Counterstroke

From one of the founding members of the Crime Writers' Association

Life hadn''t held much except the bottle for Robert Farran in the months since his beloved wife had died. Though a once-celebrated actor and impersonator, he didn''t even have a career any more.

Then terrorists kidnapped the young wife of a politician and demanded as ransom the release of one of their number serving a life sentence for killing a security guard. The politician, a wealthy man, offered a quarter of a million as ransom. The gang said they weren''t interested, but Robert Farran was.

Suppose he impersonated the gaoled terrorist long enough to ensure the kidnap victim''s release, couldn''t he be paid the money offered to the terrorists? It was risky - but the prospect of a fortune was tempting, and he had nothing to lose but his life.

Could he manage to convince the politician, the police and the Government that his ploy was worth trying? Could he impersonate a man he did not know well enough to fool those who knew him intimately? Farran was prepared to try, but somewhere along the line things went wrong. He still had his life to lose but he no longer stood to gain a fortune.