Robert Goddard - Name To a Face

“And from Munich,” Harding countered.

“True enough.” Whybrow nodded to the approaching waiter. “Perrier. And… another beer for you, Tim?”

“Sure.”

“OK. Perrier. Une bière.” The waiter bustled away. Whybrow sat down in the shade, plucked off his sunglasses and looked expectantly at Harding across the table. “Not started back to work yet, then?”

“Not yet.”

“Luc reliable, is he?”

“Yes,” Harding replied, cautiously. “He is.”

“Trustworthy?”

“Certainly.”

“You’re lucky. Having people you can really trust around you is the key to success in business. And not just in business, of course. But they’re not easy to find.”

“In my experience, trust breeds trust.”

“You think so?”

“I do.”

“Well, it’s a point of view.” And it was one Whybrow pondered as the waiter returned with their drinks. He deposited them with a flourish, lodged a second bill under the ashtray and departed. Whybrow watched him go, then said, “As you can imagine, most of the staff at Starburst are still in shock following Barney’s death. My enforced absence last week left matters a little… rudderless. So, I have clients to reassure and issues to resolve aplenty. It’s a pleasure seeing you, of course, but…”

“You want to know why I insisted we meet.”

“Yes. Though I hope I didn’t force you to insist.”

“Have you consulted Carol about these… issues you need to resolve?”

Whybrow’s posture stiffened slightly. He sat forward in his chair. “Don’t take this amiss, Tim, but what have the details of how Carol wants me to manage Starburst International to do with you?”

“Nothing, I suppose.”

“As I recall, you said you wanted to discuss Hayley”

“So I do. But it’s all connected, isn’t it? Hayley, Barney, Carol, you and… Starburst International. All… linked.”

“By what?”

“Ah well, that’s the big question, isn’t it?”

“It’s a question that eludes me, I’m afraid. What are you trying to say?”

“I heard about Nathan Gashry’s death while I was in England.”

“I naturally assumed you had.”

“What did you make of it?”

Whybrow shrugged. “Suicide’s generally an impenetrable act. I had some dealings with the man on Barney’s behalf when we were arranging how to finance Kerry’s treatment at the Horstelmann Clinic. For what it’s worth, I thought him… arrogant but insecure. A little… flaky.”

“Potentially suicidal?”

“In retrospect, yes.”

“His girlfriend thinks otherwise.”

Whybrow frowned. “You’ve spoken to her?”

“Any reason why I shouldn’t have?”

“None. Apart from the obvious.”

“Which is?”

“That you must have better things to do with your time.” Whybrow flattened his palms on the tabletop in a strange, declaratory gesture. “Carol tells me you’ve established Humphrey Tozer stole the ring from Heartsease. It’s helpful to have that loose end tied up, I suppose, but essentially irrelevant. As is whatever self-destructive impulse drove Nathan Gashry to take his own life. Barney asked you to deal with a small problem for him and you did your best, I don’t doubt, but since then it seems to me… you’ve been out of your depth.”

“I have?”

“As confirmed by your failure to anticipate the threat Hayley posed to Barney.”

“But she didn’t pose a threat, Tony. That’s the point. Not after her aborted attack on Carol. Specifically not in Munich five days later. She posed no threat there at all.”

Whybrow’s hands left the table. He sat back. “I’m not with you, Tim. You were there when Hayley murdered Barney. You saw her do it.”

“Not exactly. I saw someone who resembled Hayley. Someone got up to resemble her.”

Whybrow gave him a long, hard look. “Surely not.”

“I’m certain of it.”

“Certain… it wasn’t Hayley?”

“Exactly.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Well, I am. And I’ll be telling the German police as much very soon.”

Whybrow glided one hand slowly over the crown of his closely shaven head. Was he nervous? Harding could only hope so. “What’s made you question the evidence of your own eyes, Tim?”

“I’ve done a lot of thinking in the past few days. A lot of… reviewing. I’ve sorted out what really happened from what I was manipulated into believing happened.”

“Really?”

“Nathan Gashry’s death clinched it for me. He knew Hayley hadn’t asked him to call Barney. He was paid to say she had. Or blackmailed. Or… otherwise induced. It doesn’t much matter how or why. What matters is that he was a weak link in the chain. That’s why he was taken out.”

“Taken out?”

“Murdered.”

“You seem to be developing a rather elaborate conspiracy theory in the glaring absence of an alternative suspect. Who but Hayley could have had any reason to kill Barney?”

“That’s not for me to say.”

“Isn’t it?”

“I imagine it’s all about money. Maybe Barney wasn’t willing to be as… financially flexible… as someone else wanted him to be. Or maybe he discovered someone was… cheating him. Either way when Hayley attacked Carol, she handed that someone a golden opportunity to get Barney off their back once and for all, with Hayley ready and waiting to take the blame.”

“I see. Well, this is… amazing.”

“But true.”

“You intend to tell the police what you’ve told me?”

“Yes.”

“So, why tell me first? ”

“Because, once I’ve convinced them Hayley’s innocent, they’re bound to cast around for another suspect. I expect they’ll start with Barney’s business associates. It’d be logical. Money is the root of all evil, after all. That could cause you some… embarrassment.”

“Why?”

“You were acquainted with Nathan Gashry. You said so yourself. If Nathan mentioned you to his girlfriend, or his sister; if there’s any suggestion he didn’t fall to his death but was pushed; if there’s any irregularity however slight, in Starburst International’s recent dealings… Well, I don’t need to spell it out, do I?”

“You’re trying to spare me a lot of… inconvenience.”

“Something like that.”

“Carol’s not going to be pleased by your… change of heart, you know.”

“I can’t help that.”

“And the police may not believe you. They may conclude you were in league with Hayley all along.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“Indeed. A chance certainly is what you’re taking. Well, well, well.” Whybrow sipped his Perrier. He had remained calm and softly spoken. Nothing hinted at inner turmoil. Unless it was the knotting of his brow. “Perhaps you need to make a fresh start in life, Tim. I can see the case for it. Barney’s death. Your… unsatisfactory… relationship with Carol. A somewhat… untargeted lifestyle. Yes. Pastures new. A clean break. A change of air. It’s probably to be recommended. The only difficulty may be… funding. If so, I could… offer to help.”

“No.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I’m not asking you to buy me off, Tony.”

Whybrow looked genuinely surprised, almost hurt. “What are you asking me to do?”

“Back up my change of story with some additional evidence that someone other than Hayley killed Barney.”

“Any suggestions who that might be?”

“Ostensibly, Nathan Gashry had the same motive as Hayley: revenge. Officially, he paid for Kerry’s treatment, which could be taken to prove he’d gone on loving her after their break-up. He lured Barney to the rendezvous in Munich. And he committed suicide in a fit of remorse… about something.”