Page 59 of Next in Line

Ross returned to the outskirts of the forest and picked up the camera, but left the rest of the snapper’s equipment where he’d found it. On his way up to the house, he paused by the lake, where several asagi carp were poking their heads out of the water, mouths wide open, clearly hoping to be fed. Ross sat down and examined the expensive Leica camera for a few minutes, even took some photos of the carp, before it slipped through his fingers and fell into the water, causing the carp to scatter in every direction, while it sank below the surface.

‘What a pity,’ he said as it disappeared out of sight.

Before he got back to the house, Ross put a call through to the local police, gave the duty sergeant the name of the photographer and the registration number of his Porsche. He asked him to make sure he didn’t come within five miles of the estate for the rest of the day.

‘My pleasure,’ was all the sergeant had to say.

After keeping watch for the rest of the morning to make sure the photographer didn’t reappear, Ross returned to the kitchen and enjoyed what his mother would have called a slap-up Sunday lunch. He thanked the cook before preparing to accompany HRH back to London.

When the car set off on its return journey, Ross noticed that Chalabi didn’t have the same self-satisfied grin on his face that he’d displayed when they’d arrived the previous day.

‘I do hope the weekend wasn’t quite as bad as you feared it might be,’ said Diana as they drove out of the gates and headed back towards London.

‘Thank you, ma’am,’ said Ross. ‘It turned out to be far more agreeable than I would have thought possible.’

CHAPTER 22

WILLIAM WAS SURPRISED TO SEEDI Reynolds standing by the entrance to Number 4 Buckingham Gate when he turned up the following morning, not least because it wasn’t yet eight a.m., an hour William didn’t normally associate with Reynolds. But he quickly discovered why he was there.

‘Superintendent Milner wants to see you in his office now,’ said Reynolds, emphasizing the word ‘now’.

‘Thank you, Inspector,’ said William, walking straight past him. ‘I was rather hoping to have a word with him myself, so you’ve saved me the trouble of having to make an appointment.’

When he reached the Superintendent’s office on the second floor, he knocked and waited for the command, ‘Come,’ before entering. Milner waved William to a chair on the other side of his desk without any suggestion of a greeting.

‘Warwick,’ he barked, even before he had sat down. ‘It has come to my attention that, while I was accompanying Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales on theirofficial tour, you broke into my office, rifled through my files, and removed several items, including my diary, without my knowledge or permission. Is that correct?’

‘Yes, sir,’ said William, not flinching.

‘Who gave you the authority to carry out this unwarranted intrusion?’

‘Commander Hawksby, sir.’

‘Hawksby has no authority over Royalty Protection. I report only to the Prince of Wales.’

‘And to the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, who will be seeing His Royal Highness at twelve o’clock today.’

‘At which time he will be told in no uncertain terms who is in charge of this department.’

‘If you say so, sir.’

‘I do say so, Warwick, and what’s more, I will be recommending to the Commissioner, who is not only a colleague but an old friend, that you should be suspended with immediate effect, pending a full inquiry into your disgraceful and unprofessional behaviour. That recommendation will also include your accomplices, DS Adaja, DS Roycroft and DC Pankhurst.’

‘They were simply carrying out my orders.’ William paused before adding, ‘Sir.’

‘Don’t get cocky with me, Warwick,’ Milner said, staring directly at William. ‘You’re in quite enough trouble as it is. I’m also told by Inspector Reynolds that his office was broken into by DC Pankhurst, despite her claiming she was attending her grandmother’s funeral in Cornwall at the time.’

‘She didn’t need to break into Reynolds’s office, sir – it wasn’t locked.’

‘She still had no right to enter the room without his permission,’ snapped back Milner. ‘And I’m told DS Roycroft wasalso involved in your clandestine behaviour, despite being on sick leave.’

‘Yes, sir. I admit it was out of order for her to return to work when she should have been convalescing, having risked her life to arrest one of the world’s most dangerous terrorists, for which she was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal. But no such courage was required for her to unlock a dozen filing cabinets and inspect your expenses claims over the past eleven years.’

‘I’m glad you mentioned expenses, Warwick, because your colleague DS Adaja will be facing a full inquiry for submitting false claims to the tune of £4,332.’ He threw down a thick wad of claims on the table in triumph.

‘He paid back every penny of those expenses, which you yourself authorized without questioning him.’

‘Don’t bother to try and get him off the hook, because it’s no more than you can expect when that sort join the force.’

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