‘You want confirmation, or are you telling me?’
‘So it was him. Have you seen the film they used to blackmail him?’
‘Yes, it’s with Denis. We don’t possess copies.’
‘Because you undertook to deliver all your research on thumb drives and keep no evidence whatsoever.’
‘That’s correct, but Denis’s research team had got most of the evidence. We did some supporting work.’
‘But you saw it.’
She nodded. ‘It ain’t pretty and, taken as a whole, he’s one of the least important names. He’s a billionaire, and he has the resources to defend himself. Why’re you interested?’
‘He was one of the traitors at TangKi. He knew about Anastasia’s kidnap and he had the gall to sit next to her at a GreenState fundraiser a couple of years later and gain her sympathy by talking about the deaths of his son and wife. He was getting close to the Hisamis for a reason. Now Daus is using Reid to find out whether Denis is going to recover, and, also, how much Anastasia knows. So, he’s a way in and we can use him. But we need to have the film in our back pocket and he has to know that we would use it.’
‘You be careful. He’s a brutal motherfucker.’ She looked up at the two young employees who were still in the room and jerked her head imperceptibly towards the door. They left. ‘So how are you going to play it? I don’t have the whole picture, so it’s hard for me to see a strategy.’
Samson poured some coffee. It was going to be a long night. ‘We need to get Daus in the room.’
‘Which room?’
Samson grinned. ‘I can’t tell you – client confidentiality.’ He paused. ‘It works both ways, Zillah. I was employed by Denis, too.’
‘Okay,’ she said. ‘But here’s a word of warning. People in the government want this to just go away.’
‘I gathered.’
‘They don’t want the mess.’
‘That includes sheltering Daus’s assets in the office of the Director of National Intelligence and on the National Security Council?’
Any hint of warmth in her eyes now evaporated. ‘I have to work in this town. I am not going to piss off the entire intelligence community unless my life depends on it. In fact, my life and my company depend on not pissing everyone off at the same time. You follow?’
‘No, I don’t. You’re on our side. Your client is lying in hospital in a coma and his lawyer and Robert Harland are dead. This is to say nothing about the deaths across Europe of the men John Gaspar hired. These people are spies, and they’re acting like gangsters. They’re fucking your country over. A lot of young people, earning far less than you, have risked their lives to penetrate and investigate Mila Daus’s organisation. They obtained the information that you checked that’s now on Denis’s computer, which we can’t currently access because Denis can’t speak. But those young people went undercover without training or back-up. They took the risk, while the conventional agencies that are meant to protect society sat on their hands.’
‘Then get it from those brave young people.’
‘We have a lot of it, but you know that one half doesn’t work without the other. We need substantiation, the proof you were paid millions of dollars to find.’
She knitted her fingers and rested her chin on them. ‘Just get Jim to talk to me, but in the meantime, you, Anastasia and the Syrian boy need to find someplace safe. I may have an idea about that.’
‘I didn’t tell you he was here.’
‘You didn’t, but if I know, you can bet others do. We’ll work on that hideout.’ She got up. ‘I’ll be in touch when I have results from the DNA test. Should be sometime tomorrow.’
She offered him a ride but he said he would use the room to make some calls, if that was okay. She left. He wasn’t happy with the encounter and he was sure Zillah wasn’t either.
Only then did he remember what the Bird had told him that morning – Macy Harp was terminally ill and had only months to live. He phoned him. Imogen answered and put him on. ‘How are you doing?’ asked Samson.
‘Cuth told you? Good. I knew I could rely on his indiscretion. Saves me having to go through it all with you.’
‘I’m so sorry. I had no idea . . .’
‘That’s because I didn’t tell you. It was a race between me and Bobby but, sadly, he won.’
‘How long have you known?’
‘’Bout six weeks. Look, I’m sorry for not filling you in about Zoe being Bobby’s daughter. Felt bad about it. I hope you understand.’
‘Not an issue, now. Though it was. Is there anything to be done?’
‘Treatment? Good heavens, no. We’re past that stage. Nothing to do apart from seeing old friends and having a good few summer months on the racecourse, for which reason I am flying to the States. It’s the Preakness Stakes next Saturday – the second leg of the Triple Crown – and that is held at Pimlico outside the fair city of Baltimore, a few furlongs from where you are.’
‘What are you up to, Macy?’
‘Apart from watching Bronzino Star, the three-year-old colt that just won the Kentucky Derby, I have a proposition for you. Did the Bird tell you about that, too?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, let’s talk about it while I’m there. I think you’ll like what I have to say. You know I don’t have any heirs apart from my utterly hopeless nephew, Gregory, and you really are the nearest thing I have to a son.’
This put Samson on alert. ‘That’s very kind of you, but I’m going to ask again – what are you up to?’
‘Nothing, Samson.’
‘There is one thing you can do for me, and that’s talk to Zillah Dee. She says she can’t help me until she has either Denis or Tulliver’s sign-off. Frankly, I think she’s been warned off. She needs to get with the programme, as they say here.’
‘Right, I’ll do that now and I’ll call you
