She nodded.
‘Fuck my Aunt Ethel’s goat.’
They all approached the wall and made comparisons between the two pictures. ‘And look here,’ she said. ‘The scrawny one with the beard. I’m pretty sure that’s Sammi Loz.’
‘If you say so,’ said Dolph. ‘ Is Khan there too?’
She examined each face in turn. ‘No.’
Dolph’s shrewd eyes sought hers again. ‘How did you find out about Rahe?’
‘The bookstore,’ said Sarre. ‘You got something that night, didn’t you?’
‘Christ, you’re a piece of work.’ said Dolph. ‘How long have you known?’
‘Since this morning we have known that Rahe was not killed in Lebanon. The body belonged to someone else.’ She explained about the samples she’d sent to the laboratory and the recording of Sammi Loz talking to Khan which gave her the name of Yahya.
‘So all the crucial connections took place in Bosnia,’ said Lapping.
‘Yes, which is why we need to work out who these people are.’ She jabbed her finger on the faces of the other men. ‘We should get all the shots blown up, each face digitally enhanced.’
‘But I can tell you now,’ said Sarre, ‘that none of these men came through Heathrow that day. I know their faces off by heart.’
‘And that is rather the point,’ said Lapping.
‘Behold, ladies and gentleman,’ said Dolph, ‘the viscous matter that passes for Joe Lapping’s brain is at last on stream.’
‘But you didn’t get there Dolphy,’ returned Lapping. ‘Isis left you in a cloud of dust.’
‘Fuck you Joe, just because every hooker in Sarajevo tried on Mummy’s Christmas pyjamas.’
‘I hate to be a dampener,’ said Herrick, unable to laugh, ‘but we don’t have time for this. We have to find out who these people are. If necessary, bring the photographer to London and fly that woman Guignal from Skiathos. We need all the help we can get. Anyone who was there – journalists, aid workers, soldiers. Get the Security Services to pull them in and give them a slide show. And we will need to compare these men with all the photographs we have on file.’
‘What’s the ticking clock?’ asked Dolph.
‘We don’t know,’ she said.
The three men exchanged looks, unnerved by the urgency in her voice and the undisguised command in her manner.
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
The operation to arrest the nine suspects would begin in the early hours of Wednesday morning, giving the security forces across Europe about thirty hours to prepare themselves. Vast amounts of surveillance detail, much of it merely proving minor crimes and association, was already hurtling from the Bunker to intelligence services in Paris, Rome, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Budapest and Sarajevo. With this went the names, addresses and photographs of the members of the helper cells. In its final hours, everything RAPTOR had hoarded and secreted was unloaded with abandon.
By the time Herrick went with Colin Guthrie to the Chief’s office late on Monday afternoon, ninety-four people, including twenty-three female helpers, were on the arrest list. The Chief informed them that local agencies were gradually taking over the job of monitoring the suspects, though in some cases it was clear they were already familiar with the routines of the suspects as well as their Anglo-American watchers. The surveillance equipment installed by Collection and SIS was kept running so that each country could tap into the live feeds still flickering twenty-four hours a day deep underground at Northolt.
The US President and the British Prime Minister had been seized by an unusual spirit of international cooperation. RAPTOR would now be presented as an initial inquiry into what one diplomat termed the ‘morphology of terrorist cells’, an exercise whose purpose was to benefit all Western allies. To disguise the unwavering focus on the men who had passed through Heathrow, it was decided, principally by the French, British and American governments, that the dragnet should also include suspects who were not members of the Heathrow group. For this reason the Dutch, Belgian and Spanish governments were brought into the operation and asked to arrest people they had been observing independently of RAPTOR. The Spanish government which, with the French, had in the past mounted among the most successful operations against al-Qaeda and associated North African groups, said it would arrest three men living in La Rioja; the French opted for a man in Marseilles; the Dutch and Belgians had any number of suspects who could be hauled in for questioning, if not actual arrest.
All hope of a publicity blackout had quickly been dropped. The number of people was far too large to contain the news, so it was decided they should make the most of the situation by issuing a joint statement by the Americans and major European governments about the unprecedented cooperation between intelligence services. The Russians were informed on the grounds that the Syrian suspect in Copenhagen, Hafiz al Bakr, had served in Chechnya and was connected with a group who had planned an attack against a Russian embassy.
‘It’s interesting how these things turn out,’ said the Chief. ‘You know, it’s my firm belief that the idea of keeping this to ourselves was just as much ours as the Americans. A bit of sucking up.’
‘Walter’s bid to get back in the saddle,’ said Guthrie.
‘I suppose,’ the Chief mused, without sign of malice. ‘I must say he made a bit of a fool of himself with Youssef Rahe, given that he never acquired much from the man. Of course we’ll need to debrief Vigo as soon as possible. Before we move on the bookshop.’
‘You’re going to search Rahe’s shop?’ asked Herrick.
‘Yes, before the other arrests, sometime tomorrow evening. But I don’t want the scene fouled up by a lot of heavy-handed Special Branch. I’ve arranged that you will go through the place the moment the police move in. But first I want you to see Vigo.’
‘What about the photographs from Bosnia?’
‘We’ll hold off on that until tomorrow morning. For the moment it’s enough that you’ve established Rahe was in Bosnia. We’re ninety-nine per cent sure he is the man referred to as Yahya and you’ve got a picture of him from the period. That’s not a bad day’s work, Isis.’
She nodded, aware that the energy was suddenly draining from her.
The Chief noticed the expression in her eyes. ‘I know you’ve had a time of it, but I need you for at least the next six days. Try to get some sleep before tomorrow. Don’t spend more than an hour with Vigo.’ He handed her an address in Holland Park. ‘Take Harland with you. He knows how to handle the bugger.’
‘Harland?’
‘Yes, he should be at Brown’s by now and I’ve asked him to help out.’
‘Harland?’ she said stupidly again. ‘What’s he doing here? I thought he was in the Middle East.’
‘No, he’s here.’ The pale eyes narrowed slightly. ‘You’re not there to parry with Vigo. Just tell him we need a complete account of his relations with Rahe. If he proves difficult, mention that one way or another we will press for a prosecution. ’
Normally Herrick would have relished the return match, but she left Vauxhall Cross without much enthusiasm and only when she found Harland in a jaunty mood in the hotel bar did her spirits lift slightly. It had been a matter of days since she’d seen him climb into the little boat on the Nile, but it seemed like weeks, particularly as Harland appeared so different. She asked why he was looking so pleased with himself.
‘I’m not,’ he said, ‘It’s just that life seems suddenly full of possibility.’
‘I know you were on the road to Damascus. Did you get God or something? What happened?’
‘Nothing I’m going to tell you about, and you needn’t look so bloody sour, Isis. Let’s have a drink. You’re looking a bit part-worn.’
He turned and ordered two Soho Cosmopolitans and just in case the man needed reminding, rattled through the ingredients. ‘One measure of citron vodka, one measure of Stolichnaya oranj vodka, cointreau, cranberry juice, fresh lime juice and a twist of lemon. Plus two very cold glasses.’
They drank the cocktails with ceremony. When they’d finished, Harland said, ‘And now for bloody Vigo.’
