Launch Code

THIRTY

Saturday 30 November 2019, Norfolk

‘Wow,’ said Megan. ‘So you killed Craig on purpose? I knew Craig had died in an accident on board the submarine, so I assumed from the letter it was your fault somehow, and you had never admitted it to anyone but Mom.’

She took the letter from Toby and read the passage aloud: ‘I still can’t get over what I did to Craig. I’ll never forgive myself. I just try not to think about it.’ She looked up at her father.

‘Well, it wasn’t an accident,’ said Bill. ‘But you can see why I struck him with that wrench?’ Bill’s expression mixed pain and pleading as he faced his daughter.

‘Oh my God, yes,’ said Megan. She got up and flung her arms around him. ‘You had to do it. If you hadn’t done it, we wouldn’t be here. No one would be here.’

Bill’s face broke into a smile over Megan’s shoulder.

‘Craig really was a good friend. He was also a good man. He was just wrong. Following orders right then was a very bad call.’

‘I can see why the Navy wanted to keep it all a secret,’ said Toby.

‘So can I,’ said Megan, breaking away from her father. ‘Who would trust them with a nuclear submarine after that? I know I wouldn’t.’

‘Yes, they did keep it secret,’ said Bill. ‘But they also made changes to the launch protocols so it couldn’t happen again. If a submarine gets a doubtful order now, the captain is required to go to periscope depth and check it.’

‘What had gone wrong?’

‘Same as what happened a couple of years before at NORAD when they thought the Soviets were attacking us. A systems upgrade test went wrong. Lars was right: the fact the target was exactly the same as the exercise and the lack of context in raising readiness to DEFCON 3 should have alerted us. But, on the other hand, launch protocol said Commander Driscoll had to obey the order, not question it.’

‘And was the XO right about Able Archer?’ Toby asked. ‘Did the Soviets really think we were about to attack them?’

‘Yes,’ Bill nodded. ‘Robinson was absolutely right, although the high-ups in the CIA overruled him and his colleague. But a secret report was written by the CIA in the 1990s that suggested that Andropov really was convinced the United States was planning a decapitation first strike. When they intercepted our signals during Able Archer, the Soviets put their nuclear forces on high alert.’ Bill blew out through his cheeks. ‘It was close. And if the Alexander Hamilton had launched its birds, there is no doubt the Soviets would have retaliated with everything they had.’

The three of them sat in silence as they thought about what Bill had just said, Megan and Toby on the bed, Bill on the delicate chair with the tapestry.

‘Can I have my letter back now?’ said Bill, holding out his hand.

‘Oh, yes, sorry,’ said Toby. He wasn’t apologizing for reading the section where Bill was telling Donna about how bad he felt about killing Craig. But there was stuff in there about how much Bill loved her, and other stuff which Toby had no business reading. Somehow it seemed worse now she was dead. And now Bill had told Toby more about her.

He slipped the letter back in its envelope and handed it back to Bill.

‘I wish I had known Donna,’ he said. ‘She sounded… unique. Special.’

‘She was,’ said Megan.

Bill grinned gratefully at his daughter.

‘Why did Lars claim to have killed Craig?’ Toby asked.

‘That took me completely by surprise,’ said Bill. ‘I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to him yet about it. Loyalty, I guess. Despite his faults, Lars is a good friend. He could probably see how upset Justin was with me.’

‘Are you going to tell Justin?’ Megan said. ‘That it was you who killed his father?’

‘No,’ said Bill. ‘This stuff is genuinely top secret. I shouldn’t have told you. Donna shouldn’t have told you girls anything about it. And you shouldn’t tell anyone else. Even the police.’

‘But it’s just a cover-up,’ Toby said. ‘What kind of state secret is that?’

‘I know it’s a cover-up,’ said Bill. ‘But it’s still necessary. Nuclear deterrence only works if people trust it. People on your own side, and the enemy, whoever they turn out to be. This is the kind of story that could undermine that trust.’

Toby wasn’t convinced. Bill noticed. ‘You have signed the Official Secrets Act, Toby.’

He had. In a way he was grateful. That meant he didn’t have to agonize over whether to tell the police; his duty was clear and spelled out. Or his duty to his country was.

‘What about Alice?’ he said.

‘What about her?’

‘You’ve been saying all along that what happened on the Alexander Hamilton had nothing to do with Sam Bowen’s murder. But given what you have just told us, are you sure that’s the case? It’s a cover-up, isn’t it? Did the US Navy kill him? The CIA? To keep him quiet.’

‘No. No, absolutely not. The CIA has done some unpleasant stuff over the years, but they don’t kill journalists or historians who are asking difficult questions.’

‘Can you be certain?’

‘Absolutely. If they did that, imagine the outcry? It would also be illegal.’ Bill coughed. ‘I did check with Admiral Robinson, and he confirmed it. He worked in the Office of Naval Intelligence after the Hamilton – he has good contacts.’

‘So what was Alice doing talking to Sam? Was she asking him about Craig’s death?’

Bill didn’t answer. He was looking worried.

‘What is it, Dad?’ Megan asked.

Bill hesitated. ‘Ever since Mom died, Alice has always been protective of me. She knew that it was me who killed Craig.’

‘You told her,’ Megan said.

‘Not me. Your mother.’

‘Wait. Did she tell Brooke and Maya too?’ Sisterly outrage at being left out was rising in Megan’s voice.

‘No. Just Alice. She wanted to tell one of you.’

And she had chosen Alice, Toby thought. That figured. And Alice hadn’t told Toby. That figured as well. And, actually, that was fair enough.

Megan grunted. She accepted it was fair enough too.

‘OK,’ said Toby. ‘So you think that Alice was trying to persuade Sam to drop the questions about Craig’s death?’

‘Perhaps.’ Bill looked uncomfortable. Exceedingly uncomfortable.

‘My God!’ Toby said. ‘You do think Alice killed him.’

‘No,’ said Bill. ‘No, I couldn’t possibly believe she could do that. Not Alice.’

‘Yes you do.’

Bill pursed his lips. ‘Let’s just say I don’t think it would be good for Alice’s case if the police came to the conclusion that that’s what she was talking to him about.’

Part of Toby was outraged.

Part of him understood it.

They heard the front door bang downstairs. ‘Hello!’ It was Lars’s voice. ‘Anyone at home?’

‘I’ll talk to him,’ Toby said, and he left Megan and her father in the bedroom.

Lars was in the kitchen, still in his rain jacket. ‘Hey, Toby,’ he said. ‘How did it go at the police station?’

‘They wouldn’t let me see Alice. And she is still locked up.’

‘Have they charged her yet?’

‘Not yet. We don’t know whether they will. They can hold her for thirty-six hours without charging her, so technically they could let her out really early tomorrow morning, but her lawyer says if they are going to release her, it will be later today.’

‘Good luck.’

‘Yeah.’

Given what he had just learned, Toby was hopeful that he could prise more information out of Lars about what had happened on the submarine. Confirm Bill’s story, perhaps. Give him a clue why Sam Bowen was killed, a clue he could use to get Alice freed. But it would be difficult to talk to Lars in the house with Bill and Megan around.

‘Hey, Lars. Now it’s stopped raining, do you want to get out of the house? Go for another walk on the beach? With Rickover, of course.’

The dog was on his feet, looking expectantly up at the two men. His vote was clear.

‘Sure,’ said Lars. ‘Let’s go.’

They were donning their coats in the hallway when Bill came down the stairs and greeted Lars. ‘I’m just going to King’s Lynn to get a new faucet for the Cottage bathroom,’ he said. ‘I shouldn’t be too long.’

‘We’re going for a walk down to the beach,’ said Lars. ‘If you like, I’ll help you fix it when I get back.’

‘Glorified plumbers,’ said Megan from the stairs. ‘That’s all these submarine guys are, glorified plumbers. Give them a wrench and they’re happy.’

Toby, Bill and Lars all stared at her. ‘Have fun,’ she said, reddening, and she turned and hurried back up the stairs.

‘You know,’ said Bill to Toby with a sigh. ‘My daughter really should engage brain before mouth. But that’s just an engineer talking.’