Execution (A Harry Tate Thriller) by Adrian Magson Read Free Book Online Page A

through a solicitor after the Georgia business; took the money in cash and went underground.’
    ‘I’d still like the details.’
    ‘Why – because of friends, drinking buddies, the man at the corner shop remembering her for her cheery hello? That’s a hell of a reach.’ When Harry said nothing, he sighed. ‘Fair enough. You know best. And I owe you that, I suppose. What else?’
    ‘CCTV in the hospital?’
    ‘I’ve asked, but they’re playing silly buggers, citing invasion of privacy. It might take time, so work on the basis that you’ll have to do without.’
    Harry frowned. ‘It’s a murder enquiry at the very least. Doesn’t that trump those issues?’
    ‘I thought so, too. But our legal brains say because of other personnel being treated there, it’s rather delicate.’ Ballatyne pulled a sour face. ‘Bloody silly if you ask me, but there you go. Is that it?’
    ‘Who were her buddies around the water cooler at Vauxhall Cross? You know she had some.’
    Ballatyne looked wary. It was a sore point. Following the Red Station debacle, it had become apparent that Clare Jardine had been receiving information from inside MI6, helping her to stay out of reach of the authorities. The friends responsible had so far remained hidden, but Harry was willing to bet that some still worked in the MI6 building.
    ‘That’s never going to happen,’ Ballatyne said at last.
    ‘Why? I’m hardly going to make their names public.’
    ‘I’m sure you’re not. But under the circumstances, having you galloping around London after members of Six isn’t going to help matters – and I’d never get it sanctioned, anyway.’
    Harry breathed easily. In spite of his words, Ballatyne hadn’t made an outright refusal. He’d become used to the MI6 man’s language, and he had a way of showing when he was amenable to persuasion. All it needed was the right kind of pressure.
    ‘I’m not after the entire department. Just one person.’
    Ballatyne looked wary. ‘Christ, please don’t tell me you actually have a name.’
    ‘No. But it had to be a woman. Someone she worked with and trusted, although not necessarily in the same section.’
    ‘Why a woman?’
    ‘Because she doesn’t trust men.’
    Ballatyne stood up, a flicker of something on his face which might have been understanding. ‘I have to go. I’ve got a round of meetings to stop this thing going global. I’ll see what I can find out. In the meantime, let’s just hope Jardine doesn’t bump into any of Moscow’s bogey-men.’

NINE
     
    C lare pulled back her waistband and inspected her stomach in the bathroom mirror. With no electricity, she was relying on the pallid light coming through the small frosted window to see. It didn’t help appearances much. Gingerly peeling back the edge of the bandage, she found the skin around the wound looking angry and swollen. It wouldn’t look good on the beach, but she wasn’t planning on going swimming any time soon. It wasn’t itching as much as it had been, although she wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad sign. Good if she was continuing to heal, bad if her body was shutting down around the wound because of infection.
    Somehow, though, she felt it was improving. Her core fitness had a lot to do with it, and a resolve to survive, the latter something she had managed to keep a hold on even at her lowest ebb. All she had to do now was take care of the injury.
    She put the dressing back in place and listened to the sounds of movement above her head. People were heading out to work, vans and trucks were coming and going, and the intensity of traffic was a faint buzz in the background. It was nine o’clock and another day was well under way.
    She decided to wait. She had time and she needed to rest.
    After leaving the squat in Pimlico for the first time, she’d scouted the area carefully, looking for somewhere else to stay. Keeping off the streets was essential until she could sort out what to do long-term. Mitzi had