Honour Among Thieves

couldn't have known that.' 'But you must have suspected something unusual was going on?' 'I wasn't certain at that time.' 'Did you let General Al-Hassan know of your uncertainty?' 'No. I did not.' 'Was it because you didn't trust him?' 'I didn't know him. It was the first time we had met. The previous. . .' Al Obaydi regretted the words the moment he had said them. 'You were about to say?' said the Prosecutor. 'Nothing.' 'I see. So, let us move on to the following day, when you paid a visit - because I feel confident that he didn't visit you - to the Deputy Foreign Minister.' This induced some smiles around the table, but Al Obaydi did not see them. 'Yes, a routine call to discuss my appointment to Paris. He was, after all, the former Ambassador.' 'Quite. But is he not also your immediate superior?' 'Yes, he is,' said Al Obaydi. 'So, did you tell him of your suspicions?' 'I wasn't sure there was anything to tell him.' 'Did you tell him of your suspicions?' asked the Prosecutor, raising his voice. 'No, I did not.' 'Was he not to be trusted either? Or didn't you know him well enough?' 'I wasn't sure. I wanted more proof.' 'I see. You wanted more proof. So what did you do next?' 'I travelled to Paris,' said Al Obaydi. 'On the next day?' asked the State Prosecutor. 'No,' said Al Obaydi, hesitating. 'On the day after, perhaps? Or the day after that?' 'Perhaps.' 'Meanwhile, the safe was on its way to Baghdad. Is that right?' 'Yes, but -' 'And you still hadn't informed anyone? Is that also correct?' Al Obaydi didn't reply. 'Is that also correct?' shouted Farrar. 'Yes, but there was still enough time -' 'Enough time for what?' asked the State Prosecutor. Al Obaydi's head sank again. 'For you to reach the safety of our embassy in Paris?' 'No,' said Al Obaydi. 'I travelled on to -' 'Yes?' said Farrar. 'You travelled on to where?' Al Obaydi realised he had fallen into the trap. 'To Sweden, perhaps?' 'Yes,' said Al Obaydi. 'But only because -' 'You wanted to check the safe was well on its way? Or was it, as you told the Foreign Minister, that you were simply going on holiday?' 'No, but...' ' "Yes but, no but." Were you on holiday in Sweden? Or were you representing the state?' 'I was representing the state.' 'Then why did you travel economy, and not charge the state for the expense that was incurred?' Al Obaydi made no reply. The Prosecutor leaned forward. 'Was it because you didn't want anyone to know you were in Sweden, when your superiors thought you were in Paris?' 'Yes, but in time . . .' 'After it was too late, perhaps. Is that what you're trying to tell us?' 'No. I did not say that.' 'Then why did you not pick up a phone and ring our Ambassador in Geneva? He could have saved you all the expense and the trouble. Was it because you didn't trust him either? Or perhaps he didn't trust you?' 'Neither!' shouted Al Obaydi, leaping to his feet, but the guards grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him back onto the chair. 'Now that you've got that little outburst out of the way,' said the Prosecutor calmly, 'perhaps we can continue. You travelled to Sweden, to Kalmar to be exact, to keep an appointment with a Mr Pedersson, whom you did seem willing to phone.' The Prosecutor checked his notes again. 'And what was the purpose of this visit, now that you have confirmed it was not a holiday?' 'To try and find out who it was who had stolen the safe.' 'Or was it to make sure the safe was on the route you had already planned for it?' 'Certainly not,' said Al Obaydi, his voice rising. 'After all, it was I who discovered that Riffat was the Mossad agent Kratz.' 'You knew that Riffat was a Mossad agent?' queried the Prosecutor in mock disbelief. 'Yes, I found out when I was in Kalmar,' said Al Obaydi. 'But you told Mr Pedersson that Mr Riffat was a thorough man, a man who could be trusted,' said the State Prosecutor, checking his notes. 'Am I right? So now at last we've found someone you can trust.' 'It was quite simply that I didn't want Pedersson to know what I'd discovered.' 'I don't think you wanted anyone to know what you had discovered, as I shall go on to show. What did you do next?' 'I flew back to Paris.' 'And did you spend the night at the embassy?' 'Yes, I did, but I was only stopping overnight on my way to Jordan.' 'I'll come to your trip to Jordan in a moment, if I may. But what I should like to know now is why, when you were back at our embassy in Paris, you didn't immediately call our Ambassador in Geneva to inform him of