Page 29 of Nobody's Hero

‘Do you want to get in the back, Danielle? The seats are heated and it’s cold outside.’

‘Thank you.’ Danielle put her thumb and forefinger together, flashed her driver the OK gesture. She climbed into the back of the Jag.

‘How can we help you?’ Koenig said.

‘I want to know why my murder investigation was closed down,’ she said. ‘I want to know why someone dressed like a Victorian flower seller killed two people in cold blood. And I want to know how she managed to evade almost every camera in my city.’

‘Is that all?’

‘For now.’

‘If you know who we are, then you also know that we can’t tell you.’

‘Can’t or won’t?’

‘Is there a difference?’

‘There absolutely is a difference. “Can’t” means you don’t know. “Won’t” means you’re just a dickhead hiding behind some national security codswallop.’ She paused. ‘Are you a dickhead, Mr Koenig?’

Which was low-hanging fruit to Draper. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘God, yes.’

‘It’s a “can’t”,’ Koenig admitted. ‘We have absolutely no idea why she did anything. We don’t even know her name.’

‘But you’re here to find out?’

Koenig said nothing.

‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ Danielle said. ‘And because you came over on diplomatic passports, and because Miss Draper owns a private intelligence company, I’m going out on a limb and saying this is an unsanctioned operation. You’re covert. You got material support from Bernice Kopitz and then she got rid of you as fast as possible.’

‘How’d you figure that?’

‘I know Bernice. Met her a couple of times. She’s incredibly competent. And if she’s sent you out without support, it’s because that’s what she was told to do. Or she wanted no part of what’s about to happen. Either way, you two are on your own. How am I doing?’

Koenig shared a look with Draper. She shrugged. ‘You have a suggestion?’ he said.

‘I do,’ Danielle said. ‘This is no longer a covert investigation. I know you’re here and I knowwhyyou’re here. And while you will both be given the courtesy that all our American guests get in the UK, none of the forty-five police forces will cooperate with you. Not from any sense of malice, you understand. We barely cooperate with each other. See what happens when you ask for assistance sounding like Joe Friday.’

‘I’m from Boston,’ Koenig said.

‘I wasn’t talking to you.’

Draper smiled. Which was a relief. Koenig had seen her punch people for less. He came to a decision. A British copcouldbe an asset. They could call in favours. Lean on informants. Order beers that weren’t warm. But only if she played at their level. He didn’t have time for excess baggage.

‘Why would we need cooperation?’ he asked.

‘Because we’ve watched the same movie,’ she said.

‘I’ll need a little more—’

‘You’re after a gun,’ she cut in. ‘Your mystery woman was holding a weapon our experts have identified as a COP .357 derringer. That’s exotic.Allhandguns over here are exotic, of course, but this one especially so. I was ordered to shut down my investigation, which I did. I work in a command-and-control organisation. I don’t need to know the rationale behind every decision my superiors make. But they can’t stop me thinking about it.’

‘And what is it you’ve been thinking about, Danielle?’

‘That if I’d been allowed to continue, I’d have headed north looking for where she bought the gun.’

‘You work in one of the biggest cities in Europe,’ Koenig said. ‘Why not start there?’

‘London has live facial recognition,’ she said. ‘And because the threat level hasn’t been below “substantial” for five years now, the LFR cameras are on permanent deployment. A woman this good would know that. She wouldn’t risk London. Not when her face triggered the kind of response it did. That leaves half a dozen other cities. You’re on the M6 and you’ve already passed Birmingham. That leaves Manchester, Liverpool or Glasgow. All three have gang problems.’

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