‘Did he say whether he had acted on it?’
‘I asked him if he wanted me to do that, but he told me that the Aeron people had been instructed to talk to him, tell him that we knew who he was and to stop being bloody silly. That alarmed me a little; I asked if they would do anything physical, but Boras just laughed, a rarity for him, and said that he wasn’t worth it.’
‘Did you believe him?’
‘Yes, I did. As it happened, Ballester was all over the press himself just a little later, after coming spectacularly unstuck by doing a piece on Diana, on the basis of bogus evidence that he fell for.’
‘Then three years on, you find out he had moved on from that setback to get onside with Zrinka.’
Barker nodded. ‘As soon as I saw the image you released, I knew who he was.’
‘When did you see it?’
‘In
‘What did you do?’
‘The obvious. I took the newspaper straight into Boras’s office, but he’d already seen it. I said to him, “You know who this is, don’t you?” and he nodded. I said that Aeron obviously hadn’t been persuasive enough. He replied, “Maybe they’ll be more efficient this time.” I warned him not to cross the police, but he told me not to worry. Then he took out the folder he’d shown me three years ago and shredded it before my eyes.’
‘Did he say any more than that?’
‘Yes, he did. Frankly, I was shitting myself by this time. I asked him point-blank what orders he had given the people at Aeron. He promised me that they had instructions to trace Ballester and report back to him, no more than that. When they did, he would hand everything over to you.’
‘Did you believe him?’
‘I honestly can’t say. But if Aeron are the sort of people who are prepared to go all the way, my guess is that either the man will disappear and they’ll report failure or that he’ll have some sort of an accident.’
‘How did your discussion end?’
‘Effectively, Davor fired me. He said that he felt I was becoming too anxious about events to continue to perform on his behalf in the City, and that he needed to make a change. He told me what my severance terms would be and promised me another half-million in an offshore account in two years if I stuck to the confidentiality agreement that he would ask me to sign. I accepted dismissal, since that was in my financial interest, and we agreed that I would leave that afternoon.’ He smiled weakly at the three detectives. ‘I had my fucking jacket on when Inspector Stallings arrived to arrest me.’
Steele leaned back in his chair. ‘That’s the whole story?’
‘The part that concerns me.’
‘Okay, Keith.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Interview terminated at twelve fifty-seven.’ He switched off the recorder, removed the disks, pocketed one and handed the other to Hamilton. ‘You can negotiate the terms of your client’s bail now,’ he told the lawyer.
‘I’m not sure I want to be bailed,’ Barker murmured.
‘Don’t worry,’ Stallings told him. ‘We’ll look after you. If Boras does something silly, Scotland may need you as a witness.’
‘Shit!’
‘Hopefully, we’ll put a lid on it before then,’ said Steele. ‘Our next port of call has to be Aeron Security. It’s time they were told that they ain’t a private police force.’
Fifty-six
‘There’s them and us, you know, Griff,’ said Tarvil Singh. ‘There’s the DI and Ray off swanning in London, and you and me holding the fort here, sifting bloody interviews and chasing up sightings of Padstow all over bloody Scotland.’
‘Yes, but on overtime, remember, unlimited on this job.’
‘Maybe we should take our time catching him, then.’
‘Don’t let the bosses hear you saying that, pal. Anyway, if you weren’t here, what would you be doing this afternoon?’
‘Shoving a trolley round Safeway,’ Singh admitted.
‘Where?’
‘Sa . . . Ah, sorry, I forgot you’re new in Scotland. Round Morrison’s, I should have said. The name changed a few years back. The trolleys are still the same, though. What about you, what would you be up to? Battering some poor sod around a rugby field, I suppose.’
‘Nah, the season’s over. I’d probably have bumped my trolley into yours.’
‘And who are you shopping with these days?’
‘My sister,’ Montell replied, ‘so don’t get any funny ideas. By the way, I don’t think London will be a swan for those two. Interviewing somebody else’s prisoner is never easy, especially when two investigations run across each other.’
‘You sound like you’ve had experience.’
‘I have, back home in the South African Police Service.’
‘What did you do there?’
‘Detective service; serious crime division, including organised crime.’
‘Heavy?’
‘Believe it. Wilding would not be so laid-back there, I’ll tell you.’
‘Ray would be laid-back anywhere. He and the DI flew down together, but they’re on open tickets. I will bet you a nice chicken Balti that he winds up persuading the boss to let him stay over in London till tomorrow.’
‘Deal. If you’re right, bring your wife and we’ll make it a foursome.’
‘With you and your sister?’
‘Maybe.’ As he spoke, the phone rang. ‘Thank Christ,’ he said, ‘I was beginning to think that Padstow had been caught and nobody’d told us.’ He snatched the phone from its cradle. ‘Montell.’
‘Griff,’ came a tired voice, ‘it’s Willie at the front desk. I’ve got a guy here wants to talk to the DI or whoever’s in charge in CID in his absence. Do you and the big fella want to toss for it?’
‘What does he have for us?’
‘He won’t say. He just wants to talk to somebody, and he doesnae look like he’s going to take no for an answer.’
‘How would he feel about “fuck off”?’ The South African chuckled. ‘I’m kidding, Willie. What’s his name?’
‘David Barnes.’
‘Barnes, you say. What’s his connection?’
‘Hey,’ Singh called to him. ‘First name David?’ Montell nodded. ‘He’s Zrinka’s brother; that’s the name he took after he set up his own business.’
‘In that case he’s responding to an e-mail the DI had me send to him. Willie, show Mr Barnes into a vacant interview room, give him a cup of coffee and tell him we’ll join him in a couple of minutes.’
‘Will do, Griff.’
The detective constable hung up. ‘We see him together, Tarvil, okay?’
‘Shouldn’t we get somebody senior in?’
‘Like who?’
‘DCS McGuire? He lives not far from here.’
‘And he’s probably on the golf course, or whatever he does at the weekend. Do you ever want to make sergeant? You don’t do it by shirking responsibility. We’ll call McGuire if it becomes necessary, but only then. Look, I’ll see him on my own, if you don’t want to come.’
‘No, I’ll chum you. Why go downstairs, though? Why not just bring him upstairs?’
‘With photographs of his dead sister and her boyfriend pinned to the whiteboard, and him half-eaten by foxes?’
‘True,’ Singh conceded grimly. ‘I’ll put the phones on divert to Willie. Let’s go.’
The two detectives jogged downstairs to the public entrance. ‘Room two,’ said the desk sergeant. Montell
