Page 48 of An Eye for an Eye
‘True,’ said Paul, ‘although I sympathize with what Dr Warwick is going through, I also want to see Simon Hartley released as soon as possible. However, we need to play our part in helping secure the arms contract ahead of the French – and keeping Avril Dubois safe, while allowing her to get on with her job.’
The rest of the team burst out laughing, which helped to get things into perspective.
‘One thing remains constant,’ said Ross, once the laughter had died down, ‘Faulkner is clearly still bent on revenge and there are no prizes for guessing who will be his next target,’ he said, looking across the table. ‘We’ll have to try and stay one step ahead of Faulkner if he’s not to succeed once again, while we try to do six other jobs at the same time.’
‘Agreed,’ said the Hawk. ‘But for now, let’s spend our energy preparing for the Saudi visit. With that in mind, Chief Superintendent Warwick will continue to take overall charge of the operation, while Ross will watch the Black Prince’severy move from the moment the official party lands at Northolt to the moment they climb back on their plane twenty-four hours later, before going on to Paris.’
‘Paul, you will protect the Saudi Minister of Defence, while Jackie will be responsible for the safety of the rest of the official delegation. Rebecca, you’ll continue keeping an eye on Avril Dubois during the day, and Ross will remain in charge of the night shifts. No time to waste,’ he added, as the team began to gather up their files and prepare to leave. ‘William, perhaps you could stay behind for a moment?’
The Hawk didn’t speak again until the door had closed. ‘If I could do anything to help Beth in her present plight,’ he said, ‘believe me I wouldn’t hesitate, but …’
‘I know,’ said William, ‘and I accept it’s impossible to do anything while our hands are tied behind our backs, so we’ll just have to be patient and wait for Faulkner to make his first mistake.’
‘Which may take a little more time,’ said the Hawk. ‘And you’ll also have to keep an eye on Ross, who doesn’t consider patience is a virtue.’
‘Agreed,’ said William. ‘But if you’ll excuse me, sir, I ought to be going home. Beth will soon be facing a committee meeting that may well decide her fate.’
‘Surely they will have the common sense to …’
‘Have you ever known a committee that was overburdened with common sense?’ asked William.
Finally a question the Hawk didn’t seem to have an answer for.
CHAPTER 11
BETH WAS WEARING THE SAMEsuit, the same shoes and carrying the same handbag as she had on the day of her interview three years before as director of the Fitzmolean.
The chairman of the board, Sir Nicholas Fenwick, had made it clear before he asked Beth to attend the meeting and answer a few questions, that she had his whole-hearted support and considered the interview to be no more than a formality before she returned to her desk and got on with the job. The last thing he wanted, he confided in her, was to be looking for a new director just before he retired.
‘However,’ he warned her, ‘a couple of members of the board’ – Beth knew exactly who they were – ‘have called for a full inquiry as to how it was possible for theAngelto have been removed from the gallery only to end up perched on the lid of a toilet in the ladies’ loo during a royal visit.’
Beth had told the chairman she felt he’d been left with no choice but to instigate a full inquiry and was happy to answer any questions the board might throw at her.
Sir Nicholas asked her to remain outside in the corridor until she was called. ‘We shouldn’t keep you for more than a few minutes,’ he’d assured her before he disappeared back into the boardroom.
Beth was surprised by how long they kept her waiting, and began to speculate on what they could possibly be discussing behind closed doors. She and William had endlessly gone over the questions she was likely to be asked and the answers she should give, and although the Rembrandt drawing had been safely back in place for over a week, the press interest had not diminished, only confirmed by the dozen journalists who were waiting downstairs in the lobby like jackals to hear the outcome of the meeting. The chairman had already told them to expect a short statement and hinted they should anticipate the board’s unanimous support for their outstanding director. Not what they wanted to hear.
While she waited, Beth thought about her last three years in office when, as the arts correspondent ofThe Timeshad suggested, the gallery’s reputation had gone from strength to strength under her leadership. But she recalled Dr Henry Kissinger’s words,reputations can take years to build, only to be shattered in a moment.Was she facing that moment?
Beth knew she was by nature a glass half-empty person, while her husband was a glass half-full individual. William could not have been more supportive, although she gathered that his efforts to bring Faulkner to justice weren’t exactly going smoothly, bearing in mind he was facing his own problems which he continually downplayed. But Beth knew it wasn’t quite that simple, and his chances of succeeding the Hawk as Commander in a year’s time had suffered a setback from which it wouldn’t be easy to recover. ‘No smoke without fire’ was an easy flag to hoist up the flagpole of ambition bythose colleagues who had their own agendas. His team’s loyalty was never in any doubt, and Ross – a one hundred per cent glass-full person – let anyone know who cared to listen that this was nothing more than a vendetta against a first-class director who was simply doing her job. A points victory for Faulkner, but not a knockout.
But Beth accepted her fate was still in the balance, however much William had tried to persuade her otherwise.
Beth had already withdrawn her name from the shortlist to be the next director of Tate. As her father continually reminded her, loyalty is a two-way street.
The boardroom door opened.
‘Would you be kind enough to join us, Dr Warwick?’ asked the company secretary, not displaying his usual relaxed demeanour. She couldn’t help thinking he hadn’t called her Dr Warwick for years.
Beth followed him into the boardroom to find the members sitting in a semicircle around a single upright chair. She took her place, feeling a little like the young prince in Yeames’s iconic painting,And When Did You Last See Your Father?Christina greeted her with a warm smile.
‘Thank you for joining us, Dr Warwick,’ said the chairman. ‘We would like to ask you a few questions concerning the removal of Rembrandt’sAngel, and its most fortuitous recovery so quickly afterwards. One or two members of the board felt it was nothing less than our statutory duty to try and establish what exactly happened that evening, so that we can prevent a similar incident taking place in the future. As you will know,’ continued the chairman, ‘we’ve already interviewed Alan Roberts, the museum’s head of security. The board have concluded that he carried out the correct procedure in the circumstances and had no way of knowing thatthe people carrying out the inspection earlier in the day were not police officers.’
‘As director, I fully endorse that judgement,’ said Beth, feeling on safe ground, ‘and also consider it right that the board are taking this matter seriously, as there are questions that still need to be answered.’
‘That’s most helpful, Dr Warwick,’ said Sir Nicholas. ‘So I’ll start by asking you where you were when the switch took place.’
‘I had gone home to change in preparation for the unveiling.’