Pain shot up her arm and she cried out again. He would sleep through crushing her and there was nothing she could do. And then she saw the glass of water half drunk on his bedside table. She rolled across his writhing body, grabbed it and threw it in his face.

43

Their meeting the following Monday morning at Northwood Headquarters didn’t take place this time in the middle of the reception area. Lieutenant Commander Adams had arranged for them to speak in one of the side meeting rooms. Bloom and Jameson still weren’t allowed past the glass security pods. The area beyond was restricted to those with the necessary clearance.

Adams had been the Medical Advisor on HMS Bulwark during Operation Weald and had been in regular contact with Harry Peterson over the course of their mission. He was a tall, skinny man with a prominent red birthmark on his left cheek. ‘I was responsible for all the medical staff and supplies on the ship used to assist the migrants we pulled from the sea.’

‘Did you know Harry Peterson well?’ said Bloom.

‘Well enough. He was the commanding officer for the naval air squadron and a good few ranks above me, but Peterson’s the sort who ignores all that pomp and deals with you as a human. I’ve a lot of time for the Captain. How’s he doing?’

‘He’s recuperating, but struggling to remember a few years before the explosion,’ said Bloom.

‘So I heard. He’s lost ten, someone said. Imagine that, thinking you’re ten years younger than you are. That’d be a bit of a shock when you look in the mirror.’

‘He hasn’t lost that much time, just the last four or so.’ Bloom was always amazed by how a story changed as it was retold.

‘Captain Morrisey said you needed my help with something specific?’

Jameson had spoken to Tessa Morrisey the day before and explained their working theory: that Harry’s kidnap and subsequent memory loss might be related in some way to Operation Weald. She had agreed to arrange access to Lieutenant Commander Adams. She did, however, ask for discretion about Harry’s condition and the attacks against him. ‘We need some background on the operation. That’s all. And Tessa said you’d be the best person to speak to.’

‘Ask away.’

Bloom asked for some general information on how the operation had been run and the condition of the migrants picked out of the sea. And Adams explained how the Air Fleet supported the operation by searching the ocean for boats and by airlifting those who needed to be extracted due to their medical condition or because they were in particular danger.

‘Where were the migrants coming from in the main?’ said Bloom.