‘What do I think? I think you fancy your chances with Mamselle Veronica, that's what I bloody think!'
Pujol smiled, replacing his beer on the Cafe Navili's marble-topped table. 'You know what I mean. Did you believe her?'
`Implicitly. Every word she said was true, or at least she believed it was. That girl has never told a lie in her life. There, does that satisfy you?'
`Si. I am glad to hear you say it.'
`Think of it. What purpose would there be in getting her involved? Wide-eyed, totally honest, totally innocent. Her job, as she says, is to keep everybody happy — and who could be better at it? She's perfect. And, yes, for what it's worth, I think you might have scored there.'
Pujol grinned even more broadly. 'Do you think she will keep her word not to say anything to Vaudan about our visit?'
`I hope so. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that he doesn't ask her a direct question. I wouldn't like that to be her first lie. With any luck at all, though, Vaudan still thinks that his thing with the brick worked, and that I'm off the pitch. I'm bloody sure Garcia would do as he was told, and report mission accomplished. He'd better. He's got his testicles in a sling as it is. If he crosses me on this one, he'll have them for paperweights!'
Skinner reached into the left breast pocket of his shirt, and produced two folded sheets of fax paper. ‘But enough of him. I've got serious news on the Ainscow front. Take a look at this. You should be able to understand Edinburgh police jargon!' He handed over Mackie's fax.
Pujol scanned it quickly, then reread the second Section, his eyes widening.
`But this is incredible. You are watching this man Cocozza, and all this happens.'
`Yeah. We clock these three big dealers, then Ainscow walks slap bang into the middle of it. Arturo, if I'm reading this right, we haven't just got our link between Ainscow and Vaudan through those cheques. We know why they've been building up their cash mountain over the years. It's a bankroll for one of the biggest drugs buys ever made in Europe, enough to keep four cities high for years, and to make some people very, very rich. This is a classic deal. A straightforward supply chain leading from manufacturer to customer. Those three hooligans in the sauna, and Cocozza who'd like to be one of them, they’re the retailers. Ainscow, he and Vaudan, they're the wholesalers. And somewhere, if they haven't done it already, they're going to touch base with the manufacturers. And I don't need to tell you what the product is.'
Skinner's eyes gleamed with excitement. 'If I can find out from the man in Amsterdam where that money is, and keep a track of it, wherever it goes, then follow what it buys to its destination, then there's a chance that we can wrap up the whole supply chain in one go. And that would be some outcome, from a minor property fraud.
I wish I was going to Amsterdam first tomorrow. Fuck it, I wish I was going today!' `Can't you change your plans?'
Skinner shook his head. 'No, Brian'll have lined it all up by now. But what I can and will do, once I've seen the girl, is get to that bank in Amsterdam as fast as I can, even if the local law has to drive us.'
`Will you come back here?'
Skinner shook his head. 'No, I think this investigation's moving back towards my patch. You've still got to tie Inch's accident, and Alberni's dodgy suicide, to Vaudan, if you can. But me, I'm off down another trail!'