A Prisoner of Birth Read online

  ‘So were we,’ admitted Duncan as the wine waiter drained the bottle. Danny nodded when he held it up enquiringly.

  ‘Fine wine, that,’ said Duncan. Danny smiled. ‘Larry’s problem is that he hasn’t been offered much lately, and at least Earnest kept his name on the billboards for a few weeks. Soap stars, like footballers, soon get used to earning thousands of pounds a week, not to mention the lifestyle that goes with it. But once that tap is turned off, even if they’ve accumulated a few assets along the way, they can quickly run out of cash. It’s been a problem for so many actors, especially the ones who believe their own publicity and don’t put anything aside for a rainy day, and then find themselves facing a large tax bill.’

  Another question answered. ‘So what are you planning to do next?’ asked Danny, not wanting to show too much interest in Lawrence Davenport in case Duncan became suspicious.

  ‘I’m putting on a piece by a new playwright called Anton Kaszubowski. He won several awards at the Edinburgh Festival last year. It’s called Bling Bling, and I have a feeling it’s just what the West End is looking for. Several big names are already showing interest, and I’m expecting to make an announcement in the next few days. Once I know who’s taking the lead, I’ll drop you a line.’ He toyed with his glass. ‘What sort of figure would you be thinking of investing?’ he asked.

  ‘I’d begin with something small,’ said Danny, ‘say ten thousand. If that works out, I could well become a regular.’

  ‘I survive on my regulars,’ said Duncan and drained his glass. ‘I’ll be in touch as soon as I’ve signed up a lead actor. By the way, I always throw a small drinks party for the investors when I launch a new show, which inevitably attracts a few stars. You’ll be able to see Larry again. Or his sister, depending on your preference.’

  ‘Anything else, Sir Nicholas?’ asked the head waiter.

  Danny would have called for a third bottle, but Charlie Duncan had already answered all his questions. ‘Just the bill, thank you, Mario.’

  After Big Al had returned him to The Boltons, Danny went straight up to his study and took the Davenport file off the shelf. He spent the next hour making notes. Once he had written down everything of relevance that Duncan had told him, he replaced the file between Craig’s and Payne’s and returned to his desk.

  He began to read through his attempt at a prize essay, and after only a few paragraphs his suspicions that it wouldn’t be good enough to impress Professor Mori, let alone the panel of judges, were confirmed. The only good thing about the time he had spent on it was that it had occupied the endless hours of waiting before he could make his next move. He had to avoid the temptation to speed things up, which might well result in him making a fatal error.

  It was several weeks before Gary Hall managed to close the two property deals in Mile End Road, without either seller becoming aware what he was up to. Like a good fisherman, Danny cast his fly with a single purpose: not to catch the minnows like Hall that hang around the surface, but to tempt the bigger fish, like Gerald Payne, to leap out of the water.

  He also had to wait for Charlie Duncan to find a star for his new show before he could legitimately meet up with Davenport again. He also had to wait for— The phone rang. Danny picked it up. ‘That problem you mentioned,’ said a voice. ‘I believe we may have come up with a solution. We should meet.’ The line went dead. Danny was beginning to discover why Swiss bankers continue to hold on to the accounts of the rich who value discretion.

  He picked up his pen, returned to his essay and tried to think of a more arresting opening line. John Maynard Keynes would surely have known the popular song, ‘Ain’t We Got Fun’, with its damning line, ‘There’s nothing surer, the rich get rich and the poor get children’. He may well have speculated on its application to nations as well as individuals . . .

  57

  ‘JAPANESE KNOTWEED?’

  ‘Yes, we believe that Japanese knotweed is the answer,’ said Bresson. ‘Although I’m bound to say that we were both puzzled by the question.’

  Danny made no attempt to enlighten them, as he was just beginning to learn how to play the Swiss at their own game. ‘And why is it the answer?’ he asked.

  ‘If Japanese knotweed is discovered on a building site, it can hold up planning permission for at least a year. Once it’s been identified, experts have to be brought in to destroy the weed, and building cannot commence until the local health and safety committee have deemed the site to have passed all the necessary tests.’

  ‘So how do you get rid of Japanese knotweed?’ asked Danny.

  ‘A specialist company moves in and sets fire to the entire site. Then you have to wait another three months to make sure that every last rhizome has been removed before you can reapply for planning permission.’

  ‘That wouldn’t come cheap?’

  ‘No, it certainly doesn’t come cheap for the owner of the land. We came across a classic example in Liverpool,’ added Segat. ‘The city council discovered Japanese knotweed on a thirty-acre site that had already been granted planning permission for a hundred council houses. It took more than a year to remove it at a cost of just over three hundred thousand pounds. By the time the houses had been built, the developer was lucky to break even.’

  ‘Why is it so dangerous?’ asked Danny.

  ‘If you don’t destroy it,’ said Bresson, ‘it will eat its way into the foundations of any building, even reinforced concrete, and ten years later, without warning, the whole edifice comes tumbling down, leaving you with an insurance bill that would bankrupt most companies. In Osaka, Japanese knotweed destroyed an entire apartment block, which is how it acquired its name.’

  ‘So how do I get hold of some?’ asked Danny.

  ‘Well, you certainly won’t find a packet on the shelves of your local garden centre,’ said Bresson. ‘However, I suspect that any company which specializes in destroying it could point you in the right direction.’ Bresson paused for a moment. ‘It would of course be illegal to plant it on someone else’s land,’ he said, looking directly at Danny.

  ‘But not on your own land,’ Danny replied, which silenced both bankers. ‘Have you come up with a solution for the other half of my problem?’

  It was Segat who answered him. ‘Once again, your request was to say the least unusual, and it certainly falls into the high-risk category. However, my team feel they may have identified a piece of land in East London that fulfils all your criterion.’ Danny recalled Nick correcting him on the proper use of the word criteria, but decided not to enlighten Segat. ‘London, as you will be well aware,’ continued Segat, ‘is bidding to host the 2012 Olympics, with most of the major events provisionally planned to take place at Stratford in East London. Although the success or failure of the bid has not yet been decided, this has already created a large speculative market for sites in the area. Among the sites the Olympic Committee are currently considering is the venue for a velodrome which would accommodate all the indoor cycling events. My contacts inform me that six potential sites have been identified, of which only two are likely to be on the shortlist. You are in the happy position of being able to purchase both sites, and although you would initially have to pay a heavy premium, there is still potential for a handsome profit.’

  ‘How heavy a premium?’ asked Danny.

  ‘We have valued the two sites,’ said Bresson, ‘at around a million pounds each, but both of the current owners are asking for a million and a half. But if they were both to make the shortlist, they could end up being worth as much as six million. And if one of them turned out to be the winner, that figure could be doubled.’

  ‘But if it doesn’t,’ said Danny, ‘I stand to lose three million.’ He paused. ‘I’ll have to consider your report very carefully before I’m willing to risk that amount.’

  ‘You’ve only got a month to make up your mind,’ said Bresson, ‘because that’s when the shortlist will be announced. If both of the sites are on it, you certainly wouldn’t be able to