Pascoe hesitated, finding this hard to take in. He was given a breathing space by the appearance of Freeman, who gave Glenister a file and Pascoe a flicker of those cold eyes before disappearing.
You say youve cleared this with the Chief? he said. What about your bosses?
Theyre fine with it.
He found himself reluctant to accept the unanimity of this vote of confidence.
And Freeman? I bet he jumped for joy.
Not the jumping kind, she said with a smile. Though in fact it was Dave who put the idea in my head. Youve made a big impression there.
This got zanier.
He said, Ill need to talk topeople
Your wife? She struck me as a sensible woman. Ill have a word if you like, assure her Ill take good care of you.
Pascoe smiled.
No, Ill take care of that, he said.
Thats a yes then. Good. Go and get packed.
As Pascoe moved away he wondered what Glenister would have said if hed told her that what really worried him was the prospect of admitting to Wield that hed got it absolutely wrong.
The sergeant didnt gloat. That wasnt his thing, but he surprised Pascoe by saying, Pete, watch your back out there.
Watch my back? Its Manchester Im going to, Wieldy, not Marrakesh.
So? Theres funny buggers in Manchester too, said Wield. You take care.
Part Three
Awhile he holds some false way, undebarrdBy thwarting signs, and bravesThe freshening wind and blackening waves.And then the tempest strikes him; and betweenThe lightning bursts is seenOnly a driving wreck,And the pale Master on his spar-strewn deckWith anguishd face and flying hairGrasping the rudder hard,Still bent to make some port he knows not where,Still standing for some false, impossible shore.
Matthew Arnold, A Summer Night
1 Lubyanka
Manchester is monumental in a way that no other northern town quite manages. You can feel it flexing its muscles and saying, Im a big city, better step aside. The building which housed CAT had all the family traits. It was solid granite, its tall façade as unyielding as a hanging judges face. Carved into a massive block alongside a main entrance that wouldnt have disgraced a crusaders castle were the words THE SEMPITERNAL BUILDING.
Tempting fate a bit, arent you? said Pascoe as he and Glenister approached.
She laughed and said, Not us. It was a Victorian insurance company. Went bust during the great crash so they paid for their hubris. Its been used for lots of things since then. We took it over three years ago. Most of your new colleagues refer to it as the Lubyanka, the Lube for short. Whether thats tempting fate or not, weve yet to see.
They went into a wide foyer which looked conventional enough until you noticed that further progress could only be made through security gates with metal detectors, X-ray screening, and large men in attendance. There were almost certainly cameras in operation too, thought Pascoe, though he couldnt spot them. Perhaps they were hidden among the summer blooms which filled what looked like an old horse trough standing incongruously at the foyers centre.
At the reception desk, Pascoe was issued with a security tag with a complex fastening device.
Dont take it off till youre leaving, said Glenister. Theyre self-alarmed the minute you pass through the gate. Removal anywhere but the desk sets bells ringing.
Why would I want to take it off?
Why indeed? Its to stop anyone taking it off you.
She said it without her customary smile. Necessary precaution or just self-inflating paranoia? wondered Pascoe.
They went straight into a room with twenty chairs set in four rows of five before a large TV screen. Pascoe and Glenister took seats in the second row. He glanced round to see Freeman in the row behind. Was this indicative of a pecking order? And if so did they peck from the front as in a theatre or from the rear as in a cinema?
As if in answer, the man sitting directly in front of him turned round and smiled at him. Pascoe recognized him instantly. His name was Bernie Bloomfield, his rank was commander and the last time Pascoe saw him, hed been giving a lecture on criminal demography at an Interpol conference. If he hadnt pursued a police career, he might well have filled the gap left by that most sadly missed of British actors, Alastair Sim.
Peter, good to see you again, said Bloomfield.
For a moment Pascoe was flattered, then he remembered his security label.
You too, sir, he said. Didnt realize you were in charge here.
In charge? Bloomfield smiled. Well, in this work we like to keep in the shadows. Hows my dear old friend Andy Dalziel doing?
Holding on, sir.
Good. Id expect no less. A shame, a great shame. Andy and I go way, way back. We can ill spare such good men. But its a pity it was one of your less indispensable officers who was first on the scene. Constablewhat was his name?
Hector, sir, said Glenister.
Thats it. Hector. From what I read, were likely to get more feedback from the speaking clock. Sort of funny and not a darkie, isnt that the gist of his contribution?
There was a ripple of laughter, and Pascoe realized that their conversation had moved from private chat to public performance. He felt a surge of irritation. Only here two minutes and already he was having to defend Hector in front of a bunch of sycophants who clearly felt very superior to your common-or-garden provincial bobby.
Time to lay down the same markers hed already put in place with Glenister.
He said with emphatic courtesy, With respect, sir, as Ive told the superintendent, I think it would be silly to underestimate Constable Hectors evidence. While its true that in his case the picture may take a bit longer to come together, what he does notice usually sticks and emerges in a useful form eventually. What hes given us so far has proved right, hasnt it? In fact, with respect, isnt most of what we know about what happened in Mill Street that day down to Hector rather than CAT?
This defensive eulogium, which in the Black Bull would have had colleagues corpsing, reduced the audience here to silence. Or perhaps they were simply waiting to see how Bloomfield would deal with this uppity newcomer whod just called him silly and his unit inefficient.
The commander gave Pascoe that Alastair Sim smile which indicates he knows a lot more than youre saying.
Thats very reassuring, Peter, he said. Or are you just being loyal?
Never back down, was the Fat Mans advice. Especially when youre not sure youre right!
Pascoe said firmly, Loyaltys nothing to do with it, sir. You find us a live suspect and Im sure youll be able to rely on Hector for identification.
Im glad to hear it. Now I think its time to get our show on the road.
He rose to his feet and let his gaze drift down the rows.
Good day to you all, he said. What you are about to see is a tape played on Al Jazeera television earlier today. It isnt pretty, but no point closing your eyes. Some of you will need to see it many times.
Pascoe said firmly, Loyaltys nothing to do with it, sir. You find us a live suspect and Im sure youll be able to rely on Hector for identification.
Im glad to hear it. Now I think its time to get our show on the road.
He rose to his feet and let his gaze drift down the rows.
Good day to you all, he said. What you are about to see is a tape played on Al Jazeera television earlier today. It isnt pretty, but no point closing your eyes. Some of you will need to see it many times.
He sat down and the lights dimmed.
The tape lasted about sixty seconds, but even to sensibilities toughened by a gruelling job as well as by general exposure to the graphic images shown most nights on news programmes, not to mention the computer-generated horrors of the modern cinema, the unforgiving minute seemed to stretch for ever.
There was no soundtrack. Someone said Jesus! into the silence.
After a long moment, another man stood up in the front row. Fiftyish, balding, wearing a leather patched jacket, square-ended woollen tie and Hush Puppies, he spoke with the clipped rapidity of a nervous schoolmaster saying grace before he is interrupted by the clatter of forks against plates. His label said he was Lukasz Komorowski.
This is without doubt Said Mazraani. His body was found in his flat this morning with the head severed, preliminary examination suggests by three blows as illustrated in the video clip. The chair, carpet and background in the tape sequence correspond precisely with what was found at the flat. There was a second body in the flat. This belonged to a man called Fikri Rostom who, as you will hear, Mazraani introduced as his cousin. Rostom, a student at Lancaster University, was shot in the head.
He paused for breath.
Glenister said, Whats the writing say?
It says Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
He paused again, this time like a schoolmaster waiting for exegesis. Pascoe knew it was biblical, probably Old Testament, but could go no further. Andy Dalziel would have given them chapter and verse. He claimed his disconcerting familiarity with Holy Writ had been acquired via a now largely neglected pedagogic technique which involved his RK teacher, a diminutive Welshman full of hwyl and hiraeth, boxing his ears with a leather-bound Bible each time he forgot his lesson.
Pascoe found himself blinking back tears at the same time as Glenister said, Exodus 21.
Commander Bloomfield twisted in his chair to look at her.
Im glad to see were not yet a completely godless nation, he murmured. Do go on, Lukasz.
Komorowski resumed at a slightly slower pace.
Verses 23 to 25; the language is Arabic and the source is a tenth-century translation of the Bible by Rabbi Saadiah ben Yosef who was the gaon, or chief sage, of the Torah academy at Sura. The Torah is an Hebraic word meaning the revealed will of God, in particular Mosaic law as expounded in the Pentateuch, which is the first five books of the Old Testament of which Exodus is the second
He paused again.
Tell us something we dont know, murmured Glenister.
Clearly they educated kids differently in Scotland, thought Pascoe.
Komorowski resumed, Below we find the words In memory of Stanley Coker. Coker, you will recall, was the English businessman taken hostage and subsequently beheaded by the Prophets Sword group. The flat and the bodies are currently being examined. Full reports will be issued as soon as they are available. Preliminary post-mortem findings confirm the timetable indicated by our tapes. The bullet recovered from Fikri Rostom was a nine millimetre round almost certainly fired from a Beretta 92 series semi-automatic pistol.
Pascoe turned to look at Glenister, who continued to stare straight ahead.
I have the tape here which gives us the timings, continued Komorowski. Mazraani, even if he had not discovered the exact location of our listening device, always assumed he was being overheard. Indeed, as you will hear, he refers to our tape. So he always took the precaution of playing masking music. Here is what we have.
He raised his index finger and a recording started to play.
First sound was of a door being opened.
Tape activated by arrival, we guess, of the alleged cousin, said Komorowski.
Music began to play, then a female voice began to sing.
Elissa, the Lebanese singer, said Komorowski. Fikri seems to have been a fan. We can run on here I think.
The tape gabbled forward then slowed again to normal speed.
Fifteen minutes on, the door opens again, Mazraani arrives, beneath the music we can hear greetings being exchanged, said Komorowski. Then the music is turned up louder, suggesting that what they say next they do not wish to be overheard. AV are not hopeful of extracting anything useful from this portion of the tape but will continue to try. A minute laterhere it comes
The singing suddenly sank to a low background and a click was heard.
The intercom. Our killers have rung the door bell downstairs, interposed Komorowski rapidly.
Now a voice spoke, educated, urbane.
Gentlemen, how can I help you?
Mazraani, said Komorowski.
Just like a quick word, sir.
This voice, even though distant and tinny through the intercom, had the unmistakable flat force of authority.
By all means. Wont you come up?
The sound of a door being opened then a pause, presumably to wait for the newcomers to make their ascent.
Evening, Mr Mazraani. And this is?
The voice of authority again. Northern. Presumably a linguist could get closer.
My cousin, Fikri. Hes staying with me for a few days.
Thats nice. Anyone else in the flat?
No. Just the two of us.
Mind if we check that? Arch.
Doors opening and shutting.
Clear.
A third voice. Lighter, tighter. Holding on to control?
So now we can perhaps get down to what brings you here. Wont you introduce yourselves? For the tape?
The urbanity came close to mockery. Poor bastard, thought Pascoe. He thinks hes just got the law to deal with.
Certainly, sir. Im called Andre de Montbard. Andy to my friends. And my colleague is Mr Archambaud de St Agnan. Hes got no friends. And this lady singing is, Id say, the famous Elissa? Compatriot of yours, I believe? Gorgeous girl. Lovely voice and those big amber eyes! Im a great fan.
And now the singing was turned up to a volume even higher than before.
Lukasz Komorowski let it run for a moment then made a cut-off gesture and the tape stopped.
During the next couple of minutes we believe the killings took place. First the shooting, then the beheading. The killers leave. At eight thirty-nine the Elissa CD stops. Five minutes later the recording stops too and is not reactivated until our team enter this morning. Right. Questions? Observations?
Glenister began to say something but Pascoe cut across her. Make his presence felt. Show the bastards he wasnt here just to make up the numbers.
Mazraani said Gentlemen, plural, when he answered the intercom. Like he knew there was more than one of them.
Your point being?