The Samurai Inheritance

IV

‘It will be for two weeks at most.’ Jamie tried to sound upbeat, but Fiona’s narrowed eyes informed him he wasn’t succeeding. Lizzie mirrored her mother’s disapproving frown. ‘You’ll be able to spend a bit of quality time with your aunts and uncles, and we’ll still have a fortnight together as a … a family at the end of it.’ Fiona sucked in a breath and he knew he’d made one of those male mistakes that are only perceptible to women. Sweat prickled in his thick dark hair as they sat on the grass beneath a big palm tree in the botanical gardens. ‘It’ll be great.’ He hurried on, hoping to bypass the storm. ‘No expense spared on my client’s private island up by Cairns. Koalas, possums and platypuses, er, platypii, and whatever. We can explore the Barrier Reef and scuba dive, swim with dolphins and turtles …’ He ended with a winning smile at the little girl, which didn’t change her expression one bit.

‘In a real family the hu— … head of the family doesn’t just up sticks and abandon the rest without so much as a discussion.’ Fiona’s tight smile was as dangerous as the fire that flickered in the depths of her dark eyes and Jamie decided he’d much rather be facing gun-toting Al-Qaida assassins than this woman he … No, it was too soon after Abbie for that kind of emotional commitment, but he liked and respected Fiona too much to hurt her and he was already regretting accepting Keith Devlin’s offer. All he’d said was that someone had commissioned him to track down something and the client was in a hurry. She hadn’t asked what the something was or the client’s name. He saw another change in her expression as she read his mind and didn’t like what she found there. ‘Maybe you don’t realize what I — what we — invested in this trip. It’s not about a free holiday and a chance to see the old country again, Jamie, it’s about us. We do things together. We enjoy each other’s company. And that’s about it. When I lie next to you I can hear you breathe and I can feel your heart beating, but I don’t know what you’re thinking or feeling. You’re a lovely person and you have great qualities, but showing your emotions isn’t one of them. I thought spending two weeks together would give me a chance to get to know the real Jamie Saintclair.’ She noticed the concern on Lizzie’s face as she contemplated the two adults and the smile reappeared. ‘Lizzie, honey, why don’t you go and play with the ducks for a second?’

Jamie put a hand on her arm. ‘No. Let’s go and get some more ice cream instead.’ The little girl’s eyes lit up and she skipped away a few metres towards a vendor dispensing his wares from under a brightly coloured umbrella. Jamie got to his feet, brushing grass from his trousers and offered Fiona his hand to help her up. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, taking her by the waist and leaning over to kiss her cheek. ‘You’re right. I’ve behaved like a selfish idiot. I’m too used to just thinking about yours truly.’ He slipped his hand into the inside pocket of the cotton jacket and pulled out his mobile phone. ‘I’ll call Devlin now and tell him the deal’s off. Family comes first.’

‘Devlin?’ She stopped and looked at him.

‘Yes, Keith Devlin, have you heard of him?’

‘Of course I’ve heard of him; he’s one of the most famous men in Australia. He turned the family firm into an international conglomerate and is probably the country’s biggest philanthropist. It was the Devlin Foundation who originally paid me to come to Britain to study. He set it up as a charitable trust to promote the arts and sciences. His big interest is creating a more environmentally sustainable mining industry. Keith Devlin is inviting us to his private island?’

‘That was the plan.’ Jamie continued to tap Devlin’s number into the mobile. ‘For the two weeks I was away you’d have been ferried round the country by private jet. After that we’d meet up in Queensland, do the national park thing and then head out to the island, sit in a hot tub, drink beer and … whatever.’ He put the phone to his ear. ‘But I’ll tell him it’s a no-go.’

She reached across and gently removed the machine from his fingers and hit cancel. ‘Let’s not be too hasty. Two weeks isn’t that long and I like the sound of “whatever”.’

‘But what about finding the real me?’ He gave her a sideways glance.

‘Bastard,’ she said lightly, punching him on the shoulder. ‘You set this up. Waited until I’d got all my girly emotion out of the way and then dangled Keith Devlin in front of me like a juicy piece of mackerel in front of a hungry barracuda. And I swallowed it hook, line and sinker.’

‘That’s much too devious for me. You must be thinking of a different real Jamie Saintclair, the one who went to the Machiavelli School of Social Engineering. A lovely man with nice qualities would never consider such a thing.’

‘When do you leave?’

‘I’m booked on the afternoon flight to Berlin tomorrow.’

‘Good,’ she said, all businesslike now. ‘The sooner you’re gone, the sooner you’re back. I’m looking forward to spending two weeks in our hot tub finding the real Jamie Saintclair.’

‘I think he might be a bit wrinkly.’ He grinned. He looked over to where Lizzie was squatting next to a sleeping duck. ‘How will you square it with her?’

‘Oh, Lizzie takes after her mum,’ Fiona laughed. ‘The promise of another ice cream and a cuddle from a koala and she’ll be wriggling in the net in no time. Come on,’ she pulled him by the hand, ‘we have some heavy-duty sightseeing to do. That little lady has been staying up too late. It’s bed by eight tonight.’

‘Now who’s being devious?’

‘Mmmmh.’ She turned to him, stepping up close. ‘But I think you’ll find this is much more worthwhile.’ As she said it she ran a finger nail down the V of his shirt through the hairs on his chest. There was a promise in her eyes that made his blood fizz like champagne.

‘Two weeks,’ he promised. ‘Quicker if I can make it so.’

‘Just see that you do, lover boy.’

Jamie flew into Tegel airport three days later, refreshed and full of enthusiasm thanks to the unfamiliar experience of Devlin’s promised First Class all the way. The ten-thousand-mile journey had been broken by a day’s lay-over in Abu Dhabi where his clothes had been ironed by a smiling Pakistani girl while he showered and he’d even been able to catch up on a bit of sleep in a proper bed. No queues for the First Class traveller. By the time he cleared customs his baggage had already been collected and placed in a waiting limousine. Outside the terminal he stood for a moment taking in the peculiarly distinctive scent of a central European autumn; the promise of rain despite the eggshell-blue sky, and the lingering warmth that paradoxically contained a warning that it wouldn’t last. The driver was a big man in a too-tight suit who wore an expression that said he’d seen it all before. Jamie gave him the name of his hotel and relaxed in the rear of the big Mercedes.

‘Can we take the scenic route, please?’ he suggested in German.

‘Sure.’ The driver nodded and took the first exit off the autobahn. ‘My name is Max and I am at your service for the duration of your stay. We will go through Charlottenburg and then head for Tiergarten, yes?’

Jamie had mixed memories of Berlin, but there was something about entering a great city that made him feel like an explorer starting a journey of infinite possibility. He found himself grinning. Out there, beyond the apartment blocks and the factories, were some of the world’s most wonderful art collections: hundreds, maybe thousands of years of potential and endeavour. The greatest heroes and villains in history had lived here, experiencing triumph and tragedy in equal measure.

Their route took them down the east bank of the River Spree, with the Schlosspark an island of green on the far side. That was what Jamie liked best about Berlin, the open spaces and broad avenues and the way it could always surprise you. As they drove, he kept up a stream of small talk with the driver, testing his German and re-attuning himself to the rhythm and cadence of the language. By the time they reached the Tiergarten, Berlin’s sprawling central park, he didn’t even have to think about his replies. They talked about the weather and whatever they were passing at the time. This arrow-straight avenue had not long ago been at the heart of a tiny effervescent bubble of capitalism in the turgid Communist sea of eastern Europe. At the far end, beyond the column of victory, the road had come to an abrupt end at a twelve-foot concrete wall, a sanitized, mined death zone, and towers manned by guards who would shoot first and not bother asking questions after.

They passed the familiar silhouette of the Brandenburg Gate and drove down the Unter den Linden. He’d had his pick of the city’s hotels, but Jamie had opted for a modern hotel on Karl-Liebknecht Strasse, within a grenade throw of the city’s museum district. His gaze swept over the brightly lit upmarket shops thronged with late-afternoon crowds. He remembered walking along this same street with Detective Danny Fisher. It occurred to him that an hour later he’d been chest to chest with a knife-wielding maniac surrounded by men with guns. Perhaps he’d give the sightseeing a miss this time round.

Seconds later Max drew up in front of what looked like a futuristic shopping complex and jumped out to open Jamie’s door before darting to the boot to retrieve the Englishman’s luggage. Jamie put out a hand for his backpack, but the driver was already on his way to the hotel entrance with it.

Inside was an enormous glass-roofed entrance hall. Max handed the luggage to a porter with a whispered order and slipped him a sheaf of folded notes. Jamie stared at the great shimmering blue bowl that dominated the entire area twenty feet above.

‘I suppose there’s no argument about what I’m having for dinner?’

The limo driver glanced upwards. ‘The AquaDom. Biggest fish bowl in the world, they say. Reception is over there, sir.’ He pointed to a curving row of desks. He reached into his inside pocket and withdrew an embossed pasteboard card. ‘Call this number any time, day or night, and either I or one of my colleagues will come and pick you up. There’s an emergency number if you should have an accident or get in trouble with the authorities.’

‘If I end up in a cell,’ Jamie grinned, ‘I’ll be too embarrassed to call anybody.’

Max’s lips didn’t even twitch. ‘It’s there for your convenience, sir.’ He nodded. ‘Enjoy your stay in Berlin.’

When Max returned to the Mercedes, Doug Stewart emerged from the hotel entrance and slipped in beside the driver. He’d watched from the bar as Saintclair had completed the formalities and been directed to the lifts, as certain as he could be that no one was tailing the art dealer.

‘Remember, I want to know where he goes, who he meets and what he eats for breakfast,’ he told the German. In Stewart’s view it was a long way to come just to make sure Jamie Saintclair had his mind fully on the mission, but he’d been with Keith Devlin long enough to understand that he liked to cover all the bases. Then again, if any other party realized the true significance of the Bougainville head, this was where they would pick up Saintclair and the best place to spot them. ‘If you see anything suspicious let me know and we’ll put a full team on him.’ Max nodded and pulled out into the traffic.

As the Mercedes drove off a young Oriental man stepped from a shop doorway on the other side of the street. His eyes followed the car until it was out of sight and his lips barely moved as he spoke into a hands-free mobile phone.

At the same moment Jamie stood at the floor-to-ceiling window of a fifth-floor suite big enough to host a Premiership football match. He took a contented sip of weiss beer and stared out over the glittering waters of the Spree to Museum Island and the distinctive green domes of Berlin Cathedral. Behind it he could just make out the outlines of the museums complex, where tomorrow he would begin his strangest quest yet.

There were worse places to be, he reckoned. If Keith Devlin’s shrunken head was out there, he would find it. If not, the philanthropical tycoon could whistle for his next copper mine and Jamie would go back to Fiona where he belonged.