Page 107 of An Eye for an Eye

‘And, what’s more,’ continued Booth Watson, sounding even more confident, ‘I couldn’t help noticing that the distinguished professor is not present today.’

‘No,’ said Shaw. ‘The professor returned to Princeton last night, unaware that you would be demanding to see us this morning.’

‘So I’m bound to ask,’ Booth Watson went on, ‘from whom you obtained the letter.’

‘From a member of the Hartley family is all I’m at liberty to say,’ said Shaw.

‘But that’s not possible,’ Miles blurted out.

‘That’s an interesting admission,’ said Buchanan, ‘which would rather lead one to believe—’

‘I don’t have to remind you,’ said Booth Watson, gripping his client’s arm, ‘this is a “without prejudice” meeting, and nothing said in this room can be repeated in a court of law.’

‘But if it were to end up in a court of law,’ said Shaw, ‘let me assure you Professor Rosenberg will confirm this letter is genuine.’

‘Then it will be his word against mine,’ said Faulkner.

‘Let’s hope so,’ said Shaw.

Buchanan allowed himself a smile before he said, ‘We accept without question that Mr Faulkner purchased a Fair Copy of the Declaration in good faith, and with that in mind, we are willing to reimburse your client the five hundred thousand he paid for the document, as well as any reasonable expenses he may have incurred in the process.’

‘Dream on,’ said Miles, unable to remain silent any longer. ‘We will be demanding at least forty million, not to mention unreasonable expenses.’

‘Then we will look forward to seeing you in court, Mr Faulkner,’ replied Shaw.

‘And not just me!’ said Miles.

Booth Watson quickly rose from his place, grabbed his client and escorted him out of the room, before he could say anything else he would later regret.

Once the door had closed, James Buchanan turned to Shaw and said, ‘We have a problem.’

•••

Miles fastened his seat belt, but didn’t answer Booth Watson’s question until the plane had taken off, unwilling to voice an opinion while they were still on American soil.

‘Did you notice, BW, that when I said “and not just me”, Special Agent James Buchanan didn’t look surprised,’ said Miles.

‘Yes, I did,’ said Booth Watson, ‘so you can be sure he’ll be on the phone to his friend Chief Superintendent Warwick long before our plane has landed.’

‘Which will give Warwick more than enough time to get in touch with Simon Hartley before we can.’

‘I think you’ll find Hartley is like Washington,’ said Booth Watson. ‘He cannot tell a lie, and will therefore admit it’s a fake.’

‘Then it’s game, set and match,’ said Miles.

‘Until Hartley asks you what you’ve done with the original, because it can only be a matter of time before he works out that you must have destroyed it.’

Miles remained silent for some time before he said, ‘Then we may have to cut him in on the deal.’

‘Has it ever crossed your mind, Miles,’ said Booth Watson, ‘that Simon Hartley might be someone who can’t be bribed?’

‘Every man has his price,’ said Faulkner.

•••

Ross picked up the phone and wondered who could possibly be calling him in the middle of the night.

‘We have a problem,’ said a transatlantic voice Ross recognized immediately.

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