Page 55 of Fire Must Burn

‘You should speak to Parham. Or let me speak to him.’

‘Absolutely not.’

‘Why not? He’s cleared specifically for these types of cases but he’ll be working solo because of that. He needs all the help he can get, especially if …’

She hesitated, not wanting to complete the thought.

‘Especially if Tony dies and it becomes a murder case,’ she concluded.

‘It’s premature to be asking that,’ said the Brigadier. ‘Danforth isn’t dead. And frankly, we hope that he survives. We wish to continue the operation until we know more. In fact, I would like you to arrange a visit to his bedside for Miss Lowle to encourage her continuing rapport with him.’

‘He may not live through the night, and you’re already plotting the next phase?’ she asked in disbelief.

‘If he dies, then it’s a waste of a good cover story for Miss Lowle,’ he said, shrugging. ‘Valuable training for the woman, though. But we all hope he lives. Don’t we, Sparks?’

She looked at him, then nodded slowly.

‘Good,’ he said. ‘We’re done here. And if I ever see you at my gate again, I shall direct Carruthers to shoot you on sight and bury you where you’ll never be found. Understood?’

She nodded again, glancing at Carruthers, who smirked at her.

‘Then I will bid you a good evening, Sparks,’ he said. ‘Go home. Report to me if you succeed in visiting your old friend in hospital.’

He turned, opened the gate to his house and walked inside.

‘You wouldn’t really shoot me, would you?’ she asked Carruthers.

‘Nah,’ he said. ‘It’d be more fun to break your neck, Lollipop. Now get out of here. I’ll wait until you’re gone.’

She turned and walked away. Carruthers watched as she vanished around the next corner, waited, then opened the gate and knocked on the Brigadier’s door. It opened a moment later.

‘Any further instructions?’ he asked.

‘Search Danforth’s flat,’ said the Brigadier. ‘See what you can find.’

‘Yes, sir. What about Sparks? Should we keep an eye on her?’

The Brigadier snorted.

‘If I had three men capable of following Iris Sparks without losing her, I’d be running England,’ he said. ‘We’ll leave her be for now. But let me know if she causes any more trouble.’

‘Yes, sir.’

SEVEN

Gwen was waiting for Iris as she turned the corner.

‘Were you able to get a good view of his face?’ asked Iris.

Gwen held up a pair of opera glasses, which she folded up and placed in her bag.

‘I’ve never tried to read someone from a distance before,’ she said. ‘Good thing you had him under the street light. But you planned that, didn’t you?’

‘I did. How much could you hear?’

‘Not everything, but enough.’

‘And?’