‘The circumstances surrounding this sudden tragedy are still not confirmed, however a spokesman for the FBI informed NBC reporters that an anonymous letter had been received at their Federal Plaza headquarters, indicating that Donovan Tremaine may have been one of the key players of the Watergate affair. The Washington Post has published a front-page news article stating that Senator Tremaine has been involved in a scandalous deception over Cyprus. There are also unconfirmed reports that details of this nature are in the suicide note found next to the senator’s body. We will try to bring you an update, as soon we receive more details regarding this incident.’
Swan switched off the radio and Gable glanced at his colleague.
‘I don’t suppose your meeting with him yesterday, had anything to do with this, by any chance?’
Swan decided not to answer. He only had one thought on his mind. Reynolds had got his revenge.
Outside the SID office in Wellesley Mews, the two men climbed out of the car.
‘Well I suppose we better go and let Janet know of your intentions, Arthur.’
Gable smirked. ‘Actually Alex, she sort of already knows. In fact, she said before I left for the airport, that if you didn’t see to let me go, then you would have to answer to her.’
Swan laughed. ‘Did she, indeed?’
They walked up the concrete steps to the front door. Swan stopped just inside.
‘By the way, any ideas who to recommend to replace you? Preferably an ex-member of the force.’
Gable also halted. ‘Actually Alex, I do have someone in mind, and if we were to have one of those brass plaques displaying our initials and surnames, you wouldn’t even have to change it.’
Swan smiled. There was only one person who could fill the shoes of his dear friend. ‘Andrew?’
Gable nodded. ‘Yes, Alex, I reckon that my son will make a fine new associate for you. What do you think?’
‘At least he wouldn’t have a problem stopping a hovercraft.’
Swan smiled. ‘There’s nobody I would like more, Arthur,’
They both walked inside, closing the door behind them.
In a dusty, sun-baked street in a mountain village, just outside Marrakech, an eight-year-old girl played with her friends, rolling her beloved hula-hoop along, then running alongside it as they each took turns to jump through.
After the little girl’s successful turn at this game, she watched as the others made their attempts and cheered as each accomplished the same task.
Then, she could suddenly hear the faint sound of an approaching petrol engine. An engine tone that she had heard many times. This was followed by the constant blast of an air horn.
Ayesha turned around with great surprise, her eyes widened and her face filled with joy. Dropping the hula hoop, she left her friends standing and ran up the hill.
As the 1968, former British army SAS Pink Panther Land Rover cruised gently towards her, its sole, unshaven, occupant waved to her ecstatically from the driver’s seat.
As fast as her legs could carry her small body, the little girl ran towards her equally excited father.
Also having heard the bleeping horn, her mother had come outside to investigate and on seeing the familiar pink vehicle approaching the house, Fatima smiled.
In the SID office, Swan leant over the desk and gave his wife a hug.
‘Pleasant flight, darling? Have you heard all the news this morning? That phone hasn’t stopped ringing,’ she informed him.
‘Yes, it seems like it never ends for us here. Anyway, I can’t stop, I said I would meet Sir Alistair at the Brigand Club for lunch. How about I take you to dinner at Luigi’s later on?’
Janet Swan sighed. ‘Oh, I finally get my husband back, at long last!’
Swan then reached into his inside jacket pocket. ‘Oh, I almost forgot, you need to put this in the safe, out of harm’s way. Especially with what’s happened this morning in Cyprus.’
Passing the eight-page document to his wife, she stared at it curiously. She opened and read the heading to herself — and her jaw dropped in amazement.
‘This is the bloody Ankara Agreement!’
Swan nodded. ‘Yes, it is my darling, Janet.’
Janet then gave her husband a cold stare. ‘You told me that Jack Rowse’s case went to the bottom of the Med.’
‘That’s right, it did. But, when it was still aboard the Shackleton, I removed this just as we were about to bail out, and placed it in an airtight bag.’
Janet shook her head. ‘You lied to me. My own husband lied to me.’
Swan smiled. Leaning to her ear, he whispered. ‘Let’s say, given that you’ve been discussing my associate’s intended retirement plans without me, we are now even.’
He turned to walk out of the door, then stopped.
‘Oh, by the way, can you contact Superintendent Andrew Gable at Kent Constabulary Headquarters at Maidstone and invite him in for a chat tomorrow? And the chance to try out his new desk? Swan then addressed both his wife and his colleague.
‘Cheerio, you two. If you need me, I’ll be at the Brigand Club. See you both later on.’
Acknowledgements
This novel, although a piece of fiction, has facts worked into its plot. This would not have been possible without extensive research, and it has been thanks to publications such as The Cyprus Conspiracy by Brendan O’Malley that I have been able to include important and intriguing information about the Cyprus conflict within this story.
Another source to which I owe gratitude is Growling over the Ocean by Deborah Lake. Her wonderful collection, of accounts from the men who flew the Avro Shackleton during the Cold War, has been invaluable, and I only hope that I have managed to capture some of that experience of operating in such a fine aircraft.
Incidentally, if you were to look on a satellite map of Nicosia International Airport, you may just be able to spot the wreck of one of these old planes near one of the perimeter fences.
Finally, no fictional account of the horrors of war or the desperate struggles of refugees can ever match true stories surrounding the Cyprus conflict and The Green Line: Holiday in a Warzone — Cyprus 1974 by Soner Kioufi has helped me tremendously to depict some of the fears and trauma experienced by the innocent people who unfortunately, in that summer of 1974, found themselves caught up in a situation that to this day has not fully been resolved.
For further details on the other Alex Swan Mystery novels, you can visit my website: www.alexswanmysteries.uk.
David Holman, 2019.