Rhadi gave him a gende push in the back. 'Go in, Harry. Forget about terrorism. This is big-time.'
'It had better be,' he muttered. 'Where are you all from, anyway?'
Zahir ignored the question. 'u want a drink? It's against our religion, but there's plenty here if you want something.'
'I think I will.' It wasn't a mini-bar, either. This was a drinks cabinet, courtesy of the hotel. He poured himself a large single malt while he pondered that remark about religion. He didn't think he'd been invited to a prayer meeting.
Ibrahim had closed the door. Harry took stock. Zahir, the spokesman with the teeth, had to be Mr Big, though not in stature. Ibrahim, silent, built like a water buffalo, was the muscle. The fifth man apparently hadn't turned up yet.
'You were at King's, Canterbury, I believe?' Zahir said out of nowhere.
'Is my old school important?'
'That's true, then? Straight up, as they say?'
'Anyone can check the register.'
'Did you row?'
'No. I was a cricketer. Opened the batting.' Harry refrained from revealing that he opened for the third eleven and ended the season with an average of nine.
'In that case,' Zahir said, 'we wouldn't have met. I coxed the first eight. Eton.'
With the pecking order established, Zahir invited Harry to take a seat. 'Rhadi tells us you're the smoothest con artist in London.'
'Rhadi isn't bad at it himself,' Harry commented.
'You once took one of the big merchant banks for a cool fifty thousand?'
'Three banks together,' Harry said. 'It was a matter of persuading them it was a notional adjustment.'
'And none of them understood what was going on?'
'They still don't'
'Rhadi also tells us you might not be averse to another payday.'
'That depends.'
'Naturally. Have you ever dealt in diamonds?'
'Diamonds?' He twitched and frowned. 'I'm not a diamond man.'
'Don't look so alarmed,' Zahir said. 'No one is asking you to do anything outside your experience.'
'So what's the scam?'
Zahir hesitated. 'This is more than a scam. We're not talking thousands, Mr Tattersall, but hundreds of thousands. We can all retire on the proceeds. But you'll understand that I need your total commitment before I unfold the plan.'
'Before? That's asking a lot. I don't know you. Rhadi is an old friend, but the rest of you . . .'
'Well, it's a good thing some of us aren't familiar to you. You wouldn't want to be getting into bed with a bunch of well-known criminals, would you?' He flashed the enormous teeth.
'You've got a point there.'
'Let's see if we can resolve this. What if you were guaranteed a hundred thousand pounds?'
'A hundred grand? What are you snatching - the Crown Jewels?'
'Better. These are uncut stones. Some of the finest gem-crystals in the world.'
Harry was silent for a while, still cautious. 'It sounds wonderful, but why have you come to me? What am I supposed to do?'
'What you're best at doing, Mr Tattersall. Conning people.'
'Ah, but I know damn all about the diamond industry. I need to understand what I'm talking about.'
'No you don't.'
'Sorry, my friend,' Harry insisted. 'That isn't the way I work. I absolutely refuse to wing it.'
'You're not listening, Mr Tattersall. Your part in this project doesn't involve the diamonds. You don't need to talk about them. In fact, you are expressly forbidden to mention them. You will be a go-between. We require someone who is English, not Arabian, a true-blue English gendeman.'
'That I can do.'
'So you're on the team?'
'Hold on,' Harry said. 'First I want to know the job - and who else you've signed up for this.'
'You know Rhadi, and you've just met Ibrahim and me.'
'I was told there are five.'
'Who told you?' Zahir's eyes flicked to Rhadi. 'The fifth man must remain anonymous for the time being.'
