Grey didn’t reply. He simply stepped into a pod and the doors closed behind him. He exited on the other side without looking back.

Jameson smiled at Morrisey. ‘Well he’s a character.’

‘You have no idea,’ she said in a low voice and then shook both of their hands. ‘Goodbye, Mr Jameson, Dr Bloom.’ She disappeared into a pod, stepped out the other side and walked down the corridor.

Jameson raised his eyebrows.

‘What do you think Harry was working on? Can we find out?’

‘Sure,’ said Jameson. ‘It’ll be on the news. Whatever’s on there, that’s what he’s working on.’

‘Russia?’

‘Or North Korea? Or the ISIS terrorist threat? It could be any of those things.’

‘You think this was ISIS? The bomb?’

‘They haven’t claimed responsibility but it certainly makes a statement, doesn’t it? Infiltrating a military base. But then again …’ Jameson paused when a security guard arrived to escort them back to the main gate. They didn’t speak until they were alone again.

‘You were saying,’ said Bloom, as they waited for a taxi.

‘It’s been bugging me. Why use a bomb to kill so few people? If this was a statement to the establishment and the military, saying, I don’t know, “We can get to you and we can harm you,” then why didn’t they do just that?’

‘You think the bomb was a distraction?’

‘Perhaps. Sleight of hand. We’re all looking over here so we don’t see what’s going on over there.’

‘So maybe this does have something to do with Harry’s work?’

‘Why else would he be the only person unaccounted for?’

Bloom nodded. ‘So we have a bomb that did far less harm than it could have and a missing naval officer who was working on something unknown. Plus if I’m not wrong, his employers don’t appear to be taking his disappearance as seriously as you would have thought.’

7

Eighteen Months Earlier

Karene unpacked her overnight bag and changed into a turquoise wrap dress and wedges. She washed her face in the hotel bathroom and reapplied her make-up. She was expected to circulate at these conferences, which she didn’t mind at all, but she wouldn’t be speaking until tomorrow and so tonight she’d be walking into a bar full of strangers.

She took the lift down to reception and followed signs to the conference bar. The event had started the afternoon before, so the social dynamic was set already. In the bar people clustered in small groups and, as she walked through the crowd, she was offered very little eye contact and only one friendly smile. Human beings were pack animals and it was never more obvious than at a business conference.

She decided that wine was in order before she looked for a suitable group to approach.