Here Be Monsters

colleague, to pick his brains.

'Two jobs?' He grinned. 'I'll bet he didn't like that!' The grin vanished. 'Was one of them - '

The rattle of the curtain-runners stopped him. 'What is it, Tom?'

The strange sucking noise was repeated. 'Thought you might like a refill, Doctor Mitchell.

An' maybe it's not too early for the lady now?'

'Go away, Tom,' said Paul.

'I only arsked - '

'And I only said 'Go away'.' Paul addressed the curtain, which had closed again, and then caught Elizabeth's eye, which had just taken in the emptiness of the saloon bar of the Marshal Ney public house. 'You don't need to worry, Elizabeth Jane: he's nipped out and put a 'Closed' sign on the door, so we shan't be disturbed. And his standard charge is pound a minute, or double-or-quits. But he won't play with me, because he says I cheat when we cut the cards.' He shrugged. 'Which isn't true, actually - I'm just lucky at cards.

But half the burglaries in this part of London are probably planned here anyway at the same rate - a pound a minute, tax-free. Or double-or-quits.'

It was all according to what you were used to, remembered Elizabeth. ''One of them', you were saying?'

'Yes. Was one of those jobs to talk to Neville Macready? About Sir Peter Barrie?'

Neville Macready was their economic intelligence specialist, so that would have been a sensible move, thought Elizabeth. So she would not deny it. 'And if it was?'

'I've already asked him.' He accepted her question as an admission all too easily because it suited him. 'Xenophon's money is Texas money, ultimately. So Barrie's loyalties are American, in the final analysis. Macready says he's buddy-buddy with the State Department at a high level when it comes to global decisions. He advises the Americans, and then they tell him what to do. And then he does it, more or less - sometimes more, and sometimes less, but always thereabouts.'

dummy2

'Indeed?' She tried to sound more knowledgeable than she was. 'But Xenophon's big in the North Sea.'

'Oh, sure. And Barrie was one of the driving forces there early on. That's how he got his

'K'. In fact, Mac rates him a pretty sound chap, all in all… I think he must have tipped us off now and then, about American intentions, for Mac to be so protective.' He cocked an eyebrow. 'I hope you haven't been nasty to him - you or David? I don't think Mac would like that very much.'

'No.' She shook her head hastily. Maybe she should have seen Neville Macready herself.

But after that one look at the Haddock Thomas material on screen - and only on screen, because no print-out was allowed - it had seemed even more urgent to pick Paul's brains further.

'I should bloody-well hope so!' He pulled a face. 'Barrie can probably pull strings all the way to the Cabinet Office. You're messing with the top brass now, Elizabeth Jane. And don't say that I didn't warn you, either!'

He was patronizing her again, but this time she had to be nice to him, no matter what he said. 'You did warn me.' Why was it so hard to smile at him? 'I'm grateful for that.' The smile came at last, even though she was ashamed of it. 'So now I really would like to know what the hell's going on, Paul dear.'

'Uh-huh?' The smile weakened him, but insufficiently. 'What d'you think is going on?'

That was fair enough really. He had given her what he thought was good advice, and she hadn't taken it. And he had also given her information, which she had used, and he could yet be in deep trouble for that. So now he wasn't going to give her anything she didn't deserve.

'I think two quite separate things are going on, actually - related in one respect, but quite separate in another. Am I right?'

'Could be.' He waited shamelessly.

'How did you know I'd have to get away from David Audley to keep this illicit rendezvous?'

He shrugged. 'Simple Sherlock Holmes deduction, from known facts and soundly-based assumptions.' He grinned. 'And I also asked him what he was doing.'

'And he told you? Just like that?'

dummy2

Another shrug. 'It was while you were playing Joan of Arc. And he was there, like Mount Everest waiting for Mallory. Or was it Irvine?' He pretended to frown. 'No matter. All you have to remember is what happened to both of them: they were never seen again.' He nodded.

The thought of Audley cooling his heels at the office a second time inhibited her from playing his game. And if that meant seeming prissy, then so be it! 'You know that David has been told off to help me? And Major Turnbull too?'

'The Major? Phew!' He sketched surprise. 'I didn't know that … I did know about David…

from David. Better you than me, Elizabeth Jane - that's what I know. Better you than me.'

It was time to play dirty. 'Perhaps I'll ask for you next - seeing as you know so much already, Paul. And you're so keen to help.'

Mock horror. 'Oh no! Perish the thought!' Then he was suddenly serious. 'Someone's got to mind the shop in Cheltenham. Though without David there isn't much I can do except cross my fingers and hope for the best.' He weakened even as he spoke. 'What do you want?'

'If you want to help me, then just tell me about the Debrecen List.'

'The Debrecen List?' His face closed up. 'But you know all about that now - ?'