‘Will the case still be open then?’
‘Perhaps, perhaps not. In the meantime, if he could call me from Santiago, that would be a help.’
‘I will see what I can do,’ Orb said, shuffling round the table and guiding Carlyle towards the door. ‘Now, sadly, I have a rather dull meeting to attend, so Claudia will show you out.’
‘Thank you again for your time.’
‘It’s nothing.’ Orb patted him on the shoulder. ‘Let me know how you get on. I find this kind of thing fascinating.’
Back out on the street, watching the traffic snake erratically round Portman Square, Carlyle realised that the Embassy was little more than ten minutes’ walk from the Paddington offices of Avalon, the international medical aid charity where his wife worked as a senior administrative manager. Deciding to seize the moment, he headed up the Edgware Road and presented himself in front of a comatose-looking receptionist with a ring through her nose that made her look even uglier than she already was.
After an extended discussion with Helen’s PA about whether Ms Kennedy would want to see her husband, nose-ring girl informed Carlyle that he should take a seat and his wife would be down in a minute. Almost twenty minutes later, she finally appeared, looking hassled and not particularly pleased to see him.
‘What are you doing here?’ she asked suspiciously.
‘I was on business nearby,’ Carlyle said, raising himself out of the tatty faux-leather sofa. He set his jaw tight, determined to retain a cheery demeanour despite the grumpiness of his better half. ‘I thought we could grab some lunch.’
‘You could have called,’ she replied, hoisting an oversized sack-type bag bearing a logo he didn’t recognise on to her shoulder, before turning on her heel and heading for the revolving door leading to the street.
‘I guess that’s a “yes” then,’ Carlyle muttered sotto voce, as he followed at a safe distance.
Once he had caught her up, they settled for a Mexican restaurant a brisk five-minute walk away, halfway between Paddington railway station and Hyde Park. The place was busy, but they had been here before and knew the service would be good. Confident that she could be in and out in forty-five minutes, Helen relaxed slightly. Once they had ordered a selection of quesadillas and enchiladas, she even managed a smile. ‘This is a nice surprise,’ she said, albeit belatedly, ‘particularly as you were home so late last night.’
At least she didn’t say again, Carlyle thought as he nibbled on a tortilla chip. Concentrating on trying to stay in the happy zone, he didn’t really want to talk about his work, but he knew that wasn’t an option. Helen was not one of those women who could let her husband go off to work every day and not give a moment’s further thought to what he did or how he did it. She always kept track of what he was up to: his cases and, even more keenly, the endless cycle of the Met’s internal politics. In this regard, Carlyle knew that he was a very lucky chap. Now, more than ever, Helen was his main sounding-board and adviser. She was discreet, decisive and insightful, and he trusted her judgement completely.
She looked at him expectantly, so Carlyle leaned across the table, keeping his voice low. He didn’t want the people at the next table — a couple of girls currently discussing different mobile-phone tariffs — tuning into their conversation. ‘It was quite a night…’ He smiled wanly, before going on to explain how Sandra Groves and Stuart Joyce had been executed while he was down the road munching an egg roll.
He gave her the two-minute version, avoiding too many details that might put her off her lunch when it came. Even so, by the time he’d finished, Helen managed to look pale and angry at the same time. ‘Thank Christ you weren’t there!’ she hissed.
But I was there, Carlyle thought. ‘What do you mean?’
She picked a knife off the table and waved it in his general direction. ‘I mean, Inspector bloody Carlyle, that if you hadn’t gone off to get yourself something to eat, they’d have shot you as well.’
They were just then interrupted by the arrival of the waitress with their food, which saved him from having to admit that he hadn’t thought of that.
For a short while they ate in silence. After a couple of mouthfuls of enchilada, Helen seemed to have successfully overcome her shock at Carlyle’s near brush with death. ‘So why did that poor girl get shot?’ she asked.
‘Dunno,’ said Carlyle. ‘It’s not my case.’
Helen daintily wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin. ‘If it’s not your case,’ she said finally, ‘then why were you at the hospital?’
‘Well…’ Once again, Carlyle gave her the short version: a quick explanation about the Daughters of Dismas, and his idea about a possible connection between Agatha Mills and Sandra Groves. ‘The boyfriend said that they had some old-timers in their group; the kind of people who had been campaigning against all this sort of stuff for decades.’ He smiled meekly. ‘The kind of people who used to go to Greenham Common.’
‘There was nothing wrong with going to Greenham,’ Helen said tartly. ‘I did it myself, after all.’
Carlyle sat back in his chair and held up a hand. ‘I know, I know.’
‘And if I’d come across you on the front line, I wouldn’t have fancied your chances.’
Me neither, Carlyle thought.
‘I’m glad I had the spirit to do that,’ Helen continued. ‘I hope Alice has it about her too.’
‘Yes,’ Carlyle agreed readily.
Helen watched him carefully, waiting to see if he could resist poking fun at her youthful idealism back in the day. When she was satisfied that he had, for once, managed to resist the temptation to tease her, she said: ‘What was the name of that group of women again?’
‘Daughters of Dismas.’
‘Never heard of it.’
‘No reason why you should have.’ Carlyle shrugged. ‘Dismas was some old-time religious guy in the Bible. He hung out with Jesus — something like that. They’re just a bunch of religious loonies.’
‘But I know someone who will.’ Helen reached down under the table and pulled her bag on to her lap. After rummaging around for a few seconds, she found her mobile and started searching through the contacts list. The girls at the next table had moved on from talking about technology to discussing sex and were casually comparing STDs. Carlyle tried not to listen, watching Helen hit the call button as he began contemplating a plate of churros y chocolate.
‘Clara, it’s Helen. Hi! How are the boys? Good, yes, we’re all fine.’ She looked over at Carlyle and grinned. ‘Yes, he’s still a policeman. I know, I’m giving up hope of him ever getting a proper job.’
Carlyle made a face and she stuck her tongue out at him.
‘Look, Clara, sorry to interrupt lunch, but I just wanted to check something quickly. Have you ever heard of an organisation called Daughters of Dismas — Dismas. They’re a kind of international church campaign against poverty. What I need to know is whether a woman called…’
‘Agatha Mills,’ Carlyle chipped in.
‘Whether a woman called Agatha Mills is a member. I think it’s quite urgent, that’s why I’ve rung. That’s very kind of you. Yes, on the mobile. Speak soon — bye!’
Clara? Carlyle couldn’t place her, but that was no great surprise. He only paid the vaguest attention to Helen’s network of friends, acquaintances, colleagues and contacts, which was far bigger than his own. ‘Who was that?’ he asked.
‘No one who would ever be prepared to talk to you,’ Helen said sweetly, scanning the menu. ‘Professionally speaking, of course.’
‘That doesn’t narrow it down much,’ Carlyle grinned. ‘Fancy a pudding?’
‘Just a green tea for me,’ she replied, ‘but if you’ve got your eye on the chocolate doughnuts, don’t let me stop you.’
The waitress cleared the table. With some effort, Carlyle restricted himself to a double espresso. The drinks arrived within a few minutes and he was on his first sip when Helen’s mobile started vibrating on the table. She pressed it to her ear. ‘Clara? My goodness, that was quick. Yes, all right… interesting. Look, thanks a million for coming back to me so quickly. If I need anything else on this, can I give you a call? Lovely. Thanks again. Speak soon. Bye!’
She ended the call and dropped the phone back into her bag.
‘Well?’ he asked.
‘Well, well, Inspector,’ she grinned, taking a sip of her tea. ‘You might be on to something after all. Not only
