The Rybinsk Deception Read Free

cracked skylights in the roof.
    A primitive kitchen was separated from a bedroom by a screen of cardboard boxes, while at the rear of the container behind a sheet of plywood, stood a chemical toilet and a foot pump that fed water to an ancient shower-head bolted to the wall.
    Realizing too late that he was tracking mud everywhere, he searched around for the items she wanted, finding bandages and antiseptic in a bedroom cupboard and dumping them in an empty box together with several bottles of water he collected from the kitchen.
    Remembering at the last minute to refasten the padlock, he hurried back to the crowd of people, intending to see if there was anything else he could do.
    There wasn’t.
    An ambulance was speeding across the mud, and in the distance, two more were on their way.
    Quite how they’d managed to get here this quickly, Coburn didn’t know. But wherever they’d come from, for some reason or another, the wail of sirens had been a signal for Heather Cameron to abandon her efforts.
    Even before paramedics started spilling out of the ambulance, she’d been retreating, reaching into her pocket for a headscarf to hastily cover up her hair, and evidently no longer prepared to play an active role or hang around in case she could.
    Still limping and still retreating, she almost backed in to Coburn who had gone to see what the problem was.
    ‘Oh. I’m sorry.’ She reached out to take the box he was holding.
    He didn’t let her have it. ‘Doesn’t look as though you’ll be needing this now,’ he said.
    ‘No. It’s all right though. I can carry it back.’
    ‘It’s heavy.’ He kept hold of it. ‘Are you packing up because of the paramedics?’
    ‘The local health authorities don’t much like me being here. I’m not a Muslim, and the shipyard owners think I’m making trouble for them.’ She glanced back at the ambulances. ‘If you’re the person who’s brought the Rad Block and the AED, you’re two days too late.’
    Having no idea what she was talking about, he decided to start again. ‘My name’s David Coburn,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what Rad Block is, and I’m afraid I’ve never heard of AED.’
    ‘What are you doing here then?’
    ‘Looking for someone called Heather Cameron. That’s you isn’t it?’
    ‘What if it is?’
    Had the circumstances been different, her bluntness could have been amusing. As things were, Coburn wasn’t sure if it was a reflection of the strain she’d been under, or whether she was finding it hard to distance herself from what she’d just been dealing with.
    ‘Look,’ he said, ‘if you want to talk to me here, that’s fine. But if you want to know why I’ve been looking for you, how about inviting me back to that nice shipping container of yours?’
    ‘All right.’ She began to walk off, trying not to wince in pain from what was obviously some kind of injury to her leg.
    ‘Hey.’ Coburn stopped her. ‘Did you get hurt?’
    ‘It’s nothing.’ She pushed past and limped away, keeping ahead of him until she reached the container and having to wait there until he gave her back the key for the padlock.
    He helped her swing open the doors and accompanied her inside, this time remembering to remove his shoes. ‘Do you live here permanently?’ he asked.
    ‘Mostly. If I can save up enough money, once in a while I treat myself to a hotel room in Chittagong.’ She found a folding chair for him to sit on and disappeared behind the wall of cardboard boxes. ‘You can talk to me while I clean up and get changed. What is it you want?’
    Because it was a difficult question, Coburn elected to start somewhereelse. ‘How about this?’ he said. ‘Suppose I tell you what I know, then you can tell me how much of it I’ve got wrong.’
    ‘Is it about the Rybinsk ?’ She put her head round the wall. ‘It is, isn’t it?’
    Although he half remembered seeing the name on the stern of the supertanker where the boys had been working, London had made