• • •

Booth Watson had flown in on an earlier flight that morning to keep his monthly appointment with his most valued client.

He found Miles in an unusually exuberant mood, as he waited impatiently for his latest acquisition to arrive. The two men sat in the drawing room facing a large empty space on the wall above the fireplace, where Fishers of Men would reside.

‘While we’re waiting,’ said Faulkner, ‘bring me up to date on what’s happening in London.’

‘Some good news, and some not so good,’ said Booth Watson, as he opened his briefcase and extracted the inevitable files. ‘I fear the reports your tart has been passing on to me can no longer be relied on. But then you never consulted me about her in the first place.’

‘Get on with it,’ said Miles, barely hiding his irritation.

‘A couple of weeks ago at Marylebone Old Town Hall, Josephine Colbert married Detective Inspector Ross Hogan, the man you’ve been paying her to seduce so we’d be kept informed about what Warwick’s team were up to. She’s now clearly a fully paid-up member of that team.’

‘Take her off the payroll immediately,’ said Faulkner, his irritation turning to anger.

‘I already have,’ said Booth Watson. ‘Is there anything else you want me to do about her?’

‘Nothing you need concern yourself with. In any case I’m more interested to know how you came across this information, as I find it hard to believe you were invited to the wedding.’

‘Lamont has had Hogan under surveillance for some time. I have to warn you that he suspects DS Roycroft is also in Warwick’s pocket, not ours.’

‘Tell Lamont to go on seeing Roycroft, so they don’t realize we’re onto her. Her next report should make interesting reading, now that we know where her true loyalties lie. Make sure you keep Lamont happy.’

‘There’s only one thing that keeps Lamont happy,’ said Booth Watson, ‘and the other side can’t supply that.’

‘That also applies to Christina. We certainly can’t risk her jumping ship.’

‘There’s not much risk of that. She knows if she dumps you in favour of Mrs Warwick there will be no home in the country, no flat in town, no chauffeur to drive her around, no more dress accounts, or ladies who lunch, and certainly no more toy boys. She’d end up having to doss down in the Warwicks’ spare bedroom and be satisfied with the scraps from their table. I don’t think so.’

‘Then why keep her on the payroll?’ demanded Faulkner.

‘While Christina’s still in touch with Warwick’s wife, she remains our best bet when it comes to discovering what her husband is up to, as she also seems to be susceptible to a different kind of bribery …’

‘What are you getting at?’ snapped Faulkner.

‘Christina reported that her latest meeting with Warwick’s wife went well. She was delighted that Christina agreed to loan her Frans Hals to the Fitzmolean for their exhibition next autumn.’