Name To a Face

THIRTY-FOUR

Harding had little appetite for lunch. Chief Inspector Unsworth, on the other hand, attacked his double order of toasted ham-and-cheese sandwiches with a trencherman’s vigour, whilst eyeing the Café Kreutzkamm’s cake display with dessert clearly in mind. Acerbic observations on the shortcomings of the Dutch capital and variations on a theme of how much he envied Harding his Riviera existence had delayed an explanation of what he actually wanted so long it seemed it might never come. But with one sandwich swallowed and the second commenced in slightly less urgent style, he came to the point at last, albeit by an indirect route.

“Which way did you vote in the Common Market referendum, Mr. Harding-back in 1975?” Harding was too bemused by the question at first even to attempt an answer. And Unsworth saved him the bother by snapping his fingers suddenly. “Hold on. Of course. You were born in 1958. So, just too young to vote in ’ seventy-five.” This, Harding could only assume, was a bizarre method of telling him that Unsworth knew more about him than he might have supposed. “Well, I voted no. Would again if they gave me the chance. Don’t let the Europol credentials fool you. I’d pull us out tomorrow if it was up to me. More corrupt than your average banana republic, that outfit in Brussels. Put a stop to one scam and ten more sprout in its place. What’s that stuff you gardening types go in fear of? Bondweed?”

“Bindweed.”

“That’s it. Tendrils spreading under the earth faster than you can dig ’ em up. That ’s exactly how it feels fighting corruption in the EU, take it from me. Thankless and hopeless. But… we soldier on.”

“I’m sure you do.”

“It can take years to crack just one case. You have to be patient, persistent and pragmatic. The three Ps. I swear by ’em. They’ve always stood me in good stead. You could say it’s the third P we’re here to explore.”

“Pragmatism?”

“Exactly.”

Harding sighed. “I’m not with you, Chief Inspector.”

“No. But you soon will be. Would it surprise you to learn that Starburst International is a conduit for millions of euros in fraudulently claimed EU grants?”

It did surprise Harding, though not as much as he tried to pretend. “I don’t believe that for a moment.”

“Come off it. ’Course you do. You don’t think Barney Tozer funded his champagne lifestyle out of timeshares and tourism. That’s just… window-dressing. Starburst’s real business is siphoning cash out of Brussels. And it’s a high-turnover business, believe you me. We’ve been watching them for years. Watching them walk away with a chunk of everyone’s taxes-including yours.”

“Why haven’t you stopped them?”

“Because proof-in a system where you never know who’s on the take-is tough to come by. The sort that would stand up in court, anyway. Whybrow, Tozer’s moneyman, is a smart operator. Too smart for most of my colleagues.”

“But not for you?”

“I wouldn’t say that. It’s Tozer’s death that’s given us an opening. See, I’m not two bits interested in why he was murdered. This Hayley Foxton they’re looking for? She doesn’t figure in my plans. No, it’s the fact of his death that’s important. It creates… instability. Which I’m hoping to exploit. With your help.”

“My help?”

“Look, I’ll be frank.” Unsworth napkinned his lips and leant across the table, lowering his voice as he did so. “Like I say, we’ve had our eye on Tozer for years. Which means we’ve had our eye on everyone close to him, including his wife. As a result, we know all about her relationship with you.”

Harding could not suppress a smile. Apparently, even if Whybrow carried out his threat, he would not be telling the police anything they did not already know.

“Something amusing you?”

“No. Carry on.”

“Your lifestyle suggests you’re exactly what you claim to be, Mr. Harding. Proprietor of a middling garden maintenance and landscaping business. You probably didn’t know the money Tozer invested in it was illegally obtained.”

“Hold on.” The conversation had suddenly taken a disturbing turn. “What are you-”

“But it’s how it looks, isn’t it? That’s the bugbear. It’s how it can be made to appear. If you prove… uncooperative.”

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s an open question whether Mrs. Tozer knows what her husband was up to. But it won’t stay open much longer. She’s going to find out now, even if she didn’t know before. She’s bound to. What then, eh? My bet is Whybrow will persuade her to carry on the good work. In other words, it’ll be business as usual. I can’t think of anyone better placed to stop that happening than you. After all, with Tozer out of the way, you don’t have to be so careful anymore. I expect you’ll be parking your toothbrush in the bathroom cabinet at the apartment in Monte before long.”

“You couldn’t be more wrong.”

“Really? You and Mrs. Tozer had a tiff, have you? Don’t worry. You’ll soon patch it up. You’ll have to. Otherwise, when we move on Starburst-and, believe me, it is when, not if-Tozer’s stake in your lawn-trimming outfit will look very bad for you. Trust me on that.”

“Are you blackmailing me?”

“Certainly not.” Unsworth looked theatrically outraged. “I’m actually trying to help you. And Mrs. Tozer. Now’s the time for a clean break from her late husband’s shenanigans. Repaying every last cent would be a painful experience for her. I’d be willing to recommend latitude in that department if information was volunteered to us in the wake of Tozer’s sad demise. You see what I’m saying? This is your chance to get out from under-and her with you. You’d be well advised to take it. All you have to do is keep your eyes and ears open. I need documentary evidence. You should be able to lay your hands on some, under the guise of helping out your lady love in her new role as Starburst International’s supremo.”

“If what you say is true, if Starburst really is involved in-”

“It’s involved, Mr. Harding. You’re going to have to face up to that. Its principal role is as middleman between the EU grants machinery and false claimants. Agricultural subsidies are the biggest turnover item. You know the sort of thing. Hill farms with a grid reference that if any of those Europrats bothered to check they’d realize was in the middle of the Bay of bloody Biscay. Vineyards various golfing chums of Tozer’s built high-rise apartment blocks on years ago. It doesn’t stop at agriculture, of course. Recently, they’ve moved into VAT carouselling. Basically, it’s anything and everything, with Starburst taking a fat slice every time. I think Tozer got started in the game when Cornwall was awarded Objective One status back in 2000 and EU money started falling like rain on the land of the piskies. Then he brought in Whybrow-an expert in the field-and things really took off.”

“All right. Say all that’s true. Say Whybrow really is pulling the strings. He’s clever. You admitted that yourself. He’s never going to let me get a sniff of anything proving what he’s up to.”

“He can’t stop you. It’s Mrs. Tozer’s company now. He’ll have to let her in on it. And what she finds out you find out. If you play your cards right. But remember: I need the kind of material that’ll stand up in court. So, we’ll see what you can dig up… and let you know whether it’s good enough… or if you need to dig deeper.” Unsworth grinned. “I’m confident you can get what we want.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Let’s not be defeatist.” Unsworth plucked a card from his pocket and slid it across the table. “My number’s on there. I’ll expect to hear from you within, oh… a month. That should give you ample time to get the measure of the situation.” The grin broadened. “I have a good feeling about this, Mr. Harding. You’ll enjoy it once you get into your stride. Just think of the public service you’ll be performing. You wouldn’t let parasites take over a garden, would you? Well, this is no different. It really isn’t.”

A phone call summoned Unsworth elsewhere before he could make a move on the patisserie. He left Harding to finish his coffee and stare at the card that was still lying on the table. He had known better than to try to convince Unsworth the state of his relations with Carol meant he stood no chance of being able to burrow into the financial secrets of Starburst International. He did not doubt those secrets were deep and dark. Unsworth’s assessment of them had sounded horribly convincing. It seemed entirely possible to him that Carol already knew about them. Not that it made much difference either way. She had made it clear their affair was over. But Unsworth would never believe that. He would simply assume Harding was trying to wriggle off the hook. Which was precisely what he would have to do, somehow, before the month he had been granted was up. Although a month, ironically, seemed to him at that moment an almost unimaginable interval. Where he would be at the end of it-how he would be-was a mystery to him.

The ringing of his own phone interrupted his reverie.

“Hello?”

“Tim. Tony here. Is Carol with you?”

“No. We, er, parted at Nymphenburg.”

“I see. Were you able to… clear up with her… that matter we discussed last night?”

“Oh yes.”

“Good.”

“She’s meeting the investigating officer this afternoon.”

“So I believe.”

“Any er… news of Hayley?”

“None. Which is an increasing concern to me. It would be unfortunate if she remained at liberty for any length of time.”

“Unfortunate?”

“Worrying, perhaps I should say. For Carol. And for you. Unless, of course, you can be absolutely certain she no longer poses a threat.”

“How could I be?” Harding responded, seeking to play Whybrow at his own game.

“True. Absolute certainty in the world of risk assessment is naturally unattainable. Especially if you can’t be sure where the risk lies.”

Harding caught himself glancing nervously round the café. For a fraction of a second, he had thought Whybrow might actually be there, smiling at him from a corner table. But no. There were only stolid Münchners digesting their lunches.

“When are you planning to go home, Tim?”

“Tomorrow, I… suppose.”

“I’ll make sure the hotel knows Starburst will pay your bill.”

Starburst will pay. The phrase would never sound the same again. “Thanks,” said Harding.

“No problem,” said Whybrow “It’s the least we can do… after all you’ve done for us.”