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PARIS
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WHEN HE REACHED THE office of the Deputy Director of Interpol (France), Ben Bright announced himself and then took a seat to wait. He had no idea why he had been summoned but he didn’t feel concerned. He was sure he would find out what was going on soon enough.
The possibility that seemed most likely was that he was being reassigned. He was often used as a roving trouble-shooter and sent to deal with situations the local Interpol officers couldn’t handle, or which required someone with experience or knowledge they didn’t have. He had been working in the Paris office for almost a year, something of a record for him, so it was past time for him to be reassigned.
Bright had to wait for almost a quarter of an hour before the intercom on the secretary’s desk buzzed with the order for him to be sent through.
“Special Agent Bright,” Deputy Director Lejour greeted him. “Have a seat. Would you like something to drink?”
“Thank you, sir, coffee, please.” Bright relaxed a little more. If he was being offered a drink it was certain that he had nothing to worry about.
Lejour requested drinks from his secretary and then returned his attention to Bright. “I imagine you’re wondering why I sent for you.”
“Yes, sir.”
“There’s a situation in Spain.”
“What sort of situation?” Bright suspected he already knew but thought it best to ask, he didn’t want to assume and make an idiot of himself.
“Have you heard about the massacre that took place in Barcelona two days ago?”
“Of course, sir, not a pleasant incident.” Like most Interpol agents, Bright had seen plenty of bad things, so it was hard for him to be shocked. “Have the local police got any leads?”
“It’s being kept quiet, but they have a witness. Not a very good one by all accounts, but better than not having one. They have also received information, backed up by their witness, that suggests the person who ordered the massacre, and possibly led it, comes from here in France. Because of that they have requested our help. This is the information that’s available so far.” Lejour held out the file he had been reading when Bright came in.
**
HIS COFFEE HAD GONE cold by the time Bright finished with the file he had been given. There wasn’t much in it, and it hadn’t taken him long to get through it the first time. His second reading was more thorough, however, to be sure he hadn’t missed anything.
“From the looks of this, the Barcelona police don’t have much,” he remarked. Placing the file on the desk in front of him, he picked up his coffee. He was used to getting so engrossed in his work that his coffee went cold, so it didn’t bother him.
“There’s a wealth of physical evidence that’s still being processed,” Lejour said. “There’s every chance they’ll find something once the results are in.”
“Perhaps.” Bright couldn’t bring himself to agree with Lejour, though he knew well enough that cases were often cracked by one small, seemingly insignificant thing. “But if the attack was ordered by someone here in France, they’re likely to have a hard time connecting anything their forensics people find to them. Any connection that is made is likely to come through our databases.”
“That brings us to the reason for this meeting,” Lejour said. “This investigation is going to require careful cooperation between us and the Barcelona police, and possibly the police here in France as well, if the information in the file is correct.”
“I take it you’re assigning me to the investigation, sir.”
“Correct. I should tell you that there is a suspect in the frame, which is one of the reasons you have been selected for this, because you have knowledge of the suspect.”
“There was nothing in the file about a suspect.” Bright wondered if he had missed something, but he didn’t see how he could have.
“It wasn’t included because there’s no evidence currently, and Agent Battista didn’t want to do anything to tip the suspect off. After being asked for help by the Barcelona police, Battista and her team made a check of recent arrivals at Barcelona International Airport to see if any recognisable names came up. One did — Philippe Noir. He arrived the morning of the attack and flew out again that evening.”
“The report certainly fits with what we know of Noir and how he likes to deal with people who upset him,” Bright said. “He wouldn’t think twice about killing women and children to get at someone who’s a problem for him.”
“He’d kill his own mother if she was a threat to his organisation,” Lejour said. “The fact that he was there isn’t conclusive proof, however. He’s clever and will almost certainly have arranged it so he had a legitimate reason for being in Barcelona at the time of the attack just in case he comes under suspicion. I’ve discussed the situation with my Spanish counterpart and we both agree that the investigation needs someone who is familiar with Noir and his organisation. You are. We want you out there by this time tomorrow. Okay?”
“Yes, sir.” Bright’s thoughts immediately turned to preparation for a stay in Spain. He kept a bag packed with his passport, a change of clothes, a washbag, and other essentials in case he was given an urgent assignment and had to leave in a hurry. Now, though, he considered what else he might need for what could be an extended stay in Spain.