Алистер Маклин - Red Alert

‘I don’t have any authority in here, Mike. If we start throwing our weight around we’re going to be out on the street before we know what’s hit us. And knowing the sort of person Marchetta is, he’ll block any further visits until he’s sure Conte’s up to them. And he’d be perfectly in his rights to do so. We’ve got no option, we have to play it by the rules.’

Graham was about to speak but thought better of it. What was the use? Paluzzi was right.

‘We’ve got company,’ Paluzzi said as Calvieri emerged from the lift.

‘Just what the doctor ordered,’ Graham muttered.

‘Morning,’ Calvieri called out, then gestured towards the door. ‘What have you got from Conte?’

‘Nothing yet,’ Kolchinsky said. ‘Sabrina’s still in there with him.’

‘Let me speak to him,’ Calvieri said, making for the door.

Paluzzi blocked his path.

‘Not until we know what Sabrina’s found out. You walk in there now and you could blow any chance we have of cracking the case.’

Calvieri moved to the window and watched a barge laden with crates of fresh produce negotiate its way under the Vittorio Emanuele Bridge and disappear around a sharp bend in the river.

‘What’s the latest on the Pisani murder?’ Kolchinsky asked.

Calvieri turned away from the window.

‘Five dead. Signore Pisani; Rocca, the man Sabrina and I saw last night; and three Brigatisti who were guarding the house.’

‘Any clues, other than that one of the assailants was black?’ Kolchinsky pressed.

‘None so far. It was obviously a professional hit. Even the number plates on the getaway car were blacked out with masking tape.’

‘Who do you suspect?’ Kolchinsky continued.

Calvieri shrugged.

‘We have a lot of enemies but as I said, this was certainly a professional hit. That rules out the vast majority of fascist groups. Most of them wouldn’t have the imagination to hire an outside man, let alone have the money to pay him.’

‘So you think it was carried out by a contract killer?’ Kolchinsky said.

‘That’s my guess, yes.’ Calvieri bit his lower lip pensively. ‘He probably flew in last night, did the job, then flew out again this morning. Our best lead is this black accomplice of his. If we can find him we could identify the hit man.’

Graham and Kolchinsky exchanged glances.

‘So you think his accomplice is a local?’ Graham asked.

‘That’s the assumption we’re working on at the moment. I’m confident we’ll find him before the police do.’

‘Then what? Thumbscrews and electric shocks?’

‘We have our methods, Mr. Graham, just like you.’

The door opened and Sabrina emerged into the corridor.

‘I thought I heard your voice, Tony. Conte wants to see you.’

‘I thought he might,’ Calvieri said, smiling triumphantly at Paluzzi.

She grabbed Calvieri’s arm when he tried to get past her.

‘I’m Sabrina Trestelli, your assistant from Milan. It’s the only way I could get him to talk.’

‘Of course,’ Calvieri said, and followed her into the ward.

‘Have you had a chance to talk to your man, Whitlock, since the hit last night?’ Paluzzi asked Kolchinsky.

‘No, he hasn’t contacted me.’

‘And you’ve got no way of contacting him?’

Kolchinsky shook his head.

‘It would be too dangerous. He’ll call when he can.’

‘We’ve got to warn him, Sergei,’ Graham said. ‘What chance has he got if Calvieri’s thugs catch him unawares?’

‘We can’t, Michael, you know that. We could blow his cover.’

‘I can put a tail on him. No Brigatista will get near him.’

‘And what if Young smells a rat? We’re dealing with a professional, Fabio, not some two-bit Chicago hood.’ Graham looked at Kolchinsky. ‘We’ve got to warn him, Sergei.’

‘Let’s play it by ear, shall we?’ Kolchinsky said defensively, knowing Graham was right. But it was neither the time nor the place to discuss it.

‘It’s throwing-out time,’ Paluzzi said, indicating the matron at the end of the corridor.

Kolchinsky stood up. ‘I hope Sabrina’s got everything she can out of Conte. We can’t be coming and going for snippets of information every few hours.’

The matron greeted them with a smile and disappeared into the ward. Calvieri and Sabrina emerged moments later.

‘Well, what have you found out?’ Kolchinsky asked anxiously.

‘I’ll tell you on the way back to the hotel,’ Sabrina replied, holding up the micro-cassette player in her hand. ‘It’s all on here.’

‘That’s it,’ Sabrina said, switching off the micro-cassette player. She got up from the armchair in Kolchinsky’s room and helped herself to a roll from the breakfast tray which he had ordered.

‘Good God,’ Kolchinsky muttered, then placed his empty cup and saucer on the table beside him, his mind still reeling from Sabrina’s translation of the dialogue on the tape.

‘Let me get this straight,’ Graham said, looking at Sabrina. ‘Ubrino intends to open the vial at ten o’clock tomorrow morning at the Offenbach Centre in Berne, Switzerland, to coincide with the start of the summit of European leaders being held there, unless he sees a live telecast of Zocchi being put aboard an aeroplane bound for Cuba within the next twenty-five hours.’

‘That’s it,’ she replied grimly.

‘And he’s got no idea where Ubrino might be hiding out until then,’ Kolchinsky added.

‘Calvieri, you know him better than the rest of us. Where do you think he is?’

‘I don’t know him that well. I would say he was still in Rome. It’s what I’d do if I were in his position. Stick with the people I can trust.’

‘But you haven’t had one positive sighting of him here in Rome since the break-in,’ Graham said. ‘He could already be in Switzerland.’

‘Of course he could,’ Calvieri replied. ‘But I still think he’d want to stay in an area where he knew he would be safe. And that has to be Rome. We do have sympathizers in Switzerland but very few of them share the radical views of the Rome cell. I’m sure if Paluzzi and I put our heads together we could come up with a list of names of Swiss sympathizers who could be hiding him. But I still say he’s in Rome.’

‘Fabio, I want you and Calvieri to put that list together,’ Kolchinsky said.

‘We can get on to it right away.’

‘Give me an hour,’ Calvieri said, getting to his feet. ‘Bettinga’s coming down from Genoa to take charge of the investigation at Signore Pisani’s house. He should be there by now. Once I’ve briefed him I’ll be completely at your disposal.’

‘Well, the sooner you go, the sooner you’ll be back,’ Kolchinsky said, then jabbed his finger towards the door. ‘Go on. And for God’s sake, hurry up.’

‘You can count on it.’

‘Do you go along with his Rome theory?’ Graham asked Paluzzi after Calvieri had closed the door.

‘It makes sense, let’s put it that way. And if he’s right, we’ve got more chance of finding Lord Lucan here in Rome than we do of finding Ubrino. Even as the acting leader of the Red Brigades, Calvieri still won’t hold much sway here. Pisani didn’t, and he was more radical than Calvieri. As I’ve told you before, the Rome cell is a law unto itself.’

‘So what’s our best bet?’ Kolchinsky asked. ‘To try and catch him at the Offenbach Centre?’

‘I wish it were,’ Paluzzi replied. ‘He was a make-up artist at the Teatro dell’Opera some years back. And a damn good one by all accounts. He’s used a variety of disguises in the past and you can be sure he’ll use another one to get into the Offenbach Centre.’

Kolchinsky rubbed his hands wearily over his face. ‘Some breakthrough this is turning out to be.’