late, yet there was no spectacular show of strength. If Short Circuit had struck, he’d destroyed one house and one elderly life.
To Jordan, it seemed pathetic and pointless. But he remembered Short Circuit’s message. He could almost hear the voice announcing that he was going to target some individuals before he
targeted everyone.
Jordan also had his mum’s words of wisdom in his head. “People who fail don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan.” What was Jordan’s plan for catching Short
Circuit? He didn’t really have one. He knew only that he needed more links between Short Circuit’s attacks. The big attacks and the small ones. There had to be a reason for both.
Using his wireless connection to the Unit Red computer, he checked the police records again. The investigating team had put all of the names of the victims from the Quito tragedy alongside the
list of everyone onboard Flight LH6681 from Edinburgh to Heathrow and cross-checked the two files. There were no obvious links, like family or business partners. There were bankers, nurses,
teachers and power company workers on both flights. One person on each flight worked for Apple. Thirteen people on the flight from Ecuador and thirty-seven passengers boarding at Edinburgh lived in
London. All of these possible connections had been investigated and considered insignificant.
But now, Jordan had more names. Short Circuit had warned them that he’d strike in Sudbury, so Victoria Truman was almost certainly one of his victims. Paige Ottaway from Felixstowe could
have been another.
Driving back to London, he contacted Raven on the car’s secure hands-free phone. “I think you should add Victoria Truman to the mix,” he said. “Does the computer come up
with anything now?”
“Okay,” Raven said slowly, as she entered instructions at her terminal. “Hang on. It’s trying... No. There’s nothing obvious. It’ll need more time to look for
anything more subtle. I’ll let you know.”
Jordan overtook a lorry with an easy burst of speed. “Why don’t we throw Paige Ottaway in as well?”
Raven’s voice was clear above the low drone of the engine. “I know Felixstowe’s in that song, but it’s not certain she’s got anything to do with Short
Circuit.”
“Just try it and see, maybe.”
Raven hesitated but, after a split second, she agreed. “All right. If that’s what you want. I’ll get back to you if it turns anything up.”
“Thanks.”
Twenty minutes later, just as Jordan and Kate were going under the M25, Raven returned his call. This time, there was tension in her voice. “The computer’s finished churning through
the data,” she said, “and it could be onto something.”
6 POWER FAILURE
Jordan and Kate returned well after midnight. Even so, Angel called the team together in the bunker. He looked first at Raven. “Okay. Tell us what you’ve
got.”
“We know Victoria Truman’s from Sudbury in Suffolk. Lived there all her life. Phil Lazenby – captain of the Edinburgh flight – lives in Long Melford, on the rare
occasions he’s at home. That’s just up the road from Sudbury. He was born and brought up round the corner in Ipswich. One passenger on the Quito flight came from Woodbridge in the same
area. His name was Carlton Reed.”
“Carlton Reed,” Jordan muttered to himself.
“What is it?” Angel asked.
“I thought I recognized...” Jordan shrugged. “No. It doesn’t matter.”
Raven finished by saying, “And there’s Paige Ottaway – the one who died in hospital at the end of January. She lived just outside Felixstowe, Suffolk.”
“We can’t put her down as a certain Short Circuit casualty, can we?” Angel replied.
“No,” Raven admitted.
“But there’s still a Suffolk connection,” Jordan said.
Angel nodded slowly. He wasn’t agreeing. He was thinking. “It would mean we’re prepared to believe Short Circuit brought down an entire plane to kill one man from Suffolk: