Free The Dying Light by Henry Porter Page B

know you’d be here?’

    Kate began to look for an escape. ‘Who’s giving the dinner?’

    ‘Ortelius. You know, Eden White, the head of Ortelius and much else besides.’

    ‘Eden White was a friend of David’s? I don’t believe it. The information systems creep? That Eden White?’

    ‘The same but be careful, my dear Kate. He’s a partner of mine, and he’s quite a power in the land - a friend of the prime minister’s. Hardwired into the government. Immensely influential.’

    ‘Jesus, what’s happened to this country? Eden White best friends with the prime minister.’

    ‘They were always friends. Same with Derek Glenny. They go way back. Pity you’re not coming to the dinner for David.’ He bent forward to allow his jacket to fall open and lifted a printed card from his inside pocket. He handed it to her. ‘Here are the names for the dinner. It’s quite a gathering.’

    Under the heading The Ortelius Dinner to Celebrate the life of David Lucas Eyam were twenty names of politicians, business leaders and permanent secretaries. ‘Is it Eyam’s life they’ve come all this way to celebrate,’ she said, running down the list, ‘or his death?’

    ‘Now that’s simply not fair, Kate,’ said Mermagen. ‘In fact I think it is rather silly and disruptive of you.’ His attention had switched to a group around Derek Glenny and before she could say anything more he had moved on, leaving her with the card. She looked to discard it somewhere but then slipped it into her jacket pocket.

    The wake had become a party and all thought of David Eyam seemed to have left the Jubilee Rooms. She considered going up to her room but then noticed Hugh Russell take a drink and knock it back in one.

    She went over to him. ‘I thought you weren’t going to come.’

    ‘I wasn’t, but I did just want to make sure that you were - eh - dropping in this afternoon.’ His upper lip was beaded with sweat and the top of his cheeks flushed.

    ‘Has something happened?’

    ‘No, no. Everything’s fine, but I want to get as much done as we can. I wasn’t sure that I’d made that clear.’

    ‘Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?’ He looked down to the ground for a few moments. ‘Mr Russell, please tell me what has happened.’

    His gaze rose to hers. ‘These papers should be in your possession. I perhaps underestimated their value to you earlier, which is the reason I came over. I really feel that you should take them as soon as possible.’

    ‘You read them.’

    ‘No.’>

    ‘You glanced at them.’

    He lifted his shoulders helplessly. ‘No.’

    ‘Well, it doesn’t matter. Just give them to me later. I’ll come in after this.’

    ‘But you will need somewhere secure for them. I feel certain about that.’

    ‘Fine. I’ll be there about five.’ She felt they had said all they needed, then something occurred to her. ‘Tell me, did anyone know that you were acting for David Eyam?’

    ‘Nobody, apart from my secretary of the time, and she has left to work in Birmingham. Certainly no one knew the substance of his business. It was confidential, and David wanted a very discreet relationship.’

    ‘How many times did he come to your office?’

    He thought for a second. ‘Never, once he had purchased Dove Cottage. We met at a pub and did business over a bite. He always gave me lunch at the Bugle, a pub about twelve miles from here. It has a rather good restaurant, though no one uses it for lunch. I lent him a laptop so he could write out the instructions for the will, then printed it out.’

    ‘Didn’t he have his own computer?’

    ‘He said it was unreliable and kept on losing material.’

    ‘That doesn’t sound like him.’

    ‘At any rate that was the arrangement.’

    ‘And was that the same for the bigger document?’

    ‘No, he gave that to me in an envelope and told me to put it in a safe.’

    ‘Was that at the same time?’

    ‘No - much later, in November maybe even