‘Lesson number one,’ said Salih. ‘You dress to blend in, not to stand out. Lose the hair gel, lose the glasses, lose the gold chain round your neck. Lose everything that people can use to identify you. Wear mid-range high- street clothes. Not too cheap, not too expensive. Wear shoes or workboots, not expensive trainers.’
‘I’ll remember,’ said Tariq.
‘Drive a mid-range car, blue or grey. Don’t speed, don’t drive aggressively, do nothing to attract attention to yourself. Don’t smile too much, don’t frown, don’t talk too much, don’t talk too little. Fly economy, not first class, stay in three-star hotels, not five. Blend.’
‘I understand,’ said Tariq.
‘I am putting a lot of faith in you, Tariq.’
‘I will do whatever you ask,’ said Tariq.
‘Open the glove box. You’ll find an envelope. Take it out.’
Tariq did as he was told.
‘Inside that envelope is the name of a man and an address in Hereford. There is also the telephone number of the house. And five thousand pounds. I want you to kill the man, if he is there.’
Tariq frowned. ‘Is there a photograph of him?’
‘No.’
‘You watch the house, see who comes and goes. You find out if the man is there. If he is, you kill him. If he is not, you find out who else is in the house. If there is a wife or child, you kill them.’ Salih pointed at the glove box. ‘There is a gun in there. With a silencer. There are eleven rounds in the magazine. That will be more than you need. Get in close, to within six feet. Put at least two bullets in the chest and one in the head. Wear gloves. When you have finished, drop the gun.’
‘Drop the gun?’
‘It’s untraceable. There’s no need to hide it. Use a hire car. Keep a change of clothes in the boot. Drive to an area where you will not be disturbed, remove your outer clothing and burn it. Change into fresh clothes and return the car.’
Tariq reached into the glove box and took out a leather case. He reached for the zip.
‘Not here,’ said Salih. ‘Do not open the case unless you’re wearing gloves. Do not touch the gun unless you’re wearing gloves. Do not touch the magazine or the bullets unless you’re wearing gloves. The tiniest flake of skin or drop of sweat could identify you.’
‘I understand,’ said Tariq.
‘Buy another pay-as-you-go Sim card,’ said Salih. ‘Phone me just before you do it. Then call me once you’re clear of the area. Once you’ve made the second phone call, destroy the Sim card.’
Tariq nodded. ‘I won’t let you down,’ he said.
‘I know you won’t,’ said Salih.
Charlotte Button had taken a suite at the Europa Hotel, which, during the Troubles, had acquired the unenviable reputation of being the most-bombed hotel in the world. These days, it was just one of Belfast’s thriving luxury hotels and was full of tourists and businessmen. She had booked in under another name and hadn’t told anyone where she was staying, so when her phone rang at nine that evening she assumed someone on the hotel staff was calling her. She was wrong. ‘Long time no hear,’ said a voice. ‘How’s Belfast?’
It was Patsy Ellis, her former boss at MI5’s International Counter-terrorism Branch. She had long been Button’s mentor and had suggested that she take the job with SOCA. ‘Raining, as usual,’ said Button.
‘When are you back in the Big Smoke?’
‘Tomorrow morning,’ said Button. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘We need a face-to-face, darling. Shall we say the wine bar, eight or thereabouts?’
‘See you there,’ said Button.
She put down the phone, worried. It had been three months since she’d seen Ellis, and that had been a social lunch. A glass of Chardonnay each, salad, and an hour of gossip. But this phone call had been as far from social as it was possible to get. Ellis hadn’t identified herself or the place where they were to meet. And by saying ‘eight or thereabouts’ she had told Button to subtract two hours from the meeting time. Standard tradecraft. Which meant Ellis was concerned that someone might be listening in.
The display of Shepherd’s pay-as-you-go mobile phone flashed. He had set it to silent and when he checked the display he saw it was Yokely. He went into the back garden to take the call. ‘I took on board what you said about not using your cover phone,’ said Yokely.
‘Cheers,’ said Shepherd.
‘Have you been reading the English papers?’
‘I’ve been rushed off my feet the last couple of days.’
‘Hereford and back, I gather.’
‘Have you been spying on me, Richard?’
‘Just think of me as your guardian angel,’ said Yokely. ‘I don’t know why you’re so suspicious of me, Dan. I really do have your best interests at heart.’
‘What do you want?’ asked Shepherd. ‘Why are you so interested in my reading habits?’
‘Viktor Merkulov was pulled out of the Regent’s Canal this morning. He’d been knifed but his wallet and phone were still on him so it wasn’t a mugging.’
‘What’s that got to do with me?’
‘Merkulov was working for Salih. He’s a former KGB spook.’
‘You don’t think I did it, do you?’
Yokely chuckled. ‘You didn’t go near London.’
‘Are your friends at the NSA tracking me?’ asked Shepherd.
Yokely ignored the question. ‘You weren’t in Little Venice, but Salih was. And shortly afterwards he ditched his Sim card.’
‘Why would he kill the Russian?’
‘Because I’d turned Merkulov. He must have found out.’
‘So now we’ve lost all track of him? Is that what you’re telling me?’
‘For the moment. But we’ve a good idea of where he’s been.’
‘Belfast?’
‘No, he’s not crossed the water yet. But he’s been to Berkshire and Surrey.’
Shepherd’s fingers tightened on the phone until his knuckles were white. Surrey was where Charlie lived.
‘Spider, are you there?’
Shepherd realised he’d been holding his breath. ‘I heard you.’
‘I had my NSA people talk to their contacts in the UK and they pinned down where Salih went before he threw his Sim card away.’
‘And you’re saying he was at Charlie’s house?’
‘He went to Windsor, where her husband works. And Virginia Water. He was only in the area for a couple of hours, then went back to London.’
‘Why would he be checking out her husband?’
‘I’d only be guessing, Dan.’
‘What about Hereford? Did he go anywhere near my home?’
‘There’s a definite negative on that.’
Shepherd relaxed a little. ‘Can you put out an alert for Salih?’
‘I can do that, sure. I can get the FBI liaison at the embassy to do it through SOCA, but even if I do, you know that Ireland leaks like a sieve, North and South. The ferries are a nightmare at the best of times and there’s no need to show passports when travelling from the mainland to Northern Ireland.’
‘Do you have a photograph yet?’
‘I’m afraid not,’ said Yokely. ‘He stays under the radar, this guy. If he’s travelled to the States he’s done it under a different name, and none of the countries he’s visited under the aliases we have take pictures at point of entry. But we’re working on it.’
‘Let me know as soon as you get anything, will you?’
‘No problem,’ said Yokely. ‘No one’s keener than I am to get this guy, Spider. It’s me he’s trying to kill,
