Page 31 of Next in Line

‘Without spilling any blood, I hope,’ said Faulkner.

‘A scratch at most,’ promised Booth Watson. ‘That’s assuming you are willing to plead guilty to the charge of escaping while in police custody.’

‘You must be joking.’

‘I’ve never gone in for jokes, Miles, as you well know.However, if you did plead guilty, Sir Julian would recommend to the CPS that you receive a suspended sentence.’

‘Why would they agree to that?’ asked Miles incredulously.

‘The last thing the CPS would want is for the whole unfortunate episode in Spain to be made public. The Met have enough problems of their own at the moment, and if the trial were to collapse, Sir Julian could end up having to defend his son rather than prosecuting you. No, I’m fairly confident they’ll want to keep this case out of court. So, if you were to instruct me to inform the other side that we might agree to their terms, subject to a written agreement’ – he paused – ‘written by me, I will brief Sir Julian accordingly.’

‘How long will that take?’

‘I’ve already prepared a preliminary draft, so a few days at most. Once you’ve signed the agreement, I would start work on your early release, which means you’ll have to be a model prisoner for the next few months. And, Miles, I mean model.’ Booth Watson bent down and placed the file back in his Gladstone bag. ‘What’s the first thing you’ll do once you’ve been released?’

‘Treat you to a slap-up meal at the Savoy, with a good bottle of wine, as I won’t be ending the evening back in my cell.’

‘I’ll look forward to that,’ said Booth Watson, knowing that if he could get Miles to sign the agreement, he needn’t bother to book their usual table at the Savoy – for the next fourteen years.

CHAPTER 12

FAULKNER USED THE DAILY EXERCISEbreak productively.

Tulip had fixed a meeting with the one person who could make it happen. Reggie the pimp, sentenced to five years for importuning young boys for personal gain.

‘How can I be of assistance, Mr Faulkner?’ Reggie asked as they strolled around the exercise yard together. Two heavily built prisoners in front of them, and a couple more a few paces behind, ensured that the boss wasn’t interrupted.

‘I need a male prostitute for Friday evening,’ said Faulkner. ‘He has to be all things bright and beautiful.’

‘It will be quite difficult to smuggle one into the prison, Mr Faulkner, even with your contacts.’

‘Not for me, moron. It’s for my wife.’

‘Sorry, guv, misunderstood you. So what will my boy be expected to do?’

‘My wife always goes to Tramp on Friday evening, hoping to pick up someone she can later take home. I need one of your more experienced lotharios to oblige, and make sure he gets invited back for the night.’

‘I know someone she won’t be able to resist,’ said Reggie. ‘Goes by the name of Sebastian.’

‘That’s the beautiful part,’ said Miles. ‘Now for the bright bit, which could prove more of a challenge. If he’s done the first part of his job properly, he’ll have to stay put until she falls asleep. That’s when he’ll really start to earn his money. Somewhere in my wife’s apartment will be two black Tumi suitcases. They’ll be fairly large, so they shouldn’t be difficult to locate. Once he’s got them, he’ll find a man waiting outside the apartment to pick them up. So, what’s the damage?’

‘Shall we say a couple of grand, Mr Faulkner?’

Faulkner nodded and the two men shook hands – the only way of closing a deal in prison, and heaven help anyone who even thought about breaking the unwritten contract.

‘Consider it done,’ said Reggie as the five-minute hooter blasted, the sign that the prisoners should return to their cells. ‘Dare I ask what’s in them suitcases?’ he asked, as they left the yard.

‘No,’ said Faulkner. ‘But if your boy fails to hand them over, don’t even think about going into a shower on your own.’

•••

Booth Watson waited for his secretary to leave the room before he looked up the private number and began dialling.

‘Warwick,’ said a voice on the other end of the line.

‘It’s Booth Watson, Julian. Just wanted to let you know I’ve consulted my client and, to my surprise, he has agreed to your terms.’

‘He’s willing to plead guilty to all the charges in exchange for two years being knocked off his sentence?’ said Sir Julian, but didn’t add, I don’t believe you.

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