Dead Of Winter (Willis/Carter #1)(62)

‘British.’ As he said it he looked across at her and smiled politely.

‘How long have you been in the UK?’

‘This trip? About a month. We’ve been overseeing a new project in Poland.’

‘This must seem almost tropical then compared to Poland?’ Carter laughed.

‘About the same actually.’

‘You managed to keep your tan?’ Justin smiled, didn’t elaborate. Carter was searching Justin’s face. Ebony knew what he was thinking. Justin’s perfectly even tan should have disappeared by now after a month in the UK winter and Poland before that. It had to be the product of a sunbed or a bottle. ‘Where were you in Poland? I went there once on a stag do. Luckily it was springtime. Although we never got out in daylight.’

‘Our new flagship hospital is just outside Krakow.’

‘You know what . . . I’d love to see it . . . wouldn’t you, Ebb?’

‘Love to. I’ve never been outside England.’

Carter and de Lange looked at her. ‘Really?’ said Carter. She nodded.

‘Can you show us on your laptop?’

Justin went round to sit at his desk, opened his laptop to face him and tapped some keys.

‘Sorry . . . seems to be on a “go-slow”.’

‘Ebb will look at it . . . won’t you, Ebb?’

Ebony stepped forwards. ‘Of course . . .’

‘No, that’s okay. Can’t let anyone else onto it. You know how it is: patients’ records and stuff.’

‘Oh yes, of course. Understandable,’ Carter said. Justin’s phone buzzed for a message alert. He picked it up and read it, turned and looked out of the window, down into the car park at the front. ‘Here’s Nikki now. She’ll be with us in a minute.’ Ebony moved closer to the blind and counted the same cars in the car park as when they’d come in. The twelve hadn’t changed.

‘You live near here, Mr de Lange?’ she asked.

‘Please, call me Justin. Yes, we live here in an apartment in the hospital grounds. In the relatives’ accommodation on the other side of the car park. We prefer it to staying in a hotel and we both work here in the hospital so it makes sense.’

‘Ah Nikki . . .’ The door opened and Nikki de Lange came in. She was also in casual mode, wearing a black polo-neck and leather trousers, no makeup and her hair scraped up in a ponytail. Ebony resisted the urge to see if Carter was sweating.

‘How nice to see you again, Sergeant, Constable?’ She smiled at Carter and Ebony in turn and looked at Justin: ‘If you’re ordering coffee I’ll have one please.’ She threw the jacket she was carrying onto the back of the sofa and sat down, crossing her legs.

Justin buzzed down for coffee.

‘Is it difficult for you working together?’ Carter looked at Justin.

‘No, not at all. We do different jobs, we just both work for James, that’s all,’ he answered. His face was difficult to read: his expression hardly changed. He gave a flick of the head as his long fringe fell into his eyes again. He was still fiddling with the laptop. The atmosphere in the room had changed since Nikki’s arrival.

‘He must be a very special bloke?’

‘Yes he is, very special.’ Justin shut the laptop irritably. ‘I give up.’

‘He’s actually a genius, isn’t he – a modern-day Louis Pasteur? If you Google him you get loads of pages: must be weird to be that famous. He’s written books, papers, and theses about medical procedures.’

‘He’s very special,’ Justin answered. Trying his best to look relaxed, crossing his arms across his chest. He hadn’t gone back to his perch at the end of the desk. He looked like a man with a short fuse, thought Ebony. He was pent up. He was trying hard to show just one side of his character. He was getting irritated by Carter’s style.

‘Still working?’ Ebony was beginning to understand what Carter was about. She could never do it. He was making himself out to be slow, a little thick but well-meaning. He was lulling them into thinking they could let their guard down. ‘Is he ever going to retire do you think? He obviously doesn’t need the money any more? I’ve looked into his empire a little. It’s pretty huge.’

Nikki thanked Ivy who brought in a tray of coffee and set it down on the table in front of her. ‘No, you’re right. It’s not about the money. It’s his contribution to the world, his legacy. He’s always striving for perfection, always looking to find the answers to medical conditions.’

‘He’s definitely carved his name in history.’

‘Yes, thank you, we are very proud to be working for him.’ She looked towards Justin. He nodded. It was a nod that said ‘enough is enough’.

Carter turned to Justin: ‘And you are in charge of just about everything else, according to our researcher? You’re the nuts and bolts of this empire.’

Justin de Lange smiled. ‘I wouldn’t say that. I’m the spare parts man. I make sure there’s enough paper in the toilets.’ Nicola gave a forced, shrill laugh. ‘Here . . .’ He handed a smart-looking dossier over to Carter. ‘I have prepared the list of companies that you requested.’

‘Thanks . . . But tell me . . . you preferred the world of finance to medicine? I understand that you trained as an anaesthetist before you became an accountant? That’s a lot of years of study to then change career? What happened?’