One Blood by Graeme Kent

Author:Graeme Kent [Kent, Graeme]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural
ISBN: 9781616950590
Publisher: Soho Press
Published: 2012-02-07T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

THERE WERE THREE men sitting in the office of the Secretary for Internal Affairs in Honiara. Robinson, the Secretary, was sipping a cup of tea behind his desk. Chief Superintendent Grice was sitting bolt upright in front of him. Occupying the third chair was a tall, stooped, grey-haired man in a lightweight suit.

‘The Chief Secretary has asked me to convene this meeting,’ said Robinson, ‘while the Police Commissioner has designated Chief Superintendent Grice as his representative. I am also delighted to welcome Mr Sanders of the US State Department to Honiara.’

The grey-haired man bowed slightly. There was a sympathetic glint in his eye, as if he could recognize an example of the buck being passed when he saw it.

‘Good afternoon, gentlemen,’ he said. ‘It’s good to be here.’

‘The purpose of the meeting,’ went on the Secretary for Internal Affairs, ‘is to correlate certain activities taking place in the Western Solomons and to ensure that we have covered our bases, if that is the expression, Mr Sanders.’

‘Covered our arses, more like,’ said Chief Superintendent Grice.

The Secretary for Internal Affairs winced. Sanders ignored the interjection.

‘Exactly right, sir,’ he said in a courtly fashion. ‘As you both know, the whole affair is a delicate one and we need to make sure that we are on top of it at all times.’

‘Buggered if I know what’s going on at all,’ said Grice. ‘My department has been left pretty much in the dark.’

‘Then I hope that matters will become clearer to you as the meeting proceeds,’ said Robinson acidly. He nodded to Sanders to continue.

‘I must apologize to you, Chief Superintendent Grice; there was no intention to leave you out of the loop,’ said the American official. ‘It was just that events started moving very quickly in the Roviana Lagoon and we had to react to them with equal rapidity before we all went to hell in a hand-basket. Anyway, I shall try to bring you up to date now. The body of Ed Blamire has been examined at an autopsy in Washington and it has been confirmed that he was killed by a blow to the head with a blunt instrument.’

‘Murdered, you mean?’ asked Grice.

‘Oh yes, no doubt about that, no doubt at all.’

‘Good God!’ said Grice, aghast at the thought. ‘A white man murdered in the Solomons.’

‘I don’t wish to appear too mercenary about this, but the cost must have been horrendous,’ said the Secretary for Internal Affairs uneasily. ‘Private chartered flights, autopsies, and all the rest of it.’

‘I can set your mind at rest there, Mr Robinson,’ said Sanders. ‘The tab has been picked up by Mr Blamire’s employers.’

‘Who are they?’ asked Grice.

‘I’m afraid that has to remain classified for the moment,’ Sanders said. ‘What I can tell you is that their identity came as a bit of a surprise to my department. We weren’t expecting intervention from that quarter.’

‘What quarter?’ asked Grice.

‘Shall we say the private sector,’ said Sanders. ‘Still, we’ve been in touch with them and everyone seems happy. Or as happy as possible under the circumstances.

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