Exposure (22 page)

Ben put a call through to the penthouse office. Julia was out at a meeting. He didn't leave a message. He sat on in his office with the whirl and bustle of his news room eddying outside, and thought it through. Then he made another call. He asked to see William Western as a matter of urgency.

‘Take her off this,' Harris said again.

Western made a bridge with his fingertips. ‘No,' he said.

Ben leaned towards him. Western was sitting behind his desk and he had kept Ben standing. It hadn't put him at a disadvantage. He came close to the desk and leaned towards the slight man in his big chair and said, ‘King is on to what you're doing. He knows we're after him. He had that woman's phones bugged and she was bloody murdered before she could sign that affidavit. That's no coincidence. That's King. You pull Julia off this and I'll see it to the limit for you.'

‘No,' Western said. ‘You're not as good as she is. You tried before and you got nowhere.'

Ben glared at him. ‘I was looking into two murders and you made me drop it. Let's get the facts right.'

‘The facts,' William Western cut in, ‘are what I say they are. You and Julia are a team. Neither of you drops out. If King is behind this, and it's only supposition on your part – don't shout, Harris – just listen – then it means two things. Somehow, somewhere, you've leaked information. So look into that first. If you're right and the telephone bugging is tied into this murder, then King must think he's safe. He's broken the only link you've got with the accident to his wife and the story about a war crime. So what you do now is put it about that the story's dead. No proof. And check your own telephones. Or hadn't you thought of that?' He raised his eyebrows at Ben Harris, almost taunting him. Harris stepped back.

‘I've thought of it,' he said. ‘I'm giving you formal notice that I'm resigning. As of now.' Western unhooked his fingers.

‘And leave your friend Miss Hamilton to carry on alone? I don't think you'll do that.'

‘I'll get her to resign with me,' Harris snarled at him. His fists were clenched at his sides; he looked explosive with anger. Western said coolly, ‘I don't think you'll do that either. Or you wouldn't have come to me first. Stop behaving like a bloody fool. She won't give up, and you know it.'

‘She will,' Ben insisted. ‘She promised; she didn't tell you but it was the condition I worked with her.'

‘She won't keep it,' he dismissed it. ‘She doesn't quit. If you're worried about her, then do what I've told you. Give out that you've killed the story. Keep your mouths shut and get on with it.' He shifted in his chair, making himself comfortable. ‘I'll run a line on the new “Exposure” feature hinting at a completely different target.'

‘Thanks,' Ben Harris said furiously. ‘You'll have my letter by tomorrow morning.'

‘I hope not,' Western murmured. ‘I shall be sorry to lose you. Miss Gilbey—' he spoke into the desk mike. ‘Show Mr Harris out and tell Parsons to come in, will you?'

‘Ben, for God's sake what's going on?'

‘Just do as I say, will you? Don't make any phone calls from the flat. Meet me at eight o'clock in the bar at Mario's.'

He didn't wait for her to argue. He hung up. When his line buzzed back immediately, he switched it through to his secretary.

He must make Julia listen. Western's sneer rang in his head.

‘Leave your friend Miss Hamilton to carry on alone? I don't think you'll do that.' He was right, he'd called Ben's bluff. He was a ruthless unscrupulous bastard, only one remove from the man he was trying to destroy.

Western wouldn't sanction murder, but he'd sit back and let someone else take the risk. He wasn't going to risk Julia. Ben went home and checked his telephones, listening for the slightest sound that might indicate they had been tampered with. He heard nothing, but that wasn't any guarantee. The systems were so sophisticated now they were virtually impossible to detect without taking the instruments apart.

How had King latched on to Jean Adams? The question sent him pacing up and down. How did he find out at this early stage that he was under investigation at all? Had Julia talked to anyone? He knew he hadn't. It must have come from someone she knew, some chance remark, some off-the-record hint.

He showered and changed into a dark suit. He'd chosen Mario's because the Fleet Street crowd didn't congregate there as they did in the pub, or some of the trattoria he and Julia patronized. No eavesdropping. Mario's was safe behind the price barrier.

He arrived early and took his seat on a twin sofa up against one panelled wall. A large Edwin Douglas oil of two spaniels gazed down benevolently from above. He couldn't relax; he fidgeted, swallowed his drink, looked at his watch. Julia was late. It was unlike her. She was a punctuality freak; it amused him, because he was quite casual about being on time. When she came through the door, he started up quickly. She looked different; he'd never seen her dressed up before. They led easy-going lives outside the office. He saw the glitter of the sequinned top and the bright paste earrings as she walked towards him.

‘You're late,' he said. ‘I was worried.'

Julia sat down beside him. She said quietly, ‘I'm sorry – I had a late call from Western, after you phoned me. He told me what had happened.'

Ben hadn't expected to be pre-empted.

‘I should have guessed he'd try to talk you round. I'll get you a drink. Usual?' He summoned the barman.

‘Vodka on the rocks, please, Rudi. Another Scotch for me.' Then he took her hand and looked at her.

‘They'd bugged the telephones in her house,' he said quietly. ‘They must have heard her talking to the solicitor. She was murdered to stop her signing that affidavit.'

‘That's what Western told me,' Julia answered. ‘He also said you'd gone into his office and freaked out about me. You shouldn't have done that, Ben. Not without talking to me first.'

‘I tried to call you,' he protested. ‘You were in a meeting. Julia, listen to me.' He so seldom used her full name that she hesitated. He was so serious that she bit back her reproach. She had left William Western's office feeling very angry. She didn't belong to Ben Harris. He had no right to interfere in her career.

‘I did freak, and I was wrong. I should have waited and talked to you first. But thinking about what happened to Jean Adams got to me – someone breaking in, assaulting her to make it look good, and then beating her round the head … It could have been you. It could
be
you, unless you keep to our deal, and drop this whole dirty mess. Please—' He stopped her interruption. ‘Hear me out. You're a fine journalist; you've got talent and insight and integrity. You'll go to the top of the profession without “Exposure”. That's just the carrot Western offered you to get you to do his dirty work for him. I told him I'm going to resign. I want you to resign with me. I'll pass what we know about King on to certain sources; I've got good friends who might follow it up.'

‘Without proof?' Julia asked him. ‘No, Ben, that doesn't add up, and you know it. As for the carrot, it wasn't “Exposure”. It was your job he promised me. In due time. I know how you feel and I know what I promised, but I can't do it. I just can't give up and back away from this.' She picked up her glass. She said simply, ‘You can't either. If you do, it's because you're trying to force my hand, and I won't let you. I'm going on till I find something that will bring that man into the dock.'

Ben didn't say anything. Couples came in and took their places, the bar was filling up. One or two men glanced at Julia.

At last he said, ‘You realize Western's manipulating you?'

‘Yes, I know he is. But so are you.'

‘It's not quite the same,' he said it bitterly and his face set.

Julia spoke quickly. ‘I know that, too. But, Ben, I'm not a child that has to be protected. I can see what's going on. I can make my own decisions, and I've made this one. I'm not giving up. After what happened to Jean Adams, I
can't
! I brought her into this. I'm responsible. So are you. You went down there and talked her into changing her mind. If it wasn't for us she'd be alive today. That's all there is to say about it.'

Ben said, ‘I asked about the affidavit. She didn't sign it. The old man blew his top at me. He said, people like you are the scum of the earth.'

‘People like us', Julia answered, ‘are the ones who will put a stop to the Harold Kings of this world. One day, I'd like to be able to point that out to him.'

Her fingers entwined in his, and gripped them.

‘I love you, Ben, but I've got to live with myself, and I couldn't if I ran away from this. I won't try to influence you. If you want to chuck it in because of Western, then I don't blame you. But don't do it to pressure me. I'm committed, and I can't change that. Please, don't let's fight about it. Let's be together.'

‘If I didn't love you,' Ben said, ‘I'd still feel the same. Let's put the decision on the back burner just for tonight. Let's try and work out what went wrong. How did he
know
we were on his tail? Who could have known about it, and let the word slip?'

Julia picked at the sequins on the edge of her tunic. ‘I never said a word to anyone – our researchers only had two names, Phyllis Lowe and Hans Koenig. There was nothing to connect with Harold King. Oh, damn, look what I've done—'

She'd pulled a thread and a few bright beads scattered on the seat.

‘That's pretty, that outfit,' Ben said. ‘Can't you knot it?'

‘Yes, it's all right. I wore it the first time I came here – to see him for real.'

‘Did you,' Ben said it slowly. ‘You brought Sutton along, didn't you?' She looked at him sharply. ‘Yes; yes, of course I did. Oh God.'

‘You said something to him,' he suggested.

‘He said it to me,' she countered. ‘You're after King, or something like that. I'd blown a fuse over the way he shouted at the
maître d.'

‘And what did you say?' Ben asked her. She bit her lip, remembering the conversation. Felix had been aggressive, goading her.

‘Oh God,' she repeated. ‘I said I was looking at the Honours List, and he might be on it. But that's all, Ben, that's all – he didn't even pick it up. We were having a row and I left without him. You came round with the file that night. It couldn't be Felix … could it?'

‘Only one way to find out. We'll have to ask him. Or I will, if you like. We've got to know. We've got to plug the leak, if it was him.'

‘We?' Julia asked the question quietly.

‘Oh for Christ's sake, yes –
we.'
He banged his glass down on the table. ‘How the hell else can I look after you?'

The barman saw the pretty redhead lean over and kiss Mr Harris on the lips. He thought it was quite funny. He'd never seen Harris with a woman before, and he'd have bet a week's wages no-one would kiss him in public. He couldn't wait to tell them downstairs.

‘Pussy's happy,' Julia murmured. The cat was curled up between them on the bed. She reached down and stroked the smooth fur. It purred like a small engine revving up. ‘So am I,' Ben said.

He'd driven her back to her flat after dinner. He wouldn't let her stay longer than to pack some clothes. Tomorrow he would get an electronic engineer to come and check the phones. She had remembered the messenger who had failed to deliver the flowers, dismissing it as probably irrelevant, but Harris decided that once inside the building, they'd picked the lock and fixed the phones. A long time ago, he thought, monitoring them every step of the way. It made him cold to think of Julia staying there alone. It was a strange love making between them that night. There'd been a moment when their relationship had almost broken up and they both knew it. Julia's pride and independence had been threatened; for Harris, backing down in front of William Western might have been too bitter a pill to swallow.

And then, miraculously, they sailed past the rocks. Ben had compromised and so had she. She agreed to move in to live with him and not to stay alone, or put herself at risk. They were a team again, and all the stronger for the crisis. Their love was deeper, and more significant when they went to bed; more of a fusion than a frenzied climax. They recognized it without putting it into words, and slept in each other's arms till the early morning.

With Julia at his side, Ben Harris went up to see William Western. When they came in together his eyes narrowed for a moment. A double resignation? He'd lost his gamble with their lives? He thought not.

So he said it, before either one could speak. Always keep control, never let the initiative slip away.

‘A double resignation? Of course not. Say what you've come for. I've got a busy morning, but always time for my star girl and a fiery Welshman. God help us poor English, dealing with the Celtic temperament!' He had swept their prepared speech aside in his usual way, answering his own questions.

Ben said, ‘We're not resigning, Lord Western. Julia wants to stick with it, and I'm not going to let her go it alone. As you predicted.' He glared at him.

Western smiled back indulgently. ‘That's all then? Good, good. I'll run a red herring with “Exposure” – think who we can give a few sleepless nights to, will you, Julia? Some politician with a skeleton rattling about – it might be quite amusing.' Then his voice sharpened and there was no smile left. ‘And you clear up this security mess. Then get on with the job. I want results and I want them quickly. See yourselves out, and tell Miss Gilbey I want her.' He picked up his internal telephone and dismissed them.

Outside Julia turned to Ben. The secretary had given them a superior smile and hurried into Western's office.