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Back The Guardian of Lies Save as PDF
Chapters (56)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. CHAPTER ONE
  4. CHAPTER TWO
  5. CHAPTER THREE
  6. CHAPTER FOUR
  7. CHAPTER FIVE
  8. CHAPTER SIX
  9. CHAPTER SEVEN
  10. CHAPTER EIGHT
  11. CHAPTER NINE
  12. CHAPTER TEN
  13. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  14. CHAPTER TWELVE
  15. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  16. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  17. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  18. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  19. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  20. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  21. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  22. CHAPTER TWENTY
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  32. CHAPTER THIRTY
  33. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  42. CHAPTER FORTY
  43. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  44. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  52. Acknowledgements
  53. ‘The Survivors’ Ad
  54. ‘The Betrayal’ Ad
  55. ‘The Liberation’ Ad
  56. Copyright

‘No one inside,’ Joel called out as he emerged from the building, bent over, coughing smoke from his lungs.

I dismounted quickly, tethered both horses to a tree and ran over. By now half the thatch was aflame.

‘Let’s try to rake it,’ I shouted above the noise of the flames. I raced to the shed and from inside I seized a rake and long-handled hoe. Together we started to rake off as much of the blazing reed thatch as we could reach. Yanking and tearing at it, stripping swathes of it to the ground. Ash and soot swirled around us, making the air too hot to breathe, but in the end we were forced to retreat as the flames took hold of the roof timbers.

‘Enough,’ Joel said, ‘enough.’ He put a restraining hand on my wrist.

But it wasn’t enough to save the cottage, and the heat burned inside me as much as inside the building. Why had Piquet done this? Set fire to a deserted old house. I could see no sense in it.

‘We must report it to the police at once,’ I said. Léon would know how to handle it. ‘I’ll return the tools to the shed and then we’ll ride home and drive into town.’

‘Eloïse, was that a motorbike I heard when I was in the cottage?’ Joel frowned and glanced down the road. ‘Did you see one?’

‘Yes, I did. It shot off in that direction. I’ll be quick.’

I hurried off towards the shed and replaced the tools. The shed was draped with heavy cobwebs and grime, a retreat for spiders and rats. So why was Piquet tucked away here? What was he up to?

I scanned the dirty shelves and tugged at a piece of sacking on one. Dust swam through the air and I found myself staring at an almost new tan leather suitcase. Not large, but big enough to hide something. I snapped open the lock and lifted the lid. Inside lay a black metal two-way radio with headphones. And folded up neatly beside it was a red Communist flag.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

LÉON ROUSSEL

Léon closed the door firmly, thankful to see the back of Major Dirke. He didn’t want anyone walking in on this new find. Too many rumours were flying around town already and sure as hell he didn’t want another one starting up with more conspiracy theories. The leather case sat on his desk. He had inspected it closely for identifying labels, but anything that showed its maker or the shop where it was purchased had been well and truly removed. Good quality. Fairly new. It contained only the radio – a Motorola – and the flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the USSR.