Page 62 of Next in Line

‘Not a problem,’ said William. ‘I’ve been temporarily made up to Superintendent on full salary, while Milner goes on gardening leave – and he has a large garden.’

‘Trouble is, I will need even more if I’m going to make a go of my new business.’

‘Then I’ll just have to open a taxi service … in Windsor.’

CHAPTER 23

THE ONLY QUALIFICATION FOR THEjob of librarian in any prison was the ability to read and write. You worked in a large warm room all day, weren’t bothered by too many inmates, and if you didn’t look out of the window, you wouldn’t even know you were in a prison.

Most inmates preferred to work in the kitchen, some in the gym, and a few as wing cleaners. However, the position of chief librarian suited all of Miles Faulkner’s immediate requirements.

He was also able to select his deputy, and he chose someone whose reading and writing skills wouldn’t have made him an obvious candidate for the job.

Faulkner was reading Lex in theFinancial Timeswhen Tulip returned from his morning round collecting overdue books from the cells. This gave him the opportunity to drop in on any prisoner Faulkner needed to do business with, and ensured he remained the best-informed person in the jail, including the governor.

Mansour Khalifah never visited the library, so Tulip had to rely on Tareq Omar, his wing cleaner, to pass on any information that might prove useful. Until now, nothing worthwhile had come his way, other than that Khalifah was planning something big, but Tulip still had no idea what. But that morning he rushed back to the library to report a breakthrough to his boss.

Faulkner put down his paper, switched on the kettle and settled back in the most comfortable chair in the prison to listen to Tulip’s news. He didn’t press his deputy to get to the point, as neither of them had a great deal to do for the rest of the day.

‘It may have been a long wait, boss,’ began Tulip, ‘but Omar’s finally come up with the goods.’ The kettle whistled, and Tulip got up from the second-most comfortable chair in the prison and poured two mugs of coffee. Faulkner added one lump of sugar but no milk to his, and extracted a single biscuit from a packet of shortbread. Not because they were in short supply, but because he was hoping to lose a stone before he was released.

‘Omar,’ Tulip continued after taking a sip, ‘has managed to convince Khalifah he’s a True Believer.’

Faulkner leant back and closed his eyes, storing every detail in his notebook mind.

‘You were right, boss, Khalifah is planning something big.’ Tulip took another sip of coffee. It was still too hot. ‘The Albert Hall,’ he announced triumphantly.

‘What about the Albert Hall?’

‘It seems that every year there’s a series of concerts held there called the Proms—’

‘Tell me something I don’t know.’

‘The Last Night of the Proms is always sold out months in advance.’

‘Get on with it,’ said Miles, sounding irritated for the first time.

‘But did you know they remove all the stalls seats for a group of fans known as the promenaders, who stand throughout the entire concert?’ Faulkner nodded, waiting for Tulip to turn the page. ‘One of Khalifah’s contacts on the outside has got hold of a scalper’s ticket, and paid way over the top.’

‘Shit,’ said Miles, who’d already skipped to the last chapter. ‘You mean he’s planning to send in a suicide bomber and blow the place apart?’

‘While the promenaders are singing “Land of Hope and Glory”, just to rub it in.’

‘Guaranteeing headlines on the front page of every paper across the world.’

‘But if you could warn the police about what Khalifah’s got in mind …’

‘Even the Home Secretary would be kissing my arse.’

‘And you’d be out of here faster than shit off a shovel.’

‘I’ll need to see Hawksby as soon as possible,’ said Miles as there was a knock on the door. ‘Who’s that?’ he growled.

The door opened, and the visitors’ warder appeared.

‘Sorry to bother you, Mr Faulkner, but someone’s made an appointment to see you on Saturday.’

‘That would be a first,’ said Tulip.

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