SEVEN

NIKOLAI BELOV was in his fifties, a handsome enough man with the slightly fleshy face of someone who enjoyed the good things of life more than was healthy for him, the kind of good Marxist whose dark suit and overcoat had been tailored in London’s Savile Row. The silver hair and decadent good looks gave him the air of an ageing and rather distinguished actor instead of a colonel in the KGB.

This trip to Lyons could hardly have been classified as essential business, but it had been possible to take his secretary, Irana Vronsky, with him. As she had been his mistress for some years now, it meant that they had enjoyed an extremely pleasurable couple of days, the memory of which had faded rather rapidly when he discovered the situation waiting for him on his return to the Soviet Embassy.

He had hardly settled into his office when Irana came in. ‘There’s an

urgent communication from KGB Moscow for your eyes only.’

‘Who’s it from?’

‘General Maslovsky.’

The name alone was enough to bring Belov to his feet. He went out and she followed him down to the coding office where the operator got the relevant tape. Belov keyed in his personal code, the machine whirred, the operator tore off the print-out sheet and handed it to him. Belov read it and swore softly. He took Irana by the elbow and hurried her out. ‘Get me Lieutenant Shepilov and Captain Turkin.

Whatever else they’re on, they drop.’

Belov was seated at his desk, working his way through papers when the door opened and Irana Vronsky ushered in Tanya, Natasha Rubenova and Shepilov and Turkin. Belov knew Tanya well. His official position at the Embassy for some years had been senior cultural attache. As part of that cover role he had escorted her to parties on a number of occasions.

He stood up. ‘It’s good to see you.’

‘I demand to know what’s going on here,’ she told him passionately.

‘I’m pulled off the pavement by these bully boys here and’

‘I’m sure Captain Turkin was only acting as he saw fit.’ Belov nodded to Irana. ‘Get the Moscow call now.’ He turned to Tanya. ‘Calm yourself and sit down.’ She stood there, mutinous, then glanced at Shepilov and Turkin standing against the wall, gloved hands folded in front of them. ‘Please,’ Belov said.

She sat and he offered her a cigarette. Such was her agitation that she took it and Turkin moved in smoothly and lit it for her. His lighter was not only by Cartier, but gold. She coughed as the smoke caught at the back of her throat.

Belov said, ‘Now tell me what you did this morning.’

‘I walked to the Tuileries Gardens.’ The cigarette was helping, calming her down. She had control now and that meant she could fight.

‘And then?’

‘I went into the Louvre.’

‘And who did you talk to?’

The question was direct and meant to entrap by causing an automatic response. To her own surprise, she found herself replying calmly, ‘I was on my own. I didn’t go with anyone. Perhaps I didn’t make that clear?’

‘Yes, I know that,’ he said patiently. ‘But did you speak to anyone when you got there? Did anyone approach you?’

She managed a smile. ‘You mean, did anyone try to pick me up? No such luck. Considering its reputation, Paris can be very disappointing.’ She stubbed out the cigarette. ‘Look, what’s going on, Nikolai? Can’t you tell me?’

Belov had no reason to disbelieve her. In fact he very much wanted to. He had, in effect, been absent from duty the night before. If he had not been, he would have received Maslovsky’s directive then and Tanya Voroninova would not have been allowed to stir from her suite at the Ritz that morning. Certainly not unaccompanied.

The door opened and Irana entered. ‘General Maslovsky on line one.’

Belov picked up the phone and Tanya tried to snatch it. ‘Let me speak to him.’

Belov pulled away from her. ‘Belov here, General.’

‘Ah, Nikolai, she

is with you now?’

‘Yes, General.’ It was a measure of the length of their friendship that Belov missed out the Comrade.

‘And she is under guard? She has spoken to no one?’

‘Yes to both

questions, General.’

‘And the man Devlin has not attempted to get in touch with her?’

‘It would seem not. We’ve had the computer pull him out of the files for us. Pictures, everything. If he tries to get close, we’ll know.’

‘Fine. Now give me Tanya.’

Belov handed her the phone and she almost snatched it from him.

‘Papa?’

She had called him so for years and his voice was warm and kindly as always. ‘You are well?’

‘Bewildered,’ she said. ‘No one will tell me what is happening.’

‘It is sufficient for you to know that for reasons which are unimportant now, you have become involved in a matter of state security. A very serious business indeed. You must be returned to Moscow as soon as may be.’

‘But my tour?’

The voice of the man at the other end of the line was suddenly cold, implacable and detached. ‘Will be cancelled. You will appear at the Conservatoire tonight and fulfil that obligation. The first direct flight to Moscow is not until tomorrow morning anyway. There will be a suitable press release. The old wrist injury giving problems again. A need for further treatment. That should do nicely.’

All her life, or so it seemed, she had done his bidding, allowed him to shape her career, aware of his genuine concern and love, but this was new territory.

She tried again, ‘But Papa!’

‘Enough of argument. You will do as you are told and you will obey Colonel Belov in everything. Put him back on.’

She handed the phone to Belov mutely, hand shaking. Never had he spoken to her like this. Was she no longer his daughter? Simply another Soviet citizen to be ordered about at will?

‘Belov, General.’ He listened for a moment or two then nodded. ‘No problem. You can rely on me.’

He put the phone down and opened a file on his desk. The photo he took from it and held up to her was of Liam Devlin, a few years younger perhaps, but Devlin unmistakably.

‘This man is Irish. His name is Liam Devlin. He is a university professor from Dublin with a reputation for a certain Irish charm. It would be a mistake for anyone to take him lightly. He has been a member of the Irish Republican Army for all his adult life. An important leader at one stage. He is also a ruthless and capable gunman who has killed many times. As a young man, he was an official executioner for his people.’

Tanya took a deep breath. ‘And what has he to do with me?’

‘That need not concern you. It is sufficient for you to know that he would very much like to talk to you and that we simply can’t allow, can we Captain?’

Turkin showed no emotion. ‘No, Colonel.’

‘So,’ Belov told her, ‘you

will return to the Ritz now, you and Comrade Rubenova with Lieutenant Shepilov and Captain Turkin in attendance. You will not go out again until tonight’s performance when they will escort you to the Conservatoire. I will be there myself because of the reception afterwards. The Ambassador will be there and the President of the Republic Monsieur Mitterand, himself. His presence is the only reason we are not cancelling tonight’s concert. Is there anything you don’t understand in all this?’

‘No,’ she said coldly, her face white and strained. ‘I understand only too well.’

‘Good,’ he said. ‘Then go back to the hotel now and get some rest.’

She turned, Turkin opened the door for her, a slight, twisted smile on his mouth. She brushed past him, followed by a thoroughly frightened Natasha Rubenova and Shepilov and Turkin moved in behind.

In Kilrea, Devlin had not been long back at the cottage. He didn’t have a regular housekeeper, just an old lady who came in twice a week, knocked the place into shape and did the laundry, but he preferred it that way. He put the kettle on in the kitchen, went into the living room and quickly made the fire. He had just put a match to it when there was a rap on the French window and he turned to find McGuiness there.

Devlin unlocked it quickly. ‘That was quick. I’m only just back.’

‘So I was told within five minutes of you landing at the airport.’

McGuiness was angry. ‘What’s the score, Liam? What’s going on?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Levin and Billy, and now Mike Murphy’s been pulled out of the Liffey with two bullets in him. It must have been Cuchulain. You know it and I know it. The thing is, how did he know?’

‘I don’t have any fast answer on that one.’ Devlin found two glasses and the Bushmills and poured. ‘Try this for size and calm down.’

McGuiness swallowed a little. ‘A leak is what I think, at the London end. It’s a well-known fact that the British security service has been heavily infiltrated by the Soviets for years.’

‘A slight exaggeration, but some truth to it,’ Devlin said. ‘As mentioned earlier, I know that Ferguson thinks the leak is from your people.’

‘To hell with that. I say we pull in Cherny and squeeze him dry.’

‘Maybe,’ Devlin said. ‘I’d have to check on that with Ferguson.

Let’s give it another day.’

‘All right,’ McGuiness said with obvious reluctance. ‘I’ll be in touch, Liam. Close touch.’ And he went out through the French windows.

Devlin poured another whiskey and sat there savouring it and thinking, then he picked up the phone. He was about to dial, then hesitated. He replaced the receiver, got the black plastic box from the desk and switched it on. There was no positive response from the telephone, nor indeed from anywhere in the room.

‘So,’ he said softly, ‘Ferguson or McGuiness. It’s one or other of the buggers that it’s down to.’

He dialled the Cavendish Square number and the receiver was picked up at once. ‘Fox here.’

‘Is he there, Harry?’

‘Not at the moment. How was Paris?’

‘A nice girl. I liked her. Pretty confused. Nothing more I could do than present the facts. I gave her the material your bagman brought over. She took it, but I wouldn’t be too sanguine.’

‘I never was,’ Fox said. ‘Will you be able to smooth things down in Dublin?’

‘McGuiness has already been to see me. He wants to move on Cherny.

Try some old-fashioned pressure.’

‘That might be the best solution.’

‘Jesus, Harry, but Belfast left its mark on you. Still, you could be right. I’ve stalled him for a day. If you want me, I’ll be here. I gave the girl my card, by the way. She thought I was a failed romantic, Harry. Have you ever heard the like?’

‘You give a convincing imitation, but I’ve never bought it.’

Fox laughed and rang off. Devlin sat there for a while, a frown on his face, then there was another tap on the French window. It opened and Cussane entered.

‘Harry,’ Devlin said, ‘you’re sent from heaven. As I’ve often told you, you make the best scrambled eggs in the world.’

‘Flattery will get you anywhere.’ Cussane poured himself a drink.

‘How was Paris?’

‘Paris?’ Devlin said. ‘Sure and I was only joking. I’ve been to Cork.

Some university business to do with the film festival. Had to stay over. Just driven back. I’m the original starving man.’

‘Right,’ Harry Cussane told him. ‘You lay the table and I’ll scramble the eggs.’

‘You’re a good friend, Harry,’ Devlin said.

Cussane paused in the door. ‘And why not, Liam. It’s been a long time,’ and he smiled and went into the kitchen.

Tanya had a hot bath, hoping it would relax her. There was a knock at the door and Natasha Rubenova entered. ‘Coffee?’

‘Thank you.’ Tanya lay back in the warm, foamy water and sipped the coffee gratefully.

Natasha pulled a small stool forward and sat down. ‘You must be very careful, my love. You understand me?’

‘Strange,’ Tanya said. ‘No one has ever told me to be careful before.’

It occurred to her then that she had always been sheltered from the cold, ever since the nightmare of Drumore that surfaced only in her dreams. Maslovsky and his wife had been good parents. She had wanted for nothing. In a Marxist society that had been envisaged in the great days of Lenin and the revolution as giving power to the people, power had quickly become the prerogative of the few.

Soviet Russia had become an elitist society in which who you were was more important than what you were and she, to all intents and purposes, was Ivan Maslovsky’s daughter. The best housing, the superior schools, her talent carefully nurtured. When she drove through Moscow to their country house, it was in a chauffeured limousine, travelling in the traffic-free lane kept open for the use of the important people in the hierarchy. The delicacies that graced their table, the clothes she wore, all bought on a special card at GUM.

All this she had ignored, just as she had ignored the realities of the state trials of the Gulag. Just as she had turned from the

even harsher reality of Drumore, her father dead on the street and Maslovsky in charge.

Natasha said, ‘You are all right?’

‘Of course. Pass me a towel,’ Tanya wrapped it around herself. ‘Did you notice the lighter that Turkm used when he lit my cigarette?’

‘Not particularly.’

‘It was by Cartier. Solid gold. What was it Orwell said in that book of his? All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others?’

‘Please, darling,’ Natasha Rubenova was obviously agitated. ‘You mustn’t say things like that.’

‘You’re right.’ Tanya smiled. ‘I’m angry, that’s all. Now I think I would like to sleep. I must be fresh for tonight’s concert.’ They went into the other room and she got into the bed, the towel around her.

They’re still out there?’

‘Yes.’

‘I’ll sleep now.’

Natasha closed the curtains and went out. Tanya lay there in the darkness thinking about things. The events of the past few hours had been a shock in themselves, but strangely enough, the most significant thing had been the way in which she had been treated. Tanya Voronmova, internationally acclaimed artist, who had received the Medal of Culture from Brezhnev himself, had felt the full weight of the State’s hand.

The truth was that for most of her life she had been somebody, thanks to Maslovsky. Now it had been made plain that, when the chips were down, she was just another cypher.

It was enough. She switched on the bedside lamp, reached for her handbag and took out the packet which Devlin had given her. The British passport was excellent; issued, according to the date, three years before. There was an American visa. She had entered that country twice, also Germany, Italy, Spain and France one week previously. A nice touch.

Her name was Joanna Frank, born in London, professional journalist. The photo, as Devlin had said, was an excellent likeness. There were even one or two personal letters with her London address in Chelsea, an American Express credit card and a British driver’s licence. They’d thought of everything.

The alternative routes were clearly outlined. There was the direct plane flight from Paris to London, but that wasn’t on. Surprising how cool and calculating she was now. She would have only the slimmest of chances of getting away, if an opportunity presented itself at all, and she would be missed almost at once. They would have the airports covered instantly.

It seemed obvious that the same would be true of the ferry terminals at Calais and Boulogne. But the people in London had indicated another way, one which might possibly be overlooked. There was a train service from Paris to Rennes, changing there for St Malo on the Brittany coast.

From there, a hydrofoil service to Jersey in the Channel Islands. And from Jersey, there were several planes a day to London.

She got up quietly, tiptoed into the bathroom and closed the door.

Then she lifted the receiver on the wall telephone and called Reception. They were extremely efficient. Yes, there was a night train to Rennes, leaving the Gare du Nord at eleven. In Rennes, there would be a delay, but she could be in St Malo for breakfast. Ample time to catch the hydrofoil.

She flushed the toilet and went back in the bedroom, rather pleased with herself for she hadn’t quoted a room number or given her name. The enquiry could have come from any one of hundreds of guests.

‘They’re turning you into a jungle animal, Tanya,’ she told herself softly.

She got her holdall bag from the wardrobe, the one she used to take all her bits and pieces to the concerts. She couldn’t secrete much in there. It would show. She thought about it for a while, then took out a pair of soft suede boots and rolled them up so they fitted neatly in the bottom of the bag. She next took a black cotton jumpsuit from its hanger, folded it and laid it in the case. She placed the concerto score and the orchestra parts she had been studying on top.

So, nothing more to be done. She went to the window and peered out.

It was raining again and she shivered, suddenly lonely, and remembered Devlin and his strength. For a moment she thought of phoning him, but that was no good. Not from here. They would trace the call in minutes the moment they started checking. She went back to bed and switched off the lamp. If only she could sleep for an hour or two. The face surfaced in her consciousness: Cuchulain’s bone-white face and dark eyes made sleep impossible.

She wore a gown in black velvet for the concert. It was by Balmain and very striking with a matching jacket. The pearls at her neck and the earrings were supposed to be lucky, a gift by the Maslovskys before the finals of the Tchaikovsky competition, her greatest triumph.

Natasha came in and stood behind her at the dressing table. ‘Are you ready? Time’s getting short.’ She put her hands on Tanya’s shoulders.

‘You look lovely.’

‘Thank you. I’ve packed my case.’

Natasha picked it up. ‘Have you put a towel in? You always forget.’

She zipped it open before Tanya could protest, then froze. She looked at the girl, eyes wide.

‘Please?’ Tanya said softly. ‘If I ever meant anything to you.’

The older woman took a deep breath, went into the bathroom and returned with a towel. She folded it and placed it in the case and zipped it up. ‘So,’ she said. ‘We are ready.’

‘Is it still raining?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then I shan’t wear the velvet cape. The trenchcoat, I think.’

Natasha took it from the wardrobe and draped it over her shoulders.

Tanya felt her hands tighten for a moment. ‘Now we must go.’

Tanya picked up the case and opened the door and went into the other room where Shepilov and Turkin waited. They both wore dinner jackets because of the reception after the performance.

‘If I may be permitted the observation, you look superb, Comrade,’

Turkin told her. ‘A credit to our country.’

‘Spare me the compliments, Captain,’ she said frostily. ‘If you wish to be of use, you can carry my case,’ and she handed it to him and walked out.

The Conservatoire concert hall was packed for this occasion and when she walked on stage, the orchestra stood to greet her and there was a storm of applause, the audience standing also, following President Mitterand’s example.

She sat down, all noise faded. There was complete silence as the conductor waited, baton ready and then it descended and as the orchestra started to play, Tanya Voroninova’s hands rippled over the keyboard.

She was filled with a joy, an ecstasy almost, played as she had never played in her life before with a new, vibrant energy as if something which had been locked up in her for years was now released.

The orchestra responded as if trying to match her so that at the end, in the dramatic finale to Rachmaninov’s superb concerto, they fused into a whole that created an experience to be forgotten by few people who were there that night.

The cry from the audience was different from anything she had experienced in her life before. She stood facing them, the orchestra standing behind her, all clapping and someone threw a flower on the stage, and more followed as women unpinned their corsages.

She went off to the side and Natasha, waiting, tears streaming down her cheeks, flung her arms around her. ‘Babushka, you were wonderful.

The best I ever heard.’

Tanya hugged her fiercely. ‘I know. My night, Natasha, the one night I can take on the whole world if need be and come out ahead of the game,’ and she turned and went back on stage to an audience that refused to stop applauding.

Francois Mitterand, President of the Republic of France, took both her hands and kissed them warmly. ‘Mademoiselle, I salute you. An extraordinary performance.’

‘You are more than kind, Monsieur le President,’ she answered in his own language.

The crowd pressed close as champagne was offered and cameras flashed as the President toasted her and then introduced her to the Minister of Culture and others. She was aware of Shepilov and Turkin by the door, Nikolai Belov talking to them, handsome in velvet evening jacket and ruffled shirt. He raised his glass in a toast and moved towards her.

She glanced at her watch. It was just after ten. If she was to go, it must be soon.

Belov reached for her right hand and kissed it. ‘Tremendous stuff.

You should get angry more often.’

‘A point of view.’ She took another glass of champagne from a waiter. ‘Everyone who is anyone in the diplomatic corps seems to be here. You must be pleased. Quite a triumph.’

‘Yes, but then, we Russians have always had a soul for music lacking in certain other peoples.’

She glanced around. ‘Where’s Natasha?’

‘Over there with the Press. Shall I get her?’

‘Not necessary. I need to go to the dressing room for a moment, but I can manage perfectly well on my own.’

‘Of course.’ He nodded to Turkin who came across. ‘See Comrade Voroninova to her dressing room, Turkin. Wait for her and escort her back.’ He smiled at Tanya. ‘We don’t want you to get hurt in the crush.’

The crowd opened for her, people smiling, raising their glasses, and Turkin followed her along the narrow corridor until they came to the dressing room.

She opened the door. ‘I presume I’m permitted to go to the toilet?’

He smiled mockingly. ‘If you insist, Comrade.’

He took out a cigarette and was lighting it as she closed the door.

She didn’t lock it, simply kicked off her shoes, pulled off the jacket and unzipped that lovely dress, allowing it to fall to the floor. She had the jumpsuit out of her case in a moment, was into it within seconds, zipping it up and pulling on the suede boots. She picked up the trenchcoat and handbag, moved into the toilet, closed the door and locked it.

She had checked the window earlier. It was large enough to get out of and opened into a small yard on the ground floor of the Conservatoire. She climbed up on the seat and wriggled through. It was raining hard now. She pulled on her trenchcoat, picked up her shoulderbag and ran to the gate. It was bolted on the inside and opened easily. A moment later, she was hurrying along the Rue de Madrid looking for a taxi.