Page 95 of An Eye for an Eye
A smile appeared on the Ambassador’s face.
‘No need for tears,’ he said after he’d read the letter a second time. Sir Bernard handed the letter back to her with the words, ‘See if you can spot the three mistakes.’
Sally read the letter once again, smiled, wiped away the tears and said, ‘Four.’
Sir Bernard began to read the message for a third time. ‘His wife is called Hannah, not Heather, he has two sons, but no daughters, and he misspelt “Ambassador”, so what else have I missed?’
‘Shakespeare’s quote is from Richard III, not Richard II.’
The Ambassador bowed low and said, ‘Chapeau. I’ll have to call London and advise them. Wheels within wheels,’ he explained. ‘But we’ll have to move quickly, before the Governor works out the significance of the words “I remain”.’
•••
The Ambassador’s limousine, flags at half-mast on the bumpers, came to a halt outside the prison ten minutes before the appointed hour. The Foreign Office were not in the habit of being late or early for any occasion but were always on time. Ten minutes to ten was the appropriate time to attend a funeral. Sir Bernard got out of the car and stood behind a hearse, leaving his secretary sitting in the back of the car, head bowed, quietly weeping.
The Ambassador was dressed for the occasion. A dark double-breasted suit, a black tie, and a black armband on his left sleeve. He stood alone beside the waiting hearse, as the sole representative of the British government.
Without warning, the vast wooden gates blocking the bleak edifice swung slowly open to reveal six prison guards marching towards him, carrying a coffin on their shoulders. The Governor, head bowed, walked a few paces behind. The solemn cortège came to a halt at the back of the hearse. They lowered the coffin slowly from their shoulders, before easingit into the back of the waiting limousine. Having completed their task, the six men turned and marched back into the prison at a slightly faster pace.
The Governor tentatively approached the Ambassador and held out his hand. Sir Bernard would have avoided returning the compliment with this loathsome individual, but he needed to keep up the pretence for a couple more hours.
‘I cannot express how sad we all are,’ said the Governor, ‘that Hartley felt it necessary to take his own life.’
‘I agree,’ replied the Ambassador, ‘especially as a court order granting his release had just been sanctioned, and he would have been a free man within days.’
‘If only I’d known earlier,’ said the Governor, ‘I feel sure I could have prevented the tragedy.’
Sir Bernard wondered when the Governor would find out the truth. He walked slowly back to his car, while his secretary slipped out of the other side and made her way across to the hearse. She was carrying a wreath of red roses, which she placed on top of the coffin.
Once the rear door had been closed behind her, she pulled a Swiss penknife out of her bulky handbag. Like the good Girl Guide she had once been, Sally extracted a sharp knife and began to scrape away at the join between the lid of the coffin and its base. When a small gap appeared, she replaced the knife with a screwdriver, which she wedged into the gap and, with all the strength she possessed, slowly levered up the lid until there was a large enough space to allow some oxygen to flow in through the gap. When Sally heard heavy breathing, she wanted to let out a yelp of delight, but satisfied herself with looking out of the back window.
‘What I’m at pains to understand,’ said the Ambassador,playing for time, ‘is how it was possible for my countryman to get hold of the poison in the first place.’
‘That puzzled me too,’ said the Governor. ‘I feel guilty about the fact I wasn’t on duty last night, but I will be setting up an inquiry to find out who was responsible, and you can be assured when I find out who it was they will be suitably punished.’
The Ambassador glanced towards the hearse, to receive a nod from his secretary. He immediately got into the back of his car, avoiding having to shake hands with the man a second time. He was putting on his seat belt when the hearse set off at a funereal pace. But once they had turned the corner, they accelerated, to become the fastest hearse in history. They began to overtake startled drivers and bemused onlookers – but then they had a deadline to keep to.
The Governor waited until they were out of sight before he made his way back into the prison. He’d already decided that the inquiry would show he had been at home last night and had immediately sacked the officer on duty. However, he would add that he felt he’d been left with no choice but to resign, without mentioning the one hundred and fifty thousand dollars that were still locked in his desk, or that he only had one more year to serve before retiring.
But he still had one last duty to carry out that would ensure none of the blame could be laid at his door. As he passed reception on the way back to his office, he barked at a passing prison guard, ‘Fetch O’Driscoll and bring him to my office immediately.’
The guard scuttled off.
The Governor had already prepared a statement for O’Driscoll to sign that would show he was in no way involved. He would promise O’Driscoll that if he signed the confession,another fifty thousand and the money would be transferred to his wife’s account in Dublin immediately. Not that O’Driscoll would live long enough to find out one way or the other.
•••
‘Did you check the flight was on time?’ asked the Ambassador as his driver continued to pursue the hearse down the outside lane.
‘Yes, sir. I’ve already briefed the officer in charge of flight control to let him know we’re on our way.’
‘And Sally?’ asked the Ambassador.
‘She’s clinging onto the coffin handles for dear life. The wreath has gone AWOL, but I can see the coffin lid is slightly raised.’
Sir Bernard let out a sigh of relief, but knew he wouldn’t relax until the plane had taken off.
•••