‘You can’t prove I didn’t write it,’ said Lloyd defiantly.
‘Yes I can,’ said Emma, ‘because I represent the man who did.’ She took a sip of wine before adding, ‘Tom Bradshaw, your deputy librarian.’ Lloyd sank back into his seat and lapsed into a sullen silence. ‘So let me outline the deal I’m proposing, Mr Lloyd, while at the same time making it clear that there is no room for negotiation, unless, of course, you want to go back to prison on a charge of fraud, as well as theft. Should you end up in Pierpoint, I have a feeling Mr Hessler will be only too happy to escort you to your cell, as he doesn’t come out of the book very well.’
Lloyd didn’t look as if the idea appealed to him.
Emma took another sip of wine before continuing. ‘Mr Bradshaw has generously agreed to allow you to continue the myth that you wrote the diary, and he won’t even expect you to give back the advance you were paid, which in any case I suspect you’ve already spent.’ Lloyd pursed his lips. ‘However, he wishes to make it clear that should you be foolish enough to attempt to sell the rights in any other country, a writ for copyright theft will be issued against you and the publisher concerned. Is that clear?’
‘Yes,’ mumbled Lloyd, clutching the arms of his chair.
‘Good. Then that’s settled,’ said Emma, and after taking another sip of wine added, ‘I feel sure you’ll agree, Mr Lloyd, that there’s no purpose in us continuing this conversation, so perhaps the time has come for you to leave.’
Lloyd hesitated.
‘We’ll meet again at ten o’clock tomorrow morning, at forty-nine Wall Street.’
‘Forty-nine Wall Street?’
‘The office of Mr Sefton Jelks, Tom Bradshaw’s lawyer.’
‘So it’s Jelks who’s behind this. Well that explains everything.’
Emma didn’t understand what he meant, but said, ‘You will bring every single notebook with you, and hand them over. Should you be even one minute late, I will instruct Mr Jelks to call your probation officer and tell him what you’ve been up to since you left Lavenham. Stealing a client’s earnings is one thing, but claiming you wrote his book . . .’ Lloyd continued to grip the arms of his chair, but said nothing. ‘You may go now, Mr Lloyd,’ said Emma. ‘I look forward to seeing you in the lobby of forty-nine Wall Street at ten tomorrow morning. Don’t be late, unless you want your next appointment to be with Mr Elders.’
Lloyd rose unsteadily to his feet and made his way slowly across the restaurant, leaving one or two customers wondering if he was drunk. A waiter held the door open for him, then hurried over to Emma’s table. Seeing the untouched steak and a full glass of wine, he asked anxiously, ‘I hope everything was all right, Miss Barrington?’
‘It couldn’t have gone better, Jimmy,’ she said, pouring herself another glass of wine.
19
ONCE EMMA had returned to her hotel room, she checked the back of her lunch menu, and was delighted to confirm that she’d been able to tick off almost every question. She thought her demand that the notebooks should be handed over in the lobby of 49 Wall Street was inspired, because it must have left Lloyd with the distinct impression that Mr Jelks was her lawyer, which would have put the fear of God into a perfectly innocent man. Although she was still puzzled by what Lloyd had meant when he’d let slip the words So it’s Jelks who’s behind this. Well that explains everything. She switched off the light and slept soundly for the first time since she’d left England.
Emma’s morning routine followed much the same pattern as previous days. After a leisurely breakfast, shared only with the New York Times, she left the hotel and took a cab to Wall Street. She had planned to be a few minutes early, and the cab dropped her off outside the building at 9.51 a.m. As she handed the driver a quarter, she was relieved that her visit to New York was coming to an end; it had turned out to be far more expensive than she had anticipated. Two meals at the Brasserie with a five-dollar bottle of wine plus tips didn’t help.
However, she wasn’t in any doubt that the trip had been worthwhile. Not least because the photographs taken on board the Kansas Star had confirmed her belief that Harry was still alive and had, for some reason, assumed Tom Bradshaw’s identity. Once she’d got her hands on the missing notebook, the rest of the mystery would unravel, and surely she would now be able to convince Officer Kolowski that Harry should be released. She didn’t intend to return to England without him.