‘How much is she expecting to get to keep her trap shut?’
‘Thirty million,’ said Booth Watson without batting an eyelid.
‘She must be joking,’ said Miles at the top of his voice, which caused the guards to look more closely.
‘Christina is not known for her sense of humour,’ Booth Watson reminded him. ‘And don’t forget that she was married to you for ten years, so is well aware what your art collection is worth. While she may not know how much you’ve got stashed away in your Swiss bank accounts, just the mention of Switzerland to her friend Beth Warwick will be more than enough for her husband to ask the tax authorities to instigate a full inquiry. Not something you need at the moment.’
Miles was about to respond when Booth Watson raised a hand. ‘However, I’m convinced I can get her to settle for twenty,’ he paused, ‘in cash, explaining that way she would avoid capital gains tax, which has the added advantage of ensuring she can’t risk letting anyone know about any of your other activities.’
‘How much do I have in my safe-deposit boxes at the bank?’
‘Just over twenty-two million,’ said Booth Watson, who had anticipated the question.
‘So that would just about clean me out.’
‘If you were to offer her the apartment in Mayfair as well as the villa in Monte Carlo, you might end up only having to part with ten million in cash.’
‘And there’s nothing to stop me mortgaging both properties up to the hilt and leaving her with the repayments,’ said Miles. ‘Do you think you can pull that off, BW?’
‘It would present somewhat of a challenge,’ admitted Booth Watson, ‘but it’s not impossible.’
‘Then get the agreement signed as quickly as possible.’
‘We’ve agreed to meet at the bank next Friday afternoon, when I’ll be bringing along two large empty suitcases. I have a feeling that when she sees ten million in cash, it will prove very persuasive.’
‘Perhaps the suitcases could be reclaimed before they reach her bank?’ said Miles, allowing his words to hang in the air.
Booth Watson didn’t make any notes while his client explained what, with the help of ex-superintendent Lamont, he expected to happen not long after Christina had left the bank.
‘And if you pull that one off, BW,’ he said, ‘you can keep a million for yourself.’ That wasn’t the figure Booth Watson had in mind. ‘But none of this is going to make a blind bit of difference,’ continued Miles, ‘if you can’t get me out of here to enjoy the proceeds. So tell me, how did your meeting with Sir Julian Warwick go?’
‘I don’t think it could have gone much better. But I’ll leave you to be the judge of that.’
Miles sat back, folded his arms and listened.
‘I reminded Sir Julian that kidnapping is a serious crime, and also pointed out that stealing a painting worth over a million pounds might just whet the press’s appetite, especially if it were to result in his son ending up in the dock. It didn’t take him a great deal of time to decide which was more important: extending your stay in prison or saving his son from the same fate.’
A flicker of a smile appeared on Faulkner’s face.
‘However, he still wanted his pound of flesh.’
‘Without spilling any blood, I hope,’ said Faulkner.
‘A scratch at most,’ promised Booth Watson. ‘That’s assuming you are willing to plead guilty to the charge of escaping while in police custody.’
‘You must be joking.’
‘I’ve never gone in for jokes, Miles, as you well know. However, if you did plead guilty, Sir Julian would recommend to the CPS that you receive a suspended sentence.’
‘Why would they agree to that?’ asked Miles incredulously.
‘The last thing the CPS would want is for the whole unfortunate episode in Spain to be made public. The Met have enough problems of their own at the moment, and if the trial were to collapse, Sir Julian could end up having to defend his son rather than prosecuting you. No, I’m fairly confident they’ll want to keep this case out of court. So, if you were to instruct me to inform the other side that we might agree to their terms, subject to a written agreement’ — he paused — ‘written by me, I will brief Sir Julian accordingly.’
‘How long will that take?’
‘I’ve already prepared a preliminary draft, so a few days at most. Once you’ve signed the agreement, I would start work on your early release, which means you’ll have to be a model prisoner for the next few months. And, Miles, I mean model.’ Booth Watson bent down and placed the file back in his Gladstone bag. ‘What’s the first thing you’ll do once you’ve been released?’
‘Treat you to a slap-up meal at the Savoy, with a good bottle of wine, as I won’t be ending the evening back in my cell.’
‘I’ll look forward to that,’ said Booth Watson, knowing that if he could get Miles to sign the agreement, he needn’t bother to book their usual table at the Savoy — for the next fourteen years.
Chapter 12
Faulkner used the daily exercise break productively.
Tulip had fixed a meeting with the one person who could make it happen. Reggie the pimp, sentenced to five years for importuning young boys for personal gain.
‘How can I be of assistance, Mr Faulkner?’ Reggie asked as they strolled around the exercise yard together. Two heavily built prisoners in front of them, and a couple more a few paces behind, ensured that the boss wasn’t interrupted.
‘I need a male prostitute for Friday evening,’ said Faulkner. ‘He has to be all things bright and beautiful.’
‘It will be quite difficult to smuggle one into the prison, Mr Faulkner, even with your contacts.’
‘Not for me, moron. It’s for my wife.’
‘Sorry, guv, misunderstood you. So what will my boy be expected to do?’
‘My wife always goes to Tramp on Friday evening, hoping to pick up someone she can later take home. I need one of your more experienced lotharios to oblige, and make sure he gets invited back for the night.’
‘I know someone she won’t be able to resist,’ said Reggie. ‘Goes by the name of Sebastian.’
‘That’s the beautiful part,’ said Miles. ‘Now for the bright bit, which could prove more of a challenge. If he’s done the first part of his job properly, he’ll have to stay put until she falls asleep. That’s when he’ll really start to earn his money. Somewhere in my wife’s apartment will be two black Tumi suitcases. They’ll be fairly large, so they shouldn’t be difficult to locate. Once he’s got them, he’ll find a man waiting outside the apartment to pick them up. So, what’s the damage?’
‘Shall we say a couple of grand, Mr Faulkner?’
Faulkner nodded and the two men shook hands — the only way of closing a deal in prison, and heaven help anyone who even thought about breaking the unwritten contract.
‘Consider it done,’ said Reggie as the five-minute hooter blasted, the sign that the prisoners should return to their cells. ‘Dare I ask what’s in them suitcases?’ he asked, as they left the yard.
‘No,’ said Faulkner. ‘But if your boy fails to hand them over, don’t even think about going into a shower on your own.’
Booth Watson waited for his secretary to leave the room before he looked up the private number and began dialling.