Special Deception by N/A

Author:N/A
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo Books
Published: 2015-10-09T04:00:00+00:00

*

In the Special Boat team’s office/ops room at Akrotiri, Geoff Hosegood snatched up the telephone.

‘Royal Marine office, Sergeant Hosegood.’

Ben Ockley and Ray Wilkinson watched him from across the room, where they had Admiralty charts spread on a trestle table.

‘Yeah, he’s here. Who wants him?’

He put his hand over the mouthpiece. Ben was on the way over. ‘Inspector Fellows, Special Branch, calling from Dhekelia.’

Ben took the receiver from him. ‘Ockley here. Inspector Fellows?’

‘That’s me. News for you, captain. The boat we’ve all been looking for left Kyrenia either not long after midnight or just before dawn this morning, and we have it identified. It’s a timber-built craft described as a gulet — that’s Turkish — and it’s something like a Greek caique only bigger. Length about sixty feet, timber construction, beamy, two masts, has sails but wouldn’t use ’em much, motors around on its diesel. Ought to be easy to spot, because although there are lots of ’em up on the Turkish mainland coast you’d hardly ever see one down here. My colleague Inspector Hayward has a picture of it — photograph on some tourist brochure — and he’s on his way south now, to Akrotiri and he’ll come asking for you — maybe you’d have ’em look out for him. He called me from the Canadian UN billet in Nicosia; he’d hoped he’d be able to fax the picture from there but they don’t have the facilities, so he rang me and I told him to get it to you, quick as possible if not faster. He ought to be with you by midday: maybe eleven thirty, I don’t know about the roads.’

‘This caique thing — gulet — left Kyrenia at dawn?’

‘That’s what the harbour master there believes. It was at anchor outside port, he’s not certain but he thinks it was there all night. Certainly was around midnight when Swale and his friends arrived by taxi from the airport — party of four, by the way, and the boat has a crew of three including a woman… But it could have sailed soon after they embarked.’

‘Anyone mention what speed it might make?’

‘No, I’m afraid not. But if Hayward’s with you by noon — well, he could call that harbour master, he should know.’

‘He’s done a good job anyway, by the sound of it. Will you be passing this to London?’

‘Yes. My next call.’

‘Fine, so I don’t need to. Thanks a lot, Inspector.’

He hung up, joggled the phone until he got the exchange. ‘Would you put me through to Flight Lieutenant Morgan, please?’

Waiting: glancing round at the others in the room, half a dozen of them. Ray Wilkinson asked him, ‘Identified the boat and it’s sailed from Kyrenia?’

‘Right. Type known in Turkey as a gulet, resembles a large caique, runs on diesel although it has masts and sails. So it might make — it’s a heavy, beamy craft apparently — say anything from five to ten knots… Try this on the chart, Ray — departure from Kyrenia 0500, or alternatively four hours earlier, 0100.

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