‘Straight to the point, eh, Amanda,’ he laughed. ‘My people are trying to clean up the mess left by the murders of two authors, and now a third man, an associate of our chief suspect.’
‘Glover and Mount? Yes, I’ve heard about those. I’m a Fred Noble man myself; keep him safe, Bob, please.’
‘We’re doing that, but I don’t really believe he’s in danger. Ainsley and Henry were working together on a project; they were keeping it secret, not discussing the subject matter, but I, we, believe it was to be a book about a Serbian war criminal, General Bogdan Tadic, whose story seems never to have been told, although it was one of the bloodiest chapters in the whole Balkan conflict.’
‘The Cleanser?’ Dennis murmured. ‘Yes, I can see why that would be provocative in certain circles. But you’re not suggesting, are you, that we’re behind their deaths, or even the Americans? There was no need to go to extremes. Even if they’d finished their work, they’d have been prevented from publishing.’
‘On what grounds?’
‘National interest.’
‘Bollocks, Amanda. We’ve got no interest that I can see in covering up Tadic. The Americans are sensitive about the fact that they tried to assassinate him, that’s all. Anyway, I’m not suggesting that. I’m looking for a man named Frankie Coben, one of Tadic’s henchmen. He was thought to have been killed in the botched attempt on the Cleanser’s life, but that seems to have been an exaggeration. His name’s cropped up; in fact I believe that he killed the two authors, and his own sidekick.’
‘I see. What do you need?’
‘I need to know more about him. Where he came from, who his parents were, whether they’re still alive. I need anything that will lead me to Coben. There are no photographs of him, only a photofit, and you know how reliable they are. I could be in the same room as the man and be none the wiser. But nobody can wipe out his entire past; I need to get into that, to find a way to identify him.’
‘I’ll see what I can do,’ Dennis promised. ‘Strictly speaking this isn’t our affair, but if he’s involved in serious crime within our borders, that gives me grounds for intervention.’
‘Thanks. There’s something else. Tadic was tried in camera; his crimes were never in the public domain. Yet Glover and Mount were looking for the witnesses against him. I need to know how they got the names. All I can offer you as a starter is that Henry used to be a diplomat.’
‘A spook?’
‘Possibly, but I don’t know. Whether he was or not, he couldn’t have come up with those names during his service. He was retired when they were discovered. So there must be a current source.’
‘And I want to know who that is,’ the intelligence officer said firmly.
‘I’m sure. While you’re looking for the leak, I’d like to know the status of the witnesses. . although I’m pretty sure I know where one of them is right now.’ He gave Dennis the three names.
‘Information required yesterday?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘but at a pinch tomorrow morning will do.’
The chief constable hung up, rose and walked into his outer office. Crossley was still there.
‘On your way, Gerry,’ he said. ‘This meeting could be a quick one or it could last all night. No need for you to wait on.’ He glanced at him. ‘What’s put the smile on your face?’ he asked.
‘I’ve just been asked out,’ the PA replied. ‘On a date. By a woman. Convention says it should be the other way around. And I’ve never met her.’
‘Ah! Lena McElhone. Careful, young man; they tell me she bites.’
Crossley grinned. ‘I don’t mind that, as long as her teeth aren’t too sharp.’
Skinner was still chuckling as he stepped into the meeting room at the end of the corridor, where Neil McIlhenney waited, seated at the conference table with DIs Sammy Pye and George Regan. Before each of the inspectors lay a folder: the murder books, chronologically ordered records of every step of their investigations. The trio stood as he entered.
‘No,’ he said firmly. ‘I’m not the Prince of Wales. . whom God preserve, in something clear and preferably eco-friendly. . and I’m not the President of the United States. I’m a professional colleague, and you’re senior officers, so you stay seated when I come into a room.’ He took his seat and looked at the superintendent. ‘Have you said anything about our trip?’
‘No, Chief. I thought it best left till you joined us.’
‘Fine.’ Skinner turned to Regan. ‘Hugo Playfair isn’t who he said he was, George. He’s an intelligence operative, Lazar Erceg, one of the four names on Glover’s list, inserted into Serbia by the Americans, with private assistance, to find witnesses to atrocities by a war criminal, General Bogdan Tadic.’ He nodded to Pye. ‘His nickname is the Cleanser, Sammy.’
‘So that’s why Sauce’s email respondent crapped herself and hung up on him.’
‘From what we’ve learned, I don’t blame her. Now, the witnesses Erceg was sent to unearth, and who he did find, were the other three names on that list, Mirko and Danica Andelič, and Aca Nicolič, Danica’s brother. They gave evidence against Tadic in the Hague, and he was convicted, but he’s being retried, and Mirko is essential to that process. So you see, guys,’ he told the inspectors, ‘your investigations cross over.’
‘Yes,’ said Regan, ‘but how do the two authors fit in?’
‘They were working together,’ Pye replied. ‘Trying to trace the witnesses, and Erceg as well. Clearly, they were doing a book on Tadic.’
‘That’s the background,’ said Skinner. ‘And in that background is the man called Coben, Frankie Coben, associate of Tadic and doer of some of his dirty work, believed to be dead, but not quite. We believe he killed Glover, Mount and now his hired associate, Ed Collins. Why did he hire Collins, Ainsley Glover’s future son-in-law, of all people? Good question, but here’s an even better one. When Coben sent him to see Andy Martin, using his name, to warn him off getting involved with Glover, how did he know that Glover had visited Andy? When he sent Collins, again in his name, to buy the cigars that were booby-trapped and used to kill Henry Mount, how did he know that Henry was involved at all?’ He looked around the table. ‘Ideas?’ he asked.
‘We keep hearing about the possibility of a third person in the project,’ said McIlhenney. ‘I’m wondering whether it’s possible that Collins was him, and was passing information to Coben.’
‘I doubt that, sir,’ Pye countered. ‘June Connelly told us that Glover couldn’t stand him, and only tolerated him because he was his daughter’s boyfriend. By the way, remember the references by DCC Martin and the witness McBain to the man they saw having a military bearing? Ray and I asked the Saltire editor about his background; he told us that after he left university, Collins did three years in the army, on a short service commission.’
‘Another hole filled,’ said Skinner. ‘For what it’s worth,’ he grinned, ‘and it had better be worth a lot, gentlemen, I believe that Coben was given all that information by Mount and Glover themselves. I believe that Coben was the third man in the project; that like Collins, the two dead authors knew their killer. . but clearly, they didn’t know him as Coben. They knew him as somebody else. Coben is moving among us, guys; some of us have probably met him.’ He leaned back in his chair, in a sudden movement. ‘OK, that’s what I know so far,’ he said, addressing the two DIs. ‘What do either of you know beyond that?’ He frowned as Regan’s phone rang.
‘Sorry, sir,’ he said, checking the caller number on its display. ‘It’s McDermid. I told her she could call if she got any new relevant information.’
‘Answer her then, but put her on speaker, if you can.’
‘I can do that.’ Regan took the call and laid his phone on the table. ‘Lisa,’ he warned, ‘I’m in a meeting with the chief and others, and we can all hear you. If it’s not urgent, call later.’