Cross of Fire
if anything happened to him. On her way to work the following morning she would phone the London number he had given her in secrecy, would tell whoever answered what had happened to him.

    Chapter Three

    'Kuhlmann has changed the rendezvous at the last moment.' Tweed announced to Monica and Paula. 'That is quite out of character. He must be a very worried man. Geneva - not Luxembourg City - is the meeting place. Tomorrow morning at the Hotel des Bergues.'
    'What time would you like to leave?' Monica asked, her hand poised over the phone.
    'I'd like to leave this evening.' Tweed turned to Paula. 'Yesterday was a bit gruelling for you -I spent most of the day drilling you in what to say to Chief Inspector Buchanan.'
    'And I'm grateful. I'm sure I'm word perfect. It was clever of you to tell Buchanan when he phoned I was out of town and you didn't know where ...'
    She broke off as the door opened, Newman and Marler came in, sat down and looked at Tweed. As Monica lowered her voice on the phone Tweed warned Newman quickly.
    'Bob, I've got a bit of a shock for you. The man who is investigating Karin Rosewater's murder is our old friend, Chief Inspector Roy Buchanan.'
    'He's no friend of mine. The last time we met he had me marked as number one suspect in a murder case. May I look forward to a repeat performance?' He frowned. 'Just a minute. Buchanan is Homicide, New Scotland Yard. There hasn't been time for the locals to request the Yard's aid. It was only the day before yesterday we found Karin's body.'
    'I asked Buchanan that very question when he phoned to come and interview Paula yesterday. Apparently he'd just solved another murder case in Suffolk and was still there. Most of the senior officers at Ipswich HQ are down with flu. Hence the Chief Constable asked Buchanan if he'd stand in temporarily.'
    'What lousy luck...'
    'And he's on his way here now. Which is why I left a message on your answerphone to get here as early as you could this morning. Both you and Marler have a lot to grasp before Buchanan descends. Yesterday Paula and I went over how she would handle it - his questioning. Briefly, no mention of Karin being hired by some mysterious authority to check the state of France. Just a friend of Paula's who shared her interest in underwater exploration. I'm going to point Buchanan in the direction of Paula so he questions her first. You two can then follow her lead. Volunteer nothing - answer any questions he asks and shut up.'
    'I say.' Marler protested, 'we're not exactly amateurs at this game.'
    Tweed leaned forward over his desk. 'And neither is Buchanan, so don't you forget it...'
    The phone rang, Monica took the call, listened, grimaced at Tweed, who nodded and relaxed in his chair.
    'They're on the way up.' Monica said as she replaced the receiver. 'The Heavenly Twins - Chief Inspector Buchanan, with his ever-faithful sidekick, Sergeant Warden.'
    'We must welcome them. Make coffee, if you would.'
    Tweed rose behind his desk as Monica opened the door and two men entered. Buchanan was a tall slim man in his forties with a deceptively relaxed manner which had trap ped more than a few suspects. Warden, an inch or two shorter, had a poker face and rarely showed any kind of reaction. He carried a notebook. Greeting them amiably, Tweed ushered them into two chairs he had earlier placed so they half-faced Paula and himself.
    'We are all ready for you.' Tweed began amiably, 'and Paula is ready to answer your questions.'
    'Really?' Buchanan's tone was cynical as he glanced round the room. 'You mean you're going to cooperate without waving the Official Secrets Act in my face? Something General & Cumbria Assurance have been known to resort to.'
    Tweed smiled at this reference to the cover name for the SIS, the name on the brass plate on the front door.
    'Monica will be bringing coffee.' Tweed continued his welcoming act. 'It's a raw day.'
    'It must have been a raw day, Miss Grey, when you went scuba diving at Dunwich. At
Read Online Free Pdf

Similar Books

The Right Medicine

Ginny Baird

The Statement

Brian Moore

The Baker's Boy

J. V. Jones

Lucky in Love

Kristen Brockmeyer

Hester's Story

Adèle Geras