Secrets of Blue and Gold

by Lynn Watson

  She went to Guacamole and carried him to the sofa to whisper into his non-existent ear.

  ‘They’re on to us, Guacamole. They need a mole, or they want to unmask one, I can’t decide which. There could be a bug-bot in this room, listening to us right now – maybe one of those cute little insect ones with cameras that can perch anywhere and fly around, get into every corner.’

  She looked over to her computer sitting on the dining table and remembered the time she had invited Vicky over to fix her software glitches, when Lily and Sahara were here so she let Vicky get on with it. The hidden bug could be wirelessly connected to the computer right now. She scanned the room in the semi-darkness, particularly the picture rail and curtain rail. If there was a bug, it would be too small to see in this light and too well concealed. She went to the table to lift the lid of the computer and sat staring at the blank screen. It would be a silly distraction to start it up and at this time of night, in her current frame of mind, it would lead her inexorably to the dating sites.

  She could try a Skype call to Max – it was still late afternoon in the US – and have a chat with him to calm her down. No, impossible; he would sense her mood, which had nosedived beyond the familiar evening dip into a frightening place where she felt trapped and alone.

  She had to warn Alice urgently about Fred’s dual identity and Ravi’s claim about the use of manufactured drugs. Could she trust her, though – was Alice also capable of double-crossing a friend? And was it possible that Ned was in on it? Surely he wouldn’t hang Fran out to dry, make her look an idiot? Even if he wasn’t in cahoots with Daniela and the others, Fran was even more convinced now that he was holding something back, something that explained why he had stayed so cool and unruffled in the face of the attacks on Junoco and on his own property.

  She walked over to the glass-fronted cabinet where she kept bottles of spirits and her stash of chocolate. There was a large bar, eighty-five per cent cocoa with pieces of ginger, luxuriously intense. It was very tempting, but she passed over it, going to the chest of drawers and taking out the Junoco truffles. Why wait for her mood to lift hours later, as it usually did between five and seven in the morning, when she could shift it quickly with these mighty little asteroids, and perhaps also find the insight to work out what was now destroyed and what, if anything, she could still have faith in?

  It was past dawn when she awoke to a Junoco dream, or trance, as she now sometimes thought of them. She had fallen asleep on the sofa with Guacamole squashed beside her, his wire spectacles now decidedly bent. In the dream, she was among a group of children, all playing with kites in a field of long, spiky grass. Except that they weren’t kites, they were miniature drones, insect toys, and the children controlled them remotely, making them rise and dive and make complicated formations. Among the group were Judi and her brother Jeremy, Fran and Marina, Lily and Ferdi – siblings and friends together, adventurous, free and gloriously unafraid.

  When the scene finally faded, she got up and left a voicemail for Daniela to say she was unwell and couldn’t come into work today. Then she sent text messages to Alice and Ned. She had a responsibility to warn them, to maintain her own integrity at least. If her instincts about them were wrong and they were also duping her, then so be it.

  ***

  That evening she was in Ned’s bed, sitting up against the silky pillows. He had departed from their usual ritual by bringing a bottle of bubbly into the bedroom before they put on their twin crimson robes for dinner. As he walked in, fully naked, with the tray, Fran began to hum a tune. Thank God for Junoco and its power to make her think better of the world. Ned came round the bed and planted a light kiss on her head.

  ‘Francesca, my girl, that’s not The Stripper, it’s The Pink Panther!’

  ‘I know it is. I’ve muddled them up this evening; I can’t think why.’

  ‘I shall ignore that insinuation, which isn’t worthy of you.’

  ‘Oh, you know you’re wonderfully sexy, Ned, but—’

  ‘I shall ignore everything before the “but” – that’s a golden rule an old girlfriend taught me when I was trying to dump her as tactfully as possible.’

  He poured the champagne, put on his robe, smoothed the striped duvet and pulled up the pillows before sitting beside her on the bed. ‘Okay, you go first. Your piece of news sounds more serious, judging from the hints you’ve already dropped.’

  Having turned down his last dinner invitation, she hadn’t passed on Vicky’s revelation that Daniela was meeting up with Professor Fred, so she dealt with that first. Then she told him about the mysterious message in the café and her encounter with Ravi in the pub – was it really only last night?

  She had turned to study Ned’s reaction, but his face was largely hidden by the pillow. He wiggled and stretched his toes, then bent both feet towards him, pushing his heels out and lifting them into the air.

  ‘So they’re all up to something, Ned, and Vicky has blatantly lied to me. She led me to think it was just Fred and Daniela in a conspiracy and that Daniela was playing a fast game, as she put it. Now I’ve seen the photos and it’s all three of them meeting up. I still don’t know why she’s pushing me to leave Junoco, but I feel I’m getting closer to the answer.’

  She would never confide in him about Vicky’s more heinous betrayal with Andy, as it would violate the tacit understanding between them. He knew that a close friend of hers had died soon after they met, that was all. He didn’t know Judi’s name or anything about Andy, or how and why it all mattered, or what a strong legacy it had left, although in a convoluted way he was part of it.

  ‘And Ravi, the journalist, he knows I’ve been talking to Alice and Marcus and trying to fit all the pieces together. I don’t know who to trust any more, or even if I can trust you.’

  Ned stopped exercising his feet and toes and took her hand between his. ‘I have been keeping something from you, Fran, I admit it, but it’s only because I don’t want to put you in a dangerous position. I’ve been hinting all along that I’d like to go into business with you, and that’s all I can say about it yet. If you agree to my immediate plan, then all will become clear, I promise.’

  ‘Okay,’ she said with deliberate wariness, noting how he had neatly avoided a response to her dramatic revelations. ‘What’s the immediate plan?’

  ‘The plan is to go away; go on holiday to a mystery destination. I’ve checked the flights and just need your passport number. We can get a flight on Friday and fly back overnight next Thursday. I think it’s high time for some tropical sunshine and romantic evenings under the stars, don’t you?’

  Chapter 16

  It was vital to see Alice before she went away. At first, she sounded hesitant on the phone, but when Fran suggested they take a boat cruise upriver to Kew, she accepted and they arranged it for Thursday afternoon.

  It was a bright day and the late-February sun lent a touch of warmth as Fran waited on Embankment Pier. She scanned the riverbank and Waterloo Bridge for Alice or anyone who might be following her, who might have one or both of them under surveillance. There was Alice now, in a red beret and scarf this time, stepping onto the wooden walkway.

  They were joined by a group of Chinese tourists, an elderly man, a couple with a baby and two backpacks, and three middle-aged couples, who appeared to be acquainted but chose to sit in different areas of the boat. None of them looked in the least suspicious.

  As the engine leapt into life and they began to chug away from the bank, Fran sensed that Alice was as jumpy as herself. She had to alert her to the latest developments while offering some degree of reassurance. It was she who had got Alice into this quagmire by asking her to test the Junoco truffles and leading her to investigate the substances they intended to use in the Bright Minds project.

  ‘How have you been, Alice? I was concerned when I didn’t hear back from you after we met that time in Hyde Park. It was freezing cold, I remember, and I was so buzzing with ideas that I managed to trip myself up and
fall flat crossing the traffic lights – no, don’t worry, no serious injury, but it was mortifying.’

  ‘It sounds horrendous.’ Alice paused. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t get in touch, but it’s all become more delicate and dicey. I haven’t managed to obtain any new info on the brain supplements and nutrients, and I don’t know where the laboratory is. It’s definitely not part of the university. I don’t have the evidence to back this up, but my strong feeling is that at least one element in the Bright Minds formula is novel and untested, which means they’ll do everything they can to hide it. I even went so far as to rummage in Fred’s office when he was overseas last week, but these days you don’t find anything significant in piles of paper and unlocked cabinets.’

  Should she speak up now, tell Alice about the incriminating photos and the possibility that the formulas for Junoco and Bright Minds could be identical or very similar? No, she decided to let her finish.

  ‘And there’s another reason for not contacting you before, Fran. I’m not having a good time at work generally. I’ve been told that the university isn’t going to support a major study that I’ve been working on for the past twelve months, in fact leading on the proposal. It’s not unusual for this to happen but my hunch is that it’s connected, that I’ve been asking too many questions and I’m getting a warning not to step out of line.’

  Fran half-snorted and couldn’t resist a sardonic reply. ‘That’s rich, isn’t it – you’re penalised for asking too many questions, being too curious about a programme that aims to boost curiosity and creativity!’

  Alice turned towards her, her expression anxious rather than amused. ‘Yes, but is it a correct presumption, about the programme’s aims? It says it in the project documents but can we be sure of its benign intentions? We know governments are capable of unethical activities and sophisticated ploys to disguise their real motives. And ambitious scientists will fall in with it and come up with their own justifications for taking part.’

  Fran thought about what Petra had told her about the three sample groups in the schools research – the top five per cent on academic achievement, the bottom five per cent and the kids with attention and hyperactivity disorders. Were the groups equally important or was it actually about one of the groups, perhaps, with the rest receiving a placebo – and if so, which group would they go for and why?

  ‘Do you have your own theory, then, Alice, about the aims of the schools trial?’

  ‘No, I don’t, and I can’t afford to speculate on it right now. I have to ensure that I don’t get dislodged, forced out of the research team. It shouldn’t be difficult as they need my skills, but no one is indispensable and the political drivers may be more important than the scientific or academic ones. Anyway, I’m determined to hang in there long enough to suss out if there’s anything nefarious going on. It is intriguing, up to a point, but I’m a sensible girl on the whole and I don’t want to lose my job or be whacked over the head in a back alley.’

  There it was, the quality Fran loved in all her close friends: the readiness to take a humorous turn and lighten the mood. Did she have a sixth sense for it when she first met them? Or, more prosaically, was it just something that happened when you reached a certain stage in life and were lucky enough, and perhaps wise enough, not to take everything too seriously?

  ‘I’ve got news for you too, Alice, some information I found out this week from a new contact who claims to be a journalist. He showed me a set of photographs that definitively link your Professor Fred to my boss Daniela and my ex-friend Vicky. The evidence suggests they are collaborating – or colluding, whatever you want to call it. Daniela has got Junoco and Fred has an online enterprise selling cognitive-enhancing drugs, according to my informant—’

  ‘What, Professor Fred, selling drugs on the internet? Jesus, that’s not right, it can’t be. Are you joking?’

  The couple sitting in the bow of the boat turned round at Alice’s loud exclamation. Fran looked around and moved closer to Alice, so she could speak almost under her breath.

  ‘No, I’m not joking. He even has a code name, Infrared, but let me finish, there’s more. My informant claims they’re meeting up because they’ve done a deal, some kind of exchange between the Junoco berry seeds and the synthetic drug that Fred uses in his cognitive products. It suggests that the government’s research on schoolchildren could involve a variant of Junoco, the magic seeds blended with an unregulated new drug. It’s a strong theory, at least, not yet proven.’

  ‘Wow, that’s dynamite, if it’s true – sheer bloody dynamite!’

  They continued their whispered conversation until the boat drew up alongside Kew Pier, where they disembarked and walked over the bridge to a riverside pub. As they went in and found window seats overlooking the towpath, Alice was still shaking her head.

  ‘I’m gobsmacked and yet, at the same time… It’s you, Fran, bringing out my subversive streak. I shouldn’t find it remotely exciting, but at one level, I do!’

  ‘Yep, hands up, I have lured you in, but you were involved anyway and it’s probably better to know than not, that’s my reasoning. Look, Alice, this isn’t great timing but I’m going away on Friday for a week, so we’ll have to stay in touch by text, if anything urgent comes up. I can call you back if there’s a decent phone signal.’

  ‘Okay, hopefully nothing drastic will happen in that time and I’ll only call you if I have to. I’ll keep my head down, or look as if I am, anyway. Are you going anywhere nice?’

  ‘I imagine so, but actually I don’t know where. It’s a surprise trip sprung on me by a friend, a man I’ve been seeing since I came to London.’

  ‘Ooh, one of the last true romantics, is he?’

  Fran tipped her head sideways with a mischievous smile as Alice glanced at her.

  ‘Not exactly – possibly a new variety… but you’ll have to wait till I get back.’

  ***

  Their eco-lodge hotel on the edge of the rainforest was only accessible by boat or small plane. The tiny airstrip was the other side of a wide waterway, and beyond the airstrip was a long sandy beach with its fringe of upright, leaning and near-horizontal coconut palms. Their room was more stunning than any Fran had ever stayed in before, with its curved walls, undulating ceiling, vibrant primary colours, beautiful stained-glass windows, and artwork in the form of abstract paintings and wooden or metal sculptures. They had their own private terrace with a small plunge pool and a low pink wall separating it from the main garden, its tall trees hung with drooping birds’ nests, and the dark wall of foliage marking the edge of the forest.

  On the first morning, they were woken by the howler monkeys but managed to sleep again in the lull that followed the noisy dawn chorus. It was nearly ten when they arrived at the wood-framed open-air restaurant for breakfast.

  ‘This pineapple is so delicious, so much juicier than the ones at home. I’m going to live on pineapple smoothies and these scrummy pastries while I’m here.’

  ‘Hang on a bit. You haven’t tried lunch and dinner yet – or the cocktails.’

  ‘This is wonderful, Ned. What a fabulous place. What shall we do today – just explore round and about, go across to the beach and maybe venture into the forest to see what wildlife we find along the trail?’

  ‘That sounds about right for day one, as well as an afternoon siesta, naturally. We can also book one or two tours for later on. I thought maybe the boat trip and a visit to the local history museum, which has indigenous art and a collection of gold pieces dating back to pre-Columbus… and we have to do the chocolate tour, don’t you think?’

  Her eyes lit up and she replied, through a mouthful of fruit and cream, ‘Chocolate tour – it’s one hundred per cent unmissable.’

  ‘It will be too, one hundred per cent cocoa, and they show you how it’s traditionally made. We’ll book it for a couple of days’ time, if that suits. Tomorrow morning, I’ve got something else planned, something just as fascinating.’

  Fran narrowed h
er gaze, immediately alerted to the change in his voice and, she realised now, primed for the possibility that there might be more to this spontaneous holiday than he had so far revealed.

  ‘What’s that then, Ned? I know you well enough to be deeply suspicious when you get all cryptic.’ She was racking her brain, trying to reimagine what was happening and make a new set of connections. The solution felt close, tantalisingly out of reach.

  ‘It’s a little mystery. Let’s have a great day today and I’ll tell you this evening – how about that?’

  ‘It’s rubbish. It’s not going to work on me and you know it. Come on, Ned, you have to tell me now, it’s too late to keep it secret.’

  ‘Okay then, I’ll come clean. I did want to come on holiday with you, I’m so happy to be here with you, but…’

  Fran giggled despite herself. ‘If this weren’t such a truly enchanting place to end up, I’d be inclined to ignore everything before the “but”.’

  ‘Well, I’m hoping it might even add to the enchantment, you never know. The truth is that I’ve set up a meeting with Osvaldo, Daniela’s cousin. He comes to Central America regularly and he’s flying up here tomorrow with one of the scientific boffins, Rick, he’s an American. I don’t want you to be mad at me, Fran, so please hear me out. It’s because we’d make great business partners, I’ve always said that.’

  Fran set down her spoon, put one elbow on the table and scratched her head, messing up her hair so it stuck out at all angles. Then she brought both curled fists to her cheeks and fixed him with a stare, which he unblinkingly returned. After a minute of this, she turned and nodded to the hovering waiter, who refilled their coffee cups and brought fresh glasses of orange juice and another plate of pastries that they couldn’t possibly eat. Eventually, she smiled at Ned and spoke in a flat, mock-resigned tone.

  ‘Okay, we’re here now, let’s talk. We can take the hotel boat to the other side and wander along the beach.’