‘It’s not funny. Let’s go for a walk. Somewhere quiet,’ Jana suggested, wiping a few tears from her cheek.
The small beach next to the airport was deserted. Listening to the cries of the seagulls and the soothing sound of the waves breaking against the rocks appeared to calm Jana. ‘This is why I was called to Canberra,’ she said, handing a large envelope to Carrington. ‘Open it.’ She turned away and watched the seagulls. Carrington opened the envelope and pulled out a photograph. It showed Jana sitting naked on a table with her legs high up in the air, lustily bearing all. Carrington didn’t realise that the muscular buttocks of the naked, aroused man standing over her belonged to Jack.
‘Where did all this come from?’ he asked, shock and disbelief clouding his face as he reached for the next picture. However, as an experienced barrister he knew how to keep his emotions in check.
‘Newman is suing the Herald, remember? The photos turned up during settlement negotiation.’
‘Jesus! How?’ said Carrington. Noticing Jana’s distress, he put his arm around her shoulders.
‘They were sent to the paper,’ whispered Jana, barely able to speak.
‘By whom?’
‘Anonymously – clever, isn’t it? Just look at the timing. It’s obvious.’
‘Newman?’
‘Who else?’
‘He’s playing dirty. Just like the Hoffmeister caper ...’
‘Well, he’s been rather successful so far, wouldn’t you say? The paper contacted the police immediately and I have been removed from the case,’ Jana said frostily. ‘At least now we know who was responsible for the burglary in Jack’s house, and that horrible beating. The pictures were taken on the same night, and I’m sure he’s behind Warsaw as well. What do you think?’
‘It certainly looks that way, but I’m sure he’s covered his tracks well.’
‘He’s toying with us, Marcus. Can’t we do something?’
Carrington shrugged. ‘I doubt it.’
‘Great! And do you know what’s particularly infuriating?’
‘Tell me.’
‘Newman’s lawyers used the photos as a bargaining chip and forced a settlement. How humiliating can it get?’
Jana told Carrington everything. About her affair with Jack and her feelings for him. And then, how betrayed she felt. She spared none of the details of the meeting.
‘I’ve been taken off the case; I’m now “on leave”,’ she said, gesturing the quote marks. ‘It’s just not done to have the principal investigating officer and the sharp journalist who started it all make whoopee on the kitchen table, is it? For the first time in my life, Marcus, I really don’t know what to do. I feel so – so empty, so alone.’
‘I know how that feels.’
‘I know you do. And I know I can trust you, Marcus,’ Jana said, reaching for his hand. Then Jana began to cry; her tears more of disappointment than self pity. ‘I thought I could trust Jack as well; I was wrong.’
Carrington reached for his handkerchief and began to wipe away the tears on Jana’s cheeks.
‘Last night,’ she said, looking up at Marcus, ‘Jack said nothing. Not a word. He must have known, yet he just let me go ... He said nothing. A true friend could never have done that.’
‘Listen, every cloud has a silver lining, especially storm clouds,’ Carrington said after Jana had stopped sobbing.
‘Oh really? Please do show me, because right now I can’t quite see it,’ Jana snapped. ‘Don’t patronise me!’
‘Nothing could be further from my mind. Truly,’ Marcus went on and turned to face Jana. ‘Listen, I need your help.’
‘In what way?’
‘Haddad called again this morning. There have been certain developments and he needs my help. Turns out that The Defender of the Faith wants to ride into Luxor with his entourage, horses, camels, the full spectacle, no doubt. We know he likes the theatrical. The faithful and the curious are already flocking to Luxor just to see the show. And one more thing,’ added Carrington, lowering his voice.
‘What?’
‘Farim’s been killed. Well, executed would be more accurate. Most horribly, I believe.’
‘He had it coming. You said so yourself. But Marcus, I still don’t understand how you can help Haddad with all this.’
‘You and I are apparently the only two people Haddad can turn to who know what this guy actually looks like. We are the only two who can help him identify the man. Farim’s dead, Horst has never actually seen him and those terrorists in jail, or should I say suspected terrorists, cannot be trusted.’
Jana looked at him. ‘Go on.’
‘I told him we’re in the middle of a trial and couldn’t possibly come right now. We can’t just go and ask the judge to give us a few days off, now, can we? Your Honour, we need a short adjournment while we go to Egypt to hunt down another villain. But don’t worry, we’ll be back soon, to continue prosecuting this one,’ Carrington joked.
‘I guess not.’ Jana began to laugh.
‘Haddad sounded so disappointed. He’d already made the arrangements – flights, tickets, the lot, assuming of course that I’d drop everything and come. He got quite angry, actually. I don’t think he can understand that anything might be more important than hunting down my family’s killer. You know the mentality – an eye for an eye.’
‘Is that why you went to the cemetery?’ Jana asked quietly, putting her hand on Carrington’s shoulder.
He nodded. ‘I was tempted to say yes. I needed a quiet moment to collect my thoughts.’
‘So, what’s on your mind?’
‘I can’t go of course, but now ... well, now it turns out you can!’
‘Are you serious?’
‘Absolutely.’
‘I have to think about it.’
‘Sure, but don’t take too long. Haddad can’t stall for much longer.’
‘Would you do me a favour?’
‘Of course.’
‘Could you drop me off at Jack’s house? We were going to have dinner tonight. I have to talk to him before I go. To Egypt.’
‘Thanks, Jana,’ Carrington said, reaching for her hand.
‘How did it go?’ asked Jack, opening the door with a glass of wine in his hand. Jana walked inside without a word. ‘I booked a table for eight. We have to leave straight away.’
‘We’re not going anywhere, Jack. You knew all along, didn’t you?’
‘What do you mean?’ Jack looked nervous.
‘You know exactly what I mean! Photographs, Jack. The ones taken right here.’ She pointed to the kitchen table. Jack put down his glass.
‘You didn’t say anything last night. Not a word – why?’ Jack looked at the floor. ‘Why didn’t you at least warn me? Didn’t it occur to you that might have been the decent thing to do? I see, you have nothing to say.’
‘Sit down Jana. It’s not quite as simple as that.’
‘I’m not staying, Jack. Marcus, you know, my friend? He’s waiting outside.’
‘Let me explain, Jana. Please.’
‘What could possibly be an explanation for this, Jack?’
‘I was told not to discuss it with anyone. The lawyers were adamant.’ Jack knew it sounded stupid the moment he said it.
‘Tell me, since when are lawyers’ instructions more important than friendship? And trust. You do remember trust? Your words, right here ...’ continued Jana bitterly. ‘I trusted you, Jack.’
‘I didn’t want you to get hurt. I thought it would somehow all blow over without you having to know.’
‘Oh really? Well, it didn’t. The Director showed me the photos this morning. At least he had the tact and decency to let me look at them in private. Can you imagine how I felt? Can you? And I suppose you were the great hero at the paper. Jack the stud at work, fucking his little heart out – all in the line of duty.’
‘It wasn’t like that at all,’ Jack interrupted lamely. ‘I had to sign a confidentiality agreement. It’s all part of my c
ontract.’
‘Don’t give me that crap! Do you know how many rules I’ve broken to pass information to you – to keep you in the loop? Do you? We had a deal, remember? But it turns out you’re not a man to keep a deal. You used me!’
‘We used each other,’ Jack shouted back.
Jana looked at him, turned around and left the house. She did not close the door behind her.
‘How did it go?’ asked Carrington back in the car.
‘Jack is Jack; I should have known better. It’s all my own fault, you know.’
‘How come?’
‘I was stupid. Really bloody stupid. I tried to hold on to something ...’
‘What do you mean?’
Jana stared out the car window. ‘My youth,’ she said quietly.
Carrington had expected quite a different answer.
‘Some men just don’t grow up,’ he said. ‘That’s their charm and their downfall. Jack is one of those, I’m afraid; that’s all. Don’t be too harsh on yourself.’
‘Thanks, Marcus. Kindness comes naturally to you, but it’s true. It’s time for me to move on ... I know it is.’
58
Jana pressed the button on her mobile and glanced at the new text message. It was from Jack. Her first reaction was to press delete. Jack had been phoning all day, but Jana refused to take his calls. She re-read the cryptic message: Must talk. Leaving 2night. Urgent! Professional not personal. Please.
Trying to suppress her resentment, Jana took a deep breath and dialled Jack’s number.
‘You said professional, not personal. What do you want?’ she demanded brusquely.
‘Can’t talk right now; I’m at the airport.’
‘Running away from something?’ Jana asked. ‘I thought you were covering the trial.’
‘Something urgent has come up. Can you come here?’
‘Jack, after all that’s happened, why on earth should I?’
‘I found something else, something important ... in the ashes ...’
‘What did you say?’
‘You heard me. Please, Jana. Just meet me at the departure lounge in an hour, I’ll explain then.’
Jack was waiting in the club lounge. Jana looked straight at him and sat down on the edge of a chair.
‘I don’t want to talk about the other night,’ Jana said, before Jack could say a word. ‘This is strictly professional.’
‘Okay. Drink?’
‘No, thanks. If I understood you correctly, you said that you found something else ... Well?’
Jack opened his briefcase, pulled out a sheet of paper and put it on the table in front of Jana. ‘This is a copy,’ he explained, ‘the original was taken by the burglar. It was only a small scrap of a badly burnt photo. All that was left of it is what you see here.’
Jana looked at the picture. She recognised the man standing in front of what looked like a castle tower.
‘Are you saying you found this in the cottage after the fire and just took it without telling anyone?’
Jack nodded. ‘I didn’t think much of it at the time; so much was going on. I ...just put it in my pocket.’ Jana looked into his eyes without saying anything. ‘I found it by accident, Jana. It was poking out of the rubble – right there in front of me. It must have fallen out of that box. What caught my eye was the SS uniform. It’s the same man, don’t you think?’
‘It would appear so.’
‘There’s something written on the back,’ Jack continued. ‘Same handwriting, just like the writing on the other photo, I’d say.’
‘What?’
‘This,’ replied Jack, handing Jana another page.
‘Montse ...’ Jana read aloud. ‘One word, obviously incomplete. Is that all?’
‘Yes, but it’s a significant word.’
‘What does it mean?’
‘Well, the photo is burnt right up to the “e” here. I’m sure what it said was Montsegur.’
‘Come on, Jack, how can you possibly know that?’
‘The tower. I remembered the ruins – Montsegur in southern France. A place with a notorious, bloody past.’
‘You’ve lost me, I’m afraid.’
‘Here, look, there’s a date as well – in German. Februar 1944. It’s quite a story.’ Jack was interrupted by the boarding call for his L.A. flight. ‘I’ve got to be quick, but, well, a few years ago,’ he continued, ‘I was commissioned by a London paper to write about a man called Berenger Diderot. The BBC was making a documentary about him at the time and there was quite a lot of interest in this enigmatic abbé and his secrets. I actually went to France to do some research. Diderot lived in a small, remote mountain village near Carcassonne. He went there in 1885 as the new parish priest.’
‘So? What’s the big mystery?’
‘It’s a bit complicated but ...’
Jana interrupted. ‘What does this have to do with the Nazi in the picture? Where’s the connection?’
‘I’ve got to go,’ Jack said curtly. ‘Keep the copy, it’s yours.’
‘Come on, Jack. Get to the point. We still have a little time.’
Mollified, Jack continued. ‘All right. The Germans were secretly excavating in the area during the War – especially around Montsegur – looking for something ...’
‘What?’
‘I’m getting to it,’ Jack said. ‘A few years after his appointment, Diderot began to restore the village church,’ Jack continued and leaned to pick up his hand luggage. ‘Will you walk with me? Please ...’
Jana stood up and nodded. ‘Go on. I’m listening.’
‘It won’t take long but really, you need to know this. Turns out during the restoration, he came across an old hollow column. It was from the time of the Visigoths and inside he found some old parchments.’
‘Was that the great mystery – the parchments?’
‘No, not initially – the mystery was Diderot’s extraordinary wealth,’ Jack replied as they hurried to the departure gate. ‘When he discovered the documents in 1891 he was as poor as a church mouse, and then, by 1896 he started spending millions. No one’s ever explained the source of that wealth, but it was rumoured he’d discovered a secret of enormous religious significance, something that could rock the Church. There’s a lot more of course, a lot of speculation and intrigue ...’
‘What about the photo, Jack? Where does that fit into all this?’
‘Jana, look, there really isn’t much time.’ The passengers ahead of them had all gone through. ‘Quickly, here, give me the photo,’ Jack said and put down his briefcase. ‘What do you make of this?’ he asked, pointing to a dark shape next to the officer in the picture.
‘It looks like a crate of sorts. Two crates actually, one on top of the other.’
‘Please sir, you must hurry,’ urged the attendant at the gate.
‘Exactly. And here on the lid of this one, can you see the markings?’
‘There’s something there, but it’s too small. I can’t make it out.’
Jack handed his boarding pass to the attendant, turned around, and put his arms spontaneously around Jana. ‘I know what it is,’ he whispered into her ear. ‘It’s a swastika and a cross, a croix pattee, the cross of the Templars. The same emblems appear in the other picture. On two of the crates by the lake.’
‘You didn’t tell me about that!’
Jack kissed Jana on the cheek before she could pull away. ‘I also know what the Germans were looking for ...’
‘Is that why you were interested in the story in the first place?’
Jack hesitated for a moment. ‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘I’ll make it up to you, I promise,’ he said, and looked into her eyes for a few seconds. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Once broken, some things cannot mend,’ Jana replied, lowering her eyes. ‘I thought you knew that.’
‘You’re wrong; you’ll see,’ said Jack. Picking up his bag, he turned around and hurried through the gate.
Too late, thought Jana, grinding her teeth. Fru
stration had replaced disillusionment.
59
‘I’m beginning to feel a little uneasy about Egypt, you going all by yourself,’ Carrington said, linking arms with Jana as they crossed the park in front of his flat. It was their last evening together before Jana’s departure. Carrington felt the warmth of her touch; an almost forgotten sensation that sent a ripple of guilt racing across his heart. But he sensed something had changed between them.
‘You seem to forget, I’m a big girl. And if I remember correctly, it was your idea.’
‘I know it was, and that doesn’t help either.’
‘Come on, Marcus. It’ll be good for me, you said so yourself.’
‘You’ll miss Benjamin’s big day in court tomorrow.’
‘I know.’ Jana flicked back her hair. ‘I’ll miss more than that,’ she whispered. ‘At least I’m doing something useful, something for ...’ Carrington put his finger gently on her lips, the intimacy of the gesture surprising them both.
‘I know.’
‘This is definitely a first,’ said Carrington, looking for his Bible on the shelf.
‘What do you mean?’
‘A lady suggests we should go back to my place after supper to read the Bible? This was supposed to be a farewell dinner, not Sunday school.’ Carrington put a leather-bound book on the coffee table. ‘Here it is,’ he said, pointing to a page, then went into the kitchen to open a bottle of wine. ‘Drink first, Bible later.’
‘Heathen!’
He sat down next to Jana, and placed the bottle and glasses on the table.
‘It’s rather intriguing, you must admit,’ continued Jana, reaching for her phone. ‘Here, look for yourself. This is the text message Jack sent me from New York: “Exodus, 37”, that’s all it said.’ Jana held up her phone. ‘Typical Jack; always playing games.’
‘Not so sure; I did a little research of my own after you called. There’s quite a bit about Diderot on the internet. Jack was right. The Germans were very interested in Montsegur during the War. All very hush-hush. Montsegur was a Cathar fortress in southern France. It was sacked during the Albigensian Crusade in the thirteenth century. The crusaders called it “Satan’s Synagogue”. After Montsegur fell, hundreds of Cathar heretics and their sympathisers were burnt alive.’
The Empress Holds the Key Page 25
