The Exchange by Catriona King

Author:Catriona King [King, Catriona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Craigantlet Army Base. The Holywood Hills. 1 p.m.

Andy was angry. It was an emotion that he rarely experienced, but the endless obstacles and red tape attached to a simple interview with a lowly army major reminded him of the interrogation that his first father-in-law had given him pre-wedding, and he still hadn’t recovered from that. A full body scan would have been less invasive.

Now, having apparently passed all the military’s unfathomable tests, he was seated in a small, cold room sporting a décor so bland that it made the CCU’s canteen look positively baroque.

The plate on the door stated it was a waiting room, but there was nothing to indicate how long that waiting might last.

The DCI had just given up on Godot ever appearing and settled back to doze when the door was thrown open abruptly and an over-starched squaddie beckoned him outside so urgently that ‘now or never’ was clearly implied.

As Andy was rushing to keep up with the quick march down the corridor, the soldier halted suddenly outside another door, knocked once, opened it briskly, and waved the detective sharply into a considerably larger and warmer room than the one he’d just left.

It was furnished with two chairs and a smooth wooden desk, with a rug that he recognised as Tuareg covering most of its parquet floor. Behind the desk sat a woman in uniform, her golden-blonde hair unfeasibly shiny and cut into a sharp Mary Quant bob; the artist in Andy recognised such things.

She looked up as he entered and smiled, and the shock of the expression made the detective wonder whether it was a ploy. Was her smile a prelude to refusing to help him? Was this some form of sadistic ‘get their hopes up and then dash them’ military game?

His paranoia popped like a balloon when she spoke.

“Hello, Chief Inspector, I’m Major Watson. Please take a seat and I’ll help you in any way that I can.”

The army being helpful outside wartime; was this a trick? Or had Aidan’s cynicism finally infected him?

Deciding that he was being cynical and should give the shiny major the benefit of the doubt, Andy pulled up a chair, removing his list from his pocket as he sat.

“Is that piece of paper for me, Chief Inspector?”

“Ah…no…well… it’s probably best I explain what I’m looking for before I show it to you.”

Two minutes later Major Deborah Watson knew all about Rambo, his tattoo, their murders, and the DNA left behind, as well as how they’d produced the shortlist of eight names that Andy now held.

Having nodded several times during his explanation, the officer now sat back and rested both hands on the desk.

“You do understand that I can’t give out private information about soldiers, Chief Inspector?”

“Yes, of course. I just need you to confirm whether any of the names on this list strikes a chord. With reference to what I’ve just said on the outline of our case.”

Andy wondered why was he using such long sentences when shorter ones would have done.

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