Chapter 39

*****

Richard

"Afternoon, Francis."

"Good afternoon, Mr Haswell." My PA smiles as she looks up, offering me a folder. "These need your signature." As I take the folder from her, eyes wide, she jerks her head towards the door of James' office, standing slightly ajar.

I mouthe the word to her, silently. "What?"

She shrugs and splays her fingers.

Something bothering him?

In a normal tone again, "What's in my diary for this afternoon, Francis?"

"Nothing for the next two hours, sir."

I nod then walk quietly to James' door, pushing it open a little more to see inside. James is there, apparently lost to the world.

On one of the low couches overlooking the view of the City, his long legs outstretched, he sits with the back of his fist pressed to his mouth. His laptop lies open and ignored on the low table beside him; beside it, a tray with a coffee pot and a half-drunk cup.

Yes, something's bothering him.

I tap on the door. "Mind if I join you?"

James looks up. "Be my guest." He gestures to the tray. "Coffee?"

"Wouldn't say no."

He calls towards the door. "Francis, could we have another cup in here, please." He takes a gulp from his cup, then grimaces. "Ugh… Stone-cold. Sorry, Francis, could you make that a fresh pot as well."

How long's he been thinking?

"So, how are thing's going? Our paths don't seem to have crossed too much recently."

"Fine," he smiles. "All looking good. We've had the permissions through for the outline plans on D-site. It just needs your counter-signature and we're off and away on that."

"Yes, I think Francis might just have given me those." I wave the folder at him. "And…. anything else?"

Francis arrives with a fresh pot of coffee. James pours two cups….

Making himself busy….

…. takes a mouthful of his own and sighs. "Ah, much better. Thanks, Francis."

If there is one thing I know about my co-director, it is that for all his skill, talent and intelligence, small-talk isn't high on his list of virtues.

"Talk to me, James. What's bothering you? Something on the project? Some problem coming up you don't want to tell me about?"

He sits bolt upright. "Good lord, no. Nothing like that. That would be negligence on my part."

"What then?" James breathes deeply, taking another mouthful of his coffee, apparently searching for words.

What's wrong with the man?

Personal problems?

Not like him to bring them to work….

"Francis tells me there was some unpleasantness a few days ago. Involving Michael's brother?"

"That's right."

"Can I help at all?"

"No, Richard. Thank you for asking, but I don't think so. It's mainly settled now…. I think…. Ben came back to apologise to Charlotte, but only after Kirstie told him to."

"Kirstie?"

"The new concierge."

Kirstie?

Kirstie? Kirstie….

"Tall girl? Long dark hair. Quite a looker in an eagle-eyed way."

"That's her."

"What does she have to do with any of this?"

"She was dating Ben for a while."

"But not now?"

"I seriously doubt it."

"But she…. What? Told Michael's brother to show some manners? It sounds as though she can handle herself."

"I've been thinking much the same. In fact, I want to pass something by you."

And now we come to it…

"Go on."

"I keep coming back to the same question. How does Klempner know some of the things he does? We've drawn a blank trying to find a spy in the camp, but he's getting information from somewhere…."

"Has Charlotte visited him recently?"

"No. Michael and I have been trying to keep her busy and thinking of other things. At least until we figure what's happening."

"He is of course, safely locked up in prison."

"Locked up, yes." James rubs the top of his nose. "Safely? I'm not so sure about that. He has tentacles in all sorts of pies…."

There's a mixed metaphor to turn the stomach….

"Alright, so what's your idea? What do you want to pass by me?"

"Recently, we have had a series of…." He snorts air…. "…. of unpleasant encounters with Ben…."

"He's not that much of a threat, surely? Michael's own brother? What's he going to do?"

"No, it's not the scale of the threat he poses. He's narrow-minded and belligerent with it, and he thoroughly upset Charlotte, but that's as far as it goes. My point is that on each occasion it was Kirstie who either alerted me to trouble or who helped to deal with it. And I don't think it was a pleasant experience for her."

"Sounds good. Glad we have her on the payroll."

"I'm thinking of expanding her role."

"In what way?"

"Kirstie is placed centre-stage in the main reception, in the perfect position to see most of what goes on in and around the building. She's already demonstrated that she's a good judge of people, that she's loyal and that she has backbone."

"So…?"

"We need someone to be an extra pair of eyes for us. So, Kirstie becomes our spy in the camp. We can't identify Klempner's informant, but he won't know about her. She can report anything odd or out of kilter directly to me."

"James, we have an entire security department to handle all this."

"So we do. Nonetheless…." His eyes glitter. "…. it was Kirstie who raised the alarm. And the day Ben was haranguing Charlotte in the street, the security guards arrived after I did."

"Did they indeed?"

Did he blow them out for that?

If he didn't, I will.

"And it's worth remembering," continues James, "that we supposedly had a security section when the old offices were attacked."

For all the good that did….

Perhaps he has a point….

"If you feel you can trust her, that's she's reliable, why are you hesitating? Why even bother asking me?"

"Because I have one area of concern." His eyes rise to mine. "Kirstie is a sub."

"Is she?" I scratch at my nose. "Dare I ask how you know?"

He sucks in his cheeks and his eyes crinkle, but he doesn't say anything.

"A gentleman never speaks, eh?"

He tilts his head. "Kirstie has a Dom."

"Does she? But why would that concern you…?"

Ah, got it….

"Sorry, I see. No secrets kept?"

"Quite. She may feel obliged to tell him everything going on in her life."

"Do you know him? What kind of man he is?"

"I've met him briefly, but only briefly. His name is Ryan Dougherty and as a matter of fact, he wants to tender for contract with us." He rubs the back of his neck. "I wasn't sure whether to bother you with this, but…."

"James, this impacts on all of us. The threats to Charlotte could just as easily be threats to Elizabeth given the connection between the two." I take a moment to think. "And when it comes down to it, Elizabeth has her own concerns simply by virtue of being my wife."

His eyes lift to mine. "Possible ransom victim?"

"Exactly." I stand, pace the room. "What say you engineer a meeting with all of us present? Bring Michael and Charlotte along. Elizabeth can attend with me and we can form a collective opinion of Kirstie's Dom. Would that be practical?"

James raises brows. "It would be extremely easy. As I said, he wants to tender for work. All I have to do is dangle a potential contract and I'm sure he'll be happy to come along." He ponders for a moment. "And yes, I want Michael there too. He's a better judge of people that I am. I want his opinion."

"Fair enough. So why don't you sound out Kirstie herself first and we'll take it from there."