'The decision was made. The surveillance terminated. The apartment on Calle Los Romeros rented out again. Meanwhile the fake council inspectors went into the mosque, laid a small device that would blow the fuse box, which would give the electricians access. Miguel Botin was given the electrician's card and told to make it available to the Imam. It's quite possible that Botin wasn't part of the conspiracy and that he was told by Gamero that they had now been granted a bugging order and these electricians were going to position the microphone so that the CGI could carry out their surveillance. Botin was there to ensure that the Imam made the call to the right electricians. The Goma 2 Eco bomb was planted, along with the fireproof box. The design of the attack was to make it look like a bomb had gone off in the preparatory stage. Everybody would be killed and the ultimate, atrocious aim of the plot that was supposedly being planned would be found in the fireproof box.
'They knew that Hammad and Saoudi were up to no good, but what I don't believe they realized was just how powerful the explosive was that they were storing in the mosque. The detonation of 100 kilos of hexogen and the complete destruction of the apartment building and the damage to the pre-school were not part of the plan. And that was why Ricardo Gamero killed himself. Not just because his friend and source had been killed, but also because he felt responsible for all the deaths.'
'Well, that returns the logic to the scenario,' said Elvira. 'But first of all, I can't see Angel Zarrias as the sole perpetrator and mastermind of this conspiracy. And secondly, I don't know how the hell you set about proving any of it so that it can stand up in a court of law.'
'The problem is that, if this scenario is the correct one, I cannot go to Angel Zarrias and reveal my hand, because the only cards I've got are the fact that I know he was the last person to speak to Gamero, face to face, and the shock value of having identified Tateb Hassani.'
'You have to find the next link in the chain after Angel Zarrias,' said del Rey. 'He's a journalist and a PR man. What are his PR connections?'
'That's how I got to him in the first place,' said Falcon. 'I was sure that the people from Informaticalidad couldn't be operating on their own. I assumed they would be getting orders from their parent company. I looked at Horizonte, and that's where I came across their bankers: Banco Omni. And…'
'And?'
'Jesus Alarcon used to work for Banco Omni,' said Falcon, more things occurring to him. 'He was put forward as a political candidate by Angel Zarrias's old friend, the Chief Executive of Banco Omni, Lucrecio Arenas.'
'Political candidate for what?' asked del Rey.
'He's the new leader of Fuerza Andalucia.'
'But Fuerza Andalucia are nowhere in regional politics,' said Elvira. 'They poll 4 per cent of the vote, if they're lucky.'
'After Jesus Alarcon appeared with Fernando Alanis on television today they polled 14 per cent,' said Falcon. 'Zarrias was very excited about it. He calls the PR work he does for Fuerza Andalucia his hobby, but I think it's bigger than that. He's looking for a share of power with the Partido Popular because, for once in his political life, he wants to have the strength to change things. I think he's trying to manoeuvre Jesus Alarcon into a position where he can challenge for the leadership of the Partido Popular. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that he is to Jesus Alarcon what Karl Rove was to George Bush.'
'So who is the next link in the chain?' asked del Rey.
'Tateb Hassani was staying somewhere while he was being put to work and it was there that he was probably killed,' said Falcon. 'I had assumed it would be in a house near where he was dumped. The bins were in a cul-de- sac on a quiet street, and that implied knowledge. That knowledge, I realize, came from Zarrias, who lives nearby, on the Plaza Cristo de Burgos. I'm now thinking that the house where Tateb Hassani was probably staying was the headquarters of Fuerza Andalucia, which belongs to Eduardo Rivero on Calle Castelar.'
'Does it have a garden?' asked Ramirez. 'With a hedge?'
'There is some sort of formal garden between the front of the house, where Rivero has the office, and the back part, which is the family home. I went there once with Angel and Manuela for a party, but it was in the dark and I wasn't looking at hedges. What we need now is a sighting of Tateb Hassani going into that house, which will give us our next link in the chain.'
'What about Angel Zarrias?' asked Ramirez. 'Do you think it's worth putting him under twenty-four-hour surveillance?'
'I think it would be, especially as it might not be for long,' said Falcon. 'But there is something else which bothers me about all this, and that is the killing.'
'Tateb Hassani was poisoned with cyanide,' said Ramirez. 'It's not like stabbing, shooting, or strangling.'
'First of all, how did they get hold of cyanide?' asked Falcon. 'And then there was the disfigurement. The clean amputation of the hands. I'm thinking there must be a doctor or surgeon involved in all this.'
'And what about the bomb?' said Ramirez. 'It takes real criminal ruthlessness to do something like that.' Falcon called Angel Zarrias to arrange a meeting with Comisario Elvira to talk about reviving the image of the investigative team. They'd agreed to profess an interest in Zarrias's PR talents. It would also bring Zarrias to them so that Serrano and Baena could start the first shift of the surveillance.
It was too risky for Falcon to be seen in Calle Castelar near Eduardo Rivero's house where he might be recognized. The work of placing Tateb Hassani in Rivero's household fell to Ferrera, Perez and Ramirez.
Elvira, del Rey and Falcon waited in the pre-school for Angel to turn up.
'You're not happy, Javier,' said Elvira. 'Are you concerned about how this will affect your relationship with your sister?'
'No. That does concern me, but it's not that,' said Falcon. 'What I'm thinking about now is that, if my scenario proves to be the correct one, it still doesn't explain why Hammad and Saoudi brought 100 kilos of hexogen to Seville.'
'That's the CNI's job, not yours,' said Elvira.
'What scares me is that if you did want to bring Andalucia back into the Islamic fold, without an army or navy, then your best chance of achieving that would be with a Beslan-type siege,' said Falcon. 'I thought at the time that the Russian special forces probably started that firefight because Putin could see how impossible the situation was becoming. He had to act before the global media circus made it an intense, emotional focal point. Once that happened he could only see himself making concessions. Putin's reputation is built on strength and toughness. He couldn't allow a bunch of terrorists to make him look weak. So he met their ruthlessness with his own and more than three hundred people died. If a similar situation happened here, with children taken hostage just at the moment when they should be going on holiday, can you imagine the reaction in Spain, Europe and the world? Putin-style ruthlessness would not be acceptable.'
'Steps have been taken,' said Elvira. 'We can't go through all the schools in Andalucia in the same way that we've gone through the three buildings here in Seville, but we've told them to search their premises and we've got the local police involved, too.'
'You've also told us that you believe the idea of MILA involvement to be a media invention of Zarrias,' said del Rey. 'So we have no real idea what the Islamic terrorists' original intention was.'
'But why bring powerful explosive to Seville, the capital of Andalucia?' said Falcon. 'There's an unnerving brilliance to the idea of the MILA launching a ruthless attempt to bring Andalucia back into the Islamic fold. It's as if the fiction and the truth could easily meet. Have we had any results from the DNA sampling? Are we certain that Hammad and Saoudi died in the mosque? Do we know yet whether they deviated from their route between the safe house in Valmojado and Seville?'
'The forensics have been told to contact me as soon as they've had confirmation, but I doubt that will be today,' said Elvira. 'We haven't heard anything more from the Guardia Civil about the route of the Peugeot Partner. Don't try to overthink this situation, Javier. Just concentrate on your task.'
Angel Zarrias arrived at 9 p.m. Falcon made the introductions and left them to it. He went over to the forensics tent. They were working under lights on the bombsite, which was almost flat. The crane had gone, as had the diggers. Only one tipper was waiting to remove any further rubble. Falcon changed into a boiler suit and went into the tent, which was bright with halogen light. He found the chief of the forensics hovering over a vast array of rags, bits of shoe, plastic, strips of leather. He introduced himself again.
'I'm looking for anything that could be construed as an instruction for making and placing bombs,' said Falcon.
'Something more than what we've already found in the fireproof box?'
