Next in Line (William Warwick, #5)(18)
A further nod. Lamont knew when not to interrupt his primary source of income.
‘You have had dealings with the lady in the past,’ continued Booth Watson, ‘so you’ll be well aware she can’t be trusted. It won’t come as a surprise that I need someone to keep a close eye on her night and day.’
‘Is there anything in particular I should be looking out for?’
‘I need to know who she’s in regular contact with, especially how often she sees Mrs Beth Warwick. Even more important, if she’s ever in touch with that woman’s husband.’
An expression crossed Lamont’s face which suggested that, for him, DCI Warwick fell into the category of unfinished business. BW was well aware that Warwick had been responsible for Lamont having to leave the force only months before he would have qualified for a full pension. Nothing on the record of course, but no one was in any doubt why he’d had to resign and, perhaps more importantly, who was responsible for his sudden departure.
‘Finally,’ said Booth Watson, ‘I know you have worked for Mrs Faulkner in the past. But from now on you’ll only be working for me. If I were to discover that you’re moonlighting, two things will happen. Firstly, your income will dry up that same day.’
And secondly, Lamont wanted to ask, but didn’t need to.
‘And secondly, I would have to inform my client of your treachery.’ Booth Watson allowed the underlying threat to hang in the air before adding, ‘Do I make myself clear?’
‘Crystal.’
Booth Watson nodded, before opening the top drawer of his desk and withdrawing a thick brown envelope. He pushed it slowly across the table to indicate the meeting was over.
‘And don’t even think about fiddling your expenses,’ were Booth Watson’s parting words, as Lamont stood and turned to leave. ‘Because if you do, you’ll end up with only your meagre pension to survive on. And yes, I do know about your wife’s spending habits.’
The ex-superintendent was glad he had his back to Booth Watson so his paymaster couldn’t see the expression on his face.
CHAPTER 8
ALTHOUGH WILLIAM COULDN’T WAIT TO get stuck into the Milner inquiry, the lengthy delay allowed him to get to know Jo Junior better while observing, a little apprehensively to begin with, how she was settling in with the rest of the family. He needn’t have worried, because Artemisia, as Beth had predicted, quickly took her new little sister under her wing, even if Peter pretended to ignore Jojo, although he was always the first to stand up for her whenever she got into any trouble. The duo quickly became a trio, while anyone who saw them together assumed they were a family. As for the ‘two indulgent grandfathers’, in Beth’s words, they were both infatuated with the new arrival, while the grandmothers doted on her.
William accepted that the transition was complete after a visiting colleague from the gallery told Beth, ‘Jojo looks just like you.’
‘I’m flattered,’ Beth replied, recalling how beautiful Ross’s wife Josephine had been.
Ross visited his daughter as often as he could, but as he’d had to go on an extensive training course before he could begin work as Princess Diana’s personal protection officer, the visits were less frequent than he would have liked. But he did manage to escape for a few days over Christmas, and arrived at the house on Christmas morning loaded down with presents for the only other woman in his life.
Jojo gave her father a huge hug, before he handed three large boxes to three excited children, who didn’t wait to ask if they could open them.
‘Why haven’t I seen you for such a long time, Papa?’ asked Jojo as she tore the wrapping off her gift.
‘Shall I tell her?’ said Ross, turning to William.
‘Yes, of course,’ said Beth before William could reply. ‘But you’d better have a good excuse, because young ladies don’t like being stood up without an explanation.’
‘I’ve been on an intensive close protection course,’ said Ross as he sat cross-legged on the floor next to his daughter. ‘Top secret,’ he whispered.
‘Details, details!’ demanded Artemisia, imitating her grandfather.
‘For the past six weeks, I’ve been learning how to drive backwards in the rain and perform a J-turn before taking off again at high speed.’
‘What’s a J-turn?’ Peter asked as he took a model police car out of its box, wound it up and set it off, lights flashing, sirens blaring.
‘You have to be able to turn a half circle while going backwards,’ said Ross, ‘so you’re facing in exactly the opposite direction, and can move off quickly.’
‘Is that where Princess Diana lives?’ asked Jojo, staring at a picture of Buckingham Palace on her Lego box.
‘Of course it isn’t,’ said Artemisia as Jojo tipped the contents out onto the floor. ‘My friend lives at Kensington Palace with the Prince of Wales, and Ross, who takes care of her.’
‘Do you have a gun?’ asked Peter, pointing a forefinger at Ross.
‘Yes, but my predecessor didn’t once have to draw his weapon during the time he worked for the Princess.’
‘And let’s hope you don’t have to,’ said Beth.
‘What does predecessor mean?’ asked Artemisia as she fixed a large Lego cornerstone in place.