‘Someone wants to speak to you on the telephone, a Miss—’
‘Can’t it wait twenty minutes? I’m in the middle of a lecture.’
‘She said it was urgent. Very urgent!’
‘What was her name again?’
‘Keowa. Loreena Keowa, a journalist. I wanted to put her off until later, but…’ Palstein thought for a moment. ‘No, it’s fine. Thank you.’
He excused himself once again, left the auditorium, walked out into the hallway and dialled Loreena’s number.
‘Shax’ saani Keek,’ he said, as her face appeared on the display of his mobile. ‘How are you?’
‘I know I’m interrupting—’
‘To be honest, yes. I’ve got one minute, then I’ve got to get back to educating the future elite. What can I do for you?’
‘I’m hoping it’s me that can do something for you, Gerald. But for that I need a few more minutes of your time.’
‘It’s a bit awkward right now.’
‘It’s in your interest.’
‘Hmm.’ He looked out through the window across the sunlit campus. ‘Okay, fine. Give me a quarter of an hour to finish my talk. I’ll call you immediately afterwards.’
‘Make sure no one’s listening in.’
Twenty minutes later, he called her from an isolated bench in the shadow of a chestnut tree, with a view out over the university grounds. Two of his security people were patrolling within sight. All around, students were hurrying towards unknown futures.
‘You sure know how to worry a man,’ he said.
‘Do we have an agreement on reciprocity?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘We help one another,’ said Loreena. ‘I get information, you get protection.’
‘Sorry?’
‘Are we in agreement?’
‘Hmm.’ Now he was really curious. ‘Fine, yes, we are.’
‘Good. I’m sending you a few photos on your mobile. Open them while we talk.’
His mobile confirmed the arrival of a multimedia message. One after another, he loaded the pictures. They showed two men in sunglasses, and a woman.
‘Which of them do you know?’
‘All of them,’ he said. ‘They work for me. Security staff. You must have met one of them, out on Lavon Lake. Lars Gudmundsson. He has the internal power of command.’
‘That’s right, I met him. Did you order the three of them to guard the building that you were presumably shot at from on 21 April?’
‘Well, that would be a bit of an exaggeration.’ Palstein hesitated. ‘They were just supposed to keep an eye on the surrounding area. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure if I should bring them. Having private security makes you seem like you’re putting on airs, like you think you’re so incredibly important. But there had been a few threats against EMCO, and against me too—’
‘Threats?’
‘Oh, stupid things. Nothing that we needed to take seriously. Just resentful people with existential angst.’
‘Gerald, are the Chinese involved in any way with EMCO?’
‘The Chinese?’
‘Yes.’
‘Not really. I mean, there were many attempts to take over our subsidiaries. EMCO itself is – was – too tough a nut for them to crack. And of course they had a good old poach in our coalmines.’
‘Canadian oil sand?’
‘That too.’
‘Okay. I’m sending you another photo.’
This time an Asian face appeared on the display. Long, unkempt hair, a straggly beard.
‘No’ he said.
‘You haven’t seen him before?’
‘Not that I know of. If you could let me in on—’
‘Of course. Listen, Gerald, this man entered the empty building just before you took to the podium. Your security team was in the building too. In our view there’s very little doubt that Gudmundsson’s people not only let the Asian man pass, but also made sure that he could.’
Palstein stared at the photo in silence.
‘Are you completely sure that you’ve never seen him before?’ pressed Loreena.
‘Not consciously, at any rate. I would remember someone like him.’
‘Could he be one of your people?’
‘My people?’
‘I mean, do you know all your bodyguards personally, or does Gudmundsson—’
‘Of course I know every single one of them, what do you expect? And besides, there aren’t that many. Five in total.’
‘Whom you trust.’
‘Of course. They are paid by us, and besides, a respected agency for personal security provided them, EMCO has been working with them for years.’
‘Then you may have a problem. If this Asian guy really is the man who shot at you, then there’s good reason to believe that your own people are in on it. I need to ask you one more question, please excuse my abruptness.’
‘No, it’s fine.’
‘Does the name Alejandro Ruiz mean anything to you?’
‘Ruiz?’ Palstein was silent for a few seconds. ‘Wait a moment. That rings a bell.’
‘I’ll help you. Repsol. Strategic management.’
‘Repsol – yes, I think – yes, for sure, Ruiz. We were on the same flight once. It was a while ago.’
‘What do you know about him?’
‘Practically nothing. My God, Loreena, we’re not talking about some close-knit family here, the oil trade is huge, there are a zillion people working in it. Even now, by the way.’
‘It seems Ruiz was an important man.’
‘Was?’
‘He disappeared. Three years ago in Lima.’
‘Under what circumstances?’
‘During a business trip. You see, I’m interested to find out whether the attack in Calgary has any precedents. Whether it was perhaps less about you personally and more about what you represent. So I put Ruiz’s files together. Happily married, two healthy children, no debts. But he does have opponents in his own field for whom he was too liberal, too environmentally aware; he was a moralist – nicknamed Ruiz El Verde. For example, he spoke out against oil-sand exploitation and pushed for more exploration of the deep sea. Now, I don’t need to tell you that the companies always shied away from cost-intensive exploration proposals when oil prices were low, and three years ago the demise was already well under way. Ruiz urged Repsol to strengthen their involvement with alternative energies. Does that remind you of anyone? Yourself perhaps?’
Incredible, thought Palstein.
‘It could all be a coincidence,’ Loreena continued. ‘Ruiz’s disappearance. China’s engagement in the oil-sand trade. Even the Asian man your people allowed into the house. Perhaps he’s just harmless and I’m seeing ghosts, but my gut instinct and common sense are telling me that we’re on the right track.’
‘And what do you think I should do now?’
‘Don’t trust Gudmundsson and his people. If it should all turn out to be a mistake, I’ll be the first one to eat humble pie. Until then: rack your brains! About Ruiz. About critical overlaps with China. About pitfalls in your own business; and another thing too – have a think about who might have had a vested interest in your not going along on the moon flight. You can call me, or we can meet up, at any time. Try to find out who the Asian in the photo is, perhaps he might be on EMCO’s internal database. Invest in personal security, throw Gudmundsson and his team out on their ear as far as I’m concerned, but don’t go to the police. That’s the only thing I’m asking of you.’
‘Then you’re asking a lot!’
‘Just not for the moment.’
‘This could all be evidence.’
‘Gerald,’ said Loreena insistently, ‘I promise you, I won’t do anything that puts you in danger, nor keep things from the police. It’s just for the moment. I need a head start to be able to get an exclusive on the story.’