Page 83 of Traitors Gate

Miles’s mobile began to ring. He answered it and listened for less than a minute, only saying, ‘Understood,’ before he switched it off.

‘Is everything going to plan?’

‘Warwick has just left Buckingham Palace and is on his way to the Tower, so now there’s no turning back.’

‘What can go wrong?’ asked Booth Watson.

‘Everything depends on the timing as they will have no more than ten to twelve minutes at most to pull it off, and should they get it wrong by even a few seconds, the whole operation will go belly up.’

‘But should that happen,’ said Booth Watson, ‘after what we’ve planned for this morning, no one will have any reason to believe you were in any way involved.’

‘Let’s hope you’re right.’

‘Time to move,’ interrupted Booth Watson. ‘I’ve just seen your alibi heading towards us.’ He got up and began walking towards the exit with Miles a pace behind. Booth Watson feigned surprise when he saw Sir Julian Warwick, his junior and his instructing solicitor heading towards them.

‘Good morning, Julian,’ said Booth Watson, while his rival was still a few paces away. ‘What a pleasant surprise. I think you both know my client, Mr Miles Faulkner.’

Sir Julian stopped and offered a cursory nod but didn’t shake hands with either of them.

‘Good morning, Ms Warwick,’ said Booth Watson, giving Grace a perfunctory bow. ‘Allow me to congratulate you on your recent victory, but be assured, young lady, I shall not underestimate you a second time.’

Grace couldn’t hide her disapproval, but somehow managed, ‘Kind of you to say so, Mr Booth Watson.’

‘Well, I won’t hold you up. Good luck, Julian, in whatever case it is you’re prosecuting,’ he added, before he and Miles left them standing there.

‘What was that performance about?’ said Julian as they continued on their way to court number 8.

‘No idea,’ admitted Grace, ‘except that, like my brother, I don’t believe in coincidences.’

‘With that in mind,’ said Julian, turning to his instructing solicitor, ‘perhaps I could ask you, Clare, to find out if Booth Watson had any scheduled cases in the Bailey this morning. Because I suspect those two are up to something.’

Clare made a note while Julian opened the door to court number 8 and stood aside to allow his two colleagues to enter.

• • •

‘So that’s your alibi sorted out,’ said Booth Watson as the two of them stepped out into the street. ‘But I recommend you still carry out the second part of your plan just to make sure no one can be in any doubt that you couldn’t possibly have been anywhere near the Tower at the time.’

Miles nodded and this time he did shake hands with his QC before he left him and headed off towards the Strand. He’d only gone a few yards when his mobile began to ring.

• • •

One of Lamont’s three mobiles began to ring. He grabbed it, assuming something must have gone wrong. This was not a day to be a glass-half-full man.

‘The Lord Chamberlain’s car has just left the palace and it’s now on its way to the Tower,’ confided another voice. ‘Warwick and an officer I didn’t recognize were seated in the back of the Land Rover and both cars are heading up the Mall towards Trafalgar Square,’ said a man who had broken away from the group of tourists to carry out his far better paid job.

‘Then it has to be one, four or five,’ said Lamont, who knew all six routes as well as any taxi driver. ‘Move everyone working on two, three and six to their new locations sharpish,’ he said before cutting the voice off.

He was becoming more nervous by the minute.

• • •

As the two cars swept around Trafalgar Square into Northumberland Avenue and headed towards the Embankment, William picked up the phone in his armrest.

‘Yes?’ said a voice.

‘We’re on our way, sir,’ said William. ‘Should be with you in about fifteen minutes.’

‘What’s the password?’ he asked.

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