Free Blood Money by Chris Ryan Page A

wanted to look as casual as possible.
    They reached their first turning. ‘There’s someone behind us,’ said Paulo. ‘He’s been there since we came out of the clinic.’
    Li kept her voice quiet. ‘Do you think he’s following?’ They kept walking at the same unhurried pace.
    ‘Might be.’
    They went past a café with a big smeared window. They paused and glanced in, pretending to read the menu but using the glass as a mirror. They could see him, three metres behind them – a man in a dark red shirt and fawn linen trousers.
    ‘He didn’t stop when we stopped,’ said Li.
    ‘That doesn’t mean he’s not following,’ said Paulo.
    ‘I might be being paranoid,’ said Li, ‘but I think we should lose him before we meet the others. We mustn’t bust their cover.’
    ‘Let’s go round the block here,’ said Paulo.
    They turned down the road. Li took out her phone and pretended to make a call, but she was using the polished screen as a rear-view mirror. The red-shirted man turned too. ‘He’s still behind.’
    Paulo chose another turning and Li watched in the screen. The man carried straight on. ‘We’ve lost him. All clear.’
    Paulo grinned at her. ‘Just paranoia. We’ve been doing this job too long.’
    Li shook her head. ‘That nurse looked paranoid enough to do anything. If I were her I’d have tailed us.’ She hit a speed-dial key and called Alex. ‘No joy. They say they don’t know her, but they’re hiding something, big time. Before we left we saw a friendship bracelet thrown in the bin – it looked like Bina’s. I think we should go to the police, get them looking for her. There’s something fishy going on at that clinic.’
    ‘We’ll see you at the police station,’ said Alex.
    ‘I want to report a kidnapping,’ said Alex. Alpha Force stood in the reception area of the police station – a poky corridor bounded on one side by a long counter. A floor-mounted fan stirred a faint breeze that fluttered the notices yellowing on the notice board. At the end of the corridor a tiny woman dressed in rags was lugging along a huge bucket of water and a mop.
    An officer stood behind the counter, shuffling papers. His khaki uniform showed dark flowers of sweat under each arm. He carried on shuffling as Alex spoke – until he heard the word ‘kidnapping’.
    ‘You want to report a missing person?’
    ‘Yes,’ said Alex. ‘She’s—’
    ‘Wait, please. I fetch Sergeant Chopra. He looks after missing persons.’ The man disappeared through an arched doorway.
    A minute later another officer came through. Unlike his colleague he obviously wasn’t confined to desk work. With his khaki uniform he wore a gun belt and holster in leather the colour of ox blood. But whatever he did, it couldn’t have been very active: a large paunch protruded over his waistband like a balloon. Not for the first time, the five friends couldn’t help but notice the contrast with the lean villagers.
    Sergeant Chopra spoke. ‘You want to report a missing person.’
    Paulo gave a brief description. ‘She’s just turned thirteen years old – went missing last night from the village of Nayla—’ He got no further.
    ‘Nayla? That’s not in our district.’
    Li leaned on the counter and looked at him earnestly. ‘We have strong reasons to believe she’s been brought here. We think she’s been kidnapped to steal her kidneys.’
    Sergeant Chopra turned his back on her before she had finished. Li looked at his solid bulk disbelievingly.
    He turned round again and put some papers on the desk. ‘Start by filling in these forms. We need your names, addresses, address of your parents or guardians, relationship to the missing girl . . .’ He spread the forms out in a fan shape. There were several pages to each.
    Li looked at the paperwork with mounting incredulity.
    Alex knew that expression; soon it would change to impatience. Li wasn’t the most diplomatic person in the world. He stepped in. ‘We’ll give