Best Kept Secret (The Clifton Chronicles 3)

Harry couldn't help noticing that Miss Carrick had glanced at his left hand more than once, on which a pale band of skin clearly indicated that a wedding ring had been removed. Captain Peter May had been divorced from his wife Angela for just over two years. They had two children: Jim, aged ten, who was hoping to go to Epsom College, and Sally, aged eight, who had her own pony. He even had a photograph of them to prove it. Harry had handed his ring to Emma for safe keeping just before he departed. Something else she didn't approve of.

'London has asked me to make an appointment to see a Captain Peter May at ten o'clock tomorrow morning,' said the ambassador.

His secretary made a note in the diary. 'Will you require any background notes on Captain May?'

'No, because I haven't a clue who he is, or why the Foreign Office wants me to see him. Just be sure to bring him straight to my office the moment he arrives.'

Harry waited until the last passenger had disembarked before he joined the crew. After he'd been checked through customs, he walked out of the airport to find a minibus waiting at the kerb.

The driver placed his suitcase in the baggage hold as Harry climbed on board to be greeted by a smiling Miss Carrick.

'May I join you?' he asked.

'Yes, of course,' she replied, moving over to make room for him.

'My name's Peter,' he said as they shook hands.

'Annabel. What brings you to Argentina?' she asked as the bus made its way into the city.

'My brother Dick works out here. We haven't seen each other for far too many years, so I thought I ought to make the effort as it's his fortieth birthday.'

'Your older brother?' said Annabel with a grin. 'What does he do?'

'He's a mechanical engineer. He's been working on the Parana Dam project for the past five years.'

'Never heard of it.'

'No reason you should have. It's in the middle of nowhere.'

'Well he's going to get a bit of a culture shock when he comes to Buenos Aires, because it's one of the most cosmopolitan cities on earth, and certainly my favourite stopover.'

'How long will you be here this time?' said Harry, wanting to change the subject before he ran out of details about his recently adopted family.

'Forty-eight hours. Do you know Buenos Aires, Peter? If you don't, you're in for a real treat.'

'No, this is my first time,' said Harry, word perfect so far. Don't lose your concentration, Sir Alan had warned him, because that's when you'll slip up.

'So what route do you usually fly?'

'I'm on the transatlantic hop  -  New York, Boston and Washington.' The anonymous man from the Foreign Office had settled on that route because it took in three cities Harry had visited on his book tour.

'That sounds like fun. But make sure you sample the night life while you're here. The Argentinians make the Yanks look conservative.'

'Anywhere in particular I should take my brother?'

'The Lizard has the best tango dancers, but I'm told the Majestic has the finest cuisine, not that I've ever experienced it. The crew usually end up at the Matador Club on Independence Avenue. So if you and your brother find you've got time on your hands, you'd be welcome to join us.'

'Thank you,' said Harry as the bus drew up outside the hotel. 'I might just take you up on that.'

He carried Annabel's case into the hotel.

'This place is cheap and cheerful,' she said as they checked in, 'so if you want a bath but don't want to wait for the water to heat up, it's best to have it last thing at night, or first thing in the morning,' she added as they stepped into the one lift.

When they reached the fourth floor, Harry left Annabel and stepped out into a badly lit corridor before making his way to room 469. After he'd let himself in, he discovered the room wasn't a great improvement on the corridor. A large double bed that sank in the middle, a tap that dripped brown water, a towel rail that offered one face cloth, and a notice informing him that the bathroom was at the end of the corridor. He recalled Sir Alan's note, We've booked you into a hotel Martinez and his cronies would never consider visiting. He'd already realized why. This place needed his mother to be appointed as the manager, and preferably yesterday.

He took off his peaked cap and sat down on the end of the bed. He wanted to call Emma and tell her how much he missed her, but Sir Alan couldn't have been clearer: no phone calls, no night clubs, no sightseeing, no shopping; don't even leave the hotel until it's time to visit the ambassador. He put his feet up on the bed and lowered his head on to the pillow. He thought about Sebastian, Emma, Sir Alan, Martinez, the Matador Club . . . Captain May fell asleep.

37

WHEN HARRY WOKE, the first thing he did was to turn on the light by his bed and check his watch: 2.26 a.m. He cursed when he realized he hadn't undressed.

He almost fell off the bed, walked across to the window and stared out at a city that from the noise of the traffic and the sparkling lights was clearly still wide awake. He closed the curtains, got undressed and climbed back into bed, hoping he would drop off again quickly. But he was robbed of sleep by thoughts of Martinez, Seb, Sir Alan, Emma, Giles and even Jessica, and the harder he tried to relax and dismiss them from his mind, the more they demanded his attention.

At 4.30 a.m., he gave up and decided he would have a bath. That's when he fell asleep. When he woke, he jumped out of bed and pulled back the curtains to see the first rays of sunlight bathing the city. He checked the time. It was 7.10 a.m. He felt grubby, and smiled at the thought of a long, hot bath.

He went in search of a dressing gown, but the hotel could only manage a thin bath towel and a sliver of soap. He stepped into the corridor and headed for the bathroom. A sign saying Occupado was hanging on the door handle, and he could hear someone splashing around inside. Harry decided to wait, so no one would take his place in the queue. When the door eventually opened after about twenty minutes, Harry came face to face with the one man he'd hoped never to see again.

'Good morning, captain,' he said, blocking his path.

'Good morning, Mr Bolton,' Harry replied, trying to edge past him.

'No rush, old fellow,' he said. 'It will take a quarter of an hour for the tub to empty, and then another fifteen minutes to fill it up again.' Harry hoped that if he said nothing, Bolton would take the hint and move on. He didn't. 'Your exact double,' said the persistent intruder, 'writes detective novels. The weird thing is that I can remember the name of the detective, William Warwick, but I'm damned if I can recall the name of the author. It's on the tip of my tongue.'

When Harry heard the last few drops of water gurgling down the drain, Bolton reluctantly moved aside, allowing him to enter the bathroom.

'It's on the tip of my tongue,' Bolton repeated as he walked off down the corridor.

Harry closed the door and locked it, but no sooner had he turned on the tap than there was a knock on the door.

'How long are you going to be?'

By the time there was enough water for him to step into the bath, he could hear two people holding a conversation on the other side of the door. Or was it three?

The bar of soap only just lasted long enough to reach his feet, and by the time he had dried between his toes, the towel was soaking. He opened the bathroom door to find a queue of disgruntled guests, and tried not to think what time it would be before the last of them went down to breakfast. Miss Carrick was right, he should have taken a bath when he woke in the middle of the night.