Deadly Diplomacy (22 page)

“Me neither,” she said, with feeling. He seemed happy to talk about Ellen; and Jess
was
curious. “How did Ellen seem to you?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Her normal self. After lunch, she said she was going back to The Palms for a few hours and that she’d see me later…” His voice trailed away again and they fell silent.

Jess concentrated on eating another mouthful of fish. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but she didn’t want to appear to be interrogating him. Feeling his eyes studying her, she glanced out of the window.

A sudden movement outside made her jump.

Langhurst followed her gaze. “Is something wrong?”

She shook her head. “I just thought I saw someone, that’s all.”

“Who?” He stared out of the window and looked back at her.

She hesitated, wondering whether to confide in him. It would sound ridiculous, but he did seem concerned. “I think someone’s following me.”

“
Following you?
” He twisted round and went to get up.

She grabbed his arm. “
Please. It’s nothing.
”

He stared at her. “Why would anyone follow you?”

She hesitated, wondering whether to tell him about Ellen’s diary. “It’s probably just a journalist looking for a story.” She tried to sound dismissive. “I’m a bit jumpy after all these murders, that’s all.” Then she deliberately changed the subject. “Tell me, John. Did you go with Ellen on her last trip to China?”

He looked out of the window again, then turned back. “Yes. The three of us always went for every round of talks. Richard Price, Ellen and me. We only got back last week.”

“Did Ellen and Richard Price get on well?” she asked, thinking back to what Susan Chambers had said about the Chairman wanting Ellen to take over as CEO.

But Langhurst was unfazed. “Ellen got on well with everyone, especially the Chinese. She knew them and their customs. And she spoke excellent Mandarin.” He sighed. “It’s an important deal.”

Conscious she was grilling him, Jess turned her attention back to her food. She felt guilty about how much she was enjoying lunch, but John Langhurst
was
good company. So intelligent and charming. Had he and Ellen been more than just colleagues, she wondered? Could he have been Ellen’s lover and the father of her unborn child? It was obvious he’d cared a lot about her. Jess studied his fine, chiselled features. She could see why Ellen might have been attracted to him. And he would have wanted to keep an affair quiet, a married man in his position. Yes, he ticked all the boxes as Ellen’s potential lover, except he didn’t have the initials TH. Only Tony Harris fitted that scenario. “Is your wife in Brisbane, John?” she asked.

He shook his head. “We spent last week on holiday with our two boys at the Great Barrier Reef. They flew home to Melbourne on Saturday and I came to Brisbane.” He looked at her. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I know
we
haven’t met before,” she bluffed, “but I’ve got a feeling I’ve met your wife.”

“Really? When?”

“I’m not sure. Probably at some reception,” she replied, all the while thinking that he and Ellen would have had the time and the space to meet up in Brisbane over the weekend,
if
they’d been romantically involved. She hesitated before asking her next question. “Did you know Ellen was pregnant?”

He looked away. “Not until Inspector Sangster just told me.”

There was something like despair on his face when he looked at her again. She knew she ought to stop questioning him, but she couldn’t. “Do you know who the father could be?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Tell me, Jessica, how did
you
know Ellen was pregnant?”

“Susan Chambers told me.”

“Ellen told her sister?”

Jess hesitated. “Not exactly, but Ellen
had
seen a gynaecologist here.”

“Susan
knew
that?”

Jess closed down now, she’d already said too much. Turning her gaze away, she became aware of someone watching them.

A tall man hovered in the doorway, his dark eyes gleaming behind tortoiseshell specs. He walked over and bent down to talk to the Chairman. “We’ve been trying to contact you, John.” His voice sounded accusing. “Your mobile’s switched off.”

Langhurst turned to Jess. “Can I introduce you to Richard Price, our CEO?”

Jess looked up at the same slim, hollow-cheeked face that she’d seen in the photo in the
Echo
yesterday. “Hello,” she said, holding out her hand.

Price shook it without even looking at her. “Inspector Sangster wants you
both
to return to the Convention Centre immediately,” he said in a self-important tone.

Does he now?
Jess was both irked and relieved that Sangster seemed to know exactly where she was.

Sangster paced about on the steps of the Convention Centre. Where the hell was she? She’d refused an escort, on the grounds she’d be staying inside until 1.45. Now, she’d gone off for lunch with John Langhurst.

He rubbed his temples, wishing he could get rid of his migraine. Even now he could feel hammering behind his eyes.
Maybe your man’s a hunter?
Anderson’s words were rattling around his head. He could see Anthony Harris sitting at the wheel of his car outside Police HQ, and the killer slipping into the back seat and shooting him in the head before he could even turn around. But
why
kill Harris? To stop him seeing the Police Commissioner? Was he about to confess to having an affair with Ellen Chambers? But he wouldn’t need to see the Police Commissioner about
that
, would he? No, there had to be more to it.

And Danny’s killing was even more puzzling. Cocky and fit, Danny would have been ready to fight off anyone. In the dead of night down at the jetty, every sound, every movement would have been magnified in the silence. Yet the killer managed to creep up on him and shoot him in the back of the head without so much as a scuffle?

Sangster felt an icy chill in his spine. This killer was damn good. So good, he had to be a professional. But who would bring in a killer like that? Obviously someone who wasn’t afraid of anyone in the police.

He was still dwelling on that when he caught sight of blonde hair shining in the sunlight. Relief flooded through him when he saw the British Consul walking alongside John Langhurst in the distance. They looked in deep conversation and totally at ease with each other, which surprised him. A sullen-looking Richard Price lagged a few paces behind.

Jess looked up, and waved when she spotted him.

All three of them increased their pace.

“Sorry, Tom,” she said, breathless from running up the steps when she reached him. “We just stepped out for a bite to eat.”

“Let’s go inside,” he said, curtly. “I need to talk to you all again.”

*

The three of them sat in the interview room while Sangster stood by the window. Jess knew he was annoyed. It was her fault; she shouldn’t have left the building without telling him.

Eyes glinting, he fixed on the Chairman: “I need to have another word with you, Sir.” He turned. “And with you too, Mr Price.”

“Of course.” The Chairman looked at his watch. “I’m supposed to be leaving for Canberra on the four o’clock flight for a dinner with the British High Commissioner this evening.” He looked at Jess. “I’d better cancel.”

Price chipped in. “And I’m speaking at the Conference shortly, Inspector. So I don’t have much time.”

Sangster rounded on Price. “We’re investigating the murder of your colleague,
Sir,”
he snarled. “I’m
sure
you’ll want to give us all the time we need.”

Cheeks flushed, Price sank back into the chair.

At that moment, Jess could understand why the Chairman wanted to get rid of
him.
She turned to Langhurst. “Shall I phone the High Commissioner to let him know you can’t make dinner?”

The Chairman looked at Inspector Sangster for guidance.

“You don’t have to alter your plans.” Sangster gave him a pointed look. “When are you coming back?”

“On the first flight in the morning. But…” Langhurst stopped and looked at Jess. “Maybe I should stay here?”

She shrugged. “Not if Inspector Sangster thinks it’s okay for you to go.”

Langhurst nodded.

Sangster turned to Jess. “I’d like to talk to you first, if I may. Of course, as a diplomat with immunity, you don’t have to comply.”

“Let’s do it now.” She stood up. “That’s if you don’t mind waiting, John.”

“Of course not.” Langhurst stood up, politely. “You stay here and talk. Richard and I will wait in our conference office along the corridor.”

“I’ll come along as soon as I’ve finished with the Consul,” Sangster said to him.

Langhurst turned to Jess. “I can drop you back at the Consulate-General on my way to the airport.”

“We’ll take her back,” Sangster cut in, quickly.

“Fine.” The Chairman put a comforting hand on Jess’s shoulder. “I’ll see you soon,” he said, softly. Then he left the room, with Richard Price.

Once they’d gone, Sangster said formally: “Ma’am, for your own safety, you should have stayed in the building.”

She took the rebuke. “I know. I’m sorry, Tom.”

He nodded. “Have you heard from Susan Chambers again?”

“I’m afraid not.”

He fixed her with one of his intense stares. “In that case, you need to tell me everything she said to you about her sister.
Everything
please. I know you’ve had several conversations with her.”

Jess sighed. Susan had told her things in confidence, but this was a murder investigation.

She went over to the window and looked out at the city and river. She could see Susan’s distraught white face… “I’ve already told you about Ellen’s diary,” she said, “and about the initials TH inside and the codes at the back… And I’ve given you the camera card Susan found in it.” Jess turned round. “Have those photos turned up anything?”

“They’re being examined in the lab as we speak.”

She looked away, trying to remember exactly what Susan said to her at The Palms. “Susan told me John Langhurst and Richard Price don’t get on. The Chairman wanted Ellen to move permanently to Australia to take over as CEO.” Jess added, “I don’t think Richard Price knows that.”

He nodded.

She shrugged. “Or maybe he does? Anyway, it seems Richard has become a heavy drinker since his divorce, to such an extent he’s become a liability for the Company. Susan said something about doing an article on him in the
Echo
after he got involved in some traffic accident while over the limit.” She turned to face Sangster. “Mind you, I don’t know what truth there is in any of that. There’s always so much backbiting in any organisation. It’s like an emotional cauldron as people plot their way up the career ladder. Human nature can be so ugly.”

“You’re telling me,” he said, stiffly. “Did Susan say anything else?”

She hesitated.
The money is the trail.
Those words popped into her head again. “Well there is one thing that’s been bugging me.”

His eyes never left hers.

“Apparently, the day before she was murdered, Ellen said to Susan – and I quote –
the money is the trail
. If anything happens to me, Susan,
the money is the trail
– unquote. I don’t know if she was talking about the bribes she was supposed to be taking from the Chinese, or something else.”

Sangster didn’t move a muscle. “Bribes she was
supposed
to be taking from the Chinese. Are you suggesting she wasn’t?”

Jess sighed. “I don’t know what I’m suggesting, Tom. I just know that it doesn’t make sense.”

“Did you know Ellen Chambers phoned the British Embassy in Beijing three times in the last couple of weeks?”

She looked at him in surprise. “No.”

“The log of her mobile phone calls confirms that.”

“That’s news to me, Tom.” She paused. “But I’ll see what I can find out.”

He gave a satisfied nod. “Is that everything Susan said?”

“As far as I can remember.”

“Good.” He stood up. “Would you mind waiting while I have another chat with the other two? Then we can go to HQ.”

“Okay.” Jess stood up and picked up her bag and briefcase. “I’ll wait for you downstairs in the café, if that’s all right.”

He nodded. “Don’t leave the building.
Please.
”

She walked along to the end of the corridor and took the escalator down to the mezzanine café. It was the lull between lunch and tea, and there were few people around. She went over to the bar and ordered a brandy, which didn’t even raise an eyebrow from the barman. Taking it over to a table by the window, she sat down and pulled out her mobile. She really wanted to talk to Simon. She pressed his number on her speed dial, but got his voicemail again. She groaned and typed up a text message for him.

Call me when you can. Jess.

Then she tried Nigel, but his mobile switched to voicemail too. She looked at her watch. Where was he? He should have landed by now. She sent him a text message, saying that she was in the Convention Centre with Inspector Sangster and John Langhurst, if he wanted to join them.

She picked up the glass and took a swig of brandy. The fiery liquid flowed through her like balm.

She looked up.

Richard Price stood staring down at her. “Cold?” He seemed amused by her discomfort. “Or scared?”

She put the glass down and sat back in her chair where she could see him face to face. She couldn’t fathom out Richard Price. He gave off an aura of cold detachment. Or was it arrogance? “Would you like a drink?” she asked, to be polite.

He pulled a face. “Some of us have
work
to do.”

Why did he have to be so provocative?

He sat down opposite her, which suggested he wanted to talk. But he didn’t say anything.

So she asked: “How well did you know Ellen Chambers?”

He shrugged. “She was a work colleague.”

“I understand you travelled together to China for negotiations. You must have got to know each other quite well on those trips.”