‘Please, no false modesty,’ Jessica said, holding up her hand, effectively dismissing Jane, then turned to Crozier. ‘A word, Simon,’ she said brusquely and walked from the room, Crozier hurrying to catch up with her, making no pretence that he had a choice in the matter.
‘Do you think we passed the audition?’ Raj said. His smile suggested he didn’t really care.
‘I wouldn’t like to say,’ Jane said.
‘A problem, Jessica?’ Crozier said once they were outside in the corridor.
She wheeled on him. ‘Why is McKinley going?’ she said, coming straight to the point.
‘Because he’s good,’ Crozier said.
‘Yes, but not as good as Carter. I really don’t see the need for his inclusion.’
‘And that’s where we disagree, Jessica,’ Crozier said easily.
‘ We did as you and the Minister wanted and got Carter to come along, but Jane Talbot insisted on McKinley’s inclusion, and I agree with her. As far as we’re concerned, Carter’s damaged goods. He always was unpredictable, but he got results. The way things stand now I can’t guarantee he’ll get the job done. We want McKinley there to catch the ball if Carter drops it.’
Jessica Anderson considered this for a moment, then shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, Simon. I’m not buying it. In all honesty, I’m not that happy with the team as a whole. They’re not really what we had in mind.’
‘Who were you expecting, Ghostbusters?’ He said it with a rare smile but there was disguised venom in the words. He had spent most of the day with her and if she voiced one more supercilious opinion, or patronized one more ‘quaint’ English tradition he suspected he would replace Carter on suspension.
Jessica glared at him. ‘Don’t waste your humor on me, Simon. You seem to have forgotten who’s paying for all this.’
Crozier took a step back. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Didn’t the Minister tell you? The KDC are footing the bill for this investigation. Very remiss of him. He really should have mentioned it.’ The lipstick on her mouth twitched slightly in what was probably the memory of a smile.
Color had drained from Crozier’s face. ‘Yes, he damned well should have done. I would never have agreed to…’
‘Yes you would, Simon. From what I’ve been told, the Department’s future is currently hanging in the balance. You need a good result on this case in order to guarantee your survival…at least for the time being. So let’s skip the righteous indignation. We’re all whores at the end of the day. We all have our price. And I’m not going to pay for something I’m not happy with.’
Crozier looked her steadily in the eyes, noticing how unnaturally blue they were. ‘Whores? You might have spent time on your back getting to where you are today, but don’t judge everyone’s morals by your own.’
There wasn’t a flicker of emotion on her face. ‘No, Simon, from what I’ve heard, “on your back” isn’t your preference at all. When you get fucked it’s usually in a completely different position.’
Crozier walked a few steps away, determined not to display any anger. He hated himself for being in this situation. Perhaps spending more time at his house in France was going to be a good idea. Not full retirement, just a slowing down, spending less time amongst the sharks and the predators with whom he worked every day.
‘Jessica, I told you, I thought I was clear. Jane Talbot would put a team together to investigate Kulsay for you and that’s what she’s done. And in my opinion it’s probably the best team she could have assembled. What Jane didn’t say in her introductions is that every person on her team is a sensitive.’
‘Psychic you mean.’
‘That’s not a term I use. Conjures up images of séances and ouija boards — both useful tools in our line of work, but only the tip of a very large iceberg. Each member of the team has a special gift as well as their more practical talents. As well as being a skilled sound engineer, Kirby Grant is also a first rate dowser. A number of high-profile companies use her because she’s ninety-nine percent accurate, whether it’s water or oil, or even precious metals. And she is also one of the best physical mediums I’ve ever come across. Raj Kumar is an excellent photographer and an expert in all visual media, and he’s also a gifted clairvoyant.’
‘And Talbot?’
Crozier hesitated. ‘No. Jane has no gifts. But she is our control. It’s imperative to have someone on the team impervious to any psychic influence. Jane fulfills that role. She is also a brilliant psychologist and is able to dissemble the output from the others and rationalize it.’
Jessica Anderson’s eyes narrowed. She nodded her head slowly. ‘Okay, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. But I expect results, Simon, and I expect them quickly. If Talbot’s team falls short of the task and doesn’t deliver, I’ll demand your balls on a plate,’ she said.
‘I have every confidence that they’ll find the answers you’re looking for. I doubt my balls would be much use to you. From what I’ve heard you prefer your partners without any at all.’
‘Let’s cut the crap, Simon. This team had better deliver. I shudder to think how much all this is going to cost me.’
Crozier suspected that Jessica Anderson knew down to the last cent how much the investigation was going to cost, but he didn’t say so. It would be counterproductive to antagonize her further. ‘Is there anything else you’d like to say to them?’ he said.
She checked her watch. ‘No, I’ve a flight to catch at Heathrow. I’ve a reception to attend in Boston.’
‘Reception?’ Crozier said.
‘Well, a party really,’ she said. ‘Tomorrow’s my birthday.’
‘Then I wish you many happy returns,’ he said, and his complete and utter lack of sincerity was said with a skill practiced many times over.
‘Oh, I don’t think you do, Simon. I think you’d prefer it if I never returned at all.’ She smiled. ‘Keep me up to speed,’ she said. ‘Ciao.’
For once in his life Simon Crozier wished he were straight. He’d never met anyone like Jessica Anderson before. And then again, he wished to God he never had.
Jane stopped pacing the room as the door opened and Crozier came back in. ‘Problems?’ she said.
‘You could say that.’ He put his arm around her waist and led her to the far corner of the room. ‘A word in private,’ he said in her ear.
‘You realize this compromises our position?’ Jane said as Crozier dropped the bombshell sotto voce. The independence of the Department was the key to its success. To perform an investigation for a company or corporation could easily leave them open to charges of bias. It was like those surveys that seem to prove eating meat with your left hand increases the chances of cancer, and you worry about it, until you read that the survey is conducted by an organization with a vested, usually financial interest, in the results.
‘I know,’ he said. ‘I’m going to phone the Minister and demand an explanation.’
She looked at him steadily. ‘He can explain all he likes, but it doesn’t change the position. We’ve lost our autonomy.’
‘I wouldn’t say that, Jane. Once you’re on the island I don’t see how the KDC can interfere.’
‘Oh, wake up, Simon! I’ve only just met her, but I can see that if Jessica Anderson takes it into her mind to interfere, nothing on God’s earth is going to stop her. I’m sorry. I don’t think I can work under these conditions.’
‘Please, Jane. Bend, just a little.’ God, how he was beginning to hate the role he was in; reduced to begging.
She chewed her bottom lip as she thought about it. Finally she said, ‘Okay. I’ll take the team to Kulsay, but I’ll be relying on you to keep that woman off my back so I can do my job. If you don’t, then I won’t hesitate to halt the investigation and bring everybody home. Understood?’