Once again, he tapped his watch and waited for the face to light up before he entered a second code, which immediately opened the far door. He stepped out and slammed the heavy metal door shut behind him. He breathed a sigh of relief, before descending the stairs to his other world. The well-rehearsed disappearance had gone to plan, but he knew that he would now have to think more seriously about moving on.
The first thing he did when he reached his study was make a phone call.
CHAPTER 20
THE BUTLER DIDN’T HESITATE TO hand over the keys to a furious Ross. After all, by now the boss would have had more than enough time to escape.
Ross ran back down the corridor to find Sanchez, William and a couple of his officers trying unsuccessfully to break down the door. All they had to show for their trouble were bruised shoulders.
He quickly unlocked the door, but it came as no surprise to any of them that Faulkner was nowhere to be seen.
‘Take a closer look at this metal door,’ said William. ‘Tell me what you see, or more important what you don’t see.’
‘No handle and no lock,’ said Ross immediately.
‘And no dial,’ added Sanchez. ‘So how do you open it?’
‘I suspect there’s only one person who knows that,’ said William, as the butler reappeared carrying a large tray of drinks, which only made Ross want to hit him even harder.
‘How do we open that door?’ demanded William.
‘I have no idea, sir,’ said the butler, placing the tray on the table. The blank look on his face suggested to William that he might even be telling the truth.
William was about to ask a follow-up question when the phone on the desk began to ring. He indicated to the butler that he should answer it.
The butler picked up the receiver.
‘Good afternoon, this is the Sartona residence. How may I help you?’
William took a notebook and a Biro out of his pocket, wrote down the name Sartona and underlined it, as he listened to the one-sided conversation.
‘Are they still there?’
‘Yes, sir. I’m afraid Mr Sartona is abroad at the moment. Can I take a message?’
‘Is Booth Watson still with you?’
‘Yes, sir. He’s looking forward to seeing you when you return.’
‘Call me the moment you’re certain that every one of those flatfoots has left and are on their way back to Barcelona.’
‘Of course, sir. I’ll let him know you called.’ The butler replaced the receiver, turned to William and said, ‘Can I be of any further assistance, gentlemen?’
Ross clenched a fist and took a step forward.
‘No, thank you,’ said William, quickly coming between them. ‘In fact, I think it might be wise for you to leave.’
‘As you wish,’ said the butler, who gave a slight bow and left without another word.
William waited for the door to close before he said, ‘If we’re going to have any chance of finding out what’s behind that,’ he said, pointing at the impenetrable iron door, ‘we’re going to need some pretty heavy equipment.’
‘Easier said than done,’ said Sanchez. ‘This place used to be Franco’s secret hideaway. It’s what you call in your country a listed property, so we can’t touch anything without the authority of a court.’
‘Then we’ll have to get on with it without consulting the authorities, won’t we?’ said Ross.
‘I don’t think so,’ said William, shaking his head. ‘Try to remember, Ross, we’re not in the back streets of Battersea. We don’t have any authority here.’
‘Who cares, choirboy?’ said Ross, unable to hide his frustration.
‘I do,’ said Sanchez. ‘Because we’re not even in the back streets of Barcelona.’
‘And in any case,’ said William, ‘you can be sure that by now Faulkner will be on the phone to his Spanish lawyer, who’ll slap a restraint order on us before you can say acetylene torch.’
‘We could always wait. After all, he has to come out eventually,’ suggested Ross.
‘I’ll bet there’s another world on the other side of that door,’ said William. ‘Heaven knows how long we’d have to twiddle our thumbs before he reappears.’
‘And Faulkner’s lawyer would have seen us off long before then,’ added Sanchez.
William nodded, but Ross still didn’t look convinced.
‘And I’m pretty sure I even know the lawyer he’ll be speaking to,’ continued Sanchez. ‘So there’s nothing we can do until we get a court order overruling any objection.’