I paid Chastain a visit at Downton Abbey. Thought he might be able to shed some light on it, maybe push a few of the right buttons …’
‘And?’
‘Her ladyship gave me a brew and some homemade flapjacks, but he was away somewhere, putting the world to rights.’
Trev was silent for a moment. This scenario had really rocked his world. ‘You know what’s getting to me most, Nick? I’m not sure whose side anyone is on right now, top to bottom. And I don’t want to huff and puff about an Englishman’s home being his castle, but when your own semi becomes the battle space, what’s the world coming to? You, Father Mart and the dog are the only people I can trust.’
I gave him a grin. ‘I suppose there’s one consolation …’
‘Don’t tell me.’ He managed to give me half of one in return. ‘At least it can’t make yer pregnant?’
We repeated the old catchphrase in unison.
‘Is anyone else getting fucked over?’
He shrugged. ‘But I’ve tucked Sam’s girlfriend out of harm’s way, just in case. With a babysitter, obviously.’
‘Does Sam have any ideas?’
Trev shook his head. ‘Haven’t seen him. I was planning a trip to Barford before someone took liberties with the message on my welcome mat. I reckon going there now would be the same as holding up a sign to whoever’s behind this drama saying, “Shoot him. And then shoot me as well.”’
We spent the next ten minutes or so sketching out some basic operating procedures – division of labour, where and how we were going to connect, the places we needed to go, the people we needed to see. There were some new names I’d heard about but never met, and some old ones from the past we hoped we could still rely on. Ken Marabula and his nephew Fred were on the list, and Al Gillespie.
I told him he was always welcome to stay with me if he didn’t have somewhere better to go.
He was impressed. ‘I didn’t know you had a UK base, Stoner. You’ve only been back from Moscow five minutes.’
‘It’s not a base, exactly. It’s the back seat of Mart’s wagon.’
That little gag earned me a clip across the ear. Some people are never grateful.
I didn’t ask where he’d hidden the girlfriend. I didn’t need to know right now. And I was starting to think about my journey back. I could still use the bothy as a stopover, but I fancied picking up the Defender ASAP and putting in some distance. Maybe Trev’s angst was contagious.
We unfolded ourselves and exited the shelter. I gave him a man-hug as soon as it was possible to stand fully upright, then turned to leave via the side of the wood by the dam, the point furthest from the clearing where I’d come in. I expected Trev to disappear from sight again, but he stayed with me.
‘I’ll kiss you goodbye at the treeline, Stoner. I’m getting a bit stir-crazy in there. I can’t even lose myself in a crossword.’
Snowflakes swirled above the reservoir in the strengthening wind, and had started to drift against the stone balustrade. We paused for a moment at the edge of the coppice, but a moment was all an experienced sniper needed.
10
I heard the weapon’s report a nanosecond after its round lifted off the top of Trev’s head, just above the eyeballs, like a soft-boiled egg.
I dived to my left, then wriggled back into the undergrowth on my elbows as a massive crater appeared in the trunk of a conifer a couple of feet above my head. I made like a snake and slithered deeper into the bracken, leaf-mould and shit beneath the canopy.
There was no need to check Trev’s pulse first.
Two more shots tore lumps of bark out of a beech two metres to my right. I only stopped and turned when I reckoned I had a good few trees between me and whoever was squeezing the trigger.
He’d have to assume I was switched on enough not to stick my head up out of cover any time soon, so that meant he’d have to come after me. He wouldn’t want to leave any loose ends. And I was now a loose end.
The snow
‘And?’
‘Her ladyship gave me a brew and some homemade flapjacks, but he was away somewhere, putting the world to rights.’
Trev was silent for a moment. This scenario had really rocked his world. ‘You know what’s getting to me most, Nick? I’m not sure whose side anyone is on right now, top to bottom. And I don’t want to huff and puff about an Englishman’s home being his castle, but when your own semi becomes the battle space, what’s the world coming to? You, Father Mart and the dog are the only people I can trust.’
I gave him a grin. ‘I suppose there’s one consolation …’
‘Don’t tell me.’ He managed to give me half of one in return. ‘At least it can’t make yer pregnant?’
We repeated the old catchphrase in unison.
‘Is anyone else getting fucked over?’
He shrugged. ‘But I’ve tucked Sam’s girlfriend out of harm’s way, just in case. With a babysitter, obviously.’
‘Does Sam have any ideas?’
Trev shook his head. ‘Haven’t seen him. I was planning a trip to Barford before someone took liberties with the message on my welcome mat. I reckon going there now would be the same as holding up a sign to whoever’s behind this drama saying, “Shoot him. And then shoot me as well.”’
We spent the next ten minutes or so sketching out some basic operating procedures – division of labour, where and how we were going to connect, the places we needed to go, the people we needed to see. There were some new names I’d heard about but never met, and some old ones from the past we hoped we could still rely on. Ken Marabula and his nephew Fred were on the list, and Al Gillespie.
I told him he was always welcome to stay with me if he didn’t have somewhere better to go.
He was impressed. ‘I didn’t know you had a UK base, Stoner. You’ve only been back from Moscow five minutes.’
‘It’s not a base, exactly. It’s the back seat of Mart’s wagon.’
That little gag earned me a clip across the ear. Some people are never grateful.
I didn’t ask where he’d hidden the girlfriend. I didn’t need to know right now. And I was starting to think about my journey back. I could still use the bothy as a stopover, but I fancied picking up the Defender ASAP and putting in some distance. Maybe Trev’s angst was contagious.
We unfolded ourselves and exited the shelter. I gave him a man-hug as soon as it was possible to stand fully upright, then turned to leave via the side of the wood by the dam, the point furthest from the clearing where I’d come in. I expected Trev to disappear from sight again, but he stayed with me.
‘I’ll kiss you goodbye at the treeline, Stoner. I’m getting a bit stir-crazy in there. I can’t even lose myself in a crossword.’
Snowflakes swirled above the reservoir in the strengthening wind, and had started to drift against the stone balustrade. We paused for a moment at the edge of the coppice, but a moment was all an experienced sniper needed.
10
I heard the weapon’s report a nanosecond after its round lifted off the top of Trev’s head, just above the eyeballs, like a soft-boiled egg.
I dived to my left, then wriggled back into the undergrowth on my elbows as a massive crater appeared in the trunk of a conifer a couple of feet above my head. I made like a snake and slithered deeper into the bracken, leaf-mould and shit beneath the canopy.
There was no need to check Trev’s pulse first.
Two more shots tore lumps of bark out of a beech two metres to my right. I only stopped and turned when I reckoned I had a good few trees between me and whoever was squeezing the trigger.
He’d have to assume I was switched on enough not to stick my head up out of cover any time soon, so that meant he’d have to come after me. He wouldn’t want to leave any loose ends. And I was now a loose end.
The snow
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