The two investigators exchange glances of bewilderment.
Mitzi shrinks the mail and looks for the other document that Vicky promised. ‘Let’s read what she found out about Owain Gwyn before we start trying to work out what all this means.’
The next attachment is a series of factual points. It lacks the lyrical narrative of the decoded transcript but the contents are every bit as dramatic.
FULL NAME: Owain Richard Arthur Gwyn
AGE: 42
NATIONALITY: British.
PLACE OF BIRTH: Wales.
CURRENT POSITION: Ambassador-at-large, with responsibilities for defence and counter-terrorism.
PREVIOUS POSITIONS: British Ambassador to USA. British Ambassador to Germany. British Ambassador to France. Special Adviser to HRH Prince of Wales.
EDUCATED: New College Oxford. BA, History.
MILITARY SERVICE: Commissioned officer in the Welsh Guards (Gwarchodlu Cymreig). This is an elite infantry regiment in the British army, of which HRH the Prince of Wales is the regimental colonel. Gwyn served in Afghanistan as lieutenant and captain. Awarded CGC–Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for bravery in battle and the Victoria Cross for inspirational leadership on the battlefield (this is the UK’s premier award for gallantry).
FAMILY STATUS: Married 18 years. Wife: Lady Jennifer Gwyn (née Degrance). No children.
HONORS: UK — Knight of the British Empire. Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter (*). Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (**).
USA — Medal of the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements.
* Membership of the Garter is limited to the sovereign, the Prince of Wales and no more than twenty-four members.
** The Order of St Michael and St George stretches back to 1818 when the prince regent set it up in the name of the great military saints to honor men and women who render extraordinary non-military service in a foreign country.
BUSINESS INTERESTS: Gwyn owns eighty per cent of the stock and acts as non-executive chairman of Caledfwlch Ethical Investments. The firm acts as an ‘angel’ for emerging companies across the globe and will only bankroll businesses that meet its stringent ethical standards. CEI last year turned over £2.48 bn ($4 bn) and has 32 offices in 27 countries. It recorded net profits of £200 m ($322 m) and made charitable donations in 21 countries totalling £150 m ($241 m). CEI is a family-owned company dating back more than 300 years and is believed to have been one of the original investors in Lloyds of London.
Mitzi finishes Gwyn’s biog and types a note to Vicky asking her to dig deeper into the history of the ambassador, his family and his business. She hits SEND, pushes her chair back on its wheels and turns to Bronty. ‘Why, oh why, did I never find a guy like Owain Gwyn? On paper, he’s everything a girl could ask for. A man with almost as many medals as millions.’
Bronty is unimpressed. ‘He’s not all he seems, Mitzi, trust me on that. He has amazing charisma, I’ll grant you, but there’s a dark side to him as well.’ He leans across the laptop and taps the screen with his finger. ‘Look at this: the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for bravery in battle and the Victoria Cross for inspirational leadership on the battlefield. What do those medals mean to you?’
She answers with one word, ‘Hero.’
‘It means he’s a killer. A trained and ruthless life-taker. One so good at it, his government and Queen have awarded him their top prizes for doing so. People like Owain Gwyn redefine the word dangerous. We have to be careful — very careful — in how we deal with this man.’
76
Angelo Marchetti is buzzing from the line of coke he’s snorted in the washroom of a dingy café behind Tottenham Court Road Tube station.
The full rush hits him as he steps into the street and gets swallowed up in the fast, noisy tide of people. His senses are super-sharp. He can smell the rich, roasted coffees they carry in their hands, the sweet dope some of them are smoking, the colognes and perfumes on their cheeks.
His iPhone pulses and he slaps several pockets until he finds it. There’s no number on the caller display but he knows who it’s from. Right now, no one in the world is more important than the man at the other end of the line.
He hits the green answer button, ‘Tell me all my troubles are over.’
The noise on the street disappears as he listens. It seems for a moment the whole world has stopped. Marchetti’s drug-induced high has just been depressingly blown away. ‘You’re sure? You’re absolutely sure.’
The caller is certain. He insists there is no way he could be wrong.
Marchetti looks around the street. The energy has gone. People are only ghosts to him now. He’s lost all connection and feeling for the world around him.
He’s a dead man walking.
Unless he can think of something new, it’s only a matter of time before either Mardrid or Gwyn end his sorry life.
The caller is still on the phone. He wants a decision. In light of what’s happened, he wants to know what needs to be done.
‘Okay,’ says Marchetti. ‘Do what you have to. But do it quickly and never call me again.’
77
It’s late evening by the time Owain Gwyn gets back to his company desk.
Melissa Sachs sticks her head around her boss’s door. ‘Do you need me to stay longer?’
He glances at the clock: 21.15.
‘No, I’m sorry. I had no idea it was that late.’
She smiles understandingly. It’s always that late and he never seems to notice.
‘I’m fine, Melissa. Thanks for hanging on.’
‘You’re welcome.’ She starts to leave, then has an afterthought. ‘Would you like me to order you any food?’
‘No thanks. It’ll do my waistline good to miss a meal.’ He playfully waves her away.
Once she’s gone, he presses a button that locks the door and another that slides back a wooden panel in the opposite wall and reveals an eighty-inch LED monitor. He uses his desk computer to pull up live satellite feeds of the carnage near Ashford and at the same time a video link to the SSOA offices in America.
Gareth Madoc slips into a seat thousands of miles away and activates the conferencing facility. ‘Hello? Can you hear me?’
Owain takes off the mute control at his end. ‘Loud and clear. How are you?’
‘Holding up. Nothing that a night’s sleep wouldn’t solve.’
‘All in good time. Tell me about our friend Nabil Tabrizi.’
‘We’ve had eyes and ears on him and Malek the bomb-maker since the blast. There’s been no movement from either of them and no contact between them.’
Owain grimaces. ‘I’d hoped Nabil would be careless.’
‘He hasn’t been. Not yet. I think Malek still being around is significant.’
‘Why?’
‘It confirms that the suicide vest wasn’t his handiwork. If it had been, they’d have moved him out of the area for fear of any connection.’
‘Meaning they still want him in NYC to do something else.’
‘I think so.’
‘Then we have to find out who the other bomb-maker is. Do the Americans have any idea?’
‘The CIA is all over the two terrorists seized in the raid on the body shop. They’ve introduced them to a whole new world of pain but neither have given anything up.’