“Would you expect me to tell you if I did?”
“Yes. I think you would. In exchange for me.”
“I really cannot recall ever using a woman as hostage. I didn’t know she was in the firing line. I really can’t help you, Jake.”
“Would you know if Trevelyan had ordered it?”
“I suppose I could flatly deny knowing anyone of that name, but that would be insulting you, wouldn’t it? I am being truthful with you, Jake, when I tell you that I do not know anything about your friend being abducted against her will. It changes nothing between us, of course.”
“But would Trevelyan do it without your knowledge?” Dillon persisted.
“You’re a very persistent fellow and I really do not know why I’m even talking to you. He might do it without my knowledge, but I would have expected to hear almost immediately afterwards. If it was done to flush you out into the open, I most certainly would have been informed. I repeat, I know nothing of this.”
“Okay, I accept what you’re saying and I apologise for disturbing your evening. Thanks anyway.”
Dillon was about to hang up when Hart said quickly.
“We will get you, Jake. Don’t mistake a liking for a weakness. In my world I cannot afford to be weak. I think you know that. And we can’t mark time forever — you’re going to find out just how much the stakes are stacked against you.”
“Well you haven’t told me anything new, Charlie. Life is never simple and to be honest, you’re right. Like you, I can’t afford to be weak. How do you think I’ve survived all these years for Queen and country? What do you expect me to do? Give myself up?”
“I could have easily said that we have the girl; would you have given yourself up then?”
“Oh, most definitely. You see Charlie, I have this old-fashioned belief: a life for a life. Issy’s life is worth saving far more than mine.”
Dillon laughed, and then said, “You’ve just missed a never-to-be-repeated golden opportunity, you know?”
Hart sighed heavily. “That would be too easy, Jake. But it is not solely my decision. We make strange enemies, don’t we?”
“I believe we do. Thanks for your candour, Charlie.”
Dillon hung up, satisfied that Hart had told him the truth.
He had a restless night. His mind kept churning over, not allowing him to relinquish to sleep. He couldn’t tell any of his contacts in the police — their hands would be instantly bound by MI5 if they were to open an investigation of any kind against any of the four men involved. For reasons he did not understand, he knew the security service were up to no good and that they wanted him locked up the minute he showed his face at any of his regular haunts. If he showed up at Ferran & Cardini that would put the firm in an awkward position also. He was on his own. He had always been on his own.
The next morning he rang Havelock who at once told him that MI5 had absolutely no knowledge of Isabel’s disappearance. But that they were eager to meet with him and believed they could effectively help find her.
“All they want, Dunstan, is to lure me into a trap,” Dillon said bitterly, certain that they were listening.
“What the hell for? And whose side are they on anyway? They’ve always got a hidden agenda and I don’t believe for one moment that they just want me out of the way because of a list of names and addresses.”
“I’m not in a position to force them into coming clean, particularly if they are telling the truth. They only talk to me as a favour — I have no real pull with them. But who has these days? Even the Prime Minister doesn’t know the half of it.”
“What do they want me to do apart from walking through their doors and handing myself in?”
“There’s a man called Brendon Morgan. I have a private mobile number for you to ring. You’ll have to take it from there.”
Dillon scribbled the number onto the back of an envelope.
“Why don’t I just talk to the guy whose listening in to this conversation? After all, it would most likely be a lot easier. I don’t like doing business this way, Dunstan, but if that’s all you’ve got to offer I’ll give him a call.”
Dillon hung up and looked at the number Havelock had given him, well aware that they would try and fix his position the moment he called it. He slipped quietly out of The Old Colonial Club and went to the nearest public bus stop. Five minutes later he was sitting on the top deck of a London tour bus. He dialled the number and was not surprised when it was answered after the first ring.
“Brendon Morgan?” Dillon was suspicious before he started, constantly scanning for anyone watching him too closely.
“Jake Dillon? I’m so glad you called. Can we meet somewhere?”
“For what reason?”
“I understand your friend Isabel Linley has gone missing. I thought we might be of assistance to you in locating her. I’ve already cleared it with your boss.”
“You’ve spoken to Edward Levenson-Jones?”
“Of course, merely as a matter of courtesy, old son. After all, he was one of us once upon a time.”
“Bullshit. He wouldn’t give you the time of day. But it’s intriguing me why you would want to get involved in something like a kidnapping when the police could so easily handle it.”
“Oh, come now, Dillon. Stop pissing about. We help you locate your woman in exchange for information you might have that would help us on another issue.”
“Dunstan Havelock knows what I know about whatever it is you want to know. Why don’t you simply ask him?”
“Well, in the first instance we doubt very much whether Mr. Havelock knows everything you know. He may be in receipt of the bare bones, but you will have kept back crucial facts because that’s how you’ve been trained to work. You like to be sure of everything and that is what makes you such a good field operative. Secondly, Mr. Havelock is far too close to the Home Secretary for us to apply crude pressure. If he chose not to tell us, there is virtually nothing we can do.”
“Why not just snatch his wife like you have Issy? Or you could just fabricate some sort of scandal and then blackmail him. Your lot are extremely proficient at that. I’m surprised you haven’t tried that one on me yet. It’s like this, Brendon. I don’t trust you — it’s that simple. So what have you done with Issy, and what is it going to take to have her released?”
“As I’ve already said, Jake, we do not go around snatching innocent people out of their homes or straight off the street. You of all people should know that. All we want is to compare notes relating to your current assignment. You can name the meeting place and we’ll be there.”
“I bet you will. Along with an armed response unit at the very least. I tell you what, Brendon, I’ll think it over and ring you later.”
Dillon hung up and looked at the call duration. Two minutes and fifty seconds. Under three minutes and not enough time to trace him on the top of the moving bus. He switched off his phone and got off the bus at the next stop. He got straight into a taxi and headed back in the direction he’d just come from. During the short journey he pondered on whether he’d done the right thing. If MI5 had Issy, he was sure that she would not come to any harm. They must be satisfied by now that she really did not know anything or, more importantly, where he was. And although she was a prisoner, she would be fairly well looked after. Issy’s biggest worry would be in not knowing who her captors were, although she might by now have made an educated guess.
In spite of his concern for her he decided to take a chance. If the security service had her, she was perfectly safe from Trevelyan. If Trevelyan had her, he could not afford the time to have a cosy chat to MI5 simply so they could pick his brains. They clearly thought that he had information they could use. He knew that he was placing enormous trust in Hart and that it was a risky strategy. This whole business was risky.