‘You’ve checked me out,’ he said.
‘I always check the background of people I have an interest in employing.’
‘Given what you’re asking of me, can I ask you a question about Dr Brinsmead?’
‘What do you want to know?’
‘Dr Brinsmead and Beck worked at the same facility in London that you did. We’ve established that you knew both men. Did Daniel Brinsmead know Beck?’
‘Yes, he did,’ she replied. ‘It was inevitable that he would. They would have attended the same meetings at times, that kind of thing.’
‘Did you ever talk about Beck to Dr Brinsmead? Or vice versa.’
‘No, of course not. Why would I? Do you have a reason for these questions?’
‘I want to know what I’m dealing with. How did Dr Brinsmead get his burns?’
‘In a car accident. It was very, very tragic, and since we’re on the subject, let me tell you why I have his picture here. It’s to remind me of who he used to be. Daniel’s experience has affected him badly. It’s made him resentful and misjudging of other people. I have a concern for his welfare and have done for some time. I paid his medical costs. When his recovery had reached a certain point, he made the choice that he wanted to work here. I accommodated him. He is very good at what he does. It was his wish that his work go into the public domain. I had no problem with that. But it’s most correct to say I have given him everything he’s asked for and have never done him any harm. Again, it comes down to loyalty and integrity. I want both qualities from my people.’
Watching her speak was like looking through a glass wall. You could see and hear her talk without any sense of what she might be feeling.
‘They must have been difficult decisions to make, given his state of health,’ he said.
‘I’ve spent my life making difficult decisions, Commander. You have to if you want to succeed at anything. To get back to the point. Will you accept my offer?’
‘It’s very generous, Dr Calvo, but I’m not ready to give up my job. Any way I can help you in my role as commander, I’ll be happy to. Otherwise, thank you for the compliment.’
‘I’m disappointed to hear you say that. People speak highly of you. We can still discuss the possibility of you investing in my corporation. Now, please call me Elena. Perhaps I could call you by your first name as well?’
‘I’ll stay with Dr Calvo. I’d prefer to keep it businesslike. If you could do the same for me, I’d appreciate it.’
She sat upright in her seat with a slightly startled movement.
‘I thought we had been talking with some degree of openness. Certainly I’ve answered all your questions, including those which were very personal. Perhaps you’re not an easy man to connect to.’
‘I’m a private man. Let’s leave it at that.’
She sat completely still, staring at him. Her grey eyes had a watchful, distrusting look that reminded him strangely of the commissioner’s paranoia. Whatever might have been in her mind, he could feel the possibility of any intimacy being withdrawn. She opened the folder on the coffee table.
‘Whatever suits you,’ she said. ‘These are the details of the investment package I had in mind for you. I think you’ll find it’s generous. We can discuss aspects of it as you wish.’
He scanned it. Generous was the right word. ‘This package is a gift from you to me,’ he said.
‘Are you interested?’
‘Before I tell you that, are you recording this meeting?’
‘No. There are no surveillance devices in here. It’s one of the few parts of the building where there are none. Damien is watching us through one-way glass but he can’t hear what we’re saying. Which means you can tell me if you’re interested.’
‘If I’m not working for you, Dr Calvo, what am I doing to earn this offer?’
‘As we’ve already discussed, you’re in charge of an investigation that may affect me. I need a pair of eyes and ears in that investigation. Please don’t be concerned. It’s quite innocent. It would mainly be a matter of providing me with information as I need it.’
‘Why do you need that information?’
‘To protect my interests. That would include knowing anything concerning Jerome Beck, for example. Or it may be that you have evidence that could be misinterpreted in a way that’s detrimental to my corporation. Such evidence might not be as vital as you might think it is.’
‘You want me to destroy any evidence that implicates you.’
‘I didn’t say that. I said, such evidence might not be as vital as you think it is. If its real value was made clear to you, you might choose to dispense with it of your own accord.’
‘I need time to think about this.’
‘Unfortunately, there’s no time available.’
‘There’s always time, Dr Calvo.’
‘Not on this occasion.’
She opened and turned on the laptop, shifting it to where he could see the monitor. ‘I believe this is your son’s website. I assumed he was the reason for your interest in my corporation in the first place. I have to say, when I first saw this, I was very impressed by his bravery.’
Toby’s naked and crippled body came into view on the screen. The image dissolved into an X-ray displaying his skeleton. It was followed by the careful diagrams he’d drawn of his own frame. This is how my body is twisted and why it can’t untie itself. The blueprint of his disability was set out for the world to see, an exposure Harrigan had forced himself to live with. He could hardly bear to look at it at any time.
‘Your son writes eloquently of the pain of being disabled. His descriptions of his loneliness are very touching. My body is my lifeline but it’s my prison cell at the same time. It cramps me and it pinches me. I’m a turtle on my back. He’s a very intelligent young man, he clearly feels things deeply. You must be proud of him. We can offer him a better life. If you were to give me your son’s DNA profile, I could arrange for a team to be dedicated to untying its possibilities, its relationship to his disabilities. They would work exclusively on him. Of course, their results would have a much wider application and we would own that intellectual property and any patent rights. But he would be the first beneficiary, gratis.’
Her speech seemed extraordinarily smooth, a business pitch. She had isolated Toby’s body in the transparency of the monitor as if it were a preserved specimen in a glass jar that she was holding up to the light. Harrigan realised that in his pocket he still had the handkerchief that had been soaked in Toby’s spittle the day before. Almost, he took it out and gave it to her. Instead, he reached forward and turned off the laptop. The screen went dead. Elena stared at Harrigan, more surprised than angry.
‘I don’t like seeing my son on the screen like that, Dr Calvo.’
‘He doesn’t seem to share your sensitivities.’
Her words made Harrigan cold with rage.
‘How long before those promised results are available? Twenty years? Never?’
‘Perhaps you should ask your son what he wants. Wouldn’t it be his choice to say yes or no?’
‘Even if he does make that decision, I’m the one who pays for it.’
She sat looking at him for some few seconds.
‘I know a great deal about you, Commander. I know you’re an ambitious man. That much seems obvious.’
She opened the folder again and slid a photograph towards him. Harrigan looked down at a police photograph of Eddie Lee lying dead on his lounge room floor, where he had been found by his cleaning lady. He looked back at Elena wordlessly.
‘Do you want to throw your career away?’
‘Where did you get that?’
‘You can answer my question first, Commander.’
‘What is potentially so damaging that it could be worth this much money and effort on your part to hide it?’
‘I need a straightforward answer. Yes or no.’
‘Or what? You’ll release this picture? This is on the police files, it’s been in the newspaper. You could have got it from anywhere.’