‘Who better?’ Crozier was smiling now and that worried Jane even more.
‘You?’ She leaned forward so that her hands were on the edge of the desk. She sensed Crozier’s concerned look that she might smudge the pristine surface. ‘You have the seniority, I don’t.’
Crozier smiled. ‘Do you honestly think he’ll listen to anything I’ve got to say?’
Jane frowned. The animosity between the two men was the stuff of legend within the Department. And now with the suspension…“No, probably not. But you make it sound as if Robert needs persuading to come back. Surely if he’s been disciplined he’ll be only too glad to…’
Crozier shook his head as though he was saddened at Carter’s plight.
‘He won’t do it. You saw how he was after he lost Sian Davies. He won’t come back. Phone calls have already been made. His exact words — no, I’ll paraphrase — he said something like, ‘Suspend me, retire me, fire me — all the same. I’ve finished with it all.’ Yes, he was a mess after Sian Davies disappeared. Blamed himself, and quite rightly too in my opinion. But that doesn’t alter the fact that he’s the best there is working in his specific area of expertise.’
Crozier stood abruptly and walked across to the window, staring down at the cars passing by on Whitehall. ‘Look, Jane, I’ll level with you,’ he said, not shifting his gaze from the traffic below. ‘For a long time this Department has been a thorn in the side of the Whitehall mandarins. Every year it gets more difficult persuading them to support us. This year the bud get has been slashed by forty percent. If we are to continue, we have to keep the Minister on our side.’
She nodded her head slowly as realization dawned. ‘And it’s the Minister who’s insisting on Robert’s inclusion in this?’
‘He thinks it was a mistake to let him go.’ Crozier was speaking quietly now; the secret was about to be revealed.
‘But we didn’t, did we? I thought you said he was suspended.’ Jane’s words hung in the air, like incense in a church.
Crozier said nothing but continued to stare out of the window.
‘Or was he persuaded to go?’ she said, interpreting Crozier’s silence.
‘Let’s just say I didn’t try to dissuade him when he said he was considering leaving the Department.’ Crozier had placed one hand, palm first, onto the window, and as he moved it Jane could see the imprint of it on the glass.
Jane took a breath. ‘I see.’ She had personal reasons for finding the thought of working with Robert uncomfortable, but she was realistic enough to know that he was the best person for this assignment. Not only that, but she knew Crozier had used his dislike of Carter to get rid of him.
‘Don’t be angry, Jane. I think the same now as I thought then. Carter is a maverick and as such, a liability. I think the Department’s better off without him. But my hand is being forced on this.’ God how he hated letting her know that he was being told what to do, and against his better judgment.
It was as if Jane was reading his thoughts. ‘So how do you feel about losing your autonomy, about the Minister laying down conditions…and is this the only condition, or will there be more later?’ Jane knew Crozier would be extremely uncomfortable admitting any form of weakness, and to him being made to reemploy Carter was a weakness.
Crozier shrugged. ‘If there are, then we’ll just have to bite the bullet. As I say, we need the money. As for future operations…well, we’ll just have to wait and see.’
‘And if I do manage to get Robert to reconsider and to join us on this, which of us will be running the show?’ She needed to know where she stood professionally, but also with Carter.
Crozier turned to face her. ‘You, of course. I told the Minister that the only way I’d have Carter back is as a special consultant, for this one assignment only.’ He puffed back his shoulders as if reaffirming his authority. Once the job was done he envisaged Carter slinking back to lick his wounds at that Lake District cottage of his.
Jane considered this for a moment. ‘What’s the contingency plan should I fail to convince him?’ she said.
‘There isn’t one. We’re snookered.’ The Minister had made it crystal clear that the terms of the contract were binding.
She sighed. ‘Okay. I’ll drive up and see Robert in the morning. But I can guess what his answer will be.’
‘Just do your best, Jane. If he’ll listen to anyone, he’ll listen to you.’ He went back to his desk and sat down. Once back inside his comfort zone his demeanor changed. Suddenly he was all business again. ‘Right. What about the rest of your team?’
‘I’d want Kirby Grant. Is Raj Kumar back from Teheran yet?’
‘Three days ago.’
‘Then him too. Raj and Kirby work well together.’
‘Okay. Neither of them are assigned to anything urgent so they should both be available.’
‘And I want John McKinley too,’ Jane threw in quickly.
‘But won’t that create a conflict if Carter comes on board? The two are virtually interchangeable. Similar abilities.’ Carter and McKinley were both powerful psychics.
‘Exactly. That’s why I want him there.’ Jane hardened her voice; she was ready if some bargaining was needed.
‘In case Carter screws up?’ There was almost a hint of hope in his voice.
‘A safety net.’ Nothing more than that, but she knew it
‘All right, but there’s one other thing I must stress. This is strictly voluntary. Everyone has an opt-out clause, including you. If, once you’ve slept on it, you decide you want no part of it, then it won’t reflect on your record.’
Jane hid a smile behind her hand. She could almost smell the bullshit. Officially it might not affect her record, but forevermore she would be compromised by the case she’d decided not to take. Crozier could use it against her like a lever and it would make her future with the Department very uncomfortable. Calling it a voluntary operation assuaged his conscience should anything go wrong, nothing more. ‘I’ll make that clear to them,’ she said.
‘Very well then. Gather your team and brief them, then go out to the island and take the place apart — stone by stone if necessary. Call me in a day or so, once you’ve spoken with Carter.’
Jane took the elevator down to street level. In her mind she was already rehearsing how she would break the news to David.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
As she let herself into her house she knew immediately that something was wrong. There was an atmosphere of melancholy that was almost palpable. It insinuated itself under her skin, making her shiver. She dropped her bag on the hall table, took one step towards the lounge, and saw the small suitcase left casually at the bottom of the stairs. This was not a good sign.
She found David in the lounge, sitting in front of the television, his jacket on, a glass of whisky in his hand. He looked up at her as she entered, then his gaze reverted to the ten o’clock news playing out the day’s events on the screen.
‘Hi,’ she said, with a lightness she didn’t feel.
‘Hi.’ He didn’t even look at her.
‘How are the girls?’ She was still standing in the doorway to the room, uncertain whether she was waiting for an invitation, or just a sign that she was welcome.
‘At your mother’s.’ The item on the news was about the Pope’s planned visit to the old Eastern Bloc countries in the spring.
‘I thought you might be having them.’
