The chill on his skin brought forth a shiver as realisation set in. How could he have been so stupid? So blind? All those briefings at Thames House, Palmer there with his dinky little visitor’s pass bearing the highest security level. Worse than that, the years of personal friendship between the two of them. The curries, the nights out together, the drunken chats on the state of the security services or on the progress Holm was making in catching Taher.

I can’t understand it, Harry. We were so close. He just seemed to slip away without a trace.

Never mind, Stephen. There’s always a next time, eh?

Not with Palmer there wasn’t. Not with Harry bloody Palmer.

‘Hello, sir.’ Javed, innocent of the true situation, smiled and put out a hand in greeting. ‘A timely arrival if I might say so.’

‘Farakh.’ Holm touched Javed on the shoulder. In his head he played back the conversation he’d had with Palmer at the cafe in Battersea Park. ‘There’s nothing timely about it. He’s been here a while. Isn’t that right, Harry?’

‘Yes.’ Palmer stopped a few steps away. ‘I was beginning to get bored of waiting for your call, to be honest.’

‘Taher got away with the weapons.’ Javed lowered his shoulders as if by way of an apology. He still hadn’t got it. ‘But the good news is we eyeballed him.’

‘That’s about the only good news though.’ Palmer raised the gun a little. ‘I mean, events have taken a turn, haven’t they, Stephen? You come here to catch Taher and instead a president ends up dead.’

‘She wasn’t a president,’ Holm said. ‘Not yet.’

‘But she would have been if somebody hadn’t meddled.’ The gun swung up and Palmer gestured for them to move down the corridor. ‘Now everything’s gone to shit.’

‘Boss?’ Javed turned to Holm for some kind of answer.

‘Harry’s not all he seems, Farakh.’ Holm shook his head. ‘He’s played us, played everyone. All this time Taher managed to keep one step ahead of us and I couldn’t work out how he did it. The answer is Martin Palmer.’

‘What?’ Javed looked at Holm. ‘Are you saying—’

‘Downstairs!’ The gun jerked again. ‘I don’t know what you’ve got to do with the death of Karen Hope, but you’ve caused a whole lot of trouble.’

‘Nothing, Harry.’ Holm spread his hands wide as he walked to the end of the corridor. ‘We’re unarmed. An old guy who will shortly need a Zimmer frame and a young ’un who thinks tradecraft is an ethical food company. What on earth would we have to gain by killing Karen Hope?’

‘I’ve no idea, but it’s a bit of a coincidence that you turn up and Hope is shot.’