Peter shrugged. ‘It’s something Mrs Gaines will never understand — or want to understand. It’s shocked her — perhaps even more than the murder. It’s offended her ideas of sexual morality. In a way, it’s Mrs Gaines I feel more sorry for.’
Crow hesitated. ‘I got the impression that she cut you, in the corridor outside the courtroom.’
Peter nodded. He would never forget the look of implacable enmity in her old eyes as he had tried to speak to her. Through no fault of his own she was now his enemy; she had rationalised the shame for her son into a hatred for him. There was nothing he could do, or say.
‘I noticed,’ said Crow, ‘that Miss Shaw was in court. I understand that she’ll be staying on with the firm, after all. But John Sainsby — will he still go to the Bar?’
‘I don’t know — probably not now. Perhaps he’ll stay with Stephen, for in time I suppose it’ll all blow over.’
‘And I suppose Mr Stephen Sainsby will still get his honour,’ said Crow heavily. ‘After all, there are enough among the aristocracy whose parentage at some remove wouldn’t bear looking into.’
‘Inspector Crow,’ laughed Peter, ‘you surprise me.’
‘I surprise myself sometimes.’ Crow smiled gauntly and stuck out a thin, bony hand. ‘I’ll be saying good-bye now, Mr Marlin. I trust you’ll understand what I mean when I say that I hope we won’t meet again.’
‘I know what you mean,’ smiled Peter. ‘You won’t anyway for a while, once this is over. I shall be going to New Zealand to look into the question of the sale of the textile holding over there.’
‘You’ll be travelling alone?’ asked Crow quizzically.
Peter flushed slightly.
‘You think I should?’ he countered.
‘No,’ replied Crow gravely enough. ‘In my opinion a trip to New Zealand would make an ideal honeymoon voyage. Good-bye, Mr Marlin.’
Peter watched his tall, gaunt form thread down through the reporters milling around, to the black car. There was a brief salute as he drove off.
A hand touched Peter on the shoulder. Peter turned to see the thin intelligent face of Paul Jackson.
‘Hallo, Peter. There’s — there’s someone I want you to meet,’ he said hesitantly.
The man who stood at Paul Jackson’s shoulder was heavily built, with a florid, handsome face. He had hard, direct eyes. He stuck out a hand.
‘We have met before, once,’ he grunted. ‘My name’s Lavender.’
Peter stared at him. Max Lavender. He wouldn’t have recognised him, even though they had met once at Jeannette’s party. Jeannette . . . He looked down at the proffered hand. Then, reluctantly, he took it. He heard Paul Jackson’s pent-up breath sigh out.
‘I won’t say I’m particularly pleased to meet you,’ said Peter coolly.
Max Lavender smiled. He had a smile that would be attractive to women.
‘But you won’t mind if I say that I’m very pleased to meet you,’ he countered. ‘I’ve watched your hunches coming right, and you interest me.’
‘I—’
‘Peter,’ interposed Jackson swiftly, ‘perhaps I should explain. Max has more than a passing interest in our affairs. When I said I could raise the money for the venture into Amalgamated Industries, you realised of course that I’d have to go to the City for it. I did. I got it from Max. We’re old business associates.’
‘I see,’ said Peter slowly.
‘I didn’t tell you because it wasn’t relevant at first — and then it became dangerous. You see, Max got, well, somewhat excited when you set Sneed on his trail—’
‘You couldn’t have put it more delicately,’ growled Lavender.
‘—and Peter, you were in such a state that if you’d learned that it was Max who’d put up the money, God knows what would have happened. So I tried to keep it quiet. And that day at the booking-office I almost had a heart attack. I’d just been to see Max, to smooth him down — and then there you were at the station! You weren’t to know I’d just seen Max, but I panicked completely and pretended not to see you. Anyway—’
‘It’s water under the bridge,’ shrugged Peter. ‘I still won’t say it’s been a pleasure meeting you, Mr Lavender. I’ll see you again, Paul, about the New Zealand trip. I must go now and—’
‘Hold your horses,’ said Lavender. ‘I want to talk to you.’
‘What about?’
‘A job.’
‘I don’t follow you.’
Lavender smiled.
‘You’ve finished with private practice. Amalgamated Industries won’t take up all your time. I’ve watched you work. You’ve got a head on your shoulders. I want you, Marlin, in my firm. We could use your expertise, legal and financial. I think you’ve got a flair; I’d like to harness it.’
‘I don’t want to work for you, Lavender.’
‘I’d make it worth your while.’
‘I don’t think you could.’
Lavender watched him narrowly.
‘Six thousand,’ he said, after a pause. Peter smiled cheerfully and began to walk down the steps.
‘I’m going to New Zealand — and for six thousand a year, Mr Lavender, you can go to hell!’
POSTSCRIPT
Extract from the judgment of Lord Croskil, delivered in Gaines and Gaines v Marlin, before the Court of Appeal.
‘. . . I am of the opinion that throughout this long history Mr Marlin acted with the object of securing an improvement in the value of the trust’s holding in Noble and Harris Ltd. At the outset, he thought that if he could get control, through the agency of Amalgamated Industries Ltd., he would be able to increase the value of the holding by a considerable amount. In his estimate of the financial position it would seem that he was undoubtedly correct . . . The result of Mr Marlin’s trip to New Zealand was a sale of the assets there comprised in the subsidiary business. This brought in something in the nature of £80,000 and the trust holding benefited by a capital bonus of £3 per share. This meant that the trust holding benefited to the total extent of £24,000 and the holdings remained unchanged. The substantial profits gained here, and from the disposal of the Swindon assets, were the results of Mr Marlin’s work after he had gained control of Noble and Harris Ltd . . .
‘The question that now arises before this court is: does equity require Mr Marlin to account to the trust holding for the profits that he also had made as a shareholder in Amalgamated Industries Ltd? Equity may so demand, where a trustee has been guilty of some impropriety of conduct, in his fiduciary relationship to the trust. Counsel has argued that Mr Marlin had acquired knowledge and information about the affairs of Noble and Harris Ltd. in the course of acting as a trustee, and as solicitor to the trust. Counsel further argued that Mr Marlin had used this knowledge and information when making the offer for the Noble and Harris shares through his nominee, Mr Jackson.
‘In 1942, Viscount Sankey said: “The general rule of equity is that no one who has duties of a fiduciary nature to perform is allowed to enter into engagements in which he has or can have a personal interest conflicting with the interests of those whom he is bound to protect.”
‘In my opinion there was a potential conflict between Mr Marlin’s professional position and his personal interest, and I find that equity calls him to account, in full, to the trust holding for the moneys he has received as profits on the shares he holds.
‘I desire to emphasise, however, that the integrity of Mr Marlin is not in doubt. He acted with honesty and Mrs Gaines is fortunate that the rigour of equity enables her to deny Mr Marlin the fruits of a great deal of hard work. He has shown himself to be a man of considerable skill and expertise in financial matters, and this has perhaps been emphasised by the fact that I understand he has recently become financial adviser to Lavender, Wright and Crossley, at a salary considerably in excess of eight thousand pounds per annum. The trial judge obviously shares this view of his financial and professional acumen. He directed an inquiry as to what sum should be proper to be all
owed to Mr Marlin in respect of his work and skill in obtaining the shares for the trust holding. While the general rule is that trustees cannot expect remuneration for their services this is one exceptional case where the court will order remuneration to be paid. Mrs Gaines will remunerate Mr Marlin in accordance with the findings of the inquiry. The trial judge expressed the opinion that payment should be on a liberal scale. With that observation I respectfully agree . . .’
THE END
INSPECTOR JOHN CROW SERIES
Book 2: ERROR OF JUDGMENT
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Glossary of English Slang for US readers
A & E: Accident and emergency department in a hospital
Aggro: Violent behaviour, aggression
Air raid: an attack in which bombs are dropped from aircraft on ground targets
Allotment: a plot of land rented by an individual for growing fruit, vegetable or flowers
Anorak: nerd (it also means a waterproof jacket)
Artex: textured plaster finish for walls and ceilings
A Level: exams taken between 16 and 18
Auld Reekie: Edinburgh
Au pair: live-in childcare helper. Often a young woman.
Bar: as in The Bar, the profession of barrister.
Barm: bread roll
Barney: argument
Barrister: lawyer who argues in court
Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids
Beemer: BMW car or motorcycle
Benefits: social security
Bent: corrupt
Bin: wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)
Biscuit: cookie
Blackpool Lights: gaudy illuminations in seaside town
Bloke: guy
Blow: cocaine
Blower: telephone
Blues and twos: emergency vehicles
Bob: money
Bobby: policeman
Broadsheet: quality newspaper (New York Times would be a US example)
Brown bread: rhyming slang for dead
Bun: small cake
Bunk: do a bunk means escape
Burger bar: hamburger fast-food restaurant
Buy-to-let: Buying a house/apartment to rent it out for profit
Charity Shop: thrift store
Carrier bag: plastic bag from supermarket
Care Home: an institution where old people are cared for
Car park: parking lot
CBeebies: kids TV
Chat-up: flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments
Chemist: pharmacy
Chinwag: conversation
Chippie: fast-food place selling chips and other fried food
Chips: French fries but thicker
CID: Criminal Investigation Department
Civvy Street: civilian life (as opposed to army)
Clock: punch
Cock-up: mess up, make a mistake
Cockney: a native of East London
Common: an area of park land/ or lower class
Comprehensive School (Comp.): High school
Cop hold of: grab
Copper: police officer
Coverall: coveralls, or boiler suit
CPS: Crown Prosecution Service, decide whether police cases go forward
Childminder: someone who looks after children for money
Council: local government
Dan Dare: hero from Eagle comic
DC: detective constable
Deck: one of the landings on a floor of a tower block
Deck: hit (verb)
Desperate Dan: very strong comic book character
DI: detective inspector
Digestive biscuit: plain cookie
Do a runner: disappear
Do one: go away
Doc Martens: Heavy boots with an air-cushioned sole
Donkey’s years: long time
Drum: house
ED: accident and emergency department of hospital
Eagle: boys’ comic
Early dart: to leave work early
Eggy soldiers: strips of toast with a boiled egg
Enforcer: police battering ram
Estate: public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)
Estate agent: realtor (U
S)
Falklands War: war between Britain and Argentina in 1982
Fag: cigarette
Father Christmas: Santa Claus
Filth: police (insulting)
Forces: army, navy, and air force
FMO: force medical officer
Fried slice: fried bread
Fuzz: police
Garda: Irish police
Gendarmerie: French national police force
Geordie: from Newcastle
Garden Centre: a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold
Gob: mouth/ can also mean phlegm or spit
GP: general practitioner, a doctor based in the community
Graft: hard work
Gran: grandmother
Hancock: Tony Hancock, English comedian popular in 1950s
Hard nut: tough person
HGV: heavy goods vehicle, truck
HOLMES: UK police computer system used during investigation of major incidents
Home: care home for elderly or sick people
Hoover: vacuum cleaner
I’ll be blowed: expression of surprise
Inne: isn’t he
Interpol: international police organisation
Into care: a child taken away from their family by the social services
Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, applied to any strong woman
ITU: intensive therapy unit in hospital
Jane Doe: a person whose identity is unknown/anonymous
JCB: a mechanical excavator
Jerry-built: badly made
Jungle: nickname given to migrant camp near Calais
Lad: young man
Lass: young woman
Lift: elevator
Lord Lucan: famous aristocrat who allegedly killed his children’s nanny and disappeared in 1974. Has never been found.
Lorry: a truck
Lovely jubbly: said when someone is pleased
Luftwaffe: German air force
M&S: Marks and Spencer, a food and clothes shop