Page 96 of The Impossible Fortune

‘Up and coming area,’ says the estate agent. ‘Couldn’t give these away a few years ago.’

There must be a shop, Joanna thinks, where estate agents buy their suits.

‘But there’s the overspill now,’ says the estate agent. ‘People priced out of the Peckham Triangle, so they come here. Good buses, was near the primary school till that burned down, there’re trees a couple of streets down.’

Joanna and Paul had had a long discussion about whether to sell Paul’s old flat or rent it out. Paul doesn’t believe in the landlord economy and no amount of Joanna’s spreadsheets about the financial benefits of letting it out could persuade him otherwise. The yield that man was willingly turning down took Joanna’s breath away. So they’re selling.

‘I see it has a bathroom,’ says the estate agent. ‘That’s a bonus.’

Joanna hears a phone ring. Must be Paul’s landline. She’d rung it a few times when they’d started dating. Paul and her mum were the only two people Joanna knew who still had a landline.

‘Okay,’ says the estate agent, walking into the bedroom. ‘So this is where the magic happens.’

Joanna decides to excuse herself and answer the call.

‘Yes,’ she says. It’ll be a cold caller, but anything to give her a couple of minutes’ respite.

‘Is that Mr Paul Brett to whom I’m speaking?’ a voice asks.

‘This is his wife,’ says Joanna. Is that the first time she’s ever uttered that sentence?

‘Thank you for the clarification,’ says the voice. ‘My name is Jeremy Jenkins. Would you like me to spell that for you?’

‘Spell Jeremy Jenkins?’ Joanna asks. ‘No, I think I’m okay.’

‘Very good,’ says Jeremy Jenkins. ‘I wonder, upon receipt of this call, if you might ask Mr Brett to contact me at his soonest convenience. It’s quite an unusual matter.’

‘May I ask what the matter is regarding?’ It’s certainly the first time she’s ever utteredthatsentence. There’s something about talking to solicitors.

‘I have a package for a Mr Nicholas Silver,’ says Jeremy. ‘To be opened upon the death of a Holly Lewis, which, I regret to inform you, should you not already have prior knowledge of the matter, has recently occurred. Would that ring any bells?’

‘Yes, both friends of Paul,’ says Joanna. ‘Friends of my husband.’

‘I have been trying to reach Mr Silver by telephone,’ says Jeremy. ‘But with no success, despite best efforts. I thought Mr Brett might be able to point me in the right direction.’

‘May I ask how you got this number?’

‘Of course,’ says Jeremy. ‘I have Holly Lewis’s number, which I was to ring in the event of Mr Silver’s death, and Ihave Mr Silver’s number, which I was to ring, as discussed, in the event of Ms Lewis’s death, which, as aforementioned, appears to have occurred. And I have a third number, this number, which I am to ring should both Ms Lewis and Mr Silver be indisposed. I am sorry to ring it, but, in the present absence of Nicholas Silver, I felt it was my only option.’

‘I see,’ says Joanna. ‘And, hypothetically, if Nick Silver were to be deceased, what action would you need to take?’

‘Well, I very much hope that isn’t the case,’ says Jeremy. ‘But, were it to be so, both envelopes would become the property of Paul Brett.’

Joanna is silent.

‘Your husband,’ says Jeremy, just to clarify.

WEDNESDAY

53

The call came through about an hour ago. Elizabeth ate her breakfast – she eats breakfast again now – and called Bogdan. Wondered if he wouldn’t mind popping over if he wasn’t too busy helping Ron?

In the recent past, if Elizabeth had agreed to a meeting with someone she was worried might kill her, she wouldn’t have that meeting in her own flat. Out of respect for Stephen – it was his home too – and also to make sure that he didn’t get shot. It was one of the compromises of marriage, ‘for richer or poorer’ and all of that.

But now she is free to meet potential killers wherever she chooses, and, when Jamie Usher rang her, she invited him straight over. Just the man she wanted to talk to, and it will save Joyce and her a trip.

She has asked Bogdan to come over, because she hadn’t liked Jamie Usher’s manner when they’d met in Manchester.