Was there nothing that escaped his attention? How he had any idea of what Woolf or any of his staff was doing was a complete mystery. Mandler gazed at him with barely suppressed contempt. A morsel of roast beef from a mini Yorkshire pudding had anchored itself to Clements’s lapel. He decided not to point it out. Instead he responded with one of his deathly smiles. ‘Jolly good idea.’

Mandler glared at the retreating back of the cabinet secretary as Sarah Garvey appeared at his elbow.

‘What a cunt,’ she muttered.

He and the home secretary did not have a lot in common but they shared a loathing for Clements. ‘Quite.’

She emptied the remains of her Chablis as if she was doing shots. ‘Never passes up an opportunity to do someone’s job for them.’ She leaned towards Mandler. ‘You should know he’s already told the PM you’ll be stepping up your watch on returnees. And since he’s mentioned Woolf, you’d probably better make sure you’ve got him aimed in the right direction.’

They exchanged a glance. He could see she was in a corner. Had Clements got at her as well?

‘Look, I know it’s all part of your job to think out of the box et cetera, but this is force majeure.’

He turned and bent his head closer to her ear. ‘Anything you say, Home Secretary, but entre nous, the pathologist’s report on said returnee, whose body parts were sprinkled over the hostel site, rather tends to suggest that the unfortunate fellow was almost certainly dead before he supposedly blew himself up.’

Her eyes widened as he nodded slowly. ‘I shit you not.’

She let out a long, mournful sigh. ‘Are you going to tell me what you think about that?’

‘Honestly?’

‘I know it means breaking the habit of a lifetime.’

He shrugged. ‘God’s truth, I haven’t got a bloody clue.’

Chapter 39

39

BA 195 London–Houston

It was the call to Delphine that settled it.

‘Please, Tom. I need some time with my family. I’ve been too long away from France.’

Tom decided not to argue. He knew only too well how stubborn she was. In fact, he respected her for it. They were kindred spirits in that way, though he realized now, with a stab of regret, that it worked against them as a couple. His mother’s words echoed in his head: Don’t rush her.

He raised his seat to upright and gazed down at the Texas landscape as the 747-400 started its descent towards George Bush Airport. When he’d called to accept his invitation, the founder of Invicta had let out a huge sigh of relief.