Алистер Маклин - Dead Halt

The room consisted of a single bed, a battered wardrobe and two high-back armchairs. One was facing the window.

“You’re early,” a voice said from behind a chair. Brady stood up slowly and turned to face them.

Whitlock eyed Brady contemptuously. Was this the man who had sanctioned the coldblooded murder of three of his UNACO colleagues? He felt a sudden anger surging through him but he was quick to check himself. This was neither the time nor the place to confront Brady. The time for retribution would come later …

“Let’s get something straight right from the start, Brady,” Palmer said. “Detective Inspector Reeves will be calling the hotel every five minutes to speak to me. If, for some reason, I’m not able to answer the phone, or if I should give him a code word which would imply that we were in some kind of trouble, his men will immediately storm the building. You would be their main target. Dead or alive.”

“When I want you dead, I’ll arrange to have it done on the mainland,” Brady replied. “Not on my own doorstep with the RUC only a few hundred yards away. So put your mind at rest, this isn’t a trap.”

“As long as we understand each other,” Palmer said.

Brady rang the reception desk and gave instructions that any calls for Palmer were to be put through to the room. He then crossed to the second armchair, which was facing into the room, and sat down. “Now, to business. The IRA has no quarrel with Senator Jack Scoby and neither do we have a contract out on him,” he announced, addressing himself to Whitlock. “The events of the last fourteen hours have been very damaging to our organization and it’s for that reason that I asked to meet with Commander Palmer.”

“Do you deny Fiona Gallagher is a member of the IRA?” Whitlock asked, sitting beside Palmer on the bed.

“We’ve never denied that. What we do deny is any involvement in her actions against Senator Scoby. The operation wasn’t sanctioned by the Revolutionary Army.”

“Get to the point, Brady,” Palmer snapped. “We’ve already heard all this rhetoric from your Press officer this afternoon. Why did you call this meeting?”

“It galls me to have to admit this, but right now we need each other. If the senator is assassinated in Dugaill tomorrow, our heads will be the first to roll.”

The telephone rang. Brady made no move to answer ii. Palmer reached over and picked up the receiver. It was Reeves. They spoke briefly then Palmer replaced the receiver.

“What are you suggesting?” Whitlock asked.

“That we mount a joint security operation in Dugaill tomorrow,” Brady replied impassively.

“Out of the question!” Palmer shot back indignantly. “My God, imagine what the Press would make of it. Our security forces working in league with the IRA? They would crucify us. And rightly so. It would be a betrayal of all those innocent people the IRA have butchered since the conflict in Ireland began.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Commander, I’m not suggesting that masked freedom fighters should stand side by side with the security forces. That would be a betrayal of our principles as well. No, the church and village would be patrolled by the security forces and we would operate in the woodland situated directly behind the church. The area could be cordoned off for security reasons so the Press would never need to know we were there. Don’t forget, we have people who know those woods like the back of their hands. They know all the places where Fiona could hide while she awaited Scoby’s arrival at the church. Granted, the security forces will find most of them. But not all of them. And you can be sure that if Fiona does use the woods, she’ll have done her homework. They won’t find her.”

“You seem very sure that she will use the woods,” Whitlock said suspiciously.

“I would if I were in her shoes. It’s the one area where she could hide without being detected.” Brady turned his attention back to Palmer. “The IRA are just as concerned as you are about the senator’s safety. His death would seriously damage our reputation abroad. That’s why we’re prepared to work with you under these unique circumstances.”

“And what a propaganda coup that would be for the IRA if you were instrumental in thwarting Gallagher before she could get to Scoby,” Palmer said disdainfully. “It’s very transparent, Brady. And I’ll have nothing to do with it. I have every confidence in the security forces. We don’t need your help.”

“You’re overlooking one important point here, Commander Palmer. None of your people knows what Fiona looks like, do they? I do. So would the people I’d use to search the woods. We’d be able to spot her straight away.”

“If you were serious about helping us, you’d let us have a photograph of her to circulate amongst the men,” Whitlock told him.

“I can’t let you have something I haven’t got,” Brady replied.

“You expect us to believe that the IRA don’t have any photographs of her?” Palmer retorted indignantly. “I don’t believe that for a minute.”

“You believe what you want, Commander. I can assure you that we don’t have any photographs of her. The only known picture of her was taken at Dominic Lynch’s wedding. And even then she insisted on keeping it. She’s always been obsessively camera-shy.”

“Did she kill the Lynches?” Whitlock asked.

“I believe so. But right now I don’t know why. Or why she killed Kerrigan and Mullen for that matter. We want those questions answered just as much as you do. Probably more so. That’s why we’re prepared to compromise on this one occasion and help you find her.”

“Why, so that you can silence her before she can say anything to us?” Palmer retorted.

“You still believe we’re behind this, don’t you?”

“I don’t believe she’s working alone. She’s had far too much assistance along the way. And not just from John Marsh.”

“I’ve heard about this John Marsh from a source of ours at Scotland Yard. He’s supposed to be working for us, isn’t he? It’s an interesting theory, but not one I have the time or inclination to pursue right now.”

“I’m sure you don’t,” Palmer said. “It must have come as quite a shock to you when you heard your man had been busted.”

“It was more of a shock when I heard he was supposed to have been working for us. But then, it doesn’t bother me one way or the other what happens to him. He’s only a cop.”

The telephone rang again. Palmer answered it, spoke to Reeves, then replaced the handset.

“I was hoping we could have come to some arrangement about the security for Senator Scoby’s visit to Dugaill tomorrow. Obviously I was wrong.”

“Obviously,” Palmer retorted. “And let me tell you this, Brady, if we find any of your Provos near Dugaill tomorrow they’ll find themselves behind bars so quickly they won’t have time to draw breath. See that you pass the message on to the Army Council.”

“I’m sorry you see it that way,” Brady said as he got to his feet and crossed to the door. He called Kane into the room. “Sammy will show you back to your car. You’ll be given safe passage out of here. I only hope your faith in the security forces is justified, Commander. Because if Scoby is assassinated in Dugaill tomorrow, you’ll only have yourself to blame. We held out the olive branch. You refused it. Remember that.”

Palmer left the room without a word. Whitlock stared at Brady as if he were branding the face into his memory. When it came to finding out who was behind the hit on his colleagues, he knew which face would first come to mind. He followed Kane and Palmer back to the foyer.

“Mr. Brady has agreed to give you safe passage back to the roadblock. We would hope you will reciprocate the gesture and pull your men out of the area before we leave. The cease-fire will last for exactly ten minutes after you’ve reached safety but if your men haven’t withdrawn by then, then we’ll open fire. As you can imagine, our soldiers are heavily armed. Your people wouldn’t stand a chance. And by the time you’d called in for reinforcements, we’d be gone. We don’t want any bloodshed. I would hope you feel the same.”