Pop Goes the Weasel

my e-mails. She and I had worked together on the Mr. Smith case and had become friends. I’d asked her to check on several things for me.
    CALL ME ANYTIME TONIGHT, ALEX, AND I MEAN ANYTIME. YOUR IRRITATING DOGGEDNESS MAY HAVE PAID OFF. IT’S VITALLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU CALL. SANDY .
    I called Sandy in Europe, and she picked up after the second ring. “Alex? I think we’ve found one of them. It was your bloody idea that worked. Shafer was playing a game with at least one of his old cronies from MI-Six. You were spot on.”
    “Are you sure it’s one of the game players?” I asked her.
    “Pretty sure,” she shot back. “I’m sitting here now staring at a copy of Dürer’s Four Horsemen , on my Mac. As you know, the Horsemen are Conqueror, Famine, War, and Death. What a creepy bunch. Anyway, I did what you asked. I talked to some contacts from MI-Six, who found out that Shafer and this one chap regularly keep in touch on the computer. I have all your notes, too, and they’re very good. I can’t believe how much you figured out from back there in the colonies. You’re a very sick puppy, too.”
    “Thanks,” I said. I let Sandy ramble on for a few minutes. A while back I’d recognized that she was a lonely person, and that even though she sometimes put up a cantankerous front, she craved company.
    “The name this chap uses in the game is Conqueror. Conqueror lives in Dorking, Surrey, in England,” Sandy told me. “His name is Oliver Highsmith, and he’s retired from MI-Six. Alex, he was running several agents in Asia at the same time Shafer was there. Shafer worked under him. It’s eight in the morning over here. Why don’t you call the bastard? ” Sandy suggested. “Or send him an e-mail. I have an address for him, Alex.”
    I started to wonder about the other players in the Four Horsemen game. Were there really four of them, or was that just the name of the game? Who were these players? How was the game actually played? Did all, or indeed any, of them act out their fantasies in real life?
    My message to Conqueror was simple and straightforward and not too threatening, I hoped. I didn’t see how he could resist answering me.
    DEAR MR. HIGHSMITH, I AM A HOMICIDE DETECTIVE IN WASHINGTON, D.C., LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ABOUT COLONEL GEOFFREY SHAFER PERTAINING TO THE FOUR HORSEMEN. I UNDERSTAND THAT SHAFER WORKED FOR YOU IN ASIA. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. I NEED YOUR HELP. PLEASE CONTACT DETECTIVE ALEX CROSS.

Chapter 82
    I WAS SURPRISED when a message came right back. Oliver Highsmith — Conqueror — must have been on-line when my e-mail went through.
    DETECTIVE CROSS. I AM WELL AWARE OF YOU, SINCE THE ONGOING MURDER TRIAL IS A RATHER BIG STORY IN ENGLAND, AND IN THE REST OF EUROPE, FOR THAT MATTER. I HAVE KNOWN G.S. FOR A DOZEN YEARS OR MORE. HE DID WORK UNDER ME, BRIEFLY. HE IS MORE AN ACQUAINTANCE THAN A CLOSE FRIEND, SO I HAVE NO EXPERTISE OR BIAS ABOUT HIS GUILT OR INNOCENCE. I HOPE IT’S THE LATTER, OF COURSE.
    NOW, AS TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT THE FOUR HORSEMEN. THE GAME — AND IT IS A FANTASY GAME, DETECTIVE — IS HIGHLY UNUSUAL IN THAT ALL OF THE PLAYERS ASSUME THE ROLE OF GAMEMASTER. THAT IS TO SAY, EACH OF US CONTROLS HIS OWN FATE, HIS OWN STORY. G.S.’S STORY IS EVEN MORE DARING AND UNUSUAL. HIS CHARACTER, THE RIDER ON THE PALE HORSE — DEATH — IS DEEPLY FLAWED. ONE MIGHT EVEN SAY EVIL. THE CHARACTER IS SOMEWHAT LIKE THE PERSON ON TRIAL IN WASHINGTON, OR SO IT SEEMS TO ME.
    HOWEVER, I MUST MAKE A FEW IMPORTANT POINTS. THE APPEARANCE OF ANY MURDER FANTASIES IN OUR GAME ALWAYS OCCURRED DAYS AFTER REPORTS OF MURDERS IN THE NEWSPAPERS. BELIEVE ME, THIS WAS THOROUGHLY CHECKED BY US ONCE G.S. WAS ACCUSED. IT WAS EVEN BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF INSPECTOR JONES AT THE SECURITY SERVICE IN LONDON, SO I’M SURPRISED YOU WEREN’T INFORMED BEFORE NOW. THE SERVICE HAVE BEEN TO SEE ME ABOUT G.S. AND WERE COMPLETELY SATISFIED, I ASSUME, SINCE THEY HAVEN’T BEEN BACK.
    ALSO, THE OTHER PLAYERS — WHO HAVE THEMSELVES BEEN CHECKED OUT BY SECURITY — ARE ALL REPRESENTED BY POSITIVE CHARACTERS IN THE GAME. AND AS I’VE SAID, AS POWERFULLY INVOLVING AS HORSEMEN IS, IT IS NEVERTHELESS ONLY A GAME. BY THE WAY, DID YOU KNOW THAT BY SOME SCHOLARLY ACCOUNTS THERE IS A FIFTH HORSEMAN? MIGHT THAT BE YOU, DR. CROSS?
    FYI — THE CONTACT AT THE SERVICE IS MR. ANDREW JONES. I TRUST HE WILL VOUCH FOR THE VERACITY OF MY STATEMENTS. IF YOU WISH TO CONVERSE FURTHER, DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. I AM 67 YEARS OF AGE,