She was trying to read him but suddenly he seemed relaxed again as he said, ‘Traveling alone’s never much fun.’ He smiled. ‘This week’s project—get out there and get a boyfriend!’ He kissed her on the cheek and left.
She strolled back through the lobby, troubled by the way Simon had managed to walk right up behind her without her noticing. She went to the reception desk and arranged to be moved into a suite that afternoon; from now on, she’d talk business behind closed doors.
She started counting the days then, waiting for Dan to get in touch. But a couple of days after moving into the suite, reception called and told her there was someone to see her, a Miss Welsh. Ella tried to sound light-hearted as she asked them to send her up, as if Vicky Welsh were an old friend. She didn’t want the hotel staff knowing that she was being visited by the police.
It was bad timing, too. She guessed the investigation had finally unearthed something, and a few weeks before, she would have been grateful for that, but it seemed like an irrelevance now. Whatever the breakthrough, she wouldn’t let it get in the way of what she was doing.
To Ella’s relief, Vicky Welsh was wearing a trouser suit and looked more like a businesswoman than a policewoman. She was friendly, refused the offer of a drink, commented on the room, asked Ella how she’d been.
But as she sat down, she said, ‘I just wanted to ask you some questions, if you don’t mind. Just on an informal basis.’
‘Of course.’ She took out a notebook and Ella said, ‘You did say informal?’
‘Yes, informal in the legal sense. I just need to clarify some facts.’
Ella’s thoughts were struggling to catch up—there hadn’t been a breakthrough: she was being questioned.
‘Well, I’m more than happy to help if I can.’ The sound of her own words grated; she was beginning to sound like Simon.
Vicky Welsh gave a pinched smile. ‘Let me see. I understand you went to Budapest last week?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Business or pleasure?’
‘Pleasure.’ Ella was suddenly conscious of the muscles in her face, of the blood prickling beneath the surface of her skin. ‘Uh, it was one of the places we were gonna go in the summer. So I went.’
‘Does the name Bruno Brodsky mean anything to you?’
Ella shook her head. Vicky Welsh stared at her, the scrutiny unnerving her further.
‘I’m not sure I follow what’s going on here. I assumed this was about my family. If it isn’t, perhaps you should tell me what it is about.’
Vicky Welsh nodded, but wrote something else in her notebook before responding. ‘Maybe it is about your family. Stephen Lucas was staying in the same hotel in Budapest at the same time as you. I take it you’ve heard of him?’
Ella could tell from her face and from the tone of the question that it was pointless denying it. Having seen how spineless Chris was, she guessed he’d probably given them Lucas’s name right at the start.
‘Yeah, I met Lucas while I was there. He lives in Europe; it seemed like a good opportunity to catch up, thank him.’ She was feeling more combative now, and sensed her guilt was less physically manifest as a result. ‘And yes, I lied about not knowing his name the last time I saw you.’
‘Why?’
‘Because he asked me to. The man saved my life.’
Vicky Welsh nodded and looked momentarily sympathetic, but quickly reverted to business. ‘Stephen Lucas knew Bruno Brodsky, and Brodsky was a fixer, the kind of person who could have arranged the hit on your family. It seems a huge coincidence, then, that during the flying visit you and Lucas made to Budapest, Bruno Brodsky was killed in a huge gas explosion.’
‘I told you, I don’t know anyone called Bruno Brodsky.’ She couldn’t imagine they had anything more than the circumstantial evidence of her being in Budapest with Lucas, and that made her bolder. ‘You’ve already said that Lucas knew him, and I assume you know something about Lucas’s background. So why don’t you go and speak to him?’
‘As I said, this isn’t a formal inquiry.’ She looked uncomfortable and clearly didn’t want to answer the question. It made Ella wonder if Lucas was protected in some way. ‘However, I have to warn you, Ella, this and other matters are being investigated vigorously. You may or may not be aware of it, but some of the people around you have a questionable relationship with the law—you’d do well not to be too influenced by them.’
‘Don’t worry; I’m not being influenced by anybody.’
Vicky Welsh nodded, but seemed disappointed.
It was only when she was left alone again that Ella’s nerves ran wild. She started to sweat, her heart beating erratically. It wasn’t even that she was afraid of being caught, but she felt sick with fear at the prospect of them getting to her before her job was done.
Everything seemed to be closing in on her. If the police knew about Budapest, others would know too, the kind of people Lucas had warned her about. Maybe even Simon was beginning to suspect her of something. And she couldn’t understand what was taking Dan so long. She wanted him to be as conscious as she was that time was running out.
Chapter Eighteen