“You see,” the colonel said, ignoring Stone’s lack of a response, “upon closer examination of the wreckage of the Aston Martin, we have determined that your plunge into the river was caused—not by careless driving, but by a bullet into the right front tire from a rifle.”

“Fired by whom?” Stone asked.

“By a man on the riverbank, who had chosen his position poorly and was struck by the car on its way into the river. His body was found a couple hundred meters downstream from where the car came to rest.”

“Who was he?”

“His identity remains unknown, as it will probably continue to be, but we have surmised from other evidence that he was all or part of a black parachute operation launched by the Soviets—or, as they like to be called these days, the Russian Federation.”

“What is a ‘black parachute operation’?”

“It’s when someone jumps from an airplane at night, employing a black parachute, so as not to be noticed in the dark.”

“And how did you determine this?”

“It is not their first attempt on this installation,” the colonel said. “Also, we found his black parachute and backpack, concealed in some brush not far from the river. By the way, since you were not fully conscious at the time of your rescue, you should know that it was made possible because the driver of a heavy lorry with a powerful winch built into its front bumper was a witness to the event and used his winch to extract the car from the river.”

Stone thought this over for a moment. “Please thank him for me.”

“Of course. Questions?” the colonel asked.

“Just one,” Stone replied. “Does this mean that the Ministry of Defence will be paying for Dame Felicity’s replacement vehicle?”

“Ah, yes,” the colonel said. “I have spoken to the minister, and he has agreed to that. The dealer will be posting your check back to you.”

“Oh, good. Please let them know that delivery of the replacement vehicle will take place in less than two weeks, so they shouldn’t be slow to issue their own check.”

“Noted.”

“And will you be offering the Russians their corpse back in return for reimbursement?” Stone asked, trying not to laugh.

“No, we think it is more in our interests for the earth to swallow him up and let the Russians stew about what happened to their man.”

“I see.”

“It occurs to me that, given your lack of transport, you might wish to take advantage of one of our vehicles going to Glasgow for servicing tomorrow. You can take the overnight train to London from there.”

“Thank you, it is rather a long taxi ride to Glasgow, isn’t it?”

The colonel rose, walked around his desk, and stood Stone’s crutches up for him. Stone got to his good foot and thanked him.