The Devil in Disguise (26 page)

She gave him a nervous smile of greeting. ‘I didn't know this was one of your haunts, Harry.'

‘I thought I'd try something different.'

She gave Juliet an appraising glance. At the sight of the bruise, her eyebrows rose. ‘So I see. Well, how are you?'

‘Much better than when you last saw me.'

She smiled. ‘True, though it might not be saying much. You weren't a pretty sight after you took your tumble.'

She'd visited him first at the hospital and then at his flat after he'd been discharged. For a few wild moments her concern about his accident had made him think that she might change her mind about leaving for London. But of course it had been a fantasy: he'd soon realised that.

‘Thanks again for coming to see me.'

‘The least I could do,' she said. ‘The very least. So now you're back at work? I meant to give you a call yesterday but - you know how it is.'

‘Yes.' He nodded at her companion. The man was in his early forties, at a guess. Dark hair turning grey, smart casual clothes, expression so self-assured that it bordered on arrogance. ‘Sorry. I should have introduced myself. I'm Harry Devlin. This is Juliet May. Juliet, meet Kim Lawrence and...?'

The man stretched out his hand. He was exquisitely manicured. ‘Jethro Wood. I'm on the governing council of MOJO.'

‘Ah.' Harry thought for a moment. ‘Based in London, I presume?'

‘That's right. I'm just up here for twenty-four hours to talk over a bit of business with Kim. You know we've managed to persuade her to become our Chief Executive?'

Harry nodded. ‘You're lucky. She'll be a roaring success.'

‘I'm convinced of it.' Wood patted Kim on the hand. It was the sort of gesture which would normally have made her flesh creep, but she gave no sign that she objected. ‘Liverpool's loss is our gain. I've always admired her work up here. And at head office, she'll have the chance to make a much greater impact than any honorary regional representative. I'm at the Bar myself, a civil liberties set, but I find I spend a good deal of time on MOJO business. I'm looking forward to working with her very much. I think we'll make a good team. Which is important, because there isn't anything more important to a lawyer than fighting miscarriage cases.'

Especially if it looks good in the newspapers
, Harry could not help thinking. Of course it was unfair to suspect Jethro Wood's motives. But come to think of it, the man's name did ring a bell. In his mind, he associated it with the sort of high-profile campaigning in which the campaigner seemed to count for more than the campaign.

‘I've mentioned Harry to you, Jethro. He's a fellow solicitor.'

‘That's right, I remember. I gather you're on the side of the angels, Harry.'

‘I'm not sure many of my clients fit that description.'

‘Come on now, you know what I mean. You're not on the side of the big battalions. Just like me. You act for the weak, the ignorant. People who really need us.'

Kim coloured again and Harry could tell she was wondering if the conversation was such a good idea. She said quickly, ‘So are you a client of Harry's, Juliet?'

Juliet smiled and shook her head. ‘I'm not sure if I can truthfully claim always to be on the side of the angels, but I'm in public relations, so I suppose I ought to.'

Kim pursed her lips. ‘That's interesting. Don't tell me you act for Crusoe and Devlin?'

‘Well, Harry and his partner are reviewing their firm's image and perhaps its position in the marketplace.'

Wood guffawed. ‘Did I speak too soon? Hope you're not going to start pitching for business from the multinationals.'

‘No danger of that,' Harry said.

‘We all need to move on,' Kim said quietly. ‘Speaking of which, I suppose we'd better grab a table. Those people over there look as if they are about to leave. Nice to meet you, Juliet. Harry, I meant to call you to say I've arranged an early handover with Windaybanks. I report to MOJO headquarters next Monday morning at nine.'

‘So quick?'

‘I'll be coming back here a couple of days a week to start with, so that I can help out with any of the problem files that Quentin Pike is taking over. But the plan is that I'll be full-time in my new job very soon.'

‘We can't wait for her to start,' Jethro Wood confirmed.

‘Good luck, then. I hope you'll keep in touch.'

‘I promised, didn't I?' She glanced at Juliet. ‘But I guess I'll be pretty busy for a while.'

He nodded. ‘Of course you will.'

She turned to go, then looked back over her shoulder. ‘By the way, I gather that it's all still happening at the Kavanaugh Trust.'

Harry managed a grin. ‘The number of angels in that quarter is diminishing rapidly. Even the toffee-nosed benefactor turned out to be a conman.'

‘And the word on the grapevine at court is that the treasurer who took an overdose may have killed the chairman.'

‘It's a theory that suits everyone. It closes all the files.'

‘You sound doubtful.'

Juliet smiled. ‘I don't think Harry likes easy explanations.'

‘When the police settle for an easy explanation, the end result is often a miscarriage of justice,' he said.

‘If you're casting round for alternative suspects,' Kim said, ‘take a tip from me. Tim Aldred didn't kill Luke Dessaur.'

‘You must admit, he has the track record.'

She shook her head. ‘You're the last person to fall for another easy explanation, Harry. Tim is a good man, I've always been convinced of it.'

Jethro Wood had begun to shift from one foot to another. As the waiter arrived with the coffee, he said, ‘That table's free now. We'd better stake our claim.'

Kim turned to Juliet and said, ‘Harry simply can't resist a mystery. Once he's hooked, he never lets go. You'll need to keep your eye on him.'

‘Oh, don't worry,' Juliet said with a sweet and, Harry sensed, deliberately provocative smile. ‘I'll do that.'

When they were alone again, she asked, ‘Am I right in guessing that Kim is an old flame?'

He finished his wine. ‘Sort of.'

‘Nice-looking. You have good taste.'

‘You say that after seeing the colour scheme in my office?'

She laughed. ‘Sorry, I realise I shouldn't pry into your private life. You see, we share at least one vice in common. Insatiable curiosity. I simply can't help it.'

Now it was his turn to pour. After taking another drink, he said softly, ‘So you won't mind if I indulge in a spot of vice too?'

‘Be my guest.'

‘How did you manage to come by that bruise on your cheek?'

She bit her lip. ‘An accident.'

‘I see a lot of women who have similar accidents.'

‘Oh, I don't deny that Casper likes to give me a beating,' she said, with a sudden flash of bravado. ‘The accident was that I let him make contact. Over the past few years, I've developed a better body swerve than half the footballers in the Premier League.'

He stared at her defiant expression and realised how little he knew about her. ‘What happened?'

‘He was careless. I found a letter from his latest lady friend in his jacket pocket. He decided attack was the best form of defence and accused me of being a snoop.'

‘You don't have to put up with violence. Not in this day and age.'
And not
, he almost added,
with your kind of money
. There was no way Juliet May would finish up in a refuge or hostel.

‘Oh believe me, Harry, I know that. I stay through an act of free will.'

‘Are you afraid of him?'

She considered. ‘Not often. And you mustn't get the wrong idea. This sort of thing' - she gestured to her cheek - ‘doesn't happen often. Usually he turns his anger on other people. I'm only the last resort.'

‘I don't understand.'

‘I don't expect you to. I'm not sure I do myself. But none of us are rational all the time, Harry. We don't do the sensible thing. Wouldn't life be simpler if we did? But wouldn't it also be infinitely more boring.'

‘You like that sort of thing?' he asked incredulously.

‘No, I'm not a masochist. At least I don't think I am. The truth's more complicated than that. For all his faults, Casper is the most exciting man I've ever met. He's wild and dangerous, but he can be witty and charming.' She smiled. ‘And when the black clouds lift, he swears it will never happen again. Of course logic tells me it will, but somehow I keep hoping things will change. I'm sorry to sound like something out of a women's magazine, but it's the way things are between us. He turns me on. Your friend Kim is lovely but she strikes me as a battle-hardened feminist. She would tell me that I should be ashamed of myself, that I'm a traitor to the cause of women. But I can't help it.'

‘Sorry,' he said. ‘It's none of my business.'

‘But I can tell from your face you think I'm crazy to stay with him.'

‘If you want a blunt answer, then yes, I do.'

She emptied her glass. ‘And if you want me to be honest with you, then all I can say is that each time Casper and I have reconciliation sex, it's the best I've ever known.'

Horrified, he stared at her. Her expression was defiant rather than teasing. For a few seconds neither of them spoke. The bleeping of a telephone broke the deadlock. Juliet blushed and pulled a mobile from her bag.

‘Inge? Well, it's not perfect timing, but of course I'm glad to hear from you...' Her face darkened. ‘You're not serious? After everything that's happened? Have you taken leave of your senses? Only yesterday you were saying...'

Harry could tell from her face that the phone had been put down at the other end. She swore vividly and banged the mobile down on the table.

‘What's happened?'

Juliet gazed at the heavens. ‘Perhaps I should be the last one to criticise. You're going to think that every woman prefers pain to pleasure.'

‘What did she say?'

‘Only that she and Gary Cullinan have got it together again.'

Chapter 20

‘I'd like to think that something good will come out of all of this,' Gary Cullinan said.

His tone was sober and he was holding Inge Frontzeck's hand as tenderly as if it were a fragile piece of china. The couple were sitting together on the sofa in the Caldy flat. Every now and then they gazed into each other's eyes. The air was heavy with the scent from a huge bunch of roses in a vase on the table. For Harry, there was an even greater risk of throwing up over the carpet than when he'd had a skinful on his last visit here.

‘I'm sure it will, darling,' Inge said. Her head was on his shoulder. ‘Our love has been tested. And we've found that it's stronger than ever.'

‘I don't deserve you,' Gary said. ‘And what's more, I'm quite certain Harry agrees with me.'

Harry writhed in his chair and thought:
For once in your life, you're telling no more than the truth
.

Inge turned to him and said, ‘You saw how distressed I was when you and Frances told me about your discussion with the journalist. Of course, it was a great shock. But I wouldn't want anyone to think that I only cared for Gary because of his pedigree. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was the man I loved, not the family name. What upset me was the thought that I might have lost him. When Gary called me and begged me at least to give him the chance to explain, how could I say no?'

Gary stretched his legs out in front of him. The creases in his trousers were as sharp as ever; his shoes still shone as though a valet had spent half the night polishing them. ‘I told her that I didn't expect her to take me back. How could I? I'd been living a lie. The truth is, that's what I've been doing for most of my life. Inge's a wealthy young woman, I thought she was bound to believe that my love for her was about as phoney as my identity as a well-born financial consultant.'

‘But your doubts were overcome?' Harry asked.

‘It only took a few minutes,' Inge said. ‘I needed to hear everything from his own lips. Once I'd done that, all I had to do was decide whether I trusted my own judgment in Gary's character.' A pause, accompanied by a soft smile. ‘It wasn't the most difficult decision I've ever had to take in my life, Harry, hard as you may find that to understand.'

‘I find plenty of things hard to understand,' Harry said.
Like lust for reconciliation sex with a man who has beaten you up
. He'd parted from Juliet an hour earlier, still mystified by her willingness to tolerate brutality. He knew that if he had any sense he would make an excuse and not see her again. But where women were concerned, he never had any sense. ‘Mind you, I have to admit it's a good story. I hope Reeve is paying you well.'

‘Money isn't the main consideration,' Gary Cullinan said. It was rather, Harry thought, like a politician saying there was more to life than votes. ‘We have to be realistic. The cat is out of the bag so far as my impersonation of poor Matthew Cullinan is concerned. This fellow Reeve is obviously determined to spill as much ink as he can over the story. He's even dug up some lad who went to the same school as me, someone I can barely remember. We may as well take the opportunity to put our side of the story. Stop misinformation being put about by the Press.'

He spoke as if committed to providing a public service. Perhaps one day a career in Parliament would beckon: he had the requisite chutzpah. It made Harry's flesh prickle and in any other circumstances he would have left by now, unable to bear any more of it. But there was still the chance that Gary Cullinan might help him to make sense of the puzzle surrounding the deaths of Luke and Roy.

‘So you've given them your life story?' Harry reflected that Davey Damnation might be knocked off the front page any moment now.