‘The only muscle in this country is the President. The President thinks that kicking out Western oil companies will jeopardise other business. He’s keen for Kazakhstan to seem international, competitive, independent. Zhaparov’s a Moscow puppet. Whenever the President gets too cosy with the West, Zhaparov suddenly has resources from Russia, usually in the name of counterterrorism, keeping Kazakhstan a buffer between Russia and Islamists. It was Zhaparov who banned praying in public, and installed pro-government imams. But it’s obvious he’s also a buffer against the West. Moscow’s nervous about Galina, the President’s daughter. She’s pro-West. When Putin annexed Crimea, she encouraged her father to start diversifying military purchases away from Russia. When Moscow tried to get Kazakhstan to join in with counter-sanctions against the West, she pushed her father to decline. And she hates Zhaparov. A few years back, when he was Chief Prosecutor, he went after one of her boyfriends for money laundering.’

‘And we’re tight with Galina?’

‘We shower her with gold.’

‘How much?’

‘Millions. A lot of it is property, mostly for family members. It’s a big family. But she’s our best chance. Lucy Piper always says that the way to a president’s heart is through his daughter.’

‘Cute, but she’s not in charge yet,’ I said. ‘What’s the President’s own relationship with Moscow like?’

Walker considered before responding, dipping a maki roll in soy sauce.

‘Kazakhstan’s always been a staunch Russian ally, but Ukraine made them uneasy. Nazarbayev walks a tightrope. A few years ago, they started limiting Russian broadcasting over here. Russian officials complained and now it’s an offence to even think along those lines. A lot of Russians came here in Soviet times. Most of those remaining are in the north of the country, close to the Motherland, and the main government policy seems to be not to antagonise them.’ He ate, then looked at the police file again. ‘What did Joanna stumble into?’

‘I’m not sure she stumbled. I think she walked purposefully towards the obsession she’s been nursing for years. That’s what I’m worried about.’

‘Wait until Robert Carter hears about this. Moscow’s scuppered big deals of his before. He had plans for a pipeline in Turkmenistan; closed down at the last minute as a result of political pressure from China and Russia. Billions written off.’ Walker shook his head. But even as he expressed his concern for Carter’s traumatic experiences with Russia, I could see his eyes glinting. He saw opportunity in crisis, in traumatised billionaires.

‘Has anyone in the UK discovered that you’re here?’ he asked.

‘Not as far as I’m aware.’

‘How long do you think you need to find out what’s happened to her?’

‘Five days.’

‘Wait there.’