Free For Valour by Andy McNab Page B

graffiti some choirboy had scrawled in felt-tip while waiting to admit what he’d really done with the Communion wine: Beware! Sudden prayers make God jump! I didn’t know if Father Mart ever checked out this side of the booth, but I thought he’d probably like that.
    The throaty growl of the 911 and the echoing clank of the heavy oak door told me he was on his way in. I kept eyes on the entrance through the gap in the velvet curtain.
    Father Mart ducked his head towards the altar and made the sign of the cross before turning in my direction. His trainers squeaked on the quarry-tiled floor and the curtain rings on his side of the booth rattled as he stepped inside.
    There was a moment’s silence. ‘ In nomine patris, et filii, et spiritus sancti … Do you repent of your sins, my son?’
    I couldn’t see much through the screen, but I swear there was a gleam in his eye. ‘How long have you got?’
    ‘Good point, Nicholas. That might be a conversation for another time …’
    ‘’Fraid so, Father.’ I paused. ‘You were right to be worried. Trev’s dead. A professional hit.’
    I heard a deep sigh.
    ‘Who?’
    ‘No idea. He won’t be doing it again.’
    Father Mart knew better than to ask for details.
    I asked him if he knew about the claymore in Trev’s front hall.
    He didn’t.

2
    Father Mart’s bench creaked as he shifted position. ‘I’ve asked around, Nicholas, and got nothing.’
    ‘Well, now’s a good time to stop asking. There’s some high-level shit going on out there, and for the time being, no matter how long you’ve been on His firm, I don’t think we can rely on the Good Lord’s protection.’
    ‘Perhaps I should pay a visit to Barford …’
    ‘We should both steer clear of Barford right now. I think Trev had a pretty good idea who might be behind this, and he was dead set against going.
    ‘Maybe there’s another route to the truth about Harry’s boy. You know any of his mates?’
    ‘He kept his emotional cards pretty close to his chest. But, then, don’t you all?’ Father Mart went quiet for a moment. ‘I can’t think of any, apart from Guy Chastain and Scott Braxton. The three of them were almost inseparable.’
    ‘Where can I find Scott?’
    ‘On the post-mortem slab, I’m sorry to say. He was the boy they’re saying Sam Callard killed in the CQB Rooms.’
    It was starting to sound like this lad’s friendships lasted about as long as mine did. ‘No one else?’
    ‘Well, there’s Ella, of course. His girlfriend. But Trevor took the precaution of hiding her before he hid himself.’ He took a couple of deep breaths. ‘I’ve got to admit that I thought he was overreacting when he told me.’
    ‘I don’t suppose he mentioned where?’
    That made him chuckle. ‘It was on a need-to-know basis. And he didn’t think I needed to know.’
    ‘Tell me about her. And maybe you could tell me about Sam too. I didn’t watch out for the boy like Trev did …’
    I didn’t say that the few times I’d been with Sam Callard when he was a kid I hadn’t been able to shake the image of his dad’s face out of my head. I didn’t need to. Father Mart had done his best to deal with all that shit years ago.
    ‘She’s a great girl. A GP. They’ve been together for a couple of years. He had a pretty tough time during his last tour in Afghan. She picked up the pieces.’
    ‘I thought that was your job.’
    ‘As you well know, Nicholas, I need all the help I can get.’
    ‘What happened to him?’
    ‘He refused to talk about it, even to Trevor, and Trevor was like a father to him.’
    I gave a wry smile in the shadows of the confessional. Being like a father, as far as I was concerned, meant staying as far away from my son as possible.
    ‘But I know it haunted him. You could see it in his eyes. He’s not alone in that, of course …’ His voice tailed off.
    Father Mart had seen more than his fair share of the wreckage of men from the war zone. Some could wear it lightly. Some