When Miranda returned to this fisherman’s cottage, from her performance at London Heathrow, Moskvin had given no word of appreciation. Miranda hated him.

  ‘Suppose Bernard Samson doesn’t track Harmony’s movements?’ said Miranda. ‘Suppose he doesn’t come? Suppose he tells the police?’

  ‘He’ll come,’ said Moskvin. ‘He doesn’t get paid to send for the police; it’s his job to find people. He’ll trace Harmony’s movements. He’ll think his wife is here and he’ll come.’

  ‘Then what?’ said Miranda. She was still wearing the expensive wig and make-up that Moskvin had chosen for her. She hoped to keep the wig.

  Harmony smiled sourly. She had been the one who had laid the trail for Samson, asking the way three times before buying the tickets, doing the stupid things that mere common sense would have avoided. Moskvin’s final obvious vulgarity had been to choose a beautiful black girl just in case anyone should miss her. What kind of jerk wouldn’t be suspicious following that brass band parade to get here? And her brief confrontation with Bernard Samson gave her reason to suspect that he wasn’t a jerk. She didn’t want to be here when he arrived.

  ‘Who cares?’ said Harmony. ‘Us girls are getting out of here, Miranda baby! Go upstairs and scrub that damned make-up off your face, and then we’ll scram. A day in Rome is what we both need after three long days with this fat fart.’ She got to her feet.

  ‘Give me thirty minutes,’ said Miranda.

  Moskvin was annoyed at the way that Harmony Jones had sweet-talked him into routeing the two women through Rome. She’d given him persuasive operational reasons at the time but now it was clear that she just wanted to enjoy a sidetrip.

  ‘I might need you,’ said Moskvin, but his former ability to terrify the two women had gone, largely due to the insolence with which the black woman treated every order he gave her.

  ‘What you need, boss man …’ she began but then decided not to provoke him further. She took Miranda’s make-up box and went to the stairs. Miranda followed.

  ‘And don’t call me shit-face,’ said Moskvin solemnly as the two women went through the low door that led to the stairs.

  Harmony made an obscene gesture but did it out of Moskvin’s sight. As they went upstairs Miranda began to giggle.

  It was a wonderful old house: the crude staircase, confined between white painted plank walls, echoed with the footsteps of the two women. At the top, the narrow latched door had a corner lopped off to accommodate the pitch of the roof. Its essential Englishness produced in Miranda a sudden but not entirely unexpected yearning to live in England again.

  As the sound of the footsteps overhead revealed the movements of the women, Erich Stinnes looked up from his guidebook. ‘Did you know that Bosham village is depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry?’ he asked. ‘This is where King Canute ordered the incoming tide to go back.’

  Moskvin knew that Stinnes was only trying to provoke him into a fit of anger, so he didn’t reply. He got up and went to the window. Bosham is on a tiny peninsula between two tidal creeks. From here he could see the water and the boats: motor boats and sailing boats of all shapes and sizes. When Samson was dead and finished with, they would leave by boat. Stinnes was a skilful yachtsman. Under cover of darkness they would slip away as if they had never been here. The perfect conclusion to a perfect operation.

  ‘I wouldn’t stand too near the window,’ said Stinnes helpfully. ‘It’s an elementary principle on this sort of operation.’

  Moskvin moved away. Stinnes was right of course: he hated Stinnes.

  ‘The back-up team should be here by now.’

  Stinnes looked at him and displayed surprise. They arrived half an hour ago.’

  ‘Then where are they?’

  ‘You didn’t expect them to come and knock on the door, did you? They have a mattress: they’ll sleep in the van until they’re needed. It’s parked near the pub.’

  ‘How do you know all this?’

  ‘I arranged it, didn’t I? Why do you think I’ve been visiting the bathroom: did you think I had diarrhoea? From upstairs you can see the pub car park.’

  ‘Do you have a gun?’

  Stinnes shook his head.

  ‘I brought a gun,’ said Moskvin. He put it on the table. It was a Smith and Wesson .44 Magnum, a truly enormous pistol that Moskvin had gone to great trouble to have waiting here for him.

  Stinnes looked at the colossal pistol and at Moskvin. That should be enough gun for both of us,’ said Stinnes.

  ‘Then there is nothing to do but wait,’ said Moskvin.

  Stinnes put a marker into a page of his guidebook and closed it. ‘Remember, this place — Bosham — is where King Canute ordered the tide to go back.’

  ‘What happened?’ said Moskvin, who had never heard of King Canute.

  ‘The tide kept coming in.’ Stinnes picked up his shoulder bag and said, ‘I’ll be in the way here. I’d better go down and check that the boat is gassed up and ready to sail. You know the phone number.’

  ‘Yes, I know it,’ said Moskvin. He’d been counting on help from Stinnes but he was determined not to ask for it.

  Upstairs Miranda was wiping the make-up off her face, using lots of cold cream and peering closely at herself in the mirror.

  Harmony, who was packing her case, said. That bastard. I cleared everything out of the car, just the way I’ve been trained to do, and he yells at me for being late. Most of the trash belonged to Moskvin anyway. He’s an untidy swine.’ She produced a clear plastic sandwich bag into which she had carefully put everything from the rented car. There were two maps of southern England, bits of scrap paper, a broken ballpoint pen, an old lipstick, three pennies and a watch crystal. ‘Any of this junk yours, honey?’ she asked Miranda.

  ‘No,’ said Miranda.

  ‘These rental companies never clean out the cars right: a quick wipe of the ashtray and that’s it.’ She emptied the contents of the bag, to use it for her make-up.

  ‘I’m almost ready,’ said Miranda. ‘I think I’ll have a day or two in England. I’ll join you in Rome the day after tomorrow. Would that be all right?’

  ‘Suit yourself, baby,’ said Harmony Jones. ‘I have a lot of catching up to do in Rome.’

  Stinnes slept on the boat that night. There were three double cabins and he made himself comfortable in one of them. He had the generator going and stayed up late reading: The White Company. He was a dedicated Sherlock Holmes fan and was persevering with his favourite author’s excursion into medievalism. The weather was good and Stinnes enjoyed the sounds and motion of the anchored boat and the smells of the wet timber and the salt water.

  It was five o’clock the next morning when Moskvin called him on the phone. ‘Come immediately,’ said Moskvin, and Stinnes hurried out into the brittle pinkness of early morning and reached the cottage within eight minutes.

  ‘What’s happening?’ asked Stinnes.

  ‘He’s here,’ said Moskvin. ‘Bernard Samson arrived about midnight. The back-up team in the van spotted him. We brought him inside as easily as anything.’

  ‘Where is he now?’

  ‘Upstairs. Don’t worry, he’s tied up. I let the back-up team go. Maybe that was a mistake.’

  ‘What do you want me for?’ asked Stinnes.

  I’m not getting anywhere with my questions,’ admitted Moskvin. ‘I think it’s time he faced another interrogator.’

  ‘What have you asked him?’

  Moskvin smashed his fist against his open hand in frustration. ‘I know that Samson woman is a British spy. I know it and I’ll squeeze it out of her husband if it’s the last thing I do.’

  ‘Oh, so that’s the line of questioning,’ said Stinnes. To him it seemed the stupid obsession of a man who had repeatedly told him how much he objected to taking orders from any woman.

  There was no way that Moskvin could miss the ridicule in his colleague’s voice, but he’d become used to the superior attitude that Stinnes always showed towards him. ‘Go up and talk to him. Play mister nice guy.’

  When Stinnes went upstairs, Moskvin followed him. Moskvin was not able to sit still downstairs and wait for results: he had to see what was happening. He stood in the doorway behind Stinnes.

  The front upstairs room was very small and much of the space was taken up by a small bed. It was pushed against the wall and there were cushions on it so it could be used as a sofa. In the corner there was a dressing table with a large mirror in which the captive was reflected.

  I’m going to undo this gag and I want you to …’ Stinnes started and then stopped abruptly. He looked round at Moskvin and back to the captive. ‘This is not Bernard Samson,’ he told Moskvin.

  The man tied to the chair was named Julian MacKenzie. He was a probationer who worked for the Department. Bernard Samson had told him to trace the movements of the black girl. He’d done so ail too efficiently. MacKenzie was fully conscious and his eyes showed his fear as Moskvin waved the pistol in the air.

  ‘What do you mean?’ said Moskvin angrily. He grabbed Stinnes’s arm in his huge hand and dragged him back into the narrow corridor. Then he closed the door. It was dark. The only glimmer of light was that escaping from the room downstairs.

  ‘I mean it’s not Bernard Samson,’ said Stinnes quietly.

  ‘Who is it?’ said Moskvin, shaking him roughly.

  ‘How the hell would I know who it is?’

  ‘Are you positive?’

  ‘Of course I am. Samson is about fifteen years older than this kid. I’ve seen Samson close-to. I know him well. Of course I’m positive.’

  ‘Wait downstairs. I’ll find out who this one is.’

  As Stinnes went downstairs he heard Moskvin shouting and there were replies from the young man that were too quiet to hear properly. Stinnes sat down in the armchair and took The White Company from his pocket but found he just kept reading the same paragraph over and over. Suddenly there was the loud bang of the .44 Magnum. A scream. More shots. Stinnes leapt to his feet, worried that the noise would wake up the whole neighbourhood. His first instinct was simply to clear out, but he was enough of a professional to wait for the other man.

  Moskvin came down the stairs so slowly that Stinnes was beginning to wonder if he’d shot himself or been injured by a ricochet. Then Moskvin lurched into the room. His face was absolutely white, even his lips were bloodless. He dumped his pistol on the dresser and put out a hand to steady himself on the edge of the kitchen table. Then he leaned over and vomited into the sink.

  Stinnes watched him but kept well back. Moskvin pushed the gun aside and retched again and again. Finally, slowly and carefully, he wiped his face on a towel and then ran the water into the sink. That’s done,’ said Moskvin, trying to put on a show of bravado.

  ‘Are you sure he’s dead?’ said Stinnes. Taking his time he looked out of both windows. There was no sign that the noise of the shot had attracted any interest from the neighbouring cottages.

  ‘I’m sure.’

  ‘Then let’s get out of here,’ said Stinnes. ‘Can you make it to the boat?’

  ‘Damn your stupid smiling face,’ said Moskvin. ‘I’ll have the last laugh: you just wait.’

  But Stinnes wasn’t smiling: he was wondering how much longer he could endure the stupid antics of this brutal peasant.

  In Berlin that evening, Fiona went to the State Opera. The indispensable Hubert Renn could always produce an opera or concert ticket for her at short notice, and this afternoon she’d suddenly noticed that it would be the last chance to catch the much-discussed avant-garde production of Der Freischütz.

  She sat entranced. It was one of her favourite operas. This extraordinary selection of simple folk melodies and complex romanticism gave her a brief respite from work. For a brief moment it even enabled her to forget her worries and loneliness.

  The interval came. Still engrossed with the music, she couldn’t endure the scrum around the bar and there were a lot of West Berliners here tonight, easily distinguished by their jewellery and flamboyant clothes. She turned away to wander through the lobby and look at the exhibition — ‘Electricity for tomorrow’ — atmospheric photos of power-generating stations in the German Democratic Republic. She was looking at the colour print of a large concrete building reflected in a lake when someone behind her said, ‘There you go, sweetheart! How about a glass of white wine?’

  She turned and was astounded to see Harry Kennedy standing there with two glasses of wine in his hands and a satisfied smile on his face. The show really starts in the intermission, doesn’t it?’

  Her first reaction was not pleasure. She had been dreading an encounter with some old friend, colleague or acquaintance on the street, who would recognize her. Now it had happened and she felt as if she was going to faint. Rooted to the spot, her heart beat furiously. She felt the blood rush to her face and looked down so that he wouldn’t see the flush of her cheeks.

  He saw the effect he’d had. ‘Are you all right? I’m sorry … I should have …’

  ‘It’s all right,’ she said. She was quite likely to be under surveillance. If so, her reaction to this meeting would be noted and recorded.

  Harry spoke hurriedly to save her from speaking. ‘I knew you wouldn’t miss Der Freischütz, I just knew. Oh boy, what a production, the pits, isn’t it? And what about those trees! But what a great voice he has.’

  ‘What are you doing here, Harry?’ she said carefully and calmly.

  ‘Looking for you, honey-child.’ He handed the wine to her and she took it. I’m sorry to leap on you this way.’

  ‘I don’t understand you …’

  ‘I live here,’ he said.

  ‘In the East?’ She drank some wine without tasting it. She hardly knew what she was doing. She didn’t know whether to keep talking or cut him dead and walk away.

  ‘I’m here for a year now. A professor from the Charité Hospital was in London and came to see the work we were doing at the clink. They invited me to spend a year working here. They are not paying me but I finagled a little grant … Enough to keep me going for the year. I was glad to escape from those jerks in London and I suspect the clinic was glad to get rid of me.’

  ‘Here in East Berlin?’ She drank more wine. She needed a drink and it gave her a chance to study him. He looked even younger than she remembered him: his wavy hair more wavy, and the battered face looking even more battered as he worried how she would react.

  ‘Yeah. At the Charité. And I knew you wouldn’t miss Der Freischütz. I have been here for every performance … I love you, Fiona sweetheart. I had to find you.’ Again he stopped.

  ‘You came for every performance?’

  ‘You once said it was your favourite opera.’

  ‘I suppose it is,’ she said. She was no longer sure; she was no longer sure about anything.

  ‘Are you mad at me?’ he asked. He looked like a West Berliner in his black suit and bow tie. Here was a different Harry Kennedy to the one she’d last seen in London: cautious and diffident. But superimposed upon this diffidence, and almost prevailing over it, there was the pride and pleasure of finding her again,

  ‘No, of course not,’ she said.

  Her distant manner made him suddenly anxious. ‘Is there someone else?’

  ‘Only my husband in London.’

  It was as if a load was lifted from his shoulders. ‘When I realized that you’d left him, I knew I had to find you. You’re the only one I’ve ever loved, Fiona. You know that.’ It wasn’t a communication; it was a declaration.

  ‘It’s not like London,’ she said awkwardly, trying to adjust to the idea of him being here.

  ‘Say you love me.’ He’d taken so much trouble; he was expecting more of her.

  ‘Don’t. It’s not as easy as that, Harry. I work for the government here.’

  ‘Who cares who you work for?’

  Why wouldn’t he understand? ‘I defected, Harry.’

  ‘I don’t care what you did. We are together again; that’s all that matters to me.’

  ‘Please try and understand what is involved.’

  Now, for the first time, he calmed down enough to look at her and say, ‘What are you trying to tell me, baby?’

  ‘If you see me on a regular basis, your career will be ruined. You won’t be able to go back to London and take up your life at the place you left it.’

  ‘I don’t care, as long as I have you.’

  ‘Harry. You haven’t got me.’

  ‘I love you … I’ll do anything, I’ll live anywhere; I’ll wait forever. I’m a desperate man.’

  She looked at him and smiled but she knew it was an unconvincing smile. She felt one of her bad headaches coming on and she wanted to scream. ‘I can’t be responsible, Harry. Everything has changed, and I have changed too.’

  ‘You said you loved me,’ he said in that reproachful way that only lovers do.

  If only he would go away. ‘Perhaps I did. Perhaps I still do. I don’t know.’ She spoke slowly. ‘All I’m sure about is that right now I can’t take on all the complications of a relationship.’

  ‘Then promise nothing. I ask nothing. I’ll wait. But don’t ask me to stop telling you that I love you. That would be an unbearable restriction.’

  The opera bell started to ring. With German orderliness the crowd immediately began to move back towards the auditorium. ‘I can’t go back to the performance,’ she said. ‘My head is whirling. I need to think.’

  ‘So let’s go to the Palast and eat dinner.’

  ‘You’ll miss the opera.’

  ‘I’ve seen it nine times,’ he said grimly.

  She smiled and looked at her watch. ‘Will they serve dinner as late as this?’ she said. ‘Things finish so early on this side of the city.’

  ‘The ever-practical Fiona. Yes, they will serve as late as this. I was there two nights ago. Give me the ticket, and I’ll collect your coat.’

 

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