Read Online Hidden Man by Charles Cumming - Free Book Online

organization. He was shot in his car waiting at traffic lights on the lower of the connecting roads between Monaco and Nice. The second tookplace in a Moscow suburb backin 1995.’ Katy breathed in quickly. It sounded as though she was searching through notes. ‘Again, that was a motorcyclist with a passenger riding pillion shooting directly into a vehicle. We suspect that if there’s razborka - the Russian term for the settling of a mafia dispute - then Juris Duchev is the individual who would carry it out on the mainland on behalf of the Kukushkin syndicate.’
    Taploe didn’t say ‘Thankyou’ or ‘Well done’, simply: ‘Is there any record of arrest?’
    ‘None, sir. Not on the files. And nothing from RIA.’.
    ‘So your point is?’.
    It was the bully in him, the small man.
    ‘Well, what we didn’t know, sir, is that Duchev has a UK right of residence. It just came up. At the moment he can come and go as he pleases.’
    Taploe reached the end of Aisle 14 and stopped.
    ‘I see.’ The news irritated him, though he maintained a level tone of voice. ‘Well, thankyou for passing on that information. I’ll come in to see you after the weekend and we can discuss it further.’
    ‘Very well. Thankyou, sir.’
    ‘And Katy?’
    ‘Yes, sir?’
    ‘I know full well what razborka is. There was no need to enlighten me.’
    ‘Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.’
    ‘Goodbye.’
    As he replaced the phone in his pocket, the back wheel of Taploe’s trolley caught on a sticky ball of waxed paper. He had to bend down to free it and missed a slot in the queue. Duchev , he thought. We let men like that live here, let them enter and leave at will. The British, in the name of decency and fair play, wave their enemies through the gates without so much as a glance. Tends to make my job harder, he mused, pushing towards the tills.

10
    From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: Ben drink
    Mark sweetheart
    Very very busy here. On deadline. Yes, we talked about it last night. Basically he’s still very pissed off, obstinate, the usual thing, but I get the impression it’s not totally a lost cause. I mean how long can he keep going like this?
    It’s like he’s making a point not just to his father, but to you, to me, to anybody he comes across. And of course to your mum. You know what B’s like when he makes his mind up.
    If you think it’s a good idea then I would give it a try but I’m not sure how much luck you’ll have. I didn’t push it last night. I don’t want him to think I’m turning against him, and I didn’t say anything about you asking me, of course.
    We’ve already arranged to meet in the Scarsdale pub at the back of the cinema on Ken High St - the place you came to before we went to the Doves concert. Can you be there by maybe half-past seven? There might be some people from work so be warned.
    Lovely to see you the other night. Thanks for the vodka - weird bottle!
    lol

Als

x
    From: Mark Keen

To: [email protected]

Subject: Re: Ben drink
    That sounds good. I’ll be there at 7.30 at the latest. Don’t mention anything to him about it, OK? I don’t want him to feel like we’re setting a trap or something.
    Thanks for this Alice - I appreciate it a lot.
    Mark
    Mark hit ‘Send’ and wondered if this was a good idea; he doubted whether Alice would be able to keep their arrangement a secret. Sometimes, in fact, he couldn’t even remember why he was doing his father the favour.

11
    Taploe waited for Keen in the downstairs seating area of a Baker Street coffee shop. American-owned, the chain was populated by a preppy clientele drinking foam-laden lattes at Internet terminals. Bewildered by the range of drinks on offer, it had taken Taploe more than three minutes to explain to the South African girl working behind the counter that he simply wanted a black coffee, nothing more, nothing less.
    ‘You want an espresso, then?’
    ‘No. Just a black coffee. A normal black coffee. In a