The Memory Trap (15 page)

But his grin wasn’t being returned. ‘Is there something I should know now, David?’ Butler glanced towards the door. ‘I can’t keep them waiting much longer.’

Audley disciplined his face. There really wasn’t any reason to keep grinning, anyway. Not in view of all he still
didn
’
t
know … which, apart from Peter’s most likely intention … included almost everything else that mattered. ‘Not really.’ He hardened his heart against Butler in his own interest. ‘We’ve still got the inside track on Richardson … But then there’s this terrorist business.’ He looked at his feudal lord accusingly. ‘You didn’t exactly come clean about that yesterday.’ But he mustn’t know too much about that. And, anyway, it was more than likely that it had been Henry Jaggard who hadn’t come clean wih Butler. ‘Or didn’t you know that, Jack?’ Better to let old Jack off the hook altogether. So he shrugged. ‘The Italians seemed to think there was a connection. Even after Comrade Zimin appeared on the scene. But they weren’t very forthcoming after that. They just wanted to get shot of me as quickly as possible after they’d decided that I wasn’t going to be helpful.’ He cocked his head at Butler. ‘There is a connection, I take it?’

Butler’s lips tightened. ‘I think you’d better hear what Jaggard has to say. Then we can decide what to do.’

So that was the way the land lay. This was Jaggard’s business, not theirs—they had merely been “helping out”. And, whoever was to blame (or, as the case might be, whoever finally carried the can, justly or not) for Berlin and Capri, Butler wasn’t going to be caught twice.

But that wouldn’t do at all—not now! ‘I don’t see that we have any choice in the matter, Jack.’ He took a step towards the door.

‘Choice?’ Butler didn’t move. ‘It isn’t your job to run Henry Jaggard’s errands. And it isn’t my job to waste your time.’

In another moment Butler would be telling him he was also “a bit long in the tooth”. But it wouldn’t do to get angry: if there was one thing he’d learnt during his long years with Fred Clinton it was that a good salesman tailored his sales pitch to the customer. ‘No, of course. But … I’m the only person with whom Peter Richardson is likely to make contact.’ He gave Butler a sly look.’ “Mr Dalingridge”—remember?’

‘You’re also a three-time loser.’ Butler held his ground. ‘You can be de-briefed this morning. And back in Washington this evening.’

He had to try another line. ‘Richardson was our man, Jack—‘

‘He was Sir Frederick Clinton’s man.’ Butler cut him off brutally. ‘And only briefly. And then he resigned.’

He could try “the National Interest”. But, coming from him, that would be no more convincing than ancient departmental loyalty. So all that was left was for him to act in charcter. ‘I’m too far in to want to stop now, Jack. And, if anyone wants me dead, I’ll be damned if I stop—I’ll be damned if I’ll leave what concerns me to Henry Jaggard. Apart from all of which … he’ll fuck it up for sure.’

Butler winced at the obscenity, as he always did at Audley’s deliberate lapses, in spite of all his army years. But then he drew a deep resigned breath. ‘Very well. We’ll wait and see.’

The woman Franklin would be the one to watch. So he mustn’t look at her first—

‘Ah, David!’ Even on Sir Jack Butler’s own ground, and in his own conference room, Henry Jaggard had to assert himself as though it all belonged to him. ‘Good of you to join us.’

‘Henry.’ Audley ignored him, nodding first and second to Len Aston and Billy Pitt, then grinning at the Honourable Charles Renshaw. ‘Hullo, Charlie. Sorry to get you out of bed so early.’ Now the woman. ‘Miss Franklin, I presume—?’ Well, well! She was damn-well worth looking at, never mind watching! ‘Sorry I’m late, Henry. But … I gather you all know what’s happened. And if you must give us the tricky jobs that your chaps aren’t up to, then what can you expect?’

‘That’s unjust. The man Kulik asked for you, David.’ Jaggard rolled easily with the punch.

‘But, fortunately, he didn’t get me.’

‘You can say that again!’ Charlie Renshaw made a face. ‘You go along with the perceived wisdom, do you, David—that they were gunning for you?’

‘It certainly looks that way now, yes.’

‘You were lucky.’ Jaggard nodded.

‘Not lucky. Jack just made the right decision, that’s all. As usual.’

‘And that was lucky.’ Jaggard stuck to his guns. ‘I would have sent you—to Berlin, anyway.’

‘And I would have gone. I’ve always liked Berlin.’ Audley nodded back. ‘Maybe you’re right at that—I’m lucky to have Jack to save me from myself. And from you, Henry.’

‘On the other hand, you might not have conducted matters there quite as insouciantly as did Miss Loftus.’ Jaggard pursed his lips. ‘In which case we might not be in our present quandary.’ He stared around before returning to Audley. ‘Because Sir Jack has informed us that Kulik’s confidence in you was misplaced—that you don’t know what is going on?’

‘I don’t know what it is I’m supposed to know—not yet … that’s true.’ Audley looked at each of them in turn, with the exception of Butler. ‘I know a lot of things, about a lot of people—‘

‘Including Major Richardson?’ Miss Franklin interrupted him more gently than he deserved, he thought. ‘We were hoping he would narrow the field for us, Dr Audley.’

She had a pleasant voice, the thought expanded: received Queen’s/BBC/Oxbridge accent, but with the merest hint of Welsh somewhere in its background.

‘Well … yes, he does … or he
may
, Miss Franklin.’ He must stop thinking how pretty she was, and remember only that she was reputed to be formidably intelligent. ‘Although I’m afraid I didn’t know him as well as everyone assumes, Kulik included. He was one of Sir Frederick Clinton’s Queen’s-shilling men … And old Fred always played his cards close to his chest.’ He smiled at her. ‘But Peter Richardson didn’t turn out to be quite the trump he expected. However, given more time, I shall do better—‘ He completed the smile, and then erased it before catching Commander Pitt’s eye ‘—although I could do the best of all if you could produce him, Commander.’

‘Oh aye?’ Pitt seemed ready for him. ‘You think he’s coming here, do you?’

‘You think he’s still alive?’ Jaggard offered the alternative quickly.

‘I think … I think that if Fred Clinton fancied him, then he’s a downy bird, Henry. So … yes, I think he’s still alive.’ He nodded at Jaggard. ‘He certainly wasn’t on the Capri casualty list, anyway. And it looks as though he’s heading for home now.’

‘But his home is in Italy, Dr Audley.’ Miss Franklin was just as quick. ‘Isn’t he half-Italian? And more than half-Italian in some respects?’

That was true. But it hadn’t been in the file. So Miss Franklin had done her homework. ‘Yes. But his Italian home may not be too homely for him at the moment.’ Now he included them all. ‘It isn’t just that all the various parties who are involved in this are after him now—not just the Italians and the Arabs and the Mafia, but also Colonel Zimin … It’s that they knew where to look for him—both Zimin and the Arabs. Which means that his own organization has gone sour on him. So, as there’s no one he can trust out there now, his best bet is to cut-and-run back.’ He decided to reward Miss Franklin for doing her homework properly. ‘That’s what I’d do in his place, Miss Franklin. Because he’ll have friends here still. And even some family, if I remember correctly.’ Then he looked at Commander Pitt again. ‘You’re watching out for him, are you, Billy?’

Pitt grimaced. ‘Yes—well, Dr Audley … we’re doing our best. And, because we happen to have a SURE-exercise in place, our best isn’t too bad.’ But then one honesty collided with another. ‘Only, if he used to work for Sir Frederick Clinton, then he’ll know the ropes. So our best may still not be quite good enough, if he keeps his head.’

‘But that doesn’t matter.’ Charlie Renshaw stirred again. ‘Because once he’s here he’ll be a darn-sight safer. And we stand a darn-sight better chance of picking him up too, I should hope—once he’s here, Commander?’ Having delivered a Cabinet Office-eye-view of What Ought to Happen, Charlie dropped the unfortunate Commander in favour of Audley. ‘You’ll be advising how we should go about that, I take it, David?’

‘Uh-huh.’ Audley temporized. ‘I think my best advice is to let him come to us—whether he’s here or not, Charlie.’

Charlie brightened. ‘You think he will?’

‘After Capri, I think he
must
—
sooner or later.’ It was always a pleasure to do business with the Honourable Charles Renshaw. ‘If I’m even halfways right about what happened on Capri, then he’ll be in even more of a—ah—a quandary than we are, I shouldn’t wonder—‘

‘Scared shitless, you mean?’ Charlie swung quickly towards Miss Franklin. ‘I
do
beg your pardon, Miss Franklin
—
scared witless, I meant to say.
’

‘Please don’t worry, Mr Renshaw. “Scared shitless” would seem to be an accurate description of everyone’s condition at this moment—even Mr Aston’s friends in the Russian Embassy, apparently—‘ She drew the FCO man into the conversation ‘—you were just saying, Leonard—?’

Leonard Aston gave a dry little cough, and then touched his lips with a very white handkerchief. “There is a certain nervousness, it seems. And there have been comings and goings.’

‘More comings than goings.’ Charlie Renshaw nodded towards Audley. “They’re exchanging old Brunovski for a hard-faced character named Voyshinski—Boris Voyshinski. Do you know of him, David? Wasn’t he on that list of yours?’

‘Uh-huh.’ No intelligence report ever passed Charlie unread. ‘One of the new promotions. Upped from colonel to general in the KGB in the spring.’

‘With a St Mikhail label on his underpants?’ Renshaw glanced at Jaggard. ‘Told you so, Henry. That makes us the operational centre, eh?’

‘And it also confirms what Dr Audley has just said about Major Richardson,’ Miss Franklin added her nod to Renshaw’s, but then turned to Audley. ‘And … since you are the expert on the New Order, Dr Audley … isn’t your old friend Colonel Zimin an associate of General Voyshinski? Or an old army comrade, anyway?’

‘Yes, Miss Franklin.’ She knew her stuff, quite evidently. But, more immediately, the appearance of Boris Voyshinski in London raised the stakes of whatever game the Russians were playing enormously—almost outrageously. ‘Will someone kindly tell me what is happening?’

‘We were rather hoping you were going to enlighten us there, David.’ Henry Jaggard leaned forward slightly to emphasize the order beneath this superficially polite request. ‘We have learnt the bare details of what appears to have occurred on Capri. But we have not yet had an account of your—ah—your conversation with Colonel Zimin.’

Audley met Charlie Renshaw’s eyes. ‘Are you going to tell me, Charlie?’

‘No.’ But then Renshaw grinned. ‘You tell him, Billy.’

That put the unfortunate Commander Pitt midway between the Cabinet Office and its Intelligence Service, and in something of a quandary as to which of those two awkward masters to obey.

‘Oh, for Christ’s sake!’ Renshaw produced one of his controlled explosions of irritation. ‘It’s exactly as Jack Butler’s just been telling us: we drag David back from Washington when we don’t know what’s happening—and now, but for the grace of God, we might have been bringing him back from Berlin in a coffin, too … and then we throw him in the deep end in Italy, on the assumption that he’ll pull our chestnuts out of the fire—eh?’ he looked around the table.

Charlie had always been a great one for mixed metaphors, thought Audley. And they usually came in threes.

‘But for once he hasn’t—okay?’ Renshaw fixed his eye on Jaggard. ‘And now he objects to playing pig-in-the-middle, with himself always cast as the pig. And I don’t blame him.’ He dropped Jaggard for Commander Pitt. ‘Tell him, Billy. And then we’ll see what he can make of it. Which I bloody well hope is more than I can.
Okay?
’

‘Of course—‘ Jaggard moved smoothly into the fractional instant of silence before Commander Pitt caved in ‘—you’re quite right, Charles. And I had taken Sir Jack’s point—‘ The smoothness oozed over Butler and Audley as well’—when he defended your actions in Italy … not to say your courage, in going in like that by yourself, after what happened in Berlin. You were, after all, only obeying orders—I do agree!’

Nobody was better at putting the boot in than Jaggard. And now he had very skilfully left everyone with the impression that either Butler had given a defective order, which had then been incompetently obeyed, or (which they were more likely to be thinking) he had unwisely left the decision to Audley himself, who had then cocked things up. And there was just enough truth in each of those alternatives to render any explanations self-defeating.

‘Yes—well, it never pays to keep people in ignorance, Henry.’ Hugging Jake Shapiro’s information to himself helped him to smile pleasantly. ‘But ignorance is no excuse, you’re also quite right … So, Billy, everywhere I go, there seem to be soldiers … as well, presumably, as your well-armed heavies. And now I gather from the media that you are co-operating with our gallant Russian allies in some sort of anti-terrorist operations? Which I nevertheless assume is not quite the case, eh?’

‘No, Dr Audley, it isn’t.’ Commander Pitt seemed almost relieved to be able to speak at last. ‘We had an exercise planned—a short-notice SURE. But it wasn’t actually scheduled until next month. But then the Americans tipped us off that something was up.’

Renshaw nodded. ‘And they got it from the Israelis, David. And then the plot really thickened—sorry, Billy!’

‘Yes, sir.’ Pitt had decided that, if it came to the crunch, it was Charlie who had the edge. ‘First, it was the usual form: certain individuals we’ve been watching—or, other people have been watching, anyway … dropping out of circulation.’

‘Arabs?’ Up to now the Arabs had been doing the dirty work. ‘Or who else?’

Billy Pitt looked at Jaggard, and Jaggard nodded to Miss Franklin. ‘Mary—?’

‘There’s been a close-down in Eastern Europe, Dr Audley.’ In turn, Miss Franklin also seemed relieved, to her credit. ‘And in the Soviet Union.’