"Higgins, Jack - Violent Enemy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Higgins Jack)

'He led them in.' Vanbrugh opened the file. 'It's all here. He spent most of his early life in France and Germany. His father was in the Irish political service. He was a student at Trinity College, Dublin, when he was wounded and caught during a weekend raid over the Ulster border. That would be just before the war.'

'What did he get?'

'Seven years. He was released in 1941 at the request of the Special Operations Executive because of his fluency in French and German. That's when I first came across

him. I was working for them myself at the time. He was given the usual training and dropped into France to organize the Maquis in the Vosges Mountains. He did damned well, saw the war out, told them what to do with their medals and demobbed himself the moment it was over.'

'What did he do then?'

'Got up to his old tricks. Five years at Belfast in 1947. They let him off lightly because of his war record. Not thai it made any difference. He escaped within a year.' Vanbrugh grinned wryly. 'He made a habit of that. Parkhurst in '56, but never got off the island. Peterhead the following year. Three days on foot across the moor, then the dogs ran him down.'

'Which explains why he was finally sent here?'

'That's it. Maximum security. No possibility of escape.' Vanbrugh started to fill his pipe again. 'If you examine the file you'll find a confidential entry at the back. It refers to an incident the Commissioners prefer to keep quiet about. In July 1960 Sean Rogan was picked up in the early hours of the morning crossing the field at the rear of the officers' quarters."

Dwyer frowned. 'Isn't that outside the wall?'

Vanbrugh nodded. 'The principal officer had been playing cards late at another house. He had his Alsatian with him and on the way home, it picked up Rogan's scent.'

'But how did he get out?'

'He wouldn't say. The Commissioners wanted it kept out of the press so the enquiry was very hush-hush. It was finally decided that he must have hidden himself in a car or truck on its way out.'

'At that time in the morning?'

'Don't worry. No one really accepted that one. They had him on maximum security for a couple of years after that. When the Governor finally made things a little easier for him, Rogan told him that it didn't matter because he wasn't going to try again. He said that getting

out was easy. It was getting anywhere without help once you were out that was difficult. I think he decided to sweat out his sentence and hope for remission.'

'Which is what he's just applied for?'

Vanbrugh nodded. 'When the I.R.A.. called off its border campaign in Ulster recently it just about went into liquidation. Most of its members serving sentences in English gaols have since been released. In fact the Home Office has been under considerable pressure to release them all.'

'And what's the answer on Rogan?'

'They're still frightened to death of him. Now I've got to tell him he's still got five years to serve.'

'Why you, sir?'

Vanbrugh shrugged. 'We worked together during the war. Since then, I've arrested him on three separate occasions. You might say I'm the Yard's Rogan expert.'

He walked to the window and stood looking out into the courtyard. 'England's the only country in the civilized world that doesn't make special provision for political offenders, did you know that, Sergeant?'

'I hadn't really given it much thought, sir.'

'You should do, Sergeant. You should do.'

The door opened and the Governor came in quickly. 'They're bringing him up now.' He sat down behind his desk and grinned tightly. T really don't have much stomach for this one, Superintendent. I'm glad you're here.'