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‘Both have in-trays almost as large as yours.’

‘Do you think the crooks have any idea just how understaffed we are?’

‘If they don’t,’ said William, ‘they can’t be reading theDaily Mail.’

The Commander managed a sigh. ‘Be sure to let InspectorHogan know what he’s up against,’ said the Hawk, tapping the file once again, ‘because the Commissioner has made it clear the Saudi visit is our top priority.’

‘Ross is somewhere in Sicily at the moment,’ said William, ‘but he’ll be back by the end of next week.’

‘Gawd help them,’ said the Hawk. ‘He’ll try and round up the Mafia single-handed, and then we’ll have an international incident on our hands.’

‘Not much fear of that while Alice and Jojo are around to keep an eye on him.’

‘Let me know the moment he’s back,’ said the Hawk. ‘So, what’s our next problem, Chief Superintendent?’

‘Miles Faulkner is due to be released from the Scrubs in just over a fortnight’s time.’

‘He’s already done four years?’

‘Three. The Home Office, in their wisdom, allowed him a year off for good behaviour.’

The Hawk raised his eyes to the sky. ‘God is not a policeman.’

•••

Simon didn’t need to be told it was solitary. He didn’t know how long he’d been in the cell. They had taken away his watch, and there was no window to suggest night or day. Whenever the hatch opened, which wasn’t that often, he demanded to see his Ambassador. A request that didn’t even receive a grunt.

His mother had once told him that he should never get ill or break the law when abroad. For the first time, he really understood what she’d meant. If either of those happens, his father had added, the first person you need to contact is theBritish Ambassador. Simon had met Sir Bernard Anscombe on arrival in Riyadh, but had not seen his excellency since. The moment he had been arrested by the Chief of Police he had assumed that alarm bells would have gone off over at the embassy and that Sir Bernard would be pulling out every stop to have him released. That was assuming there were any stops to pull out.

He was beginning to wonder if it had always been Khalil’s intention to dispose of the British bid before he met the Minister of Defence, which would confirm the rumours that the Frenchhadoffered Prince Ahmed an extra five per cent to close the deal. Had Conti also been removed so that there was no one left in the field other than the French? People had been killed for far less than fifty million.

Simon knew there were enough witnesses in that room to confirm he hadn’t been involved in Conti’s stabbing, so felt confident it would not be long before he was released.

Now, he was beginning to have second thoughts.

Perhaps, when you’ve got a spare fifty million at your disposal, there’s enough left over for everyone to have a percentage of a percentage.

•••

‘Never seen him before in my life,’ insisted Khalil, when the Chief of Police began to question him in his office later that morning. ‘All I can tell you, Chief, is that the Englishman had been drinking a little too much when he was at the club and lost his temper when the girl he wanted seemed more interested in another customer. But I didn’t even know his name until you told me.’

The Chief of Police knew only too well from past experiencethat Khalil wasn’t a reliable witness, and always assumed anyone could be bribed. The only question concerned the amount involved. However, he was also aware Mr Khalil was unofficially the Defence Minister’s representative and, therefore, unaffected by the usual rules.

‘I can only tell you what I saw,’ continued Khalil. ‘My close friend, a distinguished and well-respected businessman from Italy, was sitting on a sofa, chatting to one of the girls, when suddenly Hartley jumps off his stool, marches across and begins to threaten him. Mr Conti tried to defend himself but, before I could come to his aid, Hartley took out a knife and stabbed him. But by then there was nothing I could do to help, which is why I called you immediately.’

The Chief of Police didn’t bother to remind Khalil that it wasn’t him who had called him, but one of Prince Ahmed’s followers, who also named Hartley as the guilty party. He looked down at a pile of witness statements he had collected during the past two days. ‘Several others who were present have confirmed that’s what happened,’ said the Chief, ‘including the barman, but …’ He hesitated, before saying, ‘Noteveryone of the girls.’

‘What about Avril,’ enquired Khalil, nervously, ‘who was the girl sitting next to Mr Conti at the time?’

The Chief wasn’t surprised that Khalil knew which girl was refusing to fall in line, without having to be told.

‘Jenny Prescott,’ said the Chief, looking down at the list of witnesses, ‘or at least that’s the name on her passport.’

Khalil nodded.

‘When I questioned Ms Prescott, she refused to confirm your story, which might prove a problem if the case ever goes to court.’

Khalil remained silent.