‘Better than that special adviser, the one you said curled up on the sofa beside him, flicking her hair.’

‘I’m waiting for her to make an appearance. Anyway, he gave me an ultimatum. Either I returned to head up an inquiry to prove his innocence once and for all, or he would rescind Stuart’s right to travel to Europe.’

Julie shook her head. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘I’m not entirely sure I do either.’

‘Why on earth would he ask you?’ Julie finished her cigarette, flicked it carelessly into the street below and followed Kate back inside. ‘And why would he want to drag it all up again? I thought he was claiming Shirley Grove’s internal inquiry had successfully buried the whole thing where the sun doesn’t shine.’

‘I have to admit I haven’t entirely answered that question myself. His political opponents – inside the party and out – are never going to accept the word of an internal inquiry as they’ll assume he’s had some influence. I guess he and his team have realized it’s still doing him some damage. Besides, there’s been a new development. A Russian diplomat has come forward in Istanbul to say that she was tasked with seducing Sergei and covertly feeding him the information about that initial meeting on the super-yacht. She claims the whole thing was orchestrated by Moscow from the start with the help of a mole at the very top of the Service, known as Agent Dante.’

‘Bullshit!’ Julie thought about it some more, then repeated her assessment. ‘Bullshit!’ She looked at Kate. ‘Right?’

‘Possibly.’

‘Definitely. I mean, how convenient. The PM is rightly holed beneath the waterline by the suspicion he’s a Russian agent of influence, so he and his handlers in Moscow come up with a new strategy to say it’s all been a giant plot from the start!’

‘Yes, but what if he’s innocent?’

Julie gave her a long, cool look.

Kate was having trouble sitting still. She went to her desk, which she’d pushed into a pool of morning sunlight. She sat down again. ‘They’re going to rescind Stuart’s right to travel outside Russia unless I agree to look into this,’ she repeated.

‘Do you want Stuart to travel outside Russia?’

‘For the children’s sake, I do. Not being able to see him for the rest of their lives would break them.’

‘I didn’t ask about the children.’

‘I want closure. Clarity. I want us all to be able to get on with the rest of our lives without continuing stress and drama.’

‘A politician’s answer.’

‘Maybe. But also the truth.’

Julie nodded. ‘All right. What do you want me to do?’

‘Help me.’ Kate shrugged. ‘We’ll have to go over everything again. I’ll need you to sift through a whole series of files.’

‘Done.’

‘Just like that?’

‘Always.’ Julie smiled at her. ‘Have you heard the news?’

‘What?’

‘Ian’s got it. They’ve made him C. And guess who has the Russia Desk?’

‘You.’

‘Don’t be an idiot! Suzy. You think Ian’s going to reward me after what I did to him? He’s still telling friends I broke his heart.’