Tommy took a deep pull from his glass, then set it on the table, his expression pained. ‘Fuck,’ he muttered to himself.
‘You don’t know if you should tell me,’ I said.
‘Oh no, IknowI shouldn’t.’ His eyes found mine and he gave me a loaded look. ‘Like I said before, you’re already too close to this for my liking.’
‘You’re scaring me.’
‘Good. Because all this, what you’re caught up in, it’s serious, Ally. And I really hoped you’d just do the PR stuff and leave before it all came to a head. But now Julian’s told you he’s in a bind and?—’
‘Wait, how can you possibly know that? I didn’t tell you about that.’ But before he could answer, it came to me. ‘You bugged his villa. You’ve been spying on him.’
He confirmed this with a nod, and I took a fortifying gulp of wine.
‘Okay,’ I said, ‘tell me –allof it.’
‘I’ll tell you what I can, but I should probably start at the beginning.’
‘Yes, do that.’
My mind raced to catch up on everything I’d just learned, but hopefully I’d be able to piece it together on the fly. If Tommy was prepared to talk, I wouldn’t interrupt him.
19
Thought of the day…
Trust your gut.
9 times out of 10 it will be right.
(The 10th time might just be indigestion.)
‘Do you remember the ethics professor I had at Oxford?’ he began, twin lines of concentration appearing between his brows. ‘You met him that one time at the pub.’
‘Professor Patel?’ I asked, remembering a slightly built, softly spoken man in his late forties.
‘That’s him. And do you remember the project I was working on after we got married? At Langford Rise?’
‘That council estate in South London – the builders cut corners, pocketed the savings, and extorted the council. You exposed them.’
‘That’s the one. Not really within my purview as an engineer, but too much didn’t add up and I wasn’t prepared to let it go.’
‘You did the right thing. I was proud of you.’
‘Thanks, that means a lot. But getting back to Professor Patel… It wasn’t just a catch-up that day at the pub. After you went back to the flat, he got to the real reason he’d asked to meet. He was recruiting me, Ally. Apparently, he’d been keeping an eye on me – for years – since our first tutorial together. You see, he’s not only a professor; he also helps a particular organisation find people who might be…suitable. For the sort of work they do.’
‘You mean espionage?’
‘Eh… that term’s probably a little loaded for my liking. And I’m notreallya spy – more of an investigator.’
‘And you’re investigating Julian – you and Elsa?’ I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
‘Yes.’
‘And this business deal… Has Julian done something wrong?’
‘Not yet, but it seems like only a matter of time.’
‘Oh god, will he go to jail?’ I asked bluntly. My hand hovered over my mouth of its own accord.
