The DCI decided to move on. He recalled that Roper had been on the brink of sharing a theory about Diamonds and Pearls but the news of the trio making a run for it had got in the way.
“So, what were you going to say before we got that message?”
Roper was quiet for a moment as he debated talking about it. A deep frown appeared, and the DCI hoped that it didn’t mean Roper was getting cross.
“I have run it through my Rainbow Spectrum, and I think I have an answer. First of all, I do not believe they are the bombers. I know it looks bad now but there is nothing that suggests they have the skills or contacts to organise three such attacks. It would take military expertise and they do not possess it.”
Hooley went to interrupt him.
“I know what you’re going to say, and they don’t have any military contacts who could have fixed it for them.” Roper paused again before continuing, “But there is something very interesting in their backgrounds.”
He stopped and produced one of his enigmatic expressions. To his surprise, Hooley realised he had stopped breathing. Every now and again, Roper showed he could spin things with the best of them.
“Go on then,” he urged.
“We’ve been assuming all along that the three of them are rich kids with access to lots of money. Well the truth is they are, and they aren’t. You see, they met up at the very expensive English public school, Millfield… but they had to leave before their A-levels because both sets of their parents coincidentally lost their money at the same time. They were said to be pretty angry and upset about losing their lifestyle. They dropped out of sight, then reappeared a few years later with Diamonds and Pearls.”
“So, you’re saying teenage trauma turned them into the nasty little gits they are today?”
If he noted the sarcasm, Roper wasn’t biting. “There is that aspect, certainly. But I think it is most likely they were left uniquely vulnerable. I think someone worked out that all three of them could be lured into wrongdoing by the promise of restoring their former lives.”
Chapter 25
Mary Lou Healy had a work ethic second to none. In a company notorious for the hours put in by its staff, she was a workaholic cliché: first in, last out. She always said her early starts gave her the chance to get ahead of any updates that arrived overnight from California. In practice that meant she was switching on the coffee machine at a time when most people still had a couple of hours in bed. Night Security called her the “Dawn Ranger” and jokingly chided her if she was just a few minutes late.
Today the coffee maker was still cold because she realised there was trouble ahead. An urgent request had come in from Silicon Valley; it raised technical concerns about the new phones and their foldable screens. The problem was exacerbated by the way John Ryder worked. He might have been a genius at marketing, and the man who knew exactly what his customers wanted, but he kept his secrets close and always had. When he was around to ask that didn’t matter, but now it did.
She was acutely aware that, with Ryder out of action, she didn’t have a clue who to speak to about the development work, or even which continent it was being carried out on. Last year he had developed a new software with an Indian company that no-one else had known about until he produced the finished product. The year before he had teamed up with a Hungarian maverick who had approached him directly, having heard that Ryder was open to striking immediate deals with people who had “interesting” work. Not everything worked out, but it was the way he liked it, keeping things close until they were ready for launch, never mind how many people at his own company would suddenly find they had been out of the loop.
For years Healy had accepted that this was the price to be paid for working with such a brilliant man – but recently she felt he was ever more willing to go out on a limb, even when the odds weren’t all that favourable.
She was no engineer, but she knew that the technology behind the supersized phone screen was complicated. People had been trying to crack it for years and, until a few days ago, she had heard nothing to suggest it was about to be fixed.
She also knew that Ryder had become increasingly obsessed with the progress a Chinese competitor was making, saying that they left his company grubbing around in the dirt.
Her gloomy thoughts were interrupted as Taggert walked in, her eyes shining with intensity.
She made a beeline for the coffee maker, exasperated that it was still in the process of warming up. Healy looked at her, waiting for her to say what was on her mind – but Taggert only stared at the machine, willing it to hurry up and get ready.
Finally, she dragged herself away and turned to Healy. “I guess it’s true about watched pots never boiling. But I could really do with a cup of Java right now.”
“It’ll be five minutes at least, I’m afraid. I can make you a cup of instant coffee. I always keep some just in case of emergencies like this.”
This produced a smile. “Thank you, Mary Lou, but I’ll wait for the real stuff. It’s just that I’ve spent most of the night talking to people in California and a shot of quality caffeine is on my radar.”
She looked up to check the door was shut and then made her way over to Healy’s desk. Walking round to sit on the edge next to her assistant. she leaned in conspiratorially.
“That problem with the screens is proving much worse than we first thought. A few are OK, a lot are hopeless, and some keep switching on and off. No-one knows who made them so we can’t find out how to fix it. Everyone thought that, because John came over here for the launch, that I would have all the answers. Since the early hours I’ve been trying to tell people that I don’t. I’d already told them everything I knew on that earlier conference call. I assume John was going to fill in all the details after the launch, but obviously he never got the chance to do that. They’ve asked me to get over there and coordinate everything. In the meantime, our techs are looking to see if they can reverse engineer a solution.”
She stopped talking and, for just a moment, her face showed how tired she was. She gently rubbed at her temples.
“I’m glad that you and Miss Kitty are going to be here, watching my back. I’m going to need you to get busy and see if we can work out who John was talking to, to get these handsets into production. They’re sending one of the company planes over to pick me up from London City Airport. I need to be there in a couple of hours.”
Healy shrugged and patted her boss’s hand. “At least the coffee should be ready by then. I noticed you didn’t bring any bags in with you. Are you going to take the emergency kit from here?”
“I didn’t want to waste time thinking about what I needed when I knew you had already prepared something for me.”
Healy smiled. “You’ve got five days of clothes so, after that, it’s get it cleaned, or buy in new. I’ve even added a small bottle of clothes wash so you can take care of your knickers as you go along.” She suddenly looked serious. “I do think it’s very strange that all these handsets have suddenly got problems. We both know that John isn’t afraid of taking a risk, but I can’t see him taking such a big one.”
“I know. That’s been bothering me as well. He gave no hint of any concerns and it’s really not like him to send out something with so many question marks over it. I can’t help wondering if the attack, and now this, are somehow connected.”
Chapter 26
Hooley thought Roper was overdoing the big reveal but kept his tone light.
“OK. You’ve got my attention.”
Roper performed a short nod, which seemed to suggest he had just run through what he was going to say. “I think Diamonds and Pearls is about drugs, money laundering or industrial espionage.”
The DCI was taken aback. Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t this. Roper seemed oblivious to his surprise as he explained his thinking.
“If I am honest, the first two are probably the things that most people would suggest. I guess drugs would be the top choice because you have a lot of we
althy young people around, and money laundering would be an obvious concern because it is a business with a high turnover, a lot of it in cash.
“But I’ve had a chance to do some digging and there are questions about Emily Wong and where her money comes from. Her father is described as an industrialist and he is linked to various production sites in and around Hong Kong. It’s when you try to get a bit deeper that you run into difficulties with him. Some reports say he works in sensitive fields of Artificial Intelligence and military operations, so I have to wonder if there is a link there.
“There’s a lot of discussion on the net about China trying to get its hands-on Western technology. The suggestion is that they are stealing all sorts of advances, especially in AI or machine learning. We know the Americans are very angry about it. The trouble is, I don’t really know much, apart from what I’ve read, so I can’t say how true it is. The reality is probably that everyone is watching what everyone else is doing and so many developments are open sourced now – so I suppose you could find out what is going on quite easily. But I think Diamonds and Pearls would make a very good front for industrial espionage as it would allow people to come and go all the time without drawing attention to themselves.”
As he listened, Hooley realised he was conflicted. The idea was fascinating, and a perfect demonstration of the way Roper’s thought process was so different to everyone else. He might have gone for the drugs option, maybe money laundering – but never industrial espionage.
“Do you have anything to really stand this up, or is it more a sense you’re getting through how your research stacks up in the Rainbow Spectrum?”
Roper steepled his hands again. “I do get a sense through the Spectrum, but I am going to have to talk to MI5 and MI6 about this. I thought I could also get Sam to talk to her sources in American intelligence. What I need is to be briefed by people with real knowledge.”
Hooley nodded approvingly. “Good idea, especially talking to Sam. I bet she’s itching to get more involved.” Hooley had only met her a couple of times but had always been impressed by her self-confidence and energy. Before Roper could reply, he went on, “What do you make of the way they were able to vanish so quickly?”
“That’s the easy bit. It shows that, whatever they were involved in, they were worried enough to have a plan for getting away in the event of things going wrong. To me that makes espionage more likely.” He stopped and looked rueful. “But that theory could apply to drugs or money laundering.”
“I agree with you there. The more intelligent criminals do tend to think a few steps ahead, rather than assuming that everything is going to be alright. It’s always the daft ones who get caught first.”
He picked up a copy of the London Evening Standard. Although it was available online, he enjoyed the feel of the paper in his hands.
He went on. “People who get away with things for a long time start to think they’re invincible. Then something happens and they realise they’re not safe at all.”
Roper was staring into the middle distance.
Hooley had seen this many times. “So, what’s going through that planet sized brain of yours?”
This comment brought Roper back into the real world – and for a moment he looked at Hooley in such a puzzled way that the DCI had to fight off an urge to laugh.
“How did you know I was thinking about something?”
Hooley grinned at him. “That would be telling, but let’s just say it would be ‘elemental dear Watson’.”
Roper scowled. “I suppose you’re making one of your Sherlock Holmes jokes. But you’re right: The Rainbow Spectrum has suggested a possibility and it could be that our three suspects may be smarter than we had thought.”
Chapter 27
After making his announcement, Roper stood up and left the office. Hooley watched him go, being careful not to let his feelings get in the way. He’d seen Roper do this many times before. Faced with a difficult problem, he often went for a walk as he tried to resolve the issue.
This time it must have been especially complex as he was gone for more than fifteen minutes. But now he was back, and from his expression, he was working it out.
“I’m ready, I’m sitting down, and I don’t need a drink,” said Hooley. “Hit me with your theory.”
Roper didn’t need any further prompting. “What if everything they’ve said to us so far has been done to disguise the real operation and the fallout from it? As you said, it’s hard to imagine those three getting involved in murder. The last thing we would expect is for them to be involved in industrial espionage. That’s the sort of thing that nation states get up to, not three young people somehow persuading their fellows to buy a load of over-priced produce. So… I’m wondering if even that nonsense story they told us about the sister and the manager was just to buy them time. They’d know we’d check it out, but they could launch their getaway plan in the meantime.”
Hooley was looking confused. “You seem to be making an awful lot of intuitive jumps today. Do you think you should rein things back in a little? I'm not sure if I can really follow what you're saying.”
Roper was nodding vigorously. “I know, I know. The thing is, my Rainbow Spectrum has really jumped into life. It seems to be working flat-out at the moment. It's the clearest on anything since I started.” He paused. “I haven't wanted to say anything before, but I was getting worried about the idea that the spectrum might have been going dark. Maybe I had too much to think about and couldn’t get things straight. But the chance to talk things through with you just now has made the difference.”
Hooley leaned back in his chair. “I don't suppose your spectrum can tell us where they might go?”
Roper jumped up. “My spectrum may not be up to that, but I do have an idea. I think we should look at Paris.”
Hooley took a deep breath. “Any reason for that theory? Apart from the fact that it was only a few days ago that you and I got as far as Gare Du Nord? We didn’t even get off the train, I might add…”
This was the type of comment that often flummoxed Roper. He looked anxious and said, “Is that some sort of joke? Have I just missed something?”
On another occasion the pair could have explored that idea for some time. Not today.
“No, it's not a joke,” said Hooley. “Well at least not a big joke. I was just making a point that we managed to get as far as a Parisian railway station and then had to come straight home. I don't suppose many people can say that.”
The DCI knew that Roper had an eclectic range of knowledge and an eidetic memory to explore it with, but even he was surprised at what Roper said next.
“You would be surprised. While there are no official figures, we are definitely not the first people to arrive and go straight back to the UK. I read about it in a blog that came up when I was doing some research. It was fascinating, and I have to say…” He trailed off as Hooley held up both hands, palms out. It was his long-understood signal for Roper to stop talking.
“I don't think we have the time to go off message just now. I’m not being rude, but you need to explain why you think Paris should be the main place we're looking.”
“I was doing some background research and I noticed that Diamonds and Pearls sold a lot of items that were made in France. In a recent interview the brother said that they had invested in an apartment in Paris. I don't know if they’ll be staying in that apartment, but clearly, they know the city well – and it may be exactly the type of place they would feel safe in. At the last count, the population of the whole Paris region was 12,082,144. So easy to hide away.”
Hooley had been listening intently and didn't need Roper to repeat what he had just said.
“I'm very happy to go along with this. We can put the request through the Commissioner’s office so that it comes with maximum authority.”
Roper’s expression became ever more boyish. He looked like he was about to burst into applause. “This is incredibly exciting,” he said. “I’ve hea
rd that the French have been working on a new piece of software which can search through thousands of hours of CCTV footage and find matches that other software misses.
“It is much more efficient than anything we have at the moment – although I understand that the NSA is talking to MI5 about a new programme they have – so there must be a very good chance that they will be found if they are there.
“The point of difference is that the software is able to access even the cheapest home surveillance system and enhance the pictures. If what I hear is accurate, we may not have to wait very long to find out if these three are in Paris. Then they can be picked up and brought back here.”
Hooley reached for his phone and placed a speed dial to Julie Mayweather’s private line, which he only used for the most urgent matters.
“The good news,” he finally said, “is that, when it comes to terror attacks, the French don’t mess about. If they do find them, there won’t be any silly stuff about human rights. They’ll be happy to send them straight back.”
Chapter 28
Tony Cross was planning to disappear – and fast.
He’d always feared a day like this would come and his priority, now, was putting his escape plan into action.
Many years ago, without consulting Palmer, he had bought a remote cottage in northern Wales that would serve as an immediate bolt-hole in the event of emergencies. His priority had been choosing somewhere that was hidden from sight, and the two-bedroom property suited his purpose. The nearest neighbour was more than three miles away and the house itself was tucked away in a little valley accessed by an unpromising looking track.
The house itself was little more than a sheep shelter that had been given a minimal make-over to allow it to be used for human habitation. It wasn’t linked to any services, not even water – and certainly not electricity or telephone. It didn’t even register on the local authority’s council tax lists. For all intents and purposes, it was invisible.
Just Kill Them Page 10
