Part 35 (2/2)

'I mean that you could, well...threaten him. Couldn't you?'

I stared at her. 'What?'

'Look, Miranda, Jimmy may or may not be a bad man-but sixteen years ago, he did a very bad thing. And as he involved you in it, he at least owes you an explanation. I suggest you demand to see him-then tell him that you've confessed to David.'

'He'll go absolutely apes.h.i.+t.'

'He will. He's relied on your silence all this time-and now you've broken it. But tell him that you haven't actually given David his name. Then say that you won't do so-if-and only if-he agrees to explain why he did it.'

'But that's blackmail, Daisy.'

'Yes!!'

That evening I wrote a letter to David, repeating everything I'd said to him in Brighton. Then, once I'd posted it, I decided that I would do as Daisy advised. I'd go and see Jimmy-the next day. I wouldn't ring him in advance-I'd just go to the House of Commons-the public have access-and I'd wait in the lobby for as long as it took. Parliament might be in summer recess, but the MPs were still working, and Jimmy was ambitious-he wouldn't slouch. But what if he was away? I looked at his website. It said that he would be on holiday in Scotland for two weeks, from the sixteenth of August, so he probably would be there, clearing his desk. But what about Herman? I couldn't take him, and I couldn't leave him for hours, so I phoned Daisy and she agreed to have him at work.

'I'm in early tomorrow, so bring him at nine. I'm so glad you're doing this, Miranda,' she added. 'It isn't just David who needs to know-you need to know too.'

Yes, I thought miserably. I do.

The following morning I got up early, dressed smartly, then walked over the bridge with Herman and got the tube to Tottenham Court Road.

Daisy met me at reception.

'G.o.d you look pale. Haven't you slept?' I shook my head. I handed Herman to her, then she gave me something.

'Put this in your bag,' she said quietly. 'I think you'll find it handy. It's very easy to operate-and it's discreet.'

I felt my jaw slacken. 'Isn't it illegal?'

'I'm not exactly sure,' she whispered. 'But I know that sending people letter-bombs is! Jimmy may refuse to see you,' she went on. 'But if he agrees, then I just thought it would be useful to have the conversation on record. As for persuading him to tell you, just think of him as a difficult, domineering dog who you're going to bring to heel. Take a rolled-up newspaper with you if necessary. Best of luck!' Then she hugged me and I left.

I got the tube to Charing Cross then walked down Whitehall towards Westminster. As I saw Big Ben, and heard it chime the half hour, my heart-rate began to increase. I felt sick with fear, and I was miserable about David, but I had to do this-for him. I made my way through the knots of tourists to St Stephen's entrance, my knees shaking. As I expected, security was tight.

'Who are you visiting?' asked the security guard at the door.

'James Mulholland.'

'And is he expecting you?'

'Yes,' I lied.

'Please empty your pockets and put your bag on the moving belt.'

As I pa.s.sed through the metal detector, I could see the tiny tape recorder quite clearly on the screen, but it didn't seem to bother anyone; they probably a.s.sumed I was a hack. Then I picked up my bag and walked down the cool, flagstone corridor, past Westminster Hall, to Central Lobby.

'I'd like to see James Mulholland,' I said, as confidently as I could, though my knees were trembling.

'Do you have an appointment?' the attendant asked.

'Yes.'

'And what's your name?' I told him. 'Please wait.' He dialled the extension, but there was no reply. 'It's on answerphone at the moment. Please take a seat and I'll try again in a few minutes.'

After a quarter of an hour, I went up to the desk while the attendant tried Jimmy's line again, and this time he got a reply.

'His private secretary says she has no record of your meet ing.'

'May I speak to her please?' He pa.s.sed me the phone.

'Mr Mulholland won't be here until ten thirty,' she explained. 'But in any case, I don't have a note of you in the diary. May I ask what this is about?'

'It's about... Suss.e.x University,' I said. 'Mr Mulholland must have forgotten to mention it to you, but if you say that Miranda Sweet would like to speak to him, urgently, about the biochemistry department at Suss.e.x University, then I think that'll ring a few bells.'

'Well I will, but he's quite busy today. If he decides he has time to see you, I'll ring down.'

'Thank you.' I breathed a sigh of relief.

As I waited, I glanced round the octagonal lobby with its ornate vaulted ceiling. There were groups of foreign students, and workmen polis.h.i.+ng the mosaic floor. By ten forty-five there'd been no word. Then at ten past eleven I heard my name.

'Miss Sweet,' the attendant repeated as I rushed up to the desk. 'Kindly write your name and details here, and then you'll be taken to Mr Mulholland's office.' My hand shaking slightly, I wrote my name in the register, then followed another attendant down a long green-carpeted corridor, then up three flights of steps, until I was standing outside a heavy oak door with Jimmy's name on it. I knocked and entered.

His secretary, a pleasant looking woman of about fifty, was sitting at a desk in the outer office. Just visible in the inner one was Jimmy. He was on the phone.

'Yes,' I heard him say. 'I agree it should be added to the National Curriculum. Of course.' Now, having registered my presence, he politely wound up the conversation. As he walked towards me he looked calm and self-possessed, with his slightly swaggering walk, but there was that distinct flicker of anxiety I'd seen before.

'h.e.l.lo, Miranda,' he said pleasantly. 'How nice to see you. Would you like a cup of coffee?'

'Yes please.' I glanced round the room. There were files marked 'A Level', 'GCSE', 'Examination Boards', and 'Standards'. There were a couple of nice landscapes, an elegant carriage clock, and the same wedding photo I'd seen at the house.

'I'd like a coffee too please, Sarah,' he said to his secretary. 'In fact,' he added as she poured it. 'I wonder if you could possibly do me a huge favour and get me a sandwich-I missed breakfast this morning.'

'Of course,' she said as she handed me a cup. 'What would you like?'

'Anything really. I don't mind.' He handed her a ten-pound note, then invited me to sit in the deep red leather armchair which faced his desk. He waited until the door had shut, then his expression hardened. 'Right,' he said. 'What the h.e.l.l's this about?' I put down the coffee. I didn't want it.

'I've told David White,' Jimmy's grey eyes widened momentarily, then his mouth hardened into a thin line. 'I've told him,' I repeated. 'He knows.'

'You. Stupid. Little. Cow,' he said quietly. He shook his head in shock and outrage. 'Why the h.e.l.l did you do that?'

'For the simple reason that I've felt awful about it for sixteen years.'

'But you should have left it alone! I told you that at the fete!'

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