Hidden Man by Charles Cumming Page B

too.’
    ‘I’m sure you would,’ Mark muttered.
    ‘I mean, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could get this thing knocked on the head by Christmas?’
    Mark was simply amazed by his attitude. It was as if his father had an assumed right of access, an inherent belief that the past should be ignored in the interests of his own peace of mind. Nevertheless, he felt a duty at least to make an effort.
    ‘Leave it to me,’ he said. ‘I’ll talkto him and see what I can do.’
    And that was enough to satisfy Keen. His work done, he closed the briefcase, cleaned his hands with the napkin and within moments had asked for the bill.

9
    Stephen Taploe moved gradually along the aisles, filling his trolley with foods. It was a nothing moment. Once a weekhe ventured to the Clapham Junction branch of Asda and bought enough provisions to last him for exactly seven days. Taploe was frugal, although, as a single man earning PS41,500 a year, he did not have to be. Armed with reward points and a fistful of vouchers, he would attempt to checkout for less than twenty-five pounds, but it was difficult with London prices and sometimes he would treat himself to an extra bottle of medium-dry white wine, or a tub of ice cream in his favourite flavour, vanilla. Taploe lived alone and had, on average, eight meals to cater for each week: two lunches (Saturday and Sunday), as well as six evenings at home. On Thursdays he was always sure to join his colleagues at a tapas bar in Victoria that was popular with D-Branch personnel: promotion, he assumed, would come quicker if he could develop and sustain relationships with senior management outside of office hours.
    The supermarket was noticeably less salubrious than the branch of Marks and Spencer’s in nearby St John’s Road, and lacked the international range andflair of products available at Sainsbury’s. Nevertheless Taploe preferred Asda, largely because it was cheaper and closer to home. He eschewed fancy microwave meals, preferring to cookfrom scratch; indeed, he would derive a certain satisfaction from making a single item last for several days. He could, for example, let a medium-sized battery chicken suffice for three meals: roasted first, then curried, and finally cold. Every week he bought a packet of six Porkinson’s sausages (two meals), three fillets of salmon (one of which he would habitually freeze) and a ribeye steak with oven chips for Sunday lunch. He ignored the aisles given over to juices and did not buy food in tins. For something sweet, Taploe allowed himself ice cream, a single packet of Penguins and a punnet of Elsanta strawberries.
    It was a Friday evening, the pre-weekend crowd, and thankfully there were precious few children screaming at the hips of single mothers. Weekafter week Taploe watched them bumping trolleys into shelves and walls, spilling bottles of Sunny Delight in egg-yolkpools on the floor. But he could move with comparative ease tonight, through fruit and veg to wines, and would be home within ten or fifteen minutes, depending on the queue at the tills.
    Just before seven thirty his mobile rang.
    ‘Mr Taploe?’
    It was Katy, a low-level researcher less than six months out of college with a degree in media studies from Exeter University. He liked the fact that shesounded nervous on the phone and made a point of calling him ‘Mr Taploe’.
    ‘Yes, what is it?’
    ‘Well, I’ve been looking into Juris Duchev as you instructed, sir, and I’ve been advised by Paul Quinn to contact you directly with some information that I thinkyou might find of interest.’
    Taploe was standing beside a bored shelf stacker. He moved towards the tills.
    ‘Go on.’
    ‘I’ve spoken to Interpol, sir, and they suspect that Duchev has been involved in at least two recent incidents still under investigation by the relevant law-enforcement authorities in those areas. The first was in Monaco three years ago, the shooting of a French investment banker with links to the Kukushkin