‘It was tense,’ Ingrid said. ‘Guy was in a foul mood after seeing you. We began with the resolution to remove you as a director. It should have been a formality, but Guy wouldn’t stop ranting about what a traitor you were. Silverman had to calm him down so we could focus on the offer from Champion Starsat.’
‘Was Clare there?’
‘Oh, yes. There were the four of us: Guy, Silverman, Clare and me. And Mel was there as the company’s legal adviser.’
‘So, what happened?’
‘Silverman told us the deal. Champion Starsat are offering eighteen million in cash for the whole company, subject to due diligence on their part. Guy can stay on if he wants, but their plan is to integrate ninetyminutes.com with their existing internet businesses. The offer expires at midnight on Thursday.’
‘Midnight on Thursday? But that’s only two days away!’
‘Yep. Madden is piling on the pressure.’
‘Did the board go for it?’
‘Guy made an impassioned plea for independence. You’ve heard it all before, but he was pretty eloquent. Then Mel started trying to pick holes in the Champion Starsat offer. Clare would have none of it; she said it was very straightforward and there was no reason to doubt it. She and Mel had a real fight; Silverman had to break it up. Clare won, though. Mel had to shut up.’
‘So Orchestra want to sell?’
‘Yep.’
‘Yes! What about Silverman?’
‘You know the way the shareholders’ agreement is with Orchestra. In times like this, they call the shots. Silverman knows that and he went with Clare.’
‘Which left you?’
‘I abstained,’ Ingrid said, smiling. ‘It seemed the best thing to do in the circumstances.’
‘So they’ve accepted the offer?’
‘Not quite. They’ve agreed to let Guy see if he can find an investor before Friday. If he has a firm unconditional offer on paper before then, they’ll reconsider. Otherwise they’ll accept.’
‘He’ll never manage that, will he?’
Ingrid shrugged. ‘You should never underestimate Guy,’ she said. ‘He’s going to see Mercia Metro TV in Birmingham this afternoon. He reckons they’d be an ideal fit.’
Ingrid was right, you never should underestimate Guy. But I felt a huge surge of relief. It looked as if my investment was safe. Much more importantly, my father wouldn’t lose any money. And I would be proved right. Guy would be devastated, of course, but after that morning’s meeting that didn’t concern me too much. In fact, I was rather pleased. I was also pleased for the staff, especially Gaz, whose website would continue.
We left the café to head back to Baker Street tube. As we paused to cross the road, Ingrid turned to check for traffic and grabbed my arm.
‘My God!’
‘What?’
‘Look!’
I looked. About twenty yards behind us a large figure in a Ninetyminutes T-shirt and baseball cap was shambling along the pavement towards us. Owen.
He stopped and stared at us, his face devoid of expression. A cab with its light on was approaching us along the Marylebone Road. I thrust out my arm and the taxi screeched to a halt. I bundled Ingrid inside.
I turned to look for Owen.
He was gone.
39
Anne Glazier was a small, harried woman of about thirty wearing an English suit and a Hermès scarf. The rapid clack of her heels on the hard stone floor echoed around the cavernous foyer of Coward Turner’s new building as she approached me, bulging briefcase weighing her down on one side. We perched uncomfortably on the leather-clad slabs that were supposed to act as seats for the big law firm’s visitors.
‘Thanks for seeing me,’ I said.
‘Not at all,’ she answered briskly. ‘A murder is important.’
‘It is indeed.’
‘I take it the police haven’t discovered who killed Tony Jourdan?’
‘Not yet.’
‘You know they spoke to me at length?’
‘Yes, yes, I know. But as I told you on the phone, I’m Guy Jourdan’s partner. The uncertainty over the whole affair is damaging our business, so I’m trying to get to the bottom of what happened myself. I wanted to talk to you in person: I’m sure you know how important it is to get the details right.’
She frowned for a moment, but then nodded. She looked like the sort of woman who spent a lot of time getting the details right.
‘Can you tell me what happened that evening?’
‘All right. Mel’s an old friend from Manchester. We studied law together. Every now and then when I visit London I stay on an extra night with her. She does the same in Paris. We see each other perhaps a couple of times a year. Anyway, that afternoon I went to her office to pick up her key. She told me she’d meet me at her flat later. She also said her boyfriend might be there.’
I picked up a note of distaste in Anne’s voice. ‘You weren’t happy about that?’
‘Not exactly. Especially when I heard who it was. I remembered Guy from several years ago. He wasn’t good news. I know he’s a friend of yours, but I’m sure you understand what I mean.’
I nodded. I did.
‘Also, I wanted to spend the evening with Mel myself. I mean, that’s why I was staying with her. But Mel was so excited it was embarrassing. You know her, she usually seems so cool. Apparently, Guy had stayed with her the night before and she was clearly convinced this was going to be the beginning of something serious.’
From her tone, Anne was less convinced.
‘So you were in Mel’s flat all evening?’
‘Yes. From about seven o’clock onwards. I dumped my stuff there that afternoon and went for a walk. I got back about seven.’
‘And then Guy showed up?’
‘Yes.’
‘At what time?’
‘I can’t remember exactly. I did tell the police. It was quite late.’
My interest quickened. ‘So you’re not sure when it was?’
‘Not now. It’s six months ago, isn’t it? But I was sure then. I gave them a precise time.’
‘Nine thirty?’ I said, remembering my conversation with Spedding.
‘That sounds right.’
‘How could you be so precise?’
Anne’s eyebrows knitted together as though she didn’t like the implication that she was ever anything but precise.
‘I was watching the clock. Mel wasn’t back from work. I was annoyed. As I said earlier, the whole point of this was to see her. I thought we’d go out to dinner or something.’
‘So she wasn’t there when Guy showed up?’
‘No. I let him in.’
‘How was he?’
‘Drunk. Not just drunk. He was in a state. He looked manic. He didn’t say anything to me, just, “Hello,” and “Where’s Mel?”. He searched the flat for alcohol, found a bottle of wine, opened it and slumped on the sofa to wait for her.’
‘What happened when Mel came back?’
‘She wasn’t much better. I mean, she did have a few words with me, but she was all over Guy. Comforting him, pouring him more drink. She ignored me! I left them to it and shut myself in my room. I was on my way to the airport when Mel called me on my mobile to say that Guy’s father had been killed. She said the police would want to speak to me.’
‘Do you know what Mel and Guy talked about?’
‘No. They didn’t want me to hear.’
‘Could it have been about Tony Jourdan’s death?’
‘No. They didn’t know about it then.’ Anne looked me straight in the eye. ‘As you can tell, Guy Jourdan is not my favourite person, and to be frank neither is Mel when she’s with him, but nothing he said or did suggested he was plotting to kill his father. And according to the police, it would be impossible anyway, given the time he arrived at Mel’s flat.’