Floodgate (25 page)

After the departure of Riordan and his associates there was silence in the room until Wieringa had put through his; telephone call. When he had replaced the receiver, he sipped delicately from ", brandy glass, smiled and said: 'Comments, gentlemen?'He was a remarkably calm 'It's outrageous, disgraceful and dastardly,' Dessens said, loudly and predictably. Now that the need for action and decision-making was over, he was all fire and fury. 'The good name, the honour of the Netherlands lies in the dust.'
'Better, perhaps, than that its citizens should lie under the flood-waters,'Wicrinp said. 'Colonel?'
'You had to consider the balance of probabilities,' de Graaf said. 'Your decision, sir, was not only the correct one: it was the inevitable one.' 'Thank you, Colonel. Lieutenant?'
'What can I usefully add, sir?'
'Quite frankly, I don't know. But, according to the Colonel -and it is, I must say, a most handsome admission on his part -you are closer to those villains than anyone else in Amsterdam.' He smiled. 'I do not, of course, use the word "closer" in a pejorative sense.' 'Thank you, sir. I'd hoped not.'
'You're not really very forthcoming, are you, Lieutenant?' 'A certain uncharacteristic diffidence, sir. I may be the senior detective-lieutenant in the city, but I'm pretty junior in this exalted company. What do you want me to be forthcoming about, sir?' Wieringa regarded the roof and said, almost inconsequentially: 'I had to make a pretty important decision there.' He dropped his gaze and looked at van Effen. 'Did you believe Riordan?'
Van Effen picked up his glass and considered it without drinking from it. He was obviously marshalling his thoughts. Then he said: 'Four points, Minister. There are two things I believe about Riordan, one point I'm not sure whether to believe or disbelieve and a fourth where I definitely disbelieve.'
'Ah! Hence your cryptic remark fifty-fifty?'
'I suppose. First, I believe he is definitely not IRA.'
'You do, Lieutenant? In that case, am I not entitled to ask why you pushed him?'
'Confirmation. But I was sure before. That speech of his -that impassioned and violent denunciation of the IRA and all its methods. You'd have to be an exceptional actor to get that amount of hatred into your voice: but you'd have to be an impossibly good one to have a pulse beat like a trip-hammer in your throat.'
'I missed that.' Wieringa said. He looked at de Graaf and Dessens. 'Either of you gentlemen -' He broke off at their mute headshakes. 'Secondly,' continued van Effen, 'I believe that Riordan is not the leader, the driving force, the man in charge. Why do I believe that?. I can't give a shred of evidence, of proof. But he's too fiery, too unbalanced, too unpredictable to be a general.'
'You wouldn't fight under him, van Effen?' Wieringa was half-smiling, half curious.
'No, sir. There's someone else. I'm certain it's not Agnelli. I would take long odds it's not O'Brien - he's got sergeant-major written all over him. I'm not saying it's Samuelson. He's an enigma, a mystery. But his presence is totally unexplained and when any presence is as inexplicable as that then a very big explanation would seem to be called for. 'Where I'm uncertain whether to believe his story or not, is about Northern Ireland. Riordan said his only aim was to eliminate the monsters. His voice did carry what might have been regarded as the authentic ring of sincerity and, as I've said, I don't believe he's all that good an actor.' Van Effen sighed briefly, shook his head and sipped his brandy. 'I know this is all rather confusing, gentlemen. Let me put it this way. I believe that he believes what he says, but I don't believe that what he believes is necessarily true. It's one of the reasons why I'm convinced he's not the king-pin. Two things. He was caught outright in a flat contradiction yet appeared to be unaware that any such contradiction existed. Then he seems to be unaware that there could be three sets of fanatics around - the extremist Protestants, the extremist Catholics and the Mediators. That's them. The Mediators could be the most irresponsibly dangerous of all. To achieve the final solution, the Mediators are prepared to drown a million. One could imagine what the final solution would be like in Ulster. No. Let me rephrase that. I can't imagine that.' 'The same thought was in my mind.' Wieringa spoke very slowly. 'The very same. Although not so clearly formulated. In my mind, I mean.' He smiled. 'Well, that should be enough for a day - but you did mention that there was something you didn't believe.'
'Yes, sir. I don't believe his threats. His immediate threats, that is. His long-range threats are a different matter. But the ones he mentioned here tonight - and the ones outlined to Colonel de Graaf earlier this evening - I do not believe, with the exception of the threat to Helystad in Oostlijk-Fllevoland. The rest I believe to be bluff. Especially the threat to destroy the Palace.'
'If you say that, Lieutenant,'Wieringa said, 'I'm damned if I don't believe you. Why do you say that?'
'Because I don't believe they have any mines laid inside the Palace. They were concerned that the explosion inside the Palace tonight would be heard over a considerable area to convince you that they had, indeed, the ability to carry out their promise.'
Wieringa regarded him with a puzzled expression. 'You sound fairly sure about this, Lieutenant.'
'No, sir. I'm certain.'
'How can you be so sure?'
'I have inside information.'
Wieringa looked at him in a speculative fashion but said nothing. Not so Dessens. He had been totally out of his depth all evening but now he thought he was on secure and known footing and that it was time to assert himself.
"What were the sources of your information, Lieutenant?' 'That's confidential.'
'Confidential!' Whether the source of Dessens' immediate anger was due to the reply or the fact that van Effen had omitted the mandatory 'minister' or 'sir' was difficult to say: he probably didn't know himself. 'Confidential!'
'I'm trying to be discreet, sir, that's all. I don't want to divulge my sources because it may cause acute and unnecessary embarrassment. Surely you can understand that - it's so commonplace in the police world that it's hardly worth the mentioning. Why don't you just take my word for it?'
'Understand it! Commonplace! Take your word!' Dessens' mottling complexion was rapidly assuming the hue of a turkey wattle. 'You arrogant - you arrogant - you -'He made a visible effort to ward off the onset of apoplexy. 'I would remind you, Lieutenant'- he put a heavy accent on the word 'Lieutenant' 'that I am the Minister of Justice'- he put a very heavy accent on that, too -'whereas you are only a junior officer in the force which I personally -'
'That's unfair, sir.' De Graaf's voice was impersonal. 'Next to me, van Effen is the senior police officer in the city of -' 'Keep out of this, de Graaf.' Dessens tried to let ice creep into his voice but his temperature control had slipped. 'Van Effen! You heard me.' 'I heard you,' van Effen said, then added 'sir' almost as an afterthought. 'I know what I'm talking about because I'm the person who placed that charge in the cellars of the Royal Palace.' 'What! What!' Dessens' complexion would now have made any turkey-cock look to his laurels. 'Good God! I can't believe it.' He was halfway out of his chair. 'My cars deceive me!'
'They don't. Sir. I was also the person who pressed the button that detonated the explosives.'
Dessens said nothing, not immediately. The shocked horror of this threat to the safety of the royal family, this dreadful majesty, held him in thrall. Van Effen returned to his brandy and made no attempt to keep his opinion of the Minister of Justice out of his face. 'Arrest this man, de Graaf,' Dessens shouted. 'This moment' 'On what charges, sir?'
'On what charges! Have you gone mad as well as - as well as -Treason, man, treason!'
'Yes, sir. This raises problems.'
'Problems? Your duty, man, your duty!'
'Problems, sir. I'm the city's Chief of Police. All other policemen in Amsterdam are junior to me.' Every century of de Graaf's aristocratic lineage was showing. 'Nobody in Amsterdam has the authority to arrest me.'
Dessens stared at him, his anger gradually changing to bewilderment. He shook his head and said nothing.
'What I mean is, sir, that if Lieutenant van Effen is to be locked up on a treason charge, then you'd have to lock me up, too, because I'm as much a traitor as he is.' De Graaf considered. 'More, I would say. I am, after all, his superior; moreover, I personally authorized and approved every action the Lieutenant has undertaken. 'Inconsequentially, it seemed, but probably to give Dessens time to readjust, de Graaf turned to van Effen and said: 'You forgot to tell me that you personally had detonated those explosives.'
Van Effen shrugged apologetic shoulders. 'You know how it is, sir.' 'I know,' de Graaf said heavily. 'You have so much on your mind. You seem to have told me that before.'
'Why have you stepped outside the law, Colonel?' There was no reproof in Wieringa's voice, only a question. Wieringa had remained remarkably unperturbed.
'We did not step outside the law, sir. We are doing and have done everything in our power to uphold the law. We - Lieutenant van Effen - have gained the entree - and a highly dangerous entree it is - into the ranks of the FFF. I think it is more than dangerous, it's close to suicidal. But Lieutenant van Effen has persuaded me - and I most reluctantly agree with him - that it's our last best hope. Our only hope.'
Dessens looked at the two policemen dazedly but his mind was beginning to function again, at least after a fashion. 'How is this possible? Van Effen's face must be known to every criminal in Amsterdam.' He had forgotten how junior van Effen had been only moments ago. 'It is. But not the van Effen you see before you. All appearance, voice and personality have changed to such a remarkable extent that I'd wager my pension that neither of you would recognize Stephan Danilov, which is the pseudonym he has temporarily and conveniently adopted.' He might have wagered something else, van Effen reflected; de Graaf was so wealthy that his pension was a matter of total indifference to him. 'Whether the FFF have uncritically accepted Stephan Danilov at his face value, we have no means of knowing. It seems incredible to me that, so far, they appear to have done. If they have not done or will not do so the city of Amsterdam will be requiring a new senior detective-lieutenant. They will also be requiring a new police chief, which the Lieutenant will probably regard as a trifling matter, because I shall have to resign. The Netherlands, of course, will be looking for a new Minister of Justice, because you, Mr Dessens, are also a party to this. Only Mr Wieringa can look forward to a safe tenure.' Dessens looked stricken. 'I haven't said that I'm a party to anything.' Wieringa took him gently by the arm. 'Bernhard, if you would, a word in your ear.' They walked away to a distant comer of the lounge, which was fortunately as large as it was luxurious, and began to converse in low terms. Wieringa appeared to be doing most of the conversing. Van Effen said: 'What weighty matters do you think our revered cabinet ministers are discussing?'
De Graaf forgot to reproach van Effen for his unseemly and unconstitutional levity. 'No prizes for guessing that. Mr Wieringa is explaining to Mr Dessens the principle of Hobson's choice. If Dessens doesn't go along, the Netherlands is still going to be looking for a new Minister of Justice. If Dessens hadn't forced you to divulge your confidential information he wouldn't have found himself in the impossible situation he does now. Hoisted, to coin a phrase, on his own petard.' De Graaf seemed to find it a moderately entertaining thought. He settled himself comfortably in his chair, sighed and reached out for the brandy bottle. 'Well, thank heaven everything's over for the day.' Van Effen considerately let de Graaf pour himself some brandy and sip it before producing Agnelli's shopping list. 'Not quite complete, I'm afraid, sir. There's this little item.'
De Graaf read through the list, his face stunned, then read through it again. His lips were moving, but at first no sound came. He had just got around to muttering: 'This blue item, this little item,' when Wieringa and Dessens returned. Wieringa looked his normal imperturbable self, Dessens like a Christian who had just been given his first preview of the lions in the Roman arena.
Wierinva said: 'What little item, Colonel?'
'This.' De Graaf handed him the paper, put his elbow on the arm of his chair and his hand to his forehead as if to hide hi s eyes from some unspeakable sight.
'High explosives,' Wieringa read out. 'Primers. Detonators. Grenades. Ground-to-ground missiles. Ground-to-air missiles.' He looked at van Effen consideringly but with no signs of consternation on his face. 'What is this?'
'A shopping list. I was going to ask the Colonel to get it for me.' Desserts, who had adopted precisely the same attitude as de Graaf, made a slight moaning sound. 'As you are the Minister of Defence, the Colonel would have had to approach you anyway. I'd also like to borrow an Army truck, if I may. With a little luck I may ever, be able to return it.' Wieringa looked at him, looked at the paper in his hand, then back at van Effen again. 'Balanced against this shopping list, as you call it, the loan of the odd army vehicle seems an eminently reasonable request. All this I can obtain without any great difficulty. I have heard a considerable amount about you, van Effen, and I have learnt a great deal more tonight. I would hesitate to question your judgement.' He thought for a moment. 'I think I would question my own first, so I don't question yours. No doubt it's just idle curiosity on my part, but it would be nice to know why you require those items.' 'The FFF seem to be short of explosives and offensive weapons, so I have promised to supply them with some.'
'Of course,' Wieringa said. 'Of course.' The Defence Minister appeared to be virtually unshockable; certainly, nothing showed in his eyes. Nothing was to be seen in the eyes of de Graaf or Dessens either, but that didn't mean that they were shock-proof. their shading hands still cut their eyes off from the dreadful realities of the harsh world outside.
'They also seem to be short of explosive experts, so I volunteered my services.'
'You know something about explosives?'
De Graaf reluctantly uncovered his eyes. 'He knows a great deal about explosives. He's also a bomb disposal expert. I wish,' he said bitterly, 'that this was something simple, like defusing a ticking 500-kilo bomb.' 'Yes, sir.' Van Effen was addressing de Graaf now. 'I've also recruited George and Vasco, George as another person versed in the way of explosives and Vasco as a trained missile launcher. You will understand that I did not have time to consult you on those matters.' 'You can't think of everything,' de Graaf said dully. He discovered, to his apparent astonishment, that his brandy glass was empty and set about rectifying this.