'I'm truly sorry,' Cuchulain said. 'You're a good man,' and the Walther in his left hand extended to touch Baum between the eyes. It coughed once, the German was hurled back to fall on the verge, blood and brains scattering across the gra.s.s.

Cuchulain drove away instantly, was back in the track by the bridge where he had left Leary within five minutes. He tore

off the cap and coat, dropped them beside the unconscious postman and ran through the trees, clambering over a wooden fence a few minutes later beside a narrow farm track, heavily overgrown with gra.s.s. A motorcycle waited there, an old 35occ BSA, stripped down as if for hill climbing with special ribbed tyres. It was a machine much used by hill farmers on both sides of the border to herd sheep. He pulled on a battered old crash helmet with a scratched visor, climbed on and kick-started expertly. The engine roared into life and he rode away, pa.s.sing only one vehicle, the local milk cart just outside the village.

Back there on the main road it started to rain and it was still falling on the upturned face of Hans Wolfgang Baum thirty minutes later when the local milk cart pulled up beside him. And at that precise moment, fifteen miles away, Cuchu-lain turned the BSA along a farm track south of Clady and rode across the border into the safety of the Irish Republic.

Ten minutes later, he stopped beside a phone box, dialled the number of theBelfast Telegraph, asked for the news desk and claimed responsibility for the shooting of Hans Wolfgang Baum on behalf of the Provisional IRA.

'So,' Ferguson said. 'The Motorcyclist the driver of that milk cart saw would seem to be our man.'

'No description, of course,' Fox told him. 'He was wearing a crash helmet.'

'It doesn't make sense,' Ferguson said. 'Baum was well liked by everyone and the local Catholic community was totally behind him. He fought his own board every inch of the way to locate that factory in Kilgannon. They'll probably pull out now, which leaves over a thousand unemployed and Catholics and Protestants at each others' throats again.'

'But isn't that exactly what the Provisionals want, sir?'

'I wouldn't have thought so, Harry. Not this time. This was a dirty one. The callous murder of a thoroughly good man, well respected by the Catholic community. It can do the Provisionals nothing but harm with their own people. That's

what I don't understand. It was such a stupid thing to do.' He tapped the file on Baum which Fox had brought in. 'Baum met Martin McGuiness in secret and McGuiness a.s.sured him of the Provisionals' good will, and whatever else you may think of him, McGuiness is a clever man. Too d.a.m.ned clever, actually, but that isn't the point.' He shook his head. 'No, it doesn't add up.'

The red phone bleeped. He picked it up. 'Ferguson here.' He listened for a moment. 'Very well, Minister.' He put the phone down and stood up. 'The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Harry. Wants me right away. Get on to Lisburn again. Army Intelligence - anything you can think of. Find out all you can.'

He was back just over an hour later. As he was taking off his coat, Fox came in.

'That didn't take long, sir.'

'Short and sweet. He's not pleased, Harry, and neither is the Prime Minister. She's good and mad and you know what that means.'

'She wants results., sir?'

'Only she wants* them yesterday, Harry. All h.e.l.l's broken loose over there in Ulster. Protestant politicians having a field day. Paisley saying I told you so, as usual. Oh, the West German Chancellor's been on to Downing Street. To be frank, things couldn't be worse.'

'I wouldn't be too sure, sir. According to Army Intelligence at Lisburn the PIRA are more than a little annoyed about this one themselves. They insist they had nothing to do with it.'

'But they claimed responsibility.'

'They run a very tight ship these days, sir, as you know, since the re-organization of their command structure. McGuiness, amongst other things, is still Chief of Northern Command and the word from Dublin is that he categorically denies involvement of any of his people. In fact, he's as angry as anybody else at the news. It seems he thought a great deal of Baum.'

'Do you think it's INLA?'

The Irish National Liberation Front had shown themselves

willing to strike in the past more ruthlessly than the Pro-visionals when they felt the situation warranted it.

'Intelligence says not, sir. They have a good source close to the top where INLA is concerned.'

Ferguson warmed himself at the fire. 'Are you suggesting the other side were responsible? The UVF or the Red Hand of Ulster?'

'Again, Lisburn has good sources in both organizations and the word is definitely no. No Protestant organization was involved.'

'Not officially.'

'It doesn't look as if anyone was involved officially, sir. There are always the cowboys, of course. The madmen who watch too many midnight movies on television and end up willing to kill anybody rather than n.o.body.'

Ferguson lit a cheroot and sat behind his desk. 'Do you really believe that, Harry?'

'No, sir,' Fox said calmly. 'I was just throwing out all the obvious questions the media crackpots will come up with.'

Ferguson sat there staring at him, frowning. 'You know something, don't you?'^

'Not exactly, sir. There could be an answer to this, a totally preposterous one which you aren't going to like one little bit.'

Tell me.'

'All right, sir. The'fact that theBelfast Telegraph had a phone call claiming responsibility for the Provisionals is going to make the Provos look very bad indeed.'

'So.'

'Let's a.s.sume that was the purpose of the exercise.'

'Which means a Protestant organization did it with that end in view.'

'Not necessarily, as I think you'll see if you let me explain. I got the full report on the affair from Lisburn just after you left. The killer is a professional, no doubt about that. Cold, ruthless and highly organized and yet he doesn't just kill everyone in sight.'

'Yes, that had occurred to me too. He gave the postman, Leary, a capsule. Some sort of knock-out drop.'

'And that stirred my mind, so I put it through the computer.' Fox had a file tucked under his arm and now he opened it. 'The first five killings on the list all involved a witness being forced at gunpoint to take that sort of capsule. First time it occurs is nineteen seventy-five in Omagh.'

Ferguson examined the list and looked up. 'But on two occasions, the victims were Catholics. I accept your argument that the same killer was involved, but it makes a nonsense of your theory that the purpose in killing Baum was to make the PIRA look bad.'

'Stay with it a little longer, sir, please. Description of the killer in each case is identical. Black balaclava and dark anorak. Always uses a Walther PPK. On three occasions was known to escape by motor cycle from the scene of the crime.'

'So?'

'I fed all those details into the computer separately, sir. Any killings where motor cycles were involved. Cross-referencing with use of a Walther, not necessarily the same gun, of course. Also cross-referencing with the description of the individual.'

'And you got a result?'

'I got a result.all right, sir.' Fox produced not one sheet, but two. 'At least thirty probable killings since nineteen seventy-five, all linked to the factors I've mentioned. There are another ten possibles.'

Ferguson scanned the lists quickly. 'Dear G.o.d!' he whispered. 'Catholic and Protestant alike. I don't understand.'

'You might if you consider the victims, sir. In all cases where the Provisionals claimed responsibility, the target was counter-productive, leaving them looking very bad indeed.'

'And the same where Protestant extremist organizations were involved?'