Page 41 of Nobody's Hero

‘Supplying weapons to enemies of the United States? I think the Brits will doexactlywhat we ask them to do. Otherwise, we might turn off Netflix. Or stop giving them the codes to their own submarines.’ Koenig paused. ‘Or maybe you’re right. Maybe my no-name colleagues will extraordinary-rendition your limey ass to a black site in eastern Europe.’

Summers deflated like he’d been punctured. He picked up Koenig’s passport and flicked through the pages. He reached under his desk and brought out a magnifying glass. Koenig figured he was always being offered memorabilia and a large part of maintaining the store as a viable front was identifying fakes. A magnifying glass would be a tool of the trade. He bent down and examined the signature page and the data page. ‘This is real,’ he said.

‘I’m afraid so.’

‘But it was only issued yesterday.’

‘I’m on the clock,’ Koenig said. ‘And now, so are you. If I step out of this shop without getting what I want, you’ll be indefinitely detained as an enemy combatant at Guantanamo Bay.’

‘And if I cooperate?’

‘Then you have options. The arms business is over for you, though. You know that, right? Steeleye Stan gave you to me, and I’m giving you to the cops. Way it has to be. But who knows? Maybe you’re right, maybe thereisenough separation between you and the guns that they can’t get the main charges to stick. When we’re finished here, your first call is to retain the meanest lawyer you can afford. I’m talking the Brit equivalent of Johnnie Lee Cochran Jr.’

‘Who?’

‘The guy who got O. J. acquitted.’

Summers nodded, like he’d made a decision. ‘What do you want to know?’

‘Tell me about the woman who bought the derringer.’

Summers sighed. ‘She said she hoped she’d never have to use it,’ he said.

Chapter 39

‘She’s coming back in three days,’ Koenig said to Draper. She was on her cell phone, and he was using the landline in Marion Summers’s shop. It wasn’t ideal – anyone with a touch of technical know-how could eavesdrop on them – but Koenig didn’t want to let Summers out of his sight.

‘You’ve found her?’ Draper replied.

‘I haven’t found her. I said she’s coming back in three days.’

‘For another gun?’

‘And for a passport. Turns out Marion supplies those as well. I thought as much when he spent so long examining mine.’

‘Why the hell did you show him your passport?’

‘It was either that or stab him in the liver,’ Koenig said. ‘He sold her the derringer a month ago. He’s been preparing for the inevitable knock on the door ever since he saw the news.’

‘Where is he now?’

‘Tied to a radiator, although he knows he has nowhere to run.’

‘I’ll come right over,’ Draper said. ‘We can start planning something.’

‘Take a cab,’ Koenig said. ‘But first make sure Danielle knows that as soon as Steeleye Stan’s been patched up, he’s to be put in a dark cell. His pinhead friends too. No phone calls, no visits. The Brit Terrorism Act should give her enough power. Get Bernice involved if you think it’ll help.’

*

Draper arrived an hour later. She confirmed that Steeleye Stan and his crew were in custody. Danielle would play police station ping-pong with them. A couple of hours here, a couple of hours there. Even if they somehow managed to get a message out, the chances of a solicitor being at the right police station at the right time were negligible. It was an old but effective trick.

‘Our mystery woman is after a passport?’ she said.

‘Twopassports,’ Koenig said. ‘One for her, one for Margaret.

She provided photographs, and Marion recognised Margaret from the news. She’s also getting another gun. Whatever she’s gotten herself involved in, the derringer clearly isn’t enough firepower.’

‘The heat must be getting too much for her. She thinks she’ll be safer in the States. More places to lie low.’