‘Believing someone loves you is not the worst crime in the world, Hannah,’ I said.
If Hannah heard me, then she didn’t register it. ‘And all the time there was someone else.’
‘Maybe not.’
I moved to the telephone console and requested a video conference with Sci. After a few moments of blank screen, the dull grey disappeared in a flurry of pixelation to be replaced with the image of Doctor Science sitting in his office.
‘What can I do for you, Dan?’ he asked.
‘Annabelle Weston had a relationship with Jesus Ferdinand…’
‘That’s correct.’
‘Can you check your records and see if he has any surviving relatives?’
‘Sure.’
His hands flashed over his computer keyboards with expert speed.
After a few moments the Doctor turned back to us. ‘His father died some years back and…’ He turned his monitor so we could see it and pressed some keys. A woman’s face filled the screen.
She was in her thirties and had almond-shaped eyes made enormous with kohl in a heart-shaped face. Her skin was the colour of caramel. She wore a scarf that draped loosely around her neck and framed her face.
She was beautiful.
‘His sister – Mary Angela Al-Massri.’
The Doctor clicked on some more keys and the picture was replaced with biographical data. ‘She’s living in England and she’s married to a member of the Palestinian General Delegation to the UK.’
Chapter 100
Sci’s hands flew over his keyboard once more. ‘I just mailed you the data.’
‘Thanks, Sci.’
‘De nada. We’re here twenty-four seven till we get the scientist home.’
A monkey scampered into view and jumped onto his lap. He patted its head affectionately.
He clicked on the keyboard and the screen went blank again. That’s another thing about the Americans that I like. They just hang up on you. No need for goodbyes. There’s a job to be done. Get on with it.
I pulled up the data he had sent. Mary Angela certainly was a striking woman.
‘“Sister of her heart”, Mary Angela said. Her brother was Annabelle’s heart. It was him she loved.’
I scrolled through the data on the screen. ‘The delegation’s based in Hampstead.’
‘Is it an embassy?’ asked Sam.
I shook my head. ‘Kind of. But Palestine isn’t an independent state. So it has the same kind of functions but without any real clout. It basically represents the interests of the PLO and the PNA.’
‘No diplomatic immunity,’ said Del Rio, getting to the heart of the matter.
‘So what do we do?’ asked Suzy.
I scrolled through the data. ‘Mary Angela’s husband – Youssef Saad Al-Massri – he’s a translator working for the delegation.’
‘Translator?’
‘Officially, anyway. Who knows? Could be Hamas.’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Del Rio.
‘Go on,’ I prompted him.
‘The way this whole thing has been conducted. Opportunistic. Reactive. Shifting goalposts as the situation changed.’
‘Yes?’
‘If Hamas are behind this or Palestine Islamic Jihad, or the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade or any of those other groups – then do you really think Hannah would still be sitting here?’ said Del Rio.
I looked across at Hannah, still shell-shocked, closed in on herself, her arms wrapped around her body, and realised that Del Rio had a point. She’d never have been found. Certainly not alive.
‘So we’re not dealing with one of the mainstream outfits?’
Del Rio shook his head.
‘Which is good, right?’ asked Lucy, speaking for the first time.
I looked at her and forced a half-smile, remembering what had happened when freelancers operating out of their area of expertise had kidnapped the girl and her mother before, and lied.
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘It’s good.’
Maybe it was. Maybe there was still time.
I turned back to the monitor and scrolled through the data. ‘Mary Angela’s husband lives out of the city.’
‘Where?’
‘Moor Park. West of London – a small estate between Northwood and Rickmansworth. One of the richest concentrations of real estate in the country.’ The translation game clearly paid more than I would have guessed. ‘They don’t know we’re onto them yet. But they must be figuring it’s a matter of time so I suggest we take the house in Moor Park.’
‘What about the delegation building?’ asked Sam.
‘I don’t see it. Like Del Rio says, this is most likely a freelance op. I’ll call Brad Dexter, though, get a team of boys to stake it out. Check anyone leaving.’
I snatched up the keys up from the table. ‘If he’s not in Moor Park we’ll come back and go in. They don’t have immunity, remember. Not from the law and definitely not from us.’
‘Hang on, sir,’ said Lucy.
‘What?’
‘It’s been on the news. Westway is closed and the North Circular is jammed solid because of it. Traffic heading west is at a standstill out there.’
‘That’s okay, Lucy,’ said Sam. ‘We weren’t going to drive anyway. We’re in a bit of a hurry.’
His face was as impassive as those on the big stone statues you see on Easter Island, but I could hear the amusement in his voice.
Bastard.
Chapter 101
I said before that London is a beautiful city.
And it is. But it’s designed to be viewed from the ground, looking up at the gloriously eclectic mix of Georgian architecture and futuristic high-rise buildings. As it was now, though, it was looking more like a scene from Blade Runner as the helicopter banked and headed west.
Private has its own helicopter pad on the roof of its building. Civilians weren’t supposed to have them in the metropolis. Al-Fayed had notoriously tried for years to get one on the roof of Harrods and had failed. But we were under contract to the police and the military and had special dispensation.
Sam Riddel held a full pilot’s licence, enabling him to fly a number of aircraft including the one we were in. He looked across at me and grinned.
I was assuming that he wouldn’t be able to read my expression. I had blacked my face, as had Suzy and Del Rio behind me. Like them, I was also wearing black military fatigues. It was dark now and the cloud cover ahead thankfully blocked the light of a full moon.
I had decided that a small team was the best option. Stealth rather than a show of force. Get it wrong and we could pay the price. Or Harlan Shapiro would pay the price. And that was not an option. Lucy had come with us to retrieve the rope and Hannah had been left behind at the offices. A couple of security guards with her in case she decided to switch sides again.
