The Samsara Project - David Burgess (early reader books .txt) 📗

in order to survive. John knew that it had been Rigger who had got him through his first night but what he hadn’t realised that he had also got Rigger through his. Rigger’s system had been starved of its food, in his case that food was alcohol. Rigger was fighting his own demons and it had been John’s tales and stories that had helped him through his own hell. The worlds had collided, both, with the help of the other, had survived.

* * * *

DCS Hughes made his way to the address Peter had given him. It struck him as a strange place to have arranged a meeting. One hundred and twenty two Griesdale Lane was a typical nineteen fifties semi detached house. Bow bay windows at the front, a small lawn with a driveway leading to a single garage, and at the side of the driveway a path leading to a half glazed front door. DCS Hughes opened the metal gate off the pavement and walked up to the door. He rang the doorbell and waited. He did not have to wait long as the door was quickly opened by a middle aged brunette woman, “DCS Hughes?”
“Yes,” he replied somewhat surprised by the formal greeting.
“My name is Sarah, Dr. Livingstone is expecting you, please follow me.”
DCS Hughes followed Sarah to the rear room of the house. He suspected at one time this would have been the rear parlour or dining room although it was now a very plush office. Peter Livingstone was sat on an oversized arm chair. He stood up and held out his hand to welcome DCS Hughes. “Thank you for coming Chief Superintendent, I realise that you may have thought meeting here was an unusual request, and I apologise for that, but I have my reasons and I hope that they will become clearer over time. Please, have a seat. Make yourself comfortable.”
DCS Hughes sat down in, rather than on, an identical arm chair. “Very nice,” he said, “I wouldn’t object to a couple of these in my office. I assume that this is an office?”
“Yes Chief Superintendent, this whole house is a working office. I’ll be happy to show you around later if you’d like.”
“What do the neighbours make of all this then,” asked DCS Hughes looking around the room.
“We own next door as well, it’s somewhere handy for people to stay as and when required, it actually works out cheaper, over a few years, than paying London hotel prices plus should we ever decide to sell the increase in value will actually return a very healthy profit for the tax payer. Not many agencies can claim that now can they.”
“I thought you worked for Liverpool University?” asked DCS Hughes.
“In one way I do but in another I don’t. Again, I hope all will become clear a little later. Would you like some tea or coffee?” asked Peter
“Coffee would be nice please,” replied DCS Hughes, “cream and two sugars please, brown if possible. I’ve always preferred coffee with brown sugar, white sugar for tea, brown for coffee.”
A few minutes later Sarah brought in a wheeled trolley with two cups, a tall coffee pot and a bowl of brown sugar. There was also a plate of assorted biscuits. “Help yourself Chief Superintendent.”
“I appreciate the hospitality and the very nice surroundings but why exactly have you asked me here this morning?”
“A question first of all. What are your thoughts and ideas about the recent London murders and the shooting of your secretary, Tracy Rae.?”
“Given the fact that your brother –in-law has been arrested and charged with the attempted murder of my secretary I’m hardly likely to be impartial. I’ve taken Tracy’s shooting very personally and I’ll do everything I can to see her attacker put behind bars for a very long time.”
Peter looked as though he was wording his next question very carefully. “How badly do you want to see whoever shot Tracy brought to justice?”
“According to Southern Counties CID, John Reynolds shot Tracy.”
“True, but is that what you believe. You’ve known John for a long time. The two of you go back years. You’ve worked professionally together enough times for you to have gotten to know him very well. Question Chief Superintendent, do you believe that John Reynolds shot Tracy Rae? Yes or no”
“The evidence presented to me is overwhelming and on that basis I have to say yes. But you’re right; I have known John for a long time. At least I thought I knew him and the John Reynolds I know could not shoot anyone.”
“Answered like a true policeman. For a moment forget you’re a policeman and answer with your gut feeling. Do you believe John Reynolds shot Tracy Rae?”
There was a pause. DCS Hughes looked Peter straight in the eye, “No Dr. Livingstone, I do not believe that John Reynolds shot my secretary. In fact I believe that he would have done everything he could to protect her.”
“Good.” said Peter, “that’s what I needed to hear you say.
Peter got up from his chair and walked across the room to his desk, opened one of the desk drawers and took out a piece of paper. “There are a couple of things I want to talk to you about concerning everything that is happening. First though I need you to sign this piece of paper.”
”What is it?” asked DCS Hughes
“I asked for this meeting here today in order to give me time to run a deep background check on you. You’ll be pleased to know it came back clear.”
“Why would you run a check on me? I’m the detective, you’re a university scientist?”
Peter passed the paper to DCS Hughes, “Once you sign that piece of paper you will have Alpha one plus security clearance. That is three levels above top secret. You will see that the Prime Minister himself has had to countersign the clearance. I’m not in any way forcing you to sign, that’s your choice. There’s no pressure.”
DCS Hughes took a pen out of his pocket and signed the paper. He handed it back to Peter. “Now I’ve signed that can you tell me who and what you are. Whatever you are you are not a university scientist.”
“All in good time Chief Superintendent, first though there is something I want to show you.” Peter picked up a TV remote control from his desk and turned on the thirty seven inch TFT screen fixed to the wall. The screen showed the desktop of a laptop on Peter’s desk that was attached via a secure Wi Fi connection. Peter clicked an icon on the screen. A few seconds later the two men were watching a HD video. Peter started to give a commentary of what was happening on the screen.
“Look over to the right hand side of the screen, in a moment you will see a black Range Rover come into view. There it is.”
The view panned out to give more perspective. They were now looking at a clearing in a wood, the road running along the top of the screen. In a parking area they could clearly see a green X Type Jaguar parked.
“Is that John’s car?” asked DCS Hughes
“It is,” replied Peter. The video ran for another minute. “Look over to the left, half way up the screen,” Tracy came into view, she was unmistakable, the quality of the video was so clear.
“Where was the camera that took this video?” asked DCS Hughes.
“It’s a spy sat specification digital video camera fixed to the underside of one of my department’s helicopters. It was hovering around three miles away when this was filmed. The camera is American made; I hate to admit it but we can’t touch them for video technology.”
The next five minutes of the video played out exactly as John had described in his statement to Southern Counties CID. The video had captured everything in pixel perfect detail. DCS Hughes watched, unable to say anything. He had to look away when the two shots were fired. Watching the video was one thing but he was not about to watch his secretary being shot. The video proved beyond all doubt that John was completely innocent.
“Why has this not been produced as evidence?” asked DCS Hughes.
“We are involved in a different game here and I have to keep my eye on the bigger picture. John will be OK but I can’t show our hand just yet. It’s like playing a game of poker; I have to make the other side think they have the upper hand. In fact they have to think that we are not even at the table.”
The two men continued to watch the video, they clearly saw one of the men plant the pistol in John’s hand and then place the spent cartridges where they would be easily found. They continued to watch as the two men fled the scene back to the presumed safety of their four by four. The two men changed back into standard civilian clothes. The camera zoomed in to the front of the car, for the first time both of the men’s faces were clearly visible. The image was so sharp and clear the two could have been standing three feet away when the footage was taken. Every detail was clear, right down to the stubble on the faces. The Range Rover was fired up and the two men drove away, but not before the camera clearly captured the registration number of the car. The video then ended.
“I admit it. I’m impressed,” said DCS Hughes, “I don’t suppose this is the first time you’ve watched this footage.”
“No,” replied Peter, “I’ve seen it a couple of times before.”
“What happened to Tracy? I take it you were responsible for her disappearance from the crime scene.”
“Tracy has had to undergo lengthy surgery; it’s a critical time for her just now. I’ll know more in a few days time.”
“If this is going to work then we have to trust each. I had no idea what to expect when I arrived here this morning. An hour later I’m signed up to a secrecy act I never knew existed. I’ve watched real time video footage of my secretary being shot and in truth I probably know less of what’s going on now than I did before.”
Peter sat down again in the arm chair. “I realise this must be quite a shock for you. I’ll try to tell you as much as I can. There are still a number of blanks and we are working on those as we speak. You’ll have to bear with me on that.”
”What do you know then?”
Peter sat back in the chair, “The two men in the footage you have just watched are part of a four man squad, actually its three men and one woman. I believe you have already had contact with the woman.”
“If it’s who I think you’re referring to she managed to plant a listening device in my office,” replied DCS Hughes.
“One and the same,” said Peter, “all work for a deep undercover security agency called the Homeland Security Service, a harmless enough name for a very ruthless organisation. Just for the record it’s the same group who went after Pat the other night.”
There was a slight pause as DCS Hughes digested the information he was being given.
“What has happened to Tracy, I take it that it was you who was responsible for removing her body from the scene, and, I use the word body carefully because I do not believe that she was still alive after being hit twice from reasonably close range in the chest?”
“I hold my hands up,