Ryker left the house feeling agitated. He hadn’t spoken to Monique again. She was busy chatting in her office to the man and woman who’d earlier interrupted breakfast. Who they were, Ryker had no clue, but he took the opportunity to leave the house quietly, noting the license plate of the Renault parked up outside as he left in case it’d later become important. He thought about sneaking to that outbuilding before he left but decided against it given Bruno and Anna were skulking around, watching him like hawks. He’d get the chance eventually.
He took all of his belongings with him. Not that he didn’t feel he couldn’t return there again, but because he trusted Monique and her little gang even less now than he had done the night before.
Why was she so cagey about what had happened to Sophie? There was a chance it was simply down to some sort of embarrassment, not only that the teen had walked out like that but that she’d wanted to walk out.
But all that presumed that Monique was being wholly truthful about the night of the thirtieth of November, and Ryker really didn’t believe that.
He drove the Jeep into town, a little surprised that there’d been no question from Monique about his continued use of her vehicle. After parking up he made a return trip into the woods, but once again found the hiding place there empty. Did Henrik have their things or someone else? In the daylight, he noticed a lot of footprints leading to and from the spot, some to the town, some up the mountain, but it was difficult to tell which were the freshest, and Ryker again decided against going on a long and potentially fruitless ramble to find Henrik.
Instead, he left his belongings there, deciding at least there was less chance of the items getting into the wrong hands – Monique and her cronies – that way, then made another call to Jen Worthington as he descended back into town.
‘Have you got anything for me?’ he asked.
‘A lot of information. How much of it is relevant, it’s hard to say.’
‘Can you put it into a Dropbox?’
‘Already done. I just need an email for you so I can send you the link.’
He told her the address of the new account he’d set up earlier in the day.
‘Can you give me the upshot?’
‘I can. None of the email addresses you gave me, nor the company name, seem to have any link to Aziz Doukha, or Monique or any other Thibaud.’
Which, strangely, Ryker had come to the conclusion of too, given his searches through Hofman’s data.
‘But I do have a name for each of the people Hofman was communicating with. Some profile information too.’
She read out the names. Antony Petit. Pavel Anarkov. Thomas Kessner. Ryker had figured them all out already from his search of Hofman’s data, but Jen likely had more detail on each than he’d been able to discover so far.
‘None of these people are on any of our databases as known criminals, but one of them, Anarkov, is a very wealthy man with a lot of close links to the Kremlin, the government in Switzerland too. He’s also got a rather large stake in a Russian bank.’
Ryker chewed on that. He’d already figured Anarkov was a very rich man, but the government links, and the bank stake, were news to him. The information did all point to one thing, though: corruption. The dam project, one way or another, was mired in corruption and dirty money. Was Monique in cahoots with that group of people, or an opponent? Her reaction to Sophie’s disappearance made some more sense if either of those was the case. Perhaps she’d come up against Hofman and the others because she wasn’t able to milk the project with them already in place, enriching themselves. The fallout had led to Sophie’s disappearance – kidnapping? – and Monique’s decision to keep it a secret, for fear of exposing herself. Instead, she’d enlisted Ryker’s help and set him off after Hofman.
‘Thanks,’ Ryker said. ‘I’m meeting with one of those guys soon. I’ll let you know what I get from him.’
‘I heard Julian Hofman is dead,’ Jen said.
As well-informed as he expected her to be.
‘He is.’
‘Anything to do with you?’
‘Not directly.’
‘Watch your back, James,’ Jen said before ending the call.
Her words still on his mind, Ryker kept alert as he walked through the town’s streets. No sign of Henrik. No signs of the Gendarmerie. As he approached the café, not far from the bar, Fabrique, he spotted a familiar face on the other side of the window. Amelie. Sitting at a table with her friends, hot chocolates and piles of pancakes in front of them.
Ryker inwardly groaned as he stepped inside. Not because he hadn’t wanted to ever see her again, but because the timing was less than convenient – once again. He looked the other way…
‘James?’
What else could he do?
He stopped as the door closed behind him and turned to her.
‘Amelie, what a surprise,’ he said.
‘I thought you’d left town after… You know.’
‘Still here.’
‘I figured. I saw your son yesterday.’
‘You did? Where?’
She frowned at his inquisitive tone. ‘He was heading up to Grimaldi Lodge. I thought maybe that’s where you’re staying.’
Ryker said nothing as he thought.
‘Is it?’ she asked.
‘What?’
‘Is that where you’re staying?’
‘No,’ Ryker said. ‘It’s not.’
‘Oh, I thought—’
‘Sorry, Amelie, it was nice bumping into you, but I’ve got to go.’ The men he’d come to see looked like they were about to leave.
‘Oh. Okay. Perhaps I’ll see you in the bar, later?’
‘You never know,’ he said with a smile that he hoped would keep her at ease.
Then he turned and headed for the men, sat opposite each other in a booth. They spotted him walking over. Looked a little wary.
‘Gentlemen,’ Ryker said as he sat down on the bench facing away from Amelie, blocking any attempted exit for the elder of the two men. ‘Glad I caught you.’
‘I’m sorry, but… Who are you?’ the younger and perhaps more bullish of the two said. He had wavy hair on top, shaved to the bone on the sides. Trendy. At least, he obviously thought he was given the confident look in his eyes.
‘I don’t know you,’ Ryker said, glaring at him, before turning to the man next to him. ‘But you must be Thomas Kessner.’
TK. One of Hofman’s mystery acquaintances. Except not so mysterious as to remain a secret to Ryker after his hours of digging and cross-referencing.
A decade or two older than his companion, Kessner had a round face and red cheeks. He wore expensive, smart-casual clothes and a very expensive gold watch, but had on heavy work boots, and his coat, folded next to him, was functional rather than fashionable. Ryker understood the muddled look. That of someone of seniority in their business, but whose job commanded the need for both office work and dirty site work. The younger man was definitely more of an office pen-pusher; he even had his shiny black office shoes on. They wouldn’t be so shiny later, Ryker thought.
‘I… Yes, but who—’
‘I’m really sorry,’ Ryker said with a put-on sigh and a solemn shake of the head. ‘But I don’t think Julian will be joining you today.’
That shut them both up. They looked at one another then back at Ryker.
‘You heard what happened to him, didn’t you?’ Ryker added.
The two men glanced at each other.
‘I didn’t do it, before you ask.’
‘Who are you?’ Kessner asked.
‘James Ryker.’
He held out his hand. Kessner didn’t move.
‘We should go,’ the young man said, about to get up.
‘Actually, you’ll sit still before I pick up that fork and stick it through your eyeball.’
He stayed put.
‘You’re going for a site inspection today?’ Ryker asked Kessner. ‘At the dam?’
Kessner glared but kept his mouth shut.
‘Is that a yes or a no?’
‘How do you know—’
Ryker grabbed Kessner’s thigh under the table and dug his fingertips in between the muscles, a hotbed of nerves. Kessner squirmed, his face creasing, as though he was trying his best to show no reaction.
‘Yes or no?’
‘Yes,’ Kessner said.
‘Great. I’ll come with you. You can tell me all about how you know Julian – sorry, knew Julian – and all about your dealings together.’
Nothing from either of them.
‘You can also tell me if you know anything about who killed him last night.’
‘This is ridiculous,’ Kessner said, his cheeks reddening further.
The door opened behind Ryker, drawing the young guy’s attention. Ryker glanced over his shoulder.
Seriously?
Renaud and Coupet.
‘Don’t,’ Ryker said to the young man.
‘Lucas,’ Kessner said, as though imploring his friend not to do anything stupid.
Lucas did relax a little, looked back at Ryker. But the gendarmes were already on their way over.
Ryker took his hand from Kessner’s leg. Sat back in his seat. Caught Amelie’s eye for a split second as he glanced over his shoulder again. She and her friends stared over with interest. Would this only encourage her keenness in him or kill it for good?
‘Good morning, officers,’ Ryker said to the two new arrivals who came to a stop at the booth, eyeballing Ryker and his company.
‘I heard you were back,’ Renaud said. ‘But you’ve been keeping quiet. Unlike your son.’
Ryker shrugged. ‘Teenagers, right?’
‘Don’t test us,’ Renaud said. ‘You won’t like the end result.’
‘You gentlemen okay?’ Coupet asked, looking from Kessner to Lucas. Did the gendarmes know these two? Neither were from St Ricard, but they’d likely been in the town plenty.
Lucas squirmed as if he wanted to shout for help.
‘We’re fine,’ Kessner said. ‘Just trying to enjoy some breakfast.’
‘You’re not eating?’ Renaud said to Ryker.
‘Actually, I already ate with Ms Thibaud,’ Ryker said. ‘I stayed with her last night.’
He kept a straight face, but the officers looked seriously put out by his words. A couple of other customers glanced over too, as though the conversation had taken an unexpected turn.
But Ryker had had enough. He made a show of checking his watch.
‘I think it’s time for us to go, isn’t it?’ he said to Kessner.
The older guy didn’t seem to like that idea at all, but Ryker held his eye until he caved.
‘Yes. It is.’
‘Excuse us, please,’ Ryker said to the officers. They reluctantly stepped back as Ryker, Kessner, and Lucas got up from the booth.
‘Enjoy your day,’ Ryker said to Renaud and Coupet.
‘Au revoir,’ Coupet said. ‘Or to you in English, goodbye, until we meet again.’
Ryker smiled at him then headed for the door. Amelie’s friends looked away as he approached, as though they hadn’t just been glued to the conversation. Amelie remained staring. Ryker winked at her then moved out into the cold, Kessner and Lucas in tow. He stopped on the outside and looked back through the glass. Coupet and Renaud both glared still.
‘Come on, then,’ Ryker said to Kessner. ‘Let’s go and have a look at this dam.’