Name To a Face

FIFTY-TWO

I don’t like people who welch on deals,” said Whybrow, advancing slowly into the room. “We shook on this one, as I recall, Tim.” He circled round them to the window and gazed out at the city. “You were going to tell Carol you were no longer certain it was Hayley who shot Barney. That was to be it. Nothing else. No… elaboration. Instead, what do you do? Allege I arranged Barney’s murder. Explain our confidential agreement. And suggest ways for Carol to betray me. Now, that’s not nice, is it? Not nice at all.” He turned to face Harding. “Of course, I’m grateful to you for drawing my attention to…” He picked up the card from the table. “Detective Chief Inspector Unsworth. Yes. I’m obviously going to have to do something about him.” He slipped the card into his pocket. “But you’ve had plenty of chances to tell me about him before and you haven’t taken them. So, there’s really no way to salvage your bona fides in this situation, is there?”

Harding looked across at Carol. They held each other’s gaze. Harding did not doubt that the helplessness he read in her eyes was mirrored in his own. There was nothing he could do now. There was no ploy left to resort to.

“Let me tell you both how we’re going to proceed from this point on.” Whybrow moved round the table and sat down on the couch between them. “We’ll forget the idea of fitting up Nathan Gashry That kite’s not going to fly. Hayley remains the prime suspect. Now, I don’t mind if she’s never actually convicted. I’m a reasonable man. I bear her no ill will. If you can cobble together a workable alibi for her, Tim, or if you still want to withdraw your positive identification of her as Barney’s murderer, that’s fine by me. Just as long as we’re clear nothing’s to be said or done that encourages the police to look elsewhere. Because, if that happens, I’ll be forced to invoke certain sanctions against both of you. Various documents you signed at Barney’s request, Carol, doubtless without bothering to read them, will find their way into Detective Chief Inspector Unsworth’s in-tray. They’ll convince him you’ve been a willing party to all of Starburst International’s… off-balance-sheet transactions. As for you, Tim, a witness will come forward who not only saw you talking to Hayley at Marienplatz U-Bahn station in Munich the night before Barney’s murder but overheard part of your conversation. A highly incriminating part, naturally. And then, of course, there’s the tape recording that proves you and Carol were lovers. I wonder what the Kriminal-Polizei would make of that.”

“You never intended to honour your deal with Tim, did you?” Carol interrupted. “You were always planning to do this.”

“I can’t stop you thinking so,” Whybrow responded. “The fact remains, however, that it was Tim who vitiated our agreement.”

“Why did you do it?” Carol persisted.

“Do what?”

“Have Barney killed.”

“Oh dear.” Whybrow leant back and clasped his hands behind his head. “This really does serve no purpose. Accusation and denial merely form a Möbius strip if persisted with. Business is business, Carol. It’s not one of those television soaps you spend so much of your time watching. It’s a clinical process. When someone loses his edge, his focus, his… nerve, well, then he has to make way for someone else. He has to move aside. Or be moved. It’s as simple as that.”

“Barney trusted you.”

“Yes. I’m glad to say he did. And what he trusted me to do was exactly what I’ve done ever since he hired me. Keep my eye on the ball. Exploit every opportunity. Look to the future. Plan ahead. Seize the day.”

“He thought of you as a friend.”

“That wasn’t in my job description. Tim here was always more promising buddy material. Although he didn’t really live up to the billing, did he? Just as you failed in the loyal and loving wife department. Barney never knew how spectacularly you failed, of course. He was spared that at least.”

“You are such a cold-hearted bastard.”

“My ex-wife once told me I was emotionally stunted. It was just about the last thing she ever told me, as a matter of fact. I have the impression you’d agree with her. Well, so be it. The management of money requires a cool head. I’ve always had that. Fortunately for you, as it turns out. Since the sum I’ll be paying you for Barney’s share of Starburst International will keep you in Chanel suits and Jimmy Choo shoes for the foreseeable future. Will you be staying here, incidentally? Do let me know if you’re thinking of selling the apartment. I might be interested. I adore the view from this room.”

Carol rose unsteadily to her feet. She shot Harding a glance that was at once resigned and despairing.

“Going somewhere?” Whybrow enquired.

“I need another drink.” She picked up her glass and headed for the kitchen.

“You have much less to say for yourself than when we last met, Tim.” Whybrow unclasped his hands and smiled patronizingly at Harding. “Perhaps you feel you said too much on that occasion.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“That’s a pity. I was hoping you could satisfy my curiosity on one point. This… thing… you have with Hayley This… rêve d’amour. Do you seriously expect it to last? I mean, quite apart from the age difference, there’s her psychiatric history to be taken into consideration. Don’t you think you might be-”

Harding had lunged at Whybrow before he was even aware of the intention forming in his brain. His need to shut the man’s mouth was overwhelming and irresistible, as much a physical reflex as a mental reaction. The blow he aimed would have driven Whybrow’s teeth down his throat.

But the blow never landed. Whybrow dodged it with ease, twisting out of reach and sliding off the couch, then countering with a crunching kick to Harding’s midriff and a deftly imposed arm-lock. Suddenly, Harding was on his knees, the side of his head pressed down heavily against the glass table top, his left arm scissored up between his shoulderblades, his right anchored to the floor by the weight of Whybrow’s foot on his hand.

“Thanks for being stupid enough to try that, Tim,” Whybrow hissed into his ear. “Your attempt to blackmail me earlier today made me angry. And I don’t like feeling angry. It upsets me. It disrupts my sense of order. It provokes me.” His grip was tightening, the force he was exerting steadily increasing. Harding’s view through the window of the tower blocks of Monte Carlo was blurring as the pressure and the pain mounted. He wondered which would break first: his arm, or the glass his cheekbone and temple were being ground against. He had clenched every muscle and was straining to break free. But Whybrow was too strong for him. In truth, he always had been. “Do you understand, Tim? This is your fault. This is all your fault.” He grasped a handful of Harding’s hair by the roots, raised his head an inch or so, then slammed it down. Harding heard something crack. “Do you understand?” Harding’s head was yanked up again, higher than before.

And suddenly Whybrow’s grip slackened. There was a gurgling noise in his throat. Something hot and wet was flooding onto Harding’s back. His head was pushed down almost gently. His left arm was released. Then his right. Whybrow dropped onto one knee. Blood, thick and vivid red, flowed across the table and down onto the floor. Harding raised his head and looked round. He saw Carol standing above him, a long-bladed kitchen knife in her hand, the blade glistening red to the hilt. Then he saw Whybrow clutching his stomach, from which blood was gushing freely, struggling to rise, grimacing with the effort, jaw tight, eyes squeezed into slits, breath snorting in and out, feet scrabbling.

Somehow, he made it. There was blood everywhere now. On the carpet, the table, the couch. On Harding’s shirt and Carol’s suit. Whybrow tried to speak, but only a strangled slur emerged. He staggered forward, his shoes squelching in the blood pooling beneath him. Three stooping, tottering strides took him to the window. He turned and squinted at Harding and Carol, as if trying to focus on distant, receding objects he was no longer sure were actually still within sight. He stretched out a hand towards them. He opened his mouth. He gagged. Then he fell back heavily against the window. The pane shuddered but did not break. He slid slowly down into a sitting position, blood-tracks smeared on the glass behind him. Still he tried to focus. Then something went out inside him. His head fell forward. He slumped to one side.

All movement ceased. Time froze. And the only sound was blood dripping onto blood.