“Oh no, sir. I’m in sales.” He spoke with a public-school accent.
“How long have you worked for the company?”
“Six months, sir. My father is one of their top consultants, though. He’s been with them for eighteen years.”
De Jersey took his card and glanced at the name: MALCOLM GRIDLEY, JUNIOR SALES EXECUTIVE. “Thank you, Mr. Gridley. I’ll know who to contact when I’ve made up my mind.”
De Jersey left with an armful of brochures and Malcolm Gridley’s cell phone number. He also carried the firm’s London, Birmingham, and factory addresses.
Though Gridley had twice asked his name, de Jersey had successfully distracted him with more questions and requests for leaflets. When de Jersey glanced back, the young man was being grilled by one of the older salesmen.
De Jersey spent a few more hours in the hall, waiting until he saw his salesman heading out for lunch. He watched as Gridley ordered a cheeseburger and chips from a stall. Just as de Jersey was about to join him, Gridley, unaware that he was being followed, headed for a bar on the far side of the hall. De Jersey watched him order a pint. After a moment he walked over. Sitting at the bar, Gridley was smoking. “On your lunch break?” he said.
“Yes,” Gridley said, surprised.
“Can I buy you another drink?”
“No, thanks. I’ve got to get back. Erm, I didn’t get your name before, and it’s kind of company policy and-”
“I’ve gone over all the data you gave me, and I wanted to ask you if it would be possible to arrange a private showing of the D’Ancona installation. It’s state of the art, isn’t it?” De Jersey reached into his pocket and withdrew his wallet. “Here’s my card.”
“Thank you,” said Gridley. “Unfortunately, I can’t give you details of the D’Ancona facility; no one is allowed to view our clients’ locations after the contract has been completed and the security measures installed. In fact, D’Ancona hired its own contractors to install the equipment.”
De Jersey signaled to the barman.
Gridley swore under his breath. “Oh, Christ!”
A portly man in a navy pin-striped suit was striding toward them. He sat down next to Gridley. De Jersey moved off. The man spoke sternly to Gridley, pointed at the half-drunk beer. Then Gridley got up, his face tight with anger. “It was one drink, for God’s sake!” he said, walking away.
“One too many, Malcolm. I warned you-Malcolm?”
The portly man took off after Gridley. De Jersey earmarked young Gridley as possibly useful to him.
Driscoll sat in an Italian restaurant waiting for de Jersey. After half an hour, he had eaten one roll and was half inclined to take the other when de Jersey walked in. They ordered their food with a bottle of house wine. “How are we doing?” de Jersey asked.
“There are these agencies that represent look-alikes, and I rang round until I found her. They said she was booked up, so I gave a lot of bull about needing to speak to her about a personal appearance. Anyway, I got her home address and phone number. She lives in Esher.”
“Family?”
“She’s married, husband’s retired. No children. She makes a fortune doing special appearances. It’s freaky. She’s the Queen’s absolute double.”
“Have you checked out her home?”
“Not yet.”
Their minestrone arrived, and they ate in silence.
“I had a few words with Jimmy,” de Jersey said.
“How was he?”
“On good form. He assured me he wasn’t using anymore. The vehicles look in great shape. We need to find a London base soon so he can do the final adjustments.”
Driscoll nodded. “Is he in or out?”
“In.”
“I see. Well, I expected he would be.”
“What about you? Are you up for it?”
Driscoll licked his lips. “Course I am. I’m in. God help me.”
“I couldn’t go without you. It’ll be the three of us again, right?”
“We must be out of our bloody minds.”
“I’m working on the safe house location. Dulay is flying in, and so is a D’Ancona representative. We have to follow him to wherever they have the goods. Then I’ve got to work out how to get past the security system. It’s very high tech, and they installed it themselves.”
“How do you know?”
“Trust me. I’ve checked out the company that did the security. It sounds like a bloody big walk-in vault with lasers and panic buttons like you wouldn’t believe.”
Driscoll dribbled soup down his chin.
“But these vault doors are going to be open for our Queen,” de Jersey assured him.
“You’ll be keeping your eye on Wilcox, then?” Driscoll asked. “Maybe he is clean, but he was shoving a lot of snow up his nose not too long ago. He’s got to be monitored. He’s not the same, you know.”
“None of us are, Tony. We’re all a lot older now. That’s why I am taking it slowly. We can’t afford any mistakes, and if it’s too risky we pull out, simple as that. But we’ll keep an eye on him.”
Driscoll changed the subject. “What about the Hewitt woman?”
“She’s sorted. We may have to bung her a few thousand, but not until we’ve done the job.”
Driscoll wiped his mouth. It made him uneasy that de Jersey was keeping the plans so close to his chest. It was not the way they had worked in the past. “I need to know our progress, Eddy.”
“You will, as soon as I’ve moved on to the next stage.” De Jersey sounded annoyed. “You’ve got to trust me, Tony, like in the past. Now, give me the photographs of our lady and the contact address. I’ll get Wilcox to check it out.”
Driscoll passed him a manila envelope.
“Maybe in three weeks’ time I’ll be ready for preliminary talks. You have your instructions until then.” He handed him an envelope.
Driscoll put it into his inside pocket.
De Jersey had never used women in the past, but a lady-in-waiting would surely accompany the Queen to the safe house. He sighed. She would have to be right in on the action, perhaps even armed.
Tomorrow would be another busy day. He was to meet Dulay, and they would identify the D’Ancona representative and follow him to the safe house. If all went well.
16
Dulay was wearing a navy cashmere coat and an Armani suit. He held a small carry-on bag and a briefcase. De Jersey had waited for him at the arrivals barrier in Terminal Four. They had an hour before the flight from Antwerp was due. Dulay agreed to identify the man, though he declined to follow him. He and de Jersey agreed to meet later that day at Dulay’s hotel, the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane.
When the Antwerp flight landed, de Jersey was waiting in the car park. Dulay called him on his cell phone as soon as he had picked out the target. De Jersey drove into position outside Arrivals. Dulay called again to say the flight had coincided with two others. The Antwerp passengers had gone through customs and were coming onto the concourse, but now the departure lanes were full of trolleys and passengers, making it difficult to spot the D’Ancona representative. Then Dulay suddenly said, “I’ve got him. He’s carrying a brown leather briefcase, raincoat, and yes! A tall blond man is right at his heels. That’s his guard. I can just see the chain on the guy’s briefcase-it’s handcuffed to him.”
“Describe him,” de Jersey snapped.
Dulay spoke rapidly. “He’s moving fast, heading for the middle exit. He’s balding, wearing rimless glasses, a navy suit, white shirt, and tie, about five ten, slim build, and he’s on a cell phone. He’s heading out now!”
De Jersey couldn’t see the man. A black Range Rover passed him with a uniformed driver at the wheel. Then de Jersey spotted the D’Ancona man. He and his bodyguard came out together. The driver was quickly out of the Range Rover and opened the passenger and rear doors. Both men got into the vehicle and closed the doors. They moved off quickly. De Jersey followed, right on their tail.