Either way, the fact that Carvalho had switched duties at the last minute had eventually found its way into the roster records, and had been picked up by Demescu.
‘What was the other thing you remembered?’
‘The guy Bikovsky.’ He looked awkward, then ploughed on. ‘I don’t like saying this about another man, but there was some talk around the table the night Kleeman left, before we rotated back to our units.’
‘Talk?’
‘Bikovsky was being derogatory about the locals, saying they’d steal anything that wasn’t nailed down and the women were little more than whores. The guy had a real attitude problem. He was also bragging about not going back to the US at the end of his tour, saying he was going to bug out as soon as he could. I figured it was drunk talk. We’d all had a couple to loosen up, but he’d picked up some extras. Later on he told another guy he’d got into trouble before enlisting and was scared to go back.’
‘What sort of trouble?’
‘He’d been accused of raping a minor in San Diego.’
TWENTY-SIX
Harry said his goodbyes to Pendry and Gail, then walked over to the in-house phone and rang Rik’s room. There had been no news from Ripper.
‘Tell him to look at sex crimes records,’ Harry suggested. ‘I’m heading for the airport.’
On the way, he rang Deane, but the security officer was out, so he left a carefully worded message. The rumours about Bikovsky’s past, if true, wouldn’t brighten his day.
He had just checked in for his flight to LA when Rik called. He sounded puzzled.
‘Ripper hit a wall. Bikovsky has two arrests for DUI — drink driving — and a couple of misdemeanours as a teenager, but after that, not a thing. Nothing in the sex crimes files, either.’
‘So he’s clean.’ Pendry’s man must have got it wrong. Barrack-room chatter building rumours out of speculation.
‘That’s the thing. He said there are files, but they’re marked restricted access. It would take some major work to get inside, and even then there are no guarantees. For some reason Bikovsky’s off-limits.’
Harry felt a stirring of interest. He’d heard of records being locked before, but only for security reasons, usually in connection with a government department or the military.
He thanked Rik and rang off, and his mobile buzzed immediately.
It was Deane. ‘Harry, I’m getting heat from the US Army Criminal Investigations Command, the Department of Defence and Homeland Security. Your name’s bouncing all over the wires.’
‘What are they saying?’
‘They want to know why you’re involved and have asked that you stay put in Columbus until they’re satisfied that what happened down there is not terrorist-related. I’ve hedged as much as I can, but they’re feeling antsy and my influence only goes so far.’
‘How long will it take? I’m at the airport ready to go.’
‘Twenty-four hours, max. I’ve put word upstairs that they’re obstructing our investigations, and I’ll let you know as soon as it’s good to go.’ He paused. ‘This thing with Bikovsky: I’ve been contacting people about this and calling in some favours. Have you spoken to him yet?’
‘No. He’s not answering his phone. I was planning on going there rather than leaving it to a local cop.’
‘Well, when you do, tread carefully. Like your message suggested, Bikovsky’s got history. He ran with a couple of small gangs when he was a kid, and got into street trouble. Nothing really serious, though. But about fifteen years ago he was accused of sexual molestation of a minor.’
‘And they allowed him in the military?’
‘The evidence wasn’t proven. I spoke to a member of the sex crimes unit in San Diego. None of this is repeatable, by the way. In ’ninety-eight Bikovsky was charged with the rape of a fifteen-year-old girl. His lawyer got him off on a technicality. . something to do with her testimony being assisted by one of her brothers. Anyway, they couldn’t get at the truth and the girl finally withdrew her statement. So, no complaint, no charge. Six months later another girl came forward and said Bikovsky had got her involved in illegal drugs for sex and she’d developed HIV. She was a wild child who dropped out of high school and ran with some undesirables. Her father was a high-powered studio executive with a top lawyer in his pocket. He got him to file for a court order under California’s health privacy laws protecting minors. It means her name can’t be disclosed. . and nor can her attacker’s. We’re locked out.’
‘For ever?’
‘Probably not, but it’ll take a ton of paperwork to gain access on the grounds of national security — and maybe even not then. I’ve put that in motion with our legal team but it’s gonna take time. The studio exec’s still around and he’s a real hard nose when it comes to privacy. I haven’t made this information available to anyone else yet — it’s too sensitive.’
‘Is there any possibility he’s guilty?’
‘According to my San Diego PD contact, definitely — and for more than one, in his opinion. But proving it is something else. Fact is, with this rape story coming out of Kosovo, if anyone places Bikovsky there at the time, his history gives validity to the idea. Tread easy with him, Harry. We don’t want to spook him and lose him: we want him to answer for his crimes.’
Harry was beginning to have doubts about his involvement in this. ‘Shouldn’t the police or FBI be doing this? They could have people round there checking on him right now.’
There was a short silence, then Deane said neutrally, ‘They will be called at the appropriate time.’
‘When will that be?’
‘As soon as you find him.’ He paused. ‘There’s more. Pictures of the compound have just arrived. They’re hitting the internet as we speak. They were posted by an anonymous contributor on a blog site with anti-American and extremist links. There’s even a photo of the spot outside the wire where the girl’s body was allegedly found.’
‘Have they named the victim?’
‘Not yet. As it goes there’s very little fact at all, just a brief description with some anti-UN comment. They say more will be revealed shortly. It’s like they’re taunting us. Most of the press have been sceptical so far, thank God, but this stuff is enough to give a louder voice to those who don’t like the UN.’
‘Any way of tracking down the origin of the site?’
‘Not much. Our guys say it probably passed through several servers before hitting the blog site, and the blogger will certainly have moved on by now. Give it a day or so and it’ll come back up from somewhere else. That’s not all, though.’
‘Tell me.’
‘He talks about a “spectacular” being planned.’
It was typical extremist talk, signalling something big in the wind. It could be hot air, to stir up unrest, but Harry didn’t think so. This whole thing felt as if it was gathering momentum. It wouldn’t take much now for the sparks to be fanned into a roaring inferno.
‘Is there a date on the photos?’
‘No. But they look recent. Someone’s been doing his homework.’
Harry was surprised. Somehow he’d expected the depot and everything in it to have disappeared, along with the changing political landscape in Kosovo. He had only a vague memory of the compound itself, having seen it mostly in the dark and under floodlights.
‘Can you email me the photos and send me the link to the blog site?’
‘Sure. If I send the link, you’ll get the photos anyway.’
‘Belt and braces; send both in case the site gets taken down.’
‘Good point. Anything else?’
‘Get your man in Kosovo to take similar shots of the same locations.’
‘How will that help?’
‘It might tell us if they’re genuine. If your man’s shots look different, it’s because the ones you just received are a put-up job.’
‘And if they match?’
‘Then somebody went there to take them. That makes it more real.’