‘I collected your dry cleaning–it’s behind my desk,’ said Lavender. It wasn’t the first time she’d read my mind; one quick glance told me my shoes were scuffed but I’d get away with it. I knew that if Lavender was thinking ahead then she’d already decided I should talk to this man.

‘Okay, put him on.’

‘Ms McLennan, thank you for taking this call. When does your secretary leave?’ I felt the hackles on the back of my neck rise. I could say things about Lavender, just as she could (and did) about me, but I’d be damned if I’d let anyone else. She wasn’t some daft secretary to be bundled away on a client’s whim. ‘I don’t mean to be offensive,’ he continued. ‘It’s simply that a man in my position can’t be too careful.’

‘Dr Marshall, I can assure you that anything said within these walls is safer than in the Bank of England.’ I knew that for a fact, because in a former life Lavender Ironside had hacked into the bank’s files. It was why she’d changed her name and moved to Scotland–I think that the bank here had so far been saved from her expertise.

‘Ms McLennan, give me an appointment tonight and I will pay you fifty thousand pounds. If I agree to hire you, I will give you a retainer of a great deal more.’

I was speechless. I hated to be bought for money because it reminded me of Kailash’s business, but a quick glance at Lavender’s face as she listened to the man on speakerphone let me know which way the land lay. She was nodding furiously, daring me to say no.

‘Six thirty will be fine, Dr Marshall. Do you know where my office is?’

‘Yes,’ was the brief reply before the line went dead.

‘Arrogant bastard,’ I hissed at the phone. There was no way I could refuse the fee. High-profile trials like the Kenny Cameron case were all very well but, even though I made a fair whack out of legal aid, they didn’t pay the enormous overheads the firm carried. The cases that did were more mundane: a two-cop breach of the peace or an assault that I could farm out to another lawyer in the firm. I grabbed the phone and left a message for Kailash to stop her heading for the restaurant until my meeting was over.

‘I’m out of here,’ Lavender said, already putting on her coat, which was struggling to contain her baby bump. ‘I wonder what he wants,’ she said; a smile crossed her lips knowing she would be the one to type up my file notes. Nothing from the next meeting would be beyond her knowledge.

Chapter Nine