Entry #57

Red with Wine
by Four Dinners


Percy Braithwaite worked for The British Intelligence Service. He put aside his latest report to read one recently received.

“Extraordinary thing!” exclaimed Percy putting down his glass of red wine.

“What is dear?” asked his wife Mildred disinterestedly

“The commies dear. They’ve knocked off an old KGB defector with poisoned wine. Says so right here in black and white in this report. Good chap. He gave me a lot of very damaging information when he first came over. Poor old Andre”

“Really?” mumbled his wife gazing out of the living room window.

“Yes really. Apparently they injected the poison through the cork”

Percy was a very successful high ranking officer in British Intelligence. He had been singularly responsible for unmasking over a dozen enemy agents.

“Wedding Anniversary tomorrow dear” said Percy with a sigh leaning back in his chair, “40 years eh old girl?.” He sipped his wine contentedly.

He never felt the baseball bat hit him around the head. He slumped dead with his bloodied head on the table. The blood mixed with the spilt wine.

“Chateaux Percy” smiled Mildred, “a very deep and fruity red”

Four hours later, Mildred Braithwaite, soon to be known for the first time in forty one years as Natalia Schevchenko, boarded an aeroplane at Heathrow bound for Moscow.

‘I do not consider ‘sleepers’ a genuine or even likely risk’ read Percy’s unfinished report.