Free To Trade

CHAPTER 22

Hamilton, Rob and I walked into Denny's office. Four people sat around one end of the long conference table-Denny, Irwin Piper, Cash and Felicity. The portrait of the ancestral Denny stared down at us, reminding us that we were in the offices of a very respectable law firm and we had better behave accordingly. Denny did the introductions, mentioning that Felicity had been responsible for drafting the documents. She looked tired, which wasn't really surprising. She had had an awful lot to do in not very much time.

There were really only two people in the meeting, Hamilton and Piper. Piper began, 'Cash has told me a lot about your operation, Mr McKenzie. I must say it sounds very successful. I am familiar with a number of similar outfits in the US, and they all do very well.'

Hamilton ignored the flattery completely. He came straight to the point. 'Tell me about Mix N Match,' he said.

Piper leaned back in his chair, and made an arch with his fingers, shooting starched white cuffs and monogrammed gold cuff-links out from under his jacket sleeves. 'I have been investing in companies one way and another for twenty years now, and I am pretty good at it. Once every decade comes an opportunity that's too good to miss, an opportunity to risk a substantial sum in the near certainty of making a killing. Everyone comes across such opportunities, but most people don't recognise them for what they are. They make a quick buck and nothing more. Now, Mix N Match is one of those rare opportunities. Limited downside, plenty of upside. This company will be taken over by the Japanese,' Piper paused to emphasise his conviction, 'and when it is I am going to make a lot of money.'

Hamilton gazed at him, expressionless.

'Do you want to join me?' said Piper.

Hamilton kept quiet, waiting for Piper to say more. But Piper was not going to say any more, and refused to be pressured into it. The silence must have lasted a minute, with none of the rest of us daring to break it.

Finally, Hamilton asked another question. 'You don't have much experience of retailing as far as I'm aware, Mr Piper,' he began.

'Just call me Irwin,' interrupted Piper.

'Very well, Irwin,' said Hamilton reluctantly. 'As I was saying, you don't have much experience of this sector. How did you come across this opportunity?'

I shifted uneasily in my chair. We were on to dangerous ground here. This was one question we had not rehearsed.

Piper stood up, and walked over to the window to look out at the quiet street below. He's playing for time, I thought.

He turned round. 'My wife's family used to live in Japan, and she still has some Japanese friends. One of them is married to a senior executive in a Japanese retailing firm. She was over in America, and dropped in on us at the Tahiti. She was on her way to Florida to meet her husband, who was there on business. I checked out her husband's company. They had announced they were determined to make an acquisition in America this year. Mix N Match is the obvious target. I spoke to Cash, who got me some research on the company, and here we are.' Piper held out his arms and smiled. 'Of course I would rather you did not repeat any of that outside this room.'

Silence again as Hamilton weighed up Piper's answer. I found Hamilton's silence rude and intimidating, but Piper's urbanity seemed intact.

'So why should we work together?' Hamilton asked at last. 'Why shouldn't I just trot off and buy the bonds myself.'

'I would be disappointed if you did that,' said Piper, 'especially since the idea came indirectly from me via Cash.' Piper managed to imply with those words that what Hamilton had suggested was the lowest of the low ethically. He stood by the window, tall, sleek and in control, looking down on the still-seated Hamilton. I admired his ability to take the moral high ground in such murky circumstances. 'But there is a more pragmatic reason for joining forces. If we act with one voice, we will be much more effective in negotiating with the acquirer of Mix N Match once it has been taken over. We will do that much better if we all own the bonds at the same price. And, if we all rush out and buy every bond we can in competition with each other, then the price will shoot up and none of us will end up with anything. Much better to do it slowly and carefully, pooling all our interests through one vehicle.'

'I suppose I can see that,' said Hamilton.

'Well, are you with us?' Piper said. 'If we are going to move, we had better move quickly.'

'I will need to think about it,' said Hamilton.

Cash cleared his throat. 'Hey, I understand you got to think about this one. But if you do decide to go ahead, as Irwin says, we got to move quickly. The rumours are already around the street. I know some big holders of Mix N Match bonds who are keen to sell, but we will have to go to them in the next couple of days. That means we will have to be ready to set up the SPV at short notice. Why don't you go through the documentation now? Know what I'm saying?' Cash nodded towards the pile in front of Felicity. You had to admire Cash's salesmanship, I thought, a great close.

But Hamilton wriggled. 'I understand what you are saying, Cash. I agree we should check the documentation now. But don't take that as a sign of any commitment on my part.'

Piper moved towards the table. 'That's fine, I understand perfectly well. I hope you will excuse me. Mr Denny is aware of my views on the legal agreements. It's been a pleasure to meet you, Hamilton, and I hope we can do business together.'

Power and charm oozed from Piper as he held out his hand to Hamilton. For once, Hamilton had been made to seem surly and pedantic, and he clearly didn't like it. He stood up, shook Piper's hand quickly, and turned back to the table, and the pile of documents. 'Let's have a look through these, then.'

Cash made his excuses as well, taking Cathy with him, and Rob was not far behind. That left Denny, Felicity, Hamilton and me to discuss the documentation. Felicity had not had time to draw up a thorough agreement. She hadn't done a bad job, but there were a number of holes. We had agreed beforehand that if and when Hamilton picked anything up, Denny would bow to any points he had. We could not afford to spend hours negotiating legal issues that were going to prove irrelevant anyway. Hamilton did put forward several objections, but after brief protestations, Denny gave into them all. After two hours we had a document everyone was agreed upon. It was ready for Hamilton to sign, once he decided to join the consortium.

In the taxi back to the office Hamilton sat in silence. He stared out of the window at the flashes of red, black and grey as buses, taxis and suits milled back and forth. After five minutes he muttered something, which I didn't quite catch.

'Sorry?' I said.

'I don't like it,' said Hamilton.

I pondered his statement for a moment. 'What don't you like about it?'

'It's too easy. It doesn't smell right. And Piper was lying about how he heard about the deal. I don't know what his game is, but he is up to something.'

I didn't like the sound of this. Piper had seemed perfectly convincing to me, but he hadn't fooled Hamilton. I didn't want to seem too eager to persuade Hamilton to do the deal, but on the other hand, I desperately wanted him to commit. 'What can he do?' I asked. 'The documentation is watertight.' Indeed it was. There was virtually nothing that Piper or anyone else could do with the SPV without asking De Jong & Co. first. De Jong had a right to veto the transfer of any assets in or out.

'I don't know,' said Hamilton. 'I can't work out his angle.' He stroked his beard. 'There's not much downside from a credit point of view is there?' he asked, looking straight at me.

'No,' I said, holding his stare. 'Of course you can never be sure what is hiding in any company, but it looks to me that with the debt trading at twenty cents on the dollar, bankruptcy would be a good thing; the debt should trade up anyway.'

Hamilton looked at me and smiled, with what seemed to me to be genuine affection. 'I'm glad you are working with me on this. It's nice to work with someone I can trust.' The surprise must have registered on my face at such an unprecedented show of friendliness, as Hamilton, embarrassed, turned to look out of the window again. 'I'm sorry you can't work with me any more.'

Just for a moment I felt a surge of pride at this display. But only for a moment. I gently smiled to myself at the irony. Hamilton may think me the only person he could trust; I would soon show him how wrong he was.

We got back to the office and each went to our own desks. I rang Cash. 'Didn't Piper do a great job?' he said.

'Well that's what I thought, but Hamilton is suspicious.'

'Is he going to do it?'

'Not in his current frame of mind,' I said.

'What's wrong?'

'It all went fine to start with,' I said. 'He couldn't resist the temptation to make a smart buck. But he doesn't trust Piper and he doesn't trust you. He's sure you are up to something, but he doesn't know what. And I don't think he is about to risk real money to find out.'

'Damn,' said Cash. 'Look, I'm sure I can talk him into it.'

'It won't work. I'm afraid Hamilton is suspicious of you at the best of times. You will just confirm his worst fears about the deal.'

'Well, what if Piper has another chat to him? Or perhaps you could talk him into it?'

'He won't listen to Piper. And it would look odd if I came out in favour of the deal. Hamilton would think I had gone crazy.'

We were both silent, thinking.

'How did it go with Phoenix Prosperity?' I asked.

'Jack Salmon loved the idea,' said Cash. 'But he has to think about it. That means, check with Hamilton.'

'And we all know what he will say in his current frame of mind. Call me if you have any ideas,' I said, and put the phone down.

I was annoyed. We were so close to carrying out our plan, but it looked like it wouldn't work because of Hamilton's last-minute suspicions.

I was sitting there, racking my brains, when the phone flashed.

'I've got an idea.' It was Cathy.

My pulse quickened. 'Tell me.'

'Hamilton might not believe Cash, or Piper or maybe even you, but he would believe me.'

'You mean, if you told him to invest in the deal?' I said doubtfully.

'No, if I told him not to invest in it.' She told me her idea. It sounded a good one.

Cathy called at precisely half past three. I had made sure that I was talking to Hamilton at exactly that time, in the hope that he would let me listen in. Sure enough, once it became clear what Cathy wanted to talk about, Hamilton gestured to me to pick up.

I heard Cathy's clear voice speaking hesitantly. 'Cash was very keen that I check to see whether you have made up your mind about joining the consortium.' She managed to inject a hint of reluctance into her tone, as though she didn't really want to know the answer.

'I think it's unlikely,' said Hamilton.

'Urn, OK,' said Cathy. 'I'll tell Cash. He will be very disappointed.'

'You do that.'

Hamilton was just about to put the phone down when Cathy blurted, 'Can I just ask you one question?' She sounded nervous.

'Yes?'

'Why aren't you going ahead with it?'

Hamilton paused. He seemed to decide there was nothing to be lost by telling the truth, and said, 'It smells funny. I don't know why, but there is something else going on here that Piper didn't admit to.'

'Oh, I'm very glad you said that,' Cathy gushed, relief in her voice. 'You are quite right, it doesn't seem at all straight. They are all absolutely certain that this takeover is going to happen. I don't know where they got the information from, but I am worried it is not legal. I would much rather have nothing to do with the whole thing. I don't know what to do. Should I report this to someone?' Hamilton didn't reply. Cathy went on. 'Cash would kill me if he heard I had done that. And what if there is nothing wrong with the deal, after all?'

Hamilton had tensed ever so slightly. He was listening carefully to everything Cathy said. 'No, I wouldn't report it if I were you. As long as you don't know where they got the information from, you can't be implicated.'

'Are you sure?'

'Quite sure.'

'OK, then.' Cathy sounded doubtful.

'What will Cash do if I don't invest?'

'Well, there is another investor in the States who is thinking about it, but if he doesn't take it, then we have got Michael Hall at Wessex Trust lined up to take the whole forty million.'

Hamilton's eyes narrowed. Michael Hall was renowned in the City as smart money. He was often profiled in magazines, and lauded for his ability to buy and sell at the right time. Hamilton refused to give interviews, and claimed to scoff at Hall as a publicity-seeker, but the reality was, he envied him his reputation. If Mix N Match was indeed a golden opportunity, Hamilton would be incensed if Hall took it and he didn't.

'There is a small point I don't quite understand,' he said. 'Why should Piper want to get me of all people in on this?'

'Oh, he didn't,' said Cathy. 'Cash insisted on this. In fact I think he is behind this whole thing. He sees this as a way of getting his key clients to make a lot of money. I think he is worried that since Paul left in such difficult circumstances, he might lose your account. He's desperate to get you in.'

'I see.'

'So shall I tell Cash you are not interested?'

'Yes,' said Hamilton and rang off.

Damn, I thought. Cathy had done an excellent job, but it looked like Hamilton still wasn't biting.

Rob strolled over. 'Are we going to do this Mix N Match, then?' Hamilton leaned back in his chair, stroking his beard. 'That girl talks too much,' he said.

'I think she is scared,' I said. 'It's a good thing we have let it

go.'

'I don't think we will let it go,' Hamilton said. 'I believe her. I think Cash does know something, and showing a sure thing to his favourite customers is just the sort of thing he would do. And I am damned if I am going to let that prima donna Hall get his hands on this one.'

'So we do it?' Rob asked.

'We do it.'

'Great!' said Rob.

Hamilton rang Cash. When he answered, Hamilton said, 'Cathy isn't on the line, is she?'

'No,' said Cash.

'Well, I think you should watch out for her. I just spoke to her and I think she is a little ah,' Hamilton searched for the word, 'concerned about this deal. Just for my own conscience, there is nothing illegal about this transaction or the manner in which you got the information relating to it, is there?'

'Hey, Hamilton, you know I'm straight,' protested Cash. 'This deal is 100 per cent kosher, you have my word.'

Hamilton didn't believe him, of course, but he wanted to cover himself in case anything went wrong.

'Good. Well, I'm in for twenty million. Send the documents round here by courier for me to sign. And don't let Cathy find out I have committed. Get her off the deal somehow.' He hung up, turned to me and smiled. 'This is going to work,' he said. 'I know this is going to work.'

I went back to my desk, and called Cathy. 'Well done! You were brilliant!' I said.

'You think he's definitely going for it?' she said.

'Definitely.'

'I am going to New York for four days tomorrow,' she said.

'I'm following up on some of the clients Cash and I saw when we were over there last month. Let me know what happens. Cash should be able to tell you where I am.'

'Don't worry, I will,' I said. Something made me uneasy. 'Cathy?'

'Yes?'

'Be careful of Waigel.'

'Why?'

'Just be careful. He's dangerous. I would hate you to get hurt.'

'Don't worry. I won't go anywhere near him. Besides, there is no reason he should be worried about me.'

'OK, I suppose you are right.' I wasn't convinced.

The documents were signed that afternoon, and Hamilton authorised $20 million to be paid into the account of the new SPV. Phoenix Prosperity also signed up that afternoon, and transferred $20 million into the same account. Cash said that Jack Salmon had been raring to go, and had been furious that his boss had not given him the go-ahead straight away. Piper signed the subscription agreement, but delayed transferring his $20 million subscription into the SPV's account.

So within twenty-four hours, the SPV was in existence and it had $40 million of funds at its disposal.

I found it very difficult to concentrate, or even pretend to be concentrating on my work over the next couple of days. Hamilton was cool as ever, of course, just checking once to make sure that the prices of Mix N Match bonds hadn't fallen.

Once Denny, as trustee for the SPV, confirmed that the funds were in place, I acted. I didn't have much time. I had to wait until the brief quarter of an hour when Hamilton was away from his desk buying a sandwich. Most of the others were at lunch as well, although Stewart, Debbie's replacement, was at his desk, leafing through a bondmarket rag. He would probably hear what I was going to do. That was just tough.

First, I called Denny. Over the recorded phone, I sold to the SPV the $20 million Tremont Capital position held by De Jong at par. Then I sold De Jong's $20 million stake in the SPV back to it at par. It only took a minute. Stewart cast a quick glance at me whilst I was talking on the phone, and then went back to his magazine. He hadn't been able to hear what I was doing.

I then pulled out two sets of trading tickets and wrote in the details of the trades I had just completed. When the tickets were processed, they would ensure that the Tremont Capital bonds would be transferred from Chase, where they were held in custody for De Jong, to the SPV's custodian, Barclays. Similarly, the share certificates for the SPV, which De Jong had just received from Denny Clark, would be sent back round there by messenger. More importantly, De Jong's bank would be instructed to expect payment of $40 million from the SPV.

I looked at the clock. A quarter past one. Just time for a sandwich.

As I stood in the queue in the small sandwich shop I ran through everything in my head one more time. The net result of all this juggling was that De Jong had received back the $20 million it had paid for the bogus Tremont Capital bonds. The SPV now consisted of $20 million of assets in the form of Tremont Capital bonds, funded by $20 million of share capital, all held by Phoenix Prosperity. Since Tremont Capital's only asset was its investment in Phoenix Prosperity, or 'Uncle Sam's Money Machine', Phoenix Prosperity had just bought its own shares. When you unravelled all this, what had happened was that the $20 million that De Jong & Co. had unwittingly invested in Phoenix Prosperity via Tremont Capital, had been repaid. All very neat.

Hamilton, Rob and I were due to go round to Denny's office that afternoon, right after lunch. Denny had promised to have a reception committee for Hamilton. I was looking forward to that meeting.

I was pleased with myself. I had taken Hamilton on at his own game, and beaten him. I couldn't bring Debbie back to life, but at least her murderer would now face justice. De Jong would get their money back, and I would avoid a murder charge. All in all, a satisfactory outcome.

I walked back to my desk clutching a ham-and-cheese roll in a paper bag in one hand, and balancing a black coffee in a polystyrene cup in the other. The coffee from the shop was much better than the stuff which dripped out of the machine in the corridor. Stewart had nipped out for a bite himself. The only two people in the room were Hamilton, who was buried in something, and Rob munching a sandwich over a copy of the FT spread out on his desk.

I sat down, and reached for the trading tickets.

They weren't there.

I scrabbled through the papers on my desk. I flipped through the pile of prospectuses. Had I taken them through to administration? No. Had I stuffed them in my briefcase? I was pretty sure I hadn't but I checked anyway. No. Had I hidden them? No.

I could remember what I had done with them. I had left them face-up in the middle of my desk. And they weren't there.

My heart began to beat faster. I took a deep breath and turned round.

Hamilton was standing behind me, holding the tickets out in front of him. He was reading them.

'What's this, Paul?' he said in a neutral voice.

I stood up and leaned against my desk, facing him. I tried to make my reply casual. 'These trades get back the Tremont Capital money for De Jong,' I said.

'Very clever,' he said. He looked up and stared at me. His cold blue eyes looked right into me, piercing straight through my feeble attempt at nonchalance, uncovering the innermost workings of my brain.

He knew I knew.

'You set up Tremont Capital,' I said. My voice sounded quiet and small, as though it belonged to someone else. 'You killed Debbie.'

Hamilton just stared.

The anger erupted inside me. How could anyone do that to her? How could Hamilton do all this to me? The man who had guided me into my chosen profession, who had patiently taught me everything I knew about trading, who had encouraged me to excel, was nothing but a thief and a murderer. Despite, or perhaps because of, his coolness, Hamilton had been more than a boss to me; he had been a mentor, a role model, a father. And all this time he was manipulating me, until finally I had become too dangerous and he had abandoned me.

'Why did you do it?' I said between clenched teeth. I was so angry it was a struggle to get the words out. 'Why did you have to do something so bloody stupid? Why did you ruin everything we have got here? And why did you kill Debbie?' My voice cracked as I said these last words.

'Calm down, laddie,' said Hamilton. 'You're too emotional.'

I lost it. 'What do you mean, calm down?' I shouted. 'Don't you understand what you have done? This is all a fucking game to you, isn't it? We are all just pieces in some never-ending puzzle for you to fiddle about with. But we are people, and you can't just get rid of us when we get in the way.'

I paused for breath. 'I respected you. God, how I respected you. I can't believe how fucking stupid I was. I don't know why you didn't just kill me.'

Hamilton's stare didn't waver. 'You're right,' he said. 'I should have killed you. That was an error. I was too soft. It was unfortunate Debbie had to die, but it was the only solution.'

I had an urge to hit Hamilton as hard as I could, but I resisted it. I looked over to where Rob was sitting, bolt upright in his chair, watching us.

'I suppose he's in on it, too?' I said with contempt. Hamilton must have told him to tell the police that I had killed Debbie.

'Oh, Rob's just a little scared insider trader,' said Hamilton. 'He made his five hundred pounds on Gypsum shares, and now he's afraid he is going to lose his job, just like you. So I asked him to tell the police a little story. Mind you, he seemed quite happy to do it. I don't think he likes you very much.'

Rob reddened and shifted in his chair.

'And I suppose you planted Debbie's earring in my flat?'

Hamilton just shrugged.

I calmed down. 'Well, anyway. It's all over now.'

A thin smile played across his lips. 'No, it isn't.'

He sounded confident. 'What do you mean?' I said.

'You are going to tear up those tickets.'

No way was I going to do that. 'Why?' I said.

Hamilton smiled again, and picked up the phone on the desk behind him. He dialled fourteen digits. America.

'Dick? It's Hamilton.' A pause for a response from Waigel. 'Listen, Dick. We may have some trouble here. I can't explain it all right now. But if I don't call back in five minutes, get hold of your friend and put our plan involving Cathy into action. Then get out of your office and disappear. Got that?'

Another pause as Waigel replied quickly. Hamilton looked up at the clock on the wall. 'OK, it's one thirty-three here now. If I am not back to you by one thirty-eight, do it.'

He put the phone down. He turned to me. 'I have been concerned about Cathy ever since she told me she was thinking about telling her bosses about Cash and Piper. So, just as a precaution, I have had Waigel organise someone to keep tabs on her so that if we need to dispose of her in a hurry, we can.'

I suddenly felt cold. Cathy! She would be somewhere in New York right now, but she wouldn't be alone. Someone was following her, watching her, waiting for the signal from Waigel to kill her. I couldn't allow that to happen, not after Debbie.

But was Hamilton bluffing? I didn't put it past him in a tight spot to come up with something like that. And if he was bluffing, I knew he would be convincing.

Hamilton followed my train of thought. 'I'm telling the truth, you know,' he said. 'Anyway, you can't take the risk, can you? I may be lying, but you wouldn't risk Cathy's life on that outside chance.'

He was right. We had been in enough situations where we had assessed risk together. It would be foolish to call his bluff, and he knew I wouldn't do it.

Hamilton's stare never left my face, reading everything he saw. He smiled. 'So, you're fond of her, are you? She's more to you than just another saleswoman?' He chuckled to himself. 'Well, well. You'll definitely have to tear up those tickets now, won't you?'

I was furious. He was right, I didn't have a choice. But I hated it. I hated to be outwitted by him when I was so close to nailing him. There he was in front of me, smiling slightly, calculating all the angles and getting it just right. As usual.

I looked at the clock. One thirty-five. Three minutes before he had to ring Waigel.

Hamilton said. 'Now, after you have torn up those tickets, write some replacements purchasing Phoenix Prosperity's stake in the SPV for twenty million dollars, for same-day settlement. I want you to tell administration to process the trade immediately, and call you back when the funds transfer is confirmed. I'll watch.'

I thought Hamilton's last instruction through. It would allow him to make sure Phoenix Prosperity didn't lose their $20 million after all.

Hamilton continued. 'I will call Dick Waigel every five minutes. If you try any funny stuff, or if he doesn't hear from me, Cathy is dead.'

I sighed. There was nothing for it but to do what Hamilton wanted. I sat down at my desk and pulled out some blank tickets. Just then the line flashed. Hamilton held out his hand to stop me, but he was too late. 'Yes?' I said.

'Paul, it's Robert Denny.'

'Oh, hallo,' I said.

'I know you can't talk now,' he said, 'but everything's ready for you to come round with Hamilton and Rob. The police are here, waiting.'

'Not Powell?' I said.

'Inspector Powell is here, but I've got his boss as well, Chief Inspector Deane. There are also two men from the Serious Fraud Office. And the FBI are standing by to snatch Waigel in New York.'

Hamilton couldn't hear what Denny was saying, but he was watching me closely. I looked up at the clock. One thirty-seven. Hamilton's eyes followed mine. 'One minute to go,' he said.

'Are they right outside his office?' I asked Denny.

'Hold on,' he said. I heard muffled voices on the other end of the line. They took for ever. I watched the second hand race round the face of the clock, heading fast for the number twelve. I knew our clocks were accurate to the second, I hoped Waigel's would be equally precise. 'Yes, they are right there.'

'I won't call Dick Waigel back unless you hang up now,' said Hamilton. I glanced at him. He meant it.

My mind raced. This was the best chance I would get to stop Hamilton. If I let it slip, there could never be any guarantee that Cathy would be safe. And I couldn't let him just walk away.

I took a decision.

'Listen closely,' I said to Denny, speaking rapidly. 'Tell the FBI to snatch Waigel right now. And send some police round here. Do it quick. We only have seconds. I'll explain in a minute.'

'Right,' said Denny, and rang off.

My heart was thumping at the risk I had taken. I put the phone down and stood up straight, looking directly at Hamilton. His eyes were wide open with surprise. He hadn't expected this. 'I wasn't bluffing,' he said. 'Cathy is dead.'

He bent down slowly, picked up his briefcase, and backed towards the door, his eyes never leaving my face.

I caught the movement of something rushing towards the desk beside Hamilton. Rob vaulted over it, sending a computer crashing to the ground, and hurled himself on to him.

They both hit the ground hard. Rob let out a cry and grabbed his shoulder. As Hamilton pulled himself to his feet, I leapt on top of him. He struggled, but Rob joined me, and in a few moments we had him pinned to the floor, Rob on his legs, and me on his shoulders.

'Tie his hands,' shouted Rob.

I looked for something to bind him, and grabbed at the electric lead sticking out of the computer that lay cracked on the floor. I yanked it out and tried to wrap it round Hamilton's hands.

It was difficult. Even with two of us, Hamilton was wriggling and thrashing, and we couldn't keep his wrists in one place long enough to tie them.

'Keep still!' I shouted.

Hamilton took no notice, and somehow managed to kick Rob hard in the ribs.

I took the flex and wrapped it round his neck, pulling his head back.

'Keep still, I said!'

He bucked and nearly threw me off his shoulders. I pulled back on the flex hard. Anger rushed through me. Here was the bastard who had betrayed me, deceived me, who had cheated, lied and killed. He would have murdered Cathy as well if he had had the chance. In fact, he might already have succeeded.

I gritted my teeth and pulled harder. The blood rushed in my ears. The body underneath me stopped moving. I half heard Rob shouting my name.

Then I felt strong hands grab the flex and pull it away from me. Other hands picked me up off Hamilton. I looked down at him. His head flopped to the ground, and he took huge wheezing gulps of air. Spittle dripped down from his open mouth. His face was bright red.

I slumped back into a chair, the anger draining out of me. A small voice of common sense told me I was glad I hadn't killed him. A policeman was kneeling over him, and another had his arms firmly on my shoulders. Two more were watching, one talking urgently into his radio. My mind cleared. Cathy! I leapt to my desk and rang Denny. He put me on a speakerphone with Chief Inspector Deane.

In a few seconds I told them what had happened. Deane had some questions.

I didn't answer them. I needed to know about Cathy. 'Did the FBI get Waigel?' I said. 'And had he made the phone call to the hit-man? Can you find out right now?'

'All right,' he said. He left me on the speakerphone. I could hear muffled radio conversation, but I couldn't make out the words. Two of the policemen handcuffed Hamilton and bundled him out of the trading room, still wheezing. I was glad he was out of my sight.

A very long minute later, Deane's voice came back on the phone. 'They've got Waigel,' he said.

'Had he made a phone call?' I said, my hopes raised.

'He was just putting the phone down when they entered his office.' Deane's voice was grim. 'He won't say who he was calling, but from the way he is acting, the FBI men there think it must be the hit-man.'

Oh God. I had blown it. Oh Cathy, Cathy, Cathy!

'Mr Murray?' It was Deane's voice, insistent. 'We need to know where she is.'

'Right. I'll find out.'

I hit the cancel button and called Cash.

'Y'allo.'

'Cash. It's all going wrong. Waigel has put a hit-man on to Cathy. Do you know where she is?'

'What's up? I thought you were going over to Denny's this afternoon. What happened?'

'Look, I have no time to talk. Just tell me where Cathy is, will you?'

'OK, OK. I've got her itinerary here. Let me see.' Come on. I willed him to hurry up. 'Here it is. She has a meeting at nine o'clock at Arab American Investment. That's at 520 Madison Avenue. She's staying at the Intercon. Knowing her, she's probably walking there right now.'

'Thanks. Talk to you later.'

I hung up, and got back to Deane. I told him what Cash had told me. 'Right,' he said. 'It's ten to two our time, that's ten to nine in New York. She should be almost there. I'll get the FBI on to it.'

I put down the phone. I sat hunched at my desk staring at the screens. I didn't take in any of the green figures and letters in front of my eyes. I was looking at a New York street, searching for Cathy.

The clock ticked loudly. The police radios behind me crackled. I was in my usual position, sitting at my desk, waiting for the phone to ring. But this time it wasn't paper money at stake. It was Cathy's life.

How could I have been so stupid? Why had I taken the risk? This wasn't some damn trade. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

The phone flashed. I picked it up. Down a fuzzy line, I heard the sound of traffic.

'Paul! It's Cathy.' I could hardly hear her voice, it was an urgent whisper. But she was alive! So far.

'Yes?'

'I'm scared. There's a man following me, I'm sure of it. He's followed me all the way up from the hotel.'

'What's he doing now?'

'He's leaning against the wall of a church, reading his paper, acting as if he hasn't seen me.'

'Is it crowded?'

'Yes. I'm right off Fifth Avenue. There are people everywhere.'

'Good. Now, where are you exactly?'

'I'm in a phone booth on Fifty-Third Street, just by the entrance to the subway station.'

'Hold on.' I turned and gave this information to the policeman behind me, who relayed it into his radio.

'Now, Cathy, just stay where you are. The police will be with you in a few minutes. Stay on the phone.'

'Who is he? What's he doing?' asked Cathy, sounding really scared.

'Waigel put him on to you. But don't worry, there's nothing he can do in a crowded street.' I tried to make myself sound as confident as possible, and I hoped I was right, but I really didn't know.

We stayed on the phone, too tense to talk, waiting. The bustle of Fifty-Third Street crackled down the phone lines: the noise of traffic, snatches of conversation from passers-by.

I watched the second hand crawl round the clock above me. Where had the police got to? Images of a gridlocked midtown Manhattan flashed before me. It could take ten minutes to go three blocks in the rush hour.

I started. Where was Cathy? I couldn't hear her. 'Cathy?'

'Yes, Paul, I'm here.'

Relief.

'Has the man moved?'

'No, he's still over by the church.'

'Good. Tell me if he does move, won't you?'

'All right.' A pause. 'Paul, I'm scared.' Cathy's voice sounded very small, very far away.

'Don't worry, it won't be long now.'

Then I heard them. The wail of sirens, getting louder.

'Oh my God!' she said. 'He's crossing the road. He's coming right towards me.'

'Drop the phone and run!' I shouted. 'Run!'

I heard the clatter of the phone banging against the booth. Then a crack and the sound of splintering plastic.

Half a second's silence.

Then screams. Women shrieking, men yelling, the sirens getting louder. A shout: 'She's been hit!' Another 'She's bleeding!' The sirens getting very loud. Large police voices ordering people to move back, make way.

'Cathy!' I shouted. 'Cathy!'

Then her voice. Cathy's sweet voice. Strained, sobbing, but still her voice. 'Paul?'

'Are you OK?'

'Yes. A woman's been hit, but I'm OK. I'm OK.'