Sight Unseen

TWENTY-TWO

The decision Umber had taken was, in the event, merely reinforced by what Claire had shown him. Amid his general bemusement, he held on to the conviction that the only way he could atone for endangering innocents and bystanders and blameless friends alike was to ensure that he did not lead any of them further down a road whose end he could not foresee. He slipped the Hello! page back into the scrapbook and closed it. As he turned towards Claire, he saw Alice walk in through the door behind her.

'You look like you've seen a ghost,' she said, cocking her head at him. 'Think you have?'

'Maybe.'

'We reckon Sally was more certain.'

'So Claire tells me.'

'I've just been catching the latest tennis news on the Web. Tinaud's career isn't what it was in 'ninety-nine. He's just gone out of the Nasdaq Open in Miami in the first round.'

'Oh yes?'

'The next big tournament in the calendar is the Monte Carlo Masters. Home ground for Tinaud. So, I guess he'll already be back there.'

'And you're going to suggest we go see him?'

'I was sceptical about this whole thing, David. You know that. But I'm convinced now. Sally went to Wimbledon the day before she died to confront that man. We've got to find out what happened.'

'Do you agree?' Umber looked at Claire.

'It's the obvious next step. The only next step. We have to go.'

'No,' he said quietly.

'What?'

'I thought it all through while you were down in Hampshire. Sally's dead. We can't bring her back to life. All we'll do by chasing after answers to questions no-one's forcing us to ask is to put ourselves in unnecessary danger. We have to give it up.'

'You don't believe that.'

'I do. I'm taking your option one, Claire. I'm going back to Prague. I'm bowing out.'

'You can't.'

'I can. And I will. What's more, I advise you to follow my example.'

'What about George Sharp?'

'I'm not responsible for what happens to George. He dragged me into this. He'll have to drag himself out.'

'Jesus,' said Alice, staring at him with a mixture of surprise and contempt. 'It didn't take long for you to revert to type, did it? I thought you d finally found some moral fibre. But no. It was just a passing phase. This is the real you, isn't it? The man I urged Sally to have nothing to do with. The spineless shit she should never have -'

'Alice.' Claire glared round at her friend, commanding her silence. Then she turned back to Umber. 'You're not serious about this, are you, David?'

'Never more so.'

'We've just uncovered the biggest clue going to what Sally was up to. And you want to walk away from it?'

'Self-preservation, Claire. That's what it comes down to. Like Alice said. This is the real me. Someone who believes, at the end of the day, in looking after number one.'

'I don't think that's the real you at all.'

'Well, you'll have to start getting used to the idea. I'm not going on with this. It's as simple as that.'

'We'll go on with it.'

'You shouldn't. You really shouldn't.'

'Because of the risks?'

'Obviously.'

'Help us minimize them, then. Come with us.'

'No.'

'David, I -'

'You're wasting your breath, Claire,' said Alice. 'He's got it all worked out. Sometimes the wrong thing to do is the only thing to do. Isn't that so, David?'

Umber shrugged. 'Sticks and stones.'

'Yeah.' Alice nodded grimly. Her low opinion of him made the deception all too easy to carry off, Umber realized. She wanted to believe in his loss of nerve too badly to question its genuineness. 'You're the living proof of words never hurting, David. You know that?'

'Yes.' He gave her a stoical little smile. 'I suppose I am.'

It took Umber no more than a few minutes to pack his belongings. He hoped to make it out of the house without further debate. Certainly Alice seemed too self-righteously angry to spare him even a parting gibe. But Claire, still worryingly unconvinced by his change of heart, cornered him in the hall.

'How soon are you going back to Prague?' she asked with pragmatic coolness.

'Not sure. Within a couple of days. I… thought I'd go and see my parents before I left.'

'Are you going down to Yeovil now?'

'Yes,' he replied, altogether too quickly.

'I'll give you a lift to Paddington.'

'No need. I'll… take the Tube.' He brushed past her to the door and opened it. "Bye.'

'This isn't goodbye, David.' She followed him out, ostentatiously pulling the door shut behind her. 'We both know that.'

'I'm quitting, Claire. OK? I'm out.'

'Mind if I walk with you to the Tube?'

'I'd rather you didn't.'

'Accept my offer of a lift, then.'

'No.'

'You've fooled Alice,' she said, lowering her voice. 'You haven't fooled me.'

'I'm not trying to fool anyone.'

'Fine. Have it your way. But I'll go back indoors and persuade Alice to see it my way – unless you stop arguing and get in the car.'

Umber stopped arguing. The truth was that Claire left him little choice in the matter. A few minutes later, they were heading towards Swiss Cottage in her TVR. And Claire was doing all the talking.

'Let's cut the crap, shall we, David? Alice believed you because she's prejudiced against you. But I don't share her prejudice, so it won't wash with me. You took an important decision while we were down in Hampshire, but chickening out wasn't it. My guess is you decided to go it alone, probably out of some warped sense of chivalry, which I personally find more offensive than flattering. You think we'll be safer if you leave us out of whatever it is you're planning to do. I suspect you've worked something out you're not telling us about. And I reckon that something involves Michel Tinaud's girlfriend.'

Umber shook his head. 'You've got it all wrong, Claire.'

'You thought we'd get nothing out of the Wilkinsons. That was the basis on which you took your decision. But we came back with a genuine lead. Yet you didn't change your mind. You didn't even hesitate. You ploughed straight on with your cover story. That can only be because you already knew about Tinaud and the girl.'

'How could I?'

'I don't know. Unless -' She braked sharply to a halt, throwing Umber forward in his seat against the lock of the seatbelt. A car behind them blared its horn. Claire held up a hand in apology, then pulled into a parking space at the side of the road and turned to stare at Umber. Her eyes were sparkling with the satisfaction of a sudden insight. 'You've seen her, haven't you? Or at any rate you know where she is.'

'Of course not.'

'Look me in the eye and tell me I'm wrong.'

He looked her in the eye. But he said nothing. He knew she would see through any lie he told. In fact, she already had.

She turned off the engine, her gaze still fixed on him. Then she said, calmly and quietly, 'There's no guarantee she's still with Tinaud. Given the lifestyle of the average top tennis player, it's quite likely she isn't. But Tinaud can tell us what happened when Sally tracked him down, as I'm sure she did. It makes sense to ask him. He may also be able to tell us where the girl is. And he can certainly tell us who he believes her to be. There's every reason to go and see him. And I will. Unless you're prepared to tell me why I shouldn't.'

Umber sighed. 'Look Claire, I -'

'Just tell me. OK?'

'OK.' He surrendered the point. 'The reason's obvious. The reason is what happened to Sally when she got too close. I don't want that to happen to you. Or Alice.' He ventured a smile. 'But especially you.'

'So you take all the risks?'

'Sally was my wife. And I was at Avebury when they took Tamsin. I have to take the risks. You don't. I can't let you. Give me a few days, Claire. You can stall Alice that long. A few days is all I ask.'

'To accomplish what?'

He shrugged. 'As much as I can.'

The pretence was over. Claire dropped him at the next Tube station. An hour and a half later, he was at Gatwick, buying a ticket for the first flight next morning to Jersey. He booked into the cheapest of the airport hotels for the night and slept surprisingly well.