I watched as Hickstead dropped his glass, spilling water over himself and his lawyer.

“Oops,” said the girl. “I’ll see if I can get a cloth for that. Dad said you might need these papers, Inspector.”

Boniface took the papers from her with a smile. “Thank you, Lavender. Don’t worry about the cloth, though. I have a fresh handkerchief here. Close the door on the way out, please.”

***

Alan Parsons railed at the two detectives for a full five minutes as Hickstead sat looking blankly at the table. He looked rather like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

“Right, Alan. Your complaints have been registered on the tape. Now, would you like to hear what kept us busy the rest of the weekend?”

“Go on,” the lawyer said wearily, knowing that nothing good was to come from this summation.

Boniface explained the Europol operation and the part that the Holloway family had played in the events. He explained that Van Aart had been persuaded to become a prosecution witness to reduce his own jail time, and that Van Aart had met with his Lordship in Amsterdam.

He explained how an innocent woman lay in a hospital bed with two bullet wounds, and five men lay dead in a morgue because Hickstead wouldn’t face up to his crimes and tried to cover them up by conspiring to commit even more serious crimes.

Hickstead and his lawyer were then shown a statement from a man called Johnny, who said that the Holloways had been assisting Van Aart’s men to recover a holdall and a painting from Lord Hickstead’s safety deposit box at Citysafe. Johnny confessed to kidnapping Lavender in order to give Lord Hickstead leverage over Don Fisher, and he related the story of Dee Conrad’s trials at the hands of the Dutch criminals.

By the time Boniface concluded with the facts that Lord Hickstead’s fingerprints were found on the holdall and the painting, Parsons had already given up hope of keeping his client out of prison for the rest of his days.

***

“You are joking, surely, Commissioner!” DCI Coombes was back at his livid best. “This man has been charged with blackmail, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and conspiracy to kidnap two women. A banker, a philanthropist, an accountant and five other men lie dead because of his direct and indirect actions.”

“Coombes, please remember where you are,” the Commissioner said by way of warning.

“Well, obviously I’ve strayed into some banana republic where politicians can do what the hell they like and just walk away!” Coombes spluttered. Boniface grabbed his arm and looked into the DCI’s face.

“Terry, will you please calm down? This won’t get us anywhere. Let’s see what we can do to make the best of the decision.”

“Listen to the Inspector, Coombes, and I will try to forget your intemperate outburst,” the Commissioner said. “I don’t like this any more than you do. Whilst Hickstead’s friends are deserting him with the rapidity of rats leaving a sinking ship, they do not want another scandal. We already have four MPs on trial for expenses fraud. When the public find out that a peer has been involved in serious crimes like these, there will likely be an outcry the likes of which we have never seen before.

The establishment wants time to prepare. This week there will be an emergency debate in the House of Lords, and if necessary special legislation will be rushed through both houses to expel Hickstead. By the end of the month you will have all of the evidence together, and we will be in a better position to arraign him. We will oppose bail, of course, and he will sit on remand for months while we prepare for trial.

Gentlemen. For the next few days he will be under virtual house arrest with MI5 ‘protecting him from a terrorist threat’. I can assure you that he will never see the light of day again after that, except through prison bars.”

“Thank you, Commissioner. Can we assume that our colleagues elsewhere in the Yard and in Europol will freeze all of Lord Hickstead’s assets in the meantime?” Boniface asked.

“Yes, with two exceptions. First, we cannot touch his pension funds without agreement from the Union that holds those funds. But in any event he cannot access his pension for another year, by which time he will not need it. Second, we are obliged to allow him to operate a simple credit account so that he can honour his commitments to his creditors. The bank and credit card companies cannot lend him money, or accept any new money. He can only expend funds that he has in his account as of today.”

“Thank you, Commissioner,” Boniface said. “We will ensure that he is securely delivered to Parliament Street.”

Chapter 8 4

Highbury Clinic, Blackstock Rd, North London. Monday, 6pm.

I realised, as I travelled to the hospital, that I had been quite selfish in my pursuit of Dee Conrad. It was true that I loved her, and it was true that I had sensed that love was reciprocated, but for the last twelve days her life had been on hold whilst she stayed with me. We had talked about her flat mates and her social life, but I actually knew very little about her, and had never seen her flat. I had glibly assumed that if we loved one another we could just cohabit at my flat and perhaps get married. I was not considering her wants or needs; not because I thought mine were more important, but because they had just not entered my mind in the busyness of our lives for the last twelve days.

I was somewhat pleased, therefore, when I heard laughter and girlish giggling coming from Dee’s room. I walked into a girly fest; there were balloons, cards and all things pink, adorning the room. Two women, almost the polar opposite of Dee, stood either side of the bed. These women were dressed fashionably but in clothes that would have suited them more if they had been perhaps ten years younger. Their make-up was exquisite, though. I wondered whether their flat would maybe have three bathrooms, because if it didn’t then surely they must work in shifts in front of the mirror.

One was blonde and the other brunette, but both had long hair, expertly cut by a stylist who was worth every penny of whatever fee they charged. Either one of them could have fronted an advertising for L’Oreal; they both seemed ‘worth it’ to me.

I was introduced to Dana and Gemma by a much improved Dee, who was looking the picture of health, despite her bandages and bruises.

“Ooh, he’s older than I thought he would be,” Gemma said, curling her lip.

“Yes, I imagined he would be more handsome, too,” Dana agreed, contributing to what was obviously a well-practised double act.

“I wonder if his talents lie elsewhere, perhaps?” Dana continued, whilst looking me up and down but holding her gaze over my groin area.

In spite of myself, I blushed. I knew that was what they were expecting but I just couldn’t help it. Dee was laughing too.

We all had a sensible conversation for ten minutes or so, and then Dana and Gemma had to leave so that they could attend their ‘Jazzercise’ class at the gym. After spending another ten minutes hugging and kissing their way through their goodbyes, I was left alone with Dee. I wasn’t sure where to start, so in the end I took a deep breath and simply came out with it.

“Dee, I’ve been doing some serious thinking. I realise you probably feel that I may have taken you for granted. I know how I feel about you, but I haven’t really stopped to consider your needs, or your life, or what you might want.”

She smiled at me.

“There will be plenty of time for all of that, Josh, but for now the girls are looking for a new flatmate. Of course, it’s also quite likely they will convert my bedroom into a giant dressing room with all of their clothes on racks and their shoes stored in transparent stacking boxes.”

“Where are you going?” I asked nervously, knowing that there was only one answer I could live with. She looked me in the eyes.