in Saudi Arabia and, after my childhood, this was not what I wanted. The other alternative – to tell Abdullah everything – would have put an intolerable strain on the boy and, because of his close relationship to the GICM recruiter, would have left me constantly exposed. And I didn't want to be a spy any more, Javier. I found that out very quickly. The way I had imagined it contained nothing of the horror of the reality. Believe me when I tell you that I am completely at peace. My vision, which I told you about in Madrid, beneath the cotton shroud, is where I am.
Some final requests. You must show this letter to Abdullah, but it must not remain in his possession. It is, of course, vital that he does not see me as a martyr to any terrorist cause, which is why I have penned this in my own hand. You must do this as quickly as you can. He will be in Rabat on Thursday, but given the developments, possibly before.
I would also like you to go to Fes and find Mustafa Barakat. He should be there until Friday, when he is scheduled to fly to Germany. If the CNI are any good at their job, you should know more about him by now. There are very strong ties between the Diouris and the Barakats. He has been like a brother to me, and this is why I could never do what I am going to ask of you.
I want you to find Mustafa Barakat and kill him.
He has been my main contact with the GICM and is a very dangerous man. He recruited me specifically to carry out the assassination of Faisal and he is responsible for the abduction of Dario. He might argue that he did this to distract you, so that you would be less likely to discover 'his plan' to ram the Princess Bouchra. However, I know that it was done as much out of spite as anything else, and this has made me very angry. He has also committed the unforgivable transgression of threatening a family member and for these reasons he must die. The Saudis will delay their press release until they hear from you.
I am sure you will find Dario in the Diouri family home in Fes. Be careful of the woman there, who lives apart from the rest and is probably the one holding the boy. She is Mustafa Barakat's mother and is both vicious and, in my opinion, clinically insane. If she hears that her son is dead, she will kill Dario immediately.
This is the challenge: you must kill Mustafa Barakat and rescue the boy straight away. Do not do this in a way that threatens your safety or your future. However, I do not want you to contact the Moroccan intelligence services through the CNI. They will have no compunction about torturing Mustafa Barakat, and it will be to the death because he will reveal nothing. I do not want that to happen. I am afraid that a conscience may come with me into the afterlife.
One final mystery for you, because I know that it is in your nature. You might be interested to check Mustafa Barakat 's DNA; from that you will understand his story.
You are, no doubt, in a state of shock. I am sorry, my friend, to have done this to you. I was very touched by what you told me in Brown's on that grey afternoon in London. You must believe, Javier, that you will never be alone, you have far too great a heart for that.
I wish I could embrace you again. I was very glad to be able to say goodbye in Osuna that afternoon.
Do not be sad for me. I am free now.
Your friend,
Yacoub Diouri
Falcon folded the letter, put it back in its envelope. He called Consuelo and told her to pack and be ready to leave for Morocco before midday.
30
Jefatura, Seville – Wednesday, 20th September 2006, 10.10 hrs
The square reinforced-glass window set in the door of interview room number four perfectly framed Nikita Sokolov, who was considered sufficiently dangerous to be held in handcuffs, hands behind his back. Ramirez was waiting for the translator and was dismayed, several minutes later, to be shaking hands with a small middle-aged Cuban woman.
'Have you done this before?' he asked.
'Translate?' she said, giving him the eyebrow.
'For us,' he said, 'with criminals.'
'What's he done?'
'He's a particularly nasty murderer and you're going to hear some ugly stuff… to do with women.'
She had to stand on tiptoe to see through the glass.
'Thanks very much for being so considerate, Inspector,' she said. 'But I used to live in Miami. There the ugly stuff happened in your living room.'
'Did they cut women up with a chain saw there, too?'
'Only if they were feeling kind,' she said. 'Guess what?' said Ferrera, appearing on Falcon's shoulder.
'Comisario Elvira wants to see you.'
'When?' asked Falcon.
'Probably since he got a call from the Juez Decano de Sevilla at around two o'clock this morning,' she said. 'Ramirez is about to give Sokolov his first interview.'
'Is Inspector Jefe Tirado from GRUME in the building?'
'I'll find out,' said Ferrera. 'By the way, last night Juan Valverde gave me the name and address of the puti club where they're holding Marisa Moreno's sister, Margarita, or at least where he had sex with her.'
'You'd better get out there then,' said Falcon. 'Contact the local Guardia Civil and take Sub-Inspector Perez with you.'
'OK, Detectives Serrano and Baena are going through Alejandro Spinola's apartment looking for evidence of his involvement with the Russians and sending inside information to Horizonte.'
Falcon went up to Elvira's office. The secretary sent him through. Elvira looked barricaded behind his desk and didn't even let him sit down.
'I can't believe you mounted an operation like that without getting my approval.'
'Normally I would have done, but you told me I was not to have any contact with Alejandro Spinola on pain of being suspended,' said Falcon. 'Not only did I realize that Spinola himself was in danger, but I could also see that he was potentially drawing other people into a dangerous situation in the Hotel La Berenjena. I therefore had to act without your approval of the plan.'
'The plan?'
'The improvisation,' said Falcon, correcting himself. 'There hasn't been much time for planning.'
'Do you know what the Juez Decano told me last night?' said Elvira. 'That you'd hounded his son to his death.'
'His suicide, you mean,' said Falcon. 'Remember, Detectives Serrano and Baena were present and the truck driver was emphatic.'
'We'll see.'
'Alejandro Spinola told me he was into Belenki and Revnik for gambling debts and cocaine and that he'd leaked confidential information about competitors' bids for the Isla de la Cartuja development to Antonio Ramos, Horizonte's chief construction engineer. He'd also betrayed his own cousin by introducing him to Marisa Moreno, who was being coerced by the Russians,' said Falcon. 'That was a guy I didn't hound nearly enough.'
'I can only hope that with Belenki, Revnik and Marisa Moreno dead and Antonio Ramos keeping his mouth firmly shut, we can gather enough evidence to prove you right,' said Elvira, who looked at his watch. 'As it is, Inspector Jefe Falcon, I am going to have to suspend you from duty with immediate effect, pending a full inquiry. Inspector Ramirez will run the investigation from now on. You will leave the building by eleven o'clock. That is all.'
Falcon left the Comisario's office, went down to his own, where Inspector Jefe Tirado was waiting for him, chatting to Ferrera. Falcon told him the latest intelligence about Dario being held in Morocco and that it would probably be a matter for the CNI, working with the Moroccan authorities. He also told him about his own suspension from duty and that he would ensure that the CNI contacted Comisario Elvira with news of Dario. Tirado left. Ferrera looked at Falcon, shook her head in dismay. He went into his office, closed the door and called Pablo, who'd just arrived in the Jefatura and was on his way up the stairs to his office. He took out Yacoub's letter, reread it. This
