‘What were the causes of their deaths?’
‘They died together in a car crash,’ said Jordan, which was a lie. His father had died first, of cancer, and his Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother of pneumonia but Jordan was bored and impatient to end the pointless encounter.
‘You’re responsible for payment, I assume?’
‘Wrongly,’ said Jordan, who’d anticipated the approach. ‘Your secretary will have the name and address of the lawyer who booked this if it’s not on the note you’ve got there. Send your account to her, along with the results.’
Preston was on the internal phone before Jordan finished speaking, his face clouding at the confirmation of what Jordan had told him. The doctor said, ‘Solicitors are very dilatory in settling their accounts. Will you please tell Ms Corbin that I expect payment within the period stipulated upon my invoice?’
‘Of course,’ said Jordan, without any intention of doing so. ‘You didn’t tell me how my examination went?’
‘I have obviously to wait for all the tests results but there’s every indication of your being remarkably fit: nothing obviously wrong at all.’
Apart from you knowing – and a record now existing – of every physical detail about me, thought Jordan.
The irritating medical examination, for which he’d allowed only an hour, completely disrupted Jordan’s schedule, leaving him with only thirty minutes to keep the afternoon appointment with the photographer. In the taxi taking him there Jordan decided to abandon until the following morning the intended visit to Hans Crescent to check for any further correspondence in his Paul Maculloch name; he was anxious to begin at once his money-manipulating casino tour.
Jordan had booked for passport photographs, waiting until he got to the studio to add three larger prints and agreed at once to the obviously increase fee, interested only in getting the picture session over as quickly as possible. He was back in the Marylebone apartment by six and out, showered, changed and with?20,000 from the bedroom closet safe to begin the chips-for-cash receipt switch by eight. For an hour he played poker at the high stakes table of one of his favourite gambling clubs in Brook Street, Mayfair, before quitting ?2,300 ahead to move to the roulette room. There he moved between three tables, increasing his winnings by another?7,000 before dropping?6,000 in an unstoppable consistent slide. By the time it did stop he was down to his poker profit. It took him another hour playing blackjack to take his winnings up a further?1,500. He cashed in and got his tax receipt for winnings of?24,500. Throughout Jordan remained constantly alert but failed to isolate anyone paying any particular attention or interest in him.
Jordan hesitated for a moment as he left the club, turning to the doorman for a taxi, but abruptly deciding, without any reason, to walk into Park Lane. When he reached Park Street the darkened interior of the last car in the parking line at the corner was briefly illuminated in the headlight beam of an approaching taxi, perfectly enabling Jordan to see a man he remembered at every table at which he’d played that night.
Nine
‘B eing followed!’ Lesley Corbin frowned but smiled very slightly as well. The combination made her nose wrinkle.
‘I believe so,’ said Jordan, discomfited by her doubting expression.
‘When, how, did you come to believe that?’
‘Three nights ago. I’d been gambling, in Mayfair. When I came out of the club I saw a man, waiting in his car. He’d been in every room in which I’d played, during the evening.’
‘Watching you?’
‘I hadn’t been aware inside. I only recognized him outside, in the car.’
‘What else?’
‘That’s it,’ said Jordan, further discomfited by the emptiness of what he was saying. He had abandoned the intention to go to Hans Crescent and that night returned to the same Mayfair club, where he’d lost almost?5,000. He didn’t see the man in the club or isolate anyone waiting in a car when he’d left to take the same route to Park Lane for a taxi.
The woman wasn’t frowning any more but the smile was hovering. ‘You haven’t thought you’ve been followed since?’
‘I haven’t been aware of it,’ qualified Jordan. ‘They watched me pretty effectively in France without my suspecting it, don’t forget. Do you think they’ve begun some sort of surveillance here?’
Lesley humped her shoulders. ‘They could have, although I would have thought they’ve already got all they need for their case as far as the adultery is concerned.’
‘So I’m becoming paranoid?’
The smile widened. ‘I didn’t say that. Or think it. They might have decided it’s necessary, now that Dan’s got involved and confirmed you’re going to contest the accusations.’
‘Could you ask him what he thinks? I don’t like the idea of my every move being watched.’
She hunched her shoulders again. ‘There’s nothing we can really do about it, if they are.’
‘It’s an unsettling feeling.’ He’d have to check Hans Crescent tomorrow, Jordan realized. By now there’d probably be something from his new City bank if nothing else in the name of Paul Maculloch.
‘It’s not actually against the law, although if you could prove it we could apply for a harassment order. Proving it would be a problem. And attract publicity to the case in America, which we don’t really want, do we?’
‘We’ll leave it,’ decided Jordan.
‘That’s probably best,’ agreed the lawyer. ‘I’ve got more from Dan. And I’ve got the medical report and the photographs.’
‘And I very definitely want to talk about Preston!’ declared Jordan.
‘I want to talk about Preston, too,’ said Lesley. ‘You’d better listen to me first.’
‘You first, about everything,’ agreed Jordan. He saw that Lesley Corbin had several, separated sets of paper arranged in front of her on her desk.
She selected the smallest of the files. ‘Dan’s emails. There’ll definitely need to be what he calls a financial lodgement, in view of what you do for a living. He’s talking of an initial tranche of $100,000, which I’ve roughly converted to around?55,000.’ She looked up. ‘Is that all right?’
‘If you mean can I provide that much in cash, the answer’s yes, but on the understanding we reached earlier.’ Not just a trip to Hans Crescent, Jordan thought: he’d need to get more out of the safe deposits at the Royston and Jones bank. What was set aside in Marylebone was gambling stake money. And at the moment it amounted to less than he’d started out with. His resentment against Alfred Appleton was building by the day.
‘I talked personally with Dan,’ said the woman. ‘Our understanding is acceptable as far as he’s concerned. But he stressed it’s only an initial tranche.’
‘What if I’m not found to be responsible for the marriage collapse?’
‘Again, roughly as we thought. An American judge would have discretion but we’re not denying that you slept with Alyce Appleton. It comes down to whether or not you – or rather Dan – can satisfy the judge you’re not a marriage wrecker. Dan thinks he can, on our exchanges so far.’
‘So 55,000 might be sufficient?’
‘Initial was the word Dan used,’ insisted Lesley. ‘How long the hearing lasts – as far as you are concerned – will again depend upon the judge’s view of your personal responsibility and culpability. I think at this stage Dan’s going to try to argue you out of the case at the beginning, in chambers if possible. But if the judge, who hasn’t been selected yet, won’t agree that schedule and wants to hear the actual divorce evidence first, you’ll go to the back of the queue. In that event, it could last the month, maybe longer.’
‘If I made the initial deposit?75,000 I would have some living and travelling money too, wouldn’t I?’
‘I’m not sure that would come within the acceptible provisions of the arrangement.’
‘Can you ask?’
‘Of course.’
‘What about publicity?’ asked Jordan, inevitably coming to his overriding concern.
Lesley Corbin extended her hands, palm upwards, in a ‘who knows?’ gesture. ‘If you’re dismissed from the case before it starts, in a chambers hearing, Dan doubts there’ll be any: you’re no more than a name. Dan hasn’t got as far as any detailed exchange papers, to discover if any other men are being cited, as well as you. Or, if there are, whether they’re contesting the allegations as well. Whether or not there is any publicity is really dependent upon Appleton and the sort of case his side intends. And what the judge permits.’