‘And Karen Hope?’ Holm leaned forward and, without thinking, dropped his voice to a whisper. ‘She was in cahoots with Taher, ma’am.’
‘We don’t need to explore that aspect, Stephen. Not for now. To be honest I haven’t got my head round everything yet, but we’ll see how things pan out. Take it from there.’
‘What about the sniper? Palmer seemed to think Hope was killed by the people who rescued us, but they were British so it doesn’t seem likely.’
‘You didn’t speak with them?’
‘Only briefly. They gave us a lift back to our car and then high-tailed it.’
‘Need to know, Stephen.’ Huxtable tapped her nose with a finger. ‘You know the why and the when. You don’t need to know the who.’
‘This was officially sanctioned, wasn’t it?’ Holm realised the question was one he should never have asked so he avoided her gaze. ‘Bloody hell.’
‘In the next few days Thomas Gillan will be tending his resignation. Ostensibly he’s going for personal reasons, but in reality his departure is down to a misinterpretation of instructions from the cabinet secretary and the national security adviser.’
‘They’re passing the buck.’
‘Put it this way, Thomas Gillan took one for the team, for the country. Something, I’m afraid, politicians almost never do.’
‘A hero, then.’
‘As much as anyone.’ Huxtable smiled. ‘As much as you and Farakh.’
‘Taher got away.’
‘Don’t be hard on yourself. Your friend in Suffolk is obtaining warrants for the arrests of the SeaPak manager Paul Henderson and several of the Excelsior’s crew, and our Italian colleagues are awaiting the arrival of the Angelo in Naples. In addition to stopping the smuggling we flushed out Palmer, and with a bit of pressure the Saudis will remove Jawad al Haddad from the scene, meaning another source of funding for the terrorists will be cut. Catching Taher was always going to be a big ask, but we will get him.’
‘We?’ It was Holm’s turn to give Huxtable a wry smile.
‘Yes, Stephen.’ Huxtable tapped the desk signalling the meeting was over. ‘We.’
Silva and Itchy returned in the private jet. They were met by Simeon Weiss, and he whisked them away from the airport and off to Matthew Fairchild’s place. After food and rest and some medical attention to Itchy’s leg – which turned out to be a nasty flesh wound but no worse – Weiss conducted an initial debrief and gave them cover stories for their periods of absence in Italy and Tunisia. There was ample evidence to show they’d been in Wales on both occasions, he said. Somebody remembered seeing them on the slopes of Snowdon. There was CCTV footage of Itchy buying bread and milk in a shop in Betws-y-coed. A traffic camera on the A5 had caught Silva breaking the speed limit. A fine would be arriving in the post.
‘Pity about the weather though,’ Weiss said, winking.
Fairchild was the perfect host over the next couple of days but it felt as if they were under house arrest. They couldn’t make calls out, although Fairchild told them Itchy’s wife and Silva’s father had been informed they were safe and well. Finally Weiss told Itchy he could leave but insisted Silva remain at the house for an additional debrief.
When Itchy had gone, Silva confronted Weiss.
‘What is this?’ she said. ‘Why can’t I go?’
‘Because I say so.’
Later she was shown into the large drawing room where Weiss hovered near a table, uncharacteristically nervous. He fiddled with some papers while one of Fairchild’s minions served her tea.
‘Well?’ Silva said after several minutes of silence.
‘We’re waiting for someone,’ Weiss said. ‘In the meantime I have been authorised to brief you further.’
‘You mean tell me a little more of the truth?’
‘Yes, if you want to put it like that.’ Weiss ducked his head an inch. ‘Your mother’s files have been anonymised. Which is to say, all trace she had anything to do with the photographs, the research, any of it, has been removed.’
‘But—’
‘Karen Hope was undoubtedly a crook, a fraud and a murderer. However, in very few jurisdictions does that give you the right to execute her without trial.’ Weiss lifted his shoulders in resignation. ‘If we were to give your mother the credit she deserves it would be simple for anyone to work out you must have been the sniper, both in Positano and in Tunisia.’
‘Some people know already.’
‘Knowing is not the same as having the evidence.’
‘They could still come after me. The US government. Haddad. Taher.’
‘When we release your mother’s material, which we will do shortly, the US will back off. Now Hope is dead, the rationale for any sort of coverup has gone. Haddad is likely to face trial in Saudia Arabia. The trial will be swift and the verdict is not in doubt. I imagine the punishment will be quite barbaric. As for Taher, well, we’re closing in on him.’
‘Right.’ Silva wasn’t convinced. ‘And what about the Hope family? Brandon and the father. Those kinds of dynasties tend to bear grudges.’
‘Brandon Hope has disappeared. If and when he surfaces he’ll have a lot of explaining to do.’
Could her worries be dismissed so easily? It was noticeable that at no point since she’d returned from Tunisia had she been offered any kind of protection. There’d been no talk of a new identity or of relocation.
‘One more thing – your motorbike.’ Weiss pulled a set of keys from his pocket and placed them on the table. ‘I had it brought here. It’s in Fairchild’s garage.’
‘So I can go now?’
‘In a bit.’ Weiss slipped over to the window and peered out. A chauffeured car was rolling down the driveway.
‘Who’s that?’ Silva craned her neck but Weiss stood blocking the view of the front steps. He turned and trotted to the door. As he reached it the door swung open, to
