Robert Wilson - The Hidden Assassins

'Why go to the trouble of importing it?'

'Its availability,' said the army officer. 'Wherever there's conflict in the world, there's ordnance, and hexogen can easily be extracted from it. You end up with low-volume high explosive which is untraceable, easy to transport, hide and disguise. Domestic gunpowder magazines are more tightly controlled since 11th March, although there have been thefts-for instance in Portugal last year. I would also say that the chances of hexogen being spotted in an open European transport system are slim. Whereas mounting a robbery of a gunpowder magazine in this country would get you lower grade explosive, and draw the immediate attention of the authorities.'

'What about the home-made variety, used in the London bombings?' asked del Rey. 'Wouldn't it be easier to mix up easily available ingredients than go to the trouble and risk of bringing in hexogen, or stealing Goma 2 Eco?'

'You're right, triaceton triperoxide can be made quite easily, but I wouldn't like to be around someone dealing with it, unless he had a chemistry post-graduate degree and we were operating in temperature-controlled laboratory conditions. It's volatile,' he said. 'Also it depends on what sort of atrocity you want to commit. TATP is fine if you're intent on killing people, but if you want a spectacular explosion, with serious destruction and loss of life, then hexogen is much more capable of doing that. Hexogen is also stable and not temperature sensitive, something that's important at this time of year in a place like Seville, where daytime temperatures can vary by as much as twenty degrees.' The work rate was increasing. Material was coming in at a constant rate from the bombsite. Bits of credit card, scraps of ID, driving licences, strips of clothing, shoes. The more macabre findings, such as body parts, were taken to the tented morgue next door. While del Rey watched the forensic work, Falcon briefed Elvira, who'd just arrived from a meeting in the town hall with the Mayor, Comisario Lobo and Magistrado Juez Decano Spinola. Elvira ordered searches of the three buildings immediately. Evacuation would be carried out by the local police and searches conducted by the bomb squad in case of booby traps. Elvira was concerned that other terrorist cells might have become active, preparing to take over the buildings. The CGI had to be alerted. Gregorio of the CNI was already in touch with Pablo, who was asking for the translations to be sent to him by secure email as soon as they were ready.

Falcon, Ramirez and del Rey stripped off their boiler suits in the forensic tent's anteroom and went back to the pre-school to resume their meeting.

'What do you make of that development, Inspector Jefe?' asked del Rey.

'We were asked to keep an open mind in this investigation, especially by the senior CNI man,' said Falcon. 'And yet, since we found the Peugeot Partner and its contents, almost all subsequent findings have directed us towards the belief that an Islamic terrorist campaign was being planned in this mosque.'

'Almost all subsequent findings?'

'We cannot satisfactorily explain the fake council inspectors and the electricians, and yet we are very suspicious of their involvement,' said Falcon. 'They seem to be an intrinsic part of the actual explosion. Now that we've spoken to the bomb squad officer it seems clear that a smaller device was planted, which set off the stored hexogen. We have a link between Miguel Botin and the electricians. He was seen handing over the card to the Imam. But who was he working for?'

'You don't buy the CNI line either?'

'I would if there was any proof for it, but there's none.'

'What about those keys from the Imam's apartment opening the box?' said Ramirez. 'Where does that place the Imam now?'

'As part of the plot,' said del Rey.

'Except that the keys were found in a kitchen drawer,' said Falcon. 'I find that strange when all the other keys were kept in his desk. And the two keys were identical. Would you keep them together?'

'If we are to believe that Botin was a double agent and that he was serving up the Imam to the CGI on behalf of another terrorist commander, as the CNI seem to think, then what are we to make of the drawings in the metal box?' asked del Rey.

'The Imam's keys opened the box, therefore whatever is in that box is an expendable operation,' said Falcon. 'The CNI would be forced to admit it was another part of the diversion.'

'And what do you think, Inspector Jefe?'

'I don't have enough information to think anything,' said Falcon.

'You said you were keeping an open mind, Inspector Jefe. What does that mean exactly? That you've been conducting other enquiries?'

Falcon told him about Informaticalidad, giving the background on Horizonte and I4IT. He gave their reasons for buying the property and how the sales reps used it. He also told him about Informaticalidad's recruiting procedure.

'Well, all that sounds strange, but I can't see anything in particular that's pointing to their involvement in this scenario.'

'I've never heard anything like it,' said Ramirez.

'So far, the only illegal thing I can find is that they used black money to buy the apartment,' said Falcon. 'I've been trying to find something that links them to what was going on in the mosque.'

'And you haven't found it.'

'The only connection is that one of the churches used in recruiting employees for Informaticalidad was the same one used by the CGI antiterrorist agent Ricardo Gamero-San Marcos.'

'But you have no proof that Gamero met anyone from Informaticalidad?'

'None. I spoke to the priest from San Marcos and I would describe some of his responses as extremely guarded, but that's all.'

'Are you hoping that the police artist's drawing of the man Gamero met in the museum is going to provide that link to Informaticalidad?'

'That's a tricky process: to extract a likeness from a museum security guard's view of a person he wasn't particularly interested in,' said Falcon. 'They're looking for troublemakers, not two adults having a conversation.'

'Which is why, after five hours, we still have nothing,' said Ramirez.

'We're also pushing forward with an enquiry we started the day before the bomb,' said Falcon, and described the circumstances of the mutilated corpse.

'And because of the timing, you think that there might be a link to the bombing?' asked del Rey.

'Not just that; after this particularly brutal treatment to hide the victim's identity, the body had been sewn into a shroud. That struck me as respectful and religiously motivated. The corpse also had what is known as a Berber genetic marker, which means that he was either from the Iberian peninsula or North African.'

'You said he was poisoned.'

'He ingested it,' said Falcon, 'which could imply that he didn't know he was being "executed". Then they removed his identity but treated him with respect.'

'And how will this help us to identify the fake council inspectors and the electricians?'

'I won't know that until I identify the murdered man,' said Falcon. 'I'm hoping that can be done now that an image of the victim's face and a full set of dental X-rays have been sent out to intelligence services worldwide, including Interpol and the FBI.'

Del Rey nodded, scribbled notes.

'We're not getting anywhere looking for these electricians through conventional channels,' said Ramirez.

'While the bomb squad officer was talking, it occurred to me that an explosives expert would have to know about electronics and therefore probably electrics in general,' said Falcon. 'Goma 2 Eco is a mining explosive, so perhaps we should sit our witnesses down in front of photo IDs for all licensed explosive handlers in Spain.'

'Have your witnesses been able to describe the electricians?'

'The most reliable one is a Spanish convert called Jose Duran, but he couldn't describe them very well. There didn't seem to be anything particular about them.'