Saskia Brandt: Deja Vu Part 27

Saskia looked at the Palace of Westminster. 'What are you telling them?'

'I'm singing like a bird.'

She nodded. 'That's good. Don't worry about me. I have a new life.'

'So what do I call you?'

'I'm afraid you don't.' She linked her arm in his. 'I suspect that we are under surveillance. Now, what would be the best outcome?'

David sucked air through his teeth. 'They'd advise the state prosecutors not to proceed with a criminal trial. Unofficially, that is. Even better, they might clear my name. Then I could get my job back at the university. I've got another ten years before I retire. Or I could retire now. Why not?'

They walked in silence for a while.

'Tell me about Jennifer.'

'She's back in America. I'll see her again at Christmas - and her new boyfriend, worst luck. Do you have any plans for Christmas?'

'Some. I'll be visiting a friend in Berlin. Then another in Moscow.'

They continued towards parliament. The Westminster Bridge was quiet. Cold air had come down from the North Sea. They turned against it. After ten minutes, they came to an elderly building near the Ministry of Defence. 'I'll see you very soon, David.'

'Where?'

In reply, she placed a finger to her lips. Then she touched his with the gloved tip.

'You know,' David said, 'I could do with some help in there. Another witness.'

'I'm sorry, David. Take care.'

He waved. 'I understand. You take care too. And thanks.'

He showed his ID to the duty officer and pa.s.sed through into the main courtyard. He found the committee chamber. It was a small room with an oval table. Conversation ceased as he entered.

'Ah,' said Lord Gilbert. He looked at David over the top of his gla.s.ses in the way that David would look at a late student. 'The star of the show.' Gilbert chuckled. The men on the panel chuckled back. The two women pursed their lips.

Tony Barclay, the MSP for West Lothian, took a nod from Gilbert. 'Perhaps we could go back to the man who you met on the Internet, Professor Proctor. The man who supplied the explosives.'

The stenographer watched his computer screen.

David sighed, and began again.

David's hosts were confident that he would not try to leave the country, so he was not held in custody. His hotel was a small one north of the river. It was dingy but, he guessed, not cheap. He entered his room and locked the door. He decided to cheer up. He was making progress with the committee, after all. He threw off his coat and walked into the bathroom. 'Lights,' he said.

He took the measure of himself. He was a rumpled, tired version of the man who had arrived at the West Lothian Centre two months before. But he felt no different. He washed up and returned to the main room.

There was an envelope on the floor near the jacket. He remembered Saskia linking her arm in his. The envelope was addressed to 'You'. He opened it and withdrew a single sheet of paper.

Down in Ma.r.s.eilles there's a nice bar run by a man called Dupont. It is famous for its cat, which turned up one day and never left. The cat thinks she's a loner but, really, she likes company. Now can you remember all that?

David smiled and watched the text fade until the paper was blank.

Exeter, York, Canterbury, UK; 2004-2011.

Book Two of the Saskia Brandt Series is.

FLASHBACK.

A fifty-year-old mystery is about to be solved.

Summer, 1947: Airliner 'Star Dust' radios a successful trans-Andean flight from Buenos Aires to Santiago, and signals its intention to land. Four minutes prior to touchdown, it sends the letter sequence 'S-T-E-N-D-E-C', then silence. Star Dust vanishes along with all pa.s.sengers and crew.

Winter, 2003: German Freedom Flight DFU323 crashes in the Bavarian National Forest. The only clue to its fate is the co-pilot's final transmission, shouted against the roar of failing engines: 'Stendec! Stendec!'

DFU323 pa.s.senger Saskia Brandt is missing, presumed dead. Her friend Jem Shaw is on the run. She must solve the enigmas of DFU323 and Star Dust before her pursuer, a man known only as Cory, can find her.

Available for the Kindle now.

I'm an independent author. If you would like to help others find Deja Vu, please consider leaving a review on the Kindle store.

Do you want to know when my next book will be published? Email me at [email protected] and I'll let you know. You will also find me on Twitter: ian_hocking.

Acknowledgements for the First Edition.

The original ma.n.u.script was read by my intrepid friends Daniel Graaskov, Karen Jensen, Alex Mears, and Arie van der Lugt. Their comments vastly improved the final book. Further constructive feedback came via the Psychology Department Book Club at the University of Exeter (Rachael Carrick and Kate Fenwick were particularly helpful). Thanks also to Rachel Day for permission to use her copyrighted word 't.i.t-full'. And not forgetting my editor at the UKA Press, the redoubtable Aliya Whiteley, who helped transform the ma.n.u.script from the bloated pug of yesterday to the svelte whippet of today (any errors of breeding, such as an extra ear or a penchant for chair legs, must be left at my door).

For specialist a.s.sistance, I must thank Paul Johns, who helped out with some of the medical conditions and procedures described in these pages. Where errors exist, I am the goat. With respect to the time machine, David Gardiner checked my calculations, rubbished them, and redid them from scratch.

My partner, Britta, has gone beyond the call of duty in giving me time and s.p.a.ce to write this book since its inception, many moons ago, when the year 2003 was still in the future. I dedicate this book, and everything else, to her.

The author, late 2004; Exeter, UK.

Reviews.

'Handled with casual panache. It's gripping, fascinating, and powerful, and really well written, with wonderful pace.'

Ian Watson, screenwriter 'Artificial Intelligence: AI'

'You've never read anything like this before.'

SFX.

'A crisply-written, fast-paced thriller that makes a.s.sured use of cutting-edge science fiction ideas.'

Ken MacLeod.

'[Hocking's] layering of the narrative is thoughtful and the way he makes events from different decades mirror each other shows quiet skill. This is a small-press publication; as such, it probably won't get the exposure it deserves. Larger publishers may want to take note.'

The Guardian.

'A multi-threaded, thought-provoking sci-fi thriller. It is always a nice surprise to see a debut novel such as Deja Vu. Thoroughly recommended.'

SciFi.uk.com.

'Excellent...crisp and professional. This book bodes well for the future.'

Grumpy Old Bookman.

'Get ready to have a mind-blowing experience.'

POD Girl.

Also by Ian Hocking.

In the Saskia Brandt Series.

Flashback.

end.