• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

'But also still finds time for the odd Fascist.'

'And two very important Russian defectors whom both American and Canadian Intelligence thought they'd taken care of more than adequately.'

Morgan said, 'Just what is the latest on the international terrorist front? I'm slightly out of touch since the Ulster business.'

'There are definite links now between groups around the world,' Baker said. 'For example, the Japanese who were responsible for the massacre at Tel Aviv airport were trained at Lebanese terrorist training camps. Their arms, mainly grenades and Kalashnikovs, were provided by the Baader-Meinhof gang. The Palestine Liberation Front were also involved.'

'Quite a combination.'

'Our information is that, earlier this year, a secret conference of guerrilla organizations held in Dublin was attended by Maoist and anarchist representatives from all over the world.'

'With the IRA as hosts?'

'That would depend on which branch of the IRA you're speaking of.'

'Maoists - anarchists - to hell with all of them. It's the Cretan I want.' Morgan picked up a pencil and pulled a pad forward. 'What do we really know about him?'

'Physically small,' Baker said.

'But extremely powerful.'

'Highly intelligent, resourceful. Obviously able to move around the world with no difficulty whatsoever.'

'A soldier.'

'What makes you think that?'

'The way he operates, the precision, the organization. When he has a target, that's what he goes for. There's nothing indiscriminate about him. On several occasions he's spared people's lives. The chauffeurs, for example, in Paris and Rio.'

'But not Megan.'

'No.' Morgan nodded calmly. 'He ran her down like a dog. His one mistake.'

He studied the notes he'd made on the pad and Baker said, 'Don't forget the most important thing. He's a Cretan.'

'Who speaks German, French, Spanish and English? A trained soldier? A world traveller?' Morgan shook his head. 'I'd amend that one, if I were you. What we're after is a man who for some reason can pass as a Cretan if he wants to.'

'And where would you start looking for a man like that?'

Morgan shrugged. 'I don't know - not at the moment. The Hoffmann girl. There could be something there. Maybe she's not telling everything she knows. This Dr Riley of yours might be worth a visit. Have you met her?'

'I have had that pleasure. She doesn't like policemen. The kind of girl Senator McCarthy would have had up in front of a congressional committee before she knew what had hit her. One thing that isn't in that file, by the way. The bullet they took out of Cohen's brain indicates a Mauser, but a very unusual one: 7.63, Model 1932 and this one had a bulbous silencer. They were used by certain German security units during the war.'

'Yes, I know the gun you mean,' Morgan said. 'They only manufactured a few.'

'That's right. And they're in very short supply these days, virtually unobtainable. The computer shows only one as having been used to kill in the United Kingdom ever. That was an Army intelligence sergeant last year in Londonderry.'

'The Cretan? In Ulster?' Morgan was astonished.

'No - a Provisional hit man named Terence Murphy. He was shot dead by a Commando patrol as he made a run for it along with a man called Pat Phelan. As a matter of interest, he had one, too. We tried to trace the dealer the guns had come from, but no luck.'

'An interesting possibility,' Morgan said softly. 'That the gun used to shoot Cohen might have come from the same source.'

'I've got people working on that now,' Baker said. 'But frankly, we didn't get very far last time, so...' He picked up the file and replaced it in his briefcase. 'Now you know as much as I do about the Cretan. What do you intend to do?'

'I'll think of something.'

'I bet you will,' Baker said grimly and opened the door. 'We're all square now, Asa, just remember that.'

Morgan gave him a few moments only, then grabbed his coat and went after him. He arrived at the main entrance to see Baker walking