“What nationality are the two kidnappers?”
“They’re just hired help from Eastern Europe. The connection between them and Brendan Dowell hasn’t been established yet … but I wouldn’t get excited about that.”
“Will you let me know the second that they find Brendan?”
“Will you phone me straight after you crash the meeting … please?” He was speaking slowly and precisely.
The call ended, and she ordered another pot of coffee.
When it arrived, she reflected on Leonard’s call. He was so easy to underestimate. He suckered you in with his, well, with his what? Faux incompetence? Personal idiosyncrasies? Political incorrectness? All of the above? He wasn’t head of station for the CIA and chair of Five Eyes for nothing. He had done the hard yards, as he might say, although he now looked like he couldn’t walk five yards. The more she thought about it, he rarely spoke about his past, so she had no idea if he had ever been fit. She doubted it. He did have a framed basketball shirt on his office wall; what did that mean?
Her thoughts returned to her task today. How was she going to play it?
He either turned up or he didn’t.
If it was the former, she couldn’t barge into his meeting, as that might put Randy in jeopardy. After all, she had no idea who Aksil Zadi was or whom he might be working for. He might genuinely work for the harbour or fishing authorities, but this could well be a front, and she hadn’t found one picture of him or any meaningful specific reference. And why Essaouira? This was bugging her. Why come three hours west of Marrakech to a fishing port and tourist destination? Her best guess was that it had something to do with its import or export facilities. What was being imported? Was it from elsewhere in Africa or from the Canary Islands, which were only sixty miles out to sea?
Her mind went back to Aksil Zadi. She needed to intercept Randy as he walked from his car, house or hotel towards the port office. It wouldn’t take long. She needed to say that Leonard wanted him to stop what he was doing and ring Leonard, and on a personal level, she wanted to ask Randy to phone her later when this madness was over. If she achieved this, she could retreat into the background and get back to Spain and her other problem.
This reminded her that she needed to phone Charles to let him know that Brendan was on the loose. She needed to call Wazz as well.
The coffee was black and coated her teeth. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and picked up her phone. Five hundred miles to the northeast, a phone rang in the villa.
“Mike,” Charles said, “how are you?”
“Well, thank you. How are you all doing?”
“Everyone is going stir crazy – by which I really mean Maria and Angelica.”
“Have you heard from the police?”
“No, and I haven’t had any further calls from the kidnappers.”
“I hear that your cook and her daughter are safe. They were rescued by police this morning. Two of the kidnappers were shot during the operation, but I wanted to warn you that Brendan – or whatever name he uses – wasn’t there.”
“That’s great news about Gabriela and Camila. So, we can all relax?”
“No, Charles, I think it’s the opposite. You all need to be on higher alert. Brendan knows you’re all in Spain, and you still have whatever it is he wants. Have you had any more ideas about what Johnny had on that memory card? Especially about anything other than PEGASUS.”
“It could be anything. It might be stuff unconnected to me that the blackmailer thinks I know about. I’m in an impossible situation. My name is written all over the business card, but I don’t know what Johnny loaded on to it.”
“So, you need to stay vigilant.”
“This can’t go on indefinitely. I – we – all have things we should be doing.”
“Well, if I were you, I would be spending my time trying to work out what could be on that card other than PEGASUS that has so preoccupied the Moroccans or Russians or whoever.”
Charles made a sort of grunting noise, and they ended the call.
Mike picked up her coffee cup, realised it was cold and put it back down on the table. She dialled Wazz’s number.
“Wazz up?” he answered.
It was good to hear his voice. She couldn’t stop herself smiling. “Not much here, yet. Wazz up at your end? All quiet on the western front?”
“It appears to be. No more really suspicious stuff happening, and I have some good people helping me out.”
Mike updated him on the UK police operation and explained that Brendan’s whereabouts were unknown.
“Now that he doesn’t have anything to bargain with, I hope this Brendan goes away.” Wazz was sounding hopeful.
“Sadly, I think not. He’s not a deranged individual or part of a criminal gang. He’s just the front end of a very big organisation or country. If he’s removed, the next one will step up to the plate.”
“Charles did have one visitor who caused a bit of excitement in an otherwise dull day.”
“Who was it?”
“I don’t know. Charles isn’t very forthcoming—”
“Tell me about it,” Mike interrupted, “Who do you think it was?”
“I don’t know, but his security was French.”
“What security?”
“He turned up in a chauffeur-driven white Mercedes followed by three French apes, and I mean apes – it takes one to know one.”
“He had three French bodyguards?”
