‘Hm. I’ll get Dot to give them a ring. And admin over at Special Branch, too, see if he’s contacted them.’
She thanked him. Bren’s calm, imperturbable solidity reassured her a little, and she waited while he went upstairs to speak to Brock’s secretary. As she sat there, staring at the blank screen on her desk, her phone rang and she was surprised to recognise the voice of Andrea, Michael Grant’s research officer.
‘Kathy? So glad I caught you. How are you? I hear you’ve been getting into trouble.’ She chuckled.
‘Andrea? Have you seen Tom?’
‘Oh yes. He’s standing here beside me as a matter of fact. That’s why I’m calling.’
‘Where are you?’
‘We’re waiting outside a committee room.’
‘Where?’
‘Parliament. Michael’s Home Affairs Committee has just reconvened. They’re in private session at the moment, and we’re waiting for them to open the meeting up so we can go in and watch. Tom thought I should tell you. He thinks you and your boss will be interested in the proceedings this morning. Michael’s planning to cause a bit of a stir.You can watch on live webcast on your computer-www.parliamentlive.tv.’
‘Oh no . . .’ Kathy groaned softly to herself.‘Andrea, will you put Tom on, please?’
‘Sorry, they’re opening the doors. I’ll have to turn my phone off now. Tom sends his love and apologises for the short notice.’
The line went dead.
Kathy immediately dialled Brock’s number. Dot answered, telling her that Brock was in a meeting.
‘You’d better put me through, Dot. He needs to hear this now.’
She did so, and a couple of minutes later Brock came into the office to join Kathy in front of her computer. Kathy had warned Bren, the word had spread and the other detectives were also clustered in front of screens around the room.
The picture showed a horseshoe-shaped table with the chair, Margaret Hart, in the centre. Michael Grant, further round to her left, was conspicuous as the only black member, and Kathy also recognised Nigel Hadden-Vane facing him across the central space. Margaret Hart was deep in conversation with an aide at her shoulder, querying something, nodding, and then speaking briskly into her microphone.
‘That’s confirmed then, all of next week’s meetings will be held in this room. The schedule of witnesses has been confirmed. Now, let’s get down to business. Mr Grant, you have something you want to raise?’
‘Yes, Madam Chair. I have a matter of such great relevance and urgency that I would beg your and the committee’s indulgence and request that I be allowed to introduce it immediately.’
‘How long will this take, Michael?’
‘No more than an hour.’
Hart looked around the table.‘How does the committee feel? Can we suspend our agenda for an hour for Mr Grant?’
There was a murmur of conversation and several heads on the Chair’s right turned to Hadden-Vane for a lead. He drew himself up and said,‘We’ve become quite used to the distractions offered by the Honourable Member for Lambeth North. I’m sure we can spare the time to be entertained by him once again.’
Several people chuckled. Margaret Hart nodded at Grant. ‘Very well. As quick as you can, please.You know I like to stick to our timetable.’
‘Thank you.’ Grant opened the file in front of him and paused for a moment, as if the contents were so significant that he had difficulty finding words to begin. Then, into the expectant silence he said,‘I am indebted to my colleague for his invitation to entertain the committee, but I can assure you that what I have to say will only shock and horrify you.As you know,the subject of our current inquiry is the involvement of organised crime in legitimate commercial activity in the UK. Well I have here evidence of a carefully planned and implemented conspiracy between apparently legitimate British businesses-household names on our high streets-and organised criminal gangs both here and abroad, to carry out criminal activity on an industrial scale and for enormous profit.’
There was a ripple of interest around the committee, but it was clear from some of their expressions- amused, sceptical-that they were used to hyperbole from Michael Grant and were waiting for something tangible. He proceeded to give it to them.
‘I will table evidence that the well-known off-licence chain Paramounts Beers,Wines and Spirits,wholly owned by members of the Roach family in London, has been used, with their knowledge and active participation,to import Class A controlled drugs into the UK under cover of innocent international trade.’
Now the room erupted in noise. Some members showed outrage or shock-no doubt, like Commander Sharpe, they were regular customers of Paramounts-while others were gesticulating to each other as if to say that Grant had finally gone mad. Only two figures were still-Grant himself,sitting with head bowed while the comments fizzed around him, and Margaret Hart, who was gazing at him with a worried frown. In the background, Kathy heard Bren’s muttered ‘Blimey’.
Hart allowed the turmoil to continue for a few moments before calling the meeting to order.‘Mr Grant, you have just made an allegation of the greatest seriousness. I have to warn you of the limits of parliamentary privilege.’
‘Hear hear!’ Hadden-Vane rumbled. ‘Madam Chair, may I comment? Some of our committee will recall that this is not the first time that Mr Grant has slandered this family under cover of privilege. They will recall his description of them as “slum landlords” and other scurrilous terms during earlier inquiries. The fact is that Mr Grant has a pathological hatred of this family, who have extensive business interests in his constituency. This committee is no place for a private vendetta of this kind.’
‘That is true,’ Hart replied,‘but I was going to point to another limitation on privilege. If, as you say, you have evidence of specific criminal acts, which presumably could become the subject of a police investigation, then you are bound not to reveal information that might prejudice a later trial.’
Grant nodded and said,‘I have consulted with the Clerk of the Committee on this, and understand that I must not comment on matters currently before a court of law or where court proceedings are imminent. But that is not the case here. In fact, this brings us to a crucial issue and the reason why this committee must listen to what I have to say and must act upon it. The fact is that the irrefutable documentary evidence I have here was provided to me by sources close to the Roach family. When confronted by this evidence these sources rightly took it to the police, who declined to act upon it. Only then did they bring it to me, and one of the most serious questions that this committee must ask is why the authorities have refused to investigate. We are the last bastion of the truth, Madam Chair.We must not shirk our duty.’
More turmoil, Hadden-Vane shaking his gleaming pink head in disgust.
‘I think,’ Margaret Hart said loudly, ‘that we will move to private session to discuss the implications of this.’
‘Personally,’ Hadden-Vane came in again, ‘I would favour hearing Mr Grant’s so-called evidence in open session.We’ve had enough of his outlandish and irresponsible behaviour. Let him have his say and live by the consequences.’
‘All the same, I’m calling a ten-minute recess to consider this. Will all those who are not members of the committee please leave the room.’
After a moment the image on the screen was replaced by a blank background behind the words COMMITTEE IN PRIVATE SESSION.
Everyone in the office swivelled round to stare at Brock. He rubbed the side of his chin.‘Hm. I’d better tell one or two other people to watch this. Are we recording it by the way?’ He got to his feet and ambled out.
They had armed themselves with mugs of coffee by the time the image flicked back to the live picture from the committee room. They leaned forward together in the attentive way that screens carrying breaking news command. Margaret Hart briskly announced that they would hear Grant’s submission in open session, a decision that provoked a murmur of excitement from the committee room and clicks of disapproval from around the office.Brock watched impassively.
Grant reached for a bag beside his chair and produced copies of a document for each of the eleven members of the committee. As he began to lead them through it, Kathy realised that they had repackaged Tom’s material as a dramatic narrative, a blockbuster thriller.With the help of photographs, diagrams and maps, the MP introduced them to the route taken by cocaine smugglers from Colombia to Jamaica, showed them the Dragon Stout brewery
