Straker inhaled with this gloomy summary. ‘What – officially, then – happens now?’
‘A public prosecutor is likely to be appointed.’
‘Before any investigation has taken place, before any evidence has been presented?’
‘This would not be the way in most judicial systems, no. You need to realize something, and very quickly: This is Russia. Anything demanded by the president, or the small band of his inner government circle, pretty much happens.’
‘You think this is being handled by the president?’
McMahon seemed to nod, showing for the first time limited agreement with something that Straker had said. ‘Too early to say, for sure; but things happening this quickly – not to mention the presidential TV address and rapid staging of the memorial service – would seem to point to the involvement of high-ish levels of government.’
‘Does that mean every aspect of this case will be conducted on presidential whim, or are we going to get some sort of identifiable process?’
She didn’t answer the question. ‘I’m not sure of your role here,’ she replied sharply. ‘From the Google search, I wasn’t sure how a colonel in the Marines – with a “hero's” DSO – fitted in with a Formula One team?’
‘Royal Marines,’ Straker replied, ‘and I’m a director of Quartech, Ptarmigan's owner. Mr Quartano asked me to come over and help.’
‘How, though, does a director of Competition Intelligence and Security help? And what even is that? Sounds suspiciously like some sort of girl-talk for industrial espionage to me.’
Straker smiled. ‘We find it pays to be vigilant, in the defence business,’ he said. ‘Some of our new ideas cost huge sums of money to develop. We think there's a fair amount of sense in trying to understand the market – before we commit to a sizeable investment – by finding out whether our competitors might be about to launch a similar product. And then, with the massive cost of R&D, we’re particularly keen people don’t walk off with the ideas we do come up with, at least not without paying for them first. All that requires us to remain alert and think laterally from time to time. Typically, it sees me doing a bit of investigative work.’
‘All sounds pretty underhand.’
‘Tell me, does Brandeis ever use investigators to support a client's position in legal cases and claims?’ he asked.
McMahon fell silent.
Straker couldn’t resist a smile. ‘What I do, then, is no different from what you do. If there is a normal in my role, I tend to get involved when something's gone wrong. Underhand – overhand – we only ever mirror what other people are trying to do to us.’
‘How can any of that help Ptarmigan here – in Moscow?’
‘I’ve no idea, yet. I imagine there’ll be an inquiry into the accident? Or a report on it? And, more than likely, some form of hearing. We might do our cause some good if we can provide our own evidence, particularly if we need to challenge other people's assumptions or claims. Pulling some of that together will probably be my first priority.’
‘In that case, I must warn you not to use your military background for any kind of underhand stuff here – in Russia – colonel.’ For the first time McMahon turned to face him, looking backwards between the front seats of the car. She said: ‘Even upstanding professionals can very quickly find themselves feeling the rough end of the State.’
Straker looked less than convinced.
‘You’ve heard of the Sergei Magnitsky case, I take it?’
‘I’m afraid not, no.’
‘Well, you’d be wise to study it and take heed. Magnitsky was an accountant who had been asked to look into allegations of impropriety at a hedge fund here. Having done so, he declared there had been impropriety, but ended up pointing the finger at Russian government officials. After his accusations of corruption, Magnitsky was arrested in 2008, held without charge for eleven months, denied medical treatment – despite increasingly poor health – and was found dead in his cell in the notorious Butyrka Prison. An autopsy showed he had a ruptured stomach and had suffered a heart attack. Even the Moscow Oversight Commission, in 2009, declared psychological and physical pressure had been exerted upon him.’
‘You’re saying he died because he stood up to the government?’
‘Or was trying to. Magnitsky was attempting to expose criminals who were, in effect, operating at will – because of the corruption among State officials. So be warned, colonel: the Russian system comes down hard on any opinion – particularly evidence – it doesn’t like. I can only advise you to play by the rules: I can only advise you to be careful.’
McMahon was about to speak again when she was distracted by her phone. Answering it, she conversed with the caller in Russian for a few minutes. ‘Bad news, I’m afraid. Your permission to see Ms Sabatino has been refused – put down to her medical condition. She's still unconscious.’
Straker showed some concern.
‘Also,’ added McMahon, ‘it appears your role here is all but redundant anyway. Having already impounded the crash site, we’ve just heard the police are also about to impound what's left of Ms Sabatino's car – on orders from the government.’
‘But we’ll still have the opportunity to examine them both – the site and the car – yes?’
McMahon shook her head. ‘We’ve been told our access will be denied. The prosecutor is expected to appoint an expert to examine everything. The legal case will be based entirely on his findings.’
‘You’re kidding? We’re to be denied all access to the wreckage and crash site?’
McMahon nodded.
‘Who's the expert likely to be?’ Straker asked. ‘Someone at the FIA?’
‘Most probably a Russian.’
‘This country has no history – hardly any credibility – in F1? Who's going to know about this stuff? That would be crazy: Moscow, right now, is full of world-leading motor racing experts – from the sport's international governing body – all here for the Grand Prix, for heaven's sake? How meritocratic or sensible is that?’
McMahon shrugged. ‘The authorities here see Formula One and all its associates as complicit in this disaster. The country is wary of the FIA, particularly of any attempt they might make to try and cover up any of their liabilities.’
‘How paranoid is that?’
‘You’re going to have to get used to this,’ replied McMahon. ‘This is Russia.’
EIGHTEEN
Since the medics had treated the crash victims, and moved the injured and the dead off the grassy bank, all that was left at the crash site were the shattered remnants of Sabatino's car strewn across the hillside. Blue-and-white police tapes still fluttered eerily in the wind, marking out the area of the crime scene. Two armed policemen stood guard, one at the top of the hill and the other at the bottom.
One of them heard the engines in the distance, muffled by the trees.
