‘Course I did,’ says Patrice. ‘We all did. But it reminds me of your SIO Regan. That sort of thing never works in the long run, does it? She had an affair with the head of RE in the end, got caught banging in one of the science labs. You’ve just got to wait these people out.’
‘How many whiskies have you had, Mum?’ asks Donna.
‘Just enough,’ says Patrice.
‘But they have yet to find the heroin?’ Elizabeth asks.
‘As far as we know,’ says Chris.
‘Good,’ says Joyce. ‘I’d far rather we found it.’
A waiter brings over their bill, and Chris waves the others away. ‘I’ve got this. Still useful for something.’
‘Any news on Dominic Holt’s boss, Mitch Maxwell?’ Elizabeth asks. ‘Are they following him?’
‘Wouldn’t know,’ says Chris. ‘What part of this aren’t you getting?’
‘To more important business. Do you know if the name Samantha Barnes is on her radar?’ Elizabeth asks. ‘Is it on yours?’
‘Never heard of her,’ says Chris, looking at the bill with a twinge of regret.
‘She’s like Connie Johnson,’ says Joyce. ‘But for antiques.’
‘Should we be taking an interest?’ Chris asks.
‘No, no,’ says Elizabeth. ‘Entirely unconnected, I’m sure. So what’s your plan for Dom Holt?’
‘There’s nothing we can do,’ says Chris. ‘We’re not on the case.’
‘Oh, there’s always
‘We’re not like you, Elizabeth,’ says Chris, tapping his contactless card on the waiter’s machine. ‘We’re not allowed to break the law.’
Elizabeth nods, stands and starts to pull on her coat. ‘It wouldn’t harm you to bend it every now and again though, dear. I think Joyce and I might need to avoid Dom Holt for a while, so it might be time for you to pull your weight. Thank you for the drinks by the way.’
‘Pleasure,’ says Chris. ‘Up to a point.’
‘Would anyone mind if I took these pork scratchings home for Alan?’ asks Joyce.
‘And I wonder if I might ask a favour,’ says Elizabeth, taking out her phone. ‘Donna, do you think you might be able to check my phone records? To see who I’ve rung?’
‘Don’t you know who you’ve rung?’ Donna asks.
‘Not an unreasonable question,’ says Elizabeth. ‘But all the same I wonder if you might indulge me?’
Donna takes the phone. ‘Anything I shouldn’t see on here?’
‘Plenty,’ says Elizabeth.
‘And what are we hoping to find?’ Donna asks.
‘With any luck, our prime suspect,’ says Elizabeth. ‘Thank you, dear.’
Ron can’t be doing with computers. He has been outlining this view to Bob Whittaker from Wordsworth Court.
His speech was, to his own mind, impassioned but fair. At one point he heard himself use the phrase ‘Karl Marx must be spinning in his grave’, but, in the main, he was concise, reasonable and to the point. Ron has just slumped back into his chair after his final salvo of ‘And that’s before I even get started on Facebook.’
Ron tries to decipher Bob’s look. Impressed? No, that’s not it. Thoughtful? That’s not quite it either. Also, where has Ibrahim got to?
As if on cue, Ibrahim walks back into the living room.
‘I’ve been standing in the hallway for 8 minutes and 40 seconds, Ron,’ he says. ‘Waiting for you to finish.’
‘I was chatting with Bob,’ says Ron. ‘About computers.’
‘Yes, quite the chat,’ says Ibrahim. ‘In that entire 8 minutes and 40 seconds, poor Bob said just four things, and I noted them all down for you. He said, and these are direct quotes, “I see” – that was after about a minute and a half. At 3 minutes and 17 seconds he said, “Yes, I understand why you might think that.” At just past the 5-minute mark, you drew breath long enough for him to say, “Well, that’s certainly a view I have heard before,” and, about 90 seconds ago, Bob’s final contribution to the conversation was “Do we know where Ibrahim has got to?”’
‘Yeah, well, he was listening,’ says Ron. ‘People like hearing my opinions; they always have done.’
‘And yet here he sits, looking both bored and frightened.’
Ahh, yes, Ron realizes, that’s the look. Bored and frightened. Ron must admit, and not for the first time, that he can get carried away.
‘Sorry, Bob,’ says Ron. ‘Wear my heart on my sleeve sometimes.’
‘Not at all,’ says Bob. ‘Plenty of food for thought. And I will certainly pass your feedback on to someone at IBM should that opportunity arise.’
‘You will learn fairly quickly, Bob, that you don’t need to be polite with Ron,’ says Ibrahim. ‘It took me around a week to figure that out.’
Bob nods.
‘Also, he is easy to distract. If you ever feel that Ron has gone off at a tangent, which on occasion he does, then a simple “Did you see the match?” or “Did you see the fight?” works as a reset button.’
‘How Chelsea won that one, I’ll never know,’ says Ron, shaking his head. ‘Daylight robbery.’
‘To work, then, gentlemen,’ says Ibrahim.
