“Should I?”
“Once upon a time you would have never known his name. But all that changed in 1992, when Sir Colin McColl decided to tell the British people what he really did for a living.”
Knight’s eyes narrowed. “Graham Seymour? Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service?” Receiving no answer, Knight looked down at the documents. “That would explain how you acquired the confidential records of my company.”
“In point of fact,” said Graham, “the Secret Intelligence Service had absolutely nothing to do with it.”
“Who did?”
“Me,” said Gabriel.
“Why?”
He appeared to give considerable thought to his answer. “Do you remember when I came to your office in Berkeley Square the morning after Alice’s kidnappers made contact with you?”
“It is not a day I will ever forget, Allon.”
“Nor will I,” he replied. “In fact, I have a very distinct memory of asking whether you had any enemies who might have wanted to harm your wife. I also asked you for a list of your investors and a portfolio of your current holdings. You gave me both and assured me they were accurate, which was not the case. The Knight Group’s property empire is far larger than you let on. And it turns out that you’re beholden to a single private investor, a Kremlin-connected Russian oligarch named Dmitri Savin.”
Knight chose to respond with incredulity, hardly a novel tactic. “Have you taken leave of your senses, Allon?”
“Not at all. In fact, to hear Dmitri tell it, you’re simply the manager of a company that he controls.”
“Dmitri Savin never invested a pound in the Knight Group.”
With a heavy sigh, Gabriel picked up a stack of documents. “These are only some of the business records that Dmitri’s wife gave to her team of divorce lawyers at Ambler & Rose.” He pulled one of the documents from the stack and handed it to Knight. “It’s rather unambiguous when it comes to who has ultimate control of the company that bears your name.”
Knight examined the document, then tossed it onto the coffee table and rose to his feet. “This conversation is over.”
“This conversation,” said Graham evenly, “is only just beginning.”
“You have no legal right to question me like this.”
“You can deal with me, or you can deal with DCI Douglas Chapel of the Metropolitan Police. He’d like to have a word with you, under caution, of course, about your role in Alice’s disappearance.”
“I had no role!” Knight roared.
“DCI Chapel isn’t so sure about that.”
Knight reached into the front of his jacket and frowned.
“Something wrong?” asked Gabriel.
“I seem to have rushed out of the house without my phone.”
“Who were you planning to call?”
“My lawyer.”
“You’ll only make your situation worse,” said Graham.
“How much worse could it possibly get?”
“Based on the documents I’ve seen, a great deal worse. But if you want a lawyer, be my guest.”
Knight looked at Gabriel. “May I borrow yours?”
“My phone?” He shook his head. “No, Edward.”
