by Susan Lewis
‘Yes,’ Elliot confirmed, wincing at the mention of Gatling’s name. His car had been parked at the City airport for the past thirty-six hours, so Sam the bug-buster hadn’t got round to it since Leonora’s tip-off. He made a mental note to send Sam down to Heather’s place too, then said, ‘OK, go on.’
‘Well, as I told you before, there was that one time when Colin was a bit drunk and said that Mar – his friend had made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, and he’d made the grandiose mistake of refusing.’
Just like the first time he’d heard her say that, Elliot’s pulse quickened. Here was the link, he was certain of it. Gatling makes Ashby an offer, Ashby refuses, and now, inevitably, Ashby has information Gatling would rather he didn’t have. The most obvious conclusion was that Gatling had invited Ashby to become part of this covert financial syndicate, and to do that he had to tell Ashby what it was. ‘Shit!’ he muttered, braking hard and swerving to the left as he almost missed his turn-off. ‘Are you sure he didn’t tell you what the offer was?’ he said to Heather.
‘I’m sure. It was the only time he ever mentioned it, and that was two days before he was arrested. Do you think it’s connected?’
‘Yes, I do. So if you remember anything else about it, anything at all, I want you to contact me immediately. Can you discuss it with Colin when he calls?’
‘I can try. But I think his calls are monitored.’
‘Oh, they will be,’ he assured her. ‘In fact, on second thoughts, don’t bring it up. It’ll only alert someone to the fact that you know there was an offer, and that might not be a good idea.’ In fact, he was starting to see some logic now to Ashby’s desire for her existence to be made public, for in its way it did make her safer. In other words, the Gatlings would find dealing with someone under the public spotlight a lot harder than trying to tackle them in the shadows of obscurity. However, he, Elliot, had to remember that it was Leonora who had brought Heather to his attention in the first place, which suggested she didn’t view Heather so much as a threat, as some kind of weapon or tool. Whatever, there certainly appeared to be a war being waged between Ashby and the Gatlings, and so far Ashby’s chances of winning weren’t looking good.
‘When you told Colin about me,’ Elliot said, ‘did he ask how I’d managed to find you?’
‘Yes, actually, he did.’
‘What did you tell him?’
‘That I didn’t know.’
It was true she didn’t, but Ashby at least must have a pretty good idea. Putting the press on to his mistress was a shot across the bows, a warning to let him know that the Gatlings knew about her and would, if necessary, use her to keep him quiet. And Ashby had retaliated by telling Heather to co-operate with the press, thereby gaining their protection.
‘Who’s there with you now, besides Jessica?’ Elliot asked, hearing a voice in the background.
‘Just Gail, from your office. She’s saying that it’s only a matter of time before a neighbour, or someone from Jess’s playschool, calls another paper to tell them where I am.’
‘They’ve probably already done it,’ he assured her. ‘Is there somewhere else you can stay?’
‘Yes. At my mother’s. She’s expecting us in an hour or so. I’d like Gail to come too, if that’s OK. Just to keep me company on the journey.’
‘No problem,’ he said, responding to the nervousness in her voice. ‘She’s yours as long as you need her. And don’t worry. You’ll be all right. Nothing’s going to happen to you. I’ve got another call coming in now, but I’ll get back to you later, OK? And you know where to reach me if you need me.’
‘OK.’
He clicked off the line, then picked up again. ‘Elliot Russell,’ he barked, speeding through an amber light, as he headed on to the Isle of Dogs.
‘It’s Laurie Forbes.’
His foot instantly relaxed, slowing the car as his mind performed a jarring change of gears.
‘Laurie,’ he said, keeping it light. ‘I’m surprised.’
‘I’m returning your call,’ she said shortly.
‘Of course. But I’m still surprised.’
‘Just tell me what you want.’
‘To help you,’ he said. ‘I know you’re still working on the Ashby story and I’ve got something here that might interest you.’
There was only silence at the other end, but he could almost see her blue eyes flashing. How those eyes, so like her sister’s, still haunted him.
‘I can get you in to talk to Sophie Long’s family,’ he said abruptly.
There was another brief pause, then she said, ‘If you’re giving it to me it’s because they’ve got nothing to say.’
‘Wrong. I’m giving it to you because Mrs Long has expressed a preference for a woman.’
‘As I recall you have at least two on your team.’
‘One,’ he corrected. ‘Which goes to show what a male chauvinist I am, I know. So now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s go straight to the bottom line, I don’t need another exclusive, but I do need your forgiveness.’
‘You’ll never get that,’ she hissed, ‘and if this is your way of buying it –’
‘OK! Have it your way. But before you turn me down, at least think about it.’
Her answer was to cut the line dead.
At her end Laurie was in a cold sweat. Her hands were shaking, her heart pounding. It was the first time she’d spoken to Elliot Russell in a year, and though she knew hearing his voice would affect her, she hadn’t imagined it would be to quite this extent.
‘Are you OK?’ Gino asked, peering at her across the desks.
Laurie looked up, took a breath then nodded. ‘Yes,’ she answered. ‘Just conversations with Satan can be a bit disconcerting.’
‘So what did he want?’
Laurie told him.
‘You’re kidding me,’ Gino responded. ‘And you turned him down? Laurie, for God’s sake …’
‘All right! All right! You don’t have to remind –’
‘Laurie, five minutes,’ Wilbur barked, appearing out of nowhere.
‘Shit!’ she muttered, after he’d closed his door. ‘I need more time to think.’
‘What’s to think about?’ Gino hissed. ‘Do you want to keep at this, or don’t you?’
‘Of course. I just want to do it myself,’ she replied, feeling foolish even as she said it.
‘Then look on Russell as a source,’ Gino advised. ‘If this offer had come from anyone else, you’d be in Wilbur’s office faster than you can say “hold the front page”.’
‘Hey, what’s new?’ Flaxie cried, swinging round the partition into their shared corner space.
‘Elliot Russell’s just offered Laurie an in with Sophie Long’s family,’ Gino told him.
Flaxie’s eyes bulged. ‘Well, I guess you know how Christ felt in the wilderness now,’ he responded. ‘Satan’s temptations are always the hardest to refuse. Incidentally, did you two get back on speaking terms without telling me?’
‘Absolutely not,’ Laurie answered.
‘So have you got any other leads on this tantalizing little scandalum magnatum? Because you missed out big time on the mistress and love-child.’
Laurie’s mouth tightened. ‘Thanks for that,’ she spat.
‘So what are you waiting for?’ he cried. ‘Principles are too high a price for ambition.’
Even feeling as she did, she couldn’t help laughing at that.
A few minutes later she let herself into Wilbur’s office and sat in the chair he waved her to. After he’d finished his call, he told his assistant to hold any others, then firing glances up and down the office outside, he said, ‘I don’t want you to pretend that you’re not pursuing the Ashby story, contrary to orders –’
‘I don’t recall any direct orders,’ she interrupted. ‘And besides, I’ve been doing it in my own time.’
‘Laurie, I’m not stupid. You’re doing it on company time too, and frankly it’s a shame your efforts didn’
t pay off with the mistress and child. Do you know how Russell found them?’
She shook her head.
‘No, of course not. Who knows how the hell that man finds anything?’
‘He has a whole team of researchers and more contacts …’
‘… than an optician. I know, I know,’ he said, waving for her to stop, ‘and it was always expected that he’d solve the mystery, so now he has.’
‘What are you talking about, solved?’ she cried. ‘It’s anything but solved.’
‘Laurie, how many motives does it take to convince you that Ashby did it?’
‘I’m not saying he didn’t. But I’m telling you, it’s not as straightforward as Sophie Long blackmailing him over the mistress and child.’
‘OK. What evidence do you have to back that up?’
‘None, at the moment,’ she confessed, ‘but I’ve just been given a lead to Sophie Long’s family.’
Wilbur scowled. ‘By whom?’
‘I can’t tell you that. You know sources are sacred.’
‘How reliable is this source?’
‘Very.’
He stared at her hard, his eagle eyes constantly flicking sideways, though never seeming to release her. In the end he shook his head. ‘We need you full time back on the news,’ he said.
Laurie almost gasped. ‘But I just told you, I had a lead,’ she protested.
‘The man’s guilty, Laurie. Live with it and get on with your life. There’s some kind of trouble expected at –’
‘No, wait!’ she said angrily. ‘My source is Elliot Russell, OK? I spoke to him this morning. He’s prepared to give me the Longs.’
Wilbur’s left eyebrow went up. ‘Why would he do that?’ But before she could answer he said, ‘No, the man’s got an agenda where you’re concerned Laurie, and I don’t trust him. So forget it. If anything new comes to light on the Ashby affair –’
‘It just has!’ she cried in frustration. ‘That’s what I’m telling you. We can have an exclusive with Sophie Long’s family.’
‘Courtesy of Elliot Russell,’ he snorted. ‘Come on, Laurie, we both know things aren’t entirely uncomplicated where you two are concerned.’
‘But if I can get to the Longs, if I can find out something –’
‘Laurie, are you watching my lips? Forget it.’
‘But why? For God’s sake, Wilbur, what you’re doing doesn’t make any sense –’ She stopped, so suddenly that his eyes widened in surprise. Then he watched her, as she sat there, glaring at him, her young face flushed with anger, her shrewd eyes flashing the challenge he’d been trying to avoid. In the end she said, ‘I’m not stupid either, Wilbur.’
He rested his forehead in his hand, pressing the frown lines out from between his eyebrows. ‘OK,’ he said finally, returning to his sweeping glances of the outer office, ‘I’ll give it to you straight, but it goes no further than this office, do you hear me? If it does it’ll be me who pays, so don’t forget I’m the one with the hundred-and-twenty-K mortgage and three kids in private school, so I can’t afford the luxury of your principles, though God knows, in this case, I wish I could. Something’s going on, and it’s probably a lot bigger than you think. I don’t know who’s giving the orders, but I do know they’re coming from way up, and I’m in no position to argue. Nor are you, if you want to keep your job. So do as they say, Laurie, ease up on the investigation and toe the official line of Ashby’s guilt.’
Even though she’d known there was a cover-up, hearing it like this left her momentarily stunned. ‘You surely don’t think I’m just going to walk away from it now?’ she said.
‘No, you probably won’t, but you should. As far as this paper’s concerned we know all there is to know on this little calumny. The rest is going to be speculation, embellishment or more tabloid-style scandals, and in case you hadn’t noticed we don’t trade in those particular commodities.’
At that her eyes flashed. ‘I don’t deserve that kind of put-down,’ she spat, ‘especially not from you.’
‘You’re right, you don’t,’ he responded, ‘but keep up the fire, because you never know who’s watching. Most of those guys out there are prepared to do as they’re told and back off. They’ll have their own reasons – long-time friendships, called-in favours, whatever. The point is you’re seriously pissing them off by not letting go too.’
‘I’m not afraid of them,’ she declared rashly.
‘I know. That’s half the trouble. But watch your step, OK? I can’t cover you on this, nor can I sit here all day discussing it. So the official line is, you’re off the Ashby story, and as I started to tell you just now, they’re expecting some kind of disruption over at Lambeth Town Hall …’
‘I already know,’ she snapped, and, spinning on her heel, she stalked out of the room.
Later, as she sat at the back of the town hall with a group of other reporters waiting, apparently in vain, for something even mildly exciting to happen on the podium, she was reluctantly facing up to the unthinkable. If Wilbur wouldn’t, couldn’t, back her on this, then the only way forward as she could see it was to do as Chilton said and co-operate with Elliot Russell. Even to think it caused a violent rebellion inside her, since, at the very least it would mean calling him to accept his offer, and at the very worst … But no, she wasn’t going there, because just no way in the world was she prepared to forgive him – it wasn’t even up for discussion – so if that was his condition … More dismay engulfed her, for both Chilton and Wilbur had stated their cases so clearly and unequivocally that she really didn’t have any choice but to accept that for the moment at least there wasn’t an alternative.
Inwardly groaning she got up from her seat and crept outside into the sunshine. Along with everything else, Beth Ashby had been on her mind almost constantly today. She wondered if Elliot had given her any warning of the story, or maybe Beth had known for a long time that her husband was leading this double life. But even if she had, it still had to be pretty devastating, having it all come out like this, and in the light of her two miscarriages and all the failed fertility treatment there surely couldn’t be a woman in the country who wasn’t feeling for her today.
‘Laurie Forbes,’ she said into her mobile as it rang.
‘It’s Rhona Childs. Your closest friend. Remember?’
‘Oh God, Rhona,’ she groaned. ‘I’m sorry. It’s been such a hectic time. How are you?’
‘Sizzling. How are you?’
‘Surviving,’ Laurie answered, starting out into the street to wave down a cab. ‘Where are you?’
‘Sunning my gorgeous self on the balcony at home. Can you hear me OK?’
‘More or less. Wait, I’m just getting into a cab.’ A couple of minutes later she was settled in the back seat on the way to Limehouse. ‘So what’s new?’ she said.
‘Actually, something that might interest you,’ Rhona replied, her voice thickening with intrigue.
Laurie smiled. ‘I’m all ears,’ she responded.
‘Well, would I be right in thinking you’re still sniffing around for a scent on the Ashby trail?’
Surprised, Laurie said, ‘Yes. Why?’
‘Because we’ve just signed a first-time author for over a million.’
‘And?’ Laurie prompted.
‘And the colleague who’s been assigned to the publicity isn’t allowed to use this author’s real name anywhere, nor is said author going to make any public appearances. Of course, I couldn’t tell you any of this if she’d been assigned to me, but since she hasn’t, and since the last time we spoke you mentioned you’d been trying, with no success, to contact her …’
Laurie’s heart rate was climbing. ‘Rhona, coitus interruptus I can stand, tip-off interruptus I can’t. Don’t stop now!’
Rhona chuckled. ‘Her author name is Ava Montgomery,’ she responded. ‘There’s going to be a small reception for her at Buchmanns’ main offices on Friday at three. It should be finished by four. Whether she’ll enter and
leave the building alone, or accompanied I’ve no idea. My guess is her agent’ll be with her, though she might arrange to meet him here. No press invited. What am I saying? No one but a very select few are invited. It’s all very hush-hush, so however you design your chance encounter you’ll need to make it convincing.’
‘Rhona, I love you,’ Laurie laughed. ‘If you had any idea how utterly spectacular your timing is …’
‘It has been mentioned,’ Rhona purred. ‘What news on Greg?’
‘Still history. I need a man who doesn’t see my career as a threat.’
‘Then you could be looking a long time. What about your parents?’
‘They’re fine.’
‘Good. Send them my love. Dinner next Thursday? My club.’
‘I’ll check my diary and get back to you.’
Laughing, Laurie rang off and keyed in the code to replay her messages. Rhona was nothing if not grand, with her sultry airs and memberships to all the right places. The latest was the exclusive Home House on Portman Square, where all the fabulously successful young executives went to get blitzed on champagne and cosmopolitans after a hard day’s graft on millionaire row. Exactly how Rhona, a lowly paid publicist, had managed to acquire herself a membership, Laurie had no idea, but ever since she and Lysette had met Rhona, at an art class Lysette had dragged Laurie along to, they had been constantly surprised and impressed by the kind of snazzy deals the high-born, but stony-broke, Rhona could pull off.
After listening to a message from Gino, who was on his way to Scotland and wanted her to do some background work on the story he was covering, Laurie skipped on through the list until she heard her mother’s voice saying she’d just left the hospital with Dad.
‘Nothing serious. He’s all right, but he gave us a bit of a scare earlier. If you could –’
Laurie was already punching in her parents’ number. ‘Mum?’ she gasped when her mother answered. ‘What happened? Where is he?’
‘Sitting right here on the sofa. It was just a funny turn. Nothing to get –’
‘Then don’t do that!’ she cried. ‘You scare me half to death, then you tell me he’s right there.’
