Cut to the Bone

by Alex Caan

  ‘Yes, and weekends back up north at my family home. My children are in Manchester, as are my siblings and my mother. Although she’s in a home now.’

  Kate wanted to pursue that. Understand when Margaret made the decision to move her mother into a home, what stage had her mother hit to prompt the decision. So Kate could be prepared . . . when it happened to her own.

  ‘Your private life is none of our business, Mrs Walsh,’ Kate said instead.

  ‘Please, call me Maggie,’ the MP said. ‘You said on the phone that this is about Ruby Day?’

  ‘Yes. I believe you knew her?’ said Kate.

  ‘Yes, she had been in contact with me recently.’

  ‘Where are you the MP for?’ said Zain.

  ‘An inner-city ward in Manchester called Gorton and Longsight,’ said Maggie.

  She was wearing black trousers and a purple shirt, which revealed her curves; a woman comfortable with her body and sure of her appeal. Kate felt an affinity with her; this was a rare woman, she could tell. An MP that was in the job because she genuinely wanted to make a difference.

  ‘Can I get you a tea or coffee at all?’ said Maggie.

  ‘No, I’m sure you have enough to do. We won’t take up too much of your time,’ said Kate.

  ‘Why did Ruby approach you?’ said Zain.

  ‘I used to be a junior minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I resigned because I disagreed with a contract the FCO was overseeing, in Angola. For oil reserves, but the company involved was treating the Angolans unfairly.’

  ‘You’re on record as resigning over ethics in corporate affairs in Africa,’ said Zain. ‘Ruby would have come to you purposely, then?’

  ‘Yes, she did.’

  ‘What did you discuss?’ said Kate.

  ‘She told me she had evidence that a company was involved in illegal mining in DRC.’

  ‘Did she name the company?’ said Kate.

  Maggie rubbed her jaw, her eyes filling with a hardness she had hidden from them up until now.

  ‘Yes, she did. KANGlobal.’

  ‘Had you heard of them previously?’

  Maggie looked down at her hands, making a washing motion with them, before meeting Kate’s gaze. ‘My husband worked for them. He was a consultant, for a pipeline they were trying to run through Kazakhstan. And I came across their file, when I was at the FCO.’

  ‘In what context?’ said Kate.

  ‘I signed off on their purchase of some coltan mines.’

  ‘Was there anything wrong with the contract?’ said Kate.

  ‘No. I had some researchers look into it. It was all legitimate. A corporation in DRC was selling land to KNG, where a land survey suspected the presence of high deposits of coltan. The report said the area was unstable, that Pierre Sese was rumoured to be hiding out close by. But the DRC corporation and KNG were legitimate. The price was low, in their opinion, but there were no working mines. So I signed off on it.’

  ‘Ruby had another story?’ said Kate.

  ‘Yes. She claimed the DRC firm was a front for Sese, that the land purchased already had working mines present. If that was the case, not only did KNG lie to me, but the researchers were also economical with the truth.’

  ‘Who did the research?’ asked Zain.

  ‘Yoko Kosh,’ said Maggie.

  Kate knew the company. They were one of the big six, like Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Price Waterhouse.

  ‘So, in essence, I oversaw the sale of mines at a fraction of their cost. Worse than that, I oversaw the sale and transfer of funds to Sese,’ she said.

  ‘Was there never an investigation? Did no one ever find this out?’ said Zain.

  ‘These areas of the world, they’re not cities like London. They are lawless, forgotten corners of our planet. Who has the resources to solve the hell that is DRC?’

  ‘And when you found out about the illegal mining? My source said you were going to use the ten-minute rule, or something?’ said Zain.

  ‘Yes,’ said Maggie.

  ‘Can you elaborate?’ said Kate. ‘What is the ten-minute rule, exactly?’

  Chapter Ninety-seven

  Maggie had gone to make them drinks. She insisted, as they’d been talking for a while. Kate realised there was a reason the woman had obviously cleared her diary this morning; she wasn’t going to be a quick interview. There were layers to what she had to tell them.

  ‘Do you remember what it was like when Ruby disappeared?’ Zain asked Kate.

  He was throwing a red toy for Benjy to catch, and bring back.

  ‘It’s only been a few days, but it feels so long ago, and too unreal,’ he continued. ‘At first I thought: young girl, gone clubbing, forgotten her phone or something. Then the videos, and I just thought, OK, I got it wrong. A psycho serial killer has her. And then her bastard boyfriend, I thought it was him. And now? Mining contracts in West Africa? Fucking warlords? How did we get here?’

  Kate didn’t know how to reply. Maggie came back with a tray of drinks.

  ‘None for you,’ she said to Benjy, as he came towards her.

  Zain was drinking tea, like Maggie, while Kate had gone for her usual black coffee. She welcomed the instant hit from the caffeine, her body tired after barely three hours’ sleep.

  ‘The ten-minute rule is complex, but vital – although, for the most part, it can be ineffective,’ Maggie started explaining as soon as she sat down. ‘Every week after Prime Minister’s Question Time, MPs are allowed to bring their own bills in for discussion. Most bills that are debated in parliament are party approved, part of the manifesto, so known in advance. They usually form legislation to honour election promises, or guide policy.’

  ‘Cutting benefits or privatising the NHS?’ said Zain.

  ‘Don’t be puerile,’ said Maggie, but smiled as she said it. ‘If a member wants something discussed that isn’t part of planned policy, then they use the ten-minute rule. There is no system to get your ten minutes; it’s not based on merit or who you know. It’s whoever gets through the doors of the Public Bill Office first, three weeks before you want your ten minutes. It’s a horrendous system, and you’ll find MPs sleeping outside the PBO to get their place.’

  ‘Is that what you did?’ said Zain.

  ‘Yes, two weeks ago. Ruby asked me to, to get the issue raised in the Commons and prompt an inquiry, and I thought it was important enough. From 4 p.m. the day before, I sat cross-legged, stood waiting and even slept in a sleeping bag my assistant had brought me. And I was first through the Public Bill Office door.’

  ‘What happens now?’ said Kate.

  ‘It means that next week, three weeks after I went to the PBO, I get to speak for ten minutes in parliament after Prime Minister’s Questions. That’s the day most media attention is given to the House.’

  ‘And you are planning to raise the issue of KNG?’ said Kate.

  ‘No. I’m intending to raise the wider issue of British companies investing in conflict areas in DRC, and call for a parliamentary committee to examine their operations, and a unit to be set up at the FCO, specifically overseeing their presence.’

  ‘Why not just use the time to name and shame?’ said Zain.

  ‘I want the bill to be unopposed, so that it will get a second reading later on.’

  ‘So, assuming you get your bill passed, and it becomes law, what then? You set up your watchdog unit at the FCO? And they investigate KNG?’ said Zain.

  ‘Not exactly. Private members’ bills rarely become law. I will have been given a platform, though, and I will start people talking. Get the media to sit up and take interest, with any luck.’

  ‘Why haven’t you simply used the information Ruby gave you? Made it public?’ said Kate.

  ‘Because by now I would be sitting in a prison cell, probably, or at least facing a law suit for defamation,’ said Maggie. ‘The documents Ruby had, they were poor. In terms of evidence. Just printouts from Word documents, emails on paper. They could have been fa
bricated, for all I know. And she wouldn’t reveal her source to me.’

  ‘Yet you believed her?’ said Kate.

  ‘I believed her. And I hoped my bill would allow me the chance to get some hard evidence, to carry out a full audit on KNG.’

  ‘If it doesn’t become law, how might that happen?’ said Zain.

  ‘The interest that will arise from my ten-minute presentation should force the PM’s hand. Make him set up an inquiry, call the CEO of KNG before a select committee. A trial by MPs. And as part of that, we would ask him to answer to all the allegations with concrete proof disputing them.’

  ‘And Ruby? How would she fit into the inquiry?’

  ‘Ruby was going to make a video, start an online awareness campaign.’

  ‘And if Ruby’s video had gone live, and her millions of fans had taken to the net in outrage, your revelations would have had even more impact?’ said Zain.

  ‘Yes. If her video had gone public, my allegations would cause even more of a storm. And I would be able to correct my oversight, the sale that I was responsible for.’

  ‘Without Ruby, can you still have the ten minutes? The inquiry?’ said Kate.

  ‘Yes. It won’t have the same impact, however. Do you remember what happened with phone hacking? Do you remember why it took off?’

  ‘Because journalists hacked into Millie Dowler’s phone,’ said Zain. ‘Public opinion.’

  Kate could hear the thoughts in his head. She felt a sense of excitement herself.

  ‘And if we could prove that KNG hacked into Ruby’s computer? After she was kidnapped and murdered?’ said Kate, in a whisper.

  Maggie smiled, although there was sadness in her eyes.

  ‘I’m curious,’ said Kate. ‘Do you think KNG would orchestrate what happened to Ruby? They have a lot to lose.’

  Maggie considered her words. ‘Knowing what I knew before I started with the FCO, I would have said no. And what I know now, afterwards? Yes, of course.’

  ‘When Ruby hit the headlines, why didn’t you contact us?’ said Kate. ‘We appealed for information.’

  Maggie’s face registered surprise. ‘I don’t understand. Isn’t that why you are here?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ said Kate.

  ‘I spoke to Commissioner Hope about my concerns. Did he not send you?’

  Kate felt something close around her, and a tightness under her ribcage.

  Chapter Ninety-eight

  They were driving over Westminster Bridge, back to HQ. The tension from Maggie Walsh’s revelations was still suffocating them both. Kate wanted to confront Justin Hope. So did Zain.

  The word ‘traitor’ kept flashing into his mind. That was him. The notes of Puccini’s ‘Un bel di vedremo’ filled the car. His own emotions soared and fell in time with the strings.

  As they approached Victoria Street, Zain took a detour, parking up on a quieter road running parallel to it.

  ‘Everything OK?’ said Kate.

  ‘No,’ he said.

  He didn’t know the best way to begin, so he just said it. ‘There’s something I have to tell you. About Hope.’

  Zain kept his eyes on the car in front. Stationary and empty. Drilling could be heard from a construction site nearby.

  ‘It starts before I was hired. You asked me after the Barry incident, whether I was OK. Truth is, not completely. DCI Cross, he sent improved health reports and gave me a reference he shouldn’t have. The one you saw.’

  ‘I remember,’ said Kate. ‘Very positive.’

  ‘Yes. Only, Hope saw the original health reports somehow.’

  ‘He knew you weren’t fit for purpose?’

  ‘He said he would overlook it. But he asked for something in return.’

  ‘What have you done for him, Harris?’

  ‘I gave him unofficial updates on the case.’

  That was it, wasn’t it? The bitter truth?

  ‘It was the morning you disappeared, when we couldn’t get hold of you. He was trying, and he asked where you were.’

  Kate’s face was impassive.

  ‘And what did you say?’ she said.

  ‘I told him you abandoned your team. Had some kind of family emergency. Left us to it. He asked me to let him know when you came back, what state you were in.’

  Zain tasted the bile in his mouth. How could he have been such a dick? And to Riley, who had protected him from her team?

  ‘And Winchester?’ she said softly. ‘Did you tell him about that night? How did you spin it, I wonder? That I got you drunk, and made a pass at you?’

  ‘What do you take me for? Of course I didn’t.’

  ‘And what about your assault on Barry? Did you mention that?’

  ‘No. He didn’t approach me again after that morning.’

  ‘He was getting information somehow. He knew about Jed Byrne’s alibi before I told him.’

  ‘That wasn’t me.’

  ‘Why should I believe you? How do I know you weren’t giving him little updates all throughout this investigation?’

  Her voice sounded calm still. She couldn’t possibly be calm, though.

  ‘Why are you telling me this now?’ she said.

  ‘I think you need all the ammunition you can get today. And there is one thing. Something he asked me to do. We might be able to use it.’

  ‘Why would you help me now? What can you possibly have done that Hope would worry about?’ she said.

  ‘The night when Ruby disappeared . . . Hope knew before we did. He was told by, I’m guessing, Harry Cain. He must have asked Hope to lead on the case, but asked him to hold off the investigation into MINDNET.’

  ‘When did you find this out?’

  ‘The day after Ruby disappeared. Hope asked me to alter the emergency call records. Anyone looking at the records would now think that Ruby’s parents called 999, and that they contacted our office. In reality, Hope contacted the emergency despatch team and had the case assigned to his office. To SOE3. To you. And I hacked into the database, and I changed the record to conceal that. I didn’t know about Harry Cain, though.’

  ‘What evidence is there, apart from your testimony?’ she said. ‘It’s your word against his.’

  ‘I kept the original records, in electronic format. Any forensic specialist will be able to trace what really happened. And then Hope will have to explain why he assigned the case to himself. It’s something at least.’

  Zain held his breath. Kate was silent, before turning to look him in the eyes.

  ‘Let’s go and see Hope,’ she said.

  Chapter Ninety-nine

  Justin Hope surveyed them with the calculating stance of a predator. His eyes flitted between them as each spoke. His face didn’t betray a single emotion.

  ‘Let me ascertain some facts, Harris. Are you threatening me, or blackmailing me? You know a black man doesn’t take kindly to being blackmailed?’

  He laughed. He actually laughed. An inappropriate joke, surely?

  ‘The colour of your skin has nothing to do with this, sir,’ said Zain.

  ‘It has everything to do with this,’ said Hope. ‘You don’t get it, do you? And yet you should, both of you should. Do you wonder how I got here? A black man born on a council estate? And now look at me. And do you know how I did it?’

  Kate didn’t trust herself to speak. Zain got in first.

  ‘By breaking every rule there is?’ he said. ‘Why was I asked to alter the despatch database? Why did you want to hide the fact that you took this case on purposely?’

  Hope studied them both at length. The tension was gut-wrenching.

  ‘I am an impossible man,’ said Hope. ‘I hold the most senior position in policing for London. Do you know how many times I have had to compromise? You must. Riley, how many times have you been shut out?’

  Kate understood what he was saying. It had been tough. Even in Washington, she’d had to fight to be taken seriously. Yet she could say her conscience was clear. Mostly.

&n
bsp; ‘You can’t justify this, sir. You have impeded our investigation; it’s a criminal offence, perverting the course of justice. Who are you protecting?’ Her voice was calmer than it sounded in her head.

  ‘Why haven’t you gone to someone? Why have you come to me?’ said Hope.

  ‘I wanted to give you a chance to explain,’ said Kate.

  ‘Redemption?’ said Hope, laughing and drinking the bourbon he poured himself.

  ‘I would like to know. I deserve that much,’ she said. ‘There is nothing else on offer here. Except to know the truth.’

  ‘And if I tell you? Harris will keep his misdeeds to himself?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Zain.

  She hadn’t agreed to that.

  ‘How can I be sure?’ said Hope.

  ‘You’ll have to trust me,’ said Zain.

  Hope drained his glass, walked over to his window, staring out over Buckingham Palace.

  ‘A man like me, looking into Her Majesty’s back yard. There’s a story in that, don’t you think? You want to know what it’s like, being me? I went to Oxford, worked my way up the ranks. And still I have to prove myself. I’m not one of them. And when I mess up, they see it as a failure for every black man out there. Do you know what that does? That sort of pressure?’

  ‘It’s not a free pass to do as you will,’ said Kate.

  ‘No, indeed. But playing politics, sometimes you have to stretch the law, even beyond its limits.’

  ‘Is that how you interpret it?’ said Kate.

  ‘You’ve made your mind up already, then,’ he said.

  ‘I’m listening,’ she said.

  ‘The boundaries shift constantly for us all. Don’t you wonder how this office was created? How, while budgets are being cut nationally, we are provided with state-of-the-art graphic interfaces? Think of the equipment you have at your fingertips. The best vehicles. Think about the cars you both drive. These premises. Look at that view!

  ‘On top of all that, a carte blanche to act in a manner we choose. That kind of freedom doesn’t just happen. I make it happen. I break corporate bread, and I drink networked wine. When I leave here, I rarely go straight home. I spend hours every day schmoozing, whether it be business contacts, politicians or security experts. And I put us on the map; I get us the money we need. The blank cheque the Home Office writes? It comes to us because Harry Cain and KNG wrote it.’