Contents ( 84)
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- Acknowledgements
Dempsey distracted himself with the bodega’s television, while he waited. The story was in mid-report by the time he looked up, but the images were unmistakable.
The wreckage of Flight PA16.
‘Ali, can I turn this up?’
‘Of course.’
Dempsey reached across the counter for the remote. A second later and he could hear every word from CNN’s international correspondent.
‘. . . was arrested in the early hours of this morning, British time. It seems the British police held him overnight and brought him to Westminster Magistrates’ Court this morning, where his case was processed and sent to a superior British court for trial.’
Dempsey turned towards Ali.
‘You know what this is about?’
‘Yes, Mr Joseph. They have arrested the man who bombed the plane yesterday.’
The news was a surprise. To have caught a suspect already. If this did all lead back to Knowles, Dempsey would have expected the person they’d used to plant the bomb to have vanished without a trace.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, sir. Watch the screen. You will see.’
Dempsey turned back to the TV.
‘The suspect has been identified as Nizar Mansour, a Syrian refugee who had found work as a baggage handler for Pan-Atlantic Airlines. From what little we know at this time, it’s been said that he confessed to the bombing.’
Dempsey’s mind started racing.
A Syrian refugee. What the hell does that have to do with Knowles?
It was not the information that Dempsey had been expecting. Had Kirk and Quilty been wrong to connect Knowles to this?
From what Quilty had said the night before, Dempsey could see a clear path from President John Knowles to the bombing of Flight PA16. Sure, it was an extreme reaction to what Dale Victor had said on camera. Not least when Quilty had told Victor’s people nothing of value. But still a plausible theory, if Knowles thought the threat was real. If he believed his administration – hell, his liberty, maybe even his life – was at risk.
But now this? How did the confession of a Syrian baggage handler play into that whole theory? Had he raced ahead of himself, too keen to believe what Quilty had told him? Could it have just been a terrorist attack? That would be a more straightforward scenario than a complex government conspiracy. And the simple explanation was usually the right one.
It’s the logical conclusion, Dempsey thought. And yet . . . and yet . . .
And yet having met Quilty, and knowing Kirk’s doubts and suspicions, Dempsey was finding it hard to accept it.
Confessed to planting the bomb. The thought derailed Dempsey’s others. Confessed? What kind of a terrorist kills hundreds of people, gets away with it and then turns himself in?
The question answered itself.
Terrorists did not surrender themselves; Dempsey knew that better than anyone. They might proudly claim their actions once apprehended, especially when those actions had resulted in mass destruction. But they did not willingly give themselves up.