“You know I can’t tell you that. There’s such a thing as cabinet confidentiality.”
“Cabinet confidentiality means you can’t tell me if something has been discussed. Surely you can tell me if somethinghasn’tbeen discussed.”
“I don’t think that’s how cabinet confidentiality works,” he said.
“Rubbish. I was told the cabinet spent two hours last month debating whether Paddington Bear would beat Winnie the Pooh in a cage fight.”
“We certainly did not!”
“See, youcantell me about things that weren’t discussed. So, is ZephEnergies the government’s preferred partner on the Newton Bardon project?”
“It has to go to the committee.”
“But has a deal already been done?”
“Whoever is feeding you this information, Sunny, they’re jumping at shadows. There’s nothing to see.” He twisted in his seat, plucked his cup of tea off his desk, and stared directly into my eyes. “Now, I’ve answered your questions; you have to answer mine.”
On the face of it, VladPop hadn’t answered my questions at all. In reality, whether he knew it or not, he’d told me exactly what I needed to know. There were two reasons a politician avoided answering a direct question like this one: either you were right, and they didn’t want to confirm it, or they had no idea, so they hedged their bets. There was no way the chief whip didn’t know what was going on at Newton Bardon. He probably knew what colour underpants the prime minister had worn to the coronation. I slumped back in my chair. VladPop sipped his tea and put the cup back into the saucer.
“So, are you and Ludo on together, then?” He put up a hand. “Before you answer, let me warn you, the CCTV evidence says yes.”
“Are you spying on me using the Palace of Westminster security cameras?”
“I wouldn’t call it spying, Sunny. I’m just taking a genuine interest in your welfare.”
“Why, exactly?”
“Come on, get to the good bit. Are you an item? Has my little plan to throw you together worked? You’d be so perfect for each other!”
I sighed and caved in. He already had the evidence, so what was the point in holding out?
“Yes, I suppose we are an item.”
VladPop squeed like a schoolgirl, and I let him have his moment. Why not? After all, he wasn’t the only one who’d been collecting evidence. And the evidence I was collecting would soon be on the front page of every newspaper in the country. My own moment was coming very soon. I was sure of it.
Chapter49
Ludo
On Friday afternoon I waited for Sunny in our stairwell in the Victoria Tower, bouncing up and down with excitement. It smelt slightly of caffeine and spoilt milk from where my coffee had seeped into the cracks of the masonry, dried, and gone crusty. The sound of rushed footsteps came first; then Sunny’s head appeared at a level below my feet, his face lit by a cheesy grin. He finished coiling the steps, and he stood before me, his face to mine. I grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him into a kiss. He kissed me back but pulled away more quickly than I’d have liked.
“VladPop has cameras everywhere,” he said. I could still taste Sunny on my lips, and I found myself licking them unconsciously. “How’d you go with Torsten?”
“He was in a bit of a hurry. He’s off to Leaf and Karma’s retreat this weekend and wanted to beat the traffic out of London. He’s proving terribly loyal to Carstairs. I don’t think the old school tie is going to be enough to crack him.”
“Do you think he knows the truth?”
“I’m sure of it,” I said. “When I asked him whether Newton Bardon was a done deal, he denied it, but…” I clicked my teeth with my tongue.
“His tell?” Sunny asked.
“Yeah.”
“We should really invite him to a poker game some night.”
I was so excited I was shivering; the adrenaline was rushing through me. The proof we needed felt close.
“It makes sense that he would know,” Sunny said. “He’s been running around like an obedient lapdog, doing everything for her this whole time. If she’s up to no good, she’ll have outsourced the dirty work to Torsten to keep herself at arm’s length. He’s a useful idiot.”
