Shadow of Shadows by Ted Allbeury

Author:Ted Allbeury [Allbeury, Ted]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0684176289
Published: 2019-05-11T04:00:00+00:00

Silvester sat listening without comment as Lawler repeated his conversation with Petrov. When he finished Silvester looked away, towards the window. He sat in silence for several minutes before he turned his head again to look at Lawler.

‘Just let me recap. We get his wife out of Poland. He marries her again. In return Petrov continues his co-operation. Is that it?’

‘Yes. Plus the guarantee of a house and a job or a pension.’

Silvester looked at him. ‘Doesn’t make sense to me, James.’

‘Why not?’

‘According to what he’s told you he was scared of being sent back to Moscow, so he pretends that he wants to go back just to see what our reaction was. Right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then he says he’s scared we’re going to knock him off when he’s told us all he knows. Yes?’

‘Yes.’

‘So where’s the logic in this deal? What’s to stop us from still knocking him off after he’s told us all he knows? If he thinks we’d kill him, then why shouldn’t we kill him anyway? If that’s our inclination we aren’t going to be put off just because his wife’s around.’

‘According to him he’s got another piece of information. A kind of insurance policy.’

‘What is it?’

‘A further piece of information.’

‘About what?’

‘I don’t know, but he says that once he’s told me that there won’t be any chance of his being killed.’

‘D’you think this bugger’s sane?’

‘Yes. I think he’s been over-wrought but he’s sane enough.’

‘Maybe this has all been the wrong tack. Maybe we should have put him through the mincer and made him talk. All this playing games only encourages him to go on with it.’

‘I don’t think so, Adam. It’s been my fault as much as his. My brief was to smooth him down. I’ve only partly succeeded but I think I’m nearly there.’

‘This stuff about the Egyptian, Curiel, did you grind it out of him or did he volunteer it?’

‘I suppose I could say he volunteered it. He wanted to show that I didn’t know the real story of Blake. And he implied that if it wasn’t on our files then SIS didn’t know vital facts, or was covering them up.’

‘Why should anyone want to cover up any facts? And those facts in particular.’

‘I don’t know, but he implied that I would understand when he told me this additional thing.’

‘D’you believe him?’

‘Yes.’

‘Why?’

‘We can check up on Curiel. If he’s right then he does know more than we do about our own man.’

Silvester bent down and loosened his shoe laces, sliding the black brogues off his feet and flexing his toes.

‘I’ll check up myself.’ He looked up at Lawler. ‘If he’s right I’ll agree to the deal, if he’s wrong we’ll change our tactics. Agreed?’

‘If he’s wrong I think we should discuss it again anyway.’

‘How would you deal with his ex-wife?’

‘I’d get Houghton to trace where she is and then I’d go over myself. I’d have to talk to her. She may not want him now. If she does, then I’ll put a team together and get her out.

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