The tugging caused a mobile phone to fall out of Axel’s hoodie pocket. Ben caught it before it could go tumbling down the rocks. A cheap Samsung, sticky with blood. And it was giving him an idea. ‘Do you have Jean-Luc’s number on here?’

‘What do you want it for?’

‘To talk some sense into him before he gets himself killed, too. I’m going to borrow this phone, Axel. Are you okay with that?’

‘Do I get it back?’

‘Unless we’re all dead,’ Ben said. ‘Which is a possibility, given who we’re dealing with. You’ve no idea how lucky you are. Most people don’t tangle with Nazim al-Kassar and live to tell the tale.’

‘Léon and Jean-Étienne weren’t so lucky,’ Axel groaned. ‘Take the phone. I don’t care if I don’t get it back.’ He clutched his shoulder. More blood leaked out from between his fingers.

‘What’s your other cousin’s name?’

‘Noah.’

‘What colour is Maurice and Suzette’s car?’

Axel stared at him. ‘Why would you ask?’

‘If I’m going to go after it, I need to know what it looks like. There are an awful lot of Citroën C1s on the road.’

‘It’s red. With one of those fish badges on the back. The Simonots were Christians.’

Roth had reached them. He seemed to have taken his time coming down the rocks. Maybe he’d been making more of his mystery phone calls, Ben thought. Roth squatted on the rocks a few feet away and gave Ben an inquisitive look. He asked, ‘What’s up with this guy?’

Ben showed him the bloody phone. Switching back to English he said, ‘This is going to lead us to Nazim. We’re moving on. That little discussion we were about to have, we’ll have later.’

‘Whatever you say, chief. Taking him with us?’ Roth said, pointing at Axel.

Ben shook his head. ‘He’s going to hospital.’ Which in English sounded enough like the French word ‘hôpital’ for Axel’s face to fall in dismay.

‘Don’t do this to me, dude! I’m barely hurt!’

‘Désolé, Axel. I’m not having you bleed to death on my account.’

Ben led the way back up the rocks towards the V-cleft in the cliff. He waited until they were three-quarters of the way up before he took out his pistol and squeezed off two rounds into the bushes. The sharp reports echoed across the beach. By the time the police came running to investigate and found the injured man, Ben and Roth would be gone.

Chapter 57