Her heart ached at the thought of her husband languishing alone in a cell.
She spoke up. “I think the time for keeping secrets is over.”
The voices in the room stopped. All eyes turned toward her.
“Rob found something at Millie’s. After he died. I don’t know the details, of course. But he was frightened. Secret details of a project. He protected Georgina by removing the evidence from the house, but I don’t think he knew what to do next. Then, matters were taken out of our hands, literally.”
“What do you mean?” Red asked.
“The box was stolen. By a young woman. She was in our house when we returned from the dinner party.”
“The night Rob got drunk?”
“He sobered up pretty quickly, I can tell you. He chased her over the fields. But lost her.”
“A young woman?” said Jock. “Are you sure?”
Mary nodded. “He said he recognised her. She was from the peace camp.” She suddenly put her hand to her forehead.
“Oh, bloody hell. Christ, I’ve been an idiot. That’s who it was! I’ve been so stupid not to see it.” She looked around the room. “Some silly woman from the village spotted Rob and a young woman in a pub and she convinced me he was having an affair. But it must have been her. They must have been working on something together. Rob told me it wasn’t what it looked like. A likely story I thought, but now… now I believe him.”
“So who is she?”
“All I know is she goes by the name Susie.”
Mary suddenly felt hot and faint.
“I need some air.”
Sarah rushed to her side, scooped her up, and led her out of the room.
She opened the front door, and Mary stepped into the garden.
“I’ll put some tea on,” Sarah said, and disappeared back into the house.
Mary walked to the small wooden fence, unsteady. Her eyes ran down the uniform row of married quarters. Even in the street light, the grass looked yellowed and thin after the heatwave.
Each lawn had the same dimensions and the same borders cut, with the only variation being the choice of flowers.
Was this outward impression of uniformity and order just an illusion?
Her eyes settled on a car a few doors down.
A red Rover she knew well.
A car she’d last seen outside the bungalow in Totton.
“What on earth?”
She looked up and down the street, searching for Georgina.
A figure stepped out of the shadows.
Mary clutched her chest.
“You scared the life out of me.”
The young woman looked directly at her.
“Mrs May?”
Mary stared back.
“Susie, I presume?”
SUSIE FOLLOWED Mary to the kitchen.
“Gentlemen, we have a visitor.”
Mary stepped aside.
Susie took her cue and walked into the small, smoke filled space. The men in uniform parted, their mouths open.
A woman at the sink let a tap overflow into her kettle, apparently unable to take her eyes off her.
“Well, well,” said a man in an American accent.
“You must be Red Brunson?” Susie said.
“And you, my dear, must be the mysterious Susie.”
She surveyed the room: a short, plump man with red cheeks; another who looked a couple of years older than Rob; another who was closer to Millie’s age; three more younger men, one with a classic handlebar moustache.
“Gentlemen, ladies. Mrs May tells me there is discontentment in the TFU ranks? Just so I know, can we all agree that we have a friend in need and a senior officer of dubious method, out of control?”
“I think that about sums it up,” Red said.
“Good. My name is Susie Attenborough. I work for a department of Her Majesty’s government. I can’t tell you any more, so you’ll have to take my word for it. If it helps engender your trust, you might like to know that I was due to meet your colleague Christopher Milford on Saturday 25th June. A meeting he requested to pass on certain information. Subsequently, I have been assisting Robert May to uncover what it was Milford found. Because of his diligence and commitment to his late friend, he is now under arrest, with little prospect of being believed. Unfortunately, we don’t have hard evidence, because Millie ensured it was destroyed to protect others. But we know the results. Under normal circumstances, that would be enough. But in Kilton we’re up against an operator who has been one step ahead throughout this process.
“As it stands, he’s won. Rob will be dealt with harshly. Any credibility will be stripped away. And to make matters worse, I’ve been told by my own superiors to back off.” She gave a grim smile. “I can’t say I’m keen on that idea. So I’ve decided to stay.”
“And do what?” one of the men asked.
“Well, that’s why I’m here.” She looked around, taking in her new partners. “I’m hoping we have the brains and ability in this room to come up with something.”
The men stayed silent for a moment.
“So, who’s with me?”
32
FRIDAY 8TH JULY
Susie groaned. It felt like she’d only dropped onto the bed a few minutes ago.
With an effort, she pulled herself upright and allowed her mind to wake up.
Snatches of conversations came back to her, along with sketchy details of the plan.
Her doubts also returned
It was too complex. There was too much that could go wrong. The outcome was uncertain.
It was 8.05AM. She needed to go shopping.
AN HOUR LATER, Susie was the first customer of the day at Turner’s department store in Salisbury.
She strode past the sofas and mahogany desks until she reached Ladies’ Wear.
Briefly distracted by the new stock from Mary Quant, she pulled a miniskirt from the rack and held it to her waist.
An elegant, middle-aged woman appeared.
“I can see madam has the figure for the skirt.”
Susie smiled and placed it back on the hangar.
“Thank you, but I don’t think it’s what I need today.”
She turned to look at an area of more conventional clothes, spying a David Windsmoor dress her mother might well have worn.
The assistant followed her gaze. “Is madam shopping for a particular occasion?”
“Yes. A funeral.”
THE FULL LENGTH mirror in the hall was cracked, and the dim light from the single bulb above made it barely usable. But Georgina managed to draw on a thin layer of eye-liner and a thicker layer of bright red lipstick.
She pulled on her wide brimmed navy hat with a cream trim to match her dress.
Standing back, she noticed how pale her skin looked, accentuated by the lipstick. Or maybe it was the low wattage bulb.
A low wattage bulb in a low wattage house on the edge of nowhere.
How had it come to this so quickly? How could Millie have let her down so badly?
Carrying on with something, gambling with their future.
And losing.
It was such a pleasant Friday afternoon, when Mark Kilton had arrived to take her life away.
A movement behind her. She turned to see Charlie hunting for a piece of mirror to help fit his tie.
She turned and took over the task.
“You look so handsome, darling.”
He grimaced, and didn’t reply.
“Come on, the car will be here in a minute. Let’s be brave together.”
MOST OF THE men arrived into the planning room in their full service dress.
The chat around the tea bar was subdued.
Red Brunson stood on one side of the room and watched Kilton emerge from his office, medals in place.