Gatt raised his eyebrows slightly but said nothing. Kate put down the phone. ‘Your breakfast is on the way up,’ she said to Simmel. ‘Mushrooms. And so is Mrs Seff.’
Simmel looked up sharply. ‘Why is she coming here?’
Kate shrugged. ‘To meet her husband, I gather. After all, she hasn’t seen him since he left for Scotland.’
Dick forgot that Arlen was there for a moment. ‘Blast the woman! She could have met him for lunch or something. We don’t want the place cluttered up with wives at a time like this. Couldn’t you have explained that?’
Every now and then Kate’s naturally defiant nature, never far below the surface, showed itself positively; especially when Dick Simmel tried to boss her about. Being a woman, she found it hard to distinguish between the occasions when he was purely her boy-friend — at which time he couldn’t be allowed to throw his weight about — and when he was simply a member of the staff and senior to her, in which event he was entitled to give her orders. Finally she said: ‘I tried to explain. Have you ever tried to explain anything to Mrs Seff?’
‘All right; never mind,’ said Dick. ‘I don’t expect she’ll stay long. How are they getting on in there?’ Meaning the arrangements for the meeting in Hargreaves’ office.
‘Nearly ready,’ said Kate. ‘But you’d better check everything yourself.’
‘Okay. I’ll have a look. Give me a shout when my breakfast comes up, and have it sent to my room, will you? I hardly got to bed last night.’
‘Will do.’
Gatt watched Simmel disappear into the inner office. Then he said: ‘Kate, I’m going to ask you a favour.’
She looked up, surprised. He had never used her first name before. ‘Yes, Mr Gatt?’ she said. She thought she knew what was coming though.
‘When Mrs Seff gets here, I want you to leave her alone with me for a few minutes.’
‘But… do you think that’s wise?’
‘Under the circumstances, I think it not only wise but absolutely imperative.’
‘The trouble is, it may not be possible. There’ll be people arriving for the conference. Why don’t you take her into Mr Simmel’s office?’
‘Because it will look too obvious. It’s got to be here. It’s the only place where we would logically meet.’
‘Can I ask you something: will this… talk… you’re going to have with Mrs Seff have a bearing on the conference, or is it a purely personal matter?’
‘That’s a very relevant question. And I can answer it by saying that it is a personal matter which has a direct bearing on the purposes of this meeting.’
Kate said: ‘Then of course I must help you. But she’d better get here soon. The Director is due any moment.’
‘Why don’t you go downstairs and stall him off?’ He saw her consternation at such an idea. ‘This is important, Kate! Do you think I’d make irresponsible suggestions at a time like this?’ Evidently he had already forgotten his somewhat irresponsible remarks about Jack and Angela Seff.
Kate thought for a moment, rubbing her nose with the tip of her finger. ‘All right,’ she said. ‘I’ll try. It’ll probably lose me my job though!’ She saw the lift indicator light come on, and through the glass caught sight of the unmistakable contours of Angela Seff. ‘Here she is now.’ She pressed the key of the intercom, and waited for Simmel to answer from the Director’s office.
‘Yes, Kate?’
‘Can you stay where you are for five minutes, Dick?’ she said. ‘Mrs Seff wants to talk to… me… confidentially. We won’t be long.’
There was a sound as if Simmel started to curse, then remembered he could be overheard. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘But be as quick as you can, will you? Give me a buzz when you’re ready.’
‘I will. Thanks.’ She returned the switch to the ‘off’ position. Gatt nodded his approval, and Kate got up as Angela entered the room.
‘Good morning, Mrs Seff,’ she said. ‘Will you please make yourself comfortable? I have to go downstairs; but I won’t be long. I expect Mr Seff will he here soon.’
‘Sure, I’ll wait,’ said Angela in her pleasant, Toronto-brand Canadian. ‘Don’t worry about me — you’ve got enough problems already. I just want a few words with Jack; then I’ll go away like a lamb. Meanwhile, I’ll talk to Arlen.’ She took one of the comfortable chairs next to Gatt, while Kate bustled rather self-consciously out of the room.
‘I know it’s unfair,’ said Gatt, ‘but you’re getting the same sort of reputation for being difficult as I am. Shooting your way in here seconds before the meeting of the Lord High Executioner.’
‘I just had to, Arlen,’ she said. ‘For Jack’s sake. You’ve heard about this business of the cans?’
‘Only what Simmel told me on the phone.’
Angela was suddenly very tense. ‘Bui there is no reason to suppose that this has… anything to do with the Marsdowne set-up?’
‘You seem to think it might. Otherwise you wouldn’t be so worried about Jack.’ He looked at her penetratingly. ‘You’re thinking of what happened at Project 3.’
‘Surely, that was far too long ago to have anything to do with this?’ She added doubtfully: ‘It could equally well have been Windscale. Well, couldn’t it?’
Gatt smiled. ‘In other words, you’d rather pin it on the Atomic Energy Authority than us?’ He shook his head. ‘They found out everything there was to know about Windscale.’
‘And didn’t you and the rest of the team get all the dope on Marsdowne?’
‘I certainly hope so — my reputation depends on it.’
‘Well then, why?’
‘Why call this conference? Well, for a start I’ve no doubt that the A.E.A. have done exactly the same thing. Also it’s one of our principal functions to keep an eye on public safety.’
She persisted with the point. ‘But you don’t think all this has anything to do with the accident?’
He appeared to be looking over her left shoulder — a trick of his when he was thinking. Eventually he said: ‘There were certain things that never came to light.’
Angela flushed slightly, but kept herself under control. ‘You mean things that Jack might have concealed?’
‘Isn’t that what you yourself suspect?’
‘You’ve never been able to forget that he had a few drinks that night, have you?’
‘No. And nor have you.’
She neither denied nor admitted it. After a while she said: ‘How do you think Jack is going to take this?’
‘That’s precisely what I want to talk to you about,’ said Gatt. ‘As a matter of fact, I persuaded Kate Garnet to leave the office for five minutes so that I could talk to you.’
‘Are you on Jack’s side?’
‘I’m not on anybody’s side. There’s too much at stake for that. I’m certainly not against him, though I confess that I feel pretty bitter, under the circumstances, that he hasn’t been able to make you happy.’
‘It’s not his fault.’
‘You’re very generous. Just how generous very few people know! But the point is, if there was any negligence on his part, I think he should come clean.’
She stared straight ahead unseeingly. ‘That’s exactly what I was going to say to him. But I doubt if he will.’
‘Has he been drinking again?’
‘Yes,’ she said, ‘he’s been drinking. And I wish to God I could see why.’
‘Do people have to have a reason?’
She said: ‘You would have a better reason than anybody on earth — and yet you don’t drink. But I still think that people must have some sort of motive for destroying themselves.’
Gatt offered her a cigarette, lit one himself. ‘I know why Jack drinks. I know perfectly well. And so do you. He’s always been afraid he can’t hold you. He thinks that you’re the most beautiful woman in the world — which you are — and the thought terrifies him.’