‘Why are you smiling?’ he asked. ‘That’s not something to smile about. Oh, no. Let me guess. I said something similar last time.’

‘Pretty much verbatim.’

‘I suppose you can’t change a leopard’s spots.’

‘Or teach an old sea dog new tricks.’

‘Less of the old, you.’ His laugh was the very best. ‘What now? Shall we get something to eat? I’m starving.’

‘I’d like to start over,’ she said.

He looked up from the menu.

‘Do you think we could do that?’ Karene added.

His bruises had faded a little and when he smiled he almost looked like her old Harry. ‘I don’t see why not.’

105

Jameson took a large bite of his flapjack. ‘So work this through with me. The Secret Service hear mention of Harry when monitoring Bello’s communications.’

‘Why didn’t they warn Harry straightaway?’

Jameson took a second bite and chewed it quickly. ‘They can’t have known who this girl was or how Harry was involved. Protocol would be to observe and learn in the first instance. Harry’s letter to himself said that when the bomb went off agents on site scrambled to the scene and saw Harry being placed in the ambulance. They followed it, intercepted it and took Harry and the driver in for questioning. The paramedics – or whatever they were – didn’t accompany Harry in the ambulance. George Selaisse himself was the bogus sub-lieutenant pictured at the ball. He didn’t trust anyone else to make sure Harry was in the right spot and then transferred to their ambulance, I expect.’

‘But he wasn’t in the ambulance. Was the driver one of his men?’

‘No. That guy is smart. The driver was paid in cash. He didn’t have anything helpful other than a rendezvous point. This is so good,’ he said pointing at the flapjack.

Bloom smiled. Jameson had always been a sugar fiend. ‘Presumably the agents grilled Harry and he told them about Alina and her son and requested that they be placed in a witness protection scheme?’

Jameson nodded. ‘He was offered one too, but Caroline couldn’t join him because of the divorce, so he’d have needed to leave his kids.’

‘And that’s when he asked them to wipe his memory?’ Bloom wondered how Harry had come up with the idea and how long he’d agonized over the decision. ‘Is that something you were asked to do often? Erase people’s minds?’

Jameson tilted his head from side to side. ‘I’ve had stranger requests. I’m impressed they managed to pull it off though. Things have changed since I left.’

‘There’s some pretty impressive technology out there these days.’

‘They did it at Stanford Hall Rehabilitation Centre.’

‘Freddie must have been one of them, then?’