by Guy Adams
‘Maybe it’ll come to that,’ Shining conceded. ‘Though for now Rowlands is insisting that the bomb must have been brought in by us.’
‘How’s he come to that conclusion?’
‘By a bloody-minded refusal to imagine someone broke in here and planted it. He thinks it was put on the car by someone who knew we were coming.’
‘A short list.’
‘Indeed, not even Rowlands knew until we were virtually on the doorstep.’
This made Toby think about the fingerprint. He told Shining what he had discovered.
‘As you say,’ Shining agreed, ‘it’s more than likely that he tried the light switch when they were giving the room a once-over. Probably covering the original print, the useful print, when he did so.’
‘I don’t imagine there’s much point in asking. He’s bound to say yes, even if – and, oh, how I would love this to be the case – he is the man we’re after.’
‘Yes.’ Shining sat down on his bed. ‘It’s something we have to bear in mind, certainly. There’s nothing to say that the assassin isn’t one of us. In fact it would make a lot of sense.’
‘No problem getting past security.’
‘But how to know for sure?’ Shining looked at the candle he had placed by his bed. ‘I suppose this might help. If it’s triggered then we know we’ve been breached. If it isn’t …’
‘Then we know they’re already here,’ said Toby. ‘But that doesn’t mean it’s Rowlands. It’s not just the attendees we have to deal with. There’s a catering staff, the security people on the perimeter. There must be, what, thirty-odd people to sift through?’
‘Thirty-eight. It would be more but they’ve excluded the ground staff from work for the duration of the conference. They’re all security checked. But not by us. Let me have a think …’ Shining turned on the bed and lay down, his eyes closed.
After a moment, Toby wondered if he’d fallen asleep. ‘Is this the sort of think that makes you snore?’ he asked.
‘Go away, cheeky staff,’ said Shining. ‘Get some rest, and a shower. I’ll see you at dinner.’
c) Lufford Hall, Alcester, Warwickshire
After a late session within the conference room, dinner was served at eight, by which time all of those gathered beneath the ancient roof of Lufford Hall were more than ready for it. Lemuel Spang in particular was vocal about his hunger while people gathered for drinks in the lounge. He mentioned it frequently while grazing on the platter of petits fours that had been provided by the staff.
‘I dislike that man quite intensely,’ Tae-young confessed to April.
They had both changed into evening dress. Tae-young’s gown was the very epitome of modern class. April had had to spend half an hour brushing plaster dust from hers having last worn it during a Libyan attack on a US embassy back in the 1980s. She was sure nobody would notice the slight tear on the hem from where she had been forced to escape through rubble.
Spang was talking at Man-dae, the young Korean looking desperately around the room, either for someone else to talk to or a blunt object to beat the banker with.
‘Should we rescue him, do you think?’ April suggested.
‘Too risky,’ Tae-young replied. ‘We might get drawn in. He’ll make a break for it when we move through to the dining room.’
Rowlands was stood on his own in the far corner, staring intently at a glass of wine and pretending he didn’t mind the fact that nobody wanted to talk to him. His men were absent, working their way in circuits around the grounds, teamed up with the private security staff.
The other two Koreans, Chun-hee and Jae-sung were together, though the latter seemed more interested in the rear of one of the serving staff, April noticed.
‘Tell me about those two,’ she said to Tae-young.
‘Jae-sung can be a bit of a drain,’ Tae-young admitted. ‘A good man but he has too much of an eye for the ladies.’
‘Including you, no doubt?’
‘Including me. I spent most of the flight over trying to remove his hand from my thigh. He’s not a bad man, though, for all that.’
‘And Chun-hee?’
‘Who knows? It is so hard to tell with him. He keeps his own counsel. As Minister for Foreign Affairs, you’d think he’d be more outgoing, but he spends most of his time sitting quietly and staring out of the window. He’s either perpetually bored or angry, I’ve never been able to tell which.’
‘He sounds an absolute blessing to have onboard.’
‘He knows what he’s doing, he’s conscientious with the work … I just wish I could read him more as a person, that’s all.’
‘As long as he’s doing his job, I suppose it doesn’t matter,’ said April.
‘His job in this case is rather simple. As you said before, it’s not like both our countries don’t need this to happen. It shouldn’t be a long affair.’
‘Good. The sooner papers are signed, the sooner we can get out of here.’
She noticed Clive King walk in, looking every inch the civil servant in strange territory. He was wearing black tie but in the manner of a man who has put it on because he knows it’s expected rather than because he could altogether carry it off. His bow tie was crooked, his shirt a fraction too tight. Maybe it wasn’t quite so long since King had worn his outfit as it was since April had worn hers but it was certainly a few hearty dinners ago.
He walked up to Spang and Man-dae, the Korean immediately making a run for it.
‘Oh dear, poor Clive,’ said April. ‘That’s probably enough to tip him over the edge.’
‘You’ve known him long?’
‘Oh yes, many years. We had an affair back in the … Oh Lord, you know you’ve lived a sinful life when you can’t readily remember which decade it was when you slept with someone.’
Across the room, Clive King heard the sound of Tae-young laughing and looked over at the two women. For a moment he felt a burst of paranoia – what was April saying about him now? Then Spang intruded once more with his seemingly endless stream of inane opinion.
‘I just don’t see the point,’ the man said. ‘I mean, what’s so bloody amazing about organic, eh? That’s all they used to eat two hundred years ago and most of them were dead by the age of forty.’
‘True, true,’ King replied, not really paying attention.
‘Why people have to fight progress I just don’t know,’ Spang continued. ‘Eat your microwave meal and be happy.’
King noticed Rowlands stood on his own and waved him over. Anything was better than suffering Spang alone.
‘Gentlemen,’ Rowlands greeted them. ‘I’m afraid there’s still nothing major to go on with regards the bomb. My explosives man says it was a fairly simple device, easy to plant, remote triggered. These days they all are. Once you’ve got to the point that you can blow something up using your iPhone …’
‘Quite,’ said King. ‘Well, as long as he does a thorough sweep of the area to ensure there are no other devices to worry about.’
‘On it now, sir,’ Rowlands said.
‘Checked my bedroom myself,’ said Spang. ‘Learn a few tricks when you’re in my game. Nobody loves a banker.’
King didn’t think it was Spang’s profession that made him eminently explodable.
Toby entered with Fratfield, having bumped into him in the corridor outside.
‘You feeling better?’ Toby asked him.
‘Fine, nothing ibuprofen and wine won’t fix.
‘How did King take it?’
Fratfield looked uncomfortable. ‘Honestly, I didn’t know how to explain it so …’
‘You didn’t.’ Toby sighed.
‘I told him we were run off the road by something, and that everything went dark and that you managed to drag me clear. In truth, that pretty much covers it.’
‘I suppose.’
‘Look, I’m not claiming that there was nothing supernatural at work, I just didn’t really know how to explain it. Oh hell, I’m sorry, you must think I’
ve not got your back.’
Toby smiled. ‘Honestly, it’s fine. I remember what it was like when I had to file my first official paperwork. “Saved the world using time travel” doesn’t read well as a summation of an operation. If I’d just left it at “saved the world”, it would have been much easier.’
‘Now you’re just showing off.’
‘Absolutely. Now repay me for saving your miserable life by finding the drinks.’
They moved over to the central table, Toby pretending not to have noticed the frown aimed at him by Rowlands. He turned his back to the man, avoiding the need to ignore any further disapproval.
‘Can I get you an aperitif, gentlemen?’ asked one of the serving staff.
‘You certainly can,’ said Fratfield. ‘What have you got?’
‘Pretty much everything, sir,’ the young man replied with a faint Polish accent.
‘I like it here,’ Fratfield said. He looked to Toby. ‘What do you fancy?’
‘Gin and tonic would be perfect.’
‘My friend is wise in the ways of drink. Make that two.’
Shining was the last to arrive. He put that down to two things: firstly the fact that he had spent half an hour preparing what he hoped would be a very useful method for furthering the investigation; secondly, he was probably the only person in the room who had bothered to tie his own bow tie.
‘Looking terribly handsome as always, darling brother,’ said April, waving him over.
‘You’re too kind,’ he replied, ‘and I haven’t seen you in evening wear this century so, well done to you too.’
‘One tries to make an effort.’
Shining gave a slight bow towards Tae-young. ‘You also look quite wonderful,’ he said.
‘Charm clearly runs in the family, Mr Shining. Your sister didn’t add that to your list of attributes when she explained your work to me earlier.’
‘Call me August, please. I hope April hasn’t been exaggerating too much.’
‘Would that even be possible?’ Tae-young wondered.
‘Actually,’ said Shining after a moment’s thought, ‘probably not. I’m afraid we weren’t supposed to tell you what we do at Section 37.’
‘I know. April did explain your presence here has caused some disagreements.’
‘Oh, just the usual. I’m quite used to it by now. Though the bedrooms are a new low.’
‘I’ve already upgraded,’ said April. ‘I’m next to Tae-young. Nobody puts me in the cellar.’
‘Toby and I are fine where we are, really,’ Shining assured her. ‘It’s no bad thing to be removed from the rest of the party.’
‘At least you’ll avoid all the inevitable bedroom-hopping that’s bound to happen later.’
Tae-young laughed. ‘I can assure you nobody will be coming to my room tonight!’
‘That’s what you say,’ April insisted, ‘but I’ll need somewhere to hide when they all start pestering me.’
At which point the dinner gong was sounded and she took a still-giggling Tae-young by the arm to lead her through to the dining room.
‘A favour,’ Shining said, then whispered in April’s ear. Once he’d spoken, she nodded and gave him a wink.
‘Evening, gentlemen,’ said Shining, crossing over to Toby and Fratfield. ‘I trust you have both recovered from your ordeal this afternoon?’
‘I’m afraid I had difficulty in explaining it to either Rowlands or King,’ Fratfield admitted.
‘I don’t think there was much point in trying,’ Shining reassured him, ‘although I suppose some form of explanation is needed as we’ll both need to put a new car on expenses.’
‘At least “car bomb” has previous history on a claims form,’ sighed Fratfield. ‘I’m not sure “unidentified supernatural force” is likely to swing it.’
‘As a man who once lost a Vauxhall Astra to an angry telekinetic from Bath, I think you may be able to argue there’s a precedent. Shall we eat?’
The table was ornately laid and Toby wasn’t the only one feeling slightly uncomfortable at the idea that they were dining in such splendour given the current situation.
‘I feel like I’m sitting down to a slap-up meal at the Captain’s table on the Titanic,’ he whispered to Shining.
‘It’s always been a peculiarly English habit,’ Shining replied, ‘polishing the silverware and pressing the shirt collars while the enemy advances.’
Toby was momentarily panicked to note that the seating was labelled. He had rather hoped to hide at the far end with Shining. He found himself seated next to Man-dae on one side and Spang on the other. It was all he could do not to commit suicide with his butter knife. On the far side of Man-dae sat Fratfield, so near and yet so far. He could only hope that the Korean would pass out from boredom before he did, so that he could lean over and have a chat to the SIS officer later. Rowlands, opposite Fratfield, was at least a reassuring distance away.
‘You are a secret agent?’ Man-dae asked as Toby tried to busy himself with his serviette in the hope that he could discourage conversation by seeming terribly occupied with matters in his lap.
‘Not so secret now, eh?’ laughed Spang.
‘Sort of,’ Toby replied with what he hoped was a smile that might also serve as a full stop. ‘And you?’
‘I am working in my father’s businesses,’ said Man-dae, ‘which means I am doing nothing. I don’t think he knows what I am for.’
Toby could relate to that.
‘Well, you got a splendid holiday out of it,’ suggested Spang.
Toby decided not to point out it was a ‘holiday’ with a death count.
Man-dae shrugged. ‘It is good to travel.’
Opposite them was Jae-sung, who took pity on Toby and began to tell them all about his time in the UK as a student. It mainly involved drinking and girls. At least it gave Toby the opportunity to eat his soup in silence.
He looked over to Shining, who was in heated conversation with Clive King. His situation could have been worse – that certainly didn’t look like a conversation he wanted to be in the middle of.
By the time the meal was over, Toby had survived it unscathed. He had managed to avoid the most awkward questions, nod in all the right places and at no point had anyone thrown their drink at him. That counted as a success. He had even managed to attack the cheeseboard and win, no small achievement given its size. A large platter of whittled-away remains sat in the middle of the table with a large knife lying diagonally across the crumbs. It looked like a murder scene in a dairy.
‘Well,’ announced April at the top of her voice. ‘As dinners go, that will certainly do. This time last week I considered a Pot Noodle the height of luxury. Who knew there were meals with several courses?’
‘Yes,’ said King, ‘I must thank the kitchen for a job well done.’
Tae-young gave a very diplomatic smile. ‘It was wonderful to enjoy some traditional English food.’
‘Oh, English food is lovely once you get the hang of gravy,’ April assured her. ‘Anyway, what’s the point in your being stranded here if we don’t throw our customs at you? I think it should be our diplomatic mission. So how about a little entertainment?’
‘Entertainment?’ King asked, understandably worried about what April might be suggesting.
‘Absolutely,’ April said. ‘What better way to digest our meal than with a little table magic?’
‘What is table magic?’ asked Chun-hee, trying to keep the scepticism from his voice.
‘Oh, you know,’ April said, ‘a bit of conjuring. August is terribly good at it, aren’t you, darling?’
‘Well …’ Shining shrugged. ‘I’m not too bad but I haven’t really prepared anything.’
Liar, Toby thought, knowing a set-up when he saw one being played out.
‘I’m not sure we need to see anything like that,’ said Rowlands. ‘Why don’t we just retire through to the other room?’ He made to stand up but Toby noticed April giving King a meaningful stare.
‘No,’ said King, ‘why not? Have a seat, Mark. The least you can do is give the chap a chance.’
Rowlands muttered something under his breath but sat back down.
‘What about that one with the funny colours?’ April said.
‘I have no idea which one you mean,’ Shining admitted.
‘You know, that thing you do with the water and the smoke, that makes people go all green.’
‘Oh.’ Shining nodded. ‘That. Well that’s not really conjuring. That’s a bit more scientific.’
‘I doubt that!’ Rowlands scoffed.
Shining looked at him and smiled. ‘You have a real issue with the notion of the preternatural, don’t you, Mark? What is it about it that makes you so angry?’
‘I just don’t like people passing themselves off as something they’re not,’ Rowlands said. ‘Fake mediums, Tarot readers, it’s all junk.’
Shining nodded. ‘Most of it is, yes. In fact, just before I became involved in the conference, it was my job to debunk someone who was, as you say, “passing themselves off” as something they weren’t. It’s not a big part of my job, but I do occasionally have cause to set the record straight with frauds.’
‘So,’ said Jae-sung, ‘you claim that not all of them are?’
‘Frauds? No. Not all of them. Toby gets bored of hearing about my thoughts on this but the important thing to remember about, for the sake of a better word, “magic” is that it is simply another branch of science. It is one that is so old most of us don’t use it any more. It is also one that is so advanced we have yet to understand it. It is both future science and old superstition.’
‘Science?’ Rowlands laughed. ‘You can’t call it that.’
‘Of course I can. Science simply means knowledge. It is the umbrella term we apply to all forms of intellectual and practical study with regards the natural world.’
Man-dae looked towards Tae-young. ‘I do not understand.’
April quickly translated for him.
‘And science has many branches,’ Shining continued, gesturing at one of the waiting staff. ‘Could you bring me a large bowl of tap water please?’ he asked.
‘As I was saying,’ he continued, ‘there are many branches of science. Chemistry, biology, mathematics. The branch that most seems to be opposed to magic is that of physics. The study of energy and matter. The branch of science we most rely on to explain how the world works around us. The science that explains our fundamental reality. But, like all science, our understanding of physics is constantly changing. It adapts as we understand more. It alters to accommodate new discoveries and theories. When Newton discovered gravity, his notions seemed magical. Now we accept them. It’s all just terminology. The miraculous becomes accepted bit by bit. One day, we may even get to the point where there is nothing we deem “magic” – we will just consider it all as part and parcel of our learning as nuclear fission, the speed of light, thermodynamics.’
