The Accidental Warrior Read online

  When the two women re-emerged, they were met by Kate. Harriet hugged her new friend.

  “Thank you, thank you,” she whispered in her ear. Kate smiled broadly. They were led down the hillside to a campsite for the night. Neither Timo or Harriet said a word on the walk back.

  The next day, the small group of women made their way back down the mountain. Kate broke the silence.

  “There’s someone else I’d like to tell you about. I suppose you could say she’s an unsung heroine, you won’t find mention of her in the history books, and yet she was key to the events that took place and is dearly cherished by the Guardians. She is ultimately responsible for our existence. Her name was Princess Philia; she was married to Philip’s chief advisor Antipatros. She was also sister to Philip’s first wife Audata and Aunt to Cynane, Philip’s first born. She too was brought up as a warrior, and by all accounts was quite a remarkable character. A legendary horsewoman, whose skill with the sword was celebrated. She was fearless, but she was also an outstanding tactician. It was Philia who planned and executed the liberation of Philip’s offspring and ensured they were kept safe from the clutches of Queen Olympias.”

  “Liberation?”

  “Yes. Using the cover of darkness, the children were located and smuggled out of the Royal City. Later, a mighty battle took place between Olympias and Audata. Olympias murdered Audata, but was herself captured by Philia. Philia, perhaps surprisingly, showed mercy. But it came at a price for Olympias, who was forced to promise to never again raise arms against those loyal to Philip. She was also required to wear a tattoo of a snake on the inside of her left wrist. Since that day both factions, the Guardians and Olympians, have co-existed. But there has always been something dark about her blood line.”

  “I’m curious to know what ultimately happened to Olympias?”

  “Good question. There are many differing accounts but I’m led to believe that eventually she was stoned to death by the relatives of some of her victims.”

  “Grisly end.”

  “Philia was honoured by the Guardians and presented with an intricate gold necklace, a pendant, an exact copy of the stone discs. At its centre was set a large luminous green emerald. Cynane was also given a necklace, but with a sapphire at its centre. Each legitimate child was given an identical sapphire necklace. Philip’s children by his mistresses were given a necklace with a white pearl at its centre.”

  “Do you know how many children there were?”

  “A little over twenty.”

  “Really? That’s more than I had imagined. So, just so I understand, Philip’s male offspring were given a necklace either with a sapphire or a pearl, to hand down to their first-born daughters depending upon whether they were legitimate or illegitimate?”

  “Yes, exactly right.”

  “Can I ask which necklace you inherited?”

  “I have one with a sapphire at its centre.”

  “And do you know who your heritage goes back to?”

  “Yes, to Cynane, daughter of Audata.”

  “So you are from a royal blood line?”

  “An exceptionally diluted one now.” Kate was smiling.

  “Can I also ask, is Cleo…?” Just speaking her name made Harriet feel nauseous. “… Is Cleo by any chance related to Olympias?”

  “You have been listening. Yes, she’s descended from Olympias through her daughter Cleopatra.”

  “Which means, does it not, that she didn’t receive a necklace, but is also from royal blood?”

  “It does but, again, it’s very diluted bloodline now.”

  “Does Cleo know this?”

  “Cleo is very clever and I think she suspects. She may know more than she lets on. But, unlike the Guardians, the descendants of Olympias were not as diligent at ensuring their heritage was passed on. Never underestimate Cleo. She is devious, jealous and psychopathic. She cares only for herself and is the architect of many wicked acts. She is a serial killer. Human life holds little or no value to her. Her temper is notorious; perhaps a legacy from Olympias. I’ll give you an example…”

  She paused for a moment as she remembered the story.

  “It’s said that during a banquet, a servant had the misfortune to spill an insignificant amount of wine on the queen’s silk gown. In her rage, she struck him with such force that the poor fellow flew across the marble floor into a nearby pillar. The crack of his facial bones resulted in many of the guests crying out in distress. Olympias did not seem to notice, she simply returned to her seat and calmly continued her meal. Cleo has also been known to fly into a rage at the smallest slight. Woe betide anyone who riles her. Be careful, my friend. I would passionately advise against making her your nemesis.”

  The two women fell silent until something else occurred to Harriet.

  “Kate, I’ve just realised Cleo is related to you. “She’s related to you via Philip.

  “Oh, well yes, I’m afraid she is.”

  “I wonder how one man’s DNA could produce such polarised personalities…”

  “I would imagine the answer lies somewhere within the nature versus nurture debate.”

  “Perhaps it’s possible for certain extreme characteristics to be carried in our DNA and passed on through the blood line?”

  “It might be one explanation for why Cleo is the way she is.”

  “Hmm, I’m not so sure; maybe she just had a troubled childhood?”

  “No, I’m pretty sure she didn’t.”

  “You know what else I’ve just realised?” said Harriet, changing the subject. “Cleo has broken the promise made by Olympias never again to raise arms against those loyal to the King.”

  “Indeed, and believe me, she will be dealt with if she survives her injuries.”

  CHAPTER 33

  It was the beginning of December and Harriet’s thoughts had turned to home. She longed to be re-united with her children and her parents. The desire to sort out her marriage, to move on with her life, was also playing on her mind. On a more superficial level, she craved her coffee machine and toast and marmalade.

  Kate entered the room looking uncharacteristically serious.

  “Harriet, you asked about your father the other day. I have news. You might want to sit down.” Kate took a deep breath before continuing.

  “Your father died peacefully in his sleep four days after your abduction. It seems the blood transfusion provided only temporary relief before his kidneys failed and he slipped into unconsciousness. He was moved to a hospice, where your mother sat with him. He was peaceful throughout. In the early hours of the fourth morning he made the faintest of sighs and that was that. I’m so very sorry.”

  “No, Kate, I’m so sorry you were put in this position.” Harriet walked across and hugged her.

  “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  “I’m only grateful that when Dad’s time came it was peaceful and he didn’t die alone.”

  “Your mother told me how important he was to you, that you shared a deep bond.” With her voice breaking, Kate placed a hand on Harriet’s quaking shoulders.

  “Have I missed his funeral?” Harriet sobbed.

  “No, I think the plan is to hold it after Christmas.”

  Harriet sank onto the bed and wept. Next morning, Kate found her in the kitchen, looking pale and distracted.

  “Thank you for giving me space last night. It’s strange, my head tells me that Dad is no longer suffering and therefore I should be thankful, and, whilst I am, I’m also raging mad. Mad with resentment and loathing for Cleo, who deprived me of precious time with him in his final days. I just can’t forgive her. I’m not sure I will ever come to terms with it. If she recovers, I will do everything in my power to ensure she is sent to prison for life.”

  “You’ve been through an appalling ordeal and it’s only natural to hate Cleo. My only advice would be not to let your negativity towards her eat away at you, take over your life. You have been wronged and, with time, I’m sure there will be opportuni
ties to redress the balance, but closure may not come in the way you imagine, or perhaps would wish.”

  “Oh, my God, you are far too wise for your years,” said a tearful Harriet.

  On the 7th December, Kate drove Harriet to the airport. It was time to say goodbye.

  “I’m so sorry I can’t come back with you. But I need to stay behind, just for a few days. I’ve just found out the Greek Government intend to start mining operations in the Pangaion Hills in the New Year. Surveying work has already started and I’ve been asked to assist with a legal challenge for obvious reasons.”

  “I completely understand, go! I’ll be fine.”

  But it did not stop Harriet feeling sad that Kate wouldn’t be with her on the journey home. She knew she still had some way to go to a full recovery and needed support. She was still suffering memory gaps and had begun to suffer anxiety attacks.

  At Kate’s request, Mike Taylor and Derek Wynn flew out to bring Harriet Lacey home.

  “I can’t tell you how fantastic it is to see you both. Thank you for coming to get me.”

  “It’s our absolute pleasure, it’s so good to set eyes on you again. You look surprisingly fit,” said a beaming Derek as he hugged her long and hard.

  “Hello you. I’ve missed you.” Mike held Harriet close.

  The flight back was uneventful. As the plane started its descent to Gatwick, Mike asked Harriet about her plans.

  “Well, I need to spend some time with my children. I can’t wait to see them, they’ve had quite a dislocated life of late. I also need to see my mother. Then, I’d like to come back to work.”

  “That would be great, but why don’t you take some time for yourself and come back after Christmas?” suggested Derek.

  “If it’s alright with you, I’d rather get back into a routine. I won’t try to pretend that I’m fine, I’m not, and I may try your patience, but there are individuals who need bringing to justice and I want to play my part in bringing this investigation to a successful conclusion.”

  “Well, we could really do with your experience. I’m sure there will be no problem with you coming back, so long as you agree to take time out on bad days.” Mike looked at Derek who was nodding his head in agreement.

  CHAPTER 34

  It was two weeks before Christmas when Harriet returned to work on the incident room. Kate was back in the country and now officially a consultant to Operation Chapel. It was Kate who accompanied Harriet on her first morning. As they reached the entrance door, Harriet paused, reflecting on the anxiety she’d felt at entering all those months before. Today however, she felt resolute and excited to be back. As she walked into the room she was greeted by enthusiastic applause and cheering from her colleagues.

  “No chance of keeping a low profile then!” she said, laughing.

  Derek lost no time in calling Harriet, Mike and Kate into his office.

  “Morning, team. I thought we should all get together as soon as possible, there is much to cover before we can have a full briefing with everyone.”

  “There really is, Harriet. Perhaps we should start with why Derek is sitting at Nick’s desk?” suggested Mike.

  Mike somehow hit the right note and described how Nick had suddenly disappeared, as well as their theories as to what might have happened to him. As he talked, Harriet felt sure Nick hadn’t committed suicide. Something must have happened: he was either forced to go, or he planned it. She considered him far too vain and self-obsessed to take his own life, there was no question in her mind, he was still alive somewhere.

  “Do you want to know what I think?” Harriet asked, getting to her feet.

  “Yes, very much,” said Derek.

  “He’s alive somewhere. It’s not in his nature to take his own life.”

  “I agree. Initial results from the recovered files from his laptop are most revealing,” said Kate. “We found Nick had a significant gambling problem, he was in considerable debt and being pursued by some unscrupulous debt collectors. I’m so sorry, Harriet, but I don’t think there will be much change from the sale of the family home.”

  “The bloody bastard, I knew nothing of the gambling. So there’s no money left in our bank accounts?”

  Kate shook her head.

  “Oh, bloody marvellous.” Harriet sighed heavily.

  “Did you find anything else?” asked Mike, putting his arm around Harriet.

  “Yes, it appears he managed to get his hands on a counterfeit passport. I think it’s highly likely he’s now abroad somewhere. We still have some files to recover.”

  “Good work Kate, keep me updated. Okay, we need to talk about Cleo now,” said Derek.

  Harriet’s face reddened as she attempted to regulate her breathing. Kate spotted her distress and walked across to her.

  “Cleo is under guard in a hospital in Surrey,” said Derek gently. “She will be moved to this county when she’s well enough. Although now out of danger, she has suffered significant facial and leg injuries.”

  “It will be a while before we can speak to her. I understand from the hospital that so far she’s said nothing, but she does suffer terrible nightmares,” said Mike.

  “She’s not the only one,” muttered Harriet under her breath. “So, there’s nothing to be done now, we just have to bide our time?” she asked.

  “That’s right. We are currently considering her background and taking statements from family members. You can have a read whenever you want,” said Mike.

  “Let’s move onto Jack Peters and Steve Smith,” said Derek. “You may recall, Harriet, that just prior to your abduction we were planning to arrest them?”

  Harriet nodded. Derek spoke about the arrests and then the subsequent murder of Peters in the court cells. Harriet took notes; so much had happened in her absence that she didn’t want to miss a thing.

  “Are you seriously suggesting that Cleo was responsible for Peters’ death in the court cells?” Harriet was wide-eyed.

  “Well, that’s what we are working on, we are pretty sure it was her. We just need to prove it definitively,” said Mike.

  As Derek and Mike talked on, Harriet realised that Peters’ death must have occurred whilst she was captive, most likely when Cleo had left her for a few days. Feeling faint and clammy and with her vision starting to go, she sat on the floor hugging her knees.

  Kate rushed across with a bottle of water in hand.

  “It’s okay, I’ll be okay, just give me a minute.”

  Derek called a break in proceedings. Half an hour later, Harriet had recovered sufficiently for the briefing to re-commence.

  “I’m so sorry about earlier. While you were talking I realised how close I came to losing my own life at Cleo’s hand and it brought it all back.” Harriet took a deep breath.

  “There’s absolutely no need to apologise, what you went through was shocking. There’s no rush to continue, do you want to call it a day?” asked Derek.

  “No, let’s carry on, this is important.”

  “Okay, over the next few days I’d really appreciate it if you could find time to go through the Cell CCTV footage with Mike and Kate. I’d like your take on it,” said Derek.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Do you remember Melvin Cook?” asked Mike.

  “How could I forget?” The faintest smile crossed Harriet’s face.

  “Well, he tracked the elusive Craig down. Craig and his brother were arrested and have corroborated Dave and Melvin’s account of events in Sheffield. They also confessed to their involvement in Poppy’s death and named Steve Smith as an associate of theirs.”

  “Bloody hell. Did they say who ordered the hit?” Harriet moved forward on her chair.

  “No, but Steve Smith did. Realising that things didn’t look good for him, Steve decided to co-operate. When we seized his phone, Kate ascertained that Smith made a call to someone as you and Poppy left the incident room. We also found texts on his phone for later in the day which seem to refer to the tragedy,” said Der
ek.

  “Yes, and then it got even more interesting because when I re-examined Alec Brown’s phone, I discovered some deleted recordings. Their content was most unexpected.”

  “Are they long recordings, or can we listen to them now?” asked Harriet, moving her chair closer to the others.

  “Okay, the first recording is a telephone conversation between Jack Peters and Alec Brown. Have a listen,” said Kate.

  “Hello?”

  “It’s me, Brown.”