To The Death Part 25

"You thought it was a submarine?"

"I'm sure it was."

"Well, that's very peculiar. We have no notification that there is any submarine within two hundred miles of our track. What does the computer conclude?"

"Single shaft. Five blades. Compressed cavitation. Fits Russian diesel-electric Kilo Kilo-cla.s.s boat."

Five minutes later, the commanding officer was informed. Immediately, he ordered Artful Artful to periscope depth and sent a signal to the satellite. to periscope depth and sent a signal to the satellite.

Noon Same Day National Security Agency Fort Meade, Maryland.

Lt. Commander Jimmy Ramshawe stared at the signal in front of him, which had arrived direct from Naval Intelligence. It was not couched in alarming tones, nor was it regarded as urgent. It just stated: RN HMS RN HMS Artful Artful 51.15N 08.29W picked up short transient contact on very quiet vessel at 161604JULY12. Insufficient hard copy for firm cla.s.sification-aural, compressed cavitation, one shaft, five blades, probably non-nuclear. No information on friendly transits relates. 51.15N 08.29W picked up short transient contact on very quiet vessel at 161604JULY12. Insufficient hard copy for firm cla.s.sification-aural, compressed cavitation, one shaft, five blades, probably non-nuclear. No information on friendly transits relates.

"That, old mate," said Jimmy decisively, to the entirely empty room, "is a bloke who was b.l.o.o.d.y sure he just heard a submarine."

He pulled up his computer chart for the northeastern Atlantic and checked the precise whereabouts of Artful Artful when the transient contact was detected. when the transient contact was detected. About twenty-four miles south of Kinsale in County Cork . . . now, what in the name of Christ is an unknown submarine doing there? Unless the crew wants a decent round of golf-my dad played Old Head, Kinsale, last year-shot a 98! About twenty-four miles south of Kinsale in County Cork . . . now, what in the name of Christ is an unknown submarine doing there? Unless the crew wants a decent round of golf-my dad played Old Head, Kinsale, last year-shot a 98!

He hit the secure link to COMSUBLANT and spoke to a lieutenant he knew well, questioning the likelihood of a submarine patrolling the coast of Ireland.

"Jack, I think it might have been Russian," he said. "Five blades, that's Russian for sure, and non-nuclear. The Brits obviously think it's a Kilo, but they haven't said so in as many words."

Jim, we do have something on the boards. Only one, an Iranian Kilo, recently out of refit in the Baltic. We were tracking it in the western end of the Med, then tracked it north maybe a week ago. That's probably her.

"Well, the Brits are d.a.m.n reliable and wouldn't make a mistake like this. Were you guys tracking it subsurface?"

Sure. We had Cheyenne Cheyenne in there. in there.

Jimmy closed down the link and phoned the Big Man, who was, for once in his life, not betraying outright impatience.

"Listen, kid. You are sure the only submarine that has gone off the boards is that Iranian Kilo, right?"

"I am sure. COMSUBLANT has every other underwater boat on earth under observation."

"And now a submarine, which fits the pattern, is located by the Brits twenty-four miles south of Kinsale in Ireland, right? Maybe 1,500 miles from its last known."

"Correct."

"Well, that Kilo can probably cover three hundred miles in a day, snorkeling. I guess that's gotta be it. Hull 901 on the loose, way south in the Irish Sea."

"That's how I figured it, boss."

"And what do you want me to do about it? Fire a torpedo?"

"Nossir. But I just had a few thoughts."

"Don't tell me. You think the Kilo is being driven by a barmaid from Brockhurst?"

"Close. I'll talk to you later."

As he said good-bye, the lieutenant commander could hear Arnold Morgan chuckling . . . heh-heh-heh, heh-heh-heh, the knowing laugh of an ex-nuclear submarine commander who still thinks he's one jump ahead. the knowing laugh of an ex-nuclear submarine commander who still thinks he's one jump ahead.

Which was precisely the opposite of what Jimmy Ramshawe thought. For the first time in his life, he considered the Big Man to be several steps behind. And if he didn't shape up, he'd be several steps dead. And now Jim pulled his biggest computerized chart into zoom-out mode, showing the ocean from Gibraltar to Kinsale.

He studied it, measured it, and deduced that the distance was almost 1,500 miles-that was five days, maybe less if she was in a major hurry. And since there was no likelihood that it was proposing to open fire on someone, Jimmy considered it most likely that the submarine was either picking someone up or depositing a person or persons on the sh.o.r.es of Ireland. Probably yesterday.

Intelligence officers of his caliber often act on a hunch. And right now Jimmy did so. He called a regular contact at the FBI and asked him to check whether anyone, repeat anyone, had purchased an unbooked ticket, either first-cla.s.s or business-cla.s.s, on a flight to Shannon or Dublin on the morning of July 3. "Almost certainly Aer Lingus," he added. "They have a virtual monopoly on flights into southern Ireland from the USA. Try Washington, New York, and Boston."

One hour later, he had an answer. A Miss Maureen Carson of an address in Michigan had purchased a first-cla.s.s ticket from Boston to Dublin on the Aer Lingus flight that left at 10:30 A.M. on Tuesday, July 3. "Better yet, Jimmy. Aer Lingus booked her into the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin that night."

"Have we checked that out?"

"Sure. She was there for three days, then checked out, paying with her American Express card."

"Did you check that out?"

"Sure. It was originally issued to the Jordanian emba.s.sy in Paris. Miss Carson is an extra signatory."

Jimmy's heart stopped beating. In his mind, he'd just found Carla Martin. And he'd made the Islamic connection. She was a Middle Eastern agent. And she'd gone to Brockhurst to check out when Arnold and Kathy were leaving the country. She'd killed big stupid Matt Barker, driven to Boston, and bought a ticket to Dublin.

And, if he was not absolutely mistaken, she'd just been joined by at least one other Middle Eastern agent who'd been landed on the Irish coast by Kilo Hull 901. Carla was either Syrian or Jordanian. The new one was an Iranian.

No one could string together a long group of unconnected facts like Jimmy. And now he was off and running, his mind in a turmoil. First he called back his pal, Lieutenant Jack Williams at COMSUBLANT, and advised him to keep a watch on the Gibraltar Strait for the return of the Kilo.

"She left through there, and she'll return through there," he said. "Either to restation off Lebanon, like she was before, or to go through the Suez Ca.n.a.l and then home to the Gulf."

Jack wanted to know what the Kilo was doing skulking around the Irish coast. Jimmy filled him in. "She dropped someone off, someone who was up to no b.l.o.o.d.y good whatsoever."

Then he called the FBI back and asked if they could make some kind of a search on Maureen Carson, either in Ireland or in Great Britain, where he believed she was headed. This was not going to be a problem, and they would also instigate a check on the Maureen Carson pa.s.sport.

Jimmy called the Big Man, yet again. And he was not as cooperative as COMSUBLANT or the FBI. He listened carefully, and then said, rather coldly, "Kid, you have no G.o.dd.a.m.n idea what the submarine was doing off the coast of Ireland. She could have been on a training exercise. You need better facts. Your imagination will lead you nowhere."

"It led me to Maureen Carson," he said bluntly.

"Congratulations. Some nice rich lady on a shopping expedition. Not one single shred of evidence against her. Lemme know when they find her, w.i.l.l.ya?"

Christ, Arnie could be infuriating.

1830 Monday 16 July Plunkett Train Station.

Ravi pulled into the Waterford station after his long, meandering journey from Cork, tired, hungry, and very thirsty. He went into the little bar and asked for a large gla.s.s of water and a cup of coffee. He also bought a couple of fresh-looking ham-and-cheese rolls. He gulped down the water and took the rest to a pa.s.senger bench in the station to wait for the 7:00 train to Dublin.

He finished his picnic and then went to the ticket office to purchase a single fare to Dublin. There were two people in front of him, and the clerk was slow. The young woman in front of him turned and said, "You'd think we were going to China, eh?"

Ravi smiled. She was a pretty girl. But Ravi tried to avoid her gaze. By tomorrow morning, he'd be the most wanted man in Ireland, and he did not want her telling the police she'd traveled to Dublin with the murderer on the train.

He pretended not to speak the language, and replied in Arabic, which was probably an even bigger mistake. But it discouraged her, and she turned away, bought her ticket, and walked off. At the counter, he bought his ticket, but then the phone rang and the clerk turned away to answer it before he gave Ravi his change.

The Hamas general hadn't been thinking about the amount, twenty-eight euros, and had handed over a fifty-euro bill. And now, to get his change, he was going to have to stand here facing the office, where a secretary was still working. So he just took the ticket and retreated to his pa.s.senger bench.

Three minutes later, the clerk came in search of him and handed him the twenty-two euros in change. Ravi thanked him and tried not to look at him, but he was now probably firmly in the memory of the clerk.

The train ride up through beautiful Kilkenny and County Carlow was picturesque all the way. The track followed the River Barrow for several miles and then swerved right across Kildare before following the Grand Ca.n.a.l into Dublin. Ravi arrived in Heuston Station, just south of the River Liffey along the quays, at 10:15 P.M.

He stepped out of the station and into a dark shop entrance and dialed Shakira's number. She was sitting in her room at the Merrion, watching television, and she answered immediately.

"Be quick, Shakira," he said. "I'm in Dublin. Meet me at the Mosque, tomorrow morning at 11 A.M. Where are you?"

"I'm in the Merrion Hotel, around the corner from St. Stephen's Green."

"Good girl. Don't be late."

Shakira almost went into shock. All these weeks waiting to see him, and now he just said "Good girl" and vanished into the night. What was that all about? She was on the verge of stamping her foot in temper when the phone rang again.

She answered it immediately, and a voice just said, "I love you," before the line went dead.

She was not quite sure whether to laugh or cry. And she chose the latter. With happiness. That he was safe, and he loved her, and tomorrow they would be together.

Ravi too was discontented with the fifteen-second duration of their call. But he had to adhere to that rule, because that rule meant the call could not be heard, traced, or recorded. Ravi was keenly aware that the National Security Agency in Maryland had tapped into Osama bin Laden's phone calls and often listened in on the terrorist mastermind talking from his cave to his mother in Saudi Arabia. If they could eavesdrop on the great Osama, they could locate him. Fifteen seconds only.

He had the name of a Dublin hotel, and he flagged down a cab before it drove into the station and told the driver to take him to the Paramount Hotel, corner of Parliament Street and Ess.e.x Gate. The place had a Victorian facade, but inside it was all 1930s, very comfortable, and Ravi thankfully checked in. Last time he had slept had been in the submarine, and dearly as he would have liked to join Shakira in the Merrion, he thought he might get more sleep this way, and anyway he did not wish to be seen publicly with her in a place where staff might recall them.

Tomorrow morning he would risk watching the television news.

0900 Tuesday 17 July Skibbereen Garda Station.

Detective Superintendent Ray McDwyer decided he needed help. The wound to Jerry O'Connell's forehead was something he had never seen before. The bone was completely splintered between the eyes, and the nose bone had been driven upward and into the brain with tremendous force. The crushing blow to the forehead could have been delivered by a blunt instrument, but there was no sign that any implement whatsoever had been used on the nose.

Ray had spoken to the police pathologist, and he too was mystified. And together they decided that there was something all too precise about this killing. The murder had been carried out by an expert, someone who knew precisely what he was doing. There were no signs of a struggle, no other bruises, no abrasions. The killer had taken out Jerry O'Connell instantly, with the minimum of fuss.

At twelve minutes after nine o'clock, Ray McDwyer phoned London and requested help from New Scotland Yard, Special Branch.

At first Scotland Yard wondered what all the fuss was about, the murder of a dairy farmer in a remote spot on the Irish coast. But Ray was persuasive. He told them he thought they were dealing with a highly dangerous character, who might have come in from the sea and might have bigger things on his mind than knocking over a dairy farmer. And after about ten minutes, the duty officer at the Yard was inclined to agree. "We'll send someone over," he said, "direct to Bantry. This morning."

Twenty minutes after Ray put down the phone, a local farmer, Colm McCoy, walking his dog, found Jerry's truck hidden in the birch trees. He'd already seen the Cork Examiner Cork Examiner and knew about the murder and that the truck was missing. The newspaper had specified there were four large milk urns in the back, and Colm knew what he'd found. and knew about the murder and that the truck was missing. The newspaper had specified there were four large milk urns in the back, and Colm knew what he'd found.

He called in to the Garda Station, and ten minutes later two police cars turned up, with four officers including Ray McDwyer himself. Behind them came a tow truck to haul Jerry's vehicle out.

"Touch nothing," said Detective McDwyer. "Take it away and have them check for fingerprints. Then tell the Milk Corporation to pick up the cans, dispose of the milk, and return them to the O'Connell family."

Meanwhile, back at Crookhaven, officers in a Coast Guard launch were calling on every yacht and fishing boat in the harbor, asking everyone aboard if they had seen any strangers, either afloat or on land.

The operation had been going on since 8 A.M., and they had drawn a complete blank until they reached Yonder. Yonder. And there Captain Bill Stannard told them about the little boat that had chugged past him just before six o'clock the previous morning. And there Captain Bill Stannard told them about the little boat that had chugged past him just before six o'clock the previous morning.

"It was a Zodiac," he said. "Maybe twelve-foot. Yamaha engine. We got one just like it riding off the stern."

"Did you see who was driving?"

"Sure, I did. Just one guy. There was no one else aboard."

"Did you see his face?"

"Not really. He was going past, real slow, when I woke up. He was not an old guy, and he looked kinda broad and tough, short, dark curly hair."

"What was he wearing?"

"Now that's what I do remember. It was a brown jacket. Could have been leather, but I think it was suede. Looked smart, kinda out of place out here on the water."

"Collar and tie?"

"No. He had on a dark T-shirt. I think it was black."

"Did you see which way he went?"

Bill Stannard pointed to the sh.o.r.e, farther into the harbor. "He was headed that way, but I was real tired, never saw him land. I guess the boat's over there somewhere, because I definitely never saw him leave."

"Any idea where he came from?"

"h.e.l.l, no. I never caught sight of him until he was more or less alongside. But there's nothing much down toward the harbor entrance. The guy just showed up, out of nowhere."

In the following twenty minutes, the police and Coast Guard searched the harbor from end to end for a twelve-foot Zodiac with a Yamaha engine. Nothing. And no one else had seen it, either. Which presented the investigation with a blank wall, the main trouble being that everything, including the murder, had taken place too early, when hardly anyone was awake.

Back in Skibbereen, Detective Ray McDwyer decided to concentrate on the killer's getaway. It was clear that he had driven away from the crime scene in Jerry's truck and had come as far as Skibbereen at the wheel. But what then?

The Crookhaven team called in to report the mystery man in the Zodiac, arriving in the harbor wearing a brown suede jacket and a black T-shirt. Both he and, more surprisingly, the boat had vanished.

Ray a.s.sessed that the man had somehow left the area from Skibbereen, and since there was no car dealer open at that early hour, he must have either gone on the bus, taken a taxi, walked, or stolen a car. There had been no report of anything stolen, so Ray dispatched an officer to check the taxi company. He and Joe Carey made calls to any business that might have been operational at seven in the morning.

The choice was limited. In fact, it didn't stretch much beyond the Shamrock. Joe Carey went in first and beckoned for the youth behind the counter to come over for a quick word. The two had known each other all their lives, and Joe was friendly.

"h.e.l.lo, young Mick," he said. "Right now we're looking for a fella who may have come in here yesterday morning, a little after seven."

"Anything to do with that murder in Crookhaven yesterday?"

"Mind your business."

"Sure, it is my business," replied Mick, quick as a flash. "Any time there's a b.l.o.o.d.y killer out there threatenin' the lives of me and my fellow citizens, right there you're talking my business. Anyway, I already read your boss is in charge, so it must be about the murder."

Mick Barton proceeded to fall about laughing, despite the seriousness of the situation. He was only two years out of school, where he had been the cla.s.s wit, and now he was the cafe wit. Joe Carey punched him cheerfully on the arm.

"Come on, now, the boss will be in here in a minute. Just let me know if there was a fella in here yesterday, early, wearing a brown suede jacket. A complete stranger."

"No jacket," said Mick. "But there was a fella, a stranger who came in. He drunk two big gla.s.ses of orange juice down in about twenty seconds. Then he had toast and coffee."