Everybody nodded, glad to see that even the man from Madrid suffered the same paranoia, the same corrupted brain circuit as themselves.
'Let's get these drawings and the Arabic texts through the forensic process as soon as possible. We need those translations fast,' he said.
'There's something else,' said the forensics team leader. 'The bomb disposal people have come across something interesting on the explosives front.'
An army officer in white overalls with a green armband pushed his way through to the table.
'So far we've only had full access to the area above the storeroom, because there's no evidence of bodies or human tissue. We still believe that the main destructive explosion was caused by a large quantity of hexogen being detonated, but we have also found trace evidence of Goma 2 Eco, which is the mining explosive that was used in the Madrid bombings.'
'Did one set off the other?'
'It's certainly possible, but we have no way of proving it.'
'Is there any reason why two types of explosive would be used?'
'Goma 2 Eco is industrial quality, whereas hexogen is military. If you have a large quantity of hexogen, which has greater brisance than Goma 2 Eco, I don't see why you'd use a lower grade explosive, unless your intention was to cause other distracting explosions, or to hold people in a state of fear.'
'You estimated the hexogen stored in the building to be in the region of 100 kilos,' said del Rey.
'Conservative estimate.'
'What sort of damage would 100 kilos do to these schools and the university faculty on these drawings?'
'A real expert, who understood the architecture of the buildings, could probably raze them to the ground,' said the army officer. 'But it would be a demolition job. They would have to drill into the reinforced skeleton of the building and wire the charges together for a simultaneous explosion.'
'And what about people?'
'If everyone was herded into one or two rooms of each building, with 30 kilos of hexogen there would be no, or only very few, survivors.'
'Is it possible for you to tell how much Goma 2 Eco exploded in the storeroom of the mosque?'
'Personally, I would say 25 kilos or less, but I wouldn't be able to stand up in court and say that, because the hexogen trace is too dominant.'
'Is hexogen manufactured in Spain?'
'No. The UK, Italy, Germany, USA and Russia,' he said. 'They probably make it in China, too, but they're not telling us if they are.'
'Why go to the trouble of importing it?'
'Its availability,' said the army officer. 'Wherever there's conflict in the world, there's ordnance, and hexogen can easily be extracted from it. You end up with low-volume high explosive which is untraceable, easy to transport, hide and disguise. Domestic gunpowder magazines are more tightly controlled since 11th March, although there have been thefts-for instance in Portugal last year. I would also say that the chances of hexogen being spotted in an open European transport system are slim. Whereas mounting a robbery of a gunpowder magazine in this country would get you lower grade explosive, and draw the immediate attention of the authorities.'
'What about the home-made variety, used in the London bombings?' asked del Rey. 'Wouldn't it be easier to mix up easily available ingredients than go to the trouble and risk of bringing in hexogen, or stealing Goma 2 Eco?'
'You're right, triaceton triperoxide can be made quite easily, but I wouldn't like to be around someone dealing with it, unless he had a chemistry post-graduate degree and we were operating in temperature-controlled laboratory conditions. It's volatile,' he said. 'Also it depends on what sort of atrocity you want to commit. TATP is fine if you're intent on killing people, but if you want a spectacular explosion, with serious destruction and loss of life, then hexogen is much more capable of doing that. Hexogen is also stable and not temperature sensitive, something that's important at this time of year in a place like Seville, where daytime temperatures can vary by as much as twenty degrees.' The work rate was increasing. Material was coming in at a constant rate from the bombsite. Bits of credit card, scraps of ID, driving licences, strips of clothing, shoes. The more macabre findings, such as body parts, were taken to the tented morgue next door. While del Rey watched the forensic work, Falcon briefed Elvira, who'd just arrived from a meeting in the town hall with the Mayor, Comisario Lobo and Magistrado Juez Decano Spinola. Elvira ordered searches of the three buildings immediately. Evacuation would be carried out by the local police and searches conducted by the bomb squad in case of booby traps. Elvira was concerned that other terrorist cells might have become active, preparing to take over the buildings. The CGI had to be alerted. Gregorio of the CNI was already in touch with Pablo, who was asking for the translations to be sent to him by secure email as soon as they were ready.
Falcon, Ramirez and del Rey stripped off their boiler suits in the forensic tent's anteroom and went back to the pre-school to resume their meeting.
'What do you make of that development, Inspector Jefe?' asked del Rey.
'We were asked to keep an open mind in this investigation, especially by the senior CNI man,' said Falcon. 'And yet, since we found the Peugeot Partner and its contents, almost all subsequent findings have directed us towards the belief that an Islamic terrorist campaign was being planned in this mosque.'
'Almost all subsequent findings?'
'We cannot satisfactorily explain the fake council inspectors and the electricians, and yet we are very suspicious of their involvement,' said Falcon. 'They seem to be an intrinsic part of the actual explosion. Now that we've spoken to the bomb squad officer it seems clear that a smaller device was planted, which set off the stored hexogen. We have a link between Miguel Botin and the electricians. He was seen handing over the card to the Imam. But who was he working for?'
'You don't buy the CNI line either?'
'I would if there was any proof for it, but there's none.'
'What about those keys from the Imam's apartment opening the box?' said Ramirez. 'Where does that place the Imam now?'
'As part of the plot,' said del Rey.
'Except that the keys were found in a kitchen drawer,' said Falcon. 'I find that strange when all the other keys were kept in his desk. And the two keys were identical. Would you keep them together?'
'If we are to believe that Botin was a double agent and that he was serving up the Imam to the CGI on behalf of another terrorist commander, as the CNI seem to think, then what are we to make of the drawings in the metal box?' asked del Rey.
'The Imam's keys opened the box, therefore whatever is in that box is an expendable operation,' said Falcon. 'The CNI would be forced to admit it was another part of the diversion.'
'And what do you think, Inspector Jefe?'
'I don't have enough information to think anything,' said Falcon.
'You said you were keeping an open mind, Inspector Jefe. What does that mean exactly? That you've been conducting other enquiries?'
Falcon told him about Informaticalidad, giving the background on Horizonte and I4IT. He gave their reasons for buying the property and how the sales reps used it. He also told him about Informaticalidad's recruiting procedure.
'Well, all that sounds strange, but I can't see anything in particular that's pointing to their involvement in this scenario.'
'I've never heard anything like it,' said Ramirez.
'So far, the only illegal thing I can find is that they used black money to buy the apartment,' said Falcon. 'I've been trying to find something that links them to what was going on in the mosque.'
'And you haven't found it.'
'The only connection is that one of the churches used in recruiting employees for Informaticalidad was the same one used by the CGI antiterrorist agent Ricardo Gamero-San Marcos.'
'But you have no proof that Gamero met anyone from Informaticalidad?'
'None. I spoke to the priest from San Marcos and I would describe some of his responses as extremely guarded, but that's all.'
