Countdown to Terror

Chapter 27

It was a surprise when two days later his mobile rang and it was Will Johnson. He had not expected Will to return the call, having moved out of London and now living in Brighton.

Glancing up at Jenny, he quickly gathered his thoughts and explained, ‘Will, thanks for getting back to me. I am working on behalf of Samir’s parents. He seems to have gone missing, and they are obviously anxious as to his whereabouts. He went down to London a couple of weeks ago and has not been in touch, nor has he been back to work. I’ve tried Brian Foster, another old friend, but he has not heard from Samir for at least a couple of months.’

Will’s response appeared guarded. Was he onto something? ‘Yes, I was at Birkbeck with Samir and Brian. Samir and I were good friends. Brian was not quite as close. I’ve heard what you said, but how do I know I can trust you?’

‘Well, you don’t, but I would be happy to come down to Brighton and meet you.’

‘No, there’s no need for that. I could come up to London. It’s a regular trip for me anyway.’

The response was immediate; he tried a more probing question. ‘Why did you move to London?’

‘That’s personal.’ Will responded defensively, he was definitely onto something now.

‘I could meet you tomorrow, if you like. I’ve nothing urgent on at the moment, and I commute to London and back to Brighton on a regular basis.’

‘I’m staying at the Imperial Hotel in Russell Square. Is that OK?’

‘Yes sure. If I leave first thing I could be there for say ten, something like that.’

‘Yes, that would be fine. See you in the morning, then.’

Will Johnson arrived at five minutes to ten the next morning, casually dressed but smart in a dark suit with open-necked white shirt. He had an Adriatic look about him: about six feet tall and athletic-looking, and could easily have been a soccer player or tennis pro with a name ending in Ivanovic, or similar.

Gesturing for Will to be seated, the Gent introduced Jenny as his colleague and offered coffee and warm croissants, which were accepted with enthusiasm. He felt it obligatory to open the discussion.

‘Thank you for taking the trouble to come all the way from Brighton. Perhaps I could first explain our involvement in the situation.’

Will’s body language exhibited signs of distrust. Responding cautiously, he said, ‘Yes, I would appreciate that, but what happened to your face?’

‘I was mugged,’ he explained, matter-of-factly.

Without going into the intricate details of credit cards, etc., he briefly summarised Jenny’s relationship with Samir: their knowing each other via Forest View Golf Club, and her request for advice. Leaving out the intricate details of the police, MI6 and the Met, he outlined their meetings with Shakira and her request for help in the search for Samir.