The Loner by Rachel Ennis Page A

in action, which was probably just as well.

Chapter Nine
    Letting herself into her cottage after a brisk walk that had loosened her up, Jess breathed in the scents of cut wood and fabric conditioner. Home.
    She made up the fire, washed her hands, put on an apron, and took out the ingredients for saffron buns, smiling as she thought of Tom.
    While the buns were rising she washed up and did a few other jobs. Once the trays were in the oven she set the timer, opened her laptop, and typed Mark Edward Kirby with his date of birth into the browser.
    She felt her eyes widen as she read. Searches in newspaper archives brought up lurid headlines and scathing articles. She compared the press photos of the clean-shaven Royal Navy submarine officer and her memories of John Preece – bearded, with long, bushy, grey hair, and a deeply lined and weathered face. A man who avoided eye contact and spoke only when circumstances demanded.
    Even allowing for the twenty-five years difference she couldn’t be sure. Was it the same man?
    Tom piled their dirty plates together and took them to the draining board. ‘Come on then,’ he said over his shoulder. ‘What did you find?’
    Jess opened her laptop and brought up the page she had bookmarked. ‘After a court martial, Lieutenant Mark Kirby was dismissed from the Navy and served time in prison convicted of gross negligence that resulted in the deaths of three crewmen and life-changing injuries to several more.’
    â€˜ What? ’
    â€˜Here,’ Jess turned her laptop. ‘See for yourself.’
    â€˜I aren’t doubting you, Jess. It’s just – dear life! If that is him, no wonder he changed his name.’
    Jess opened another page. ‘I’ve cut and pasted bits from several papers to get all the details.’
    â€˜â€™Course you have. What do it say?’
    â€˜The submarine was on its way to a rendezvous point to take part in an exercise. But due to technical problems it was already behind schedule. With the captain confined to his cabin with gastric ’flu, Lieutenant Kirby, 36, had worked extra hours and at the time of the incident was officer of the watch. Already under stress because of marriage problems, he had taken Benzedrine to help him stay awake and alert.’
    Jess broke off as the kettle boiled.
    â€˜I’ll get it.’ Tom shook his head. ‘Any one of those things would have been bad enough. But all coming at once? It’s like the perfect storm.’ He opened the fridge for milk. ‘Tea?’
    â€˜Please.’ When he had set the mugs on the table and resumed his seat, she continued reading. ‘Under pressure to arrive on time for the planned operations, he ordered a new route plotted that would cut five miles off the original. He also ordered the sub to dive deeper because colder water would allow it to travel faster. But the seabed in that area was rocky and uneven.’ Jess’s throat was dry and she paused to swallow a mouthful of tea. ‘The submarine collided with an underwater pinnacle.’
    â€˜What? How hadn’t he seen it on the charts?’ Tom demanded.
    â€˜Because it wasn’t marked. During his trial it came out that several of these pinnacles were highlighted on more recent charts. But because these hadn’t yet been approved, he didn’t use them to check the new route.’
    â€˜Dear life!’ Tom muttered in shock. ‘Didn’t the Admiralty think it was urgent?’
    â€˜You took the words out of my head. But if he’d kept to the original route he wouldn’t have gone near them. Do you want to hear the rest?’
    â€˜Yes. Sorry. Go on.’
    â€˜The shock of the grounding led to a reactor shut-down and water for the emergency cooling system had to be drawn from the ballast tanks. In the galley the cook was badly scalded and died before he could be taken to hospital. The hull was breached and three internal