‘When you say “we”...?’
‘Do it now.’
Halliwell took out his phone.
Diamond closed his eyes and shook his head like a poker player who has overcalled and lost a fortune.
Gilbert stared at his feet and wished he was anywhere else but here.
‘Well?’ Diamond’s eyes opened.
Halliwell looked up from his screen. ‘James Walter Spearman was convicted at Bristol of theft and assault in February 2001, and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. You’re right, guv.’
Being right brought no satisfaction for Diamond at this stage. ‘He’s got form, then. Anything else?’
‘That’s all.’
‘I don’t have any memory of this. I want the details.’
‘There’s only so much data they store, guv.’
‘If it got tried at Bristol it was local and must have been handled by uniform.’ He turned to DC Gilbert. ‘Run a check on our own records. The incident will have been sometime in 1997. These things take a while to come to trial. And ask John Leaman to look at the Chronicle archive. It will have made the papers for sure.’
Halliwell said, ‘Do we have time for this?’
‘Gilbert does. You and I don’t. We’re off to Charlcombe on the double.’
27
When Georgina had boasted about hobnobbing with her titled friends in Charlcombe she’d said the house was ultra-modern. Did ultra-modern houses have lodges? The substantial brick building just inside the gate, with mullioned windows, a crop of moss on the gabled roof and two ornate chimneys, couldn’t by any stretch of the imagination be called modern, let alone ultra-modern. The likely explanation was that Sir Edward Paris had bought the estate and left the original lodge untouched when he demolished the main house to build his own modern mansion.
Diamond sat in the passenger seat of Halliwell’s Ford Fiesta parked on the turf just off the drive. He’d phoned Ed Paris to say they’d arrived and were ready to speak to Jim Spearman. They’d watched two expensive cars come through the main entrance and disappear in the direction of the main house.
‘Partygoers, I suppose,’ he said, wanting to ease the tension that gripped him.
‘All right for some,’ Halliwell said.
‘You’re not jealous, are you? Knowing you, Keith, if you had an invitation you wouldn’t go.’
‘That’s beside the point, guv. If I was one of the idle rich, I’d find better ways of filling my time.’
‘It’s not all fun and games. If you’re a high-flyer, you go to parties and make sure you meet the right people. Georgina does it sometimes. She sees networking as an important part of her job.’
‘Nice work if you can get it.’
‘Networking, I said.’
‘Playtime.’
‘Networking,’ Diamond said for the third time. He was still on edge. His head turned as another car drove past. ‘I wonder if Georgina’s invited. She claims to be friends with Lady Sally.’
‘Do they know she’s a senior police officer?’
‘It must have been discussed.’
‘Sir Edward said he didn’t want police at his party.’
‘They might make an exception for assistant chief constables. Here’s someone arriving by taxi. I doubt if it’s her.’
They both looked at the back window of the London-style black cab, in case. Definitely not Georgina. They had a glimpse of fluffy blond hair.
‘Crumpet,’ Halliwell said.
‘Not so. That was a bloke and I know him,’ Diamond said — and his usual unflappable front fell down like a fence in a hurricane. ‘Newburn, the drug-dealer. What’s he doing here?’
‘Is he one of the Beau Nash lot?’
‘No, no. I can’t believe that.’
‘Must be there to pep up the party, then.’
The joke fell flat. ‘He’s a bloody menace. Should be locked up. I took a gun off him.’
Another vehicle was approaching.
‘What the hell...?’ Diamond swung round in his seat. ‘That was Paloma’s car, the Aston Martin. I’m sure of it. Did you see who was in it?’
The sleek yellow sports car had already zoomed past and up the drive.
‘Two women, I thought,’ Halliwell said, ‘one of them black.’
‘That’ll be Estella. Was Paloma at the wheel?’
‘It did look rather like her.’
‘What the fuck is she up to?’
‘Estella’s got to be at the party, guv. She’s the star guest. I expect she was told to bring a friend.’
Diamond’s hand went to his throat. ‘She didn’t tell me. I’m not happy with this, not happy at all. In fact I’m bloody alarmed. There are dangerous people here. Why in Christ didn’t she say?’
‘I don’t suppose she thought anything of it, a summer party with the Beau Nash set. There’s nothing we can do about it, is there?’
The answer was obvious in what Diamond said next. ‘Get Ingeborg on your phone. I want her here fast. And Leaman and Gilbert. Tell them to park off the road nearby and await further instructions. We also need back-up. Same instruction. Do it now.’
Halliwell did as instructed. A full-scale emergency was easier for him to handle than a playful dialogue about partying. He’d worked too long with the boss to doubt that he was dead serious now. And he knew better than to bombard him with questions. After a terse conversation with someone at Concorde House he said, ‘They’re on the way.’
‘And so is Spearman, blast him.’
The chauffeur was strolling along the drive towards them, confident, unhurried, staring ahead, deep-set eyes and high cheekbones accentuated by the midday sun. He was in a black waistcoat over a pale striped shirt that made Diamond the film buff think of the sinister gunslinger Wilson, played by Jack Palance in Shane.
Halliwell’s thoughts must have run along similar lines because he asked, ‘Will he be armed?’
Anyone who had seen the film would be unlikely to forget Palance making a performance of fitting a black glove to his shooting hand prior to drawing his gun and killing a man, one of the most spine-chilling sequences in all westerns.
‘Could be.’
‘Want me to frisk him?’
‘No. Keep it civilised, but be alert.’
They got out of the car and stood waiting. Spearman’s step didn’t quicken.
To fill the silence, Halliwell started talking. ‘He’s been around from the start. Remember sending me over to speak to him at Twerton the day the skeleton was lifted out of the loft?’
‘I do.’
‘And we had it confirmed that he worked for Lord Deganwy.’
‘Yes.’
‘He must have sussed what was going on, Sidney Harrod conning the old man and stealing his property. It would make anyone see red.’
‘You don’t need to go over this,’ Diamond muttered.
Nothing was said by Spearman until he stopped almost toe to toe with Diamond and said, ‘You wanted to see me.’
‘Can we go indoors?’
‘My house?’
‘That’s the plan.’
‘My wife and son are in there.’
‘It’ll be less public than here, with people driving past.’
Spearman appeared to decide this wasn’t where he would make his stand. Without another word he led them towards the red front door of the lodge and took out a key.
A blond boy of about five was in the hallway. Superman sweatshirt and joggers. He turned and shouted, ‘Dad’s home,’ and ran out of sight. They heard him speak to someone in another room, the shrill voice no longer understandable.
Spearman pushed open a door, stood back and tilted his head. ‘You can go in.’ From the way he spoke, it was clear he wouldn’t be joining them yet. Presumably he felt he should say something to his wife.