Next In Line

Chapter 22

William was surprised to see DI Reynolds standing by the entrance to Number 4 Buckingham Gate when he turned up the following morning, not least because it wasn’t yet eight a.m., an hour William didn’t normally associate with Reynolds. But he quickly discovered why he was there.

‘Superintendent Milner wants to see you in his office now,’ said Reynolds, emphasizing the word ‘now’.

‘Thank you, Inspector,’ said William, walking straight past him. ‘I was rather hoping to have a word with him myself, so you’ve saved me the trouble of having to make an appointment.’

When he reached the Superintendent’s office on the second floor, he knocked and waited for the command, ‘Come,’ before entering. Milner waved William to a chair on the other side of his desk without any suggestion of a greeting.

‘Warwick,’ he barked, even before he had sat down. ‘It has come to my attention that, while I was accompanying Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales on their official tour, you broke into my office, rifled through my files, and removed several items, including my diary, without my knowledge or permission. Is that correct?’

‘Yes, sir,’ said William, not flinching.

‘Who gave you the authority to carry out this unwarranted intrusion?’

‘Commander Hawksby, sir.’

‘Hawksby has no authority over Royalty Protection. I report only to the Prince of Wales.’

‘And to the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, who will be seeing His Royal Highness at twelve o’clock today.’

‘At which time he will be told in no uncertain terms who is in charge of this department.’

‘If you say so, sir.’

‘I do say so, Warwick, and what’s more, I will be recommending to the Commissioner, who is not only a colleague but an old friend, that you should be suspended with immediate effect, pending a full inquiry into your disgraceful and unprofessional behaviour. That recommendation will also include your accomplices, DS Adaja, DS Roycroft and DC Pankhurst.’

‘They were simply carrying out my orders.’ William paused before adding, ‘Sir.’

‘Don’t get cocky with me, Warwick,’ Milner said, staring directly at William. ‘You’re in quite enough trouble as it is. I’m also told by Inspector Reynolds that his office was broken into by DC Pankhurst, despite her claiming she was attending her grandmother’s funeral in Cornwall at the time.’

‘She didn’t need to break into Reynolds’s office, sir — it wasn’t locked.’

‘She still had no right to enter the room without his permission,’ snapped back Milner. ‘And I’m told DS Roycroft was also involved in your clandestine behaviour, despite being on sick leave.’

‘Yes, sir. I admit it was out of order for her to return to work when she should have been convalescing, having risked her life to arrest one of the world’s most dangerous terrorists, for which she was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal. But no such courage was required for her to unlock a dozen filing cabinets and inspect your expenses claims over the past eleven years.’

‘I’m glad you mentioned expenses, Warwick, because your colleague DS Adaja will be facing a full inquiry for submitting false claims to the tune of £4,332.’ He threw down a thick wad of claims on the table in triumph.

‘He paid back every penny of those expenses, which you yourself authorized without questioning him.’

‘Don’t bother to try and get him off the hook, because it’s no more than you can expect when that sort join the force.’

‘What sort might that be, sir?’

‘Well, let’s face it, Warwick. He’s not one of us, if you catch my drift?’

‘That’s possibly why he got on so well with your Royalty Protection forward liaison officer, the late lamented Sergeant Nigel Hicks.’

Milner turned chalk white.

‘Who I understand the Commissioner is keen to have a word with before he visits the Prince of Wales later this morning.’

Milner’s whole body began to shake.

‘If I might be allowed to give you one piece of advice,’ said William, ‘I would write your letter of resignation now, and make sure it’s delivered to the Commissioner’s office before midday. That way, he’ll be able to cancel his appointment with the Prince of Wales, and avoid having to tell HRH the real reason you had to resign.’

Milner was now breathing heavily, large beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

‘I would also suggest you advise DI Reynolds and Sergeant Jennings to take the same course of action — unless of course they are willing to face a full inquiry, that would undoubtedly result in them also being dismissed from the service. I have a feeling they wouldn’t hesitate to drag you down with them if they thought it might save their own skins.’

‘Yes, I’ve always suspected those two were fiddling their expenses,’ said Milner calmly, ‘and I was about to make a full report on what they’ve been up to. I’ll have it ready for you by midday, Bill. Then perhaps you could have a word with your friend, the commander?’

‘What word did you have in mind, sir?’ said William. ‘Crook? Embezzler? Thief? I don’t think so. In fact, if I were the Commissioner, I’d instigate a full public inquiry, confident you’d be spending your retirement in a cell in Belmarsh, rather than a cottage in the Cotswolds. However, I suspect Commander Hawksby will do everything in his power to avoid that, as he no doubt considers the Met’s reputation as rather more important than yours.’

William glanced at the photographs on the office walls and added, ‘Not to mention the reputation of your close friend, the Prince of Wales. So I’m sorry to say you’ll probably get away with it, unless of course you decide to dispute the allegations. I confess I hope you do — not least because it will allow DS Adaja to receive the praise he richly deserves for identifying the gravestone of the late Sergeant Nigel Hicks — if you catch my drift.’

‘How did your meeting with Milner go?’ Rebecca asked as they left Buckingham Gate and set off for the Yard.

‘I have to admit the damn man riled me, and I may have gone over the top,’ said William as they crossed Victoria Street. ‘If he decides to wait until the Commissioner’s seen the Prince of Wales, heaven knows which one of us will be out on our necks.’

‘But you were doing no more than the Hawk instructed you to do.’

‘I’m afraid not,’ said William. ‘I didn’t follow the commander’s advice, and simply deliver the facts while remaining calm.’

‘I have a feeling you’ll be all right, sir,’ said Rebecca.

‘What makes you say that?’ asked William as they crossed Victoria Street.

‘DI Reynolds and Sergeant Jennings were standing outside in the corridor listening to every word and, when you came out, they didn’t rush in to join their paymaster, but disappeared into their own offices. So I think you’ll find all three of them are writing their letters of resignation right now, and will hand them in before midday.’

‘How can you possibly know that?’

‘Bullies are invariably cowards,’ Rebecca replied.

Beth knocked on the director’s door just before nine o’clock, and waited for the word ‘Enter.’

When she did, Sloane waved her into the chair on the other side of his desk, as if she were a junior member of staff.

‘I thought you’d like to know, Gerald—’

‘I think, Mrs Warwick, it would be more appropriate if you addressed me as director or sir, during working hours.’

‘As you wish, sir, but I thought you’d be pleased to hear—’

‘Later,’ insisted Sloane. ‘I have more pressing matters to discuss with you at the moment.’ Beth fell silent. ‘In this morning’s post I received a letter from a Mr Booth Watson QC, who informs me that once the Hals exhibition is over, he will be collecting the self-portrait, which he claims belongs to his client, Mr Miles Faulkner, and was removed from his home without his permission.’ He peered across at Beth as if she was in the witness box.

‘Faulkner doesn’t own it,’ protested Beth. ‘It belongs to his wife, Christina.’

‘It would seem that is not the case,’ said Sloane. ‘Mr Booth Watson assures me that your friend Mrs Faulkner returned the picture to her ex-husband as part of their recent divorce settlement.’

Beth would have protested, but realized that once again Christina hadn’t told her the whole story.

‘Our lawyers have advised me it would be pointless to dispute the claim. And as if that wasn’t enough,’ said Sloane once again returning to the letter, ‘Mr Booth Watson goes on to say that his client will also be reclaiming his Raphael and Rembrandt, which you led me to believe were on permanent loan.’

‘They are,’ protested Beth. ‘We should not hesitate to dispute his claim—’

‘On this, the lawyers suggest we are on firmer ground,’ admitted Sloane. ‘However, if Mr Faulkner were to sue, as Booth Watson threatens he will, we might well win the case, but only at considerable cost both financially and to our reputation. Should we lose, and I’m advised it’s a fifty-fifty call, it would drain the museum’s resources to breaking point.’ Sloane paused, before adding, ‘I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be responsible for that.’

‘Of course not,’ said Beth. ‘But I may have found a way to cover the cost—’

‘Frankly, Mrs Warwick, I think you should have read the contract more carefully before you misled the board into believing we owned the painting.’

‘But we can still hold on to it if—’

‘Given the circumstances, I wonder if you should consider your position as Keeper of Pictures, because clearly that is the one job you are not doing, Mrs Warwick.’

Beth had to grip the arms of the chair to stop herself telling Sloane what she really thought of him. Knowing that William would have advised her to remain calm and bide her time, she delivered a sentence she felt confident even Sir Julian would have approved of. ‘I’m sure you’re right, director.’

Sloane was taken by surprise, having assumed this was only the first round in what would be a long skirmish. But he recovered quickly, and said, ‘I think that’s a wise decision, Mrs Warwick.’ He gave her a warm smile before adding, ‘I believe there was something else you wanted to discuss?’

‘No, it wasn’t important, director. Especially as I won’t be around to see it through.’

Beth returned to her office, sat down and wrote out her letter of resignation, and was surprised how relieved she felt when she handed it to the director’s secretary an hour later. She spent the afternoon saying goodbye to old friends and colleagues who she’d worked with for many years, before clearing her desk and packing eight years of memorabilia into three large cardboard boxes.

At one minute past five, Beth left the museum, hailed a taxi and, after giving the driver her address, sat in the back surrounded by boxes and unashamedly shed a tear.

The moment Beth arrived home she went straight to her study, looked up a number and rang a small auction house in Pittsburgh. She registered her interest in Lot 71, and told them five hundred dollars was her upper limit. She didn’t mention that if her bid was successful, it would clean out her account.

William got back in time to help bath the children. Before she had a chance to tell him her news, he said, ‘Milner, Reynolds and Jennings have all handed in their resignations. The Commissioner was relieved he wouldn’t have to tell the Prince of Wales the real reason he’d had to let them go.’

‘I resigned today too,’ said Beth. She paused before adding, ‘Sloane couldn’t hide his delight.’

William took her in his arms. ‘I’m so sorry, my darling, I didn’t realize...’

Artemisia threw her soap out of the bath, clearly feeling she wasn’t getting enough attention.

‘Not only have I lost my job,’ said Beth as she picked up the soap, ‘but I’ve risked every penny I have on a drawing that might turn out to be worthless. So please tell me some good news!’ she added as William scooped Artemisia out of the bath.

‘Paul Adaja has been made up to Inspector, and Constable Smart will finally—’

‘—become a Royalty Protection officer?’

‘Not much gets past you,’ smiled William.

‘Christina did. When will I realize you can’t believe a word that woman says?’

The phone on the landing began to ring. William dropped the towel on the floor and went to answer it, while Beth tucked the children up in bed. She was about to read to them when William returned.

‘It’s for you. Long distance. Lot seventy-one will be coming up in a few minutes’ time,’ he said, before settling down on the end of the bed. ‘What page are you on?’

‘A hundred and forty-three,’ said Artemisia. ‘Peter and the Lost Boys are surrounded by bloodthirsty pirates!’

‘I know the feeling!’ said William as Beth quickly left the room.

Fifteen minutes later, William closed the book, having decided he rather liked Captain Hook, whom he considered a great improvement on both Milner and Sloane. He switched off the light and joined Beth on the landing.

‘No, don’t send it to the Fitzmolean,’ she said, before giving the auction house her home address. She put the phone down and turned to William. ‘I’ve just spent four hundred and twenty dollars I don’t have.’

‘Not a problem,’ said William. ‘I’ve been temporarily made up to Superintendent on full salary, while Milner goes on gardening leave — and he has a large garden.’

‘Trouble is, I will need even more if I’m going to make a go of my new business.’

‘Then I’ll just have to open a taxi service... in Windsor.’