CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The fine weather broke on Wednesday night. Storm clouds blew in from the east and drenched the capital in a torrential downpour. It was still raining on Thursday morning, hammering against the windows of the briefing room.
There were five people in the room, including Jane Talbot and Robert Carter. Carter was sitting at the back, away from the others, and they in turn were tactfully allowing him space to settle back into the routine of his working life. Jane stood at the front of the room. She had given dozens of briefings in the past, but couldn’t shake off the feeling that this one was different.
Raj Kumar glanced across at the rivers of rain rushing down the windows. ‘Did you order this specially, Jane?’ He had become accustomed to the harsh climate of Afghanistan recently, and the moderate and unpredictable British weather was still confusing.
The others laughed, except for Carter who was reading through the thick file given to him by Martin Impey before the meeting started. He had been received with friendly affection by everyone in the building, from the people in reception to his colleagues in this room. He hadn’t yet seen Crozier but he was ready for that occurrence. John McKinley had shaken his hand but kept flashing glances in his direction, obviously uncertain why he was here.
‘Doesn’t bode well.’ This from McKinley, who was a tall black American whose large frame seemed uncomfortable, curled in his seat. His deep voice resonated like the bass lines in a complex jazz composition.
‘It’s only a drop of rain, John,’ Kirby Grant said. ‘It won’t hurt you.’
‘Try telling that to my sciatica,’ McKinley said. ‘Give me sunshine any day.’
Conversation stopped as the door opened and Simon Crozier stepped into the room, accompanied by Jessica Anderson. He introduced her. ‘Jessica is here to represent the Kulsay Development Corporation,’ he said to the room. ‘She’d like a few words with you before you leave.’ Inevitably his eyes met Carter’s; it was the first time they had been in the same room since Jane reported her success with him. Carter raised his eyebrows in an ironic gesture of welcome, which made Crozier look away. He turned to Jessica Anderson. ‘Jessica, over to you.’
‘Thank you, Simon,’ she said, and stepped forward. ‘I’ll keep this brief. I know you want to get on with the job. I’d just like to say that we of the Kulsay Development Corporation would like to thank you in advance for your help in trying to solve this dreadful mystery. The poor wretches who disappeared from Kulsay may still be alive…they may of course be dead, but we pray that isn’t the case. We have every confidence that you will get to the bottom of this one way or another.
‘As I speak, the Manse on Kulsay is being readied for your stay. You’ll find that every possible convenience has been provided, as well as a freezer full of food. Each of you will be issued cell phones. We’ve installed a signal amplifier recently, so you shouldn’t have any trouble with them, but as a safeguard we’ve also installed a radio transmitter with direct links to the KDC and to the Department. If you feel it is necessary, make contact and a helicopter will be sent from Aberdeen to airlift you off.’
Raj cleared his throat. ‘I seem to remember that scenario. Didn’t you lose a helicopter the last time?’ His dark eyes were hooded, cloaking the intelligence that swam behind them.
For a split second Jessica Anderson glared at him, then her face relaxed and she let a smile curl her lips again. ‘I don’t believe that lightning strikes twice in the same place,’ she said.
‘Fingers crossed,’ Kirby said, and her ready smile lightened the meaning.
Sensing the tension that had suddenly enveloped the room Crozier smiled and said, ‘Jane, for Jessica’s benefit perhaps you’d like to introduce the team.’
She was taken aback, not least by Crozier’s overtly courteous manner. ‘Oh, okay, fine,’ she said. ‘From the left then. Raj Kumar and Kirby Grant.’
‘Sound and Vision,’ they said, almost in unison.
Jane smiled. ‘It’s their job to record any phenomena we witness on the island, both visually and aurally.’
Kumar was a tall, slim Indian, early thirties, a very private man, with nervous, fluttering fingers, long black hair and a wispy goatee.
‘I take the photos,’ Raj said. ‘Kirby records the screams.’
‘Is that an attempt at humor?’ Jessica said, clearly unimpressed.
‘A very poor one,’ Kirby said quickly, shooting Kumar a look. She had been watching Jessica and her appraisal of the team had reminded her of farmers back when she lived with her parents. They ran a farm, and the monthly cattle market attracted people who viewed the animals with a similar dispassionate stare.
‘This is John McKinley,’ Jane continued, walking across and laying a hand on the tall man’s shoulder. ‘John’s just come back from India where he was overseeing an investigation into a case of apparent demonic possession.’
‘A crock,’ McKinley said. ‘But the weather was better there.’
‘If you’ve read the file you will have seen that not only is John a leading parapsychologist, but also one of the most gifted sensitives in the country, if not the world.’
‘I also play a mean game of pool and make an excellent fourth at bridge,’ McKinley said with a sardonic smile.
The expression on Jessica Anderson’s face didn’t change. Jane moved quickly on. Jessica Anderson was not a woman that people would immediately warm to. Clearly she must have been aware of that fact, though it didn’t seem to bother her.
‘Kirby Grant,’ Jane said, standing behind a girl who looked no more than nineteen, but was actually in her mid-twenties. Small and slight with olive skin and a shock of wayward coal black hair. ‘Kirby records all our findings and tries to put them into a semblance of order.’
‘I’m also the catering manager,’ Kirby said, deadpan.
‘Ah yes,’ Jane said. ‘Kirby is a culinary wizard. She keeps us fed and watered, performing small gastronomic miracles with the most basic ingredients.’ She spoke with a humorous flourish but trailed off when there was no reaction from the American.
Jane moved to the back of the room. ‘Robert Carter,’ she said.
‘You don’t need to introduce Mr. Carter,’ Jessica said. ‘I’m fully aware of his talents.’ She walked across the room, hand extended. ‘I’m indebted to you, Mr. Carter, for agreeing to come on this mission. Mission…is that the right word? I’m sure if anyone can get to the bottom of this it will be you. If there’s anything you need, anything at all, don’t hesitate to contact us. I’m sure we’ll be able to accommodate you.’
Carter shook her hand and glanced across at Jane. She looked annoyed. ‘Thank you, Ms. Anderson, but Jane is leading this assignment. She’ll be the one making contact.’
Jessica Anderson leaned into him. ‘Very gallant,’ she said softly, so the others couldn’t hear her, then let his hand drop and turned back to Jane.
She couldn’t fail to hear Carter’s murmured, ‘Bitch.’
‘And that’s it,’ Jane said. ‘The team.’
‘And of course yourself,’ Jessica said.
‘Jane Talbot,’ Jane said. She wasn’t going to give any further information just to see if it irritated Jessica Anderson. Jane realized all her details were on file, and knew the American would have already seen them.
As if confirming this Jessica said, ‘I’ve read a lot about you, Jane. Your file is impressive.’
‘I’m flattered.’ Jane knew she was being made aware of the pecking order. Jessica was in charge.
‘Flattery doesn’t come into it,’ Jessica said. ‘I know from experience how hard it is for a woman to advance in what is essentially a man’s world.’
‘I wouldn’t say…’
‘Please, no false modesty,’ Jessica said, holding up her hand, effectively dismissing Jane, then turned to Crozier. ‘A word, Simon,’ she said brusquely and walked from the room, Crozier hurrying to catch up with her, making no pretence that he had a choice in the matter.
‘Do you think we passed the audition?’ Raj said. His smile suggested he didn’t really care.
‘I wouldn’t like to say,’ Jane said.
‘A problem, Jessica?’ Crozier said once they were outside in the corridor.
She wheeled on him. ‘Why is McKinley going?’ she said, coming straight to the point.
‘Because he’s good,’ Crozier said.
‘Yes, but not as good as Carter. I really don’t see the need for his inclusion.’
‘And that’s where we disagree, Jessica,’ Crozier said easily.
‘ We did as you and the Minister wanted and got Carter to come along, but Jane Talbot insisted on McKinley’s inclusion, and I agree with her. As far as we’re concerned, Carter’s damaged goods. He always was unpredictable, but he got results. The way things stand now I can’t guarantee he’ll get the job done. We want McKinley there to catch the ball if Carter drops it.’
Jessica Anderson considered this for a moment, then shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, Simon. I’m not buying it. In all honesty, I’m not that happy with the team as a whole. They’re not really what we had in mind.’
‘Who were you expecting, Ghostbusters?’ He said it with a rare smile but there was disguised venom in the words. He had spent most of the day with her and if she voiced one more supercilious opinion, or patronized one more ‘quaint’ English tradition he suspected he would replace Carter on suspension.
Jessica glared at him. ‘Don’t waste your humor on me, Simon. You seem to have forgotten who’s paying for all this.’
Crozier took a step back. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Didn’t the Minister tell you? The KDC are footing the bill for this investigation. Very remiss of him. He really should have mentioned it.’ The lipstick on her mouth twitched slightly in what was probably the memory of a smile.
Color had drained from Crozier’s face. ‘Yes, he damned well should have done. I would never have agreed to…’
‘Yes you would, Simon. From what I’ve been told, the Department’s future is currently hanging in the balance. You need a good result on this case in order to guarantee your survival…at least for the time being. So let’s skip the righteous indignation. We’re all whores at the end of the day. We all have our price. And I’m not going to pay for something I’m not happy with.’
Crozier looked her steadily in the eyes, noticing how unnaturally blue they were. ‘Whores? You might have spent time on your back getting to where you are today, but don’t judge everyone’s morals by your own.’
There wasn’t a flicker of emotion on her face. ‘No, Simon, from what I’ve heard, “on your back” isn’t your preference at all. When you get f*cked it’s usually in a completely different position.’
Crozier walked a few steps away, determined not to display any anger. He hated himself for being in this situation. Perhaps spending more time at his house in France was going to be a good idea. Not full retirement, just a slowing down, spending less time amongst the sharks and the predators with whom he worked every day.
‘Jessica, I told you, I thought I was clear. Jane Talbot would put a team together to investigate Kulsay for you and that’s what she’s done. And in my opinion it’s probably the best team she could have assembled. What Jane didn’t say in her introductions is that every person on her team is a sensitive.’
‘Psychic you mean.’
‘That’s not a term I use. Conjures up images of séances and ouija boards—both useful tools in our line of work, but only the tip of a very large iceberg. Each member of the team has a special gift as well as their more practical talents. As well as being a skilled sound engineer, Kirby Grant is also a first rate dowser. A number of high-profile companies use her because she’s ninety-nine percent accurate, whether it’s water or oil, or even precious metals. And she is also one of the best physical mediums I’ve ever come across. Raj Kumar is an excellent photographer and an expert in all visual media, and he’s also a gifted clairvoyant.’
‘And Talbot?’
Crozier hesitated. ‘No. Jane has no gifts. But she is our control. It’s imperative to have someone on the team impervious to any psychic influence. Jane fulfills that role. She is also a brilliant psychologist and is able to dissemble the output from the others and rationalize it.’
Jessica Anderson’s eyes narrowed. She nodded her head slowly. ‘Okay, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. But I expect results, Simon, and I expect them quickly. If Talbot’s team falls short of the task and doesn’t deliver, I’ll demand your balls on a plate,’ she said.
‘I have every confidence that they’ll find the answers you’re looking for. I doubt my balls would be much use to you. From what I’ve heard you prefer your partners without any at all.’
‘Let’s cut the crap, Simon. This team had better deliver. I shudder to think how much all this is going to cost me.’
Crozier suspected that Jessica Anderson knew down to the last cent how much the investigation was going to cost, but he didn’t say so. It would be counterproductive to antagonize her further. ‘Is there anything else you’d like to say to them?’ he said.
She checked her watch. ‘No, I’ve a flight to catch at Heathrow. I’ve a reception to attend in Boston.’
‘Reception?’ Crozier said.
‘Well, a party really,’ she said. ‘Tomorrow’s my birthday.’
‘Then I wish you many happy returns,’ he said, and his complete and utter lack of sincerity was said with a skill practiced many times over.
‘Oh, I don’t think you do, Simon. I think you’d prefer it if I never returned at all.’ She smiled. ‘Keep me up to speed,’ she said. ‘Ciao.’
For once in his life Simon Crozier wished he were straight. He’d never met anyone like Jessica Anderson before. And then again, he wished to God he never had.
Jane stopped pacing the room as the door opened and Crozier came back in. ‘Problems?’ she said.
‘You could say that.’ He put his arm around her waist and led her to the far corner of the room. ‘A word in private,’ he said in her ear.
‘You realize this compromises our position?’ Jane said as Crozier dropped the bombshell sotto voce. The independence of the Department was the key to its success. To perform an investigation for a company or corporation could easily leave them open to charges of bias. It was like those surveys that seem to prove eating meat with your left hand increases the chances of cancer, and you worry about it, until you read that the survey is conducted by an organization with a vested, usually financial interest, in the results.
‘I know,’ he said. ‘I’m going to phone the Minister and demand an explanation.’
She looked at him steadily. ‘He can explain all he likes, but it doesn’t change the position. We’ve lost our autonomy.’
‘I wouldn’t say that, Jane. Once you’re on the island I don’t see how the KDC can interfere.’
‘Oh, wake up, Simon! I’ve only just met her, but I can see that if Jessica Anderson takes it into her mind to interfere, nothing on God’s earth is going to stop her. I’m sorry. I don’t think I can work under these conditions.’
‘Please, Jane. Bend, just a little.’ God, how he was beginning to hate the role he was in; reduced to begging.
She chewed her bottom lip as she thought about it. Finally she said, ‘Okay. I’ll take the team to Kulsay, but I’ll be relying on you to keep that woman off my back so I can do my job. If you don’t, then I won’t hesitate to halt the investigation and bring everybody home. Understood?’
‘Fair enough,’ Crozier said. He had no intention of complying. Jessica Anderson was not going to feature in his life if he could help it.
‘Right. I’ll tell the others once you go.’ She started to think about what she was going to say to the team.
‘That’s your call,’ he said, and turned to the room. ‘Right, everybody, gather round. Final arrangements. There’s a hotel booked in Peterhead for to night, and we’ve arranged for a boat to take you across to Kulsay in the morning. There you’ll be met by a representative from the KDC to transport you and your equipment to the Manse. Any questions? No? There is just one other thing, but I’ll let Jane brief you on that. I’ll just wish you all good luck, and let’s hope we get a result.’
Once he’d left the room the others looked at Jane questioningly.
‘Well?’ John McKinley said.
Jane sighed. ‘Jessica Anderson is our paymaster. The KDC is funding the investigation.’ The comment was met with a stunned silence. ‘Seems like you all share my reservations.’ She kept her tone as light as possible. The role of a leader as far as she was concerned was to achieve the task, and to do that she needed to take the others along with her.
‘It’s not the best news I’ve heard today,’ McKinley said.
‘No, but that’s the way the land lies, so I suppose we’d better make the best of it. Has anybody got anything else?’
Carter looked at the others and then spoke. ‘From what I’ve learned from these files,’ he hefted the buff-colored folders in the air, ‘once we get onto the island we’ll have no time to worry about who is or isn’t funding the investigation. There is going to be some serious work to be done. I’ve had time recently—a well-earned rest for those who haven’t heard the reason—to check some details of recent investigations. There are things that link Kulsay with a much wider picture. I still need to finish digging into it but if what I suspect is happening, then autonomy of finances isn’t going to worry anyone.’
Nobody spoke. They were still taking in what Jane had told them, and wondering if it really mattered, once the job began. Now Carter was confirming that view but giving them even more to be concerned about.
Jane saw the anxious faces and decided action was the best cure. ‘Okay, we’ll meet in the car park in…’ She checked her watch. ‘Fifty minutes.’
Without a further word they rose from their seats and filed out of the room, until only Jane and McKinley remained. Jane gathered her papers and slipped them into her briefcase.
McKinley unfolded himself from his seat. ‘Tell me, Jane, is there any point in me coming along?’
Jane frowned. ‘I’m not sure what you mean.’ She knew exactly what he was going to say.
‘You didn’t tell me that Carter was on the team. Don’t you think I’m up to the task?’
‘That’s not the case at all, John. I have every faith in your abilities. Robert’s coming along because it was a precondition of the Minister that he be included.’
‘And you don’t believe in the Jonah principle?’
‘What do you mean?’ She genuinely didn’t understand the reference.
McKinley shrugged. ‘Some people are born unlucky, and some spread that bad luck to those around them…as Sian Davies found.’
Jane felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. ‘Look, John, let’s get one thing clear,’ she said. ‘Any problems you may have with Robert, you leave them here. If you can’t do that then tell me now, because it’s not too late to drop you from the team. I don’t want to do that because I think your contribution to this investigation will be vital, but I won’t stand by and watch the whole thing unravel because of personal resentments. Understood?’
‘Understood,’ he said with as easy smile. ‘And I’ll consider my knuckles well and truly rapped. But I figure we’ll all have to watch each other’s backs, and I hate to think that one of us will have his head so far up his own ass that he won’t be able to do that.’
‘I trust Robert,’ Jane said. ‘He won’t let us down.’
‘If you say so, Jane. You’re the boss,’ he said and left the room.
‘Yes,’ Jane said quietly to herself. ‘Yes, I am.’ She shook her head and suddenly wished she wasn’t.