“Under the circumstances, Lieutenant Colonel Lambert, do you think it’s wise to take that tone with me?”
“No tone intended, sir. And I’m not sure I know what circumstances you’re referring to.”
“Sit down,” said Gifford wearily. He made no attempt to introduce the other three men present. One was short, stocky, and dark; the second long-limbed and flame-haired. The third required no introductions. It was Elliott, the American, sitting off to one side near the window. His lean face gave nothing away.
“The lieutenant governor has been called away on urgent business, I’m afraid,” Colonel Gifford said.
Already distancing himself from a dirty business, it occurred to Max. And why not? He knew he had a devoted servant happy to fall on his sword if the affair turned sour.
“I suggest we drop the pretense,” Colonel Gifford continued. “We all know why you’re here.”
But what exactly did they know? Max had mentioned nothing to Iris about the discovery of the shoulder tab pointing to the involvement of a British submariner in the deaths.
“We were going to tell you,” said Freddie.
“It’s the ‘we’ that I find interesting.” Colonel Gifford placed his palms flat on the surface of the desk. “What made you think the two of you were equipped to tackle something like this on your own?”
“It’s my fault,” said Freddie. “I involved Major Chadwick.”
“How very noble of you to take the blame.”
“It’s true.”
“And what exactly were you going to tell us?” inquired Elliott, leaning forward in his chair.
Colonel Gifford wasn’t happy about losing the floor to him, but Elliott wasn’t to be deterred. “I may be wrong, Colonel, but it’s possible that some new evidence has come to light.”
All eyes in the room settled on Max and Freddie.
“Well, has it?” demanded Colonel Gifford, snatching the reins back from Elliott.
“It has,” said Freddie.
He told them everything, holding back till the very end the revelation about the shoulder tab he’d found in Carmela Cassar’s clenched fist.
A number of looks were traded around the room in the silence following this bombshell.
“You have it?” asked Colonel Gifford, his studied composure faltering.
Max fished the tab from the breast pocket of his shirt. Getting to his feet, he approached the desk and handed it over. Colonel Gifford scrutinized the scrap of cloth.
“There’s not very much of it.”
“There’s enough of it,” said Max.
“May I?” asked Elliott.
The tab was passed to him. It then passed through the hands of the other two men before being returned to Colonel Gifford.
“Why didn’t you come to us with this?” the colonel asked.
Freddie shifted in his seat. “Maybe because I didn’t see a whole lot of progress the last time I came to you.”
Colonel Gifford flicked through a file in front of him. “I have your original statement here, along with a note suggesting that your suspicions be brought to the attention of the police.”
“And were they? No one came to speak to me.”
“The police were alerted.”
“And will you alert them this time? Or do you want me to do it on my way out?”
Police headquarters in Valetta had recently been relocated from the Sacra Infermeria in Valetta to the conservatory.
“What I would like you to do,” said Gifford starchly, “is give us a moment alone.”
A moment proved to be about fifteen minutes, during which time Max and Freddie sat in strained silence in the entrance room under the watchful glare of Hodges, who grudgingly permitted them to smoke a cigarette. Freddie was summoned back into the office alone. He reappeared a short while later with one of the nameless men—the small, dark one of the pair.
“You can go in now, Major Chadwick,” the man said, escorting Freddie toward the door. Freddie managed to slip Max a reassuring look that said: It’ll be okay.
And it was, but only just.
Colonel Gifford fired off his opening salvo as Max lowered himself into the chair.
“You’re a bloody fool, Chadwick. What in God’s name possessed you to turn detective? If I had my way, I’d sling you out on your ear—I would—but Major Pace here has argued convincingly in your defense.” Max glanced at Elliott. “The last thing we need right now is any disruption to the Information Office. But let me be quite clear: I was against your appointment in the first place, and I want you to think of this as a reprieve rather than a pardon.”
Max was to put the matter from his mind and talk to no one about it, on pain of court-martial. Gifford wound up his speech with a