Button’s eyes flashed. ‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘We owe him our protection. This is the end phase and he has to go into it with a clear head.’
‘So we lie to him?’
‘If that’s what it takes, yes.’ She put a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. ‘It’s for his own safety. You can see that, can’t you?’
‘Sure, of course. But I don’t like the idea of lying to him, not after everything he’s done for us.’
‘In a few hours this will all be over, Spider. And when it is you can tell him everything. But, until then, Harvey stays under wraps and Raj isn’t to know.’
‘She’s under,’ said the doctor, picking up his case. ‘Make sure her airway stays clear.’
‘Take her down, then,’ Button said to the paramedics.
‘What’s going to happen to her?’ asked Shepherd.
‘We’ll take her to Thames House for questioning,’ said Button. ‘A lot depends on who she is and who else wants her.’
‘The Americans?’
‘We’ll see,’ said Button. ‘The important thing right now is that she’s isolated.’
The two paramedics rolled her on to the stretcher, lifted her up and carried her out.
‘I’ll see you back at the ranch,’ the doctor said to Button and she smiled.
‘Thanks again, Will. You’re a godsend.’
‘So where do you want me?’ asked Shepherd.
‘Thames House, same as last time,’ said Button. ‘But first you’re going to have to check on Raj.’
‘And what do I tell him about Harvey?’
‘Tell him that as soon as we know where Harvey is, he’ll know.’
Shepherd sighed. ‘I really hate having to lie to him.’
‘It comes with the job, Spider.’
‘Have you ever lied to me, Charlie?’
She shook her head. ‘No. But then I’ve never had to.’
Abney Park Cemetery was more than just a piece of ground where corpses were buried, though there were some very famous people rotting in the ground, including William and Catherine Booth, the founders of the Salvation Army. It was a local nature reserve and park as well, a place where lovers walked arm in arm and spinsters exercised their dogs. It was also a pretty good place for a clandestine meeting with its twisted pathways, tangled vegetation and ivy-covered monuments and gravestones. Shepherd had made a point of never meeting Chaudhry and Malik on their home turf but today was different. There were only hours to go and Chaudhry needed hand- holding like he’d never needed it before.
The park was a short walk from the flat and Chaudhry reached it first. He waited just inside the gate, his duffel coat buttoned up to the neck and the hood up. Shepherd arrived in his Volvo and managed to find a parking space close to the entrance. As he walked in he saw Chaudhry but ignored him and walked towards the centre of the graveyard down a tree-lined path. Left and right were gravestones so old that time had obliterated most of the carved lettering, though various shapes were still discernible: urns draped in flowers, crosses, angels, wreaths. As the path turned to the right and they were no longer visible from the entrance, Shepherd slowed and Chaudhry fell into step next to him.
‘I thought you said we should never meet in Stokie,’ said Chaudhry.
‘Yeah, well, the best laid plans of mice and men and all that,’ said Shepherd. ‘As a rule the handler should stay well away from the agent’s turf, but the rule book’s been torn up today.’
‘Harvey’s phone is still off. What do I do?’
‘You go ahead without him.’
‘Did you get the text message from his phone?’
It was a good question, Shepherd knew. A good question and an obvious one and if he answered truthfully it would be followed by a host of other good and obvious questions. Did Shepherd go to the address? Did he go inside? Was Harvey there? Was the girl? At some point he was going to have to start lying and the big question was: when?
‘Yeah, it was a flat in Finsbury Park.’
‘And?’
Not a question, just an invitation to supply more information. Shepherd sighed and then cursed under his breath.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Chaudhry.
They walked past a stone angel, its hands clasped in prayer. It wasn’t lying that Shepherd found difficult. He was a good liar, and he knew exactly what he had to do. He had to look Chaudhry in the eye and tell him that he had been round to the flat and it had been empty. There had been no sign of Malik and no sign of the girl. The police were looking for them now and as soon as Shepherd knew where Malik was, Chaudhry would know too. It was a simple lie, easy to tell and easy to back up.
‘I went to the flat,’ said Shepherd. ‘He was there.’
‘What?’
‘The girl he’d gone to see was with two other guys and they were torturing him.’
Chaudhry stopped and turned to face Shepherd. He put his hands on Shepherd’s shoulders and moved his face so that it was just inches from Shepherd’s. ‘Are you serious?’ he hissed.
Shepherd nodded. ‘Yes. He’s in hospital. He’s in a bad way but he’ll be okay.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me right away? Which hospital?’
‘I don’t know. I didn’t ask. But he’s going to be fine.’
Chaudhry let go of Shepherd’s shoulders, walked away and then stopped. He whirled round and pointed a finger at Shepherd’s face. ‘You’re playing me. Handling me — that’s what you called it.’
‘No, Raj. If I was handling you I’d have lied and said that everything was okay. But I told you I would never lie to you and I’m sticking to that.’
Chaudhry put his hands up to his head and covered his ears as if he didn’t want to listen to anything that Shepherd had to say. ‘I don’t believe this,’ he said. ‘This can’t be happening.’ He walked away and again turned back after a couple of steps. ‘Who?’ he said. ‘Who tortured him?’
‘We haven’t identified them yet. The woman is presumably the one who sent him the text. They’re all Asians.’
‘Do you think Khalid is behind this?’
‘Probably not. If he was why would he take just Harvey? And why would he call you this morning and tell you both to get ready?’
‘So who, then?’
Shepherd held up his hands. ‘I don’t know, Raj. If I did I’d tell you.’
Chaudhry frowned and began pacing up and down. ‘Is it about The Sheik? Is it al-Qaeda? If it was al-Qaeda why did they take Harvey and not me?’ He stopped pacing. There was a wild look in his eyes and his hands were shaking. Shepherd recognised the symptoms. Shock. Stress. Fear. ‘Maybe they are coming for me. Maybe when they come to pick me up they’ll torture me.’ He walked back to Shepherd and stared at him. ‘You’ve got to pull me out now. And my family. We need protection. What do you call it? Witness protection?’
‘No one’s saying you need protection, Raj.’
‘The fact that Harvey’s in hospital suggests that I do,’ said Chaudhry. ‘If Harvey had been protected he wouldn’t have been tortured would he?’
‘We’ve got the people who were hurting him.’
‘Hurting him? They were going to kill him. And then they would have gone after me.’
‘Raj, they’re out of the picture.’ Shepherd wasn’t going to lie to Chaudhry but he didn’t think it would be a good idea to tell him that he’d personally shot and killed the two men.
‘But what if there are more of them? What if they weren’t alone?’ Chaudhry began pacing again. Shepherd watched and waited for him to calm down. Adrenaline would be coursing through his system and it would take time for it to work its way out.
‘You’ve got to get me and Harvey out of this,’ said Chaudhry.
‘Harvey’s out already,’ said Shepherd. ‘He’s been taken care of. The woman is being questioned so we’ll find
