Read The Rest is Silence (Billy Boyle World War II Mystery) for Free Online Page B

out Meredith. “We’ve recently returned from India. I was in the civil service there, and I’m looking for a position now. Meredith wished to visit her father, and Sir Rupert was so kind as to invite us to stay for a while.”
    “I’m sure the Foreign Office needs people with experience in that part of the world,” I said.
    “Edgar’s already been to the Foreign Office, haven’t you, dear?” Meredith said, gliding in between us. “Any joy?” I was pretty sure she knew the answer.
    “Nothing yet, no.” Edgar met her eyes dead on. A challenge?
    “Did you enjoy India?” I asked Meredith, feeling uncomfortable with their exchange.
    “I loved it,” she said, clasping her hand on Edgar’s arm as if there was no discord between them. “Father was with the civil service in the Raj as well, for eighteen years. I was practically raised there. I adore India, except for that creature Gandhi and the India National Congress.”
    “They’re for independence from England,” Edgar explained, catching the blank look on my face. I knew who Gandhi was; he was famous enough. But Indian politics was not my strong suit.
    “And for the Japanese as well,” Meredith said. “Some of them in the National Congress, anyway.”
    “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Kaz said.
    “What? Oh, of course,” Meredith said. “Still, I don’t see why they should look upon us as the enemy. So many Indian soldiers are fighting the Germans in Italy, aren’t they?”
    “How long were you there this time?” I asked Meredith, trying to turn the conversation away from British imperialism. As a good Irishman, I was bound to say something unpleasant before long, and I was a guest here.
    “Only two years,” Meredith said, with a hooded stare in Edgar’s direction.
    “Sorry I’m late,” David said from the doorway, a well-timed distraction. “Helen will be down shortly.”
    “David, the baron and Billy are absolutely delightful. I’m so glad you invited them,” Meredith said, smiling in David’s direction. She didn’t avoid looking at him, and Edgar served up a drink in no time. I was glad to see David readily accepted. The English are rightly famous for their stiff upper lips, but they also tend to hide the occasional inconvenient truth. David’s face was a truth that some families, in their comfortable libraries on their country estates, might prefer to keep locked away. Or maybe my Irish was up, and I was being uncharitable to the whole race.
    “Yes, I’m glad it worked out,” David said. “It would be a shame to lose contact with old university friends, wouldn’t it?”
    “I agree,” Edgar said. “I still correspond with several. You read modern languages at Oxford, if I recall. Which college?”
    “Balliol,” Kaz said. “A fascinating experience, with students from many nations.
    “Yes,” David said. “That was when there was still hope for a Europe without war. I thought understanding language would be a key to understanding people. Instead, we’re learning to kill one another. But at least Piotr can put his knowledge to good use these days. Translation, isn’t that what you do at SHAEF?”
    “It was,” Kaz said, and sipped his whiskey and soda.
    “We work in the Office of Special Investigations,” I said. Why not give Kaz a boost in the eyes of his pal?
    “Investigating what?” Edgar asked.
    “Whatever they tell us to,” Kaz said. “We cannot say much more, unfortunately.”
    “Sorry, Piotr,” David said. “I should have known you didn’t earn that scar translating German.”
    “Are you spies?” Meredith asked, a hint of mischief in her voice. Or was she adroitly moving the conversation away from the subject of facial injuries?
    “Glorified policemen would be closer to the mark,” I said. “I was a detective in Boston before the war.”
    “Piotr!” David exclaimed. “A copper? Who would have thought?” Kaz smiled as his friend clapped him on the shoulder.
    “David, please don’t