Bonfire Read Online Free Page B

lips.
    ‘Your toast is just coming,’ she said.
    ‘...no, no serious injuries or any deaths, it appears to have been carried out by...’ he paused, ‘...capable men.’
    ‘...capable men,’ Jerry parroted.
    ‘Yes, it was a very professional job,’ said Andrew Beresford without elaborating further. Jerry picked up his coffee cup. It was hot. He took a careful sip.
    ‘Who was the prisoner?’ Jerry asked.
    ‘He’s a nineteen-year-old from Zawiya by the name of Moha Hassan al-Barouni.’
    ‘Do you know him?’ Jerry said.
    ‘They were going to execute him this morning by firing squad for treason. Apparently, they already had him tied to a post with a hood over his head when his rescuers blew a hole in the wall. A few seconds more and...’
    ‘I see,’ said Jerry interrupting Andrew Beresford’s obvious delight in the melodramatic. ‘He sounds like a lucky chap. How can I help?’
    ‘Well, the Minister has asked for a briefing. He likes to keep himself informed on such matters in case of developments...’
    ‘...or questions,’ Jerry said.
    ‘Yes, or questions,’ said Andrew Beresford. ‘The Foreign Secretary is a conscientious Minister who takes his responsibilities seriously.’
    ‘I never doubted it,’ Jerry said.
    ‘The reason for my call was to ask whether you knew anything about it.’
    ‘What made you think of me?’ Jerry asked.
    ‘Well, you hold the desk for North Africa, and Libya is in North Africa,’ Beresford said without changing his voice.
    ‘Why would the intelligence service have anything to do with it?’ Jerry asked.
    ‘Well, it seems a man attended the execution this morning by the name of Mr. Hayes. Benjamin Chase, a military attaché at the embassy, accompanied him. The Tripoli embassy received the correct Foreign Office protocol to arrange the event.’
    ‘What of it, Andrew?’
    ‘The point, Jerry, is that the Foreign Office never sent the communication and the Foreign Office has never heard of Mr. Hayes.’
    ‘I still don’t see why you imagine I would know anything about it,’ Jerry said. Andrew Beresford took a deep breath.
    ‘No, I suppose not,’ he said. ‘I thought you might know who Mr. Hayes was.’
    ‘Sorry, Andrew, I cannot say that I do,’ Jerry said and blew on his steaming coffee before taking another sip.
    ‘I’ll let you get back to your breakfast,’ Beresford said.
    ‘Goodbye, Andrew,’ said Jerry and ended the call.
    Rosemary placed the toast onto the table and then ran a fingernail over her husband’s chin. She liked his chin before the razor made it smooth. ‘Who was that?’ she asked.
    ‘A civil servant from the Foreign Office,’ Jerry said.
    ‘What did he want so early on a Saturday morning?’
    ‘You must have heard the saying, “the sun never sets on the British empire”?’ Rosemary took a bite of toast. ‘He wanted to know whether I knew something that he didn’t.’
    ‘Is he important?’
    ‘He likes to think he is.’
    ‘And the thing that you know that he doesn’t is it important?’
    Jerry took a sip of coffee and looked at the image on the screen. ‘Everything I know and do is important,’ he said. ‘You know that.’ Then he put his arm around his wife’s hips and squeezed her tight.
    Rosemary made a sardonic noise with her tongue. ‘If you say so, darling,’ she said.
    Jerry released his wife, picked up the phone and made a call. While he waited for an answer, he sipped his coffee.
    ‘Now do not tell me, let me guess,’ the man who answered said. ‘You’ve just taken a call from the F.O. [ F.O.: Foreign Office ] asking whether you know a man by the name of Mr. Hayes.’ It was not a surprise to Jerry. The Chief was a man who always knew things like that. Jerry had never played him at chess, but he imagined the Chief would be very good.
    ‘It was Andrew Beresford,’ Jerry said.
    ‘He called you at seven on a Saturday morning.’ The Chief sounded pleased. Baiting the Foreign Office was always enjoyable.