House of Cards (43 page)

'Mattie,
I
scarcely
know
what
to
say.
You've
obviously been
very
...
busy.'
His
mind
was
charging
through
his Thesaurus
of
flannel,
words
which
were
meaningless
and noncommittal
but
which
left
their
audience
with
an appropriately
warm
feeling
of
encouragement.
It
was
a
well thumbed
volume.
But
then
it
hit
him,
and
the
book
closed shut
with
a
snap.

'You've
illustrated
very
well
that
it
might
have
been someone
else
who
was
charging
round
London
opening accounts
in
Collingridge's
name,
but
you
haven't
proved that
it
wasn't
Collingridge
himself.
Surely
that
is
the easiest
explanation
to
accept?'

‘B
ut
the
computer
file,
Grev.
It
was
tampered
with.
And that
wouldn't
have
happened
if
Charles
Collingridge
were guilty.'

Haven't
you
considered
the
possibility
that
the
computer
file
was
altered,
not
to
mcrirninate
Collingridge,
but by
Collingridge
or
one
of
his
friends
to
offer
him
an
alibi,
to muddy
the
waters
after
he
had
been
found
out?
For
all
we know
it
was
not
the
distribution
file
but
the
accounts
file which
was
altered,
possibly
only
minutes
before
you
saw it,
just
to
throw
you
off
the
trail
'

'But
only
a
handful
of
people
have
access
to
the
accounts file
’
Mattie
protested
with
considerable
vigour.
'And
how could
Charles
Collingridge
have
done
that?
He's
been drying
out
in
a
treatment
centre.' 'But
his
brother?'

Mattie
was
incredulous.
You
can't
seriously
believe
that the
Prime
Minister
took
the
incredible
risk
of
ordering
the party
headquarters'
computer
file
to
be
altered
just
to falsify
the
evidence
-
after
he
had
already
announced
his resignation.'

'Mattie,
think
back.
Watergate.
Files
were
burnt
and tapes
erased
-
by
the
President.
During
Irangate,
incriminating
material
was
shredded
and
smuggled
out
of
the White
House
by
a
secretary
in
her
underwear.
Scores
of presidential
aides
and
US
Cabinet
ministers
have
gone
to prison
in
recent
years.
And
in
this
country,
Jeremy
Thorpe was
put
on
trial
for
attempted
murder,
John
Stonehouse went
to
gaol
after
faking
his
own
suicide
and
Lloyd
George sold
peerages
from
Downing
Street
while
he
screwed
his secretary
on
the
Cabinet
table.
Things
much
stranger
than fiction
have
happened
in
politics.'
Preston
was
warming
to his
theme
now.
'Power
is
a
drug,
like
a
candle
to
a
moth. They
are
drawn
towards
it,
no
matter
what
the
dangers, They
would
rather
risk
everything,
including
their
lives and
careers,
than
do
without
it.
So
it's
still
easier
to
believe that
the
Collingridges
got
caught
with
their
hands
in
the till
and
are
trying
to
cover
up
than
to
accept
there
was
a great
conspiracy
against
the
Prime
Minister.'

'So
you
won't
run
it!'
she
accused
sharply.

'No,
I'm
not
saying
that
’
Preston
continued,
smiling
in
a manner
which
betrayed
not
a
shred
of
sympathy.
I'm saying
you
haven't
yet
got
enough
for
the
story
to
stand up.
We
have
to
be
careful
not
to
make
ourselves
look ridiculous.
You
need
to
do
some
more
work
on
it.'

He
meant
it
as
a
dismissal,
but
Mattie
had
been
at
the receiving
end
of
too
many
of
his
dismissals.
She
had
spent every
waking
hour
since
running
out
on
Johnnie
working
on this
story,
chasing
the
details
and
trying
to
drown
her
private
pain,
knowing
that
only
by
uncovering
the
truth
would she
find
any
release
from
the
emotions
which
were
twisted in
a
state
of
perpetual
warfare
deep
inside
her.
She
would not
leave
it
there.
She
felt
like
screaming
at
him,
but
she
was determined
not
to
lose
her
self-control.
She
took
a
deep breath,
lowered
her
eyes
for
a
moment
to
help
herself
relax, and
was
almost
smiling
when
she
looked
at
him
once
again.

'Grev.
Just
explain
it
to
me
so
I
can
understand.
Either somebody
set
the
Collingridges
up,
or
the
Prime
Minister of
this
country
has
established
his
guilt
by
falsifying
evidence.
One
way
or
the
other,
we
have
enough
to
lead
the paper
for
a
week.'

'Er,
yes.
But
which
is
it?
We
have
to
be
sure.
Particularly in
the
middle
of
a
leadership
contest
we
cannot
afford
to make
a
mistake
on
something
so
important.'

'Doesn't
Collingridge
deserve
the
chance
to
establish
his innocence?
Are
you
telling
me
that
the
story
has
to
be
left until
after
the
contest
has
finished—until
after
the
damage has
been
done?'