The Trinity Six - Charles Cumming [143]
‘You want me to do you a favour?’
‘I know it’s a lot to ask.’
‘You haven’t even asked it yet.’
He was grateful that he had found her in a reasonable mood. ‘It’s about your mum’s files. Are you sure you gave me everything? The other day you said there might be other boxes in the basement.’
‘There are,’ she replied plainly. It sounded as though she was being distracted by something in the room from which she was talking.
‘Are you at the flat now?’
‘No. An audition.’
‘Could you go down there as soon as it’s finished? Would you be able to do that?’
‘Probably.’ Again, Holly sounded distracted. Gaddis experienced a strange desire for her to succeed at the audition, to be given a part that she could sink her teeth into, something that would take her away from him. She didn’t deserve to have been dragged into all this. He wanted her to be safe and yet, at the same time, he needed her to save Min. ‘Why don’t you come over and we can both do it?’ she said.
It was as though she was testing him. ‘I can’t get away.’ Gaddis looked out at the Cromwell Road and knew that he was no more than ten minutes by cab from Tite Street. But if he went there, it would surely draw FSB surveillance towards the tape. ‘I’m right in the middle of this MI6 thing. The book.’
‘About Bob?’
‘About Bob, yes.’ The lies were paper-thin. ‘If you could just go down there and have one more look, particularly for any tapes or cassettes that your mum might have mislaid.’
‘Tapes or cassettes?’
A woman in a raincoat appeared outside the phone box, waiting to make a call. Gaddis opened the door ajar and said: ‘I’m going to be a long time, I’m sorry,’ in a low voice. Holly was saying: ‘Sam?’
‘Yes?’
‘Are you all right? I’m worried about you.’
His body was bound in sweat. He had realized, even as he was talking, that he would never be able to publish the Crane biography, that there was now no hope of Platov’s defection becoming public knowledge. The president would remain in power and there would be dozens more Charlotte Bergs, dozens more Katarina Tikhonovs, who would lose their lives simply to prop him up in power. ‘I’m fine,’ he said. ‘There’s just a deadline on the manuscript. I can’t get away. I can’t come to meet you.’
‘What if I find the tape?’
‘Then you must bring it to me.’
‘Where? In Shepherd’s Bush?’
‘No.’ That wasn’t safe. Holly would be observed and the tape stolen. He had to think of an alternative location. UCL was undoubtedly being watched. ‘Take it to the Donmar Warehouse and leave it with Piers.’
‘With Piers? Why?’
How could he explain that one? It made no sense. Gaddis cobbled together another shabby lie.
‘I’m working around the corner in a UCL building.’
‘Then why don’t I just bring it to you there?’
‘Security’s a pain in the arse. They’ll either lose it or tell you they’ve never heard of me.’ He was amazed by the speed of his lies. ‘The Donmar is less than a quarter of a mile away. I go there for coffee all the time. You can leave it at the ticket desk. Just call me at this number if you think you’ve found anything.’
He gave the landline number of Tanya’s house, wondering if even that was a safe means of communicating with her.
‘What number is that?’
‘UCL.’
Gaddis was sick of deceiving her, sick of the effort of accumulating excuses. He tried to change the subject.
‘What’s the audition for?’
‘A play.’
But he did not listen to the answer. Instead, focused only on the tape, he said, ‘Will you have a chance to look for it today?’ and finally Holly’s patience ran out.
‘Sam, I’ve told you: I’ll look for the fucking tape. But it might help your cause a bit if you stopped acting like a paranoid schizophrenic and explained to me what the fuck is going on. Try asking a girl out for dinner. Try asking how I’ve been. It’s not difficult. Last time I checked, we were having a pretty good time together.