Read Online The Mark of Halam by Thomas Ryan - Free Book Online

looking to steal the meat and the other looking to bite necks.
    “Brian, do we have a killer roaming the streets of Auckland?”
    She decided to get to the point. Brian had never come across as someone who liked chitchat.
    Brian laughed. “No flattery to get a story. I’m disappointed.”
    “You’re thinking of used-car dealers. We journalists are all mouth and no diplomacy.”
    “But why phone me? Talk to the detective in charge of the investigation.”
    “I heard that the attack in the apartment the other night was a murder attempt, thwarted by a flatmate. The girl would be dead now if she had been alone. No apparent motive from what I hear. An alarm bell rang in my head. It led me to think that if someone is seeking to randomly kill a member of the public, the public has a right to know.”
    “Crime happens like that sometimes, Barbara. Unusual, yes, but I think it’s a little early to be jumping to the conclusion a killer is on the loose. No one died.”
    “A lucky break from what I hear. If the girl attacked had been home alone she would be dead. Am I jumping to conclusions?”
    Barbara waited for a response. A trick she had learnt from a sales friend. Sometimes you got more from shutting up, forcing the other person to fill the silence.
    “I can see how you might get there, Barbara, but you’re way off track.”
    “All right, Brian, sorry to have bothered you, but I had to follow up on my assumptions.”
    “Of course, you have a job to do. Feel free to phone me at any time. But as I said, this is a police matter. I’m sure you’re aware I’m with the Special Tactics Group.”
    “One last question while I have you on the phone.”
    “Shoot.”
    Barbara said, “Was Mary Sumner the Olympian involved?”
    “Where did you get that information?”
    “You know better than to ask that,” Barbara said. “Was there a note left by the killer and why have you suddenly been seconded to the investigation? What possible interest could the Tactics Group have in an assault on two women? Come on, Brian, what’s going on?”
    “Please hold a moment, Barbara.” She knew he had his hand over the speaker. Probably talking to someone. She had rattled him. She loved this part of the game. “Are you there, Barbara?”
    “I’m here.”
    “There is a coffee lounge in the entrance of the Central Library.”
    “I know it.”
    “Meet me there at 4pm.”
    “I’ll be there.”
    “And, Barbara, I’d appreciate you keeping your theories to yourself until we’ve spoken.”
    “You can count on it, Brian. Thank you.”
    Barbara put down the phone. Jesus. It must be true. She wouldn’t do anything with the information until she had spoken to Brian Cunningham. She had always played it straight with the police and they had always kept her in the loop but she had been in the business long enough to know Amy’s information was right on the button.

    Zahar pushed down the kettle button and waited until he heard the hiss from the first boiling bubbles. He turned his attention to the cupboards, found a cup and rummaged through the larder until he found a pack of herbal tea bags. Sami Hadani was going to check on the teams. He had wanted to go with him but had in the end decided against it.
    His men had begun bickering. He put it down to cabin fever. They had all the comforts supplied by their minders but were under strict orders not to leave the safe houses. In a few days they would move into operational mode and the grumbling would stop. But between now and then they needed to be controlled. He had every confidence Sami would calm them. Sami was a scary man. Zahar had met many scary men but Sami had an edge and a craziness that made him stand out.
    “Good morning, Zahar. You slept well, I hope?”
    Sami Hadani stood in the doorway, yawned then scratched at the navy blue T-shirt where it covered his expanding belly. He reached across in front of Zahar with a hand the size of a bear paw and flicked the switch on the espresso