Free The Will Of The People (Conspiracy Trilogy Book 1) by Christopher Read Page B

woman; the three of them sat in a corner,
occasionally gabbling away in Polish or maybe it was Russian – not
McDowell, of course, he can barely speak the King’s English… The
woman spoke American like McDowell and it was only the man whose
English wasn’t so good. He was drinking steadily and the woman was
stupid enough to try and keep up; in the end Pat almost had to
carry her out. She wasn’t too happy, I can tell you.”
    “A
Polish-Russian man of about forty, and an older bilingual American
woman,” Anderson repeated slowly. “Is that right?”
    “More or less.
I don’t think she was American; probably Polish or Russian like the
guy; she’d be mid-fifties, blonde hair.”
    “Does that
happen often – McDowell drinking with people he can’t converse
with?”
    “Alcohol can
beat any language barrier,” Rob replied philosophically. “You
wanted facts and memorable, and where McDowell’s concerned that’s
all I’ve got.”
    “And they were
from around here or something to do with Erdenheim?”
    Rob was trying
his best. “Erdenheim, I think; so maybe they were some of the
outside experts he gets in.”
    “I guess
you’ve no idea what they were talking about?”
    “I just said
they were talking foreign. And I do serve drinks to paying
customers when not being given the third-degree.”
    Anderson gave
a slow and deliberate glance around the empty bar, “Well, it’s
fortunate I’m the only paying customer you need worry about at the
moment. Might any of your regulars have overheard anything?”
    Rob frowned,
“Now you’re asking... I doubt it; bar wasn’t busy.”
    “And this was
before or after the Commander went to Spain?”
    Rob gave
Anderson an annoyed look, then moved across to study the wall
calendar, turning it back to April. “Definitely after; it’d
probably be the week of the 26th, the Monday or maybe that
Tuesday.”
    Anderson
persevered, “CCTV?”
    “Not unless
you’re the police,” Rob said, with a hint of exasperation.
    Anderson bought him a well-deserved drink, mulling over how
this latest titbit fitted in with everything else. It was well
after the Commander’s death and Darren’s accident, and any link
to Red Terror or
terrorism was speculative at best. Much like the rest of Anderson’s
leads, it was all a bit confused, a mess of ideas with no clear
answers.
    Perhaps
Charlotte’s mysterious trip out would provide some clarity as to
his next move – if not, then at least there was dinner to look
forward to.
    * * *
    Anderson sat
in the passenger seat still none the wiser as to their eventual
destination, Charlotte sidestepping his questions to quickly turn
the conversation round to McDowell.
    “Before you
clam up, I’ve been fully briefed,” she announced, keeping her eyes
on the road ahead as it wound its way towards Graythorp. “I might
be a sceptic but Mum seems determined, so let’s just see where it
all leads. Is there anything more on Pat McDowell?”
    Anderson was
already regretting his haste in involving mother and daughter but
it was a little late to turn back the clock. “There might be more
to the Russian connection than just one of Zhilin’s books.”
    “Are we
talking about McDowell or Erdenheim?”
    “I’m guessing it’s the same thing. McDowell was at the Farriers with a man and
an older woman, common language Russian. When I say Russian, I
might actually mean Polish; Yuri and Lara, I’ve decided to call
them.”
    “Very poignant… Are you suggesting Dad had seen them at
the Farriers ?”
The car slowed, Charlotte glancing to her left, drawn – like
Anderson a few hours earlier – to the tributes at the base of the
sycamore.
    “The dates
don’t work,” Anderson said, hoping he didn’t need to explain
further. “It’s just another intriguing fact to add to the
rest.”
    “Intriguing
isn’t perhaps the word I would have used; random seems nearer the
mark.”
    Anderson’s
retort was stilled as they passed through Graythorp. Two