The Pact (8 page)

“An
arms negotiator.” Amanda actually looked incensed at Parva’s accusation. “And yes, seeing as you wish to be so pushy about it, I’ll admit than I am working for the people who run this country, one of whom is rather unhappy about the fact that his daughter got caught in the crossfire.”

“What
crossfire?” Parva was determined to get this woman to talk. “What was so important that you were willing to risk poisoning four young girls?”

Amanda
sighed, her face sagged, and for a moment it looked as if she might drop her weapon. So secret government agents get tired of their lot from time to time as well, Parva thought, as her phone buzzed for a fourth time.

“Jennifer...actually
let’s just stick to her Christian name to protect those who pay me a lot to help things stay that way, shall we? Anyway, Jennifer X, who was a pupil at this school, got involved with a man who was much older than her. Much older and rather influential where certain matters of state might be concerned. He was a friend of her father’s and his predilection for...younger women was well known. Her father was foolish enough to believe that he would never go after the man’s own daughter.”

“And
that’s why she had to die?” Parva could hardly believe it. “So this man’s disgusting little ‘predilection’ as you call it, could be kept secret?”

Amanda
shook her head. “Haven’t you read the papers in the last ten years? No one really cares about that sort of thing anymore. In fact if anything the one thing guaranteed to restores a flagging politician’s reputation in the opinion polls is for him to have an affair.”

So
he was a politician. Parva filed that little fact away. “What, then?”

“Everything
would have been fine if they hadn’t broken up,” said Amanda.

“The
world is full of stories like that,” said Parva. “It’s hardly anything new. Why should this be any different?”

“Because,
if you were as familiar with relationship break-ups as you are trying to pretend to be, you would know that they can often be very messy.” Amanda was standing between the two girls now. Her gaze swept from one to the other before settling once more on Parva. “People are angry. They do stupid things. And little Jenny did something very, very stupid indeed.”

“She
gave the things he kept in her room to the charity shop,” Parva breathed. Suddenly it was starting to make sense. “And among those things there was something important.”

“No.”
Amanda obviously didn’t like being pre-empted. “Among those things was something very important. I’m sure she had no idea what she’d done but it became imperative we find out. I was ‘awoken’, and instructed to investigate, with orders to dispose of her and anyone else who might be aware of the item.”

Parva’s
phone began to vibrate continuously “What was it?” She thought about trying to edge back further but knew Amanda would shoot if she did. She changed tactics and took two steps forward.

Amanda
surprised her by taking a step back. She gave a nervous laugh. “Do you think I would tell you? Or these two trussed up children? Oh no, Dr Corcoran. I’ve had enough trouble trying to track the damned thing down without risking yet more people knowing about it.”

Parva
tried moving forward again. Now she was in between the two girls. She still had no idea what she was going to do but at least Amanda had moved back from Emily and Jocelyn.

“Have
you found it, then?” Parva asked. The twitch at the corners of Amanda’s eyes told her that she hadn’t. “Wouldn’t it be helpful if you told us what it was and then we could all help you look?”

Amanda
forced a laugh. “No, Dr Corcoran, that wouldn’t help at all.”

“I
see.” Parva reached into her pocket. “In that case, would you mind if I answered my phone? Someone seems to be desperate to get my attention.”

Amanda
looked only slightly perturbed. “Why not?” she said. “The condemned woman deserves a last wish. If it’s Willoughby you can say goodbye, after you tell him what a silly boy he’s been for trying to contact you again. If it’s anyone else...” Amanda paused and looked around her, “...they’ll never believe whatever it is you tell them.”

Parva
lifted the buzzing phone to her eye line and pressed the ‘Receive’ button.

The
first text message of the evening appeared. As she might have expected, it was from Jack Willoughby.

Don’t do anything stupid.

Parva shook the phone as it continued to vibrate.
Why hadn’t it picked up?
She pressed the button again.

The
message that must have followed appeared.

Under no circumstances put yourself in danger
.

Yes, fine, I already am in danger, thank you very much,
she thought, thumbing the button once more.

“Problems?”
Amanda was starting to grin now.

“Oh,
you know,” said Parva as she stared at the final two texts, “technology.”

Cool
as
a
cucumber.

Keep
calm
and
remember
your
initial
training
.

Parva
blinked. What the hell was Willoughby on? This was just nonsense.

Or
was it?

Was
it possibly a code?

Parva
looked at the messages as Amanda tapped her foot.

“I’m
starting to get bored, Dr Corcoran.”

“Sorry.”
There was something hidden here, something Parva needed to decipher quickly. She found her eyes straying to the final message.

Remember
your initial training.

She’d
never had any initial training, or at least it hadn’t been called that.

Initial.

Parva looked at the first letter of each text.

D

U

C

K

The
phone was still buzzing. Parva pressed the receive button one last time and the message was there, over and over.

Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck.

Parva threw herself to the floor as the windows of the biology laboratory exploded inwards. Tear gas canisters hit the floor, oily smoke already pouring from them. Parva gripped the legs of the chair on the right and pulled as hard as she could. The chair fell backwards with a crash, as Parva did the same to the left. Both Emily and Jocelyn disappeared beneath a sea of choking fumes. Parva heard a gunshot and winced but felt no pain. She looked up but by now her eyes were filled with tears. She had a vague sense of someone pulling her away and then everything went black.

13

“Are you feeling all right now?”

Parva
struggled to focus on the face of Matron Waters as she willed the pounding in her head to go away. She tried to rise from the bed she was lying in, but that just made it even worse. Parva coughed, and wished she had died rather than survive whatever toxins had invaded her system and were making her feel so abominable right at this moment.

“You’re
going to feel rough for a little while,” said a man’s voice as Jack Willoughby came into view, his face full of concern. “But once you’re able to walk we’ll get you back to Bristol.”

Parva
tried to swing her legs out of bed and immediately wanted to throw up.

“I
don’t think I’m ready quite yet,” she croaked. The words echoed around the inside of her skull.

“I’m
not at all surprised,” said the DCI, motioning to the matron that she could leave them to it. “That was pretty toxic stuff we sent in there. I needed to knock everyone out quickly and that was the best we could drum up at short notice. Emily and Jocelyn are next door. They’ve yet to wake up.”

Parva
squinted at him as she tried to get used to the daylight streaming in through the windows. “How long have I been out?”

Willoughby
smiled. “Just under twelve hours,” he said. “Most people are knocked out for at least twenty-four.”

“I
certainly feel dead.” Parva tried to return the smile but that required just a bit too much effort. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

The
DCI shook his head. “I can’t tell you too much, I’m afraid,” he said. “I suspect you’ve worked most of it out, though.”

“I
know those girls died because of a government mistake,” said Parva, “and that...”

“Before
you go any further I’ll tell you right now that you’re going to have to forget all that,” said Willoughby. “If you don’t you’ll be finding yourself on the next flight to somewhere very cold and isolated, and you won’t be allowed back.”

Parva
could hardly believe what she was hearing. “Is that a threat?”

“It
is,” Willoughby replied. “But if it makes you feel any better I’ve been threatened with the same. Something top secret went missing up here, and more than one group of people has been searching for it. It’s generally considered that both sides have made mistakes and in at least one instance used excessive and inappropriate force to cover its tracks.”

Parva
didn’t like the sound of any of that but she had to know. “And what would that thing be?”

Willoughby
shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said.

That
wasn’t good enough. “I think you do,” Parva insisted. “The least you can do is tell me after everything I’ve been through.” She tried to smile again. It was a bit easier this time. “I promise I’ll forget all about it straight away.”

Willoughby
appeared to be considering this for a moment. Then he took a deep breath.

“It
was a memory stick,” he said. “The kind of thing that easily fits in an overcoat pocket and then gets forgotten about. The problem arose when that overcoat ended up being given to the local Oxfam by an irate teenaged girl. That’s when things got interesting.”

Parva
tried to sit up but she was still feeling dizzy. “What was on it?”

Willoughby
shook his head. “That I really can’t tell you, because I don’t rightly know myself. I’m guessing it was either military secrets or something incriminating to one or more people who run this country. Either way, once word got out that it was gone, St Miranda’s suddenly became very interesting to all kinds of people.”

“Including
Amanda.” Parva tried to remember what the woman had looked like, but all her fuzzy brain could bring to mind was tweed and cigar smoke. “What’s happened to her, by the way?”

“Amanda
Plumridge is no longer.” Willoughby was obviously uneasy discussing her. “But I’m sure you appreciate that she never really existed in the first place. She’s been taken where all such people go in these situations.”

Parva
put a hand to her forehead in case that might help the throbbing. “That’s not very clear,” she said.

“It’s
not meant to be,” Willoughby replied.

Parva
sighed. “At least the girls are all right,” she said.

“Yes
they are.” Willoughby was looking at his watch. “Not that you’re going to get the chance to see them again. MI5 wants this whole messy business defused as soon as possible.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning that as soon as you can get out of bed you’re coming back to Bristol with me,” came the reply. “And you’re not to talk to anyone until you’ve signed the Official Secrets Act.”

Of
course. The whole thing was going to be hushed up and there was nothing Parva could, or probably should, do about it.

“Presumably
Emily and Jocelyn will have to do the same?”

“Oh
yes,” Willoughby sounded grave. “You’re the only three such drastic measures are having to be taken with. Everyone else involved is being fed a story about a terrorist threat to a school filled with daughters of the rich and famous. It’ll be in all the papers tomorrow.”

Right
now, tomorrow seemed like such a long way away. “Remind me not to take on any more undercover assignments for you,” said Parva as she began to feel sleepy. One final thing was bothering her. One final thing and then she could sleep.

“How
did you happen to be outside the biology classroom just when I needed you?”

Willoughby
tapped the side of his nose. “Once I realised your phone was out of action and your laptop was pretty useless I made sure the school was kept under surveillance. You may have thought you were creeping around the school grounds undetected, but there were plenty of eyes on you.”

Parva
frowned. “Then why didn’t you move in sooner?”

Willoughby
raised his eyebrows. “Because we had no idea who the sleeper was, of course. And we needed to know.”

Of
course he did. Or MI5 did. Or some other covert secret government organisation that Parva never wanted to hear about again did.

Her
eyes were closing.

“No
more espionage stuff, okay?” she murmured as she felt reality slipping away.

“Okay,”
came the reply.

“Promise?”
Parva was barely intelligible, but Willoughby understood her.

“I
promise,” he said. “The case I have lined up for you next is a good old-fashioned serial killer.”

For
a fleeting moment, Parva returned to something approaching consciousness. “Serial killer?” she said. “You need me to catch another one?”

“Oh
no,” said Willoughby as he made for the door. “We’ve already done that. We just need you to find out where he’s hidden the bodies.”

Parva
didn’t think she would be able to sleep once Willoughby had left, not after everything he had just told her.

But
she did.

For
a little while.