The policeman shrugged. “Well, some things do stick more than others. If you’d been asking about sudden deaths among hoteliers, I’d have had a lot more to think about!”

“Yeah, I suppose journalists are a bit more uncommon,” Lindsay said, still desperately fishing.

“They are that,” he said. “And this chap seemed a bit out of the normal run of things for journalists, even.”

“How do you mean?” Lindsay asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

“I’d probably have forgotten all about it if it hadn’t been for that business on the news the other day. You know, that union leader that got himself killed earlier in the week?” He cocked an eyebrow at Lindsay, who nodded casually. “Well, a few months after this Ian Ross met his maker, that selfsame union boss was here, asking all sorts of questions about him.”

Chapter 11

11

“Some debates are more glamorous than others. But delegates have a duty to devote as much attention to international affairs as they do to finance. Like mother used to say, eat up your bread and butter or you can’t have any cake.”

from “Advice for New Delegates”, a Standing Orders Sub-Committee booklet.

Lindsay swallowed hard. Before she could open her mouth, Sophie said brightly, “No wonder you remembered! That must be pretty unusual, two people wanting details about the same person. Though I don’t suppose the union man was after the kind of gory details we need,” she added with a smile.

“I don’t know. He wanted to know all sorts. He said the union were going to set up a trust fund for training officials as a memorial to this Ian Ross, and he was meant to write a sort of tribute to him, though why he needed to know all about the way he died I could never work out. Still, ours not to reason why, eh?” the friendly policeman said, diplomatically easing them towards the door. “I hope your research goes well, ladies,” he added, opening the door for them.

By the time they got to the lift, Lindsay looked as if she was going to burst with the urgency of her desire to raid the envelope that Sophie clutched tightly to her chest. “Wait,” she hissed at Lindsay as they joined the two men already in the lift. “It’ll still be there in five minutes.”

As they walked back to the car park, Lindsay exploded. “I can’t believe it! Union Jack was here before us! That’s wild!”

“Did the union ever actually set up a memorial fund?” Sophie asked.