‘When Harvey first starts to put together a concert, he makes lists like these. He’s old school, preferring pen and paper when he’s scribbling down ideas. I then take a photo, go away and do a bit of practice, before coming back to him with my thoughts on whether the pieces form a cohesive programme, and what order would suit them best. Did the handwriting on the letter look like this?’
I nod, and his expression turns dark. ‘Right,’ he says after a moment. ‘Time to sort a few things out.’
34
Gabriel takes back his phone and dials a number, putting it on speakerphone so I can listen.
‘Hi, Gabriel.’ Harvey’s voice sounds concerned. ‘I was about to call. Where are you?’
‘I’m just in town sorting some things out,’ Gabriel tells him coolly. ‘Tell me something, are you at the house?’
‘Yes. The piano tuner is here and I’m putting the final touches to the recording schedule for the CD we’re going to issue to promote the Japanese tour in May. You’re supposed to be here brainstorming it with me, remember?’
‘Sorry,’ Gabriel tells him curtly. ‘It slipped my mind.’
Harvey’s voice turns soothing, as if talking to an upset child. ‘Look, I wasn’t going to say anything while we were on tour, but is everything all right? You seem to have lost your usual razor-sharp focus. Shall I get an appointment with Mr Harrison on Harley Street? Might be worth just getting you a health MOT. What do you say?’
‘I don’t think that will be necessary,’ Gabriel replies. ‘Like I said, I’ve just got a few things I need to deal with this morning.’
‘You should have given those to me,’ Harvey interrupts, sounding a little cross now. ‘Sorting things out for you is literally my job, in case you’ve forgotten. You need to be here, focused on your work.’
‘This is something I needed to handle personally,’ Gabriel tells him. ‘Is Consuela there?’
‘Yes, why?’
‘I just wanted to catch her before she goes shopping. There are a couple of things I need.’
‘Shall I put her on?’
‘No, don’t worry. I’ll call her myself.’
‘OK. When will you be back? I really need you to look at this CD thing.’
‘Soon. Thanks, Harvey.’
‘Who is Consuela?’ I ask when Gabriel has ended the call.
‘She’s my housekeeper. Sorry about this. I’m winging it like mad at the moment. Give me a few more minutes and hopefully everything will become clear.’ He picks up his phone again and dials another number.
‘¡Hola Consuela!’ he says, surprising me with his fluent-sounding Spanish. ‘Perdona que te interrumpa, pero hay algo muy importante con lo que necesito tu ayuda. ¿Está bien?’
The rest of the conversation sails completely over my head, but I’m almost less surprised to discover that he evidently speaks fluent Spanish than I am by the conspiratorial tone in his voice, which isn’t what you’d expect from someone delivering a shopping list. I hope he’s not ordering more champagne and strawberries. Whatever he says, and whatever the explanation for this whole debacle, it’s going to be a long time before I can enjoy those again.
His smile is almost beatific when the call ends.
‘Nearly there,’ he assures me, evidently completely unaware that he’s not making any sense at all.
There’s a brief silence before his phone rings. It’s obviously Consuela, as the short conversation is in Spanish again. As soon as it finishes, he launches an app and taps a few buttons.
‘What’s going on?’ I ask when he sets the phone back down. ‘And why did you never mention you speak Spanish?’
‘I speak Spanish, and you’ll see what’s going on in a minute,’ is all he says.
He doesn’t get to explain any further as the phone rings again almost immediately. He smiles and puts it on speaker once more.
‘Gabriel.’ Harvey’s voice sounds irritated. ‘Can you check the front door app please?’
‘Why?’ Gabriel says smoothly. ‘What’s up?’
