Free Time of the Assassins by Alistair MacLean

Cassidy,' she replied, using the name on her UN AGO passport.

'Please, won't you sit down, Miss Cassidy?' Farouk said, indicating the wooden chair in front of his desk.

'Thank you,' she said and sat down.

'Is this your first time in Beirut?'

'Yes,' she replied truthfully. 'I didn't know where to begin looking for Mike so I called the police and they put me on to you. They said you were in charge of the

investigation.' She feigned nervousness by fidgeting with the handbag in her lap. 'But what investigation? What's happened?'

Farouk raised his hand to silence her. 'There's a warrant out for the arrest of Michael Green.'

The name on one of the passports Graham had drawn from UN AGO stores in New York. She sat forward. 'On what charge?'

'Murder.'

She slumped back in the chair. 'Oh, my God. Murder? I don't believe it. Sure, Mike's a bit of a rebel but he'd never kill anybody.'

Farouk uncapped his pen and pulled the notepad towards him. 'I'd like to ask you a few questions, Miss Cassidy?'

'Yes, of course,' she replied, continuing to feign nervousness. 'Anything.'

'You said on the phone that he'd called you in New York. What exactly did he say?'

'All he said was that he was in trouble and that he needed some money to get out of the country. Then the line went dead.'

'Do you know why he was here?'

'The first I knew he was in Beirut was when he rang me.' She sighed deeply. 'Mike's a loner. It's not the first time he's gone off by himself.'

'And he owns a company in New York?' Farouk said, consulting his notes again.

'Whitaker Haulage,' she added. 'He's the boss.'

'Yes, I know. We found some business cards in his hotel room.' Farouk tapped thoughtfully on the notepad. 'And his fellow directors don't mind him just

going off by himself without letting them know where he is? What if something were to happen to the company?'

'They're used to his erratic behaviour by now. And anyway, he pays their salaries. What can they say?'

'Did he have any friends that you knew of in Beirut?'

She shook her head. 'None that he ever mentioned.'

'Russell Laidlaw?'

She pretended to think for a moment. Then she shook her head again. 'No, I can't say the name means anything to me. Is that the man who was murdered?'

'No,' Farouk replied. 'He was the last person to see your boyfriend here in Beirut. He used to be in the Special Forces in America, the Delta unit.'

'Are you suggesting that Mike was once a member of Delta?' She shook her head in disbelief. 'I don't believe it. Not for one minute.'

'I'm not suggesting anything, Miss Cassidy. It's just strange that Laidlaw was with Delta and the murdered man, Barak, was an informer for Delta here in Beirut. Delta seems to be the common denominator, doesn't it?'

'Haven't you asked this man Laidlaw about Mike?'

'He claims to have met him for the first time at the Windorah; it's a bar frequented mainly by foreigners. The owner's borne out his story. So I'm back to square one.'

'Can't you ask Delta?'

'I already have. They say no Michael Green has ever been with them. And it took a lot of persuasion for them to just admit that.'

'How do you know Mike was involved? Did someone see him?'

'His fingerprints were on the murder weapon. I checked with Interpol and they confirmed they were his prints.'

'Interpol?' she replied with surprise. 'You mean he had a criminal record?'

'No, but the New York police had his prints on file.'

The N YPD had Graham's fingerprints on file. They had all U N A C O operatives' fingerprints on file. It was a precaution in case any of them were injured, or killed, and weren't carrying any formal identification. But Michael Green? Then it hit her. Why hadn't she thought of it when Kolchinsky briefed them? UN AGO must have given the NYPD permission to release the prints under Graham's assumed name. But why? It made no sense. They had set up their own operative. She wanted some answers and she was determined to get them when she next spoke to Kolchinsky.

'Is