Be Careful What You Wish For: The Clifton Chronicles 4 (29 page)

‘How can you be so confident, Giles,’ said Emma once the door had closed behind him, ‘that a man you’ve never even met will fall in with Mr Hardcastle’s
plans?’

‘After Jessica had been buried, I asked one of the pall bearers who the man was who had wept throughout the service as if he’d lost a daughter and then hurried away. That was the
name he gave me.’

‘There’s no proof Luis Martinez killed the girl,’ said Sir Alan, ‘only that he desecrated her paintings.’

‘But his fingerprints were on the handle of the flick knife,’ said the colonel. ‘And that’s quite enough proof for me.’

‘As are Jessica’s, so any half-decent lawyer would get him off.’

‘But we both know that Martinez was responsible for her death.’

‘Perhaps. But that’s not the same thing in a court of law.’

‘So are you telling me I can’t issue the order to kill him?’

‘Not yet,’ said the cabinet secretary.

The colonel took a swig from his half-pint and changed the subject. ‘I see that Martinez has sacked his chauffeur.’

‘You don’t sack Kevin Rafferty. He leaves when the job is finished, or if he hasn’t been paid.’

‘So which was it this time?’

‘The job must have been finished. Otherwise you wouldn’t have to bother about killing Martinez, because Rafferty would already have done the job for you.’

‘Could it be possible that Martinez has lost interest in destroying the Barringtons?’

‘No. As long as Fisher remains on the board, you can be sure Martinez will still want to get even with every member of that family, believe me.’

‘And where does Lady Virginia fit into all this?’

‘She still hasn’t forgiven Sir Giles for supporting his friend Harry Clifton at the time of the dispute over his mother’s will, when Lady Barrington compared her
daughter-in-law with her Siamese cat, Cleopatra, describing her as a “beautiful, well-groomed, vain, cunning, manipulative predator”. Memorable.’

‘Do you want me to keep an eye on her as well?’

‘No, Lady Virginia won’t break the law. She’ll get someone else to do it for her.’

‘So what you’re saying is that I can’t do anything at the moment, other than keep Martinez under close observation and report back to you.’

‘Patience, colonel. You can be sure he’ll make another mistake, and when he does I’ll be happy to take advantage of your colleagues’ particular skills.’ Sir Alan
downed his gin and tonic, rose from his place and slipped out of the pub without shaking hands or saying goodbye. He walked quickly across Whitehall into Downing Street and, five minutes later, was
back behind his desk doing the day job.

Cedric Hardcastle checked the number before he dialled. He didn’t want his secretary to know who he was phoning. He heard a ringing tone and waited.

‘Bingham’s Fish Paste. How may I help you?’

‘Can I speak to Mr Bingham?’

‘Who shall I say is calling?’

‘Cedric Hardcastle of Farthings Bank.’

‘Hold on please.’

He heard a click and a moment later a voice with an accent almost as broad as his said, ‘Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.’

‘I’m flattered, Mr Bingham,’ said Cedric.

‘You shouldn’t be. You run a damn fine bank. Just a shame you’re on the other side of the Humber.’

‘Mr Bingham, I need—’

‘Bob. No one calls me Mr Bingham except the taxman and head waiters hoping for a larger tip.’

‘Bob, I need to see you on a private matter, and I’d be quite happy to travel up to Grimsby.’

‘It must be serious, because there aren’t many people who are quite happy to travel up to Grimsby,’ said Bob. ‘As I assume you don’t want to open a fish paste
account, can I ask what this is all about?’

Dull, boring Cedric would have said that he’d prefer to discuss the matter in person rather than over the telephone, Mr Bingham. Newly minted, risk-taking Cedric said, ‘Bob, what
would you give to humiliate Lady Virginia Fenwick, and get away with it?’

‘Half my fortune.’

Fisher looked at the morning mail on his desk and sighed deeply. There were more brown envelopes than white, several from tradesmen reminding him
Must be paid within 30
days
, and one regretting that the matter had been placed in the hands of solicitors. And it didn’t help that Susan was refusing to return his precious Jaguar until he was up to date with
her monthly maintenance, not least because he couldn’t survive without a car and had ended up having to buy a second-hand Hillman Minx, which was another expense.

He placed the slim brown envelopes to one side and began to open the white ones: an invitation to join his fellow officers of the Royal Wessex for a black tie dinner in the regimental mess,
guest speaker Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck – he would accept by return of post; a letter from Peter Maynard, the chairman of the local Conservative Association, asking if he would
consider standing as a candidate for the county council elections. Countless hours canvassing and listening to your colleagues make self-serving speeches, expenses that were always queried, and the
only accolade was being addressed as ‘councillor’. No thanks. He would send a courteous reply explaining he had too many other commitments at the present time. He was slitting open the
final envelope when the phone rang.

‘Major Fisher.’

‘Alex,’ purred a voice he could never forget.

‘Lady Virginia, what a pleasant surprise.’

‘Virginia,’ she insisted, which he knew meant that she was after something. ‘I was just wondering if you planned to be in London any time during the next couple of
weeks?’

‘I’m coming up to London on Thursday to see . . . I have an appointment in Eaton Square at ten.’

‘Well, as you know, I live just round the corner in Cadogan Gardens, so why don’t you pop in for a drink? Shall we say around midday? There’s something of mutual interest that
I think might appeal to you.’

‘Twelve o’clock on Thursday. I look forward to seeing you then . . . Virginia.’

‘Can you explain why the company’s shares have been rising steadily during the past month?’ asked Martinez.

‘The
Buckingham’s
first booking period is going far better than expected,’ said Fisher, ‘and I’m told the maiden voyage is almost sold out.’

‘That’s good news, major, because I don’t want there to be an empty cabin on that ship by the time it sails for New York.’ Fisher was about to ask why, when Martinez
added, ‘And is everything in place for the naming ceremony?’

‘Yes, once Harland and Wolff have completed the sea trials and the ship is officially handed over, a date will be announced for the naming ceremony. In fact, things couldn’t be going
much better for the company at the moment.’

‘Not for much longer,’ Martinez assured him. ‘Nevertheless, major, you must go on supporting the chairman loyally, so that when the balloon goes up, no one will be looking in
your direction.’ Fisher laughed nervously. ‘And be sure to phone me the moment the next board meeting breaks up, because I can’t make my next move until I know the date of the
naming ceremony.’

‘Why is the date so important?’ asked Fisher.

‘All in good time, major. Once I have everything in place, you’ll be the first to be informed.’ There was a knock on the door and Diego strolled in.

‘Shall I come back later?’ he asked.

‘No, the major was just leaving. Anything else, Alex?’

‘Nothing,’ said Fisher, wondering if he ought to tell Don Pedro about his appointment with Lady Virginia. He decided against it. After all, it might have nothing to do with the
Barringtons or the Cliftons. ‘I’ll ring you as soon as I know that date.’

‘Be sure you do, major.’

‘Does he have any idea what you’re up to?’ asked Diego once Fisher had closed the door behind him.

‘Not a clue, and that’s the way I intend to keep it. After all, he’s unlikely to be very cooperative when he discovers he’s about to lose his job. But more important, did
you get me the extra money I need?’

‘Yes, but at a cost. The bank has agreed to increase your overdraft by another hundred thousand, but they’re insisting on more collateral while interest rates are so high.’

‘Aren’t my shares security enough? After all, they’re almost back to what I paid for them.’

‘Don’t forget, you had to pay off the chauffeur, which turned out to be far more expensive than we’d bargained for.’

‘Bastards,’ said Martinez, who had never told either of his sons the threat Kevin Rafferty had made if he’d failed to pay up on time. ‘But I’ve still got half a
million in the safe in case of emergencies.’

‘When I last checked, it was just over three hundred thousand. I’m even beginning to wonder if this vendetta with the Barringtons and the Cliftons is worth pursuing when
there’s a chance it could end up bankrupting us.’

‘There’s no fear of that,’ said Don Pedro. ‘That lot won’t have the balls to take me on when it comes to a showdown, and don’t forget, we’ve already
struck twice.’ He smiled. ‘Jessica Clifton turned out to be a bonus, and once I’ve sold all my shares, I’ll be able to sink Mrs Clifton along with the rest of her precious
family. It’s all just a matter of timing, and I,’ said Don Pedro, ‘will be holding the stopwatch.’

‘Alex, how good of you to pop round. It’s been far too long. Let me get you a drink,’ said Virginia, walking across to the cabinet. ‘Your favourite
tipple is gin and tonic, if I remember correctly?’

Alex was impressed that she remembered, as they hadn’t seen each other since Lady Virginia had caused him to lose his place on the board some nine years ago. What he did remember was the
last thing she had said to him before they parted:
And when I say goodbye, I mean goodbye.