Predator. Wilbur Smith

it’s just coming to me. Began with “C”. Like, ah …’ The Marshal tried to bring the name back to his mind: ‘C-C-C …’

      ‘Christ …’ sighed Hernandez frustratedly.

      ‘That’s it!’ the Marshal exclaimed. ‘Cross, his name was Cross! Guess that word-association thing really does work, huh?’

      ‘Thank you,’ said Hernandez, with a whole new tone of genuine gratitude. ‘You’ve been a very, very great help.’

      ‘Well, I guess I’m glad to have been of service,’ the Marshal said, sounding a little surprised by the sudden change in her attitude.

      Hernandez hung up. It sounded like the Marshal hadn’t followed the story of the murder of Hazel Bannock Cross. Well, that wasn’t surprising. Plenty of cops didn’t have time to worry about other people’s cases and Bannock Oil’s PR people had done everything they could to minimize coverage of the tragedy. But even if Hernandez was hardly the girly type, she still needed to go to the hairdresser, just like any other woman. And one time she’d sat waiting for her stylist to start work, reading a trashy glossy weekly that happened to have a story headlined: ‘Tragic Death of Hazel Bannock … and Miracle Birth of Her Billionaire Baby’. So she knew exactly who Cross was. Now she just had to find him.

      Cross was in his office, just getting ready for his afternoon meeting with Dave Imbiss and the O’Quinns, when the phone rang. ‘I’ve got a Tom Nocerino from Bannock Oil Corporate Communications, in Houston, holding for you,’ Agatha informed him. ‘He says he needs a quote from you about your role in the Angolan project. He said it was for the investors’ newsletter.’

      ‘I’ve not heard of that before.’

      ‘It’s new apparently. Would you like to speak to him, or shall I ask him to call back?’

      ‘Might as well get it over and done with. Put him through.’

      ‘Thank you so much, sir, for sparing me your time,’ Nocerino began in a voice sticky with sycophancy.

      ‘So this is just for a newsletter, right? I’m not going to see it on my newsfeed one morning because someone’s stuck it in a press release and the whole world’s been treated to my opinions?’

      ‘Absolutely not, Mr Cross. I can assure you, sir, this is purely private and in-house. It’s a way of keeping valued investors in the loop, making them feel they’ve got a relationship with Bannock Oil that’s more than just financial.’

      ‘I’ve not heard of this before.’

      ‘No, sir, it’s a very new concept. In fact, this will be the first edition. But the idea came right from the top.’

      ‘From John Bigelow?’ Cross asked, thinking to himself how typical it was of the veteran politician to be more concerned with the appearance of things than the practicalities of them.

      ‘Yes, sir,’ Nocerino replied. ‘Senator Bigelow believes very strongly in the importance of reaching out to the people and institutions that have put their faith and their trust in Bannock Oil.’

      ‘And their money …’

      ‘Yes, sir. That too.’

      ‘OK then, what do you need?’

      ‘Just a few words about your role as Director of Security, in relation to the Magna Grande field. We don’t need anything too specific, just something about how excited you are by the potential of Bannock’s Angolan operations and how you’re determined to ensure that our employees and our corporate assets are kept completely secure. If you’d rather, I can draft a statement for your approval.’

      ‘No, if I’m going to have words against my name, I’d rather say them myself. So, can I start talking?’

      ‘Go ahead, sir.’

      Cross took a second to collect his thoughts, then began dictating: ‘“The development of the Magna Grande field offers Bannock Oil a fantastic” … no, “a unique opportunity to, ah, establish our presence in the increasingly significant West African oil industry. As Director of Security it’s my responsibility to ensure that all our installations and, most importantly, all our employees and contractors are properly protected from any possible threats against them. As I speak, I’m about to go into a meeting with my most senior staff to discuss the various challenges we’re likely to face, and how best to prepare for every eventuality. We’ve had many years of experience working on Bannock’s operations in Abu Zara …”’ Cross paused. ‘Hang on, make that “working together on Bannock’s operations”, et cetera. OK, new sentence: “With the full support of the Abu Zaran authorities, we’ve maintained a security cordon that has kept people safe and oil flowing at all times. Now we’re moving into an offshore environment, so it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be very hard work. But our commitment to doing the best job to the highest standards will be just as great as ever.”’