Dead And Buried

Forty-four

Aileen reached across the table and took his hand. ‘You’re very tense,’ she told him. ‘And you’ve been glancing around the restaurant all through the meal, as if you’re afraid we’re being watched.’ She frowned. ‘We’re not, are we?’

Bob shook his head. ‘No, you can relax on that score. Nobody followed me from my hotel, and there’s no closed-circuit camera in this restaurant.’

‘Are you saying that you thought you might be followed?’

‘I didn’t discount the possibility. I doubled back on myself a couple of times, and stopped in a pub on the way. If there was anyone, I’ve shaken them off.’

‘But why would anybody do that?’

‘For a variety of reasons; curiosity, for example. They don’t let too many outsiders into the building where I’m based. Some of the staff might have decided to find out what I’m up to. On the other hand, someone on high might have decided to give me some discreet protection, whether I want it or not.’

Anxiety crept into her eyes. ‘Bob, this thing that you’re doing, is it dangerous?’

‘I don’t think it is,’ he told her. ‘It’s taken a couple of unexpected turns, though.’

‘Can you tell me any more than you have already?’

‘Your security clearance may be top level in Scotland, but not down here. There is something I might ask you to do for me, though, a piece of special help that I’d only trust you to give.’

‘What’s that?’

‘I’ll tell you if it’s necessary.’

She smiled. ‘Darling, I don’t know if I want to sleep with someone who’s as paranoid as you. Go on, give me a clue.’

‘I’m sorry, Aileen,’ he sighed, ‘I’m being a pain. Okay, let me put it this way. I’m not absolutely certain that I can trust all the people I’m working with. If things take a certain turn, I might want to go over their heads. In that case, there’s a door which only you, of all the people I know, can open for me. But you’ll want to think about it: if I ask you to do this and I’m wrong, we’ll both be embarrassed.’

‘I can stand that. If you think it’s necessary, that’ll be good enough for me.’

‘That’s good.’ He grinned at her. ‘As for sleeping with paranoid men, let me tell you something. There may not be a camera in this room, but you can bet that there will be on all the accommodation floors. You’d be amazed at who can access them.’

‘Now that is what I call paranoia.’ She laughed.

‘Maybe, my love, but it is, in fact, gospel truth. If I saw you to your room, and went inside, I could go into my temporary office tomorrow and have someone pull up the tapes of me doing so. I could even check on when I left.’