the MOD is sending a senior official here to secure.’
There was a long silence. Eventually, O’Donnell spoke. ‘I think you’ve done really well to piece all this together, Mike. If things had been different I feel confident the CPS would have been happy to take the case to court. However, as things stand their hands and ours are tied. If the MOD insists on our releasing Dr Dunning, or Colonel Dunning, or whatever the blasted woman’s title really is, then there’s nothing whatsoever we can do about it. All I’ll be able to do is insist there is no comeback on North or his daughter over this. If I can manage to get them to call their attack dogs off them, at least we’ll have achieved something.’ She saw Nash about to protest and held up her hand.
‘I know it’s frustrating for you. Bloody frustrating, and we all feel the same, but I’m afraid you’ll have to accept it, Mike. I can’t see any way we’ll be able to bring the Dunning woman to court unless the MOD agrees. And that isn’t going to happen.’
Nash broke the news to Mironova and Pearce, and the CID officers spent the afternoon gloomily tidying up files. The thought that they had a murderer in their cells but would not be able to prosecute her didn’t go down well with any of them. After a while, Nash left the other two and went back to his office. He spent half an hour sitting behind his desk, reflecting
on the case, before emerging. ‘I’m off,’ he told the others. ‘I’ve some shopping to do. I’ll be out for half an hour or so.’
When he returned, Clara saw that he was in a noticeably more cheerful frame of mind. ‘I didn’t realize shopping had such a good effect on you,’ she commented.
Nash smiled. ‘It all depends on what you go shopping for. Besides which, I’ve got a date tonight.’
‘Oh yes, the Merry Widow.’
‘You got it,’ Nash admitted. He winked at her and went into his office, whistling as he closed the door behind him. Clara stared at the closing door, trying to work out how half an hour could have effected such a change. She turned to Pearce. ‘I wonder if he’s been taking some of those drugs.’
‘If he has, I wouldn’t mind some,’ Pearce told her morosely.
Nash went to his flat and showered before leaving to go to Sonya’s house. He picked up the carrier bag he’d brought from the office, then drove the short distance across town.
‘Have you eaten?’ Sonya asked after she let him in.
They walked into the lounge, his arm around her waist. ‘No, to be honest, I haven’t felt hungry. Something happened this afternoon that spoilt my appetite.’
‘I’ll have to tempt you then.’
‘You don’t need to cook to do that.’
She looked at him, head on one side. ‘Whatever went wrong, you’ve solved it or you’re on the way to putting it right.’
‘How do you work that out?’
‘Because you made a suggestive remark. You’d only do that if you’d got things sorted. So, what’s in the carrier?’ She pointed to the bag he’d put down on the settee.
‘I’ll show you later. What are you going to tempt me with first?’
‘I thought chicken casserole would be nice. You don’t want anything too heavy.’ He watched her move towards him. Her eyes were smoky with desire. ‘Not before exercise.’
After they’d eaten, Nash told her what had happened at the station. ‘The likelihood is that the MOD will insist that
we release Dunning and drop all charges against her. Which sickens me and my colleagues, but on the face of it there’s nothing we can do.’
‘Have they really got the power to do that?’
‘Of course they have. All they need to do is use the “in the interests of national security” line, and there’s nothing we can do about it.’
‘Even though you’ve got conclusive evidence that she’s guilty of murder, or conspiracy, or whatever the technical name is?’
‘That’s near enough. And no, we’ll have to let her go.’
‘And that’s it? You’re going to leave it at that? I don’t believe you’re prepared to give in so meekly.’
‘Did I say I was giving in? Did I say I was leaving it at that? Do you really believe I’m that spineless?’
‘No, of course I don’t. But from what you’ve told me, what else can you do?’
Nash told her what he had in mind. As he did so, Sonya’s eyes widened in shock, which turned to admiration, the admiration cloaking her desire. When Nash finished speaking, she reached across the table and caressed his cheek. ‘Mike, you’re a clever, conniving, cunning bastard. Take me to bed and make love to me.’
Nash hid his reluctance remarkably well. Several times.
Next morning, he wandered into the bathroom and showered in leisurely fashion whilst Sonya went to make breakfast. When he joined her in the kitchen she passed him a coffee, in a mug of considerable dimensions. ‘I know you said I’d to drink a jarful,’ he joked, ‘but I didn’t realize I’d to do it all in one go. This mug’s more like a young swimming pool.’
‘I thought you might be thirsty. Hungry too after last night. So I’m making a full English.’
‘Great, that’ll set me up for the day ahead.’
Sonya glanced across at him. ‘You sound much better this morning.’
‘Well, there’s nothing like a good night’s sleep to set you up for the day. And that was nothing like a good night’s sleep.’
Nash put the mug down and went across to where Sonya was attempting to open a packet of bacon. He slipped his arms round her, feeling the curve of her breasts against his arms, through the towelling of her bath robe. She leaned back against him as he began to caress her, moaning slightly in mock protest as she sensed his arousal. Breakfast was delayed for quite some time.
As they were eating, Sonya’s mobile rang. She glanced at the display and frowned. She answered the call, relaxed and made the sign of a letter ‘J’ in the air. Her conversation seemed to be limited to a series of agreements to whatever was being said. She ended the call and put the phone down. ‘That was Jessica. Her father’s being kept in a clinic in Netherdale until they’ve got the drugs out of his system. She reckons it’ll be two or three weeks. She needs somewhere to stay in the meantime and asked if I could help her out.’
Sonya put her hand on Mike’s. ‘I’m sorry, but the poor girl sounded so lonely and upset, I hadn’t the heart to say no. It’ll mean you won’t be able to come and stay for a while though.’
Nash smiled. ‘Don’t worry about me. Who do you think suggested the idea to Jessica in the first place?’
‘You did? That was thoughtful of you, Mike.’
‘Now, before I go, are you comfortable with our little arrangement?’
‘You mean, about the—’
‘Yes, because if not, I can always take it on my own. You’ll come in for a bit of flak and a considerable amount of publicity.’
Sonya’s eyes strayed to the photograph on the dresser. Of her husband in full dress uniform, taken just before he left for the final time. Any doubts she had vanished. ‘Of course I’ll do it. If only for the sake of Steve and others like him.’
When Nash reached Netherdale HQ, the chief constable was already in a meeting with the official from the MOD. He waited patiently in the outer office until O’Donnell appeared. She introduced Nash to the civil servant. ‘I’m afraid I have to leave now. I’m due at the Home Office this afternoon and if I don’t get off soon I’ll miss my train. Detective Inspector Nash is aware of most
of what you’re asking for. I’m sure he’ll do his best to comply.’
The official’s back was turned to the chief constable. Nash, whose eyes were on her, hid a grin as he noticed the crossed fingers.
‘So, Nash,’ the official started almost before the door closed. ‘You’ll release Colonel Dunning this morning. All charges against her will be dropped. That has already been agreed.’
The words were issued more as a command than a request. Nash waited for the rest. ‘In addition, I’ll travel to Helmsdale with you, to take charge of the sensitive information that was stolen from Helm Pharm.’
‘That’s evidence in a murder inquiry,’ Nash protested.
‘It is also protected by the Official Secrets Act.’ The official did little to disguise his triumph. ‘Which outweighs your murder case. Finally, I want all the evidence you have about the person who is responsible for the destruction of Ministry of Defence property, by which I mean the Helm Pharm laboratory.’
‘I’m afraid you’re asking too much,’ Nash told him. ‘I will release Colonel Dunning, under protest. I will relinquish the disks and documents in my safe, under protest. But no way will I give you information that might or might not be relevant to the explosion at that laboratory. For one thing, I don’t trust you or your department to handle it correctly. For another, much of it is speculation. That wouldn’t be good enough for prosecution by the CPS, but I’m far from confident that you’d be as discriminating. In other words, I’m not prepared to give you ammunition for you to indulge in a witch-hunt.’
‘You’ll do as you’re told, Nash. If you value your career in the police force, that is.’
‘Sorry, did I get that right? Are you threatening me?’
‘Too damned right I am. If you don’t do exactly as requested, your career will be over, and all your pension rights will be forfeit.’
‘I see,’ Nash replied thoughtfully. He gestured towards the third occupant of the room, a young woman sitting quietly in the corner, taking notes. ‘You are aware that this conversation is being witnessed and minuted, I trust.’
‘I don’t care what you and your secretary cook up between you,’ the civil servant snarled, without either civility or servility.
Nash smiled sweetly. ‘Oh, sorry, didn’t I introduce you? This isn’t my secretary. This is Chief Superintendent Edwards. She leaves here in two days’ time, to take up her new role as a senior officer in Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.’ Nash paused to let the unpalatable news sink in. ‘And that, I think, trumps your ace.’
Nash returned to Helmsdale and asked Binns to prepare the release forms. He took the MOD official to his office and handed over the disks and papers from inside his safe. ‘Get a receipt for these,’ he told Mironova. ‘And don’t let him leave without signing it.’ He saw little point in indulging in politeness. ‘Treat him like one of your drug pushers, not to be trusted. I’ll be downstairs seeing to the release of our murderous Colonel.’