The Double Tap (Stephen Leather Thrillers)

by Stephen Leather

  ‘What’s your point, Andrew?’

  ‘The point is that I’m willing to offer you a substantial fee for your help. Shall we say a quarter of a million dollars?’

  Cramer caught his breath. ‘For what?’

  ‘I want you to work for me. I want you to see this man Tarlanov and to take what it is he gives you. But I also want your discretion.’

  ‘You want to buy my silence, is that it?’ Su-ming looked at him, a worried frown on her face.

  Vander Mayer chuckled softly. ‘You’re not a man to beat around the bush, are you, Mike? All right, yes; I don’t want you telling anyone else about my business. You’re in a very privileged position, you’re going to be seeing and hearing things of a very confidential nature, things that a lot of my competitors would dearly love to know.’

  ‘Look, Mr Vander Mayer, I’m here to do one thing, and one thing only, and that’s to trap the man who’s been paid to kill you. As soon as he’s taken care of, it’s over. Paying me a quarter of a million dollars isn’t going to affect the way I do my job one way or the other. And I’m going to have to know what’s in this container you want me to take from Tarlanov.’

  ‘I’d rather keep that confidential,’ said Vander Mayer. ‘And please, Mike, call me Andrew.’

  ‘I don’t see how you expect me to meet this man if I don’t know what it is I’m supposed to be taking from him.’

  ‘Su-ming will handle the conversation. All Tarlanov wants is to see a man called Vander Mayer in person. There’s a lot of con men in this business, Mike, and he insists on a face to face meeting. But he’s not going to have much to say at this stage, he’s just giving me a sample to test and some documentation to back it up. If the sample is what he says it is, I’ll follow it up directly.’

  ‘So there’s nothing you want me to ask him?’

  ‘Su-ming will ask the questions.’

  ‘Won’t that seem a little strange, like the tail wagging the dog?’

  ‘Not if Tarlanov’s English is as bad as I think it is.’

  ‘And what if it isn’t? What if he understands more than you think?’

  ‘Su-ming will be able to handle it, Mike, don’t worry. Just play your part. Be polite, offer him a drink, shake his hand, then get him the hell out of my office.’

  ‘Is it dangerous?’

  ‘Is what dangerous?’

  ‘The material he’s giving me. Are there any special precautions I should take?’

  Vander Mayer chuckled again. ‘You’re fishing, Mike. Just accept the sample and take it back to the apartment. There’s a safe in the study, Su-ming has the combination. Put the material in the safe along with any documentation he gives you. Do that for me, don’t ask any questions, respect my privacy, and you’ll receive a quarter of a million dollars when this is over. Now, would you put Su-ming back on, please?’

  Cramer took the portable phone from his ear and stared at it for a few seconds, shaking his head in astonishment, almost unable to believe that a man he’d never met was offering to give him a small fortune for no apparent reason. He could only imagine how rich Vander Mayer must be to be able to offer such a sum without a second thought.

  ‘Cramer?’ said Su-ming, holding out her hand for the phone.

  Cramer shook his head to clear it. ‘What? Oh, yeah, he wants a word with you.’

  He gave her the phone. She walked to the far side of the study as if afraid that he might overhear. She stood by the curtained window, nodding into the phone as she spoke. Cramer could only hear her last few words before she cut the connection. ‘Yes,’ she said, her voice barely a whisper, ‘I love you, too.’

  The phrase stuck in Cramer’s mind long after he’d got back to his bedroom. She’d said it without feeling, flat and devoid of emotion, as if Vander Mayer was forcing her to say the words.

  Paulie Quinn sat on his mattress with his back to his wall, his arms wrapped around his knees, hugging them to his chest. He was praying, saying the Lord’s Prayer over and over again, but there was no solace in the words. Tears streamed down his face. He would never see his mother again, he knew that. He’d never leave the cell. He hadn’t told them anything, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer. It wasn’t that they were violent, they hadn’t beaten him or even threatened to hurt him. They just kept repeating the same questions again and again, returning him to his cell when they wanted to rest but denying him the sanctuary of sleep. He knew that they wouldn’t let him go until he’d told them everything. He stared up at the lights, then at the locked door. There was only one way to escape. One way out.

  He crossed himself, the way he’d done whenever he entered church, the way he’d done at his father’s funeral. ‘Dad,’ he said through the tears. ‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’ He put his fingers into his mouth and took out the metal paper clip he’d managed to take from the interrogation room. It had been on the floor and he’d pretended to faint and managed to slip it under his tongue without the MI5 men seeing. He straightened the clip out, then wiped his tears away with the sleeves of his overalls. It was a mortal sin, but there was nothing else he could do. He’d tell them everything eventually, and then his life would be over anyway. At least this way his mother would be taken care of, and he’d have a hero’s funeral. At least he’d be remembered with pride and not branded forever as a tout. He held out his left wrist and looked at the blue-green veins under his skin. He believed in Heaven, and he believed in Hell. Paulie sobbed. Even after death he’d never see his father or brother. Suicides never went to Heaven. ‘I’m sorry, Dad,’ he muttered through the sobs as he ripped away at his wrist with the end of the metal clip. The first few cuts were little more than scratches, but he closed his eyes and thrust the metal deep into his flesh as he recited the Lord’s Prayer like a mantra.

  Cramer found the Colonel outside, standing in front of a flowerbed which had become overgrown with weeds. ‘It’s a pity there’s no one to look after the grounds,’ said the Colonel. He sounded distracted, as if his thoughts were a million miles away from the untidy flowerbed.

  An owl hooted off to Cramer’s left. He shivered. ‘I’m not happy about this meeting Vander Mayer’s arranged,’ he said. The owl flew out of an oak tree on the other side of the wall which surrounded the school’s grounds.

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘You know he wants me to take something off this Russian guy?’

  ‘A sample, he said. And documents.’

  ‘Yeah, but he won’t tell me what it is.’

  ‘Does that matter?’

  ‘Colonel, he’s an arms dealer. It could be anything. Germ warfare, nerve gas; hell, it could be a bomb, for all I know.’

  ‘I think that’s most unlikely,’ said the Colonel. He used the end of his walking stick to rearrange the foliage around a small flowering shrub.

  ‘You know he offered me a quarter of a million dollars to work for him?’

  ‘Did he?’ said the Colonel. ‘Now why would he do that?’

  ‘To stop me asking questions, and to make sure that no one else sees what the Russian is giving me.’

  The Colonel walked by the side of the school along a gravel path and Cramer followed him. ‘This could be a set-up, it could be the killer making his move. You have to go through with it.’

  ‘I know. But what about the stuff the Russian gives me?’

  ‘I gave Vander Mayer an undertaking that we wouldn’t be looking into his business. He has a similar undertaking from the Americans.’

  ‘So even if what he’s doing is illegal, there’s nothing we can do?’

  The Colonel nodded. ‘We’re not here to investigate him, we’re here to catch a killer.’

  ‘So I just take this sample, whatever it is, and I don’t ask any questions?’

  ‘What does he want you to do with it?’

  ‘He said to put it in the safe in his apartment.’

  ‘So that’s what you do.’

  Cramer exhaled deeply. He could see that there
was nothing he could say that would change the Colonel’s mind.

  ‘And, of course, you get to keep the money,’ the Colonel added without a trace of irony.

  ‘Terrific,’ said Cramer. They walked together around the back of the school. Two men in bomber jackets and faded blue jeans were patrolling the perimeter. One of them waved at the Colonel, who raised his stick in salute. ‘The Americans know what we’re doing, right?’ Cramer asked.

  ‘Absolutely. I’m liaising with the FBI in Washington, and they’ll be providing extra manpower once you get to New York on the same basis that the SAS will be covering you in London.’

  ‘So why are you involved? Why has this become a British operation?

  ‘Because we have the expertise. Because the Prime Minister has taken a personal interest.’

  ‘But the target’s an American and from the files I’ve read I’d say there’s a good chance that the killer’s a Yank, too.’

  ‘You might be right.’

  ‘So why are you running the operation? The Americans have got Delta Force and all sorts of covert people buried in the CIA. It’d be a great opportunity to earn a few Brownie points from the PM.’

  The Colonel stopped. He held the walking stick as if it were a shotgun and sighted along it. ‘There are security considerations that I’d rather not go into,’ he said. He mimed pulling a trigger. ‘But it was felt that it would be more appropriate for the operation to be run from here.’

  Cramer had a sudden flash of inspiration. ‘They’ve used him, haven’t they? The Yanks have bloody well used him.’

  ‘There’s no proof of that,’ said the Colonel, starting to walk again. ‘But we can’t rule it out. Like you say, there are lots of dark corners in the CIA that haven’t seen light for a long time. There are people with hidden budgets answerable to no one who wouldn’t be averse to paying a freelance to take care of a little business. And at least two of the victims wouldn’t exactly be missed by the US Government, if you get my drift.’

  ‘So the FBI doesn’t even trust its own people?’

  ‘No, the Bureau’s safe, at least the people I’m dealing with are. But the fewer Americans involved, the better.’

  Cramer nodded. ‘Understood.’

  ‘Are you okay?’ the Colonel asked.

  Cramer realised that he’d been holding his stomach. ‘Yeah,’ he said.

  ‘Are you sure?’ The Colonel’s concern was genuine.

  ‘It’s not just indigestion, Colonel. This pain isn’t going to go away.’

  ‘I could get painkillers from the Doc. Something strong.’

  ‘Not yet,’ insisted Cramer. ‘I want to go into this with a clear head, I don’t want anything that’ll slow me down.’

  ‘It’s your call,’ said the Colonel.

  ‘I know.’ Cramer wiped his face with his hands. He was sweating, despite the cold night air. He desperately wanted to change the subject; it wouldn’t take much for the Colonel’s concern to change to pity. He started walking again and the Colonel followed. ‘This banker, the guy who takes the contracts for the assassin. How do his clients know how to get in contact with him?’

  The Colonel frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well, he can’t advertise, can he? So how does he drum up business?’

  The Colonel pulled a face. ‘Word gets around,’ he said. ‘The sort of people and organisations who can afford his fee talk to each other. Phone numbers are exchanged. He’s a neutral, he doesn’t take sides, he’s a tool to be used by anyone with enough money.’ The Colonel narrowed his eyes. ‘Let’s face it, Joker, if you wanted someone killed, you know people who’d do it for a couple of thousand pounds. Maybe less. Hell, you probably know people who’d do it for you as a favour, right?’

  ‘Right,’ Cramer agreed.

  ‘This guy’s the same, he just operates for much bigger sums. The people who need him know how to get in touch. Word gets around.’

  ‘Okay, but if you and the Yanks know who the banker is, why can’t you just haul him in and put pressure on him?’ Cramer smiled without warmth. ‘We both know people who’d love the opportunity for a spot of show and tell.’

  ‘Wouldn’t do any good,’ said the Colonel patiently. ‘They never meet, I doubt that they even talk to each other. The banker is like a circuit breaker – if we trigger him the killer will know we’re on to him. He’ll just disappear, then start up again somewhere else. It’s a perfect system.’

  ‘What about the money? Can’t that be traced?’

  The Colonel shook his head. ‘It’s not even worth trying,’ he said. ‘All he’s got to do is press a few buttons and it can be routed through the Cayman Islands, Paraguay, anywhere. Forget it, Joker. This is the only way we’re going to catch him.’

  Cramer rubbed the back of his neck. The skin was damp there, too. ‘The way he does it. The way he shoots them in the face, then the heart.’

  ‘What about it?’

  ‘It doesn’t feel right. I’m sure the guy has a reason for doing it that way.’

  ‘You can ask the profiler when he gets here.’

  ‘There’s nothing about it in his report.’

  The Colonel scraped his walking stick along the gravel path. ‘What are you getting at?’

  ‘You shoot a guy in the head if he’s tied up. If he can’t fight back. That’s how the IRA do it. They tie the guy up and they shoot him in the head. Bang! That’s how the Mafia do it, too, if they can. Tie the guy up and blow him away. Maybe that’s how the guy used to operate, and the head-shot became a habit.’

  ‘Possible,’ said the Colonel.

  ‘Or maybe he did it that way by accident the first time. Maybe he killed a guy before he became a pro. Maybe he got into a fight and shot a guy, got him in the head with the first shot. It worked so he figured that’s how he’d do it in future. It could be as easy as that.’

  ‘You’re just guessing,’ said the Colonel.

  ‘Maybe. But did the FBI check if there had been any other killings using the same method, killings that weren’t high profile assassinations? Killings that might have taken place while our guy was learning his trade?’

  The Colonel nodded thoughtfully. ‘Okay. I’ll find out. And don’t worry about Vander Mayer’s consignment. It’s his business, not ours. You just concentrate on what you’ve got to do.’

  Cramer grinned. ‘Concentrate on being bait, you mean? Sure, I can do that.’

  The Colonel returned the grin. ‘Yeah, I knew you were the right man for the job.’

  Dermott Lynch dropped a coin in the slot and dialled Eamonn Foley’s number. The two handguns were tucked into the back of his trousers, hidden by his jacket. They pressed into the small of his back as he leaned against the side of the call box and waited for Foley to answer the phone. Everything depended on how he reacted to the sound of Lynch’s voice. If he was in on it, Foley would be surprised and Lynch doubted if he was good enough an actor to hide that.

  Foley picked up the receiver. ‘Yeah?’

  ‘Eamonn. It’s Dermott.’

  ‘Hiya, Dermott. You on the piss?’

  ‘Yeah. I had a few pints down the Warwick.’

  ‘Feeling no pain?’

  ‘Aye, you could say that.’ Lynch couldn’t sense any tension in Foley’s voice. ‘Has anyone been asking for me?’

  ‘No, mate. You expecting someone?’

  ‘No phone calls?’

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Foley’s voice was suddenly serious. Lynch decided that he could trust the man. Besides, he had no other choice.

  ‘I’m in deep shit, Eamonn. Can you get my stuff and bring it to me?’

  ‘Now?’

  ‘Now.’

  ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘I don’t have time to explain. Just put everything in the suitcase and bring it to Edgware Road tube station.’

  ‘The tube’s not running this time of night.’

  ‘I know, I know. I’ll be waiting outside. And Eamonn, make sure you’re not follow
ed.’

  ‘Jesus, Dermott. Who’d be following me?’

  ‘Just be careful. Ten minutes, okay?’

  ‘Fifteen.’

  ‘Ten, Eamonn. You can make it if you leave right now. What sort of car have you got?’

  ‘Ford Sierra. Blue.’

  ‘Leave straightaway, okay?’ Lynch replaced the receiver. He waited exactly one minute and then dialled Foley’s number again. It rang out and Lynch cut the connection immediately. Foley wasn’t calling anyone. That at least was a good sign.

  Lynch jumped as a siren went off and the call box was lit up by a flashing blue light. Instinctively he reached behind him, going for one of the guns, but then he smiled as he saw the ambulance rush by. ‘Easy, boy,’ he whispered to himself. He kept the phone pressed against his ear as he waited for Foley. He could see the front of the Underground station from his vantage point, its entrances now closed behind metal gates, and he was safer in the call box than he would be out in the open.

  Foley arrived exactly eight minutes after Lynch’s phone call, which Lynch took as another good sign. He slipped into the passenger seat and told Foley to drive. ‘Where to?’ asked Foley.

  ‘Just drive.’ Lynch twisted around and quickly checked through the contents of the suitcase on the back seat. His passport was tucked into a side pocket, along with an envelope containing five hundred pounds. He took out a green pullover and closed the case.

  ‘Something strange happened just after you phoned,’ said Foley as he drove down the Edgware Road. ‘The phone rang, then went dead.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it,’ said Lynch. He bent his head to look in the wing mirror.

  ‘There’s no one following us,’ said Foley. ‘Are you going to tell me what happened? Maida Vale was swarming with cops.’

  ‘Four guys in a Transit attacked me.’ Lynch pulled out the wallet he’d taken from the driver. There was a driving licence and a Barclaycard inside. ‘They were from Belfast.’

  ‘UFF?’

  ‘The driver was from the Falls Road. Name of Sean O’Ryan. Does that sound like a Prod to you, Eamonn?’

  Foley shook his head. ‘Doesn’t make sense, does it?’