still smiling when they turned into Highfield Court, and Holley, leaving his engine running, went round and opened the door for her.
“What a gentleman,” she said.
“It’s an older-guy thing,” he told her. “I’ll leave you till tomorrow. You’ll want to spend some quality time with your granddad. I’ll pick you up for Thursday around noon.”
As he moved away, she said, “Aren’t you forgetting something?” He turned, and she stepped in close, reached up and kissed him on the mouth, held the moment, then smiled. “Not bad. Not bad at all for a poor old boy.” She turned and went in.
Sadie was hovering in the hall. “Did you have a good evening?”
“It was very interesting.”
“I saw you kissing him. You haven’t been doing anything silly, have you?”
“Well, I offered, but he turned me down.” Sara laughed. “Would you like to know why? Because he loves me too much.” She shook her head and spoke as if to herself. “I’m really going to have to do something about you, Daniel.”
“You don’t think it would be more sensible to let him go?” Sadie asked.
“What a waste of a good man that would be. They’re in short supply, or hadn’t you noticed?”
Sadie was annoyed. “Why has everything got to be such a joke to you?”
“Because sometimes life is a joke, like Afghanistan was a joke. If I hadn’t been able to see that, two tours in that hellhole would have driven me insane.” The wildness, the pain that erupted on Sara’s face was frightening.
Sadie was immediately contrite. “I’m sorry, darling.”
“Aren’t we all. When’s Granddad due?”
“Sometime after midnight. They’ll send him home with achauffeur, they always do. I’m going to wait up for him. What about you?”
“I’d better go to bed. New York was a long time ago, and Tucson is just a distant memory.”
“You must be exhausted. A holiday is what you need.”
“No chance. After all, I’ve only just started with this new outfit. I’ve got to find my way. I’ve got tomorrow off anyway.” Sara was yawning now. “Night bless, Sadie, I’m going to get my head down.”
H olley was enjoying a glass of the Dom Perignon as a nightcap when Roper called him on his Codex. “Harry’s been in touch. I understand you took Sara down to the Dark Man tonight and there was an incident.”
“An accident of sorts. I was driving the Alfa, and when we were leaving I suddenly lost all braking power. We could have gone in the river, but fortunately a bollard got in the way.”
“Sara’s all right, is she?”
“We both are. Harry’s sorting it. Loaned me a Merc.”
“Well, he’s had the night crew down from that garage he owns, and it wasn’t any accident. A main tube feeding the hydraulic system was deliberately severed. As it’s steel mesh–covered, it would have needed a special cutter to do it, used by someone who knew his business.”
“That doesn’t fit the profile of some ordinary vandal,” Holley said.
“Daniel, Harry Salter is still revered in certain circles, because he was once one of the most powerful guvnors in the Londonunderworld. Vandals and hoodlums and the like would never try to pull something at his own pub. It would be like committing suicide.”
“You’re saying we were targeted?”
“That’s about the size of it.”
“Sara and I were there for about an hour and a half. It wasn’t particularly busy, well-behaved people having a night out, enjoying themselves. Did any of Harry’s folk have anything to report?”
“Come to think of it, Dora did mention something unusual.”
“Such as?”
“Some French guy asked for a Pernod.”
“And did she give him one?”
“Apparently, she had a bottle on the bar shelf that had been standing there forever and never opened, and he did it for her. She said he was very charming, gray-haired, with
“What a gentleman,” she said.
“It’s an older-guy thing,” he told her. “I’ll leave you till tomorrow. You’ll want to spend some quality time with your granddad. I’ll pick you up for Thursday around noon.”
As he moved away, she said, “Aren’t you forgetting something?” He turned, and she stepped in close, reached up and kissed him on the mouth, held the moment, then smiled. “Not bad. Not bad at all for a poor old boy.” She turned and went in.
Sadie was hovering in the hall. “Did you have a good evening?”
“It was very interesting.”
“I saw you kissing him. You haven’t been doing anything silly, have you?”
“Well, I offered, but he turned me down.” Sara laughed. “Would you like to know why? Because he loves me too much.” She shook her head and spoke as if to herself. “I’m really going to have to do something about you, Daniel.”
“You don’t think it would be more sensible to let him go?” Sadie asked.
“What a waste of a good man that would be. They’re in short supply, or hadn’t you noticed?”
Sadie was annoyed. “Why has everything got to be such a joke to you?”
“Because sometimes life is a joke, like Afghanistan was a joke. If I hadn’t been able to see that, two tours in that hellhole would have driven me insane.” The wildness, the pain that erupted on Sara’s face was frightening.
Sadie was immediately contrite. “I’m sorry, darling.”
“Aren’t we all. When’s Granddad due?”
“Sometime after midnight. They’ll send him home with achauffeur, they always do. I’m going to wait up for him. What about you?”
“I’d better go to bed. New York was a long time ago, and Tucson is just a distant memory.”
“You must be exhausted. A holiday is what you need.”
“No chance. After all, I’ve only just started with this new outfit. I’ve got to find my way. I’ve got tomorrow off anyway.” Sara was yawning now. “Night bless, Sadie, I’m going to get my head down.”
H olley was enjoying a glass of the Dom Perignon as a nightcap when Roper called him on his Codex. “Harry’s been in touch. I understand you took Sara down to the Dark Man tonight and there was an incident.”
“An accident of sorts. I was driving the Alfa, and when we were leaving I suddenly lost all braking power. We could have gone in the river, but fortunately a bollard got in the way.”
“Sara’s all right, is she?”
“We both are. Harry’s sorting it. Loaned me a Merc.”
“Well, he’s had the night crew down from that garage he owns, and it wasn’t any accident. A main tube feeding the hydraulic system was deliberately severed. As it’s steel mesh–covered, it would have needed a special cutter to do it, used by someone who knew his business.”
“That doesn’t fit the profile of some ordinary vandal,” Holley said.
“Daniel, Harry Salter is still revered in certain circles, because he was once one of the most powerful guvnors in the Londonunderworld. Vandals and hoodlums and the like would never try to pull something at his own pub. It would be like committing suicide.”
“You’re saying we were targeted?”
“That’s about the size of it.”
“Sara and I were there for about an hour and a half. It wasn’t particularly busy, well-behaved people having a night out, enjoying themselves. Did any of Harry’s folk have anything to report?”
“Come to think of it, Dora did mention something unusual.”
“Such as?”
“Some French guy asked for a Pernod.”
“And did she give him one?”
“Apparently, she had a bottle on the bar shelf that had been standing there forever and never opened, and he did it for her. She said he was very charming, gray-haired, with
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