Truth and Lies

by Marguerite Valentine

  The ‘usual place’ was a safe house just off Shoreditch High Street. She knew the score. The coffee was awful and she’d had no breakfast, so she bought herself a cappuccino and a cream-cheese bagel from the nearby cafe. Only then, balancing the coffee and bagel in one hand, did she ring the door bell. The door swung open. She walked to the room at the back of the house. Bill was waiting for her and he wasn’t smiling.

  ‘Sit down… So, our weary traveller returns.’ She didn’t answer. ‘You’ve been off the radar. Where were you?’

  ‘I told you. I was going abroad.’

  ‘Abroad. That could be anywhere. Where’s abroad?’ He eyeballed her. Watching her every response, he said, ‘Actually, we know where you were. You were with a certain Sebastian Melbury, also known as Seb Harvey. He’s of significant interest to us.’ He paused, but since she made no response, he continued, ‘I’m not going to waste time. We have reason to believe that at some point he gained unauthorised access to computer material, with intent to commit or facilitate further offences, namely to insert into the said computer, malware, in the form of viruses, worms and Trojans. We’ll charge him once we catch up with him.’

  ‘I know nothing.’

  ‘You’re lying.’ Nixie pulled off a piece of her bagel, dipped it into her coffee and looked thoughtfully at him. He continued, ‘You have no choice. Tell us what you know. That’s what you get paid for.’ She took a sip of her coffee, her gaze focused on the window but remained silent. ‘Look… your silence is pissing me off, well and truly. We have certain rules in this game and you’re not playing by them.’

  ‘I haven’t been up long. I’m thinking.’

  ‘There’s nothing to think about. You’re screwing Melbury and by definition, we know from past experience, yours, and others, he’ll be telling you stuff, stuff that would be of import to us. Stuff we want to know.’

  ‘He’s one of us. Did you know that?’ Bill’s face was inscrutable. ‘Okay, you’re not saying. Well, I will. He works for a private security firm. It’s a big one. International.’ He eyeballed her. ‘What precisely do you want to know?’

  ‘Where he is, for a start.’

  She shrugged, ‘Dunno.’

  ‘Another lie. You do.’

  ‘I’ll tell you as much as I do know, if you tell me the score. What’s going on? Give me a clue.’

  ‘Fuck you, Nixie. Stop playing hard ball.’

  ‘That’s the name of the game. Look, I’m prepared to consider a deal. But before I lay my cards on the table, I have to know more.’

  He tapped his biro irritably on the table, then leant across towards her. ‘We’ve been contacted by security at Langhithe. Thousands have disappeared, they don’t know where, and they don’t like it. A Trojan was inserted into the invoicing system by a person or persons unknown. We’ve done our homework. We’ve come to a conclusion that most probably, it was yours truly. His profile fits.’

  Nixie sniggered. ‘Looked in cyberspace?’

  ‘It’s not funny. As well as that, certain Members of Parliament aren’t pleased, like Makepeace, whose invoices, in particular, have been doctored. In fact, he’s more than not pleased, he’s going to have our guts for garters… so we have to solve it. Otherwise. Cut.’ He drew his hand across his throat. ‘Which has implications for you.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘We won’t be able to afford you.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because. Work it out for yourself. We’ve been watching our little public-school renegade for some time. We’ve got his number. He’s playing both sides against the middle. He can’t be trusted. He did a Masters in Computer Security. He’s angry. He’s out for revenge. He has attitude problems.’

  ‘What’s that got to do with it? Is that all?’

  ‘That’s enough for us to get the thumbscrews out.’

  Nixie stood up and using her hand, swept the crumbs from her bagel onto the floor. ‘I’ve finished breakfast.’

  ‘Good. Pleased to hear it. What about it?’

  ‘I’ve got to go.’

  ‘You know more than you’re letting on.’

  ‘Too right, I do… Are you interested in a deal? Yes or no?’

  ‘Depends on what’s on offer.’

  ‘I need your word first.’

  ‘Okay. I’ll rephrase it. If I give you this info and you go back on your word, I go to the press. I tell them everything. How the Met operates, the truth, the lies, all blown apart. You’ll be exposed, eaten alive. I can guarantee it.’

  He smiled. ‘You’re frightening me. Not. Okay. The info. Let’s hear it, and sit down, you’re making my room untidy.’

  ‘Right, this is the score. I want you to lay off Seb. I don’t know where he is. Besides there’s other fish to fry. Melbury’s the middleman, the other two, Makepeace and Fortescue, are Honourable Members of Parliament but they use their office and contacts to instigate fraud on a grand scale. Money is being siphoned off in shed loads from Langhithe Nuclear Power contracts and that’s where you need to look.’

  ‘How do you know this?’

  ‘I know it, I have contacts, but to continue, that’s government money, taxpayers’ money as the Tory press never tire of telling us. But financial corruption is one thing, bribery another, and, where’s there’s bribery, blackmail is not far behind.’

  ‘Bribery?’

  ‘Sweeteners.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘Like the sexual use of young girls as part payment for contracts.’

  ‘Evidence?’

  Nixie picked up her backpack, drew out the A4 envelope and handed it over to Bill. ‘Photos. I can’t say where they’re from, or who they were sent to, but, take a look.’

  He opened the envelope, took out the photographs, and silently flicked through them: Fortescue with Makepeace dining together in a London restaurant, Fortescue in a pole-dancing club, and entering a flat in the Barbican, a place known to the police for the adherents of sexual-masochism. Finally, a series of images: Makepeace with a very young girl.

  Bill placed them face down on the table and looked intently at Nixie. ‘These turn my stomach. I’ve seen enough. How old is the girl?’

  ‘Don’t know. She looks early teens to me.’

  ‘Same as my daughter. And he’s how old?’

  ‘Sixties, I’d say.’

  ‘Bastard… Where did you get them?’

  ‘I said person or persons unknown.’

  ‘Who?’

  ’I don’t know, but if I did, I still wouldn’t say. They came from two different sources, with two different motives, for all I know. The press know about them. Copies were sent to various investigative journalists. But they can’t be used. They’ve been gagged.’

  ‘How come?’

  ‘When Fortescue and Makepeace got to know of them, they immediately went to Court. Counsel argued publication wasn’t in the public interest, and it was a “breach of their privacy”. The application was successful. Based on that famous case… you know the one, where a well-known businessman liked pretending he’d been a naughty boy at school before he had sex with the matron.’

  ‘Who’s the girl?’

  ‘Her name’s Imogen. Known to Makepeace since she was twelve. She lives somewhere near Aldeburgh, or did, until he got his hands on her. Suffolk Coastal, includes Aldeburgh… You get it?’

  ‘I don’t need a geography lesson. I do, but who’s the source of this info?’

  ‘I just said. The answer’s the same. Person or persons unknown.’

  ‘Seb Melbury?’

  ‘I didn’t say that.’

  ‘We know that lover boy’s home is in Lavenham, and that Aldeburgh happens to be within driving distance. Also, there’s an outstanding assault perpetrated on Makepeace at Aldeburgh. Assailant unknown, or was. Coincidence, isn’t it? Maybe our
Seb could help with the inquiry.’

  ‘You gave me your word.’

  He stared intently at her. ‘So I did.’

  ‘I’ve given you enough information to give them the run around.’

  He smiled. ‘Well, all that remains is for me to say, thank you. Your money will be in your account.’

  ‘So, you can afford me, after all.’

  ‘A joke, Nixie.’

  ‘What’s your next step?’

  ‘You’ll see. The photos, please.’ He put his hand out.

  ‘I’ll get you copies.’

  ‘No copies. I want the ones you just showed me. Pass them over.’

  ‘Don’t lose them.’

  ‘As if. They’ll come in useful.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘I’ll decide later.’ He stood up, winked, and said,‘Off you go and don’t work too hard.’

  Nixie remained sitting, then she said. ‘That comment is worthy of a complaint.’

  ‘For what?’’

  ‘You know “for what”. You’re a sexist pig.’

  ‘Fuck off, have you lost your sense of humour?’ He grinned at her.

  She stood up, gave him a look, gestured with her two fingers, and left.

  She’d got to the end of the road when she realised her mistake; Bill would have no conscience in releasing the photos to all and any social media platforms if he thought that would help the case. She sighed, it was too late to take them back, but since she’d aimed to protect Seb from prosecution in any way she could, that had been achieved, and for the moment, that pleased her.

  — 18 —

  Flori was impatiently waiting in the farmhouse for Rose’s visit, an event to which Nixie felt increasingly hostile. Watching her mother’s excitement rise until she could bear it no longer, she’d eventually told her mother she was going out.

  She’d been sitting outside the pub for what seemed hours, watching the tide creep in. It was as its highest now, the boats gently moving back and forth with the water’s rhythmic flow. Preoccupied with thoughts about how she’d handle Rose’s visit, her mind returned to what she knew about her mother’s friendship with her. Over the years her mother had found it difficult to talk about what had driven her to take the baby, and she was still prone to get upset.

  When she’d applied to work undercover in the Met, she hadn’t been able to keep her mother’s past from her employers. She’d been naive; it hadn’t occurred to her that her parents would be checked out. But they were, and though they knew her father was an environmental activist, she was still taken on. She’d been given a hard time, asked how she could square working undercover with having had a radical upbringing. She’d said that her father was secretive, but her mother seemed to blot out the reality of her past. It wasn’t a proper answer but the questioning went no further.

  Today she had to face up to the reality of her mother’s friendship with Rose and for whatever reason had come back into her mother’s life. There was no avoiding that. It was real and present and she had to deal with it.

  ‘Nixie, what are you doing here?’

  Her father’s voice. She spun round, her eyes filled with apprehension. She might have guessed he could drop by. It was near to the farmhouse and he often liked a pint before going home.

  ‘What’s going on? You look upset.’

  ‘I am,’ she said, speaking quickly, driven by anxiety. ‘It’s Rose. I don’t want her here. I’m frightened of what she might do and say to Mum, and what they might do together. She was a bad influence.’

  ‘Nixie, what happened was years ago, when they were still kids.’

  ‘No, that doesn’t explain it. Not totally, anyway. I’m about the same age as Mum was when she took that baby, and you wouldn’t call me a kid, would you?’

  Matt looked serious. ‘I’m getting a drink. We need to talk. What can I get you? ‘

  ‘Nothing.’

  Matt gave her a look. ‘Okay. I won’t be long. Wait here.’

  She’d moved along the sea wall by the time he came back, and was staring at the tide as it began flowing out from the harbour and into the sea. ‘It’s more private here,’ she said.

  Matt passed her a fruit juice. ‘I know you said you didn’t want anything, but you might like this. You don’t have to drink it.’ He smiled. ‘It’s not compulsory.’

  He sat down next to her. ‘Okay, tell me what’s going on.’

  ‘Have you seen her?’

  ‘Rose? Not yet.’

  ‘Do you know what’s she like?’

  ‘Flori said she’s attractive, good sense of humour, off beat.’

  ‘Off beat. What’s that mean?’

  ‘Well apparently, she dresses in a particular way. Oh, I don’t know. It’s only what your mother has told me. She’s an anthropologist so, you know, she’s unusual.’

  ‘How can you earn a living doing that?’

  ‘She teaches.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘Look, Nixie. This will be the first time I’ve met her and I… ’

  Nixie interrupted him, ‘First time… I thought you knew her already.’

  ‘Nope, never met her before. But what’s bugging you?’

  ‘I’m scared… that she and Mum will do something stupid, out of order, like they did before.’

  ‘Like what?’ Nixie didn’t answer. She looked down at her glass and turned it round and round in her hands.

  ‘You’re being irrational. She sounds totally normal and they plan to just spend time talking, and going for walks.’

  ‘What will they talk about?’

  He sighed. ‘I guess, the usual things women talk about, plus work stuff. I think she’s helping your mother with the paper she’s giving on psychopathy.’

  ‘How would she know about psychopathy?’

  ‘She’s an academic, she knows the score…how to give conference papers.’ Nixie stared out to sea. ‘You’re going to have to meet her at some point, Nixie. Face up to your fears.’

  ‘Why did she want to see mum after all these years?’

  ‘I have absolutely no idea and I’m answering no more questions.’ He glanced at her. She was silent. They both stared out at sea. ‘Did you know your mother and I met here?’

  Nixie turned to look at him. ‘You’re changing the subject. But I did know, Mum told me years ago. You spent an afternoon by the harbour talking until the weather turned, and then you drove her back to the caravan and stayed the night.’

  ‘She told you that?’

  ‘Yes. Love at first sight, that’s what she said.’

  ‘It was.’ He fell silent, before he said, ‘But it wasn’t all straightforward. It took a while before I realised I loved her, and I still do.’

  ‘You’re both romantics at heart.’

  ‘Aren’t you the same? What’s happened to Seb?

  ‘Seb? Surely Mum told you? We split up. In Greece.’

  ‘She did mention it, but not what it was about.’

  ‘He’s difficult, too difficult. Personality issues. He could be brutal.’

  ‘I’m not surprised. There was something about him I didn’t trust. Not sure what it was. He could be glib and his charm didn’t always ring true.’

  ‘No law against charm, is there?’

  He sighed. ‘No, no law. But I always suspect charm. But I could see in your eyes and his,for that matter, there was something between you. Still… it’s a shame, but maybe it wouldn’t have worked.’

  ‘It wouldn’t have worked. I know that.’

  ‘You sound sure. Give yourself some time. See how you feel after a few months.’

  ‘Too late, Dad. It’s over.’

  ‘How’s work?’

  ‘Same as, same as.’

  ‘Isn’t it time you did a proper job?’

 
‘You know I have a proper job.’

  Matt was silent. ‘Do I? You’ve never said what. In fact, if you don’t mind my saying, you’ve always been a tad evasive

  ‘You don’t want to know and I don’t want to tell you.’

  ‘It’s more like you don’t want me to know. Actually, I’m intrigued.’

  ‘I’m a carer. It’s a career of sorts. I can come and go as I want, and that suits me fine.’

  ‘There’s more to your work than that.’

  ‘Like I say, it suits me. You know yourself, some things can’t be spoken of.’

  ‘Well, if I can be of any help.’ He stood up, ruffled her hair. ‘Before you go, what about walking with me up to the headland. We might see an early seal pup.’

  ‘What about your own work?’

  ‘I’ve done enough for today. Testing sea water can wait.’

  Nixie sat in the car for a few minutes before she got out. She walked into the hall, called out she was back, but was met with silence. Her mother must have gone to pick up Rose. The thought put Nixie into a bad mood.

  She walked upstairs to the spare bedroom and looked around. Her mother had put a vase of flowers out for her and by her bed she’d placed a selection of magazines, presumably specially chosen. She picked them up, National Geographic, Psychology Today and even Vogue, which filled Nixie with disgust.

  She walked across to the window and stood looking out. A car pulled into the driveway. Her mother and a tall, slim woman got out. Nixie pulled away from the window. Her father had said Rose was ‘offbeat’ but to her eyes, she looked anything but offbeat. If anything, dressed in jeans and navy blue sweater, she looked boringly normal. However, for her mother’s sake she decided she’d try to be friendly.

  She forced herself to walk downstairs to meet her mother and Rose. Her mother greeted her with a hug and then said, ‘This is Rose.’

  Rose was smiling and holding out an outstretched hand, she said, ‘So you’re Nixie. I’ve heard so much about you from your mother. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’