So what are you cooking for your brother?
Ben was glad of the change of subject. Turning round, he said: Something Thai, maybe a green curry.
Oh. Bit of a dab hand in the kitchen, are we?
Well, not bad. I find it relaxing after a day in the studio. And Alice cant boil an egg. So its either that or we eat out every night.
What about Mark? What about your brother? Can he cook?
Ben laughed, as if she had asked a stupid question.
Mark doesnt know one end of a kitchen from the other. Anyway, hes always out at night, with clients or away at the club. Spends a lot of his time travelling overseas. He doesnt get much chance to be at home.
Really? Jenny was putting on her shoes. What times he due back?
Shes interested, he thought. They always are. They see photos of Mark in the hall and they want a chance to meet him.
Im not sure. He just called on the phone from Heathrow.
Right.
From her reaction, it was clear that Jenny would not have time to stay. Picking up her bag, she soon made for the stairs and it remained only to pay her. Ben had thirty pounds in his wallet, six five-pound notes which he pressed into her hand. They were walking towards the front door when he heard the scratch of a key in the lock. The door opened and Alice walked in, talking rapidly into her mobile phone. She did a double-take when she saw Ben standing at the foot of the staircase beside a tall, slightly flushed pretty girl and he raised his eyebrows as a way of saying hello. Jenny took a step back inside.
Thats not the point, Alice was saying. Her voice was raised to a pitch just below outright aggression. I told her shed have a chance to read through the piece. To check it. That was a promise I made. Jenny found herself standing awkwardly between them, like an actor waiting to go onstage. So if you go ahead and print it, her whole family, who Ive known since I was six fucking years old, are going to go
Ben smiled uneasily and felt the dread of the phone calls aftermath, another work crisis the dutiful husband would have to resolve. Thanks, then, Jenny whispered to him, moving towards the door. Same time tomorrow?
Same time, he said.
About midday?
Midday.
Your wifes lovely, she mouthed, standing below him on the threshold. Really pretty.
Ben merely nodded and watched as Jenny turned towards Ladbroke Grove. Only when she was out of sight did he close the door.
But thats exactly what Im saying, Andy. Alice had kicked off her shoes and was now stretched out on the sofa. A great part of her lived for arguments of this kind, for the adrenalin surge of conflict. If the article appears as it is She pulled the phone away from her ear. Fuck, I got cut off.
What happened?
Ben came over and sat beside her. Her cheek as he kissed it was cold and smelled of moisturizer and cigarettes.
You remember that piece I wrote about my friend from school, the girl who was arrested for drug smuggling? Alice was redialling Andys number as she spoke. Ben vaguely remembered the story. It was supposed to be a feature but the news desk got hold of it. Now theyve gone and made the girl out to be some kind of wild child who should have known better, exactly what I promised Jane we wouldnt do. She stared at the read-out on her mobile phone. Great. And now Andys switched his phone off.
Her name is Jane? The observation was a non sequitur, but Alice didnt seem to notice.
She came to me because she knew the press would be on to her sooner or later. She thought she could trust me to tell her side of the story. Im the only journalist her family knows.
And now its been taken out of your hands?
He was trying to appear interested, trying to say the right things, but he knew that Alice was most probably lying to him. She would have leaked the story to the news desk in the hope of winning their approval. Alice was ambitious to move from features into news; the more scoops she could push their way, the better would be her chances of promotion.
Thats right. Which explains why Andy isnt returning my calls.
And how did Andy get hold of the story?
Her answer here would prove interesting. Would she confess to showing the interview to a news reporter, or claim that it was taken from her desk? Each time there was a crisis of this kind, Alice inevitably found someone else to blame.
I just mentioned it to a colleague over lunch, she said, as if this small detail did not in itself imply a breach of trust. Next thing I know, the news editor is demanding that I hand over the interview so that he can farm it for quotes.
Ben noticed that she had stopped trying to reach Andys mobile phone.
So why didnt you just refuse? he asked. Why didnt you just tell him youd made a deal with the girl?
Ben noticed that she had stopped trying to reach Andys mobile phone.
So why didnt you just refuse? he asked. Why didnt you just tell him youd made a deal with the girl?
It doesnt work like that.
Of course it doesnt. Why not? he said.
Look, if youre just going to be difficult about this we might as well
Why am I being difficult? Im just trying to find out
Did you pickup my dry cleaning for the party?
The inevitable change of subject.
Did I what?
Did you pickup my dry cleaning for the party?
Alice, Im not your fucking PA. Ive been busy in the studio all day. If I have time, Ill get it tomorrow.
Great. And she was on her feet, sighing. Too busy doing what? To walkfive hundred metres to the main road?
No. Too busy working.
Working?
Is that where were going with this? Ben pointed towards the attic. Painting isnt work? Theres no such thing as a busy day when youre an artist?
Alice tookoff her earrings and put them on a table.
Was that her? she asked, trying a different tack. The one at the bottom of the stairs?
Jenny? Yes, when you came in. Of course it was.
And is she nice?
Nice?
Do you get on with her?
A pause.
We get on fine, yes. She just lies down and I start painting. Its not really about getting on.
What is it about then?
So youre now picking a fight with me about a model?
Alice turned her back on him.
Its just that I thought you were painting older people nowadays. Isnt that the idea for the new show?
No. Why would you think that? Its just nudes. Age doesnt come into it.
So you still hire a girl purely on the basis of looks?
Ben stood up from the sofa and decided to get away. He would go backup stairs to the studio, put on a record and wait until Alice had calmed down.
Look, he said, youve had a bad day at work. Somebody fucked you over. Try not to take it out on everyone else. Alice stubbed out her cigarette and said nothing. Why dont we start again later? Marks arriving in less than an hour. Have a bath and chill out.
Dont tell me to chill out. Just give me a straight answer to my question.
Ben had to stop and turn.
To what question?
And Alice reacted as if he were deliberately concealing something.
Fine, she said, and pointedly looked at her watch. What time does the dry cleaner close?
How the fuck should I know?
Well, Im just wondering what Im going to wear to this party tomorrow night, now that you havent picked up my dress.
So go and get it. Youre a big girl.
Well, I dont have much choice, do I?
And Ben was halfway upstairs, heading back to the studio, when he heard the front door slam behind him.
6
Stephen Taploe called the waitress over with an impatient wave of his hand and asked for the bill. It had become necessary to conduct the rest of the conversation outside the cafe, because there were now three men standing idly behind Keens chair, sucking on bottles of Mexican lager. The bill came to a little under nine pounds and Taploe put the receipt carefully in his wallet. He was very exact when it came to filing for expenses.
The two men crossed the road and turned towards Brook Green, a steady head-on wind blowing dried leaves and litter along the pavement. Choosing his moment with care, Taploe said, What do you know about a man called Sebastian Roth?
The question took Keen by surprise. His first thought was that someone inside Divisar had breached client confidentiality.
Why dont you tell me what you know about a man called Sebastian Roth and Ill see if I can be of any assistance? he said. Sort of fill in the blanks.
Taploe had anticipated that Keen would be evasive; it bought him time.
I know what any person can read in the papers. Roth is thirty-six years old, an entrepreneur, very well connected with the present Labour government, the only son of a Tory peer. He went to Eton, where he was neither particularly successful nor popular and dropped out of Oxford after less than a year. After a stint in the City he opened the original Libra nightclub about six months before Ministry of Sound and at least a year before Cream first took off in Liverpool. Those three are still the night clubs of choice for the younger generation, though its mostly compact discs now, isnt it? Thats how they make their money. Keen remained silent. Judging from the photographs in certain magazines Tatler, Harpers & Queen and so on Roth looks to have a new girlfriend on his arm every week, although we think hes something of a loner. Very little contact with his family, no relationship at all with either of his two siblings. Libra is his passion, extending the brand, controlling the business. Roth spends a lot of time overseas, collects art, and has recently finished conversion on a house in Pimlico valued at over two million pounds. I also happen to know that one of his representatives came to your company some months ago asking for assistance.
Keen slowed his pace.
You know that I cant discuss that, he said.
Then allow me discuss it for you. It was all going very well for Stephen Taploe, the one-upmanship, the gradual trap. He flattened down his moustache and coughed lightly. Roth has a lawyer friend, an individual by the name of Thomas Macklin. Helped him build the Libra empire, the Paris and New York sites, the merchandising arm in particular. I believe youve made his acquaintance?
Go on. The hard soles of Keens brogues clipped on the pavement as they turned left into Sterndale Road.
In the past four months, Macklin has made eight separate trips to Russia. On three of these journeys he took internal flights from St Petersburg to Moscow, where he remained for several days.