Chapel made no reply. Like all good detectives he knew the power of silence.
“Surely you must have a suspect by now,” said Gabriel.
“We have a theory. And you happen to be uniquely positioned to help us determine whether that theory is correct.”
“How so?”
“Our prime suspect in the disappearance and presumed death of Alice Winter is the man who hired you to find her.”
“Edward Knight? You can’t be serious.”
The expression on the detective’s face made clear that he was.
“I seem to recall Scotland Yard saying that he wasn’t a suspect.”
“I’m sure this won’t come as a surprise to you, Mr. Allon, but Scotland Yard doesn’t always tell the truth.”
“I’ve spent a great deal of time with him, and he doesn’t strike me as the sort to kidnap and murder his own wife.”
“Our inquiries have led us to conclude that his marriage was deeply troubled and that they were headed for a nasty divorce. Mr. Knight therefore had a financial incentive to make the problem go away.”
“But why kidnap her? Why not a nice, tidy murder instead?”
“Because he’s smart enough to know that he would have been our prime suspect. As it stands now, he’s the grieving husband who moved heaven and earth to get his wife back. And in the process, he managed to make a half billion dollars disappear into thin air.”
“The ransom payment was a way to move money offshore?”
“That is our suspicion,” said Chapel.
“Rather diabolical, don’t you think?”
“I deal with diabolical on a daily basis, Mr. Allon. And so did you, once upon a time.”
“Still do, as it turns out. But how do you explain the proof-of-life photos?”
“Our tech specialists think they’re genuine.”
“And the woman on the phone?”
“It was undoubtedly Alice Winter.”
“Which means that I might have been one of the last people to speak to her.”
“Other than her friends from Cambridge, of course.”
“You’ve questioned them, I assume.”
“We took detailed statements from all three women. Needless to say, we were troubled by the length of time Sophie Maxwell and Ella Burns waited to report Alice missing. Even so, we eliminated them as suspects in Alice’s disappearance.”
“What about Phoebe Chadwick?”
“She remains a person of interest.”
“Any particular reason?”
Chapel handed Gabriel a printout of a two-day-old story fromTheTimesconcerning a number of unusually large anonymous donations to British relief and human rights organizations. The largest donation had been made to Global Relief UK, the organization where Phoebe Chadwick worked.
“Forgive me,” said Gabriel, “but I’m afraid I don’t see the connection.”
