Read Online The Blue Ring by A. J. Quinnell - Free Book Online Page A

in a dark blue suit with a faint pinstripe, he
looked like a banker. In fact he was an ex-mercenary who one day had discovered
it was more profitable selling weapons than using them himself. And much safer.
    He had become one of the most successful arms dealers in Europe. Six years earlier,
when Creasy was about to take on a whole Mafia family in Italy, he had turned
to Leclerc for his weapons. They were not friends; they never would be, but
they respected each other.
    Leclerc gestured at the open door to his office and Creasy went through, carrying his
cup of coffee. The office was luxurious, but these walls were adorned with
large photographs of weapons ranging from tanks and armoured personnel carriers
to submachine-guns. Leclerc sat down behind the wide mahogany desk and Creasy sat in front of it.
    "I had heard rumours," the Frenchman said. "Rumours that you were alive,
that you had not died in that Naples hospital. Rumours that it had been fixed.
I did not believe the rumours, but then I heard more rumours a couple of years
ago. They were rumours that you had been seen in America and the Middle East.
There was another rumour that Maxie MacDonald and Frank Miller did a job for you." He
smiled slightly. "Old friends of yours. I began to believe the rumours."
    "Yeah, I did fake that death. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Half the damned
Mafia in Italy was looking for me."
    Leclerc's smile grew wider. "Hardly surprising. You wiped out their top family. That
arsenal I supplied you with was apparently effective."
    "It was," Creasy conceded. "And I remain grateful."
    Leclerc inclined his head in acknowledgement and asked, "What can I do for you now?"
    Creasy gestured at the window. "You know this city better than anyone. I need a
briefing on certain underworld elements. Depending on that briefing, I might
need some light weapons. The problem is that if I need them, I need them
today."
    "If
you need them you'll get them today. What information do you want?"
    "I
know the crime situation here is pretty well compartmentalised. The man or men
I'm looking for will be paramount in the vice and drugs sector. If there's any
white slavery going on in the city they'd be involved or know all about it. I
need to know his or their location and what forces they have available."
    Leclerc's
answer was immediate. "Your man is Yves Boutin. He more or less controls
prostitution in the city and much of the Riviera. He's one of several gang
leaders in the drug business, but when it comes to vice he's the
king-pin." He went on to describe Boutin, his family, his brothers, his
mistress, his chief lieutenants, his homes and his clubs. Finally he said,
"He's very well-connected politically and with the police."
    At this
Creasy leaned forward and asked intently, "How good are your connections
and knowledge concerning the police?"
    Leclerc
smiled and spread his hand in an eloquent gesture. "In my line of business
they have to be perfect. The police force in this city is massively corrupt. It
always has been and always will be."
    Creasy leaned further forward. "Do you know an Inspector Serge Corelli?"
    "Yes. Very well."
    "Is he corrupt?"
    Leclerc burst out laughing and then said, "That's an understatement! He's the
leader of the pack. A very very rich man, and getting richer by the day. Thanks
in part to large contributions from Yves Boutin...They're practically
partners." He noted the sombre expression on Creasy's face and asked,
"What's it all about?"
    Creasy was deep in thought and when he spoke it was not to answer the question.
"If I or anyone else had gone to see Serge Corelli and asked detailed
questions about Boutin, would Corelli inform Boutin?"
    Leclerc smiled and said, "Immediately!"
    "Even if the person asking the questions was a police officer from another European force?"
    Leclerc smiled again. "In that case, he'd inform Boutin even more immediately."
    Another silence and then Creasy said, "I'm going to need those weapons."
    "What do