Page 37 of The Other Woman

“In Geneva there are, but Dmitri breaks them on a regular basis.”

“How so?”

“Aggressive recruiting, lots of dirty tricks. He specializes inkompromat.” It was the Russian term for damaging material used to silence political opponents or to blackmail assets into doing the Kremlin’s bidding. “He’s back in Moscow, by the way. He left two nights ago.”

“Do you know why?”

“We’ve never managed to crack the Russians’ ciphers, but Onyx picked up a burst of traffic between the Genevarezidenturaand Moscow Center last Friday night after Hughes was killed.” Onyx was Switzerland’s signals intelligence system. “Heaven knows what they were talking about.”

“Congratulations on a job well done.”

“You think the Russians killed Hughes?”

“Let’s just say they’re at the top of my list.”

“Was Hughes on their payroll?”

“Have you seen the hotel security video?”

“Haveyou?”

Gabriel didn’t answer.

“Why would the Russians kill their own agent?” asked Bittel.

“I’ve been asking myself the same question.”

“And?”

“If I knew the answer, I wouldn’t be sitting in this dump confessing my sins to you.”

“You should know,” said Bittel after a moment, “the British aren’t terribly interested in a thorough inquiry. The ambassador and the Bern Head of Station are putting pressure on us to shut it down.”

“Allow me to second that motion.”

“That’s it? That’sallyou want from me?”

“I want my cameras and microphones.” Gabriel paused, then added, “And I want you to find out why Alistair Hughes was spending so much time in your fair city.”

Bittel swallowed his coffee in a single gulp. “Where are you staying?”

Gabriel answered truthfully.

“What about the rest of your team?”

“Long gone.”

“Bodyguards?”

Gabriel shook his head.

“How do you want me to contact you if I find anything?”

Gabriel slid a business card across the tabletop. “The number is on the back. Call it on your most secure line. And be discreet, Bittel. The Russians have an eavesdropping service, too.”

“Which is why you shouldn’t be in Bern without a security detail. I’ll put a couple of my men on you, just to be sure.”

“Thanks, Bittel, but I can look after myself.”