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Authors: Stephen Leather
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half-full pint of bitter in salute.
‘Excellent tradecraft.’ Shepherd laughed. ‘Always get to the meeting first and sit with your back to the wall.’ They shook hands and then Shepherd went over to the bar and bought a lager shandy, heavy on the lemonade. ‘So what time did you get here?’ he asked as he sat down opposite her.
‘I was already in town when I phoned,’ she said.
‘You were taking a risk, weren’t you? What if I wasn’t around?’
‘Well, first of all I knew you were, and second of all they do a good pint here and serve a ploughman’s lunch that’s one of the best I’ve ever tasted, so it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to be here on my own for a couple of hours.’ She gestured at the remains of a ploughman’s on the table.
‘So I’m guessing you didn’t come all the way over to Hereford just for me?’
The psychologist nodded. ‘I’m here for a few days,’ she said. ‘I actually am doing quite a bit for the Regiment.’
‘Checking that they’re fit for purpose?’
‘To be honest, most of what I’m doing involves former members of the Regiment. Guys who’ve left and are finding it difficult on the outside. You’ve got to look pretty long and hard to find a group of people more prone to suicide than former SAS troopers.’ She sipped her beer.
‘That’s the truth,’ said Shepherd. ‘Going from a full-on life of combat to Civvy Street can be a shock to the system. It was hard enough for me to move into policing. It must be a hell of a lot worse to go to a desk job or working on a building site.’
‘Or just sitting watching TV all day, or in the pub. Not everyone who leaves the Regiment gets another job. You hear about the guys who go back to Afghanistan or Iraq and make a fortune freelancing and everyone knows about the ones who become best-selling authors, but a lot of guys end up on the scrap heap. That’s pretty hard to accept when you’re only in your thirties.’
‘So what do you do, ring them up and ask them out to the pub for a chat, same as you do with me?’
Stockmann chuckled. ‘You’re a whole different ballgame, Dan,’ she said. ‘All I’m doing with you is checking to see that you’re on an even keel. Some of the guys I’m dealing with now, they’re shipwrecks and raising the Titanic doesn’t come close.’ She took another sip of her beer and put down her glass. ‘The thing is, they’re not the sort of men who are going to admit that they’ve got a problem, never mind ask for help. But if we can get them back to the Regiment for a reunion or some other excuse, it gives us a chance to put out some feelers and offer them support where they need it, be it financial or psychological.’
Shepherd laughed. ‘You’re a devious sod, aren’t you?’ he said. ‘You get them up here on false pretences, that’s what you’re saying.’
‘We tell a few porkies, yes,’ said Stockmann. ‘But for all the right reasons.’ She nodded at his glass. ‘No Jameson’s today?’
‘I’m hanging out with Liam later,’ he said.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to take you away from your family.’
‘A couple of hours won’t matter much, and it’ll give him time to catch up with video games.’ He sat back in his chair. ‘So I’m guessing that this has more to do with what happened in Northern Ireland than it does with a biannual review that may or may not exist.’
‘It exists, Dan,’ said Stockmann. ‘That wasn’t a porky. But yes, Charlie wants me to raise what happened with you.’
‘What happened? I shot two men, Caroline. Shot them and killed them. And please don’t ask me how I feel about that.’
‘Why? Because feelings don’t come into it?’
‘Because it’s the standard psychiatrist’s question, isn’t it?’ He held up his hand. ‘And before you correct me, I know that you’re a psychologist.’
‘Do you know the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?’ She answered the question for him.
‘Excellent tradecraft.’ Shepherd laughed. ‘Always get to the meeting first and sit with your back to the wall.’ They shook hands and then Shepherd went over to the bar and bought a lager shandy, heavy on the lemonade. ‘So what time did you get here?’ he asked as he sat down opposite her.
‘I was already in town when I phoned,’ she said.
‘You were taking a risk, weren’t you? What if I wasn’t around?’
‘Well, first of all I knew you were, and second of all they do a good pint here and serve a ploughman’s lunch that’s one of the best I’ve ever tasted, so it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to be here on my own for a couple of hours.’ She gestured at the remains of a ploughman’s on the table.
‘So I’m guessing you didn’t come all the way over to Hereford just for me?’
The psychologist nodded. ‘I’m here for a few days,’ she said. ‘I actually am doing quite a bit for the Regiment.’
‘Checking that they’re fit for purpose?’
‘To be honest, most of what I’m doing involves former members of the Regiment. Guys who’ve left and are finding it difficult on the outside. You’ve got to look pretty long and hard to find a group of people more prone to suicide than former SAS troopers.’ She sipped her beer.
‘That’s the truth,’ said Shepherd. ‘Going from a full-on life of combat to Civvy Street can be a shock to the system. It was hard enough for me to move into policing. It must be a hell of a lot worse to go to a desk job or working on a building site.’
‘Or just sitting watching TV all day, or in the pub. Not everyone who leaves the Regiment gets another job. You hear about the guys who go back to Afghanistan or Iraq and make a fortune freelancing and everyone knows about the ones who become best-selling authors, but a lot of guys end up on the scrap heap. That’s pretty hard to accept when you’re only in your thirties.’
‘So what do you do, ring them up and ask them out to the pub for a chat, same as you do with me?’
Stockmann chuckled. ‘You’re a whole different ballgame, Dan,’ she said. ‘All I’m doing with you is checking to see that you’re on an even keel. Some of the guys I’m dealing with now, they’re shipwrecks and raising the Titanic doesn’t come close.’ She took another sip of her beer and put down her glass. ‘The thing is, they’re not the sort of men who are going to admit that they’ve got a problem, never mind ask for help. But if we can get them back to the Regiment for a reunion or some other excuse, it gives us a chance to put out some feelers and offer them support where they need it, be it financial or psychological.’
Shepherd laughed. ‘You’re a devious sod, aren’t you?’ he said. ‘You get them up here on false pretences, that’s what you’re saying.’
‘We tell a few porkies, yes,’ said Stockmann. ‘But for all the right reasons.’ She nodded at his glass. ‘No Jameson’s today?’
‘I’m hanging out with Liam later,’ he said.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to take you away from your family.’
‘A couple of hours won’t matter much, and it’ll give him time to catch up with video games.’ He sat back in his chair. ‘So I’m guessing that this has more to do with what happened in Northern Ireland than it does with a biannual review that may or may not exist.’
‘It exists, Dan,’ said Stockmann. ‘That wasn’t a porky. But yes, Charlie wants me to raise what happened with you.’
‘What happened? I shot two men, Caroline. Shot them and killed them. And please don’t ask me how I feel about that.’
‘Why? Because feelings don’t come into it?’
‘Because it’s the standard psychiatrist’s question, isn’t it?’ He held up his hand. ‘And before you correct me, I know that you’re a psychologist.’
‘Do you know the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?’ She answered the question for him.
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