Hillgrove continued the electronic surveillance for an hour. The findings were clear enough. The killers, whoever they were, were long gone.
The entry team were moving into position when Fitzduane remembered. 'Don't go in,' he said suddenly.
'Wait one,' said Hillgrove into his mouthpiece. 'What did you say, sir?' he said to Fitzduane.
'I know these people,' said Fitzduane, 'and they know us. As soon as they find a safe house, they prepare to move on. The house then becomes a trap. They know we will find it sooner rather than later, and they know roughly how long it will take us. The place will be mined.'
'Then why the body?' said Hillgrove.
'To make us angry, to stop us thinking,' said Fitzduane. 'To lure us in. And it's working.'
Hillgrove exhaled. He had been caught up in the immediacy of the entry routine and this distraction was disorienting. He was tempted to shut the man up or have him forcibly removed, but despite the torn, bloodstained clothing and the exhausted, haunted look on Fitzduane's face there was something about the man's bearing that made him credible. According to Sheriff Jacklin, this Irishman knew the world of terrorism, which was more than Hillgrove did.
'What do you suggest?' he said.
'Pull back and send in an ordnance disposal team. Tell them to take their time and to be very careful,' said Fitzduane.
'But your – your – the victim?' said Hillgrove hesitantly. It was hard to imagine that hideous thing hanging from the rafters as living flesh and blood.
Your wife was unspoken.
'It's – it's too late for her,' whispered Fitzduane. He was having trouble getting the words out. 'If you could have done anything, I'd have let you go in and to hell with the risks. But she's dead, and what's the point of more people following?' There was agony in his voice.
'Who are these people?' said Hillgrove.
Fitzduane did not answer. Tears were streaming down his face.
Hillgrove hesitated.
'Tac One?' said a voice in his ear. 'Ready to go.'
'Pull back,' said Hillgrove. 'Get back fifty meters and get your heads down.'
'What's-'
'DO IT!' snapped Hillgrove.
The entry team were still pulling back when two tons of homemade explosive ignited.
The noise was persistent. Fitzduane heard it through waves of sleep. He knew he was supposed to react in some way, but something told him that he did not want to wake up. There were matters he would have to face that he did not want to have to deal with. Sleep was safer. His body screamed for more rest.
The phone went silent. The hours passed. Fitzduane slept on.
'Hugo,' said a familiar voice. The tone was gentle, sympathetic. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt leaden. His throat was dry. He felt muzzy.
'Kathleen,' he whispered. There was something important he should remember, he knew, and Kathleen was involved. 'Kathleen,' he said again.
'Hugo, you've got to wake up,' said Kilmara.
Fitzduane struggled to open his eyes. He sat up slowly and took the proffered glass of orange juice. He drank greedily.
The room was in semidarkness, but chinks of light around the drapes suggested it was daytime.
Suddenly he remembered. A long, low cry as of physical pain escaped him. Internally, Kilmara winced. He felt helpless and inadequate in the face of such suffering.
'What time is it,' said Fitzduane.
'Nearly four in the afternoon,' said Kilmara. 'Don't feel bad. You did all you could before you crashed, and even then you were sedated. Grab a shower and you'll feel better. But first I've got one bit of good news. The dead woman in that house was not Kathleen.'
Fitzduane felt a rush of relief followed by renewed anxiety. 'Kathleen? Has she been found?'
'No,' said Kilmara heavily. 'It looks like she's been kidnapped, all right, but they are keeping her alive. And Chifune has turned up. The dead woman was her agent. She'll explain.'
'Where is she?' said Fitzduane.
'Down the hall in my room waiting for you to wake up,' said Kilmara. 'Oga's with her.'
Fitzduane swung his legs out of the bed and sat on the edge and rubbed his eyes. 'Sergeant Oga?' he said. 'Good man. What the hell is he doing here?'
'Inspector Oga now,' said Kilmara. 'And on the same assignment as Chifune.'
'Oshima,' said Fitzduane heavily, and headed into the bathroom.
'Oshima,' said Kilmara to his friend's back. He had been in counterterrorism most of his life and tried to remain professionally detached. Oshima was personal. But for a Delta sniper called Al Lonsdale, Oshima would have already killed his friend. It had been damn close.
Fitzduane was in the bathroom for ten minutes. When he emerged, his distress was no longer evident. He was pale but his manner was calm.
There was coffee and toast on the table. Fitzduane poured two cups and forced himself to eat a little food.
'Where are we?' he said. 'I remember that damned house and the explosion and then a whole lot more questions from the feds. Then I was given something to drink and I don't remember much more. I guess I dozed off in the helicopter.'
Kilmara smiled grimly. 'You didn't doze. The feds gave you enough jungle juice to knock out an elephant and then flew you back to Fayetteville. We're in a hotel about two miles from the Bastogne Inn. They want us to stick around for a few more days until they've made sense of all this.'
'Who's they?' said Fitzduane.
'Just about everybody who carries a badge,' said Kilmara. 'Which is a whole lot of people in this part of the world.'
'Do they know anything?' said Fitzduane.
'Not really,' said Kilmara. 'But it's early.'
Fitzduane was silent.
Chifune had tried to prepare herself mentally for the encounter, but when Fitzduane entered the room it was if she had learned nothing about protecting herself from the emotional rigors of the world.
A mature woman, she felt defenseless. Her self-possession deserted her. Her heart pounded and a wave of feeling swept over her. She remembered the last time they had seen each other. It had been on the aircraft as Fitzduane was about to leave Tokyo to fly back to Ireland and Kathleen. To marry Kathleen. The man she, Chifune, had fallen in love with. Was still in love with. It hurts, Hugo. It hurts.
She bowed formally. Beside her, Oga bowed also.
Fitzduane returned their bows. As Chifune straightened their eyes met fleetingly, and suddenly she knew that Fitzduane had not forgotten and that she was very important to him and that this would never change. She wanted to embrace him, to console him. It was not appropriate.
'Tanabu- san and Oga- san, it is good to see you again,' said Fitzduane.
Oga beamed. He had been suspicious of the gaijin when they had first met, but that initial reserve had evolved into high regard. His one reservation concerned Chifune. He was devoted to Tanabu- san and did not want to see her hurt any more.
'Fitzduane- san, we deeply regret we could not have done more,' said Chifune, 'but we believe we can help.'
