‘Depends if you have the right drive.’
Logan laughed. ‘Well, yes. So when you use messaging that’s routed through a server in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it does cause a slight problem. But then again, there’s a solution to every problem. And we had the resources to crack this one. The data on your hard drive told us where you’d been at least – the web addresses you’d visited. A deleted internet cache isn’t too difficult to piece together. Then it took a bit more work to find the server those messages were sent through, and retrieve them.’
She let the words sink in. She knew what he was saying was true. Plausible in theory at least. But had he and whoever he worked for really managed to do all that in just a few hours? For starters he would have needed equipment to do the initial imaging, and he certainly hadn’t been lugging anything with him at the bar. Then she felt her cheeks flush at the thought that a third person might have been in the room stealing her data while she lay naked in the bed.
But even if that was the answer, surely they couldn’t have reviewed and pieced together everything on her computer in such a short space of time? And how would they have identified the host server, accessed it and retrieved the encrypted messages so quickly, never mind deciphered them and linked the user account to Potanin?
She didn’t buy it. Logan knew about Potanin from another source. It was the only answer. His words were aimed at belittling her and making her feel like she’d made mistakes.
Not that his bullshit made her position any less precarious. He still knew far more about her and her job than she was comfortable with.
‘Did you know Potanin’s with the SVR?’ Logan asked.
‘No.’
‘Does that bother you?’
‘No,’ she lied. In reality she hated anyone who was loyal to Moscow. After what they’d done to her father, that would never change. ‘He’s paying me. That’s what matters.’
‘Last night you said something different.’
‘Maybe I did.’
‘Okay, let me lay my cards on the table. I don’t want to hurt you, Anna. I don’t know why, but I don’t think you deserve it. You’ve got yourself caught up in a situation that’s much bigger than you imagined. This isn’t one rich man killing off a rival. This is governments waging dirty wars against each other. And every person in that war is nothing more than a pawn. We’re all expendable. Especially you.’
‘And you?’
‘Yes. Me too.’
‘Then why don’t you run too?’
‘I’m not asking you to run.’
‘If I turn my back on this job, on Potanin, that would be my only choice.’
‘No it wouldn’t. You could stand and fight.’
‘Stand with you?’
‘Yes. Forget about Gazinsky. He’s just a gateway to take us onto bigger things. We’ll go after Potanin together.’
‘And then?’
‘And then you've got nothing to worry about. I’d say it’s the only way for you to come out of this without a pack hunting you down.’
When he put it like that, she could see the path she had to take: the path of least resistance. Neither Gazinsky nor Potanin meant anything to her. Self-preservation was more important.
‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I’ll help you.’
CHAPTER 37
Present day
Ryker made his way along twisting country roads towards the location Eva had given him. She said she had information on Cardo. Ryker had to find out what that was.
The inspector’s death was a shock, no doubt about it, not just because of how he had been killed but why. Ryker was increasingly coming to the conclusion that Kozlov was involved with the Russian mafia. Or was it the Georgian mafia? And Walker, too, had perhaps become embroiled in the criminal underworld, whether wittingly or through coercion. Was Cardo part of it too? If so, that was potentially a big worry for Ryker. If the mob’s reach stretched that far into the police then he wasn’t sure exactly whom he could trust.
And that certainly included Eva, whom he was about to meet. He could only prepare himself for the worst, expect that she was about to set him up.
The biggest question still was: how did everything link back to the Red Cobra? Why had she killed Cardo? Why did she want to kill Walker?
Ryker called Winter as he drove.
‘Inspector Cardo was murdered,’ Ryker said when the commander answered the call.
‘I heard.’
‘I thought you didn’t know what was happening out here?’
‘I don’t. But the murder of a policeman connected to your investigation is the sort of thing that gets tongues wagging.’
‘What did you find on Kozlov?’
‘Not much. Clean record. He’s not on any watch lists.’
‘I find that hard to believe.’
‘Why?’
‘I’ve seen too much out here already for Kozlov to be squeaky clean. You’ve got the wife of his business partner murdered. The henchmen sent after me at that construction site. His daughter’s babysitter is a Vor from Georgia–’
‘Georgia? You don’t think–’
‘Maybe. Somehow this all links to the Red Cobra. One way or another, everything’s leading me to think the mafia are involved in this mess.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘Absolutely. Russian, Georgian, both, I’m not sure. But if they have the ear of not just the local but national police too, then it’s not a big stretch to figure why Kozlov has never been under suspicion.’
‘Okay. I’ll keep digging into him, see if I can find a connection to any known criminal gangs operating in Andalusia. Russian, Georgian, the rest.’
‘I’m off to meet his daughter now.’
‘His daughter?’ Winter asked, a hint of knowing in his voice.
‘It’s not like that.’
‘Of course not. You’re shacked up these days, right?’
‘Right.’ Ryker couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt toward Lisa who he’d again missed a call from earlier.
‘Did you get the package?’
‘Yes. Thanks.’ Ryker moved his hand down to the bulge on his waistband where the Colt M1911 semi-automatic pistol was stashed. Winter had come up trumps organising the drop so quickly – Ryker had only had to make a short detour to pick up the weapon, together with three magazines of ammunition. The gun was an old model, probably as old as Ryker, but in good condition nonetheless.
‘Just go easy with that. I’m not giving you carte blanche to go all Rambo out there. That weapon is for life and death situations. Nothing else. You get yourself in trouble with the locals because you couldn’t keep your pistol in your pants, then it’s up to me and no one else as to whether or not we get you out of jail again.’
Ryker understood Winter’s warning. Even if he’d still been an official JIA agent, the situation would have been much the same. One of the main purposes of the JIA’s set-up being secretive was so they could easily disavow all knowledge of an agent’s operation should it go pear-shaped and should they feel the need.
‘Have I made myself clear, Ryker?’