French Leave Read Free

I’ve grabbed some breakfast.’
    At Section Headquarters Max found Tom, Sergeants Bush, Johnson and Piercey, and Staff Sergeant Melly, all lolling at desks with their attention on Sergeant Maddox, the one person in the office wearing the uniform of the Royal Military Police. The rest wore either lightweight grey/navy trousers or skirt, with a crisply starched white shirt. The accepted hot weather ‘uniform’ for SIB.
    After greeting them, Max said, ‘George, could you be attempting to pass the buck on this one?’
    Maddox grinned. ‘I had to follow it up, sir.’
    â€˜A hoaxer?’
    â€˜Possibly. We’ve traced the call to a public phone on the base.’
    â€˜Male or female?’
    â€˜Definitely a guy. Adopted a heavy baritone, but there was a hint of a Brummie accent.’
    â€˜Obvious in such a brief message?’ Max questioned. ‘Could that have also been adopted?’
    Maddox nodded. ‘I guess so. It’s nothing new. You’d be surprised at how many calls we get from daft buggers aiming to wind up the Redcaps, but how I look at this one is it’s too bloody hot for anyone to play tricks just for something to pass the time. The lads are flaked out on their beds in their underpants when they’re off-duty. Other thing is there’s been no reported sighting of Smith in spite of an extensive search and all-points check.’
    â€˜Bearing in mind that police dogs suffer from the heat possibly more than humans,’ put in Connie Bush, ‘and that the chances of them picking up one scent in a vast area that’s been covered by tracked vehicles and several hundred men over the past ten days, it’s asking a lot of the animals.’
    â€˜The terrain will have been greatly disturbed by explosives,’ Phil Piercey pointed out. ‘A body could lie out there in a shallow grave for months without being discovered. Wait for the next exercise. It’ll be disinterred by a mock explosion.’
    Tom, always irritated by Piercey’s wild, often humorous, input, snapped, ‘There’s no evidence yet of unlawful killing.’
    â€˜If someone’s “finally done him in”, there’ll be a body,’ Piercey argued. ‘And don’t forget there’s a wooded area on that training ground where murder could be committed unseen by guys busy getting to grips with the enemy.’
    â€˜ Finally done him in?’ quoted Heather Johnson. ‘That suggests Smith has been a thorn in someone’s side for a while.’
    Max turned to George Maddox. ‘Another aspect of this disappearance is that wherever Smith is, dead or alive, a rifle and other MoD property went with him. If he’s gone AWOL, he’ll also be charged with theft. If he’s been killed, we need to know where that equipment is now. Find that and we might find the killer.’ He frowned. ‘How long do you intend to continue the search?’
    â€˜We’re already scaling it down. This is the third day. In these extreme conditions there’s only a fifty-fifty chance he’d survive if he’s still out there. He could have a civilian contact who’s housing him until the fuss dies down. If not, the river’s only six Ks from the edge of the combat ground. He could’ve reached it by nightfall on the first day, so water would be no problem, and it’s possible he’s getting food and shelter at gunpoint from vulnerable locals. If he has been murdered, the urgency to find him is diminished. My men are whacked and need a rest while SIB takes a crack at it.’
    â€˜Fair enough,’ said Max. ‘We’ll investigate the kind of man Smith is and how he related to his fellows. Uncover his background, find out who might seize the opportunity to get rid of him. If that call to you was a hoax, we’ll attempt to find out why it was made. Our investigation should also point the way to the whereabouts of the