Exposure (36 page)

‘Yes. Sit down, will you.' He looked down, referring to something on his desk. Then he said, ‘Couple of weeks ago you were involved in an assault, hospital case, a girl called Tracey Mervyn. She wouldn't press charges, and the friend wouldn't either. Usual story. The boyfriend had beaten her up.'

Mandy said, ‘Yes, sir, I remember. It was a vicious assault. They were two prostitutes, coloured girls, well known in our area. I made one more effort to talk them into making charges, but it was no good. Anything happened?' Maybe the bastard had found them, or even worse, the silly cow had gone back and he'd done her over again. It often happened.

‘You sent a bracelet into stolen goods on the off chance, didn't you?'

She nodded, remembering the odd name the hospital sister had given it. ‘Yes sir. The stones spelt out DEAREST. It's popular for anniversaries, stuff like that.'

‘Well, for your information, it spells out murder,' he said. ‘Our computer picked it up. An identical bracelet was listed among the jewellery stolen from a woman in Midhurst who was raped and beaten to death by the intruder. It's been positively identified by the local jeweller who made it specially to order. That was smart thinking on your part. I'll pass that on to the right quarters.'

‘Thank you, sir. If I can do anything more …'

He shook his head. ‘It's out of our hands,' he said. ‘It's CID's baby now.'

Evelyn Western sat up waiting for the call from Rio de Janeiro. He was in the middle of delicate negotiations with a Brazilian bank. Western had decided to finance a fight back and the best way of doing that was to issue shares in the new Brazilian publishing and newspaper companies that he had just acquired. He could raise cash, and cash was what he would need as soon as King began his frontal assault on Western International. Evelyn felt very tired as she waited. Emotional scenes exhausted her; she hated Julia Hamilton for what she had said and done. She felt her age and she couldn't afford to when William was threatened and needed her. She had weighed up the situation and decided that he mustn't interrupt what he was doing. She had faced out that damned girl and the next move would have to come from her. She was sure it would be a letter resigning. She thought of her parting words,
I'm not giving up. From now on, I'm working for myself
… Not easy without the resources of her job. She might reflect upon that threat and see just how impossible it would be … But she was proud and determined. The qualities Evelyn and William had both admired in Julia made her a dangerous maverick, capable of pulling the roof down in her pursuit of what she deemed to be justice and truth. She started when the telephone rang. She must have dozed in the big chair. She heard his voice and said quickly, ‘It's all right, Billy. I've seen her. Yes, I was right; she came out with that bloody man Watson's story … It was very unpleasant but I didn't let her get away with anything … She had some crazy idea that King was the German prisoner and you knew he'd murdered your men … Darling, please … I told her the truth and gave her a piece of my mind at the same time. There's no need for you to come home, I was just panicking when I said that … No, absolutely not. I was so angry, so furious at her attitude. No, I'm not upsetting myself, I feel better already because I've said it. How's it going out there? Oh good, good … that's what's important. Yes, I will, I'll go to bed now. Don't fuss about me, Billy. I'm a tough old bird … I'll call you tomorrow if there's any more news. And, whatever happens, I think it's time we stood our ground and stopped that Watson telling lies about you once and for all … Yes, darling, good night …'

William Western heard the line clear. He had left the meeting and made his call in a private office. Don't come home, his wife insisted. He knew her tenacity and her courage; he also knew that she was too old to suffer sleepless nights and emotional turmoil. He thought of Julia Hamilton. His temper boiled over suddenly. ‘Bitch …' he snarled it aloud. Bullying Evelyn … He knew her home telephone number; he had a photographic memory for figures and never needed an address book. He asked the switchboard to put the call in and said he'd wait. He grabbed the phone at the first buzz. He heard Julia's voice, sleepy since it was the middle of the night, say, ‘Hello? Ben?'

‘It's Western,' he shouted. ‘I've just spoken to my wife. You're fired, Hamilton, and you can tell Ben Harris he's fired too. You give in your keys and your car first thing tomorrow morning. You be out of that office by ten o'clock!'

‘I will be,' Julia said. ‘But don't think that's going to stop me, or shut me up.'

His line went clear.

Ben Harris sat by the bed and held his daughter's hand. He thought how very young and vulnerable she looked; her face was white and drawn, with deep shadows under the eyes. The nurse had briefed him before he went in.

‘I'm afraid she's lost the baby,' she said. ‘At this stage in the pregnancy it's very traumatic. She's been sedated but she's not asleep. She'll be so glad you've come.'

Ben came to the bed and said softly, ‘Lucy? Lucy, it's Dad …'

She opened her eyes and tried to smile at him. A hand came out and he took it quickly. Tears seeped down her face.

‘I lost him,' she whispered.
Him
. It struck Ben like a blow. ‘It was a little boy. They didn't want to tell me, but I had to know. Oh, Daddy …'

There was nothing he could say to comfort her. Instinct warned that this was no time to take refuge in male reticence. He cradled her in his arms as she wept, and kissed her. ‘Let it out,' he said. ‘Grieve, darling … Cry all you want … I'm here and I'm staying.'

At last she fell asleep, exhausted, dulled by the sedative. He sat on, holding her hand. The ward sister came and beckoned him away. He followed her unwillingly.

‘It's better you leave her to sleep now, Mr Harris,' she said. ‘Get some sleep yourself. We'll see to the disposal of the foetus, there's nothing to worry about.'

‘Disposal?' Ben squared up to her. ‘What's that supposed to mean …?'

‘It needn't concern you,' her tone was soothing. ‘We have facilities here. It's less distressing for the mother.'

‘My daughter knows it was a boy,' he said. ‘It's not a stillborn puppy, it's her child and my grandson. You do nothing, Sister, you understand me. The baby's going to be buried properly. I know that's what Lucy would want. And I'll make the arrangements, thank you.'

He swung away from her and walked towards the lift. He felt a sense of grief and loss, coupled with outrage at what might have happened. Lucy would need a focus for her grief, not a heap of ash in a hospital incinerator. Five months of expectation, of hope and joy, had ended that night in pain and disappointment, leaving a terrible vacuum.

She'd need time to recuperate and come to terms. Time to realize that life went on, and that her very youth was her strength. He would make certain she had that time. He had booked into a hotel near the hospital. He felt drained and sick and he needed Julia badly. It was late, past midnight, but he dialled her number.

There was no reply. She must have gone out with a friend. He'd leave it till the morning. He woke very early; his first call was to the hospital. Yes, his daughter was sleeping, she had passed a quiet night. There were no complications, but the doctor would be in to see her later that morning. ‘I'll be there,' Ben said, and hung up.

When he called Julia it was the time they normally had breakfast before leaving for the office. She answered so quickly he knew she was waiting for his call.

‘Ben …? Oh Ben, what's happened?'

‘She lost the baby,' he said.

‘Oh darling, I'm so sorry … Is she all right?'

‘She's fine,' he said. ‘Physically. But the worst is ahead of her. It was a boy.'

‘I'm so sorry,' Julia said again. ‘Where are you? Can I send her some flowers?'

‘No, I don't think so. I want to get her out of hospital as soon as possible. Darling, I may have to stay with her for a few days, see what she wants to do. Her mother's away, and I don't want Lucy staying on her own after this. I may bring her down with me. I'll let the office know.'

‘Don't worry,' Julia took a quick decision. This was no time to tell him the bad news. He sounded so low. ‘Don't worry. I'll do it for you. I'll ring tonight, what's the best time?'

‘Around eight, I think. She might even be discharged today, I don't know. But try me here at eight. Thanks, darling. I just wish you were here with me … No, I didn't mean that, you know what I mean … How are you?'

‘Missing you,' Julia evaded any question about their last disagreement.

‘You didn't go and see Western did you?'

‘No,' she said. ‘He's in Brazil.'

‘Good. Do nothing till I get back. I love you.'

Julia said gently, ‘I love you too. I'll talk to you this evening.'

He was outside the apartment block when she came out. He was standing with a street map open in his hands, studying, and watching the entrance. The description had been accurate, even without the photograph, copied from the inset picture that appeared in the newspaper under her byline. Red hair, real fiery colour, medium height, good figure, legs, pretty face. Tense expression, purposeful way of walking. Black BMW on residents' parking space. He took a note of the car registration number and jotted it down on his street map. She unlocked it, got in, drove off. He checked his watch. Then he crammed the map into his pocket and set out to find a cab and take a look at her office. He needed all possible venues checked out and weighed up, before he decided where to hit her. On balance the apartment block looked the best, he liked the outside fire-escape as a way out afterwards, but an underground car park at her office might be a better option. He had done several jobs in that kind of environment. He dismissed the cab and took out the map again as he studied the entrance to the big glass-and-aluminium building. Outside lifts were a pain. He glanced up at the ant-like figures speeding up the walls of the building. He came to the entrance and the doors hissed back automatically.

A security guard approached him. ‘I'm looking for the car park,' he said.

‘Left and round the corner, you'll see a sign. Can I help?'

Mike grinned disarmingly at the suspicious look. He knew the type. Ex cops, ex Army, dick-heads in uniform. ‘No thanks,' he said. He walked out without any explanation.

The car park was on two floors with an underground area. There was a man in a cubicle behind an automatic barrier. As he waited, map in hand again, on the opposite side of the street, two cars came in, halted, pushed a card into the machine beside the cubicle, and the barrier lifted. He noticed that the man, also in uniform, leaned out and scrutinized the drivers and saluted them as they drove past him. He didn't like the idea of the garage. It was impossible to slip in from the street, and although there would be an internal entrance in the building, a stranger wouldn't get past the security guard at the entrance without some identification. He wasn't in the business of being recognized by anyone. He gave up on the office. He hailed another cab – he never hired a car on a job, that left traces like licence and insurance certificates, phoney or not, he avoided paper. He spent the rest of the day shopping for his wife's cashmere sweater, bought two because the rate for the dollar was so favourable, and spent a couple of hours choosing toys for his sons in the toy department at Harrods. At five o'clock he called Julia's number from a public call-box. No answer. He called again at six. Nothing. He called on the hour until 11 p.m. without success. He gave up. She was not home, and his one chance of gaining entry diminished the later at night it became. Tomorrow he would go through the routine again.

‘Sorry to burst in on you like this,' Julia said. ‘But I just needed to come home and talk to someone.'

‘We're so glad you did,' her father said. ‘After all, what are families for?'

‘Not all families,' Julia said. ‘I'm lucky.'

‘But why?' May Hamilton asked. ‘Why did he sack you? And fancy having to clear your desk and give the car up, just like that, in one morning!'

‘In one hour,' Julia corrected. ‘I'll be going back to discuss the termination of my contract, of course … They'll have to pay me off because there's no reason for my dismissal. But it was quite an experience. My staff didn't know what had hit them. Jenny, my secretary, burst into tears. I was very moved.'

‘I thought they only behaved like that in America,' her mother exclaimed angrily.

‘Not any more,' Hugh Hamilton said. ‘It's another of their customs we've adopted. Disgusting way to treat people. You stick out for a damned good payout, Juliette. If you need a good lawyer, I'll ask around.'

Julia said gently, ‘Don't worry, Daddy. I know lawyers if I need one.'

‘You could sue,' her mother suggested. She was up in arms over the way her daughter had been dismissed. She had a fiery sense of injustice; Julia didn't realize how much of her own sense of fairness she owed to her mother.

‘Mum, I'm not getting into all that hassle. Western won't cheat me, he'll pay proper severance money and that'll be the end of it. Now, why don't we have a cup of tea? I've talked it all out, and now I want to hear about what you've been doing.'

She hadn't explained the real reason to them; it was too complicated. A policy disagreement was the reason she gave for losing her job. They seemed to accept that. Neither of them had any experience of high-powered journalism and the despotism of the great Press lords. Luckily for them, Julia thought. And Ben has to be told some time. Maybe tonight, if his daughter's out of hospital. He doesn't have to hurry back. They can clear his bloody desk and send his things round to the flat … typical Western to punish him as well. But he needn't sleep easy because he's got rid of me. I meant every word I said. I'll show the world what Harold King really is, and now I don't have to protect William Chancellor Western or cover up for him.