This Was a Man Read online

  “More likely to be your mother. I told her we were meeting Jessica’s new boyfriend for the first time, so she’s bound to want to know what we think.” She picked up the phone.

  “Good evening, Mrs. Clifton. It’s John Ashley.”

  “Hello, John. Has the bank burnt down?”

  “Not yet, but I do need a word with Seb fairly urgently.”

  “The bank’s burnt down,” said Samantha, handing the phone to her husband.

  “You wish. John, what can I do for you?”

  “Sorry to bother you this late, chairman, but you asked me to alert you if Miss Lombardo presented any more large checks.”

  “How much this time?”

  “Forty-two thousand.”

  “Forty-two thousand pounds?” Seb repeated. “Hold up the payment for now, and if Victor doesn’t turn up tomorrow, I’ll have to speak to our legal team. And, John, go home. As my wife keeps reminding me, it’s outside banking hours, so there’s nothing more you can do about it tonight.”

  “A problem, my darling?” asked Samantha, sounding genuinely concerned.

  “Yes, I’m afraid so. Do you remember that woman we saw dining with Victor at the Caprice?” he said, picking the phone back up and beginning to dial.

  “How could I possibly forget?”

  “Well, I think she’s taking him to the cleaners.”

  “Are you calling Victor?”

  “No, Arnold Hardcastle.”

  “That bad?”

  “That bad.”

  * * *

  “Hi, Jessie, I’m glad you were able to make it,” he said, giving her a hug.

  “There’s no way I would have missed it, Grayson.”

  “Congratulations on winning the Founder’s Prize,” he said. “I bet it won’t be long before a West End gallery is showing your work.”

  “From your lips to God’s ears,” said Jessica as the artist turned away to talk to another student.

  “What do you really think?” whispered Richard, as they strolled around the gallery.

  “It’s a great show, even if I’m not sure about the teddy bear.”

  “I wasn’t talking about his teddy bear. How do you think the meeting with your parents went?”

  “As I told you, Mom thought you were dishy. You’re a lucky girl, were her exact words.”

  “I’m not sure your father felt the same way.”

  “No need to worry about Pops,” said Jessica as she stared at a magnificent vase. “Once Mom starts to work on him, he’ll come around.”

  “I hope so, because it won’t be too long before we have to tell him.”

  * * *

  The chairman, the chief executive, and the bank’s in-house lawyer were seated around an oval table in Sebastian’s office at eight o’clock the following morning.

  “Any sign of Victor?” was Seb’s first question.

  “No one’s seen him since Friday night,” said John Ashley. “He told his secretary he was going on a business trip but would be back in time for the board meeting.”

  “But that’s not for another ten days,” said Seb. “Doesn’t Carol have any idea where he is?”

  “No, and he didn’t leave a contact number.”

  “That’s unlike Victor,” said Seb.

  “Carol told me he’s never done it before.”

  “Curiouser and curiouser.”

  “Do you think the time has come to call in Barry Hammond?” suggested Ashley. “I’m sure it wouldn’t take him long to track Victor down, and also to find out everything there is to know about Miss Candice Lombardo.”

  “No, we can’t have a private detective investigating the deputy chairman of the bank,” said Seb. “Is that understood?”

  “Yes, chairman. But Miss Lombardo presented another check yesterday for immediate clearance,” said Ashley as he opened her growing file.

  “How much this time?” asked Arnold.

  “Forty-two thousand,” said Ashley.

  “Do you have any idea what it’s for?”

  “No, chairman, I do not,” replied Ashley.

  Seb studied a balance sheet that had never been in the black and was about to utter a single word to let his inner team know exactly how he felt, but thought better of it.

  “What’s our legal position?” he asked, turning to the bank’s in-house lawyer.

  “If the account is in funds, or the guarantor is good for that amount, we have no choice but to clear the check within forty-eight hours.”

  “Then let’s hope Victor returns soon, or at least contacts us in the next couple of days.”

  “Isn’t there a paper trail of any sort?” asked Arnold. “Phone calls, credit cards, hotel bills, plane tickets, anything?”

  “Nothing so far,” said Ashley. “His secretary has instructions to call me the moment she hears from him, but I’m not hopeful, because I have a feeling that if we do find Victor, Miss Lombardo won’t be far behind.”

  “There’s one other person who might know where he is,” said Arnold.

  “Who?” asked Seb.

  “His wife.”

  “Absolutely not,” said Seb. “Ruth is the last person I want contacted under any circumstances.”

  “In which case, chairman,” said Arnold, “we have no choice but to clear the latest check within forty-eight hours, unless you want me to report the whole matter to the Bank of England and ask if we can hold up any further payments until Victor returns.”

  “No, allowing the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street to wash our dirty linen in public would be worse than telling Ruth. Clear the check, and let’s hope Miss Lombardo doesn’t present another one before Victor shows up.”

  * * *

  “She’s what?” said Sebastian.

  “Pregnant,” repeated Samantha.

  “I’ll kill him.”

  “You’ll do nothing of the sort. In fact, when you next see Richard, you’ll congratulate him.”

  “Congratulate him?”

  “Yes, and leave them both in no doubt how delighted you are.”

  “Why the hell would I do that?”

  “Because the alternative doesn’t bear thinking about. To lose your daughter and never be able to see your grandchild. Just in case you’ve forgotten, you’ve experienced something similar before, and I don’t need to go through that again.”

  “Are they going to get married?” asked Sebastian, changing tack.

  “I didn’t ask.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s none of my business. Anyway, I’m sure they’ll let us know when they’re good and ready.”

  “You’re being very calm, in the circumstances.”

  “Of course I am. I’m looking forward to being a grandmother.”

  “Oh my God,” said Seb. “I’m going to be a grandfather.”

  “And to think The FT described you as one of the sharpest minds in the City!”

  Sebastian grinned, took his wife in his arms, and said, “I sometimes forget, my darling, how lucky I am to have married you.” He switched on the light on his side of the bed and sat up. “We ought to give my mother a call and warn her she’s about to become a great-grandmother.”

  “She already knows.”

  “So was I the last person to be told?”

  “Sorry. I needed to get all the troops on side before you heard the news.”

  “This just hasn’t been my week,” said Seb, turning the light out.

  * * *

  “I’ve found out what the forty-two thousand pounds was for, chairman,” said John Ashley.

  “I’m all ears,” said Seb.

  “It’s a down payment on a building in South Parade that used to be an escort agency.”

  “That’s all I need. So who’s the agent?”

  “Savills.”

  “Well, at least we know the chairman.”

  “I’ve already had a word with Mr. Vaughan. He tells me he’ll be presenting a check signed by Miss Lombardo, in full and final settlement f