Now I was angry, too. She really did think that I was in on it somehow, or that, at best, I had known what Warick was doing and had covered for him. If that was what she thought, then I knew that this conversation was going to end up with one or both of us saying something we’d regret.
“Just say it, Christine. You think I’m involved, don’t you? You think I’ve, what, been his inside man all this time, throwing the investigation off his scent, and feeding him information? You don’t think that I feel just as betrayed as you? I thought Warick was my friend; more than that, he was almost like a father to me.” I took a breath and tried to calm down. “Did that make me blind to his faults? Yes. Does that mean that I’ve made mistakes, mistakes I bitterly regret? Absolutely. But I am not involved in his operation. You have to believe me.”
Christine and I watched each other cautiously for a moment, both of us tense and alert. I wanted to back down so badly, but I was hurt and upset by her lack of trust. Finally, she relaxed.
“I don’t really think you’ve been involved in his gang the whole time,” she sighed. “But I did worry that you’d had your head turned, and that I was walking into a trap when I came to make the exchange.” She grinned. “I mean, more of a trap than it already was.”
My head turned? Did she think I would sell her out for Warick’s millions?
“You really think Warick could buy me off?” I asked quietly, deeply hurt by her suggestion. She waved her hands in something like despair.
“I don’t know, Jason. We’re talking about a lot of money here. There’s a lot of people who would happily look the other way for even the tiniest share of his take from all these diamond heists. You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t even consider it.”
“Well, I didn’t consider it,” I told her quietly. I laughed. “In fact, he didn’t even try and make me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
Christine looked surprised. “He didn’t try and buy you off?”
“No; he never even mentioned a deal. It was all about getting me—and you—off his tail so he could go off and live a life of luxury somewhere. That’s his plan now. One more heist here in Antwerp, he says, and then he skips the continent and heads somewhere they don’t have extradition deals. Even now that we have Al-Farook, and know what he’s up to, he still says he’s going to carry out his heist as planned.”
I moved my chair closer to hers. “I realize I’ve given you no reason at all to trust me, but we have to work together now. That’s the only way we’re going to stop Warick from hurting anyone else, and to make him pay for all those lives he’s already destroyed.” Including mine, I thought to myself, with more than a little self-pity.
“We have less than three days until Thursday the 18th. We have very little time to figure out exactly where he’s going to attack and put a plan into action, so we can’t waste our time sulking or arguing.” I nudged Christine in the arm jokingly. “We can do all that when the investigation is over.”
I had hoped that I could coax a smile out of Christine, but she just stared at me seriously.
“What?” I said, suddenly feeling a little afraid.
“We have even less time than that,” she told me. “Aquil said they’re moving the operation forward. I’m waiting for the all clear from the doctor before we can go and speak to him again.”
I felt my blood run cold. Of course Warick wouldn’t just wait around in Antwerp for us to catch him. If his plan really was to pull off one more heist and then disappear forever, then he would want to do that as soon as he possibly could.
I stood. “What are we waiting for, then? We need to speak to Al-Farook now, whatever the doctor says.”
Christine laid a calming hand on my arm. “His name isn’t Al-Farook. It’s Aquil. Aquil Siddiqui. And he’s a victim, not a suspect, remember?” She paused. “I don’t know if you can fully grasp that, given you’ve been hunting him for months.”
As much as I wanted to start interrogating Al-Farook—Aquil—as soon as possible, I knew Christine was right. Would I be able to treat him as a victim, when his face had dominated my every waking hour for the last three years?
“I need to see him, Christine,” I pleaded. “I know this sounds really phony and American, but I need closure on this.”
Finally, Christine’s face broke into that beautiful smile. “You’re right—that does sound really phony and American.” She sighed. “OK, when the doctor gives us the all clear, you can come into the room with me. But you let me do the talking.”
Chapter 17
Christine
It was 1pm by the time the doctor told us it was OK to see Aquil. He had started him on rehab treatment for his forced heroin addiction, and was also giving him fluids to help him recover from the shock, as well as some of the physical injuries he had sustained during his three-year ordeal.
The room was in semi-darkness as Jason and I entered. Aquil looked nothing like the evil terrorist I’m sure Jason was expecting; tucked into the white sheets, he looked more like a scared little boy.
I pulled a seat up next to his bed and motioned for Jason to do the same.
“Hi, Aquil,” I said in a soft voice, trying to employ my best bedside manner. “This is my friend, Jason.”
Aquil moved his eyes to look over at Jason, who gave him a cheery wave. I knew how hard it was for Jason to get the idea of Aquil as a wanted man out of his head, but at least he seemed willing to try. At that moment, I loved him for it, and had to drag my focus back to Aquil and our questions. It was the only way we were going to catch Warick, after all.
“Jason and I need your help, Aquil,” I continued. “Do you remember when we were talking in the car and you told me that their next attack had been moved forward?” Aquil nodded weakly. “Well, we want to try and stop them before they hurt anyone else. But to do that, we need your help.”
Aquil closed his eyes and a solitary tear trickled down his cheek.
“Aquil,” I persisted, laying my hand gently on his arm.
“They think I don’t hear them,” Aquil said suddenly, his voice little more than a whisper. “So they talk around me, like I’m nothing. Talk about what they are going to do. What they have done.” He swallowed hard as his voice started to crack. I gave his arm an encouraging squeeze.
“You were the one who saw my messages about the attacks?” he asked suddenly, opening his eyes. Jason and I both nodded. “My uncle teach me Morse code when I was a boy.” More tears started to flow. “I don’t even know if my uncle is alive or dead any more. Any of my family. Is my mother here?” he asked, alarmed, his attention wandering.
“No, Aquil, she isn’t here,” I told him gently. “But we have sent word to tell her that you’re safe. She knows you’re alive.” Aquil smiled. I could sense Jason was becoming impatient, but I had to go slowly. This young man was fragile, damaged. If I pushed too hard, he might stop speaking to us altogether.
“The next attack, Aquil,” Jason interrupted. “When is it?” I glowered at him and poor Aquil shrunk back further into the covers.
“I’m not involved in attacks! I know nothing about the attacks!” he shouted hoarsely, and turning to me, he added pleadingly, “You say you believe me!”
“I do believe you, Aquil. We all believe you.” I shook my head at Jason, and he sat back in his seat, reprimanded. “But you said you know something about when the next attack is happening? Maybe you know a little more than that? Something that we could use to stop them?”
Aquil relaxed a little, keeping his eyes on me. “Today is Tuesday?” he asked. I told him yes. He thought for a moment. “Then the attack is today.”
Jason and I both stiffened in our seats. The attack could be happening at any minute; in fact, it could already have started and all this might be too little, too late.
“What time, Aquil?” I asked, trying to keep my voice as calm and reassuring as possible. He held up three fingers. “They rob shops at 3pm. After they steal, then they blow up building. Kill those inside.”
He swallowed hard, trying to stop himself from crying. “No witnesses, Warick says. He always says, no witnesses.”
Jason took his phone out of his pocket, raising his eyebrows at me, as if questioning whether it was OK to make the call. I hesitated. Did I trust him now? Did I trust that he was going to call the authorities and not tip Warick off that we knew he had changed his plan? I felt sick to my stomach, torn between wanting to trust Jason and wanting to do everything in my power to make sure we caught Warick.
I shook my head and took out my own phone, instead, dialing Billman’s number. Jason was confused, but then realization dawned, and he just looked terribly hurt instead. If my suspicions were unfounded, I told myself, I would make it up to him later. If he’d let me.
“Billman?” I said when she answered the phone. “I have Aquil Siddiqui here with me. He’s being very helpful, but I want to put you on speakerphone so you can hear his intelligence and make sure we react as soon as possible.”
I placed the phone close to Aquil. “My friend Alana is on the other end of this phone,” I told him, wincing at using Billman’s unfamiliar first name. “She is in charge of a lot of people who can get to Warick before his next attack.”
“You arrest him?” Aquil asked. I replied yes, and heard Billman say the same from the speakerphone. “If you let him go, he will get to me, I know it.” He was becoming agitated again; I had to find a way to calm him or he wasn’t going to be able to help us. I could see the doctor was becoming fidgety in the corner. The last thing I needed was for him to tell us we had to stop the interview.
“He will tell you lies—he will tell you it was all me, but I am innocent! I tell you, I am innocent!”
“Aquil,” Jason interrupted. “I promise you that this man will not escape. I promise that you are safe now.” He paused. “And we all know you are innocent. You are not going to be punished for something you did not do. Especially when you are being so helpful to me and my friend.” The two men looked at each other, and I saw Aquil nod in relief.
“So, the attack is at 3pm,” I repeated, more for Billman’s benefit than Aquil’s. “Do you know where? There are a lot of diamond merchants here in Antwerp—you understand it is difficult for us to watch them all. If you can tell us anything that you heard them say, then it might help us to narrow it down.”
Aquil shook his head, and, for an awful moment, I thought he was going to say that he didn’t know where the attacks were going to take place. “The names here are strange,” he said finally.
I tried to encourage him. “Anything you can remember will help us, Aquil. Anything at all?”
He looked at me with a helpless expression. “They said something about a handle I think? And then the shop next to it. They want to hit them both at the same time, yes? Steal more in one go.”
A handle? What did that mean? I looked at Luc, who stood in the doorway, hoping his local knowledge might be of some use, but he just shrugged helplessly.
There was a quiet cough from the doctor in the corner of the room. Please, I thought, don’t stop us talking to him now. Just when we were getting somewhere…
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” he said. “But there is a diamond shop called Groothandel on Pelikaanstraat in the city center. And I think it is in the same building as another diamond seller.”
I looked at Aquil. “Groothandel?” I repeated carefully. “Is that what you heard?”
He nodded, and I grabbed the phone from the bed. “Did you get that, Billman? Groothandel on…” I looked over at the doctor for help with the unfamiliar street name.
“Pelikaanstraat,” he said again.
I repeated it for Billman.
“Got it,” she replied. “You and Jason get to the scene. I’ll arrange for local back-up, but I want you two on point, if you think you’re up to it.”
I looked over at Jason. Part of me was still unsure whose side he was on; unsure whose side he had ever been on, to be honest. But if that was the case, wasn’t it better that I stuck by his side? Kept an eye on what he was up to?
“We’re up to it,” I told her, as we stood up to leave.
Chapter 18
Jason
It was clear from the way Christine had worked so hard to protect Aquil from my questioning that she still wasn’t convinced of my motives. I would have thought the bruising and swelling on my face, not to mention my eagerness to bring Warick to justice, would have been enough for her to trust me, but I was obviously going to have to work harder to prove myself worthy. Part of me didn’t blame her; I had brought Warick to the table; I had told her that he was my best contact; I had even told her all about our close friendship. Not only had he turned out not to be the man I’d thought he was, but he was apparently the man we had all been looking for the whole time.
Henri said he would drive us to the diamond district; on the way, he was in constant contact with the rest of his team, translating their messages for us, well, for me, anyway, as we traveled.
It was now less than two hours until the attacks were scheduled. We had to assume that Warick and his gang were already watching their targets, so we couldn’t simply walk in the front door—or have the staff evacuate that way, either.
Henri had the bright idea of asking the two targeted businesses to “close for lunch” and then for the staff to make a big show of leaving together, as if they had plans. It would be an unexpected development for Warick and his team, and it might stop them from carrying out the assault, but hopefully he had his heart set on that last big pay-off. Hopefully, he would go ahead, regardless.
It took a few minutes to arrange for the removal of the staff; I’ve never seen any group of people look less like they were heading out for a fun lunch break. Their faces were ashen white—hardly surprising, when you thought that armed police had just been on the phone telling them their place of work was about to be attacked and blown up by a gang of ruthless robbers.
Christine and I entered the building from an entrance in the back alley, which ran parallel to the main street. I had to admit to checking more conscientiously than usual when I exited the car—being attacked by a sniper three times in two days will do that to you—but there was no sign of Warick or his gang. In fact, everything was suspiciously quiet.
Once inside, Henri gave us a very brief tour of the layout of the building. The ground floor was taken up by the two diamond merchants’ shops and offices; above were four more stories containing more offices, with residential flats on the top floor. These had also been evacuated. The building was entirely empty apart from me, Christine, Henri and millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds.
They covered every surface in the shop, and the offices were no better. There were trays of gems everywhere, under secured glass, glittering, twinkling, and catching the eye no matter where you stood or where you looked. They were captivating, and I could begin to see how someone like Warick had become so fixated on having more and more of them.
I realized with a start that Christine had been watching me this whole time. I don’t think I could have looked more suspicious if I’d tried, gazing open-mouthed at all the diamonds on display. I tried to focus, look more business-like, but I was worried that the damage had been done.
While I could understand Christine’s suspicions, I was worried she was letting them get in the way of the operation. If she really thought I was part of Warick’s gang, then she should have locked me up and made sure I was nowhere near the scene. I was no use at all at the moment. I couldn’t move without Christine watching me like a hawk; which meant that she wasn’t doing her own job properly, which in turn meant that I found myself watching the scene for both of us. I had less than an hour to convince her that she could safely turn her back on me for a moment—otherwise, we could all end up paying the price.
Henri and his colleagues left to take up their positions in the back alley. They had snipers on nearby rooftops and undercover officers in the street outside watching for Warick’s approach or escape. Christin
e and I had agreed that we would take a position inside the diamond stores themselves. We needed to catch Warick in the act; plus, the last the thing we wanted was for him to catch sight of one of us and be in the wind before we knew anything about it.
There was less than an hour to go by the time Henri left us alone. Christine spent a few minutes checking all the doors in the two diamond stores, again, making sure no emergency exit had been left unlocked and unsecured. I went over to the window to take a peek out into the street; I could spot the plainclothes police right off. I guess we had to hope that Warick’s arrogance meant he genuinely wasn’t expecting us to have figured out the details of his plan. He certainly seemed to have underestimated Aquil’s abilities.
As I stepped back from the window, I caught Christine watching me again. This was getting crazy. What, did she think I was sending signals to Warick and his men by moving the blinds now? I’m fairly sure that, in these days of modern technology, if I’d wanted to warn him, I could have done it in a far more effective fashion.
“What?” I snapped, finally losing my patience. I was unsure what would prove to this girl that I was on her side. Despite the fact that I had done nothing but tell her the truth, she didn’t believe a word I said. I had been fooled just as much as anyone by Warick—even more. I already felt like a total fool for believing in him, and worse for defending him to the hilt to colleagues who had seen right through him in just a few hours. I had admitted my mistake, apologized countless times, and yet she was still stubbornly refusing to give me the benefit of the doubt. It was beginning to seem that what had happened between us on the plane meant very little to Christine Simmons, despite what it had meant to me.
“I was actually just wondering if you’re OK,” she responded quietly to my outburst. “This can’t be easy for you, I mean, given the circumstances. If you think it might be too difficult to face him…”
Toxic Seduction (Romantic Secret Agents Series Book 3) Page 10
