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Authors: Anthony Price
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this?’
‘1958.’
Twenty-six years ago. He had called it ‘our list’, but it must almost have been before his time. And, indeed, almost before Audley’s time too, since both he and Latimer had also changed horses themselves to come into this thankless service—just as she herself had done, come to that!
‘He was forty-two then.’ Latimer supplied the answer to a question she had not yet reached; she had been about to think and I was in pigtails then, learning about Old Lob the Farmer and Mrs Cuddy the Cow in kindergarten . ‘Came down in ‘37—First in Greats—from Jesus, of course.’
Of course?
‘Two years’ teaching. Then the war. Then Oxford again.’
Elizabeth kicked herself. Thomas’ was a Welsh name, and Jesus College, Oxford, had still been full of Welshmen in the years before and after the war.
‘They offered him a fellowship. But he’d had enough of that, apparently.’
She wrenched herself away from Oxford—away from Turl Street, full of Welshmen from Jesus, and West Countrymen from rival Exeter, and the Taj Mahal restaurant, and the sun slanting down towards All Saints’ and the High, so long ago, so long ago … and, but for Father, a fellowship for Elizabeth Loftus?
But— damn that! ‘Tell me about this list.’ That was one past she didn’t have to think about: that was the might-have-been past which existed only in her imagination. ‘It wasn’t an SR list—?’
‘No.’ He stirred, as though Colonel Butler’s chair was becoming uncomfortable. ‘It was a rather odd business altogether. It might be better for you to read about it for yourself—‘ He gestured towards the empty screen beside him ‘—you’re cleared for it. All you have to do is punch “Debrecen” into the computer—D-E-B-R-E-C-E-N. It’s all there—what there is of it.’
The name meant nothing to her. But then codenames never did mean anything— Overlord, Cobra, Horserace, Ajax, Warsaw, Peeler — they were all nonsense unless -or until—you were cleared. And even then, now that the Beast-computer ruled, every punched-in inquiry was recorded for posterity. It was easy to understand why they all hated the machine which used them while they used it.
‘In fact, there were two lists, Elizabeth.’ Latimer squirmed again, and she realized that she’d been staring him out of conscience. ‘We had one, and the Americans had one. And the Americans eventually shared theirs with the West Germans, against our advice. And we only tipped them off—the Americans—because we needed to curry favour with them, after Suez … If they ’ d got it first they’d never have trusted us … Not that it did us any good, in the end. More like the opposite, in fact.’
The two ‘in facts’ bracketed far more information than she’d expected, even though she still didn’t know what it meant. But as there was a chance that he might actually be giving her more than was in the official record in those asides of his, it was worth pushing her luck. (There were times to push, and times to hold back, and the trick was judging the right time, was what David Audley always preached. And one right time was when your contact was pleased with himself.)
‘Two lists?’ But how to push? ‘Major Parker was on the American list, presumably?’
‘He was.’ He rewarded her initiative with a tiny flash of approval. ‘But we didn’t know that at first—‘ He waved his hand in a jerky disclaimer ‘—when I say “we”, Elizabeth, I don’t mean me , of course—I had no part in the affair … It wasn’t known , let us say, until we compared lists in detail, the Americans and ourselves. And by that time both Thomas and Parker had been completely cleared, you see. Among others.’
‘Cleared of what?’
‘Ah … well, let’s just say cleared of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, for the present? Audley will tell you.’ His hand hovered over the Thornton’s box, as though it had a life of its own and was
‘1958.’
Twenty-six years ago. He had called it ‘our list’, but it must almost have been before his time. And, indeed, almost before Audley’s time too, since both he and Latimer had also changed horses themselves to come into this thankless service—just as she herself had done, come to that!
‘He was forty-two then.’ Latimer supplied the answer to a question she had not yet reached; she had been about to think and I was in pigtails then, learning about Old Lob the Farmer and Mrs Cuddy the Cow in kindergarten . ‘Came down in ‘37—First in Greats—from Jesus, of course.’
Of course?
‘Two years’ teaching. Then the war. Then Oxford again.’
Elizabeth kicked herself. Thomas’ was a Welsh name, and Jesus College, Oxford, had still been full of Welshmen in the years before and after the war.
‘They offered him a fellowship. But he’d had enough of that, apparently.’
She wrenched herself away from Oxford—away from Turl Street, full of Welshmen from Jesus, and West Countrymen from rival Exeter, and the Taj Mahal restaurant, and the sun slanting down towards All Saints’ and the High, so long ago, so long ago … and, but for Father, a fellowship for Elizabeth Loftus?
But— damn that! ‘Tell me about this list.’ That was one past she didn’t have to think about: that was the might-have-been past which existed only in her imagination. ‘It wasn’t an SR list—?’
‘No.’ He stirred, as though Colonel Butler’s chair was becoming uncomfortable. ‘It was a rather odd business altogether. It might be better for you to read about it for yourself—‘ He gestured towards the empty screen beside him ‘—you’re cleared for it. All you have to do is punch “Debrecen” into the computer—D-E-B-R-E-C-E-N. It’s all there—what there is of it.’
The name meant nothing to her. But then codenames never did mean anything— Overlord, Cobra, Horserace, Ajax, Warsaw, Peeler — they were all nonsense unless -or until—you were cleared. And even then, now that the Beast-computer ruled, every punched-in inquiry was recorded for posterity. It was easy to understand why they all hated the machine which used them while they used it.
‘In fact, there were two lists, Elizabeth.’ Latimer squirmed again, and she realized that she’d been staring him out of conscience. ‘We had one, and the Americans had one. And the Americans eventually shared theirs with the West Germans, against our advice. And we only tipped them off—the Americans—because we needed to curry favour with them, after Suez … If they ’ d got it first they’d never have trusted us … Not that it did us any good, in the end. More like the opposite, in fact.’
The two ‘in facts’ bracketed far more information than she’d expected, even though she still didn’t know what it meant. But as there was a chance that he might actually be giving her more than was in the official record in those asides of his, it was worth pushing her luck. (There were times to push, and times to hold back, and the trick was judging the right time, was what David Audley always preached. And one right time was when your contact was pleased with himself.)
‘Two lists?’ But how to push? ‘Major Parker was on the American list, presumably?’
‘He was.’ He rewarded her initiative with a tiny flash of approval. ‘But we didn’t know that at first—‘ He waved his hand in a jerky disclaimer ‘—when I say “we”, Elizabeth, I don’t mean me , of course—I had no part in the affair … It wasn’t known , let us say, until we compared lists in detail, the Americans and ourselves. And by that time both Thomas and Parker had been completely cleared, you see. Among others.’
‘Cleared of what?’
‘Ah … well, let’s just say cleared of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, for the present? Audley will tell you.’ His hand hovered over the Thornton’s box, as though it had a life of its own and was
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