There was silence between them for a few moments while Granville thought the situation over.
“Alright Henry, leave it with me and I’ll see what I can do. I’ll get back to you shortly,” he said, putting down the receiver.
“Do you think he will go along with the idea?” Vines asked, who had been listening to the conversation.
Shaking his head, Maynard looked at Vines a few moments before answering. “I honestly don’t know, he has a lot to say as regards what goes on within the department and some very useful contacts in high places, and he also knows that time is of the essence, but whether he has enough clout to get Gilbert brought up here to Kendal?… Your guess is as good as mine Inspector.”
It was nearly midnight, and both men were dozing in their respective chairs when the phone rang on Vine’s desk.
“Yes?” he asked quietly. “Yes, he is, I’ll put him on. It’s for you… Clifford Granville,” he said covering the mouthpiece with his hand before passing it to Maynard.
“Hello Clifford, what’s the outcome?” he asked, a little apprehensively.
“Well, I’ve had to call in a few favours to get what you want Henry, but anyway, Gilbert is being brought up to Kendal under armed guard; she will be with you tomorrow morning.”
“Has she said anything while she has been in custody?” Maynard asked.
“No, not a dicky-bird, maybe you’ll have more luck with her, but in my opinion I wouldn’t mind betting she doesn’t know where the Raven is or where’s he’s making for. Anyway, keep me informed day or night if you get anything from her, okay?”
“Will do,” Maynard answered, replacing the receiver. Resting his elbows on the chair arms, he stroked the underside of his chin with the back of his hands while looking at Vines. “She’s on her way up,” he grinned, rocking the chair gently from side to side.
“So how do you want to play it when she arrives?” Vines asked.
“I think I’m going to have to play this one by ear Inspector, it’s the first time I’ve had any dealings with a female spy.”
“Well, you could always put the frighteners on her and see what her reaction is when she knows she’s facing the death sentence!”
Maynard didn’t answer, he just listened to what Vines had to say, but in his own mind he had already decided what course he would take when he met Lillian Gilbert for the first time.
Chapter Nineteen
WILL WAS FEELING more like his old self now his wounds were beginning to heal and his strength returning. He had been able to take walks in the hospital grounds in the winter sunshine with Isobel, and the more he got to know her, he soon came to realise that what had started off as a friendship between them was now becoming a little bit more serious than that. With no signs of encouragement from her, he had decided not to upset the applecart by rushing things. ‘Let things take their course,’ he had told himself, but an unexpected visit the previous afternoon by Aileen Hamilton had altered his way of thinking. She had told him during their conversation how she had seen a dramatic change of late in her daughter after her visits to see him, a change that had all the hallmarks of a woman showing the first signs of love for someone. After she had left, he had taken a longer walk than normal and after sitting for a further twenty minutes turning things over in his mind, he had returned to the ward thoroughly cold. With the nurses getting anxious about his whereabouts, he had been told off in no uncertain terms by Sister Murray on his return.
He had sat for over an hour in the recreation room watching a game of cards while keeping a constant eye on the clock when he heard the first of the afternoon visitors arrive. Making his way back to the ward, he couldn’t help but have a feeling of excitement at seeing Isobel again, so was a little disappointed when he saw her brother sitting in the chair next to his bed, his first thought being to ask him where Isobel was. But in view of his friend’s enthusiasm at seeing him, he decided against it.
“How are you feeling? Dave asked, unbuttoning his tunic top and making himself comfortable.
“You look a lot better than the last time I saw you, Will.”
“I’m feeling a lot better, and it’s good to see you, Dave,” he answered, trying not to show too much disappointment that it wasn’t his sister.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to get over to see you sooner! But there’s been a lot of activity of late, over at the base; nobody seems to know what the hell’s going on. Anyway, I hear Isobel’s been paying you regular visits? She’ll keep you awake if anybody can,” he laughed.
Will smiled. “Well, at least you have a sister to make fun of, Dave, mine’s in Canada, who I haven’t seen for ages; anyway, it was your mother who came to see me yesterday, not Isobel.”
“Did she?” Dave answered, paying more attention to a pretty, dark-haired nurse who had just come on the ward.
“Good-looking, isn’t she? If you’re interested, her name’s Emily.”
“Aye, there’s no doubt about that, and I notice it didn’t take you long, Will Madden, to find out her name,” Dave chuckled, giving him a sly grin.
“To be truthful, Dave, I didn’t ask her. I overheard one of the other nurses use it. But I hear through the Hamilton grapevine that you have been seeing a good deal of Catriona McCullough just lately?”
“That must have come from that sister of mine?”
“It just came out in general conversation, Dave, she didn’t mean anything by it, so don’t go giving her a rollicking.”
“Okay.”
“So what is she doing this afternoon?” Will asked, trying not to sound too inquisitive.
“Isobel! – Oh, she’s looking after the shop while my mother is visiting someone she knows who’s not been too well. She told me to tell you that she will come and see you this evening,” Dave said, grinning.
Will couldn’t help but have a feeling of pleasant anticipation knowing that in the next few hours he would be seeing her again. He realised he was having difficulty concealing it, brought about by the number of times he inadvertently mentioned Isobel’s name during their conversation, so decided on another topic of conversation.
“So what’s all this activity you referred to earlier?”
“Oh! There have been several sightings of German aircraft in the last couple of weeks. Also reports from Coastal Command of U-boats in the area,” Dave answered, frowning.
“That sounds a bit ominous. Where’s this been going on, around the Western Isles?”
“Aye! Some of it. Three days ago we went out to a Sunderland that had landed in the drink, out of juice after tangling with a U-boat. It was one of those big sods, Will, you know the type, with the two gun platforms behind the conning tower.”
“Yes, I know the ones you mean. So what happened?”
“Well, apparently, by what the Sunderland lads were saying, the U-boat didn’t dive but decided to fight it out on the surface.”
“Did they sink it?”
“Their mines straddled it, but they were hit repeatedly on the run-in, some of the rounds puncturing their port fuel tank, so they had to break-off the engagement and head for home. The tail-gunner reported seeing it go under, but whether it was from their attack or not, they weren’t sure. They managed to get within forty miles of the coast, funny enough, the underside of the hull hadn’t been hit, and with a moderate sea running we were able to take it in tow, and bring it back.”
“What about the crew?”
“Two wounded, but not seriously.”
Will stroked his chin for a moment while he thought over what Dave had said. “So what else has been going on? You said there had been several incidents?”
“One of yours on a Mercer flight had a run-in with Ju 290. No one was injured and it got back to Tiree okay. What else? Oh! A crofter on North Uist reported seeing a German flying boat at low level heading towards Monach Island. So you see there’s been quite a lot going on while you’ve been in dock,” Dave smiled, as he saw the tea-trolley make an appearance through the
ward door. “Any chance, Will?” he asked, quietly.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he winked.
With a little cajoling, he managed to get a second cup of tea, but only on the understanding from Jean, the tea lady, that Dave took it into the recreation room to drink it.
“So! How much longer do you think you will be in hospital for, Will?”
“I don’t know. The surgeon was supposed to come and see me this morning, but he never turned up. When I asked one of the nurses why, she said there was a bit of a flap on. I hope it’s not going to be too much longer because I’m getting bored as hell mooching around here all day. I got a bollocking off Evelyn the other day for taking a longer walk than normal around the grounds.”
“Who’s Evelyn?” Dave asked, pushing his empty cup and saucer under the chair with his foot after not adhering to the tea ladies request when a nurse came on the ward to check all was okay.
“She is the ward Sister, I only call her by her first name to wind her up a bit,” Will grinned.
Dave gave him a look of disapproval. “A Sister is quite well up the ladder. You’re going to get another bollocking if you keep using her first name like that, especially if it’s in front of the junior nurses.”
“Yes, Isobel told me that, so I use my discretion now, when I use it.”
Dave smiled at his friend. “You’d better! – So! Have you decided what you are going to do when your rest period is over, go back flying or stay grounded?”
“I had this same conversation a few days ago with your sister.”
“And what did she say?”
“She thought I’d done enough flying and should pack it up before I get the chop.”
“Well, she may have a point, Will. You’ve done your fair share, you know.”
“Yes, I know I have. But you of all people know what it’s like when you’ve been flying then grounded; don’t forget it wasn’t that long ago you couldn’t leave Castle Kennedy quick enough to get on the Air Sea Rescue boats.”
Dave frowned. “Aye! True enough,” he answered, softly.
“Anyway! Talking about the boats. How did you manage to wangle it to get on them before your rest period was up?” Will asked, looking at him suspiciously.
Dave didn’t answer straight away but looked around the room to see if anybody was listening. “I had a little help behind the scenes,” he replied quietly, the conversation ending when they saw the door suddenly open and Sister Murray appear who stood a few moments to cast a critical eye around the ward.
Will immediately recognised the signs. “Look out! Sister’s got her official look on,” he said, loud enough for her to hear as she came over to them.
“Good afternoon Sergeant,” she said, looking at Dave and not responding to Will’s remark.
“Good afternoon Sister,” Dave acknowledged.
“And how are you feeling today, Warrant Officer Madden?”
Will knew by her expression that he had better choose his words carefully. “I’m feeling fine Sister. I was going to ask the surgeon when he came to see me this morning when it would be possible for me to return to my unit, but he didn’t come on to the ward due to an emergency.”
“Yes, I wasn’t on duty this morning and I’ve just been told about that. But he will be doing his rounds after visiting time this afternoon, so you can have a word with him then, okay?”
Will interlocked his fingers together across his stomach and looked up at her, nodding slowly.
“So have you been taking the medication that was prescribed?” she asked, surprised at his quietness, compared to how he normally was.
“Yes!”
“And have you been sleeping alright? No reoccurrence of the problem you told the doctor about?” she asked, diplomatically.
“No. I’ve been sleeping fine,” Will replied.
She stared at him for a few moments, surprised at his abruptness. “Right then, I’ll leave you with your visitor. Oh! And Sergeant, don’t leave that cup and saucer under the chair, will you,” she said before leaving.
Dave frowned as he watched her leave the ward before asking, “What’s the medication for?”
“I wasn’t sleeping too well after my operations. Had one or two bad dreams to start with; anyway, whatever it was the doc gave me, it seems to have done the trick.”
Dave began to smile.
“What are you smiling about?” Will asked.
“A few pints and a wee dram or two is what you need, that’ll put you back on top form.”
Will pulled a face. “Booze is the last thing I feel like at the moment.” His talking was suddenly interrupted by activity on the ward as visitors began to leave. “Well, it looks like your time’s up, my old mate,” he said, gesturing towards the wall clock.
“Aye! I suppose I’d better make a move. Don’t forget to tell Issy what the quack said when you see him later, so she can tell me, okay?” he said, getting up.
Will felt a little envious but pleased he had taken the time to come and see him. “Dave! Thanks for coming, it’s most appreciated. And keep your bloody eyes open when you’re manning them guns,” he called out as his eyes followed him across the room.
“I will,” Dave acknowledged with a wave as he disappeared through the connecting door to the corridor and the hospital entrance.
*
Lifting her handcuffed hands towards her mouth, Griselda drew hard on the cigarette that had been given to her. Not knowing where she was being taken was bad enough, but the continuous silence from the driver and the two men escorting her was beginning to take its toll on her nerves. Several times she had tried to engage them in conversation, only to be met by a wall of stony silence. Griselda knew very little about the interrogation methods of the British – what she had heard had only been rumours; those that had been caught had been executed, so she knew her fate would have an inevitable outcome. Leaning her head against the window, she thought back to her arrest on the station, her eyes becoming tearful at the thought of how much she was in love with Matthew and not being able to see him again. Wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand, she watched the darkness gradually give way to the cold light of day and wondered how many more days like this she would see. She knew capture was always likely ever since arriving in Britain, but in wartime, the chance of apprehension increased considerably. She had heard about the brutality used by the Gestapo in her own country, could she withstand such methods if it was used by the British? Griselda winced at the thought of being put through such pain and could only hope that the British still held to their rules of fair play, but whether that applied under the present circumstances she would have to wait and see. She had to endure another forty minutes of silence before the vehicle finally drew up outside the drab-looking building that was Kendal police station.
“She’s just arrived and they are putting her in one of the cells, like you asked,” Vines said, coming into the room accompanied by the duty sergeant.
Maynard stroked his chin a few moments, deep in thought. “Right! We will let her stew there for an hour or so while we get a bite to eat, then we’ll see what she’s got to say for herself. Sergeant, just one question, is the light on in her cell?” he asked, getting up from the chair.
“Yes, it is.”
“Switch it off, will you? Let us see how she likes solitude in the dark.”
“I’ll attend to it right away, sir.”
“Thanks. It’s one of the ‘methods’ used by Latchmere House,” Maynard added.
“So how long are you going to leave her like that for?” Vines asked, as they made their way down to the canteen.
“That depends on how good your breakfast is here, Inspector,” Maynard smiled.
Vines gave him a look of encouragement. “It’s not bad for wartime rations,” he grinned.
Griselda wasn’t surprised when the light in her cell was switched off. Sleep deprivation was a common method before interrogating prisoners, so she resigned herself to the fact that she may
well get very little sleep over the coming hours. She was a little surprised that after what seemed a short period of time, the light was switched back on, followed by footsteps coming along the corridor and the sound of her cell door being unlocked whereupon she was told to ‘get up and come with me’ in a rather abrupt tone of voice by a police constable.
The room she was taken to had only the meagre contents of a table and two chairs, one of which she was told to sit down on. Time seemed to pass painfully slowly before the door behind her opened and a man who Griselda estimated was in his early fifties came and sat down opposite her and dropped a file on the table, looking at her for several moments without speaking.
“So, we finally meet at last – Lillian Gilbert, if that is your real name, which I somehow doubt very much it is? My name is Maynard – Henry Maynard. I’m with the Military Intelligence and you are in very serious trouble, Lillian.”
Griselda looked at the file then at Maynard. “I don’t see why I should be, I haven’t done anything wrong,” she replied, trying not to let the fear she was feeling show in her voice.
“Don’t insult our intelligence. We have a file on you right back to your early days when you worked for a law firm in Gloucester and then your move to the Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton where you were strategically placed to gather information to send back to Germany from your cosy little cottage at Coaley, which you shared with your male counterpart, the Raven. Oh! It’s all in here and a lot more besides, so don’t look so shocked. We have known for some time, Lillian, what you’ve been up to, but as the old saying goes – ‘give a person enough rope and they will eventually hang themselves’, and that is exactly what we have been doing with you,” Maynard smirked, hoping his reference to hanging might put the frighteners on her and get her to open up and fill in the parts they desperately needed to find and either kill or capture the Raven before he left the country.
“I’ve nothing to say,” Griselda answered in a determined voice.
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