"Who is at the head of it?" he asked quietly.
The Chief, smiled a little bitterly.
"By George!" he cried, slapping his thigh, "you've rung the bell
in one. Okewood, I'm not a rich man, but I would gladly give a
year's pay to be able to answer that question. To be perfectly
frank with you, I don't know who is at the back of this crowd,
but..." his mouth set in a grim line, "I'm going to know!"
He added whimsically:
"What's more, you're going to find out for me!"
Desmond smiled at the note of assurance in his voice.
"I suppose you've got something to go on?" he asked. "There's
Nur-el-Din, for instance. What about her?"
"That young person," replied the Chief, "is to be your particular
study. If she is not the center of the whole conspiracy, she is,
at any rate, in the thick of it. It will be part of your job to
ascertain the exact role she is playing."
"But what is there against her?" queried Desmond.
"What is there against her? The bad company she keeps is against
her. 'Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are'
is a maxim that we have to go on in our profession, Okewood. You
have met the lady. Did you see any of her entourage? Her business
manager, a fat Italian who calls himself Lazarro, did you notice
him? Would you be surprised to hear that Lazarro alias Sacchetti
alias Le Tardenois is a very notorious international spy who
after working in the Italian Secret Service in the pay of the
Germans was unmasked and kicked out of Italy.
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