“Come with me,” she said. He took her offered arm.
“It’s just so weird,” Amelia said. “I’ve got a seeing sister. And she’s gorgeous.”
“Stop it,” Susannah said.
“She’s right,” Matthew (‘Call me Matt’) said.
“I feel awful. Everybody says I look as though I’ve been in a fight. Where’s Mum?”
“I think she went out for a cigarette.”
“Dr. Clarke said I have to keep away from smokers and smoky environments.”
“Mum’s not really a smoker.”
“Susannah.”
It was her father. Where had he been?
“So tell us about Niall Burnet,” he said. “Where did you meet him? How long have you known him?”
“Why does it matter?” Susannah asked. “Of course it matters.”
“She’s twenty-two, Dad,” Amelia said.
“She’s got the emotional intelligence of a child,” her father said. “You know that as well as I do. What other little secrets and surprises have you got for us?”
“I’ve got a friend,” Susannah said. “I haven’t known him long – “
“I knew it,” her father interrupted. “You’re going to have to get used to this, Susannah. You’re going to be somebody everybody knows about for a while. People are going to want to know you for the wrong reasons. Not because they really want to be your friends but because they want to exploit you and get control of you. They’ll know you’ve got money and they’ll be trying to get their hands on it.”
“Have I got money?” she asked.
“You will have.”
“And what if you’re totally wrong about Niall?”
“You don’t need a blind friend, Susannah. You can leave all that behind. Blindness is history for you now.”
Niall called Lindsey and arranged to meet her outside the main entrance to the Victoria and Albert Museum. He didn’t know what prompted him to suggest it other than that it was an easy destination to give a taxi driver, and it wasn’t too far from BAB, where Lindsey’s ‘interview’ was taking place at half past three.
“It should’ve been on neutral territory,” Niall said.
“I didn’t have anywhere to suggest,” Lindsey whined.
Hugo did a good job of flagging down a taxi and they were soon on their way.
“All these cabs are costing me a pretty penny,” Niall confessed to the dog. “If we stay in London much longer we’re going to have to get our heads round the tube.”
Hugo gave no indication that he was impressed at the prospect.
“What was all that about, up there?” Niall went on, forgetting that Hugo had missed it all. “The girl suddenly wants to talk to me and the Dad warns me off. Do you think he’s got something to hide and he’s terrified she’s going to tell me? In which case, surely he should be more worried about the guy from the Mirror. Or maybe he’s bought him off. It’s all good fun anyway, eh? Means more trips to Moorfields, more expense. And I can’t stay in Simon’s lounge for ever. We’re totally unwelcome as it is.”
They arrived very early at the V & A, and settled down to wait. Niall wished he could have ten pounds for every time he had to say ‘I’m just waiting for someone’. He knew people meant well, he knew blindness did bring out the helpful streak in people, but he did wish they’d just leave him alone. Some of them only wanted an excuse to meet Hugo, but others were really irritating.
It was a relief when Lindsey’s less-than-dulcet tones broke across his contemplation.
“You said half an hour,” she said.
“I know. You’re fine. I was early.”
“So this is the V & A,” she said, astonishing him.
“You work near here,” Niall said.
“Do I?”
“Unbelievable.”
With help from a number of passers-by they found their way to a coffee shop and Lindsey ordered a skinny latte. Raspberry tea wasn’t on the menu so Niall had to make do with peppermint.
“Every cafe in Shrewsbury serves raspberry tea,” he said to the girl behind the counter. It was almost certainly not true, and as she sounded as though she had only been in the UK for a week she probably had no idea where Shrewsbury was, but it made him feel better saying it. Indulging himself in a little justified outrage.
“So,” he said, when they were safely ensconced at a table. “What’s up?”
“You know what’s up,” Lindsey said.
“What’s going to happen then? At the meeting.”
“I suppose Juliette’s going to ask me about the allegations.”
“And you still don’t know what they are?”
“No.”
“It’s outrageous.” Niall raised his voice.
“Ssh! I don’t want people listening to us.”
“No. OK. Sorry. But it is. They’re holding all the cards. You can’t prepare any kind of defence because you don’t actually know what you’ve got to defend yourself against.”
“There’s no point getting angry, Niall,” Lindsey said on the verge of tears. “It won’t change anything and it won’t help.”
“OK. OK. I’m not angry.”
“Juliette did say I could bring someone with me if I wanted.”
“Because she had to. Because she’s making damn sure she’s playing this by the book.”
“But I don’t know anyone,” Lindsey said helplessly.
“What about this man in your life?” Niall asked. “Can’t he support you? He bloody well should.”
“He would if he could but he works at BAB so it’s really awkward.”
“Oh no. What does he do?”
“It doesn’t matter what he does,” Lindsey insisted angrily. “Just leave him out of it. He hates what’s happening to me but we can’t risk both of us losing our jobs over this.”
“Over what?” Niall said exasperated.
“I’ll find out this afternoon,” Lindsey returned in the same tone.
They sipped coffee and mint tea. The dogs dozed under the table.
“I was hoping you’d go with me,” Lindsey said at last.
“Me?” Niall spluttered, incredulous.
“You won’t let her walk all over me.”
“God I’m in demand at the minute,” Niall said.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing. Lindsey, look, yes, I will go with you if it’s what you want, but seriously – I don’t think it will help you if they know I’m in your corner.”
“I don’t know what will help me,” Lindsey said. “I just can’t face this on my own.”
“OK. It’s a deal. Who’d’ve thought it?”
“What?”
“Lindsey and Niall. Together again.”
“We’re not together.”
“No. I know.”
Daniel Sullivan illegally made a call on his mobile phone while driving.
“Hello?”
“Daniel,” he said, by way of introduction.
“Yes,” confirmed his interlocutor.
“The irritant is still in evidence.”
“Frankly I don’t consider it a problem.”
“It’s annoying,” Daniel said. “Unnecessary.”
“We’re secure. We’ll monitor the situation closely. If it becomes necessary to unleash the pit-bull, then we will.”
“OK,” Daniel said. “Just thought you should know.”
He rang off without ceremony and gave his attention back to the road.
Lindsey and Niall arrived at BAB at three fifteen. Niall was nervous, but alert. Part of him didn’t want to be so obviously on BAB’s radar at the moment, but part of him did. He wanted to redeem himself in his own eyes following the debacle of his interview with Vivien Loosemore. And there was still the fact that Lindsey’s suspension was phoney. Somehow a nerve had been touched. He wasn’t even sure if it had been by him. He was certainly no longer convinced that it had anything to do with the transplant. But people at BAB were running scared of somet
hing and lashing out. He needed to start being calm, collected and inspired. No more mistakes. Full concentration.
Lindsey introduced herself at reception, said that she had brought somebody with her. Niall concentrated on listening to the tone of voice of the staff members who greeted her. He sensed shock, sympathy, collective disbelief. These people were going to struggle to accept her guilt. He wondered whether the shadowy masterminds behind this ploy had considered that.
They were shown to a room and told that ‘Ms. Warwick’ would be with them shortly. Lindsey took a seat at one side of a large table and called Niall to sit beside her. The dogs settled down beneath them.
Niall wondered whether the word would have got out that he was with Lindsey, whether someone had recognised him on their way through the building and primed Juliette Warwick. He hoped not. If he could at least cause her a moment’s discomfort when she walked in, that would go down as a small victory. Something to build on.
Half past three came and went. Niall could tell that Lindsey was getting more and more uncomfortable and he cursed Juliette Warwick for, as he saw it, playing deliberate mind games. But he had promised Lindsey he would be calm and supportive, so he said nothing. They both said nothing. The only sounds they heard were muffled voices in other rooms or corridors nearby.
Finally, just before a quarter to four, the door opened and two people came in.
“Hello, Lindsey. Sorry I’m late,” Juliette Warwick said. Niall recognised her voice and tried to stare unsettlingly in her direction.
“This is Jane Thompson, from the legal department,” Warwick went on, introducing her side-kick.
“Right,” Lindsey said. Niall felt her shudder. “This is – well, I expect you remember Niall Burnet.”
“I do,” Juliette Warwick said. “I did tell you you could bring legal representation to this meeting.”
“I know,” Lindsey said.
“How do you do, Lindsey. How do you do, Niall,” Jane Thompson said. She seemed oblivious to any tension in the room.
“Hi,” Niall responded.
“Now,” Juliette Warwick said, sitting down. “This is a very awkward and uncomfortable situation for all of us. As you know, Lindsey, an allegation has been made of unprofessional conduct, and you have been suspended pending an investigation of that allegation, and this meeting is the first step in that process. I have already had a meeting with the complainant, and now this will be your opportunity to answer some of the points raised.”
“Yes,” Lindsey said.
“I’m going to start by explaining the process of what we’re doing,” Juliette Warwick went on. “The first step in following up a complaint of this nature is to undertake an investigation. You will be given every chance to contribute as fully and comprehensively as you like and as you can to that investigation. We’re not in a trial situation. On the basis of the findings of the investigation, the Association will then decide whether to move to a disciplinary.”
“Or exonerate and reinstate,” Niall said.
“Yes,” Jane Thompson said.
“Although you are suspended,” Juliette continued, “that is merely an automatic response to a complaint having been made. It does not indicate a presumption of guilt.”
“OK,” Lindsey said.
“I’m going to ask you about a visit you made on 13th July to a Mrs. Ingrid Besser.”
Niall felt Lindsey go rigid beside him. For the first time he wondered whether there was something Lindsey hadn’t told him, whether there was in fact substance to the complaint.
“Do you remember Mrs. Besser, Lindsey?”
“Yes,” Lindsey said, but without any great confidence or certainty.
“I’d like you to tell me in your own words everything you can about how that visit came to be arranged, and what happened when you were there.”
“It was four months ago,” Lindsey said unhappily.
“I know,” Juliette Warwick said.
Lindsey stumbled over her story. Yes, she remembered Ingrid Besser. An old lady with a thick Germanic accent, cataracts and macular degeneration. She had got her name in the usual way, passed on to her from the department that Mrs. Besser had herself contacted – or her family had contacted – for support. It was the accent she particularly remembered. She had called her and asked if she could visit. Juliette Warwick interrupted.
“Did you explain why you were arranging to see her?”
“No, not exactly,” Lindsey said.
“Why not?”
“Because when I was first employed I was told that I shouldn’t.”
Juliette Warwick drew air in noisily through her teeth.
“Who by?”
“By Michael Carstairs I expect.”
“Would he back that up?”
“I’ve no idea.”
“Sorry,” Niall interrupted. He sensed astonishment and irritation from Warwick, “who is Michael Carstairs?”
“He was the man I used to work with,” Lindsey said.
“He retired early on health grounds,” Juliette Warwick said.
“And was never replaced,” Niall said.
“No.”
“Is that OK with the legal department?” he asked Jane Thompson. “Sending one person alone to people’s houses on this kind of work?”
“Well …” Jane said.
“You’ll have ample opportunity to make any points and raise any questions you see fit at a disciplinary, should it come to that,” Juliette Warwick said, talking over the other woman. “At present we are here to explore the complaint made against Lindsey.”
“Fine,” Niall said.
Lindsey went back to her account of what she remembered of the visit. She had arrived at the flat in Hamilton Terrace. Mrs. Besser had a companion, Friedl, who had let her in. She didn’t know Friedl’s other name. They had had tea and Battenberg cake. She had told Mrs. Besser about her eye condition. Mrs. Besser had appeared very interested. She had told her about BAB, gone through everything exactly as she always did, talked about the importance of what they did for people, of what they could continue to do for Mrs. Besser. She was ‘as sure as she could be’ that Mrs. Besser had herself asked the question about how BAB managed for money. This was what she had been trained to try to wait for. Then she had explained about legacies, talked about the damage the National Lottery had done to BAB’s income, left some large print leaflets and her telephone extension number. That was all she remembered.
Niall wondered.
“Thank you, Lindsey,” Juliette Warwick said. He had heard her making notes throughout. “Now I’m going to ask you some questions that stem directly from the complaint that has been made.”
“OK.”
“When you contacted Mrs. Besser to make the appointment, did you at any point in that conversation say that she could have another member of her family present if she wished?”
“I expect so. It’s part of what we’re supposed to say. I don’t exactly remember.”
“So it’s possible that you didn’t say that?”
“I’m pretty sure I would have.”
“But it’s possible that you didn’t?”
“Well – yes, I suppose.”
“You don’t have a list of questions and information points that you go through when you call somebody like Mrs. Besser?”
“I do have one. But it’s what I do every day. I sort of know it by heart.”
“So you don’t always have it in front of you?”
“No. Nobody does.”
Niall heard the pen making copious notes. If he had been a solicitor, and this had been a police interrogation, he would be advising Lindsey to stop incriminating herself. But, under the guise of ‘information-gathering’, there were no legal protocols to defend the accused.
“When you arrived at Mrs. Besser’s flat, did she let you in?” Juliette Warwick asked.
“Well, no. Her companion, Friedl, did.”
“You introduced yourself? You were invited in?”
“They were expecting me. We had an appointment.”
“Mrs. Besser’s niece claims that she called and cancelled your appointment that morning.”
“No.”
“She says she called the Association, was put through to you, and told you that under no circumstances were you to visit her aunt.”
“She did call me,” Lindsey admitted. “I do remember that.”
“To ask you not to visit.”
“No. Just to ask me what it was about.”
“And you told her.”
“I told her that I wanted to meet Mrs. Besser to tell her more about BAB, as she had expressed an interest in our services.”
“She says you were off-hand and rude. Did anyone else hear the conversation?”
“I don’t know. Why would I have gone there if they had cancelled the appointment?”
“Because of your misplaced zeal to do the best you could for the Association.”
Niall snorted.
“Mrs. Besser’s niece says,” Juliette Warwick went on, “that after you left her aunt was very upset and rang her immediately. She said she had felt intimidated and bullied.”
“So why wait four months to make a complaint?” Niall asked.
“That’s a question that I put to her,” Juliette Warwick responded.
“And?”
“It’s my job to gather information at the moment, not answer questions,” she said.
“It’s quite clear what you’re going to end up with,” Niall said. “Lindsey’s version of what happened, and Mrs. Besser’s niece’s version. Nobody’s going to be able to prove anything one way or the other.”
Juliette Warwick ignored him. She asked Lindsey some more questions relating to her behaviour during the appointment in Hamilton Terrace. Lindsey attempted to answer but was clearly stressed and panicking and her answers became increasingly vague and contradictory. Eventually, with the clock showing nearly five, Juliette Warwick declared that the ‘interview’ was over. She explained that she would now have to make further inquiries and then pass her findings on to a higher authority. Lindsey should expect to hear something in writing within a fortnight. In the meantime she was not, under any circumstances, to attempt to make contact with Mrs. Besser or her niece. If she wanted to discuss anything regarding the case, she was to contact Jane Thompson.
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