A Conflict of Interests (32 page)

Vaudrey left his chair, walked over to the video, inserted a fresh cassette and depressed the play button. By the time he returned to his chair, Karen Whitfield was back on the screen in a pair of ultrahigh-heeled shoes, black nylon stockings and a red lace garter belt. She was also wearing a mortarboard and gown and looked suitably stern as she flexed a cane in both hands.

Thirteen tapes, thirteen names; surely he could put them to use? "Where there's a will, there's a way" — that had been his wife's advice whenever the going was rough, even during her last illness. Those men in the porno films were important figures, vulnerable to pressure from a hostile intelligence service. So what if he insured that the cassettes ended up in the hands of the KGB? It wouldn't be easy and the dividends would be small, but if he played it right and bided his time, there was a good chance DI5 would pull in a few sleepers. And when all was said and done, that was a whole lot better than nothing.

He looked up at the screen again and saw that Karen Whitfield had laid the cane aside and was about to remove the pillowcase from the head of the naked man who knelt in front of her, his wrists handcuffed behind his back, his ankles chained together.

"Where there's a will, there's a way." Vaudrey smiled to himself, knowing that his wife had always been right.

About the author

Clive Egleton is widely regarded as one of Britain's leading thriller writers. He began writing in 1969 after a distinguished army career and a life spent travelling abroad. He is the author of fifteen highly acclaimed novels, including, A FALCON FOR THE HAWKS, TROIKA and A DIFFERENT DRUMMER.