4th May
‘Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Cobb, please come in.’ The Reverend Adrian Holland greeted us.
He invited Helen and me into his front room where a pot of tea and some biscuits awaited us.
‘You have a very beautiful house,’ I remarked as Helen and I sat down upon his sofa.
‘It comes with my appointment as vicar of Great Melford, I’m afraid,’ he replied. ‘When I move on, most of the furniture and other items will remain.’ He sat down in a large armchair. ‘Can I offer you some tea?’
‘Thank you,’ Helen replied. ‘Milk, no sugar for both of us.’
‘I gather you wish to renew your vows in St Sigebert’s,’ Holland said, pouring tea into a china cup.
‘Well no, actually,’ said Helen. ‘We told a little white lie about that.’ Helen paused for a moment, remembering the rehearsal she had undertaken with Etienne in delivering the next section of her speech. She thought of Etienne listening from the van that was parked on the road, opposite the drive of the vicarage. ‘We’re actually from MI5, and we’re trying to save your life.’
Holland glanced up quickly at Helen. The tea he was pouring missed the cup and soaked into the white table cloth. ‘What are you talking about?’ he said.
‘You know that Hunter and Rycroft have vanished,’ I began. ‘We believe them to be dead and that you are the next target on the list.’
‘We have intelligence that the assassin will strike today,’ Helen intervened. ‘We know who that person is, but we don’t know his plan.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Holland replied, his hands slightly trembling.
‘You don’t have much time,’ Helen continued. ‘We know that you’re one of the five key figures in ARK, and we know about the plan. We have to get you to a safe house now before the killer can reach you.’
‘Did Leadbetter kill Hunter and Rycroft?’ asked Holland anxiously, finally taking the bait that had been woven into Etienne’s story – a complex distortion of reality aimed at convincing Holland that he was in a uniquely vulnerable position.
‘We think so,’ said Helen.
‘OK,’ said Holland.
‘Holland, Helen and I left the vicarage together. We walked down the drive, passing our hire car, and approached the van from which Etienne was monitoring us.
As we reached the van, I turned to face Holland. He glanced over my shoulder, and a look of horror appeared on his face. He thrust his hand into his pocket and withdrew a gun.
Everything happened so quickly. I had no idea what Holland intended to do, so I instinctively barged Helen to the ground and flung myself on top of her.
Gunshots followed in rapid succession – then silence.
I looked along the ground towards where Holland had stood. I saw him collapse and then lay motionless.
I turned my head in the other direction to see another figure, dressed in some form of hooded, military uniform. That person was also motionless on the ground.
From around the front of the van came Etienne, weapon drawn. He quickly moved to the uniform clad figure, kicked a gun away from him and retrieved it. All the while, his weapon was trained upon this motionless figure. I then watched Etienne rapidly move to Holland and do the same thing.
‘Are you OK?’ I said to Helen as we both began to stand up.
‘I think so,’ she replied. ‘Your first thought was to protect me,’ she added.
‘What other though might I have had?’ I smiled at her.
By the time Helen and I were on our feet, Etienne was speaking into his mobile: ‘Two down with gunshot wounds. Emergency backup needed.’ Etienne replaced the phone into his pocket. He then checked Holland’s breathing and pulse. ‘I think he’s dead,’ Etienne said.
Etienne moved back to the other figure and checked his breathing and pulse. ‘This one’s still alive,’ said Etienne. ‘He seems to have been hit in the head though.’ Etienne gently pulled back the man’s hood to assess the extent of the injury. He then remained still, as if frozen to the spot.
Etienne finally spoke in a tone of astonishment: ‘It’s Leadbetter!’