Page 32 of Next in Line

‘I advised him against it, of course, which won’t surprise you.’

Sir Julian was surprised, but kept his counsel.

‘I did everything in my power to dissuade him, but he’d already made up his mind.’ One sentence too many – that only convinced Sir Julian that Booth Watson wasn’t telling the truth. ‘So, if you’ll go ahead and draw up an agreement, I’ll arrange for him to sign it. Pity,’ Booth Watson added. ‘I was looking forward to crossing swords with you again.’

That much Sir Julian did believe.

‘I’ll come back to you,’ he said, ‘as soon as the CPS have given their seal of approval.’

‘I look forward to hearing from you, Julian. We must have lunch sometime. The Savoy, perhaps.’

Another unnecessary sentence that gave the game away, thought Sir Julian as his secretary entered the room.

‘Tell me, Miss Weeden, am I dreaming?’ he asked as he put the phone down.

‘I don’t think so, Sir Julian,’ said his secretary, looking puzzled.

‘In which case, please ask Ms Warwick and Ms Sutton to join me immediately for an urgent consultation.’

•••

‘Mrs Faulkner and I will be coming out of the bank at around five o’clock,’ said Booth Watson. ‘She’ll have two large suitcases with her, which no doubt her chauffeur will place in the boot of the car, a dark blue Mercedes J423 ABN.’ Lamont made a note. ‘As all the banks will have closed for the day, she’s likely to be driven straight home.’

‘What if the chauffeur just drops her off, and she leaves the bags in the boot of the car for him to take care of?’

‘Unlikely. I don’t think Mrs Faulkner will be willing to let the money out of her sight. She won’t feel safe until it’s inside her apartment.’

‘Why don’t I grab the bags as they’re being taken out of the car boot?’ asked Lamont.

‘Can’t risk it. We’ll have to be more subtle than that. The chauffeur will probably carry the bags into her apartment block, and don’t forget the porter will be standing by the door. And I’ve checked, he’s six foot two, and has a broken nose, so I don’t think so.’

‘So how do I get my hands on the two cases?’

‘Mrs Faulkner will probably return to the flat around midnight, after spending the evening at Tramp. She will be accompanied by what she imagines to be her latest conquest, a plant called Sebastian, who will in fact be our man. You will be waiting outside in your car until he comes out in the early hours with the suitcases, which he’ll hand over in exchange for this.’ Booth Watson pushed a thick brown envelope across the desk.

‘What do I do with the suitcases?’

‘Bring them straight back here to my chambers.’

‘But it might be three or four o’clock in the morning,’ said Lamont.

‘I don’t give a damn what time it is. Just get them here as quickly as you can.Yourpayment will be strictly cash on delivery.’

Lamont picked up the package and rose to leave, assuming the meeting was over.

‘And don’t think about looking inside those suitcases,’ Booth Watson warned him. ‘Or even consider short-changing the man who hands them over, because three of us know exactly how much is in that envelope, and one of them is Miles Faulkner.’

•••

‘I think I’ve worked out what BW is up to,’ said Sir Julian, once his daughter and Clare had settled.

‘Which is more than I have,’ said Grace.

‘First, you have to ask yourself why Faulkner would be willing to go along with our proposal that if he pleads guilty all he will get in return is two years knocked off a sixteen-year sentence. Have either of you worked that one out?’

Clare raised a hand like a swot at the front of the class. Sir Julian nodded.

‘Booth Watson knows if the case comes to court, the judge might ask him a question that would not only get him disbarred, but could cause him to end up in jail himself.’

---