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of Mick Sloane is also sniffing around. No doubt, in the course of your investigations, your paths will cross. I’ll leave it up to you as to whether you make use of him or not. If you choose not to then you may need to torpedo his inquiries.’

      ‘Why?’ asked Sam.

      ‘I don’t want this Sloane to uncover the fact that the videos really do exist. If he were to release that sort of information to the public it could lead to total chaos. There could be a complete lack of confidence in the whole political scheme and scores of individuals will be snooping around out there looking for those tapes. Imagine if they were to fall into the hands of some really radical organisation. At least The Fund has been restrained in their demands. So far.’

      Sam gave it some thought and replied, ‘It would probably be for the best if we had him on our side, but we’ll check him out first before committing ourselves.’

      ‘Will we be operating under any sort of cover?’ asked Bree, remembering it had been the government’s cover story that had created The Fund in the first place.

      Thorpe almost blushed as he remembered too. ‘No. At this stage you’ll just be operatives out in the field.’

      ‘If this Sloane person does work with us, will we be able to bring him into headquarters?’ asked Bree.

      ‘No. He’ll have no official recognition. You’ll have to conduct the operation from outside. Use one of your homes.’

      Bree was incensed. ‘I’m not having a couple of feral males tromping all through my private things!’

      ‘Well, I suppose that just leaves my place. You’ll just have to supply a maid with a high security clearance to keep it clean for me,’ smiled Sam.

      ‘The government’s budget does not run to providing maids for slovenly agents. Clean it yourself,’ replied Thorpe gruffly.

      ‘Well, it was worth a try.’

      Thorpe handed over a copy of Sloane’s file. ‘If you two are finished being cheeky, I suggest you gather all the information together and get started. Keep me updated.’

      On their way out, Bree said, ‘I’ll collect a few things from home and meet you at your place.’

      Knowing they would be spending a lot of late nights reviewing the material, Sam asked, ‘Will I make some space for you in my wardrobe?’

      ‘Certainly not! I’ll use your spare bedroom.’

      ‘I thought we’d use that as our office.’

      ‘We’ll use your dining table for that. You never use it anyway.’

      ‘Maybe I would if I had someone stopping over.’

      ‘Your stopovers are only ever there for breakfast anyway,’ she said, referring to Sam’s occasional girlfriends.

      Thorpe’s secretary listened in to the pair’s banter. It was the worst kept secret in Inland Security that these two occasionally slept together when they were at home and had done so on a more regular basis when on assignment, especially when they posed as a married couple. She watched them split up the pile of documents and leave the office.

      I wonder when they’ll finally wake up to the fact that they love one another, she wondered.

      Chapter 4

      Sloane had managed to obtain a great deal of information regarding Dr Rani Smith, as well as Janice (aka Jade) Patricia Green from the Internet and from newspaper archives. Most of the information had not been accessed in decades and stood largely forgotten. He followed up the leads presented there with old census and electoral rolls as well as hospital, university and the student records from the school formerly known as the Staunton College for Young Ladies and which had now evolved into The Staunton Academy, a co-educational school which specialised in boarders from overseas.

      All the information gathered added to Sloane’s background detail and helped to add a further dimension to the characters he was investigating.

      He now knew where they had come from and could better appreciate where their lives took them. All he needed now was confirmation that his suspicions were correct and Dr Rani Smith was the person who could provide him with that information.

      Sloane rang her home and asked the young female who answered if he could speak to Dr Rani Smith. After a brief wait Dr Smith answered, sounding very spritely despite her age.

      After introducing himself, Sloane explained that he was seeking background information on Jade Green and requested a face to face interview.

      Dr Smith took some time before answering. ‘What makes you believe that I would have any information on this Jade Green person?’

      Sloane suspected that he would receive such a reply. ‘Dr Smith, I was present at your friend’s funeral. I saw you there.’

      ‘And what makes you think that just because I attended a funeral, the person was a friend of mine?’

      Sloane smiled to himself. He tried to be as gentle as he could with the old lady. ‘Dr Smith, I admire your loyalty to your old friend, but I don’t mean to do any further damage to her reputation. In fact, with the information I have I believe the world needs to see the infamous Jade Green in a completely different light.’

      ‘I’m sure your motives are quite admirable, Mr Sloane, but I don’t see how I could possibly be of assistance to you.’

      Sloane smiled again. She was being far too polite. If she were not the person he sought then she would have hung up on him by now.

      He was sure that she wanted to know just how much he knew before dismissing him completely. It was time to set her straight. ‘With all due respect to your age, Dr Smith, I’m sure your memory has not deserted you completely. I’m almost certain that you can remember The Staunton College for Young Ladies and the girl from Shanghai that you shared a room with for all those years.’

      He smiled at the sound of the sharp intake of breath at the other end of the line and continued. ‘I’m sure you also remember the woman you shared lodgings with when you went to university and medical school. I would most certainly think you would remember the woman who paid your fees to attend those institutions. Your name also appears on the wedding certificate of Robert Symes and Janice Green. Do you remember her now?’

      ‘What do you want?’ asked a suddenly steely voiced Dr Rani Smith.

      Sloane spoke softly. ‘I have the facts. I could write a very good story based just on the facts, but what I want is the flesh that surrounds the facts. I need to understand how, and why, the events happened as they did. That’s where the true story lies. Will you help me to understand the facts or will I be forced to write it without the flesh, without understanding the why of the facts.’

      ‘I thank you for your candor, Mr Sloane, but I’d like to think about your request if I may.’

      ‘Of course, Dr Smith. May I ring you tomorrow?’

      ‘Thank you, Mr Sloane. I’ll expect your call.’

      Quite shaken by Sloane’s call, Rani Smith asked her granddaughter to bring her a cup of tea which she sipped while planning her next move.

      Reaching a decision, she took her leather bound diary from a desk drawer and consulted the phone numbers and then placed an international call. She was delighted when the phone was picked up on the third ring.

      ‘Good morning, Colleen, I hope I didn’t wake you.’

      ‘Rani! So wonderful to hear from you again so soon. I was just sitting down to breakfast on a sparkling autumn day.’

      ‘You still call it autumn after all those years?’

      ‘I’m afraid fall just doesn’t mean anything to me. You can take the girl out of England, but you can’t take England out of the girl. Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?’

      ‘I

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