Epilogue
‘That’s about it, I suppose,’ Paul Mansell said, as he finished dictating his statement.
Melissa had been interviewing Paul Mansell for thirty minutes in one of the five rooms Brigadier Armstrong had commandeered that evening in the small airport’s main building. She stopped writing and looked him squarely in the eye. ‘And you’ve never seen this gunman before?’
‘No.’
‘Even though he’s probably your mystery client?’
‘As I’ve said already, I never met my last few clients. Cash only, in advance, through the post.’
‘So you’ve no idea why this man wanted to kill Rees Smith?’
‘None at all, he certainly didn’t explain it.’
Melissa shook her head. ‘Honestly, Paul, you’re no good at lying. Your body language is all wrong.’
‘I’m not lying, Melissa,’ Paul responded with a slight grin on his face.
‘DS Kelly to you. This is still official business.’
‘So when can I call you "Melissa" then?’
‘Not here, that’s for sure. Take me on holiday to Thailand and then you can call me anything you like.’
Paul gave a wicked smile in return. ‘Really? I might just do that. I’m going as soon as I can. What about you, are you free to go?’
Melissa sighed. ‘Don’t tempt me. The paperwork from tonight alone is going to take a month to complete.’
‘Leave it to Magee, come fly away with me to paradise!’
‘I can’t! I’ve got work to do. You stay here a few minutes, we’re not through with you tonight yet. Your stories aren’t entirely consistent with each other.’
Magee hadn’t yet finished interviewing Nick Price when Melissa came opened the door and stepped into the room. He caught her eye, only to be disappointed when she shook her head. He hung his head despondently. Was he never going to get the truth from anyone?
He sighed deeply and said, ‘Nick, for god’s sake, for the hundredth time, what the hell really happened up there tonight?’
‘And as I keep telling you,’ Nick replied as he massaged the back of his head. ‘I’m buggered if I know. Whoever that gunman was, he was insane, pure and simple. I really don’t know what he was playing at.’
Brigadier Armstrong leaned forward on his chair, looked into Nick Price’s eyes and asked, ‘And you’ll keep to that story?’
‘Story?’ Nick grunted. ‘It’s no story, it’s the truth. Some nutter kidnapped us all. God knows what his game was, but if it hadn’t been for Geoff we’d all be dead. He’s a hero, that man.’
‘But the knife we recovered,’ Magee interjected. ‘It’s got a carved handle, same as with the other killings. Geoff was the intended victim, so someone known to you must be responsible for the attack. You swear you didn’t recognize any of the Thai men involved?’
‘We’re going round in circles here, Magee. Watch my lips, I swear I did not recognize any of those bastards!’
‘Not even the one that was thrown out?’ asked the Brigadier for the tenth time in an hour. ‘The one we’re assuming is the killer that Magee‘s after?’
‘Never seen his face in my life.’
‘But he’s dead now, right?’ persisted Brigadier Armstrong. ‘You’re sure of that?’
