‘Didn’t Mr Perkins spot you when you sneaked back into college?’
‘I’m afraid not. He was fast asleep, which I was pleased about at the time.’
‘Was he indeed?’ The phone on Streator’s desk began to ring. He picked it up and listened for a few moments before saying, ‘It’s Perkins. He says he needs to have a word with you.’
Sasha grabbed the phone as if it were a lifeline.
‘Sorry to disturb you, Mr Karpenko,’ said Perkins. ‘But your mother has just called and says she needs to speak to you urgently.’
‘It’s all over the Union,’ said Ben, as he sat down on the end of the bed in Sasha’s study.
‘Don’t spare me.’
‘You were arrested during a supervision this morning, handcuffed, dragged out of Dr Streator’s study, thrown into the back of a police car, driven to the nearest nick, charged with breaking and entering a female undergraduate’s room and stealing a confidential file, and left to rot in a prison cell while you await trial.’
‘Then this must be the cell,’ said Sasha.
‘Fair point. Which is why we need to go straight to the Union and be seen having a pint at the bar together, looking as if you haven’t got a care in the world.’
‘I don’t think that will be possible.’
‘It has to be if you’re going to have any chance of becoming president of the Union.’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Sasha, ‘but I have to go to London. My mother needs to see me urgently.’
‘What could possibly be more urgent than gathering evidence to prove you’re innocent of any charge?’
‘I don’t even know what the problem is,’ admitted Sasha, ‘but the last time my mother used the word “urgent”, was when Mr Moretti died.’
‘Then at least let me tell Charlie what’s happened, so we can expose Fiona for what she is and clear your name.’
‘Now listen carefully, Ben. You are not to go anywhere near Charlie, unless you want to find out just how close that KGB officer got to having his throat cut.’
Ben froze, and it was some time before he managed, ‘Just be sure you’re back by nine tomorrow, because you can’t afford to miss your appointment with Sergeant Warwick. Otherwise you could be the first president of the Union to be elected while in prison.’
When Elena heard the knock on the door she assumed it must be Sasha. She was already regretting phoning during term time, and bothering him with her problems. It would be just like him to drop everything and try to help. She stopped packing and opened the door to find Gino standing there.
‘I’m so sorry,’ he said as he embraced her. ‘I just wanted you to know that I’ve handed in my notice, along with five of the kitchen staff and three of my waiters.’
‘You mustn’t do that, Gino. I don’t want to be responsible for you all being out of work.’
‘Most of us realize we wouldn’t have survived too long with that bastard Tremlett. And in any case, my motives aren’t entirely pure, as I’ve already been offered another job.’
‘Who with?’
‘Matteo Agnelli.’
‘The enemy!’ said Elena, laughing.
‘No longer. There’s an old Italian saying: My enemy’s enemy is my friend. But Mr Agnelli only offered me the job on one condition.’
‘And what was that?’
‘That you’ll come with me.’
‘And Betty?’
‘I’m sure he’d agree to that.’
‘But where would I live?’ asked Elena. ‘Because there isn’t a flat above Mr Agnelli’s restaurant.’
‘You can always come and shack up with me until you find your own place.’
‘But what about your partner?’
‘He’d only object if you were a man,’ said Gino. ‘So, are you willing to cross the road and join me at Osteria Roma?’
‘You should have been christened Coriolanus,’ said Elena.
‘Corio... who?’
Sasha had to admit that losing both one’s job and the roof over one’s head could certainly be described as an emergency. He only wished he’d known about Gino’s proposal before he got on the train. But he’d been left with no choice once the operator told him his mother’s phone had been cut off. He spent a sleepless night on Gino’s sofa, and took the first train back to Cambridge the following morning. He had to fork out almost a pound on a taxi to make sure he arrived at the police station at 8.54 a.m. A young constable took him straight through to Detective Sergeant Warwick’s office, and not an interview room.
‘Miss Hunter has withdrawn her allegation,’ said Warwick, once Sasha had sat down.
‘Please tell me Charlie hasn’t been to see you.’
‘Charlie who?’ asked Warwick innocently. ‘No, it was a simple piece of detective work that caused Miss Hunter to have second thoughts. We were able to point out to her that your fingerprints on the fire escape stopped at the second floor, and as she also claimed that you left her room within minutes of stealing the file, it’s difficult to explain why it took you five and a half hours to get back to your college, unless of course you were tucked up in bed on the floor below.’
‘But the college porter, Mr Perkins, wouldn’t have been able to confirm the time I returned to college, because he was fast asleep.’
‘Turned a blind eye, would be a more accurate description,’ said Warwick. ‘If you’d been seen coming in at five-thirty in the morning, he would have had to enter your name in his log book for breaking college regulations, and then you would have needed to explain to the proctors where you’d been all night.’
‘So has Fiona got away with it?’
‘Not entirely. Miss Hunter has been cautioned for wasting police time. Frankly, I’d have banged her up overnight if her father hadn’t had a word with the chief constable. Still, you’d better be off, as I understand you have a busy day ahead of you.’
‘As you know, Elena, I’ve wanted you to join me for some time,’ said Mr Agnelli, ‘but you made it clear that there was no point in asking while you were still working for Mr Moretti.’
‘And there still might not be any point,’ said Elena.
‘My previous offer still stands. I’d make you head chef, and I can promise that you’ll never see me in the kitchen. I’ll double what Mr Moretti paid you, and you’ll also receive ten per cent of the restaurant’s profits. But you’d have to find your own accommodation.’
‘And can Betty join me?’ asked Elena. Agnelli nodded. ‘And will Gino be the maître d’?’
‘Yes. I’d already agreed that with him. Is there anything else you were hoping for?’
After listening to Elena’s final request Mr Agnelli said, ‘I’ll need to think about it.’
‘It’s a deal breaker,’ said Elena, repeating Sasha’s exact words.
When Sasha left the police station, he ran all the way to the Union, where he found his campaign manager trying to explain to a voter where the candidate had been for the past forty-eight hours.
‘The voting’s already started,’ said Ben, after Sasha joined him at the bar and told him the latest news. ‘We haven’t got a moment to waste, because Fiona’s been telling everyone you’ve spent the past two days in a police cell. You’ve got to admire her nerve.’
‘Not to mention her timing.’
‘Pity Warwick didn’t lock her up for the day. That would certainly have helped our chances. But we can still win.’
They began to work the room. Several members shook Sasha’s hand warmly, while others turned their backs on him — one or two of whom he’d considered supporters, even friends. He tried to speak to everyone who hadn’t yet voted, even if he knew they had no intention of backing him. It was clear that some people still believed Fiona’s story, or wanted to, while others admitted to him that their own fingerprints might well be on that fire escape. Sasha didn’t stop until the last vote had been cast at six o’clock, when he joined Ben and Charlie at the Union bar. Fiona’s supporters occupied one side of the room, while Sasha’s filled the other half.