An ambulance came and went, a medic washing McAlister’s eyes, checking his heart rate, his physical condition. Standard procedure would have been to transport the man to the hospital for observation, but on Isaac’s surety and a signature to confirm that he took responsibility, the medic left.
Wearing trousers three inches too short and baggy around the waist, McAlister leant back, a mug in his hand, apple pie on a plate in front of him.
‘Why were you here causing trouble? After all, you two are friendly,’ Isaac said.
‘She’s my meal ticket.’
‘Mercenary, but it doesn’t explain why she had to take you down.’
‘I was jealous and drunk. A man is entitled to make a fool of himself over a woman.’
‘A fool, for sure, but it’s more than that. You’re feeding Ashley information; she’s publishing it and letting us know afterwards. The priorities are all wrong here, and withholding evidence, especially in a homicide, is a criminal offence. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this.’
‘I’m not withholding anything, only letting her know what I know. You can put it together, make what you want out of it. I’m not giving any guarantees, am I?’
‘I wouldn’t know. Level with me, do you have proof as to who took a shot at Simmons?’
‘Ashley wants the story; I’m giving it to her.’
‘He thought I was sleeping with Jerome Jaden,’ Ashley said.
‘Why would he think that?’ Isaac asked.
‘I spent a pleasant evening with him at the Savoy. Not upstairs, but in the Grill. I drank too much, maybe said more than I should.’
‘Why were you there?’
‘Otto wants money. I can’t get it from my editor, but I can probably get it from Jaden.’
‘Why would he pay, and how much are we talking about here?’
‘Two hundred thousand pounds, enough for me to live like a lord in the Far East,’ McAlister said.
‘Ashley, explain Jaden’s logic, yours as well.’
‘He gets to control the release of the information, gets the maximum bang for his money. I get the credit for the story and a chance to work with him.’
‘You know what you are?’ McAlister said.
‘Don’t you think I know, and if I had to make up the one hundred thousand my editor wasn’t going to pay, I’d be flat on my back until this time next year. And you, Otto McAlister, weren’t a price I was willing to pay.’
‘The more you get angry, the more I like you. Come to Thailand with me, live like royalty, make love on a sun-drenched beach.’
Ashley Otway looked away, pretended to retch, which Isaac could see, but not McAlister.
Isaac liked the woman, a fiery spirit, able to stand up for herself against a man twice her size, although sleeping with McAlister for a story didn’t sit easily with him. She reminded him of a government-paid assassin he had had a fling with years before.
‘Are you going to charge me with possession of illegal weapons?’ Ashley asked. ‘And what about Otto?’
‘Are you pressing charges, McAlister?’
‘I was pushing my luck.’
‘I’ll make a note, caution you both,’ Isaac said. ‘Any more nonsense, and I’ll charge the two of you. However, my leniency comes at a cost.’
‘You want the truth?’ McAlister said.
‘That’s it. If you and Ashley want to keep stringing Jaden along, get the money out of him, I don’t care.’
‘If I tell you, Ashley will print it, and Jaden won’t pay.’
‘I’ll play my part,’ Ashley said. ‘After all, we’re not breaking any laws, or are we?’
‘If you want to fleece Jaden, that’s up to you two, but I can’t guarantee you much time to pull this off,’ Isaac said.’
‘As long as I get my twenty-five per cent. Okay with you, Otto?’ Ashley said.
‘Very well,’ Otto said.’
‘Are you sure you can trust me?’
‘You might be high and mighty with your fancy accent, your upmarket house, but you’re not much different from me. You enjoy the chase, the challenge, as much as I do. You won’t cheat me, and besides, I could always deny it afterwards, say it was taken out of context.’
‘Would you?’ Isaac asked.
‘No need, she won’t cheat, not if she’s got Jaden in her control. That man’s a rogue. Did he try it on?’ Otto asked.
‘He was a perfect gentleman, told me not to sleep with you; almost fatherly,’ Ashley said.
‘What do you have, McAlister?’ Isaac felt like a gooseberry, the interplay between the two former antagonists taking a turn in another direction.
‘I’ve got a recording where Hampton and Simmons threaten to kill each other on that mountain,’ McAlister said.
‘Not good enough for two hundred thousand pounds,’ Ashley said.
‘Okay, try this. Mike Hampton isn’t crippled.’
‘Can he walk?’
‘He’ll not tell anyone, and after he had criticised Simmons, he was an outcast, but now his former mountaineering friends are starting to flock around him. One of these days, he’ll make a statement that the encouragement of others wrought changes in him, that he can feel the strength returning in his lower body.’
‘Is that true?’
‘I know it is.’
‘How?’
‘I saw movement in his legs when we were down in Argentina, and then, here in England, I visited him once, not that he was pleased to see me. I made him hot soup. Kate wasn’t there, probably shacked up with Skinner.
‘Anyway, I spilt the soup onto his lap. He moved, placed weight on his feet. He’s milking the sympathy vote, and remember, he was always a miserable sod, no idea why his wife put up with him. Later, I sneaked back and looked in a window, and there he was, balancing himself against a table in the dining room. He was standing.’
‘We’ve had our suspicions, spoken to his doctor, but he’s not told us the full story,’ Isaac said.
‘I don’t know about that; I just
