The Armageddon Conspiracy by Mike Hockney Read Free Book Online Page A

violet.
    Swallowing hard, Vernon
flicked through the rest of the material. The file stated that Lucy
was in a care home, on the outskirts of Glastonbury, for the
recuperation of Catholics who’d suffered from mental breakdowns. Care home? Judging by the photos, it was some spooky old
convent. Our Lady of Perpetual
Succour it was called. You’d know you were
in big trouble if you ever ended up in a place with a name like
that.
    With Glastonbury being one of the most
famous locations in southwest England, frequently linked to
mystical forces, Vernon wondered if Lucy was the true reason the
Delta Force deserters were in that part of the country, or if
Glastonbury itself was the key. It seemed a bizarre proposition
that soldiers would have any interest in Lucy, especially given her
mental state.
    It was eighteen months since they broke
up. When her mother died from breast cancer, Lucy hadn’t coped. She
threw herself into her work. The more he tried to comfort her, she
more she pushed him away. Finally, she sent him a letter saying she
didn’t want to see him again. No reasons given. It was the coldest
thing he’d ever read, and inconceivable that Lucy had written it. She never answered his calls, and didn’t reply to any of his
e-mails and letters.
    On the rebound, Vernon met the Swedish
nurse who became his wife, and he tried to put Lucy out of his mind
for good. Deep down, he never stopped thinking about her. It was
such a struggle to pretend that his wife was the great love of his
life when she could never hope to displace Lucy.
    Anna was blonde and not in the least
cerebral; the opposite of Lucy. That was why he chose her, of
course. He couldn’t blame her for going back to Sweden. Their
relationship began sliding from the moment she announced she was
pregnant, weeks after they started seeing each other. He did the
honourable thing and married her, but now he wondered where the
honour was in making two people miserable. What would be the effect
on baby Louise? Nothing healthy, that was for sure. She was a
gorgeous little thing and he loved every moment he spent with her,
but she was better off with her mum. Out of sight out of mind, he
thought. But that wasn’t the case with Lucy. It still hadn’t sunk
in. Lucy in a loony bin?
    Gresnick passed over another folder. ‘The DIA have produced a detailed file on Lucy,’ he said. ‘We’re
trying to find some reason why Delta Force deserters would be
targeting her. During our researches, your name cropped up, which
is why I’ve asked to see you. So far, the best we’ve been able to
come up with is connected with the fact that the two deserters we
caught last night were studying old manuscripts concerning the Holy
Grail.’
    Vernon nodded. A couple
of years ago, Lucy published The Unholy
Grail: The Secret Heresy , a controversial
analysis of the Grail legend, claiming it was a coded reference to
heretical rituals. Initiates would understand what the Grail story
was really saying, she argued, while non-initiates would think it
was simply an exciting tale. Because the story was dressed up to
make it look superficially consistent with orthodox Christianity,
the Catholic Church never banned it, though they were always
uncomfortable with it. So, the Grail legend allowed heretical
beliefs to be safely distributed across Europe.
    A book published in
1920 inspired many of Lucy’s ideas. From
Ritual to Romance by Jessie Weston was, in
its day, both highly influential and much derided. Lucy’s book
suffered the derision part of the equation, but, unlike Weston
who’d enjoyed admirers of the calibre of T.S. Eliot, Lucy didn’t
have any supporters.
    ‘ I know it’s a lot to
take in,’ Gresnick said, ‘but I’m afraid there’s more. I think we
ought to let you see the two prisoners now.’
    Vernon stood up, expecting to leave the
room.
    ‘ Oh, we’re not going
anywhere,’ Gresnick said. ‘I want to show you the video footage we
took when the prisoners were brought