Breath of Corruption
Page 20
Irina nodded. ‘Thank you. So many things you give me. It is very kind.’
‘Well, look, there’s one more thing I want to give you. Before I do, promise me you won’t say no, or try to give it back. Please?’
Irina shrugged. ‘OK.’
Lola went to her desk, unlocked a drawer and took out an envelope. She gave it to Irina, who opened it. Her eyes widened as she looked at the bundle of hundred-pound notes. ‘This money is for books,’ said Lola. ‘It’s for books and whatever else you need to finish your studies. All right?’
Irina took the envelope reluctantly. ‘You give me too much.’
‘Sweetie, it’s small change, compared to what I spend on the useless things in my useless life. Truly. I’m happy to be able to help someone do something worthwhile. Now let’s stuff it right into the middle of your suitcase. The zip goes the other way. That’s it. Wrap it up in that skirt where no one’ll find it.’
The intercom buzzed, and Lola went to let Leo in.
‘She’s all ready to go,’ Lola told Leo.
‘Fine. Listen, thank you for looking after her.’
‘I’ve enjoyed having her here. Now that I know what she’s been through, I just wish I could have done more. I mean, I think of all the other girls who get tricked and duped and finish up doing what she did. It’s horrible.’
‘There are organisations who are always on the lookout for volunteers. There’s something called the Poppy Project, I believe, that helps people like Irina. You could give it a try.’
‘Really? I just might,’ said Lola thoughtfully. ‘God knows, I’ve got enough time on my hands.’
‘I’ll look into it for you, if you like.’ Leo gave her a couple of quick kisses. ‘Thanks again.’ He turned to Irina. ‘Come on, let’s get going – the traffic can be hell on Saturdays.’
Leo drove Irina to the airport, and took her to the check-in desk. He noticed her glancing around nervously as she stood in the queue, and said, ‘Don’t worry – Viktor isn’t here looking for you. That’s over, I promise.’ She smiled and gave a little sigh, and he added, ‘Do you intend to do anything about Viktor when you get back? Go to the police?’
Irina looked horrified. ‘No! He have bad friends. I do not say anything. I cannot.’
Between them, thought Leo, he and Irina were letting a very nasty piece of work off the hook. There was no moral justification, he supposed, except self-interest – the ultimate justification.
Driving back from the airport, Leo thought about Anthea. She’d talked to Lucy, that little drama was over, and now everything, for her, was as it had been. Could it be, for him? He reflected on what Anthony had said of him earlier – that one person would never be enough. No doubt he’d thought it a perspicacious observation. The ironic thing was, for Leo, Anthony could be that one person. But as things were … Leo drummed his fingers absently on the wheel as the traffic began to slow ominously. As things were …
The traffic came to a complete standstill. Leo tuned in to the traffic news. An accident was blocking two lanes of the M4, with two miles of tailbacks already building up. Leo sat thinking for a few minutes, then picked up his mobile phone and tapped in Anthea’s number. She answered on the second ring.
‘Hi, it’s me,’ said Leo. ‘Sorry if I was a little abrupt last night. I really had had a bad week.’
‘Don’t worry. We both got a good night’s sleep. At least, I hope you did.’
‘Kind of. What are you doing tonight?’
‘Seeing you, I hope.’
‘You hope correctly.’ There was a pause. ‘I’m glad Lucy spoke to you. I’ve rather missed you.’
‘Well, that’s sweet, given that it’s only been a few days. Anyway, I had to speak to her, and drag the truth out of her.’
‘We’ll talk about it later. I’ll pick you up around eight, shall I?’
‘Eight is fine. But I made Lucy a promise we wouldn’t talk about it. Or rather, about her. And I always keep my promises.’
‘Very commendable. In that case, I want you to promise that when I see you later—’
Anthea listened as Leo elaborated. ‘That is so depraved! Where do you get these ideas?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Leo, smiling. ‘They just come to me.’
On Monday morning, Leo strolled into chambers in a buoyant mood. He and Oliver had had a terrific day on Sunday, savouring the delights of the London Eye and lunch at TGI Friday’s, and Rachel had been on her best, civil behaviour when he’d dropped him off. On top of that, Saturday evening with Anthea had been as unwholesome and pleasurable as he’d anticipated. Anthony was right. Serious relationships were definitely a bar to true enjoyment of life.
‘Morning, Mr Davies!’ called out Felicity in passing. She was wearing a new cashmere sweater with a plunging V-neck, evidently designed to keep Henry on his toes.
‘Morning, Felicity. Nice sweater. How was your weekend?’
‘Lovely. I’m right off celibacy. I’ll pop up and tell you about it later. How was yours?’
Leo hesitated, then said, ‘Interesting. Interesting and varied.’
Leo spent most of that morning in meetings convened to deal with the aftermath of Maurice’s departure, and to discuss the future of 5 Caper Court. The exodus of Roger and the handful of other junior tenants would leave something of a hole, and despite a promising batch of pupils currently in the pipeline, Leo decided a recruitment drive might be in order. It was just before one, when he was going out to lunch, that he met Michael on the stairs, an early edition of the Evening Standard in his hand.
‘I was just on my way to see you,’ said Michael, handing him the paper. ‘Have you seen this?’
Leo read the headline ‘Magnate found gassed in car’ then scanned the opening paragraph: ‘The construction tycoon Sir Dudley Humble was found dead in his car at a remote spot in Surrey early this morning. He appeared to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Sir Dudley was the head of Humble Construction Ltd, a firm which he established in the early 80s and brought to great success in the 1990s, but which had lately suffered setbacks through a number of cancelled contracts and failed bids. In addition to his heavy financial losses, Sir Dudley had recently been questioned by police investigating the ongoing cash-for-peerages scandal.’
‘Christ,’ murmured Leo.
‘I know – bit of a shock. Did he seem like the suicidal type?’
‘Difficult to say,’ replied Leo, thinking of Viktor Kroitor’s last words to him two days ago. He rather doubted that Sir Dudley had died by his own hand. ‘Mind if I hold on to this?’ he asked Michael.
‘Be my guest. I’ll catch you later.’
Leo carried on downstairs, and went into the clerks’ room, looking thoughtful.
‘Anything up, Mr D?’ asked Henry.
‘Have a look at this.’ He showed the paper to Henry, who gave a low whistle. A sudden thought occurred to Leo. ‘Have we been paid yet on the Humble Construction Case?’ Henry tapped at his keyboard and glanced at the computer screen. ‘We’ve issued a fee note.’
Leo nodded. ‘Chase it up, would you?’
As he left chambers, musing on Sir Dudley’s untimely death, Leo felt a momentary touch of guilt. Maybe if he’d played his hand differently, gone to the police early on, the man might be alive now. Embroiled in an unseemly scandal, but alive.
But in the game which Sir Dudley had chosen to play, there were no rules, no moral outcomes. There was only self-preservation, decided Leo, as he strolled through the Temple, past the buildings and gardens lying serene and timeless in the autumn sunshine.
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About the Author
CARO FRASER is the daughter of George MacDonald Fraser, author of the Flashman novels. She attended art school and worked as an advertising copywriter before deciding to pursue a career in law. Fraser began to write full-time while bringing up the third of her four children, and published her first novel, The Pupil, in 1993. Since then she has written several novels, including the critically acclaimed Caper Court series. She is currently a full-time shipping lawyer and lives in London.
By Caro Fraser
THE CAPER COURT SERIES
The Pupil
Judicial Whispers
An Immoral Code
A Hallowed Place
A Perfect Obsession
A Calculating Heart
Breath of Corruption
Errors of Judgment
LOOK OUT FOR THE NEXT BOOK IN CARO FRASER’S CAPER COURT SERIES …
Leo Davies, highly successful QC of 5 Caper Court, has often indulged in a hedonistic private life at odds with his working persona. Now living a life away from this precarious past, Leo has come to see himself as ‘a man of simplicity’. But deep down Leo, still possessing the same charm and good looks, knows that this won’t be enough for long. Sure enough, his head is soon turned by a figure from his past – someone who loves the high life and game-playing just as much as he ever did.
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
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First published in Great Britain in 2007.
This ebook edition published by Allison & Busby in 2014.
Copyright © 2007 by CARO FRASER
The moral right of the author is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978–0–7490–1433–9