But Tim looked surprised again. ‘I didn’t tell her anything. I didn’t have anything to tell.’ He seemed to take Liz’s expression for scepticism, for he started talking very fast, as if desperate to persuade her. ‘Look, I know where Peggy works – the building, its name, and what goes on there. I know you work there too. But I don’t know anything about what she actually does there. Peggy never talks about the details of her work. Never. Oh, once in a while she might say she’s had a bad day, and sometimes she might say it’s been a good day. But she never tells me why.’ He looked agitated. ‘You have to believe me. Even if I’d wanted to pass on important information to Marina, I couldn’t have, because I didn’t know any.’
And Liz could tell that what he was saying was true. Forget about Tim and his crackpot views; the fact was, the only information he could have that would be of any value to an enemy would have to come from Peggy. And Peggy was a real professional, which meant Tim didn’t know anything of substance at all. Liz felt a deep sense of relief. But she still needed to know who this Marina was, and what she was really up to.
‘I’ve got that,’ she said. ‘And thanks for explaining. But there’s one thing I still want to ask you about. This phone the woman gave you – if you couldn’t tell her what she wanted to know, why did she give it to you?’
‘I suppose she was hoping I might change my mind. When I’d told her I didn’t know anything about Peggy’s work, she was very disappointed. I didn’t hear from her for a while. But I also had the feeling she didn’t entirely believe me. Anyway, she turned up one day, in the street outside. She was waiting when I came out of the house, in a car. She called me over and I got in to talk to her. She told me even my second email account wasn’t safe any longer, and that she wanted to keep in touch about internet snooping and civil liberties – all the stuff we’d talked about before. But in future, she said, we’d have to do it by phone. She said a friend of hers did contract work for Apple and had a spare iPhone going. Would I like it? I wanted to say, “Do I like Christmas?” I mean, who would turn down a free iPhone?’
Yes, thought Liz, and who would think it rained silver dollars in Peru? There was something so naïve about Tim that she’d have laughed had it not been so serious. This Marina woman would have realised early on that he was so gormless she could persuade him of anything. But why give him a phone? It seemed peculiar – unless there was something rum about the device itself.
‘Did she give you an email address? How are you supposed to contact her?’
‘She’s put a special app on the phone. She said it was super-secure – the snoopers couldn’t get in. I have to use that. She tested it and it worked. It wipes off messages when you’ve read them.’
‘Wow. That sounds clever. Can I have a look at it?’
He looked flustered. ‘Why? It’s just a phone. Expensive, but anyone could go out and buy one.’
‘I’d like to see it. Please.’
She waited. After a moment, he shrugged. ‘Okay.’ He got up and went into his study, and came back with it. ‘Here you go. One iPhone.’
Liz held it in her hand and thought for a moment. There was something wrong here, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. ‘How were things left with Marina?’
‘Left? They weren’t really. I hadn’t heard from her for a few weeks, and suddenly there she was in the street, in a car. I don’t know how she had my address. Anyway, there she was and she offered me the phone and said if I ever wanted to talk in future, I should use the app to contact her.’
‘Did she give you her number?’
‘No. I don’t need a number. I’m just supposed to use the app – but I never have, except when she tested it in the car.’
‘I see.’ Liz wanted to ask if it hadn’t occurred to him that the whole thing was very strange and perhaps he should have told Peggy about it, but she didn’t think it would help just then. There would be opportunity later to quiz Tim in more detail. So she said calmly, ‘I want to take this phone away. I need to get some people to look at it.’ When she saw him starting to protest, she added, ‘I’d be really grateful if you’d cooperate with me on this. You’ve been very helpful today, and I’d appreciate it if you’d help with this one further step. In the meantime, if you hear at all from this woman via email – or in any other way – I’d like you to contact me right away.’
He considered this, and finally nodded. ‘All right. But it’s not very likely to happen, you know. I felt Marina pretty much gave up on my knowing anything she wanted. That’s why her giving me the phone was such a surprise. I didn’t think I’d hear from her again.’
41
In the morning Jasminder woke early. Bright sunlight was finding its way through the slats of the Venetian blinds at the windows of her room. To her disappointment, she realised she was alone in the bed; Laurenz must have stayed in the room next door. She told herself he hadn’t wanted to disturb her after her long flight, though part of her also felt a little resentful that she had come a long way in order to sleep alone.
She lay in bed dozily for a few minutes, wondering what the day would bring. She hoped it would be more fun than the evening before, and that she and Laurenz could get away from his boorish colleagues. She got up, stretched for a moment, then walked to the connecting door. It was only seven o’clock, but Laurenz was an early riser, and she was sure he wouldn’t mind her coming in. She tapped lightly on the door with her knuckles, but there was no reply. Poor thing must be tired; he’d been working so hard for the last few days, she thought, so quietly turned the door knob to peep into his room.
There was no one there. The bed was made, and there were no clothes on the chair; he must have got up extra early, and let her sleep on. She decided to get dressed and go and look for him; perhaps he was having breakfast, or sitting out by the pool. Then she saw the note on his dresser.
J
Have emergency meeting in Hamilton. Back after lunch. Relax and enjoy yourself. Everyone else will be around.
Lx
So much for spending most of the day together. The thought of sitting around in this shabby bungalow with these awful people, waiting for Laurenz to come back, was suddenly too much. She was tired of being second-best to his wretched bank.
She showered and dressed in some light cotton trousers and a blouse, then went out to the front of the house. There was no one in the kitchen, and the dining room was empty but breakfast had been laid out on a side table – a variety of breads, heavy-looking and dark, slices of cheese and chafing dishes with scrambled eggs, sausages and bacon. She poured herself a cup of coffee from a tall urn, and made do with a piece of chewy pumpernickel, wishing there were some fruit or yoghurt. As she finished she heard the front door open, and when she went out into the hall saw Kozlov in an armchair in the sitting room. He was wearing a jacket and open-necked shirt, with pressed dark trousers. It did not look like the costume of a man intent on relaxing.
In the far corner she saw the African man from the night before, staring intently at an open laptop. Near him a large television was on, but there was no sound and it was showing a street scene with people walking along the pavement in front of a row of shops. The camera didn’t move – it must have been some sort of CCTV, perhaps a security camera, she thought, set up to monitor the same place throughout the day. Jasminder couldn’t see it very well, but the scene did not look like Bermuda and it struck her as vaguely familiar.
As she went into the room, the African turned off his computer and the TV screen went blank. He got up and walked out without a greeting or even a glance in her direction. But Kozlov stayed put and boomed, ‘Good morning. I see you have had a good English lie-in.’