Dead Letter Drop by James Peter

Author:James, Peter [James, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781447256038
Publisher: Pan
Published: 2014-01-01T16:00:00+00:00

16

There was a uniformed policeman on guard outside Fifeshire’s room at the London Clinic, who informed me that no one was allowed in. I scribbled a note and asked him to take it to Fifeshire. He agreed, and was back within moments, ushering me in.

I had never seen Sir Charles Cunningham-Hope anywhere other than behind a desk before, and it was quite a shock to see him sitting, in a paisley silk dressing gown, in a small chair by the window, looking weak and vulnerable. There was an ugly mark on his neck, just below his left ear, and turning his head was evidently uncomfortable for him. There were piles of war history books all over the room, and sheaths of notes, but no despatch boxes or any other sign of official work papers.

He rose from his chair, and we shook hands warmly; he pointed me to the chair opposite. ‘What a surprise! It’s good of you to come and see me.’ He seemed genuinely pleased I had come. ‘How are you keeping?’

‘Healthy,’ I said, ‘in spite of your colleagues.’

He laughed. ‘My former colleagues,’ he said.

‘Former?’ He must have felt the shock in my voice. ‘What do you mean, sir? You haven’t resigned?’

There was a long and awkward silence. He turned and looked out of the window at the busy Marylebone Road and the Regent’s Park gates opposite. ‘Not exactly,’ he said, ‘not exactly.’ There was a long pause, then he changed the subject abruptly. ‘How’s the Department?’

‘I don’t know – I’ve been in New York since I last saw you.’

‘Still on the same assignment?’

‘Yes. Nobody’s taken me off it.’

‘Good,’ he said. ‘Hagget still in charge over there?’

‘Yes. What do you mean ‘‘not exactly’’?’ I said, swinging the subject back.

There was another long pause. ‘There seem to be one or two people who, ah, feel this, ah – um, mishap, ah, might be a good opportunity for my, ah, retirement; I think they could be right. This fellow Scatliffe’s temporarily in my seat – as you no doubt know, he’s a, ah, an, um, a competent man, and from all accounts he’s doing his job ably. I know you and he haven’t in the past, ah, seen eye to eye on certain matters, but I’m sure time will heal those wounds, I think you have the ability to eventually win him around. He’s younger than me – a good deal younger, and maybe more in touch. This is important, to be in touch with the world; I don’t think I can be any more; I’ve grown too old.’

‘More in touch? Maybe today’s agents do go roller-discoing, but it doesn’t mean their bosses have to!’

Fifeshire smiled. ‘It’ll be a good six months before I can walk without a stick. You can’t have a cripple for a chief; that’s hardly going to inspire a team of action men! I’ll be shunted off to a nice quiet office, given a pleasant title, and my salary will be upped; but I won’t know what’s going on any more than the cleaning ladies will.

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