“Thanks! Thanks, everyone. It’s good to be back,” Eddie replied. “Steady on, the wife’s right behind me,” he added as Lola kissed him.
A grinning Nina followed him into the IHA offices. “It doesn’t take long for word to spread around here, does it, Lola?”
“I could hardly keep it to myself, could I?” Lola replied without a hint of contrition as she released Eddie. “It was bursting to get out. Like I wish this little guy would.” She looked down at her stomach.
“He’ll have his freedom soon,” Nina assured her. “Or she’ll have hers, whichever it is. Anyway, thank you, everyone.”
People congratulated Eddie and shook his hand, then returned to their offices and labs. He and Nina had work of their own to deal with. “Mr. Penrose is waiting for you,” Lola told them. “And Ms. Beauchamp is ready to take your call when you are.”
They went to the conference room. Sebastian Penrose stood up to greet them as they entered. “Ah, Eddie! Glad to see you again, alive and well and a free man. It must be a huge weight off your mind.”
“You’re not kidding,” said Eddie as he shook hands with the older Englishman. “Although let’s make sure I actually am free first, eh? I still keep thinking a SWAT team’s going to burst in at any moment.”
“I think this will just be a formality,” Penrose said, smiling. “Now, I understand that Renée is ready for us, so let me set this up …”
The conference room was equipped for videoconferencing. Penrose tapped at a remote control to switch on a large screen on one wall. A view of another conference room appeared, this one at Interpol’s headquarters in Lyon. Renée Beauchamp looked back at them. “Good afternoon, Sebastian,” said the tall Frenchwoman. “Or whatever time it is there.”
“Good morning,” Penrose replied, amused. “Now, I have two people here who are very eager to hear what you have to say, so … I hope it’s good news.”
Beauchamp sighed a little. “It is good news for Eddie; not so much for Interpol, I am afraid. Nina, you were right about the number being a Swiss account code. We made a priority check with the bank in Bern, and found that it was indeed registered to Ankit Jindal.”
Eddie noted her formality in using Kit’s full name; she was upset and disappointed in her former friend. “When was it opened?”
“Over two years ago. And a considerable sum of money had been paid into it during that time—over three hundred thousand euros.”
“Paid in by whom?” Nina asked.
“A company in the Cayman Islands, which turned out to be a shell. It ceased trading three months ago—just after Ankit’s death. But I had our Financial Crime Unit check it, and they found that the company was originally created as a subsidiary of a business owned by Harald Glas.”
“Glas?” echoed Eddie, exchanging a brief but knowing look with Nina. “He was involved with Kit too?”
Beauchamp tipped her head quizzically. “There is some other connection?”
He decided not to let her in on his nocturnal visit to Dalton’s house. “His name came up when I was trying to find out who attacked the skyscraper in Tokyo. But I didn’t know he had Kit on his payroll.”
“Nor did we. It is embarrassing to Interpol; Internal Affairs will have to investigate further.” She shook her head. “Of all people, I never would have believed he would be corrupt. He fought against corruption in India before joining Interpol, and he was always very firm on the need for order. I don’t know …” Another shake.
“What about Glas?” said Nina. “Is Interpol any closer to tracking him down?”
“No. It is as if he has disappeared from the face of the planet. Even though Eddie stayed ahead of us, we knew where he had been, and we were catching up.”
“You didn’t get me, though,” Eddie couldn’t resist pointing out.
Beauchamp’s lips briefly twitched into a hunter’s smile. “We would have. In time. But Glas … he has completely disappeared. An international red notice was placed on him, but he has not been seen since the warrant for his arrest was issued. We think he was tipped off. More corruption. But,” she went on, “as for another red notice … Eddie, you will be very pleased to know that the one issued against you has been formally rescinded. The new evidence against Ankit proves that he had something to hide—which, with the gun found on the video footage, makes your claim of self-defense more