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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

Was he sorry? For what he had done. Did he ever give it a thought? Was he the one who ordered the match to be lit yesterday? What the hell was he doing here on an American air base? Did Major Dirke not know Bertin worked for the MGB, the Soviet Union’s Intelligence unit? Obviously not. They had greeted each other with smiles and handshakes, while I let my hair fall forward over the damaged half of my face and stepped further into the shadows. The three of us were standing on the path in the semi-darkness and I made sure I stood with my back to the nearest lamp, certain of one thing. Gilles Bertin did not know me. There was not a spark of recognition in his eyes.

Why should there be? I was nobody to him.

‘I wasn’t expecting you today, Gilles,’ the major said. ‘Let me introduce you to . . .’

‘Eloïse,’ I said, and left it at that.

Bertin inspected me with fleeting interest, clearly focused on getting down to the purpose of his visit, whatever it might be, and turned immediately back to Dirke. ‘We don’t have long, Joel, so I’ll head on over to the office to get cracking. Follow as soon as you can.’

‘Don’t mind me,’ I said at once. ‘Goodnight.’ And I walked briskly in the direction of the dance hall, the gentle throb of a drumbeat stirring up the heat of the night.

He had no idea. None at all.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Did you think I would flee?

Did you think I had learned nothing from my brother? If you did, you were mistaken.

I sat in my car half a kilometre out from the air base in the pitch dark. No headlights to betray my position and no moon. It had slumped down behind a heavy bank of cloud, and the countryside was now so dark that you would only see my tiny Citroën behind the clump of dogwood if you fell over it. I’d worked fast. I’d entered the recreation hall, found Marianne in a slow smooch on the dance floor, scooped her up and whisked her away with no more than a farewell wave for Calvin and Mickey. I bundled her into my car.

‘Eloïse, slow down, what’s going on?’

‘We’re going to chase a car.’

‘In this tin can?’ She laughed the way only someone who has enjoyed a few beers can laugh. ‘You mean you’re not leaving me on my own with five hundred airmen?’

‘No, I’m not. They wouldn’t stand a chance.’