“How long have you known I was working for the Provos?”
“Since Fiona discovered that it was you who blew Pat Gorman’s cover. You never saw what Brady did to Pat before he finally killed him, did you? It was barbaric. Why did you turn?”
“I was in debt. Real debt. And I couldn’t cover those debts on my police pay. So I turned informer.”
“And how much of your debt did you pay off by blowing Pat’s cover?”
Marsh remained silent.
“I hope it was worth it, Johnny. I really hope it was worth it.”
“If you’ve known about this all along, why didn’t you just let me rot in jail when you had the chance?”
“That was the idea,” Eastman replied. “Fiona had enough on you to put you away for life. And she intended to finger you in court. But without her the case would probably have collapsed. And I wasn’t going to risk it. So I told Whitlock you were the fall guy. That way they would have to release you.”
“So that you could kill me?” Marsh shot back.
“I promised myself that I’d avenge Pat’s death. Brady’s already dead. You’re the last piece in the jigsaw, Johnny.”
“You knew I intended to kill you today, didn’t you?”
“I knew the authorities would never let me walk. I know too much. So what better way of silencing me than by using the Provos to do their dirty work for them? All it needed was an anonymous call to the Army Council to set me up. I presume that is how they found out about me?”
Marsh nodded.
“How much were they told?”
“Enough to put a contract out on you,” Marsh replied.
“But obviously not enough to link me with either Pat or Fiona,” Eastman deduced. “Which means the public will always hold the IRA responsible for Scoby’s murder. Perfect.”
“Killing me won’t solve anything. They’ll just send someone else after you. They won’t stop until they’ve found you. I’m your one chance of getting out of this alive. If I report back to them that I’ve killed you, the contract will be lifted. You need me, Keith, can’t you see that?”
“I had a plan to get Fiona out of the country. Well, now I’m going to use it myself. I’ve got all the contacts in place. All the details have already been finalized. I guarantee you that the IRA will never find me. So, you see, I don’t need you at all.”
Marsh clawed desperately for his holstered Browning. Eastman pumped three bullets into him. Marsh’s body spun grotesquely as he fell backwards into the river. Eastman stared impassively at the lifeless body as it wallowed, facedown, in the water then pushed the Browning into his pocket and hurried back to his car.
He saw the red motorbike parked behind Marsh’s Toyota as he emerged into the clearing. The two figures standing beside the car were dressed in black leathers with helmets obscuring their faces. Both were armed with ArmaLite rifles. He knew then he was going to die. He was still reaching for the Browning in his pocket when they shot him.
Alistair MacLean’s
Dead Halt
Alistair MacLean, who died in 1987, was the best-selling author of thirty books, including world famous novels such as The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare. Of the story outlines he was commissioned to write by an American film company in 1977, two, Hostage Tower and Air Force One is Down, were, with Alistair MacLean’s approval, published as novels written by John Denis; these were followed with six by Alastair MacNeill, the highly successful Death Train, Night Watch, Red Alert, Time of the Assassins, Dead Halt and Code Breaker, and two Borrowed Time and Prime Target by Hugh Miller.
Alastair MacNeill
Alastair MacNeill was born in Scotland in 1960. When he was six years old his family emigrated to South Africa, where he showed a growing interest in writing, winning several school competitions. He returned to Britain in 1985 to pursue a full-time writing career. As well as writing seven novels based on MacLean outlines he has written five novels under his own name. He lives in Sheffield.
Dead Halt is the seventh title in the UNACO series.