If Fear Wins

by Tony J. Forder

  She spoke with both her immediate superior and ACC Arnold before the pair slipped out of the room, which emptied hurriedly. Edwards lingered, presumably thinking she would be required to be present for Bliss’s imminent dressing down. Instead, Fletcher instructed the DCI to leave the room as well.

  ‘I apologise,’ Bliss said when they were alone. ‘I should not have risen to the bait like that.’

  Fletcher shook her head. ‘No, you shouldn’t have. Though I understand why you felt the need. That was uncalled for from Alicia, and I will be having a chat with her about it.’

  ‘But I’m still in trouble for the way I spoke.’

  ‘No. Not with me at least, and neither the DCS nor ACC mentioned it to me before they left. Things were said that ought not to have been, but as yours was in response it’s more forgivable. The relationship between you and DCI Edwards is complicated, but it is also unpredictable, and I’m not sure that’s a healthy way for us all to continue. When this is all over, Inspector, I think the time will be right for the three of us to sit down and discuss how we can best move forward together.’

  ‘If you say so, ma’am.’

  ‘It can wait, though. What I did want to discuss here and now, Bliss, is this theory of yours. Moreover, Munday’s response to it. I saw you scrutinising him afterwards, and if I’m not mistaken he responded with a slight gesture.’

  ‘He did.’

  ‘I’d like to know what that was about.’

  Bliss nodded. ‘So would I, ma’am. I looked at him like that because I was astonished. Not just by what he said, but that he said anything at all.’

  ‘Munday is extremely tight-lipped, Inspector. A man who likes to sit and listen, observe, absorb, and leave the room with his own thoughts intact. You really have no idea why he spoke up on your behalf?’

  ‘None at all. It came as a genuine shock to me.’ Bliss held back his suspicions. It would do no good for his involvement with the SIS to become a topic for further discussion. Not at this stage. Although an idea was fomenting inside Bliss’s head.

  Fletcher said nothing for a while. Her eyes bore into his. Finally she nodded and said, ‘Very well. If you happen to learn why, or perhaps even remember why, I’d be obliged if you would let me know.’

  ‘Ma’am, I’m not keeping anything from you. I would be speculating again if I offered an opinion at this stage.’

  ‘In my experience, Inspector, your speculations are better than most detectives’ facts.’

  Bliss smiled. ‘Not this time, I’m afraid. Did you ever consider that he might just have thought I’d made a reasonable suggestion?’

  ‘I considered it.’ Fletcher’s gaze bore deeper into him, but Bliss remained unmoved. Now was not the right time to play his ace cards.

  ‘If I find out anything more… tangible, I’ll let you know right away, ma’am.’

  Fletcher nodded and stood to leave. Bliss got the sense that the Superintendent had her suspicions about him, but that she would keep them to herself at least until this investigation had concluded.

  ‘You do that, Inspector,’ she said. ‘And let me make myself clear: I don’t like being kept in the dark. No matter who sits behind the cloak.’

  36

  Chandler was waiting for him when he emerged from the conference room.

  ‘How did it go?’ she asked him as they strode down the corridor towards the stairway. Other officers passed them by in an animated blur, Bliss failing to acknowledge any of them.

  ‘About as well as could be expected.’

  ‘That bad, eh?’

  ‘Not bad exactly, but not brilliant. You know what they are like, Pen. They want hard facts. They want evidence. They want arrests. Above all else they want to put this to bed and for them to be able to announce it to the media. I’ve been feeding them theory after theory all week, and this is just another one of them.’

  They started down the stairs, Chandler leading the way for a change. ‘But they followed it, right? They could see how it all fitted together, yes?’

  ‘Sure. It wasn’t that they couldn’t see it, more that they felt I’d brought it to them too early.’

  Chandler huffed at that. ‘Oh, sure. And if you’d kept it from them they would have barked at you for that.’

  Bliss nodded. They walked through to the next corridor. ‘They want a win, Pen. The very next best thing would be standing up in front of the media and informing everyone that the murder of Duncan Livingston was not an act of terror. I gave them nothing more than further possibilities. They were right to be dismissive.’

  With Chandler joining the rest of the team in the operations area, Bliss shut himself away in his office. Thoughts scrambled, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes while he worked things through. His mind turned to Emily and her predicament. The idea that had been fluttering away inside his head like a trapped moth would not be still until he acted upon it. He used his mobile to first locate and then dial the number for the Peterborough Telegraph, asking for Sandra Bannister when the call was connected.

  ‘Inspector Bliss,’ Bannister said, pleasantly surprised to receive his call if her tone was anything to go by. ‘What can I do for you today?’

  ‘I’m thinking that maybe we can do something for each other.’ Bliss was still running the idea through his internal filters, but it felt like the right thing to do. When the investigation was over there had to be an exit strategy. He needed to be the one controlling it. ‘Yesterday you asked if I would make myself available for interviews regarding what took place here both last autumn and in 2005.’

  ‘I did. And If I remember correctly you refused to even consider the idea. You were very clear about that, Inspector.’

  ‘That was yesterday. Today’s another day, and I have a proposition for you, Ms Bannister.’

  ‘Sounds intriguing. Do go on.’

  Bliss knew he had her on the hook now. ‘Provided I receive authorisation from my superiors, I will do your interviews. On one condition.’

  After a slight pause, during which the journalist was gathering her emotions, Bliss assumed, she replied, ‘I’d expect nothing less, Inspector. And that condition would be?’

  ‘I will also feed you two additional stories. Stories that relate to the here and now. This will come across as a little odd, but I want you to concentrate. I will give you one story to print but will also ask you not to do so. In addition, I will also give you one story I do not want you to print, but will insist you should.’

  Bliss expected a moment of hesitation following that statement, and he got it. He smiled thinking about the look of astonishment that would be on Bannister’s face at that moment.

  ‘I’m going to mail you over the details,’ Bliss said. ‘Two separate files. Both will be encrypted, and the passwords will be provided at a later date.’

  ‘I’m sorry to appear so dull, Inspector, and not to sound ungrateful, but what on earth is the point of sending me a story I cannot print?’

  ‘I didn’t say you could not. I said I would ask you not to. It’s a terrific story, one I know you will be extremely interested in, but my hope is that you will never print it because if you do it will mean all bridges between us being burned. I want you to have it and to keep it safe in case things don’t work out the way I want them to and I end up changing my mind. Or having it changed for me. As for the other story, I hate giving it to you and hate the fact that it will be splashed across newspaper pages, but I also think it’s a story that has to be out there.’

  ‘Well, I can’t deny that my interest is piqued, Inspector. Please send them on. I’ll be in touch about the interviews.’

  ‘You’ll have to wait until this case is over for them.’

  ‘That’s fine.’

  ‘Let me be straight with you, Ms Bannister. You must keep these files safe. I think you know what I mean by that. And whilst the story you would want to publish most is the one I least want you to have, if things go the way I want them to and you end up putting
out the other one instead, you’ll still come out ahead. Plus you’ll still have me. Am I making myself clear?’

  ‘As the proverbial mud. But I appreciate your faith in me. And thank you for calling.’

  ‘I’m not sure you’ll be thanking me afterwards, Ms Bannister. These stories reach far and wide. There will be repercussions, and I would not want to be you when either or both see the light of day.’

  Bliss sat doing nothing at all for a while after the call. He knew precisely what he intended writing down, and just what a dangerous game he was playing.

  37

  The procedure to gain entry onto the base was precisely the same as their previous visit. And as before, it was Flight Lieutenant Holbrook who was waiting for Bliss and Chandler and who also drove them to their first appointment. He looked to be a troubled man, clearly concerned as to why a second round of interviews might be required.

  ‘Last time we spoke you were uncertain as to whether your victim was even Duncan,’ Holbrook said. ‘Now of course we know it was, and on top of that we also have to live with the possibility that he was murdered by fanatics. Terrorists. It makes me sick to my stomach.’

  ‘I can understand why,’ Bliss said. ‘But I have to tell you that I believe we are close to proving this was not an act of terrorism after all.’

  Holbrook shifted his gaze from the road ahead. The wide open spaces provided a clear view of the base, and the roads criss-crossing it were busy. ‘Really? I mean, I know the public were informed that it was being treated as just one of several possibilities, but I’m not alone on this base in thinking that was your lot and our lot covering up the truth for the sake of community harmony. The fact is, to many of us, such an incident occurring was considered to be more a question of when rather than if.’

  Bliss found that interesting. ‘You feel under that much threat here?’

  ‘Not explicitly, Inspector. Nothing overt. But we are aware of and wary of the hostility towards the armed forces from certain quarters, and these days that is often aimed at the RAF due to our presence in respect of Syria.’

  ‘Yet your personnel feel free to go off base, to blend in with the locals. Just as your lads did a week ago in Barnack.’

  ‘Yes, because no matter what they do for a living they are entitled to live their lives.’

  ‘I agree. I’m simply pointing out that they seem to find it relatively easy to overcome their fears. I wonder if that’s because the terrorist threat is more of a perception than an imminent danger.’

  ‘Possibly. But the uncertainty is something that stays with you, Inspector. Even if it’s pushed to the back of the mind. We feel as if we have become a target, a focal point for hatred if you will.’

  ‘But doesn’t that confirm what I just said? That it’s more about perception than reality. You look at the number of UK targets in recent years, the incidents both thwarted and those that took place, the dead and wounded, and I think you’ll find the armed forces are way down compared to the average citizen.’

  Holbrook was quiet for a few moments. When he spoke again he sounded a little less certain. ‘I suppose if you look at it in those terms you’re probably right. The general public are certainly the ones who have borne the brunt of the attacks here. Perhaps it’s the thought that the uniform makes us specific targets compared to the average men and women on the streets.’

  They had reached the building in which Bliss and Chandler had conducted the original interviews. Holbrook’s car came to a stop.

  ‘Tell me something,’ Bliss said, as a jet fighter came in to land on the runway directly ahead of them, the fearsome shriek of its engines lessening to a dull roar. ‘When I mentioned just now that I believed we were close to proving the torture and murder was not a terrorist attack, where did your mind go? What was the first thing that popped into your head.’

  Holbrook regarded him with a mixture of surprise and unease. ‘What makes you think anything popped into my head?’

  ‘Because it’s human nature. When your worst fears are suddenly not realised, even potentially so, it’s only natural for your mind to reach for the next most likely concern.’

  ‘I… I suppose I wondered if I had been mistaken about Duncan. If my judgement of a man I worked alongside and liked an awful lot, was unsound. I suppose I speculated as to whether he had got himself into trouble somewhere along the line. The kind of trouble that can result in the horrific end he met with.’

  ‘And did you come up with an answer?’ Chandler asked from the rear seat.

  ‘As a matter of fact I did. I not only refuse to believe Duncan was that kind of person, I also refuse to believe I could be that wrong about him.’

  Bliss nodded. ‘I hope you’re right, Flight Lieutenant. I really do.’

  Once inside the room set aside for the interviews, they had a few minutes to kill and Bliss did his best to find out as much as possible in the time available.

  ‘I imagine this is a very busy airstrip one way or another,’ he said to Holbrook.

  ‘It can be.’ He remained standing as Bliss and Chandler took their seats alongside one another. Three chairs were set out on the other side of the rectangular table.

  ‘It must be a tough job making sure everyone and everything gets where they are supposed to go when they’re supposed to be there.’

  ‘A lot of hard work and dedication goes into it, that’s for sure.’

  ‘And the buck stops with you if a tank goes missing, I suppose.’

  ‘That’s muddy water, Inspector. In theory the Group Captain is accountable for everything that happens here at Wittering. In reality, whoever makes the error takes the hit.’

  ‘So there are errors, then?’ Bliss kept the conversation deliberately light.

  ‘We’re all human. When we’re dealing with the transportation of thousands of items annually, the only place we know an error can’t be made with cargo is in the air. I’d say we do pretty well, considering the volume we’re dealing with.’

  ‘I can’t even begin to imagine.’ Bliss wondered if he ought to get more specific by asking about packing crates from the Middle East, but decided against it. Holbrook was no dummy, and if he sensed Bliss was attempting to link the murdered airman with missing cargo, he would likely shut the whole thing down and wait for legal representation. Bliss decided he needed to play nice and get what he could before showing his hand.

  The door opened and four men entered – Livingston’s three friends and the same RAFP officer, Lundy. Bliss checked out the three friends as they made their way across to the table and sat down. Each of them appeared apprehensive, none of them unduly scared. There was a subtle difference between the two, and Bliss had seen enough guilty men to know which was which. If one or more of these men harboured fears about the second interview, they were certainly holding themselves in check.

  Bliss recalled Flying Officer Thomas as being the closest thing to a pack leader. He decided to aim the questions away from Thomas to begin with, waiting to see if the man would inject himself into the flow of questions and responses. Bliss flashed a broad smile and nodded at each man in turn as they took their seats. Holbrook excused himself, but only after letting the two detectives know he would make himself available if necessary when they were done. As before, Lundy remained in the room, standing just off to their left between the table and the door.

  Exactly where I would position myself in his shoes, Bliss thought.

  ‘We hope not to keep you long,’ he said, turning his full attention to the three men. ‘Obviously things have moved on a pace since we spoke last, and we now have a great deal more information to work with. My condolences to you all on your terrible loss. The reason for our visit today is that we are no longer looking for your friend, we’re hunting his killer instead.’

  Bliss kept his eyes on Allen and White as he spoke, but it was Thomas who responded on their behalf. ‘We understand, Inspector Bliss. We’re eager to help as much as we can. We are all in a state of shock still, how
ever, so I would ask you to please bear that in mind.’

  Now Bliss turned his gaze to the man. The statement came across as rehearsed. ‘Of course. We realise you will still be grieving, but it’s vital that we chat with you whilst things may still be fresh in your minds.’

  ‘Let me get the ball rolling,’ Chandler said. ‘Last time we spoke our questions were mostly aimed at getting your views on what might have happened to your friend after he left the pub. I’d like to start this time by taking you back to the pub itself. With the benefit of hindsight, is there anything any of you can think of that seemed out of place? Any new people inside the pub? A vehicle outside with its engine running? Something. Anything.’

  ‘By people you mean Muslims?’ Allen said.

  ‘Actually, no I don’t.’ Chandler shook her head. ‘Our investigation is split into two. MI5 and the Counter Terrorism Unit are working on the possible terror angle. I’m sure if their case goes forward they will want to speak to you themselves. I don’t envy you that visit. For now, you get the easier ride from us. We are following up on an alternative theory.’

  ‘Which is?’ Thomas asked.

  ‘This will go easier if we ask the questions,’ Bliss said. ‘So please think back. Is there anything at all about that night in the pub or immediately afterwards as you were leaving that in retrospect now seems odd.’

  This was all part of their strategy. Bliss had suggested Chandler take the lead whilst he studied the three men. It had also been his idea to mention MI5, hoping to raise the anxiety levels in the room. Chandler had agreed, and had suggested they also open the door for the men to change their story if they so wished. If any of them opted to bail, this was the time.

  Bliss assessed their reactions, and was disappointed to find no evasion in their body language. The three men exchanged glances and shrugs, heads shaking. Nothing Bliss would not have expected to see from three entirely innocent men.

  ‘No, nothing,’ Thomas said. ‘It was a quiet night, not unusual in that particular pub. It’s one of the reasons we go there. I don’t recall anyone standing out, and nothing out of the ordinary afterwards, either.’