Whispers Under Ground

ears.
    ‘The pottery,’ I said. ‘The stuff what you’ve been trying to sell to the traders on the Portobello.’
    ‘Comes from here, don’t it?’ he said.
    ‘Not from Moscow Road then?’
    Kevin gave me an accusing look. ‘You’ve been following me?’
    ‘Yes Kevin, we’ve been following you,’ said Lesley.
    ‘That’s a violation of my European human rights,’ he said.
    I looked at Lesley – surely nobody could really be that stupid? She shrugged. Lesley has a much lower opinion of humanity than I do.
    I gestured at the kiln. ‘Do you know whose this is?’ I asked.
    Kevin glanced incuriously at the kiln and then shrugged. ‘No idea,’ he said.
    ‘Have you ever noticed anything weird happening around here?’ I asked.
    ‘Like what?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘Ghosts, mysterious noises – weird shit?’
    ‘Not really,’ he said.
    ‘It’s time to call in Seawoll,’ said Lesley.
    We made Kevin sit on the edge of the kiln’s loading pallet and walked out of his hearing.
    ‘Is this anything he wants to know about?’ I asked.
    ‘This could be the source of the murder weapon,’ said Lesley. ‘It’s down to the SIO to decide what he wants to know about.’
    I nodded, she was right but I was thinking that this could have been where James was sloping off to during those gaps in his timeline. James was a student, but his father was rich.
    ‘I want to talk to the senator,’ I said. ‘Maybe he paid for all of this.’
    Lesley reminded me that little miss FBI agent was likely to take a close interest in any visit, so I phoned Kittredge.
    ‘Have you found your little lost sheep?’ I said.
    ‘Why do you ask?’ Special Branch might have been reorganised out of existence but they were still the same cagey bastards they’d been when they were doing the legwork for MI5 during the Cold War.
    ‘Possible sighting in Ladbroke Grove,’ I said. ‘I just thought I’d check with you before wasting any time on it.’
    ‘She’s back in the bunker,’ he said. ‘Has been since about nine this morning.’
    ‘That’s the hotel, right?’ I asked, knowing full well it probably wasn’t.
    ‘Grosvenor Square,’ said Kittredge wearily – meaning the American Embassy.
    I thanked him and hung up. CTC was responsible for guarding the embassy, including any secret back doors it might have. If Kittredge said Reynolds was inside then that’s probably where she was.
    ‘Sitting in front of a laptop watching us drive around,’ said Lesley.
    ‘Good,’ I said. ‘If I leave the tracker with you, then she’ll never suspect.’
    Finding the senator was easy enough. I just called Guleed – knowing where the relatives are is part and parcel of the family liaison role. It comes in useful if they make that unfortunate, but all too common, transition from victim to suspect.
    ‘We’re at the house in Ladbroke Grove,’ said Guleed.
    I left Lesley to baby-sit Kevin and call in the cavalry, and made the short drive in under ten minutes.
    The senator was an ordinary-looking man in an expensive suit. He sat at the kitchen table with a bottle of Jameson’s and a plastic half-pint glass in front of him.
    ‘Senator?’ I asked. ‘May I have a quick word?’
    He looked up at me and gave me a grimace – I figured it was the closest he could get to a polite smile. There was whiskey on his breath.
    ‘Please, Detective, have a seat,’ he said.
    I sat down opposite – he offered me a drink but I declined. He had a long face with a curious lack of expression, although I could see pain in the tension around his eyes. His brown hair was neatly cut into a conservative side parting, his teeth were white and even and his nails were neatly manicured. He looked maintained – as polished, dusted and cared for as a vintage automobile.
    ‘How can I help you?’ he asked.
    I asked whether he, or anyone he knew, had purchased a kiln and associated equipment.
    ‘No,’ he said. ‘Is it important?’
    ‘I can’t say yet, sir,’ I said. ‘Did your son have access to an independent source of income – a trust fund perhaps?’
    ‘Yes,’ said the senator. ‘Several, in fact. But they’ve all been checked and nothing has been taken. Jimmy was always very self-sufficient.’
    ‘Did you have a lot of contact?’ I asked.
    The senator poured a measure of whiskey into his plastic cup.
    ‘Why do you ask?’
    ‘The FBI seemed concerned that he might prove embarrassing – politically?’
    ‘Do you know what I like