One False Move

by Robert Goddard

  There’s a light in his window. I ring the bell for his flat. No response. I ring again. There’s a crackle of static. ‘It’s Nicole Nevinson, Colin. Can I speak to you? It’s just me.’ No answer. He seems to be thinking about it. Then the door-release buzzes. I go in and climb the stairs.

  He’s opened his door already. It’s standing ajar. I push it open, call his name and go in. The lights are on in the hall, kitchen and lounge, doubled and tripled in the mirrored walls. But I can’t actually see Colin.

  I go into the lounge. He isn’t there. ‘Colin?’ I call again. No answer. The flat is silent. Now, suddenly, I’m spooked. I turn back towards the hall.

  There’s a figure in the doorway, blocking my exit. Frank Scaddan, the thug from Admiral’s Reach. He has the same blankly menacing gaze I remember. He’s chewing gum and looking at me as if he can’t quite decide what to do with me.

  ‘Hello,’ he says casually. ‘What brings you here?’

  ‘Where’s Colin?’ I ask, trying desperately to understand how Scaddan has entered Colin Bright’s world.

  ‘Dunno. Doesn’t matter. You’re here.’

  ‘Well, I’m leaving.’ The assertion sounds hollow even to me. I advance towards him. He doesn’t move.

  ‘You’re going nowhere.’

  ‘Get out of my way.’

  ‘Where does Bright stash his secrets? Got a safe, has he? Some hidey-hole? Must be somewhere, behind one of these fucking mirrors. I’m tired of looking. Why don’t you show me?’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  ‘No? Then why’d you come here?’

  ‘None of your business.’

  ‘My business is whatever I make it. Right now it’s digging out anything Bright’s squirrelled away. So, let’s start with what you wanted off him. Then we can move on to where he might’ve put it.’

  ‘Did Marianne send you here?’ My brain is spinning. It’s as hard to imagine who else could have as it is to understand why she should have. What the hell is going on?

  ‘What did you come here for?’

  ‘I don’t have to explain myself to you.’

  He sniggers. ‘’Course you do.’ Then his right arm shoots towards me. I see the suddenness of the move reflected in the nearest mirror, but I’m too slow to react. The heel of his hand strikes me hard on the bridge of my nose and the next thing I know I’m lying on my back with a literally blinding pain between my eyes and heavy weights pressing down on my shoulders.

  As soon as I can see again, I realize Scaddan’s sitting on my ribcage, with his knees pinning my shoulders to the floor. I try to squirm free, but of course that’s pointless; he’s far too strong for me. His hand closes round my throat. He forces my jaw back so it becomes difficult to breathe.

  ‘Why are you here?’ His voice has a rasping note.

  ‘I … came to see Colin.’

  ‘What about?’

  ‘I … hoped he could help me.’

  ‘What with?’

  ‘I don’t want to … get caught up in those murders … in Cornwall. I just … thought he could … keep me out of it.’

  ‘How’s big boy Bright gonna do that?’

  ‘No idea. I just … didn’t have anywhere else to turn.’

  ‘Has he got some dirt on Hexter?’

  Hexter? What do Scaddan and Marianne Vogler have to do with Hexter? They shouldn’t even know his name. ‘I don’t know who—’

  ‘Bullshit.’ His grip tightens. ‘You know who he is. It’s why you’re here.’ I see something moving behind him. It’s reflected in the mirror behind me. I can’t work out what it is. Scaddan doesn’t seem to notice. ‘You’d better—’

  Suddenly, an inverted Colin Bright swings into my field of vision. There’s a click that stops Scaddan in mid-sentence. I feel him tense above me.

  ‘I’ll shoot you if I have to,’ says Bright.

  ‘You don’t want to do that,’ says Scaddan.

  ‘Get off her.’

  ‘OK. OK.’

  Scaddan moves his knees away from my shoulders and stands up. I tilt my head forward and look up. Bright’s holding a gun, in a way that suggests it’s not something that comes naturally to him. He’s pressing the barrel against Scaddan’s neck, with his finger curled round the trigger. Scaddan’s stopped chewing. But he doesn’t look frightened or intimidated. He doesn’t look as if he’s lost control of the situation at all.

  ‘What now, Col?’ he asks.

  ‘Who sent you here?’

  ‘Can’t discuss that.’

  ‘It was Marianne Vogler,’ I say, scrambling to my feet. ‘It has to have been.’

  ‘Why did she send you here?’ demands Colin.

  Scaddan doesn’t reply. It doesn’t look as if he’s minded to. ‘He said he was looking for … secrets,’ I put in.

  ‘Got a few of those, Col, I bet,’ says Scaddan.

  ‘You’re going to tell me who sent you here and why.’ Bright sounds frustrated that, despite having a gun in his hand, he can’t seem to impose his will on Scaddan.

  ‘No can do. Sorry. Best I can offer is to get out of your hair. Not that you’ve got any. But you know what I mean.’

  ‘What secrets are you looking for?’

  ‘Any you’ve got. But let’s leave it for now, hey? I’ll be off.’

  ‘You’re going nowhere until you’ve answered my questions.’

  ‘You’re not going to shoot me, Col. Not deliberately. Not in cold blood. You haven’t got it in you. On the other hand, I don’t want that gun going off by mistake while it’s pointing at my head, so I’ll just … leave you to it.’

  Scaddan moves slowly, stepping carefully away from Bright and circling towards the door. Bright turns and tracks him with the gun, but he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t tell him to stop. Because he knows Scaddan won’t stop. And he also knows he won’t be able to stop him.

  Scaddan moves out into the hall. Bright heads after him and I follow. Scaddan doesn’t look back until he reaches the front door. He glances at us in the nearest mirror as he swings the door open.

  Then he’s gone, the door clunking shut behind him.

  Bright hurries along the hall and bolts the door top and bottom. Then he peers through the spy-hole. ‘He’s gone,’ he announces, stepping back and turning towards me.

  A few seconds pass in silence as we look at each other. Bright’s face is as pale as marble. He leans forward, breathing heavily. I wonder for a moment if he’s going to be sick.

  Then he stands upright, takes a deep breath and walks into the kitchen, where he places the gun carefully in one of the drawers. ‘Sorry,’ he says, sliding the drawer shut. ‘That was all a bit … heavy.’

  ‘Are you all right?’ I ask.

  He turns and looks at me. ‘I should be asking you that. What happened?’

  I explain briefly how I came to be in his flat, though I can’t explain how Scaddan came to be there, of course.

  Bright sighs. ‘Scaddan must have had a key if he didn’t break in, which it doesn’t look as if he did. Christ. The caretaker. The management company. I can’t trust anyone.’

  ‘He asked if you had any dirt on Hexter.’

  ‘I wish I did. Then at least I’d have some way of retaliating. As it is …’ He gives me a crumpled smile. ‘Let’s go and sit down. D’you want a drink? I’ve got gin or whisky.’

  I opt for gin and we go into the lounge. Bright pours gin and just a dash of tonic into a pair of glasses and hands me one. He takes a deep swallow of his before he sits down.

  I tentatively finger the area where Scaddan struck me. It feels tender.

  ‘What happened there?’ Bright asks.

  ‘He hit me.’

  ‘Fuck. Hold on.’ He levers himself out of his chair and heads back to the kitchen. He returns with a bagful of ice, dollops a couple of lumps into each of our drinks, then wraps a small towel round the bag and hands it to me. ‘That should help.’

  ‘Thanks.’ I press the b
ag against the bridge of my nose. And the numbing effect of the ice does help.

  ‘Marianne Vogler’s the missing wife of the late Conrad Vogler, correct?’ says Bright.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then I can only suppose Hexter’s hired her to cut a few corners for him. Deal with stuff he can’t put through the Service. Deal with me.’

  ‘I guess so.’

  ‘I didn’t know he had me down as any kind of threat.’

  ‘Well, it looks like he does.’

  ‘Fucking hell.’ Bright swallows some more G & T, then tops up his glass. ‘I don’t have the temperament for this kind of thing, I really don’t.’

  ‘I don’t either.’

  ‘No. Of course not. Sorry. I just … don’t know what to do. Alan obviously had hopes of Norrback riding to the rescue. But that’s been nixed now.’

  ‘You know about Norrback?’

  ‘Tahvo Norrback, seventy-eight-year-old retired Finnish civil servant, detained on arrival at Heathrow this afternoon on Hexter’s orders. He must have put him on a watch list. Officially, Norrback’s being questioned about facilitating money laundering for the Russian Mafia. But that’ll go nowhere. You and I both know he was detained because he hosted the meeting with Viktor Slavsky in Helsinki in 1989 that ended in Slavsky’s death. My guess is he was bringing something Alan hoped to use against Hexter. That must have been Hexter’s guess too. Am I right?’

  There seems no point denying it. I nod.

  ‘Well, whatever it was – and I’d much rather not know – Hexter will have it now. He’ll let Norrback go in a few days. Otherwise the Finns will start kicking up a fuss. But he won’t be any use to Alan then, will he? He won’t have what Alan needs.’

  ‘No.’ I gulp down some of my G & T and hold out my glass for a refill. ‘If Hexter’s intercepted Norrback …’

  ‘You’re screwed?’

  ‘Pretty much.’

  ‘We’re screwed, in fact, since Hexter’s evidently bracketed me with the enemy as well.’

  ‘What should we do, Colin?’

  ‘I told Alan Sunday night the best thing he could do, for you and himself, was disappear. Hexter’s armour-plated. You’ll never penetrate his defences.’

  ‘What about you?’

  ‘I don’t know. I’ll sleep on it. Does Alan know you’re here?’

  ‘No. But he may have guessed.’

  ‘Then he’ll call me at some point. You’d better stay here tonight in case Scaddan’s hanging around out there. With the bolts over, we’re safe for now.’

  ‘What was Scaddan looking for, Colin?’

  ‘Anything he could find, I imagine. Maybe Hexter thinks I’ve come closer to tracking down Chen Shufan than I really have. Scaddan drawing a blank will reassure him about that, but you turning up …’ More G & T goes down. ‘D’you know what I’ve learnt from all this, Nicole? Look after number one and leave everyone else to fight among themselves. All I want is a quiet life. Thanks to letting my suspicions about Hexter run away with themselves, that’s not what I’m going to get.’ Another refill. ‘Ever.’

  ‘Sorry.’ Quite why I say that when I’ve every reason to feel sorrier for myself than for Bright I don’t know, but looking at his forlorn little-boy-lost expression and the self-pity in his eyes, I do feel sorry for him.

  ‘Thanks. You being here is a comfort in some ways, I suppose.’

  ‘It is?’

  ‘Well, let’s face it, Nicole. You’re in even worse trouble than I am.’ He smiles weakly. ‘More gin?’

  Wednesday October 16

  I didn’t expect to sleep well, but mysteriously I have. When Bright wakes me with a cup of tea, I’m aware of a stiffness around the bridge of my nose. It’s swollen, but there’s no pain unless I press it, and my head feels surprisingly clear.

  Bright sits on the end of the bed in his bathrobe, sipping his tea and grimacing as if he’s psyching himself up to break some bad news.

  ‘What’s wrong, Colin?’ I prompt him.

  ‘Soho’s never so quiet as first thing in the morning,’ he murmurs.

  ‘Colin?’

  ‘I have to go. I’ve thought about it all night. I’m just not up to this, Nicole. Guns. People like Scaddan. I can’t cope with that kind of thing. It’s not my … métier.’

  ‘It’s not mine either.’

  ‘Of course it isn’t. Which is why you really must persuade Alan to get you out of the firing line as well. For myself, I’m going into self-imposed exile, which I hope will convince Hexter I’m not a serious threat to him. My mother lives in Canada with my sister. She’s not getting any younger. And she’s not been well. I should go and see her before it’s too late. Indefinite compassionate leave.’ He sighs heavily. ‘I should be able to swing that.’

  ‘When will you go?’

  ‘Oh … today.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘There’s no time like the present.’ He smiles weakly. ‘Don’t fool yourself, Nicole. You can’t win against someone like Hexter. You can only avoid losing. If you’re lucky. Which I hope you are. I’ve never been. Particularly. Lucky, that is. So, I have to … make the best of the situation I’m in.’ He smiles again, a little more broadly. ‘To business. Alan called last night. He knows you’re here. It was a brief call. I told him you’d fill him in on what’s been happening. Talking on the phone is just too risky now. If Hexter’s capable of sending Scaddan after me, tapping my landline won’t be a problem. Alan’s waiting for you at the hotel where you’ve been staying. I don’t know where that is and obviously I don’t want to know. But you should certainly go back there. Alan’s your best chance of getting out of this. Your only chance, actually.’

  ‘Did he sound … angry at me?’

  ‘No. He was his usual pragmatic self. Quite a contrast with my … panicky vapourings.’ Bright stands up and peers at me. ‘That’s quite swollen. I’m sorry I … didn’t get here sooner.’

  ‘It wasn’t your fault.’

  ‘I’m sorry anyway. And for being so … useless. Tell Alan that, won’t you?’

  ‘If you want me to.’

  ‘I think I do. Also …’ His voice peters out. He frowns, then shrugs. ‘Well, I wish you both the best of luck.’

  It’s still the rush hour when I leave the flat. I reason there’s safety in numbers. The traffic’s diabolical, so I decide to walk some of the way back to Shepherd’s Bush. I head along Piccadilly, feeling conspicuous but knowing I’m not. I keep glancing over my shoulder in case Scaddan’s following me. But there’s no sign of him.

  Scanning passing faces for Scaddan’s leaves me unprepared, though, for the shock that’s waiting as I pass the entrance to Green Park Tube station, just after the Ritz arcade. Bernice Younger, Venstrom’s HR director, emerges from the crowd at the top of the steps and looks straight at me.

  ‘Oh my God. Nicole? Is that you?’ Bernice is a big, friendly, energetic woman and her smile at the sight of me is so genuine it nearly makes me cry.

  I stop dead, uncertain what to do or say. She probably has tons of questions she wants to put to me. But I’m not sure I can safely answer any of them.

  ‘Bernice,’ I begin. ‘I …’

  ‘Where have you been? Everyone’s been worried sick about you and Carl. What the hell happened to you guys? Are you OK?’

  She’s probably referring to the way I’m dressed. Although she may have spotted my swollen nose as well. What’s happened to me more generally she wouldn’t believe. ‘What have the authorities told you?’

  She frowns. ‘All we know is that you and Carl went missing at the end of last week just after laying on that Go demonstration with Joe Roberts. We’ve been trying frantically to contact you ever since. Everyone wants to know where Joe is as well. We can’t get any sense out of his mother. I’m on my way to a breakfast meeting with Billy. He flew over with Bruno Feltz as soon as he realized what a big thing we’re on to. He’s staying at the Ritz. Bruno will be there as well. They’ll be massively relieved to see
you, let me tell you. You’d better have a good explanation for keeping them in the dark, though.’

  ‘I can’t see them, Bernice.’

  ‘What? That’s crazy. Come in with me and we can sort all this out.’ She steps towards me, intending, I sense, to take my hand for some motherly comfort. But I step back, bumping into someone in the process but preserving the distance between us. ‘What’s wrong, Nicole?’

  ‘You don’t understand. This is out of Billy’s control.’

  ‘What? What’s out of Billy’s control? What do you mean?’

  ‘Carl’s dead.’

  Bernice grimaces with shock. ‘What did you say?’

  ‘Carl’s dead. And I’m lucky to be alive myself.’

  Bernice doesn’t look as if she believes me. ‘You’re not making any sense, Nicole. Carl’s dead? That can’t be right. We’d surely have … Come and talk to Billy. We can sort this out.’

  ‘Billy can’t help me. Neither can you. I’m not sure anyone can.’

  ‘Just come and talk, OK? Just talk. Explain what’s happened.’

  ‘No. There’s nothing I can say that you’ll believe. I have to go.’

  ‘Go where?’

  I don’t answer. I break into a jog and run into Green Park. Bernice calls after me and starts to follow. But there’s no way she’s going to be able to keep up with me. I speed up along the perimeter path. Her voice grows fainter. I glance back and spot her in the distance, staring after me. And I can almost see the bafflement on her face.

  There was a moment I was tempted to let her usher me in to see Billy. Initially, at least, Venstrom’s resources would be put at my disposal. Support would be offered. Guarantees would be given. But they’d count for nothing in the end. Venstrom can’t help me. I wish they could. But I know they can’t. Billy Swarther has built a multinational company by doing deals and seeing the big picture. But there’s no deal to be done here. He doesn’t realize it, but the truth is that, for once, he’s out of his league.