Dead Line

by Stella Rimington

  ‘What are you doing in there?’

  ‘Shhhhh,’ he replied, stepping out from underneath the trees. He merged into the background in his black jeans and a grey turtleneck, but she could see his face clearly. Once again she thought how handsome he was.

  ‘What’s the matter? Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?’ she demanded huffily.

  ‘Of course not,’ he said. ‘But we need to be careful, for your sake as well as mine. I’m here on business this time, with colleagues, and if they saw me with you it would be a bit hard to explain. They’re very strict about this sort of thing. I could be suspended, or even worse.’

  ‘Oh,’ she said, now sharing his concern.

  A car accelerated on the road behind her and Sammy started, moving quickly back into the shelter of the trees. She followed more slowly and the car’s headlights just touched her as it passed. They stood under the bough of a tall spruce. She felt like a teenager on a furtive rendezvous. There was something thrilling about the whole encounter.

  ‘I didn’t know you were coming,’ she said a little petulantly.

  ‘I didn’t know myself, honestly. I only arrived last night. Anyway I’m here now,’ he added firmly.

  ‘How long are you staying?’

  ‘Only until tomorrow, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Well, at least that gives us tonight.’

  ‘Don’t you have to work?’

  ‘You’re in luck. I’ve got the night off.’ She had managed at the last minute to switch nights off with Sonja, one of the Polish girls. ‘What’s your room number this time?’ she asked, smiling up at him.

  But he was shaking his head. ‘I’m not in the hotel. I’m sorry, but I’m in a Glenmor house with my colleagues. I can’t try and smuggle you in there; we’d get caught.’

  ‘Oh,’ she said, unable to disguise her annoyance. Why had he bothered to contact her then? ‘But you’ll be back for this conference, won’t you? Don’t tell me you’ll be staying with these people then.’

  ‘I won’t be staying at all. Officially I’m not going to be at the conference,’ he said flatly, then looking at her his tone softened. ‘But don’t worry - I’ll be nearby. Only no one’s to know that I’m around. It’s strictly hush-hush. Do you understand?’ There was a hard edge to his voice which scared Jana a little, and she nodded right away.

  ‘Good. Now listen to me,’ he said, putting an arm around her shoulders. She tried to snuggle up against his chest, but he held her away. She could feel the strength of his arms, and wished they could be somewhere more private. ‘There’s something I want you to do for me during the conference. Two things actually - things I can’t do myself, because I won’t be here. Will you do them for me?’

  She looked up at him and said, ‘That depends.’

  ‘Depends on what?’ There was that hint of coldness in his voice again.

  She detached herself from his arm, then took him by the hand. ‘It depends on how nice you are to me now.’ And she pulled him in the direction of the woods behind them.

  ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘You know. Come on,’ she said, ‘the pine needles back there are very soft.’

  It was dark when she walked back to the hotel, brushing off the pine needles from the back of her skirt. She laughed inwardly at the ridiculousness of it all; she could have been a schoolgirl again, meeting Franz, the lawyer’s son, by the river near the tavern. But she couldn’t help herself; she had never been able to.

  Besides, the man was so attractive, far too much so for her to miss the opportunity. He could be a little cold, Jana decided, almost steely, but then, that was part of his attraction.

  She thought of what he had asked her to do. It certainly seemed odd, but she reassured herself that it couldn’t be anything wrong, or else he wouldn’t be coming back after all these international bigwigs had been and gone. She was a bit frightened, but she hadn’t wanted to admit that. She’d have to find someone else to do the other thing - how could she be five miles away at the same time she was waiting on tables at dinner? But she knew that her friend Mateo, one of the busboys, would do it for her. He was Spanish and he had an enormous family. What had he said? Twelve brothers and sisters. Five hundred pounds wasn’t to be sneezed at and all he had to do for it was walk up some hills.

  FORTY-THREE

  ‘You’ve been shopping,’ said Liz, as Peggy Kinsolving walked into her office in a new trouser suit with a short jacket that showed off her figure.

  Peggy blushed. ‘Do you like it?’ she asked.

  Liz nodded. ‘It suits you,’ she said, thinking that things must be going well with Tim. Peggy didn’t usually bother much about clothes; but now, thought Liz, with a tinge of jealousy, she had someone to appreciate them.

  They discussed what they’d come to call The Syrian Plot, Liz voicing her frustration at the lack of obvious leads. ‘Now that Bokus and Brookhaven are in the clear, the only element that keeps recurring is Mossad - or Kollek, actually. I think we need to home in on him. Why don’t you do some digging?’

  ‘Can I talk with people in Israel?’

  ‘I’d rather you didn’t for now.’

  ‘That won’t help,’ said Peggy.

  Liz understood the complaint, but shook her head. ‘If we tell Mossad we’re interested in Kollek they’ll want to know exactly why, and we’ve promised the Americans to be discreet.’

  ‘What about other sources there? You know, his school and university.’

  ‘Sorry, no. It’s such a small country they’d soon find out we’d been asking. We can’t take the risk. I’m afraid you’ll have to stick to his time in the UK. Start with his visa application.’

  ‘Anything in particular I’m looking for?’

  ‘See if you can find out where else he’s been posted. Check with the friendlies and see if they know him. Show them his photograph - he might have been using other names. Talk to the FBI. They might have something on him that they haven’t shared with the CIA. But for heaven’s sake don’t blow Bokus’s little secret.’

  ‘It sounds a bit of a long shot.’

  Liz knew Peggy wasn’t being negative, just realistic. ‘You never know,’ she said encouragingly. ‘Something may turn up and it’s all we’ve got to go on for now.’

  After Peggy had left, Liz rang Sophie Margolis’s home number. Her friend picked up on the second ring.

  ‘Hi Sophie, it’s Liz. How are things?’

  She listened patiently while Sophie told her the latest about her two children (school phobia and teething were the current concerns) and about David’s recent promotion.

  ‘And how about Hannah?’ Liz asked at last.

  ‘She’s fine. The peace conference has got her very excited.’

  ‘I’ll bet,’ said Liz. ‘Has she seen anything of our friend

  Kollek lately?’

  ‘Funny you should ask. She hadn’t mentioned him for a while, but they’re having lunch just now, while we speak.’

  ‘Really?’ Liz thought quickly. ‘I’d like to talk to her about him if I could. He’s proving a bit of a puzzle - though please don’t say so to Hannah. Is there any chance I could drop in for a bit? Maybe this evening if that’s not too short notice.’

  ‘Of course. Come after work. You can share our chicken stir fry, if that’s an inducement. And don’t worry, I won’t say anything except that you’re dropping in.’

  One more call to make. She looked through her phone book and found Edward Treglown’s work number. She slightly dreaded phoning, since they’d fixed the date almost two weeks before. The switchboard put her through to a secretary, who was frosty when Liz asked for Edward –‘Will he know what it’s about?’ had to be Liz’s least favourite telephone response.

  But Edward came on straight away, sounding cheerful. ‘Hello, Liz. Your mother and I are both looking forward to this evening.’

  ‘Oh Edward,’ she said with undisguised regret, ‘that’s exactly why I’m ringing. I can’t make it. Something’s come
up at work, and I have to see someone.’

  The pause was almost imperceptible, and she thanked him mentally for the way he reacted. ‘Doesn’t matter. We’ll find another time. But listen, help me with something. If you can’t come, I’d like to do something special for your mother. She’ll be so disappointed not to see you. Have you any ideas?’

  She had a sudden inspiration. ‘Why don’t you take her up in the Eye? There’s a special deal where they give you champagne.’

  ‘That sounds like the voice of experience,’ he said with a chuckle. ‘Splendid idea. Just sorry you can’t join us. Ring soon and we’ll make another plan.’

  Hannah seemed excited, drinking white wine and munching prawn crackers she took in handfuls from a large bowl on the kitchen table. Sophie had disappeared momentarily to put little Zack to bed - the baby was already asleep.

  ‘I was just telling Sophie before you came that I’ve had the most wonderful news. I’ve been asked to go to the peace conference, as part of the peace delegation.’ Her eyes lit up.

  ‘That’s great. I didn’t know there was to be a peace delegation. So you’re going to Gleneagles?’

  Hannah nodded. ‘I’ve even got a place to stay. Some B and B in Auchterarder.’ She laughed. ‘Did I pronounce it right?’

  ‘I think so,’ said Liz, with a smile. ‘To the Scots I’m as foreign as you.’

  ‘Obviously, from the Israeli government point of view it’s all just a PR exercise. They’ve invited a small group of Jewish peace activists to meet the Israeli delegation before the main conference starts. But if they think we’re just going to act like yes men they’ve got another think coming.’ She added defiantly, ‘We’ll make our views known, don’t you worry. They have no more right to act as if they represent Israel than we do.’

  ‘Who invited you?’

  ‘The embassy,’ she said proudly. ‘They knew I was here and put my name on the list.’ Then she looked embarrassed. ‘I think Danny had something to do with it. He denied it, but he knew how much I’d like to go.’

  She seemed so enthusiastic that Liz waited a moment before asking, ‘Did Danny say if he’d be going to the conference, too?’

  ‘Yes. I mean no, he won’t be. It’s a shame in some ways, though I think it would have been difficult for him - you know, having to act as a member of the official delegation, while your heart was really with the peace movement people.’

  Liz tried to look sympathetic, but inwardly she was puzzled. Why wasn’t Kollek going? ‘Did he say why he won’t be there?’

  ‘He’s going to be in Israel. There’s some trade conference he has to attend. That’s his speciality after all.’

  ‘Of course.’ She added, trying to make it sound like an afterthought, ‘Is there anything he asked you to do at the conference?’

  Hannah shook her head. ‘Not really. He said we’d talk on the phone - I know he wants to know how we get on up there.’

  ‘So you’re going to ring him from Gleneagles?’ asked Liz, trying to keep the tension out of her voice. If Hannah had Danny’s mobile number, they should be able to trace its location - and his.

  ‘No,’ said Hannah. ‘He said he’s going to ring me. He didn’t say when, I’m afraid,’ she added, sensing that Liz wanted to know. She smiled wanly.

  Damn, thought Liz. Kollek could be anywhere, and she had no way to find him. But if he wasn’t going to Gleneagles, then just what was he up to? Sophie had come into the kitchen now, and though she was busy by the stove, starting the stir fry, Liz could see she was listening closely.

  Hannah suddenly sighed, sounding exasperated. ‘Honestly, you two keep acting like Danny’s got terrible designs on me. First you think he’s a gigolo, Sophie; now you both act like he’s some kind of spy.’

  Liz ignored this, and asked, ‘Has Danny already left for Israel?’

  Hannah looked over at Sophie, who kept her back turned to them both. ‘Not yet. In fact, I’m seeing him the day after tomorrow. We’re going to a lunchtime concert in St John’s church in Smith Square.’

  ‘That should be good,’ said Liz, making a note to talk to A4 first thing in the morning.

  FORTY-FOUR

  Two days later at half past two in the afternoon, Liz was in the A4 control room in Thames House, sitting on the old leather sofa that was kept especially for case officers who wanted to hear how their operations were going. This was the domain of Reggie Purves, the A4 controller, and the rules were set by him. Case officers were allowed in, provided they kept quiet. If Reggie needed their contribution, he’d ask for it. That Liz was there at all was a sign of how concerned she had become about Kollek. She would normally have left a surveillance operation to the experts and waited until afterwards for the debrief.

  Denis Rudge’s team had picked up Kollek as he came out of the lunchtime concert at St John’s Smith Square and were behind him as he walked with Hannah towards the Houses of Parliament. Liz listened to the exchanges between the team and the control room as Hannah and Kollek reached Westminster Underground station, where they bought tickets from the machine and went down the escalator, with A4 in pursuit.

  Five minutes later a report came in from the liaison officer on the surface that both had got out at Embankment station and changed onto the Northern Line. Another ten minutes of waiting, then a further transmission passed on the information that at Leicester Square Kollek had got off and changed onto the Piccadilly Line, heading west towards Heathrow. Hannah had stayed on the Northern Line and, as briefed, the teams had let her go, and were concentrating on Kollek. Wally Woods and his team were on the train with him. Back-up teams in cars were already well on the way to Heathrow, ready to meet him if he got off there and follow him if he went into the terminals.

  In answer to Liz’s enquiry, the information came back that Kollek was not carrying a bag of any sort.

  Liz knew it was a waste of time for her to sit in the operations room all afternoon, just waiting to see what happened. There was nothing she could do there, so she dragged herself away and went back to her office, having extracted a promise from Reggie Purves that he would ring her immediately if anything significant happened.

  She had just sat down at her desk when Charles stuck his head round the door. ‘I’m really worried about Kollek,’ she said as soon as she saw him. ‘Peggy’s getting nowhere fast. She’s drawn a complete blank with the FBI and she’s still waiting to hear from the Europeans. I’ve told her she can’t make enquiries in Israel.

  ‘Now A4 have got Kollek on the Underground, apparently going to Heathrow. Do you think he’s leaving the country? He’s told Hannah he’s not going to the conference but he seems to have set it up for her to go with some sort of a peace delegation. What on earth do you think’s going on, Charles? The conference is next week and I’ve got a really bad feeling about it.’

  ‘I’ve no more idea than you what’s going on,’ he replied. ‘But I don’t like the look of it either and I’m thinking it’s time we talked to the Israelis.’

  ‘But Charles. You can’t. We promised Ty Oakes that we wouldn’t.’

  ‘Well, we’ll just have to persuade him to change his mind.’

  She looked at him in surprise and for the first time she noticed how grey and drawn he looked. ‘Charles,’ she said, ‘are you OK? You look really tired.’

  ‘Not really,’ he said, sitting down heavily in her visitor’s chair. ‘There’s something I wanted to tell you. That’s what I came in for.’ He paused and looked away from her. ‘It’s Joanne. She’s dying. The consultant has said it won’t be very long now.’

  ‘Oh Charles. I’m so sorry,’ said Liz. She was mortified. She’d been so focused on her own problems that she hadn’t even noticed how upset he was. ‘How long?’ she asked tentatively, not really wanting to hear the answer.

  ‘I don’t know. It’s a matter of weeks, I think. No more. It could be days. She’s very weak now. Spends most of the time in bed.’

  Liz reached across and touched his arm. �
�Oh Charles,’ she said again. ‘How dreadful for you. Is there anything I can do to help?’ Knowing that there wasn’t.

  He shook his head, looking down and his eyes filled with tears. After a few seconds he seemed to shake himself and he looked up, blinking the tears away. ‘So I’m going to be at home now until the end. She needs me there and so do the boys. I’m really sorry to be leaving you in the lurch.’

  ‘I can manage,’ she said, though something like panic gripped her stomach as she realised what a weight of responsibility had now fallen on her.

  ‘Tyrus Oakes is back in town. You need to go and see him and persuade him that the time has come to talk to Mossad. I’ve spoken to Geoffrey Fane and I’ve asked him to go with you. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think there’s a better chance of persuading him if Geoffrey’s there too. You’ve met Oakes and I’m sure you know what I mean.’

  She grimaced but she knew he was right. Oakes with all his Southern charm was a steely customer and he’d think he could run rings round someone who was much younger and a woman. She could probably get her own way in the end, she reckoned, but it would just be much quicker and simpler if Geoffrey Fane was there to lean on him.

  ‘Good luck,’ Charles said. ‘I’ve every confidence in you. I’ll be on the end of the telephone any time you want to ring me and DG has said to keep him closely in touch with what’s going on. He’ll make sure you get whatever support you need. I know you and Geoffrey Fane don’t have the easiest relationship - I don’t always see eye to eye with him either, as you know - but he is a real professional and he has a high regard for you, so consult him too. I’m sure you can rely on him to help in a crisis.’

  Liz nodded, thinking that was the first time Charles had ever actually said anything about his opinion of Geoffrey Fane.

  ‘Well, I’d better be going now,’ he said, getting up. Liz stood up too and they faced each other awkwardly for a second or two, then he reached out and took her hand. ‘You know, I’m really glad you met Joanne, Liz. She liked you so much.’