Philip Kerr 8 страница

‘Actually the minister is a she, ’ said Dr Christodoulakis. ‘Dora Maximos. She was a famous athlete and then an even more famous singer. ’

‘I get it, ’ I said. ‘A bit like John Barnes. ’

Phil laughed. ‘God, you’re a bastard, Scott. ’

‘Yes, but that’s what I’m paid for, isn’t it? ’

The GADA was an unremarkable office block with an entrance like a bomb shelter. Near this was a small white marble shrine to the many Greek policemen who’d fallen in the line of duty; Michael Winner might have appreciated it but no one in Greece did. According to Dr Christodoulakis, the police in Athens were much hated. Gathered outside the front door were several newsmen – some of them English – who appeared to have been tipped off about our meeting; like everything else in Greece, information had its price.

In the conference room on the top floor where we met them you could easily see the football pitch across the road. And it was clear from the many plastic shamrocks and green ashtrays we found about the room that there was little support here for Olympiacos and plenty for Panathinaikos. But how much support there was for us in government remained to be seen.

The Minister of Public Order and Citizen Protection, Konstantinos Miaoulis, took charge of the meeting and, apologising profusely for detaining us in his country, he assured us the investigation would proceed with all possible haste in what were extraordinarily difficult circumstances, by which I assumed he meant the plain fact of the country going to hell in a handcart.

Dr Christodoulakis answered him quietly but firmly. ‘Just to clarify the matter. It’s my understanding that my clients – by which I mean every one of the London City staff and players who were staying at the hotel on the night that this young woman met her death – are forbidden to leave the country until the following has occurred: first that they have been questioned by the police as to what they might know about this young woman and Bekim Develi’s involvement with her; and second that an autopsy shall have taken place to determine whether there is any forensic evidence linking her with anyone other than the late Bekim Develi. ’

Chief Inspector Varouxis lit a cigarette and nodded. ‘That is correct. ’

Like everywhere else in the EU Greece had banned smoking in indoor public spaces back in 2010, but that didn’t seem to matter at police headquarters.

‘Given that the pathologists at the Laiko General Hospital are on strike, ’ argued Dr Christodoulakis, ‘would it not be fairer if the return of the whole team to Athens from London was secured with the payment of bail, this sum to be set by a judge in chambers? That way the team might fulfil its own contractual arrangements which its continued detention in Greece could seriously damage, thus leaving the Greek government open to a civil action in the courts. ’

Konstantinos Miaoulis was a fit‑ looking man, with a military bearing, and while he may not have resembled a politician, he certainly sounded like one: ‘I disagree. It’s the government’s opinion that to bring so many people back to Greece would prove enormously difficult. Suppose that one of the City team players is sold to another club before the transfer season closes? What guarantees could London City give the Greek government that they could make such an individual return? We take the pragmatic view that it’s better to try and resolve this matter now, while everyone is here to assist the police. It’s to be hoped that the strikes in the courts and among our medical profession will end very soon, enabling Chief Inspector’s investigations to proceed with all possible speed. ’

‘Might I remind you, ’ said Toby Westerman, ‘that as a signatory to the Schengen Agreement, the Greek government is technically in breach of its obligation not to observe any border or passport controls between this country and other member countries. Strictly speaking, the team don’t need anyone’s permission to leave the country. Legally, they’re within their rights just to go to the airport and leave. ’

‘I wouldn’t put that to the test if I were you, ’ said the Police Lieutenant General. ‘The United Kingdom is not a signatory to the Schengen Agreement. The British government’s complicity in the practice of extraordinary rendition hardly gives its representatives the right to lecture Greece on proper legal procedures. ’

‘On behalf of the British government, ’ Toby Westerman said, ‘I protest the decision of the Greek police to detain the London City team, in the strongest possible terms’; but after that he remained silent for the rest of the meeting, which we all took to mean that the British government intended to do nothing.

‘With the permission of Mr Manson, Mr Hobday and Mr Sokolnikov, ’ said Varouxis, ‘I should like to question the players and playing staff at the earliest opportunity. And take their fingerprints. ’

‘Very well, ’ Dr Christodoulakis agreed. ‘However, I must insist that the police keep us fully informed of any and all developments in this case, as soon as possible. ’

‘Of course, ’ said Varouxis. ‘I should also like to take possession of Mr Develi’s mobile phone, and any computers he might have. To help us identify the dead girl. ’

These were still in Bekim’s kitbag, now safely back in my room, but I wasn’t in a hurry to hand these over.

‘No, that won’t be possible, ’ I said, ‘but I’ll be happy to let you have sight of them in my presence. Although, I don’t think his laptop or phone will help you. I had a look at them myself last night when I got back to the hotel. I can assure you that the only calls he made and received on his mobile were to his girlfriend, Alex. ’ This was true; Bekim hadn’t called anyone other than Alex. Nor had he sent or received any emails from anyone in Greece either and I explained this to the police. ‘I even checked what websites he browsed. I was searching for escort agencies he might have looked at. But I drew a blank there as well. I should say you’d be better off seeing what calls came through the hotel switchboard. Or perhaps having a look at the PCs in the business centre. ’

‘Did you check those, too? ’ There was a note of sarcasm in the Chief Inspector’s voice.

‘No, ’ I said. ‘Although I would have done if I’d thought of it at the time. ’

Varouxis sighed irritably and lit another cigarette. By now I wanted one myself. My normal rule of just one fag a week was beginning to weigh rather heavily on me.

‘This is a murder investigation, Mr Manson, ’ he said, stiffly. ‘I’m well within my rights to force you to hand them over. ’

‘I understand that, Chief Inspector. However, there may be confidential information on those devices. We shall need to check this first. For the sake of his family. Perhaps you’ve seen the news? His girlfriend is in hospital. She took an overdose of cocaine and is now in a coma. ’

‘I’m afraid that is not acceptable, Mr Manson. ’

‘Then I suggest you get a court order, ’ I said. ‘Perhaps at the same hearing we can petition the judge to leave the country. That is, if you can find a judge. ’

Varouxis looked at Lieutenant General Zouranis as if seeking further guidance.

‘I could order your arrest for this, ’ said Zouranis. ‘I wouldn’t need a judge for that. Obstructing the police is a serious offence. ’

‘I don’t think Mr Manson is obstructing your investigation, ’ said Dr Christodoulakis. ‘He didn’t say he wouldn’t let you see Mr Develi’s electronic devices. Only that he wanted to be there when you did it. ’

‘Correct, ’ I said. ‘How about this afternoon at three o’clock? We’re currently using the royal suite at the Grande Bretagne Hotel as our office. ’

Now Lieutenant General Zouranis looked at his minister for guidance; the minister nodded.

‘Very well, ’ said Lieutenant General Zouranis. ‘It shall be done as you have suggested. ’ He looked at Varouxis who shrugged his own compliance.

‘In an attempt to help you identify the dead girl, Mr Sokolnikov intends to offer a reward for any information that leads to an arrest, ’ said Dr Christodoulakis.

‘Good idea, ’ said General Zouranis.

Dr Christodoulakis looked at me and shrugged as if she too had done all she could. Recognising that we were stuck in Athens until further notice, I tossed onto the table my idea about playing the home leg of our draw with Olympiacos at the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, which Dora Maximos, the Minister of Culture and Athletics, took up with alacrity.

‘That is also a good idea, ’ she said.

‘Yes and no, ’ said the Minister of Public Order and Citizen Protection. ‘It’s fair to say that by playing your home leg across the road you’ll be perceived to have made yourselves the allies of Panathinaikos. You will have put yourself into the middle of the two eternal enemies, with all that this entails. It’s a match that will require some very careful policing. ’

‘If they can handle it, ’ said the Police Lieutenant General, ‘so can we. ’

‘Christ, ’ said Phil when he and I and Vik had got rid of the embassy guy and our lawyer and were back to the Grande Bretagne Hotel. ‘You were a bit leery with that Chief Inspector, Scott. I’d forgotten how much you dislike the police. ’

‘Actually, I don’t mind Varouxis all that much. He’s only doing his job. But then so am I. Looking after my players, dead or alive, is what this job is about. At least, that’s the way I see it. And while I don’t see Varouxis taking cash from a tabloid, I can’t say the same for any of the people who work for him. If you’re a Greek cop a bit of extra money would come in handy, I bet. Premier League footballer scores home and away and everywhere in between. That’s the kind of story the English papers would love to run. ’

‘All the same, ’ said Phil, ‘I still think you were a bit sharp with him. ’

‘As a matter of fact, Phil, ’ said Vik, ‘it was me who told Scott to deny the cops access to Bekim’s iPhone and his laptop until I’ve seen if he had any emails from me. You see, a few months ago Bekim bought some property in Knightsbridge on my behalf I’d rather no one knew about. ’

‘Sorry, ’ said Phil. ‘I didn’t realise. ’

‘As soon as Pete Scriven has brought them over from the team hotel in Vouliagmeni I intend to erase anything there that might connect me with the Knightsbridge deal. With Scott watching, of course. I wouldn’t like either of you to think I’m up to no good here. ’

‘Of course not, ’ said Phil.

‘The thing is, though, ’ added Vik, ‘Scott is right. Bekim always did like escort girls a little too much for his own good. It’s probably best we try to keep a lid on that as well, if we can. ’

Phil shrugged. ‘All right. I get that, too. But what I don’t get is why the cops are making such a fuss about this. I should have thought that getting murdered was an occupational hazard for a prostitute. I mean, that’s the risk you run when you go with a man you’ve never met before, isn’t it? ’

‘That’s no reason to write her off, Phil, ’ said Vik. ‘She was a human being, after all. ’

‘I wasn’t writing her off so much as making a comment on the Greek police. Why are they taking the death of one little tart so seriously? There are thousands of tarts in this city. Since the recession hit Greece back in 2009, it’s about the only growth profession there’s been in this bloody country. ’

‘It sounds a lot like you’re writing her off, ’ said Vik. ‘Look, Phil, she might have been a prostitute but murder is murder and the death of a prostitute creates its own peculiar, not to say lurid, sensation. Dropping a beautiful girl in the harbour with a weight tied around her feet is just the sort of dramatic detail than the newspapers love. ’

‘I don’t think she was a prostitute, ’ I said. ‘More like a high‑ class escort. It’s splitting hairs perhaps but I think that’s something different from a common prostitute. Bekim may have been many things, but he was extremely picky when it came to women. My guess is that she was expensive and probably quite picky herself. For a girl like that I should think the chances of a client bumping her off are quite slim, really. All of which means she ought to be easier to identify. ’

Vik laughed. ‘I must say, you sound remarkably expert about this sort of thing, Scott. It makes me wonder what you get up to in your private life. ’

‘Maybe Scott thinks he could find out who killed her, ’ said Phil. ‘After all, he does have some form in this area. As an amateur sleuth, I mean. ’

‘Maybe I could, ’ I said. ‘Maybe I should try, in any case. For the sake of Bekim. ’

Why not, I thought; following my previous trip to Athens I was actually possessed of a significant line of potential inquiry although it wasn’t one I wanted to share with the police or anyone else. Valentina didn’t deserve that; and nor did Bekim Develi. I didn’t know how much Bekim’s girlfriend knew about the dead girl’s connection with him, but I had a shrewd idea that there would have been plenty of speculation about it on Twitter. This would hardly have helped her state of mind and might even have been the reason why she’d taken too much cocaine.

‘At the very least I might be able to accelerate the police inquiry. The Greeks don’t look like they’re in any great hurry to get this case solved, in spite of what they said back there. And if the cops are half as unpopular as Dr Christodoulakis said they were, local people might be a bit slow coming forward with information. They might need some help. ’

‘What about team discipline? ’ said Phil. ‘And next week’s match? ’

‘Simon can take charge of the training sessions, ’ I said. ‘If they’re training at eight in the morning to avoid the heat then they can hardly be out late at night. He’ll soon find out if anyone’s been breaking the curfew. And if they have, well, no one’s better at handing out bollockings than him. ’

‘If you do decide to play cop then make sure you do it discreetly, ’ said Phil. ‘Pissing off the Met is one thing. Pissing these Greek coppers off is something else. From what I’ve seen of them on the telly they’re not exactly known for their tolerance. They like cracking skulls. ’

‘Sure, I’ll be careful. ’

‘I was going to fly back to London for the day, ’ said Vik, ‘to see Alex. But under the circumstances I think I’ll stick around. Besides, I still have some business here in Greece. With Gustave Haak and Cooper Lybrand. ’

‘And Kojo? ’ said Phil. ‘Did you make a decision? ’

‘Let’s not discuss that now. ’

‘As you wish. ’

‘I like this idea, Scott. You playing the sleuth again. You know, after the way you found out what happened to Zarco while the Metropolitan Police were still playing with their whistles, I thought about this a lot. I mean, the way you worked out what had really happened. And I said to myself, maybe it’s true, perhaps to be an effective manager you have to be a little bit like a detective: able to look at men, read them like paperbacks, and find the clues as to who they really are and not who they seem to be. But most of all I think they both have to be patient. That’s what I mean. And Scott is a very patient man. ’

‘A few months behind bars will do that to anyone, ’ I said. ‘All you’ve got in the nick is patience. ’

‘Well, don’t worry, ’ said Phil, ‘if you can’t find out who killed her, then you can always do what every other manager does: you can blame the referee. ’

‘I think it’s only fair you should know what I’m looking for, ’ explained Vik as he scrolled through Bekim’s Inbox and Sent file in the suite at the Grande Bretagne. ‘I wanted to buy the penthouse at One Hyde Park and I didn’t want my wife to know about it. So, Bekim agreed to be a cut‑ out and to purchase the penthouse using his own company. ’

‘It’s really none of my business, ’ I said.

‘Yes, it is, ’ said Vik, ‘when we might be erasing something on a computer the police are about to examine forensically. People go to prison for this kind of thing. And since you’ve been in prison, you have a right to know what the hell I’m doing here. ’

‘Lying to the police isn’t a crime, ’ I said. ‘Not in my book. No more than it’s a crime to tell your wife that her bum really doesn’t look big. ’

Vik grinned. ‘She asked you, too, huh? ’

As things turned out, Vik didn’t have to erase any of the emails and messages from Bekim’s computer or on his iPhone because he found nothing that looked as if it might expose something confidential.

Not that I would have known if there had been anything compromising. Half of Bekim’s emails were written in Cyrillic which meant that after Vik had gone I felt obliged to telephone Chief Inspector Varouxis and inform him of this, so that he might bring someone with him who spoke, and more importantly read, Russian.

‘Look, I wasn’t lying to you this morning, ’ I said when I called. ‘There really isn’t anything on his phone or his laptop. If there was, I’d have told you. We’re keen to get home, remember? ’

‘All right. Say for the sake of argument I believe you. How did he contact this girl? ’

‘There could have been a hundred different ways. Perhaps they spoke on the phone in London. Or he used the computer in his office there. Or maybe he called the girl with someone else’s mobile phone while he was here in Athens. Or phoned from the lobby. Perhaps he used a web‑ based email service that didn’t even show up on his computer. Like Hushmail. ’

‘Hushmail? ’

‘It offers authenticated, encrypted messages in both directions. Just the thing for a promiscuous man with a nosy girlfriend back in London. ’

‘Yes, I take your point. Okay, I’ll ring you back when I’ve found someone who speaks Russian. Thanks for letting me know. ’

‘No problem. ’

‘This reward you’re posting for information. Please keep me informed if you discover anything. Anything at all. ’

He sighed and I almost felt sorry for him until I remembered that he was the bastard keeping my team in Greece.

‘Of course. Right away. ’

When Varouxis had hung up I tried calling Valentina but she wasn’t answering her phone so I sent her an email and a text asking her to contact me urgently. I had a shrewd idea that the dead girl might be known to her; that something had prevented Valentina herself from going to Bekim’s bungalow at the hotel, and that the dead girl had gone in her place. I couldn’t imagine that Bekim would have settled for second best so I decided that the dead girl, whoever she was, must have been a beauty like Valentina otherwise Valentina would never have sent her along to Bekim.

But by the afternoon I must have called Valentina at least a dozen times and left as many texts without receiving a reply. This was quite the opposite of how she had behaved when last I’d been in Athens and I was forced to admit the possibility that Valentina knew she herself had escaped the other girl’s Plenty O’Toole fate and, in fear of her life, was now lying low. I didn’t blame her for that but without an address this all seemed to stymie my plan to steal a march on the Athens police. I could hardly follow up on my lead without the cooperation of the lead herself. Yet I was still reluctant to hand over her name and number to Chief Inspector Varouxis. It wasn’t just that I had little wish for my own behaviour to come out in public, or that I was trying to look out for Valentina or Bekim, but if the police were as right‑ wing as Dr Christodoulakis had said they were, I didn’t want the cops brushing the whole thing under the carpet and suggesting to the press that because Bekim and Valentina were both Russian this was nothing to do with Greeks.

Without much of a clue how else my so‑ called investigation was to proceed, I had Vik’s driver take me to Piraeus and the Marina Zea where Varouxis said the girl’s body had been found. I was already regretting my own arrogance in imagining that just because I knew something the cops didn’t, I could perhaps solve the dead girl’s murder. The main road took us close to the Karaiskakis Stadium and, next to this, the Metropolitan Hospital where Bekim had died. I hadn’t really looked at the hospital before; it was a strangely modern building constructed of blue glass and looked more like a Ladbrokes casino than what was supposed to be the best private hospital in Greece. It was hard to think of Bekim dying in a place like that.

Marina Zea was a large harbour full of expensive Tupperware boats and overlooked by a hillside encrusted with numerous beige‑ coloured apartment buildings of mostly poor quality. The police were still in evidence on the furthest side of the marina and it was not yet permitted for anyone to go there, so I amused myself walking around and looking at the floating palaces, the largest and most opulent of which was a modestly named vessel called Monsieur Croesus, and which I seemed to recognise, although I have no interest in boats. One floating apartment building looks much like another and to me spending tens of millions of pounds on something like a yacht always seemed the height of folly; boats sink, after all.

I walked on a bit. I don’t know what I was looking for beyond a sense of how difficult it would be to bring a girl here and drop her into the water with a weight tied to her feet. At night, I decided, it would not be difficult at all. There was ample parking; of course, if she’d been on a boat it would have been even easier. I chucked a couple of stones into the water to test the depth and stirred up a little school of quite reasonable‑ sized fish; these, I supposed, were gavroi – the shit‑ eating fish to which our liaison from Panathinaikos had compared the players and supporters of Olympiacos.

It was a hot, sticky afternoon. Some of the city’s ubiquitous, mostly Roma, garbage pickers were going through the wheelie bins and open skips on the marina. Several boys were diving in and out of the harbour, and climbing on the guy ropes of another, untended boat. It looked more fun than picking garbage and I almost envied the boys their carefree pastime until I remembered that it had been some boys diving in the harbour who’d found the dead girl’s body. Which gave me an idea.

They were about eleven or twelve years old, tanned and skinny, the very image of urchins, as if they had been truly dredged off the sea floor.

‘Speak English? ’ I asked one of them.

He shook his sleek black head.

I went back to the car and fetched my driver to translate and when I came back I asked the boys if it had been them who’d found the dead girl’s body.

Two of the boys looked at each other and then nodded.

Holding up two twenty‑ euro notes I sat down on the wall of the harbour and asked them to tell me what they’d seen, in as much detail as they could remember. The two boys sat beside me and I handed over the cash, while the others looked on and listened as my driver, Charilaos, squatted behind us and translated what was said and offered around his cigarettes, which helped almost as much as the money.

‘It was yesterday morning when they found her, ’ he said. ‘Maybe ten o’clock in the morning. She was on the Koumoundourou side of the harbour, where the police are now, in about four metres of water. ’

‘Was it near to any boat in particular and if so which one? ’

‘Between two boats, ’ said Charilaos. ‘Both for sale, as it happened. And the owners were not aboard. They know this because they went aboard each boat to try and get help. ’

‘Tell me what she looked like, this girl. ’

‘A very pretty girl with long blonde hair and wearing a dark blue dress. The water isn’t very clear as you can see and but for the blue dress they might have found her earlier. She gave them quite a shock. ’

One of the boys looked embarrassed as he spoke again.

‘But she wasn’t wearing any knickers, he says. Her dress was floating under her arms. ’

‘Were her hands tied? ’

The same boy spoke again and then Charilaos said, ‘No, her hands were floating in the water, above her head. It was only her feet that were tied to a big orange weight. Of the type you see in a gym. ’

‘Any gag? ’

‘No gag. ’

‘Was she wearing shoes? ’

‘No. No shoes. ’

I took out my notebook and asked the boy to draw a picture of what the weight looked like and he drew what looked to me like a kettlebell. I nodded.

‘Were there any other injuries on her body that they saw? ’ I asked. ‘Cuts, bruises, any blood? ’

‘No, ’ Charilaos translated, ‘but the fishes were feeding on her private parts. ’

‘No bumps on her head? No cuts on her hands? ’

‘The boys says her hands were very nice. Her nails, too. Like her toenails. I think he means she had a manicure. ’

‘What colour? ’ I asked.

‘They think purple. ’

‘Any jewellery? ’

The boys looked a bit shifty.

‘He insists she wasn’t wearing any jewellery, ’ said Charilaos, ‘but I don’t believe him. For sure they stole it. ’

‘Forget it. Anything else that might distinguish or identify her? ’

One of the boys said something and Charilaos asked him to repeat it.

‘Tatouá z, ’ was the word he used.

‘She had a tattoo, ’ said Charilaos.

‘What kind of a tattoo? ’ I asked. ‘And where? ’

‘On her shoulder. A sort of geometrical design, in black. It sounds to me like he means a lavý rinthos. You know? Like the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. ’

‘A labyrinth? ’

‘That’s right. About the size of a teacup. ’

‘Did he tell that to the police? ’

Charilaos laughed. ‘I don’t think so, ’ he said. ‘I don’t think the police were offering forty euros in cash. Besides, people in Athens, in Piraeus–’

‘I know. They hate the police. ’

Our walk back to the car took us past Monsieur Croesus again and this time I was surprised to see someone I knew standing on one of the upper decks; not only that but someone who recognised me, which was perhaps more unusual. It was Cooper Lybrand, the hedgie. He wasn’t wearing the white suit any more but he still looked like a cunt.

‘Hi there, ’ he said. ‘What brings you down here? ’

‘Curiosity, ’ I said. ‘They fished a dead girl out of the water on the other side of the marina. Apparently she spent the night with one of our players. So now we’re forbidden to leave Athens. I just wanted to take a look at the spot for myself. ’

‘I heard about that, ’ he said. ‘And about Bekim. I’m sorry. ’

‘I thought you were staying on Viktor’s boat, ’ I said.

‘I was. But I had some business with the guy who owns this one. Gustave Haak. And now here I am. We only docked here an hour ago so I guess that puts us in the clear, huh? ’

‘If you say so. ’

‘I’d invite you on board but it’s not my boat. Gustave is a very private person. ’

‘Who says I am? ’

Another head appeared on deck. Older and taller than Cooper Lybrand, he had a full head of longish grey hair, a face like a hawk and almost invisible glasses.

‘Gustave. This is Scott Manson. He manages Vik’s football club. ’

‘Of course, I know who Scott Manson is, ’ said Gustave Haak. ‘Do you take me for an idiot? Forgive our manners, Mr Manson, and please come aboard. We’re just about to have a glass of wine. ’

I looked at my watch. ‘All right. As a matter of fact I could use a drink. ’

I told Charilaos I’d see him back at the car and went aboard.

By this time, Cooper Lybrand had told Haak what I was doing in Marina Zea and Haak was full of questions about the dead girl, most of which I was unable to answer.

‘But you’re quite right to come down here and take a look for yourself, ’ he said, ushering me into a spectacular drawing room that looked like it had been designed by a man with no children: everything was white. ‘I find that the best, most original ideas come to me when I’m not behind a desk. It’s the same when I’m investigating a company with a view to taking it over. You have to have good intel to know what the right move is going to be. Without that, you have nothing. ’ He smiled and waved at one of the many cartoonish blondes wearing very fetching white uniforms – which is to say they were all wearing white swimsuits and white sneakers.

‘Will you have some of this excellent German Riesling, Mr Manson? ’

‘Thanks, I will. ’

One of the blondes handed me a glass of liquid gold while Haak continued talking.

‘I love the game of football, ’ he declared. ‘And the thing I appreciate about football managers is that, unlike most managers in most businesses, you always know what they do. They manage football teams. And they’re either good or they’re bad. Most companies are full of managers who do nothing. No, that’s not quite true. Most of them fuck things up, which is worse than doing nothing. I spend most of my time trying to find out who they are so that I can fire them. As soon as you do, the value of the company always goes up. It’s uncanny. Anyway, that’s my job, Mr Manson. The elimination of managers who are redundant in all but name. ’

He was Dutch, I think, because his accent reminded me of Ruud Gullitt. Fortunately for him he had a better haircut.

‘Vik tells me that you’re a good manager, Mr Manson. But do you think it’s wise to get involved in this? Wouldn’t it be better to leave things to the police? ’