The Account

The phone was picked up on the third ring.

‘Hello?’

‘It’s me.’

‘Well.’ Grace Brand’s voice was heavy with sarcasm. ‘We haven’t heard from you in a while.’

‘There was nothing new to report.’

Grace Brand paused. ‘And now?’

‘There’s a new face on the horizon. I think your friend may be about to stray again.’

‘Who is it this time?’

‘Her name is Julia Lang. She works at the Burlington Hotel.’

‘What is she – a maid?’ There was a sneer in Grace Brand’s voice.

‘She’s the hotel’s Publicity Director.’

‘He’s been seeing her?’

‘A couple of times. Lunch. The theatre.’

‘I see.’ She paused. ‘Keep me informed of developments.’

‘Of course.’

Chapter 11 (#ulink_91954370-3880-5e69-b840-66b99bc9cefc)

There was one person, Julia felt sure, who could tell her about Robert Brand, who now intrigued her greatly. What was his story? Bobby Koenig would know, but he had now checked out of the hotel. That left Lisa Faraday.

Since working with her during her brief stint as a model when she first arrived in London, Julia had remained close friends with Lisa. A bubbly and attractive redhead in her early forties, she was a former small-time actress who had hoped for a film career in the long ago days when it seemed Britain might actually have a film industry of its own. She had tried various jobs after that, including working as a secretary at an embassy in Bryanston Square and serving as a receptionist for a specialist in Harley Street. None of the jobs lasted. Lisa had one great trouble: she could not resist men. She slept with both the ambassador and the specialist. She had a list of former lovers that astonished Julia.

Her name began cropping up in divorce cases. Then she was offered a trip to Syria by a businessman she met at Regine’s in Paris. He took her first to Damascus, then all over the Middle East, ending up in Cairo. There she was introduced to one of the young Saudi princes. Within a week she had moved in with him and left the businessman. Six months later she was pregnant.

As a result of the romance she was faintly notorious and decidedly newsworthy. She was also the recipient of a pension from the Prince, which allowed her to live, if not in luxury, at least in comfort in a five-room apartment in St John’s Wood. And to educate the child of the liaison, a dark-eyed four-year-old named Deena.

Julia liked Lisa, for she was good-hearted and excellent company. And, despite everything, undefeated. And it was to Lisa that she brought up Brand’s name when they met for lunch at a restaurant round the corner from the hotel.

‘Brand?’ Lisa echoed, stopping with her fork halfway to her mouth. ‘Robert Brand? You actually met him?’

‘At the hotel. The cocktail party.’

‘He was there? Incredible. What’s he like? All those stories …’

‘What stories?’

‘You can’t have forgotten. Jane Summerwood. The woman in the park …’

Julia frowned. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘It was in all the papers. She was beaten to death …’

‘So?’

‘You’re unbelievable,’ Lisa said. ‘Brand was her lover. She was three months pregnant.’

‘What?’ Julia stared at her.

‘He was supposed to be getting a divorce. It was a big scandal.’

Julia sat back, stunned. ‘How could I have missed that?’

‘It was last year. Perhaps you were away,’ Lisa said. ‘They never found out who did it. Brand was in New York at the time. There were rumours he had a heart attack afterwards.’

Julia, shaken by what she had just learned, was silent for a moment. Poor devil, she thought. What a ghastly thing to have happened. But it was curious. He had talked about his wife as though they had an amicable, if not close, relationship. Yet only a year ago he had been planning to leave her and marry this Jane Summerwood.

Lisa pushed aside her plate. ‘Be honest. What did you think of him?’

Julia told her about the visit to the gallery, the subsequent lunch and their evening at the theatre.

Lisa’s eyes widened. ‘Perhaps he’s interested in you? Jesus, Julia, be careful. He’s not your league at all. The Brand Corporation. Oil, ships, hotels, munitions. You know they’ve got an office in Grosvenor Square?’

‘He told me.’

‘A big place. I went to a party there once.’

‘I don’t even know if I’ll see him again,’ Julia said.

‘Do you want to?’

‘He’s very good for morale. He wants me to join one of his hotels in New York.’

‘That might be fun. But what about Michael?’

‘He’s been offered a job in Australia.’

‘Is he going to take it?’

‘I’m not sure.’

‘Encourage him. You two aren’t going anywhere.’

‘I know it. The trouble is he doesn’t.’

Lisa finished her coffee. ‘Did Brand tell you he was still married?’