AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 62
‘Thisis Sergeant Poe. Who am I speaking to?’
‘Can you update me on Henning Stahl’s detoxification programme, please?’ the Botanist replied.
‘I don’t have that information to hand. He’s undergoing a medical procedure and there are rules about confidentiality.’
‘You’ve not spoken to him?’
‘This isn’t the only case I’m working.’
‘So I gather.’
‘Excuse—’
‘Is Karen Royal-Cross dead yet?’ the Botanist cut in.
Mathers shook her head.
‘Just now,’ Poe said. He covered the handset. ‘This is how I build on any trust he has for me, ma’am.’
‘So now we move on,’ the Botanist said. ‘I am prepared to sit down with Henning Stahl. At this meeting you will try to catch me and I will try to evade said capture. Am I close?’
‘We’ll have Henning Stahl wired for sound too.’
‘Helicopter surveillance?’
‘If I had the authority to direct satellites, we’d be watching from space.’ He covered the handset again. ‘We can’t direct satellites, can we, Tilly?’ he said.
‘The majority of satellites are only capable of taking twenty-five-centimetre resolution pictures, Poe. That means each pixel represents twenty-five centimetres on the ground. Individual details will be indiscernible. We would need to task an advanced government spy satellite capable of taking one-centimetre resolution pictures, and even then we’d only be able to see the top of his head.’
Poe uncovered the handset.
‘The top of your head doesn’t have any distinguishing features does it, Mr Botanist?’
‘The top of my …?’
‘Yeah, like a tattoo or something. Maybe an amusing birthmark.’
‘Sergeant Poe, I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘Poe, stop mucking about!’ Flynn hissed.
Poe covered the handset for a third time. ‘He’s rehearsed what he wants to say,’ he said. ‘I want him improvising.’
‘Really? Because it sounds a lot like you’re taking the piss.’
‘Trust me.’ He uncovered the phone again. ‘I’ve just had word from Henning Stahl’s doctor. He’s not ready yet. I don’t know what the medical term is, but I understand he still has the shakes.’
‘Delirium tremens,’ the Botanist said automatically. ‘And, even in the most extreme cases, they only last ten days.’
Mathers’s eyes widened.
For the fourth time, Poe covered the handset. ‘Told you I could knock him off his game,’ he said. ‘And now we know he’s medically trained.’
