This Was a Man (The Clifton Chronicles 7)
“But it wasn’t sold in time to solve his cash-flow problem, so he must have found something else.”
“His shares in Mellor Travel, perhaps?” suggested Giles.
“Seems unlikely,” said Hakim. “They’re worth at least a million and a half, and he only needed ten thousand.”
“It depends how desperate he was,” said Giles.
“Which is why I’m convinced he was being threatened by another inmate,” said Arnold.
“But why would he turn to Virginia for help,” said Giles, “when it was her who relied on him for an income, not the other way around?”
“She must have been the intermediary,” said Seb, “and my father suggests that’s how Knowles became involved.”
“And once he realized he could end up with fifty-one percent of Mellor Travel if Mellor wasn’t around to pay the ten thousand back within thirty days…”
“Which is why my father is convinced it wasn’t suicide, but murder,” said Seb.
“Jim Knowles may be a nasty piece of work,” said Arnold, “but I can’t believe he’d involve himself in murder.”
“I suspect that’s where Sorkin comes in,” said Seb.
“And there’s something else I can tell you from past experience,” said Arnold. “Contract killers usually charge around ten thousand, and there are sure to be one or two of them in Belmarsh.”
A long silence followed, until Hakim said, “So once Sorkin got his hands on the shares, if Mellor was no longer around, the company would fall into his lap. And there’s certainly no chance of us getting anything out of Knowles or Sloane.”
“That’s another mystery,” said Seb. “There’s been no sign of Sloane for over a month. I can’t believe he’d have done a runner only days before he had the chance of hitting the jackpot.”
“I agree,” said Hakim. “However, I suspect there is one other person who could probably answer all our questions.”
“The Lady Virginia Fenwick,” said Sebastian. “All we have to decide is who will approach her?”
“We could always draw straws to see who should bell the cat?”
“No need,” said Hakim. “There’s only one person who can pull this off.” He turned and smiled at Giles.
“But I haven’t spoken to Virginia for almost thirty years,” protested Giles, “and there’s no reason to believe she’d even be willing to see me.”
“Unless you were able to offer her something she couldn’t resist,” said Seb. “After all, we know Mellor was willing to pay ten thousand pounds to get that document back, so all you have to do is find out how much Virginia wants to supply you with a copy.”
“How do we even know she’s got a copy?” asked Arnold.
“Another piece of information kindly supplied by Mr. Carter,” said Seb.
“Which raises the question,” said Hakim, “who’s got the original?”
“Knowles,” said Seb without hesitation. “Don’t forget, it was he who collected the ten thousand from Carter.”
“But on whose behalf?” asked Arnold.
“We’re going around in circles,” said Hakim, “which I’m sure Lady Virginia can square.” Once again he turned and smiled at Giles.
* * *
Giles spent some considerable time trying to work out how he should approach Virginia. A letter suggesting a meeting would be a waste of time, as he knew from past experience that it was often days before she opened her mail, and even when she did, it was most unlikely she would bother to reply to anything that came from him. The last time he’d rung her, she had slammed the phone down before he’d had a chance to deliver the second sentence. And if he turned up on her doorstop unannounced, he could end up with a slapped face or a slammed door, and possibly both. It was Karin who came up with the solution. “That woman is only interested in one thing,” she said, “so you’ll have to bribe her.”
* * *
A DHL messenger delivered an envelope marked “Urgent & Personal” to Virginia’s home in Chelsea the following morning, and didn’t leave until she’d signed for it. She phoned Giles within an hour.