of person you are.’
‘What have you decided?’
‘You’re very hard to reach. Most people I can persuade to talk about themselves. But not you. That makes you a challenge and I like that, I suppose.’ With this, he managed to look up and smile. ‘Let’s try again. Your daughter. Did you really want to have her or did your partner make you?’
‘Why do you want to know?’
‘I just want to know if she’s important to you.’
Grace decided this question was beyond what could be expected of her. She stopped eating. ‘I can’t stay. I have to be back at work. People will notice if I’m not on duty.’
She moved away from the table; he followed her and took her arm.
‘Why does that offend you so much? Because you don’t care about her?’
She pulled away from him. He tightened his grip.
‘Let me go,’ she said.
He was holding her arm, staring at her. Then, very reluctantly, he loosened his grip.
‘Let me kiss you,’ he said.
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘It’s what I told you yesterday. You’ve already got a girlfriend and I don’t share.’
‘You will one day. And you’ll talk about yourself as well. One day you’ll tell me everything I want to know about you.’
‘Not today.’
‘No, not today. But you will. Maybe tomorrow. You’ll see.’
She went to her car without looking back.
Once again she went to the motel at Chatswood. Expecting to find both Clive and Borghini waiting for her, she was surprised to see only Clive.
‘He’ll be here soon,’ he said. ‘You handled that well but there are a few things I think you should have done differently. That’s why I wanted a word with you in private. Sit down.’
Grace was still feeling the impact of the meeting with Griffin. What she needed was strong coffee and some encouragement, the kind Borghini usually gave her. All at once the room seemed small, even claustrophobic. She took a chair at the table. Clive sat opposite. She felt a creepiness up her backbone.
‘There are one or two things.’ He was looking at her with an odd expression in those usually expressionless eyes. ‘You should have kept Griffin talking for longer than you did and gone a little further. You should have talked about your daughter when he asked you to.’
‘I couldn’t. Least of all about her.’
‘The job requires you to get over that. And if he wanted you to kiss him, I think you should have done that.’
Grace looked him in the eyes. ‘I’m not doing this job at the expense of myself,’ she said. ‘When I’m at work, I’m at work. And when I’m home, that’s somewhere else altogether. To me, that’s how we handle this. I can’t mix the two like that.’
‘You need to be able to put your home into a compartment and leave it there. I’ve decided you have a future with this organisation but that’s still something you’re going to have to work at.’
Before she could answer, Borghini walked in, slamming the door behind him. He had been part of the backup. He was clearly very angry.
‘I’m going to get straight to the point,’ he said, sitting down and speaking directly to Clive. ‘You’re putting too much pressure on Grace. It’s all her. You shouldn’t be running the operation that way. You should be sharing the load.’
‘There are other people involved,’ Clive replied angrily. ‘There’s surveillance, there’s finance, there’s IT. The police. And there’s you.’
‘But not on the front line. I don’t say Grace doesn’t handle it well. She does. But why go to that meeting in the first place?’ He turned to Grace. ‘I thought that yesterday. It’s exposing you too much. You met him on his turf. You shouldn’t have done that. You’re the one with the perfect bargaining chip. He wants Narelle. Get him to meet you on your turf. Demand more of him than he’s giving you. Let’s get back to basics. What’s his motive? What is this thing he wants you to do? Shoot Narelle Wong dead for him? We’re letting him manipulate us, not the other way around.’
‘I haven’t asked for your opinion. But now that you’ve given it, this is a good time to make an announcement,’ Clive said to Borghini. ‘There’s been a change of arrangements. I’ve asked for you to be replaced as the police liaison officer. You won’t be required for this meeting.’
Borghini looked poleaxed. ‘Why?’
‘I’m finding you obstructive and difficult to deal with. It’s my decision who works on this investigation. You can leave. Now.’
Borghini threw up his hands, acknowledging there was no point in arguing, and stood up.
‘No.’ Grace spoke sharply. ‘We need a liaison officer. There’s no one here to replace Mark. He can stay until his replacement takes over.’
‘I have the authority here,’ Clive said.
‘Our agreement says it’s ultimately my call how I handle the undercover operation within the broad ambit of your directions. He stays until his replacement turns up or I execute my rights under the opt-out clause as of now.’
Clive was expressionless, staring at her. After a few moments, he gestured to Borghini, who sat down at the table again.
‘I guess I stay in that case.’
‘For now,’ Clive said. His cheeks were red and he took a few moments to regain his equilibrium. ‘This operation is in the balance. Tomorrow, when you deliver Narelle Wong, we’ll have people watching to see who she meets and where she’s taken. There’ll also be people ready to move in immediately. Now let’s have that note you took from her.’
Grace placed the note on the table and watched Clive pick it up. She was wondering what had really been in his mind when he had spoken to her earlier or even if she wanted to know. She knew she didn’t want to be in the same room with him by herself. She thought back over other operatives who had worked closely with him. Orion’s secrecy meant those operations couldn’t be discussed. Small comments, the occasional raised eyebrow, were all she had to go on. Strange vibes and impossible demands were the last thing she wanted to deal with now; the operation was dangerous enough as it was. She was in the balance as well; she hoped Clive had the sense to realise that.
She left the motel with enough time to get home and collect Ellie before they both went to Paul’s book launch. Borghini followed her out.
‘Thanks for sticking up for me in there,’ he said.
‘No problem,’ she said with a tired smile.
‘I’ve got to say this to you. Your boss has lost sight of what this is really about. You know what he’s doing? He’s watching you. I don’t know why but he’s fixed on you and he’s putting you in danger. The first rule for any operation like this is that you protect your undercover officers as much as you can. But he’s putting you and this Griffin together and he’s watching you. I think he’s getting a kick out of it.’
Grace didn’t want to think about this.
‘The way things are set up I don’t see how I can back out now,’ she said. ‘Not until after tomorrow.’
Borghini looked back at the motel room, frowning. ‘After today, I’m not supposed to be involved any more. Jesus.’ He looked down at his feet. Grace couldn’t quite understand what was in his mind. ‘Give the boss my regards,’ he said. ‘He’s a decent man. He’s always done the right thing by me.’
Then he was gone, driving away into the afternoon traffic.
Grace got into her car. She held on to the fact that no one could stop her from walking away if she chose to. With a bit of luck, this would all be done with in twenty-four hours. Or she would have done all she could do and would have no choice but to bail out. Assuming nothing happened to her first.
