The Sins of the Father (The Clifton Chronicles 2)

As the months passed, Harry began to accept the fact that prison life was mostly routine and mundane, so when the warden charged into the library one morning brandishing his copy of the New York Times he was taken by surprise. Harry put down the stack of books he had been replacing on the shelves.

'Do we have a map of the United States?' Swanson demanded.

'Yes, of course,' Harry replied. He walked quickly over to the reference section and extracted a copy of Hubert's Map of America. 'Anywhere in particular, warden?' he asked.

'Pearl Harbor.'

For the next twenty-four hours, there was only one subject on everyone's lips, prisoners and guards alike. When would America enter the war?

Swanson returned to the library the following morning.

'President Roosevelt has just announced on the radio that the United States has declared war on Japan.'

'That's all very well,' said Harry, 'but when will the Americans help us defeat Hitler?'

Harry regretted the word 'us' the moment he'd uttered it. He looked up to find Swanson staring at him quizzically, and quickly returned to shelving the previous day's books.

Harry found out the answer some weeks later, when Winston Churchill boarded the Queen Mary and sailed to Washington to conduct discussions with the President. By the time the Prime Minister had arrived back in Britain, Roosevelt had agreed that the United States would turn their attention to the war in Europe, and the task of defeating Nazi Germany.

Harry filled page after page of his diary with the reaction of his fellow prisoners to the news that their country was at war. He concluded that most of them fell into one of two distinct categories, the cowards and the heroes: those who were relieved to be safely locked up in jail, and only hoped the hostilities would be over long before they were released, and those who couldn't wait to get out and take on an enemy they hated even more than the prison guards. When Harry asked his cellmate which category he fell into, Quinn replied, 'Have you ever met an Irishman who didn't relish a scrap?'

For his part, Harry became even more frustrated, convinced that now the Americans had entered the war, it would be over long before he'd been given the chance to play his part. For the first time since being locked up, he thought about trying to escape.

The Sins of the Father

Harry had just finished reading a book review in the New York Times when an officer marched into the library and said, 'The warden wants to see you in his office immediately, Bradshaw.'

Harry wasn't surprised, although after glancing once again at the advertisement at the bottom of the page, he still wondered how Lloyd imagined he would get away with it. He folded the paper neatly, placed it back in the rack, and followed the officer out of the room.

'Any idea why he wants to see me, Mr Joyce?' Harry asked as they walked across the yard.

'Don't ask me,' said Joyce, not attempting to hide his sarcasm. 'I've never been one of the warden's confidants.'

Harry didn't speak again until they were standing outside the warden's office. Joyce gave a quiet tap on the door.

'Enter,' said an unmistakable voice. Joyce opened the door, and Harry walked into the room. He was surprised to find another man he'd never seen before seated opposite the warden. The man was wearing an army officer's uniform, and looked as smart as Harry felt unkempt. He never took his eyes off the prisoner.

The warden rose from behind his desk. 'Good morning, Tom.' It was the first time Swanson had addressed him by his Christian name. 'This is Colonel Cleverdon, of the Fifth Texas Rangers.'

'Good morning, sir,' said Harry.

Cleverdon stood up and shook hands with Harry; another first.

'Have a seat, Tom,' said Swanson. 'The colonel has a proposition he wants to put to you.'

Harry sat down.

'It's good to meet you, Bradshaw,' began Colonel Cleverdon as he sat back down. 'I'm the commanding officer of Rangers.' Harry gave him a quizzical look. 'You won't find us listed in any recruitment manuals. I train groups of soldiers who will be dropped behind enemy lines with the purpose of causing as much mayhem for the enemy as possible, so the infantry will have a better chance to do their job. Nobody knows yet where or when our troops will be landing in Europe, but I'll be among the first to be told, as my boys will be parachuted into the target area a few days before the invasion.'

Harry was sitting on the edge of his seat.

'But before that balloon goes up, I'll be putting together a small specialist unit to prepare for any eventuality. This unit will consist of three groups, each comprising ten men: one captain, one staff sergeant, two corporals and six private soldiers. During the past few weeks I've been in touch with several prison wardens to ask if they had any exceptional men, who they felt might be suited for such an operation. Your name was one of the two put forward by Mr Swanson. Once I checked your record, from when you served in the navy, I had to agree with the warden that you'd be better off in uniform rather than wasting your time in here.'

Harry turned to the warden. 'Thank you, sir, but may I ask who the other person is?'

'Quinn,' said Swanson. 'The two of you have caused me so many problems during the past couple of years, I thought it was the Germans' turn to be subjected to your special brand of subterfuge.' Harry smiled.

'If you decide to join us, Bradshaw,' continued the colonel, 'you will begin an eight-week basic training course immediately, followed by a further six weeks with special operations. Before I go any further, I need to know if the idea appeals to you.'

'When do I start?' said Harry.

The colonel smiled. 'My car's outside in the yard, and I left the engine running.'

'I've already arranged for your civilian clothes to be collected from the stores,' said the warden. 'Obviously we need to keep the reason you've left at such short notice between ourselves. Should anyone ask, I'll say you and Quinn have been transferred to another prison.'

The colonel nodded. 'Any questions, Bradshaw?'

'Has Quinn agreed to join you?' asked Harry.

'He's sitting in the back seat of my car, probably wondering what's taking you so long.'

'But you do know the reason I'm in prison, colonel?'

'Desertion,' said Colonel Cleverdon. 'So I'll have to keep a close eye on you, won't I?' Both men laughed. 'You'll be joining my group as a private soldier, but I can assure you, your past record won't hinder your chances of promotion. However, while we're on that subject, Bradshaw, a change of name might be appropriate, given the circumstances. We wouldn't want some smart-ass in records to get their hands on your navy files and start asking embarrassing questions. Any ideas?'

'Harry Clifton, sir,' he said a little too quickly.

The warden smiled. 'I've always wondered what your real name was.'

EMMA BARRINGTON

1941

14

EMMA WANTED TO LEAVE Kristin's apartment as soon as possible, escape from New York and return to England. Once she was back in Bristol she could grieve alone and devote her life to bringing up Harry's son. But escape wasn't proving to be that easy.

'I'm so sorry,' said Kristin, placing an arm around Emma's shoulders. 'I had no idea you didn't know what had happened to Tom.'