The Namedropper by Brian Freemantle Page B

in his car. He’d been in every room in which I’d played, during the evening.’
    â€˜Watching you?’
    â€˜I hadn’t been aware inside. I only recognized him outside, in the car.’
    â€˜What else?’
    â€˜That’s it,’ said Jordan, further discomfited by the emptiness of what he was saying. He had abandoned the intention to go to Hans Crescent and that night returned to the same Mayfair club, where he’d lost almost £5,000. He didn’t see the man in the club or isolate anyone waiting in a car when he’d left to take the same route to Park Lane for a taxi.
    The woman wasn’t frowning any more but the smile was hovering. ‘You haven’t thought you’ve been followed since?’
    â€˜I haven’t been aware of it,’ qualified Jordan. ‘They watched me pretty effectively in France without my suspecting it, don’t forget. Do you think they’ve begun some sort of surveillance here?’
    Lesley humped her shoulders. ‘They could have, although I would have thought they’ve already got all they need for their case as far as the adultery is concerned.’
    â€˜So I’m becoming paranoid?’
    The smile widened. ‘I didn’t say that. Or think it. They might have decided it’s necessary, now that Dan’s got involved and confirmed you’re going to contest the accusations.’
    â€˜Could you ask him what he thinks? I don’t like the idea of my every move being watched.’
    She hunched her shoulders again. ‘There’s nothing we can really do about it, if they are.’
    â€˜It’s an unsettling feeling.’ He’d have to check Hans Crescent tomorrow, Jordan realized. By now there’d probably be something from his new City bank if nothing else in the name of Paul Maculloch.
    â€˜It’s not actually against the law, although if you could prove it we could apply for a harassment order. Proving it would be a problem. And attract publicity to the case in America, which we don’t really want, do we?’
    â€˜We’ll leave it,’ decided Jordan.
    â€˜That’s probably best,’ agreed the lawyer. ‘I’ve got more from Dan. And I’ve got the medical report and the photographs.’
    â€˜And I very definitely want to talk about Preston!’ declared Jordan.
    â€˜I want to talk about Preston, too,’ said Lesley. ‘You’d better listen to me first.’
    â€˜You first, about everything,’ agreed Jordan. He saw that Lesley Corbin had several, separated sets of paper arranged in front of her on her desk.
    She selected the smallest of the files. ‘Dan’s emails. There’ll definitely need to be what he calls a financial lodgement, in view of what you do for a living. He’s talking of an initial tranche of $100,000, which I’ve roughly converted to around £55,000.’ She looked up. ‘Is that all right?’
    â€˜If you mean can I provide that much in cash, the answer’s yes, but on the understanding we reached earlier.’ Not just a trip to Hans Crescent, Jordan thought: he’d need to get more out of the safe deposits at the Royston and Jones bank. What was set aside in Marylebone was gambling stake money. And at the moment it amounted to less than he’d started out with. His resentment against Alfred Appleton was building by the day.
    â€˜I talked personally with Dan,’ said the woman. ‘Our understanding is acceptable as far as he’s concerned. But he stressed it’s only an initial tranche.’
    â€˜What if I’m not found to be responsible for the marriage collapse?’
    â€˜Again, roughly as we thought. An American judge would have discretion but we’re not denying that you slept with Alyce Appleton. It comes down to whether or not you – or rather Dan – can satisfy the judge you’re not a marriage wrecker. Dan thinks he can, on our