Spanish Inquisition (23 page)

‘I still prefer feeling your stomach. I can't see what all the fuss is about. She was dressed in revealing clothes and flaunted herself as she sang, but it didn't make me long to have her whip me.'

She chuckled. ‘You haven't that much imagination, that's why. You're a standard manly man.' She kissed his ear. ‘And I'm glad you are. I'll soon have a fourth child to look after, to say nothing of a mischievous puppy. I don't have time to whip you whenever you fancy a dose.'

He had another sip of his wine, still mulling over the fact that a sticker advertising car dealers with the same name as an upmarket gentlemen's outfitters should have led to that day's revelations. Maple was still denying culpability, but evidence was mounting against him and they would get him eventually. So, with Easter fast approaching maybe 26 Section would have a quiet period once this case was sewn up.

Yet Tom was sure Max was still after a wild goose.

Max and Clare ate at their favourite inn beside the river to celebrate the breakthrough in the
Carmen
case, as it had been known. Clare asked what the consequences for her patient would be.

‘She's been through a lot, Max.'

‘As have a number of soldiers, but it doesn't make them immune to military law.'

She sighed. ‘There speaks the policeman.'

‘OK, speaking as a simple male I think she's allowed her conflicting talents for soldiering and singing to make a mess of her life. Certainly of her career in the Army.' He put the cutlery on his plate, leaned back against the
volk
-patterned, cushioned backrest and took up his wine glass. ‘She returned from being AWOL of her own accord, and she voluntarily confessed to making a false accusation against Piercey. Obstructing the course of justice. But, in view of the fact that you would probably hold that her mind was so disturbed she wasn't in control of what she said and did, nothing would be gained by pursuing an action against her.

‘Tom and I conferred with Keith Pinkney, who had a chat with the Garrison Commander, and the consensus is that the security vetting that allowed her to deal with sensitive or classified signals would have to be withdrawn, and a posting to a backwater job would follow a period of sick leave.' He gave a wry smile. ‘She'll be lucky to get away with just that.'

‘I suppose so. Maybe she'll leave the Army and concentrate on a singing career.'

He nodded. ‘Might be the better option, so long as she avoids
Carmen
.'

‘I wish I'd seen her performance. Must have been powerful to have so many men lusting after her. How does Phil feel about her now? Isn't he keen for some kind of redress?'

The waiter came to remove their plates and take their order for dessert. When he moved off, Max said, ‘That lecherous lad is still licking his wounds.' He chuckled. ‘Being used that way by a woman is not a good experience for someone who regards himself as irresistible to the fair sex. He's eager to let the whole humiliating episode be forgotten. He might have learned a lesson from it, but I reckon he'll bounce back before too long. He's actually a more effective detective that way.'

Two plates containing apricot tart and whipped cream were put before them, and Max ordered coffee to follow. They then spoke about the medical board Max had been summoned to attend on the following Thursday.

Clare said hesitantly, ‘Duncan and I agree that he should give you the general check-up they'll require in advance.' As Max made to speak, she added, ‘In view of our changed relationship it's better for an impartial doctor to submit it.'

He gave her an intimate smile. ‘You feel they wouldn't approve of your method of proving my full fitness?'

Returning the optical intimacy, she said, ‘Mmm, it would be regarded as “alternative medicine”, no doubt. Speaking of which, your place or mine tonight?'

‘Oh, yours. It's far more cosy.' He frowned. ‘We'll have to think about looking for another place. We can't go on living in two separate apartments much longer.'

‘No.'

The waiter brought their coffee and withdrew. ‘Max,' Clare said quietly, ‘I've been thinking over our plan to have a child as soon as possible, and reached a decision.'

His heart sank. She was going to change her mind about having a family. ‘I thought you were happy about the idea.'

‘I am, darling. Very happy. But when I produce Rydal junior I want to be an old-fashioned mother who stays at home with her baby. I also want to be with you wherever you're serving, so I'll leave the Army at the appropriate time. I can be a civilian doctor anywhere, but you can only be a military detective wherever you're sent.'

Relief and delight mingled, and he gripped her hand across the table. ‘Why did it take me so long to see the light where you're concerned? Let's go home and celebrate the fact that I now have.'

Despite their romantic mood, before Max crossed the large shared room to Clare's bedroom he checked Dennis Maple's service record on his laptop. It confirmed what he suspected and completed what had been a very good day.

First thing next morning Max drove to the base and headed for 5 Signals and Lieutenant Su Carfax. On entering her office he was again struck by her exotic beauty, but he was too focussed on chasing a goose to be affected by it now.

She glanced up, then left her seat to walk around the desk to stand before him. ‘Thank you for informing us that Norton had voluntarily returned, but I must protest at being refused access to her until the evening. Sergeant Bush was very officious.'

Max nodded. ‘According to military law Corporal Norton has committed several quite serious crimes for which she could be charged and punished. While not actually under arrest she is helping with our inquiries into who viciously attacked and abandoned her without the means of summoning help. Sergeant Bush was slowly getting to the truth. Any interruptions at that stage could have halted the confidences Norton was offering.'

Knowing he wanted something from this woman Max softened his tone, and repeated what Clare had said to him yesterday. ‘Your corporal has had a difficult time. She's hurting, both physically and emotionally. Our inquiries have given us the impression that she feels very alone. To compensate she seeks attention by trading on her sexual attraction to have men vying with each other. This gives her a satisfying sense of power, but it breeds resentment in other women so that she has no real friends. In her weakened and desperate state she sees Connie Bush as someone who will understand and who she can trust.

‘My sergeant is very good at empathizing and encouraging scared people to face up to the truth. So we now have the real identity of her attacker, and an innocent man has been cleared of blame.' He gave a faint smile. ‘These kind of interviews need clever, gentle handling, so I'm sure you can appreciate why breaking the continuity for anything other than the most vital reason can be counter-productive.'

The young officer appeared to be mollified and asked if Norton would have to face a court of inquiry. Knowing that to be unlikely, Max merely said nothing had yet been decided because she was still too unwell to take things further. Then he approached what he had gone to discover.

‘There was another violent assault two days ago which we thought might be linked to this case, but Norton's new evidence dismisses that theory, so we now have to follow a different line,' he said, hoping she was not aware that the victim had been whisked away before he could be questioned.

‘In pursuit of this new inquiry I have to ask you if the classified signal Maria Norton authenticated at noon on the day she was assaulted concerned Captain Rory Smythe.'

Any hint of rapport between them vanished instantly; the expression in her dark eyes hardening. ‘Don't you understand the meaning of
classified
, Captain Rydal?'

‘This is a police investigation, Lieutenant Carfax. We need all the facts,' he retaliated firmly. ‘I'm not asking for the content of the signal, merely if it concerned that particular officer.'

It was useless. She held the aces. ‘The need-to-know list didn't bear your name or that of 26 Section.' She returned to her chair behind the desk. ‘I'm very busy. Like SIB, we in Signals won't have our work interrupted by anything other than the most vital reasons.'

Max had not expected an answer, and privately commended her refusal to give it, but he was an experienced interrogator and had recognized her fleeting facial signs that told him he had scored. Spurred on by this evidence he drove to Headquarters where Tom and Beeny were preparing to interview Dennis Maple once more. After a brief word with them, he went to his office after collecting a mug of coffee and a sultana and walnut muffin.

He began by accessing the details of the inquest on the death of Private Glenn Fortuna, killed by enemy action in Afghanistan twenty-eight months ago. After studying that very thoughtfully, he again checked Dennis Maple's service record. The coffee grew cold in the mug and the muffin remained uneaten as he matched a series of dates and stared at them with deep concentration. Half an hour later he reached for the red telephone on his desk.

The husky voice which once used to make his pulse race told him he had reached Captain Livya Cordwell. Now all he said was, ‘It's Max Rydal. I need to speak to the Brigadier.' Why was it so difficult to say
my father
? ‘On his secure line.'

There was a hung moment before she said in her official manner, ‘His visitor has just left. Please hold while I advise him of your request.'

Several clicks and they were connected. ‘Hallo, Max,' said Andrew with no hint of surprise that his son should be calling him on the scrambler for the very first time. ‘A problem?'

‘Good morning, sir. Not a problem, I'd just like to run something past you.'

‘Go ahead,' came the calm response.

‘A school leaver with just six months' service loses contact with the body of a night patrol in Afghanistan and is shot. The corporal leading the patrol goes out to recover the lad and finds him dead, the enemy having apparently silently departed. The Casevac helo arriving to pick him up comes under fire from rocket grenades. A crew member and the corporal are wounded and flown to a field hospital for treatment, thence to the UK.

‘Three weeks later the commander of the dead lad's company takes up an appointment as an Aide de Camp. The corporal recovers and resumes service with a different battalion, earning promotion to sergeant. Are you with me so far, sir?'

Just a clipped affirmative, nothing more.

‘Twenty-eight months later a conference is held on the military establishment where this sergeant is serving as a non-combatant due to his injuries, and he sees the former company commander who is now an ADC to a general. Late that night the ADC is discovered by the roadside having been viciously attacked. He claims to have no memory of what happened, and he's taken with surprising suddenness to an unknown medical destination.'

‘That's a very interesting scenario,' said Andrew, with a suggestion of warmth in his rich voice.

‘That's what I thought, sir, and I found it even more interesting when I checked the details of the young lad's fatal injuries. Face and half his skull blown away. Now, when men go out on night patrol in a war zone they blacken that part of their face which isn't protected by their headgear to avoid being an easy target, so the enemy must have been an impossibly brilliant marksman to hit the lad right between the eyes on a moonless night and inflict the kind of injuries more usually sustained when a rifle is placed in the mouth and fired.'

Several moments passed before Andrew said, still in friendly manner, ‘This is something you've dreamed up as a poser on an exam paper for police cadets, I take it. They are asked: “a” was the enemy an impossibly brilliant marksman, or “b” . . .?'

‘Was the lad driven to commit suicide by sadistic bullying or homosexual attentions by his company commander who then prudently transferred to a plum job where he was privy to classified, even secret information? And did evidence at a later date confirm that “b” was the correct answer, and was a classified signal to that effect sent to the military establishment where said ADC was hearing details of future combat planning, warning that he should be removed forthwith?

‘And “c”,' added Max, well into his stride, ‘did that man who had crawled out on that dark night and seen the lad's injuries, maybe heard a few dying words, decide to administer rough justice before his victim could be spirited away without anyone being aware of his destination?'

An even longer pause this time before his father spoke. ‘It's certainly a most intriguing exercise to ponder over, but I wouldn't use it, Max.'

‘Is that by way of a warning, sir?' he challenged.

‘No–o, I wouldn't go so far as that. I just feel it's too complicated for trainee policemen. It takes someone with your doggedness and detective skills to unravel such complexities which, you know, have a habit of being dealt with in the time-honoured manner.' Leaving time for that to sink in, he said with real warmth, ‘Thank you for running it past me. I found it very enlightening. I'm deeply impressed. The Medical Board is sure to find you in tip top shape.'

Once she began to confide in Connie Bush, Maria Norton had talked non-stop about how she felt she had screwed up her life and she was then persuaded to accept that the love affair had been no more than a fantasy between Carmen and Don Jose.

When the team met at the end of the working day, Connie gave the details of the emotional interview. ‘Norton denies being part of a plot to incriminate Phil, and I believe her. She said she stayed late at the party waiting for Maple to phone that he was ready to meet her. A call came in but it was from Staff Andrews, who tried to arrange a meeting. Phil interrupted that call and she told Staff she would call back in ten, which she didn't as he said in his statement.'