‘Not really. He could use a different phone, a different server, a different IP. Even if he used exactly the same setup, you’d have to keep him talking for a couple of hours to give us even a fighting chance. Internet calls can be routed anywhere in the world.’
‘OK. Do it anyway.’ He hung up and stared down at his jacket lying crumpled and abandoned on the floor, a symbol of the nice evening he’d had planned. He thought of Liv and the way she had watched the priest during their meeting. He’d sensed her fear — and now he knew why.
He opened the contacts on his phone and scrolled down looking for the name Yun Haldin. Yun was an ex- partner of his from way back who had quit the force to start his own firm. He now employed a large number of former cops and had contracts to run perimeter security at both local airports.
‘You finished, or you going to go hungry?’ his wife called from the kitchen, where the sweet-and-sour aroma of garlicky stew floated out.
Arkadian’s stomach growled loudly in answer to his wife’s question.
He found Yun’s number and pressed the call button.
32
Gabriel exited the Skype application and Googled a travel comparison site. He entered details for flights from Ruin-Gaziantep (any) to New York (any) then looked around at the evening crowd as he waited for the information to load. He was sitting at a large table next to a group of tourists with his body angled to give the impression he was with them.
He swept his eyes across the room, looking for anything or anyone out of the ordinary. There were so many people tapping away on phones it was no wonder the Internet was slow in here. His eyes lit upon a TV screen in the corner of the bar broadcasting CNN with the sound muted. On screen a reporter was standing outside Ruin police headquarters. The picture cut and he found himself staring straight at his own mugshot.
He rose quickly from the table, scrutinizing his phone as an excuse to keep his head down as he moved towards the exit. Hardly anyone in the bar was watching the TV, but they could easily be getting the same news and photo on their phones. He’d make the morning papers for sure, perhaps the evening editions of the local ones. He had hoped for a little more time.
He stepped out of the main door on to the rain-glossed street and pulled a baseball cap from his pocket, jamming it on to his head and pulling the brim down low over his eyes while the flight comparison page finished loading.
There were plenty of flights from both airports. Too many. There would be no point in heading out to try to intercept Liv on the off chance he might pick the right one. He needed Arkadian and his contacts, but it was too soon to call him back.
He started to move away down the street and opened another app that located free Wi-Fi spots. The reception was even slower now he had left the building’s Internet footprint and it took a while for a map to appear on the screen. A blue dot pulsed at the centre showing his own location, then other icons started popping up around it. There was a hotspot in the direction he was heading, about two streets away, close to the hospital. He slipped the phone in his pocket and increased his pace. He wanted to be in position when the time came to call Arkadian. He also wanted to be nearer his mother. He knew it was the first place the authorities would look for him, which was why he had stayed away, but until he could figure out a way to ensure her safety he’d feel better being close — just in case anything happened.
33
It took Arkadian seven of the ten minutes he’d been given to get hold of his old partner and tell him what he needed. The rest was easy — too easy.
‘She’s on Cyprus Turkish Airline TK 7121 to Newark,’ Yun said.
‘What time’s takeoff?’
‘Five minutes ago.’
Arkadian felt oddly relieved. Maybe it was for the best. Liv had wanted to go home after all. ‘Thanks anyway,’ he said.
‘No problem. The information was right there on the system the moment I accessed the database.’
Arkadian frowned. ‘Why would that be?’
‘Could be coincidence. More likely someone else had already put in the request.’
Arkadian’s mind lit up with the implications. ‘Is there any way you can find out who called up the information first?’
‘Sure, hold on.’ He heard the clatter of a keyboard and the background noise of planes. He wondered if one of them was Liv’s. ‘It’s just showing a guest user ID,’ Yun said. ‘It came through on the blue channel though.’
‘What’s that?’
‘The pre-authorized account for the Ruin Police Department. It would have come from one of the dedicated data terminals in your records office. Someone there will be able to tell you who asked for the info.’
It was an inside job.
The phone started beeping in his ear. ‘Listen, Yun, I’ve got another call coming in. I owe you for this.’
‘Just come work for me when you’ve finally had enough of the hours and the grief.’
‘I’ll do that.’ He ended the call and returned the phone to his ear. ‘Gabriel?’
‘Any luck?’
‘Yes and no.’
‘Meaning?’
‘You were right, and we have a big problem.’
34
Flight TK 7121
The thrust of the engines pressed Liv into her seat and made the raindrops slip from the window as the plane picked up speed. Beyond the lights of the airport she could see the broken peaks of the Taurus mountains rising up against an inky sky. She watched them until the cabin tilted backwards and the wheels lifted off the tarmac with a bump. At the same moment she felt a tightening in her stomach, as though something inside her was connected to the ground and was now being pulled unbearably tight as the plane accelerated away from it. She gasped at the sensation, doubling over and struggling to breathe. She was aware of the passenger next to her leaning forward, his face clouded with concern. The tightening increased until she felt that it might pull her through the floor of the plane; then something seemed to snap and she gulped air. A wave of nausea followed, along with the same intense pins-and-needles feeling over her entire body she had felt in the departure hall. The mild G-forces of the climbing plane didn’t help. She turned and forced a smile for the person next to her, muttering something about nerves then closed her eyes and breathed deeply and slowly. She was really getting tired of all this. It was as if someone had a voodoo doll of her and was randomly sticking pins in it.
The plane started to bank and the delicate feelings inside her rolled with the movement. She continued to breathe until the sick feeling melted away and she felt safe enough to open her eyes again.
Outside she could see the stars beginning to prick the darkening sky and below them, shining like a bright stain, the lights of Ruin, nestling in the foothills of the mountain. She imagined each light as a person and one of them was Gabriel.
If you get the chance, then go, he had said, as far from the Citadel as you can. Keep yourself safe — until I find you.
