Sleeping Cruelty by Lynda La Plante Read Free Book Online

informed.’ He leaned back and closed his eyes. ‘I went round at about seven thirty in the evening. I was having dinner elsewhere, but Andrew wanted to see me, so I obliged. I left about an hour later. Around eight thirty, perhaps a quarter to nine.’
    ‘Did you have an argument?’
    ‘I don’t think that’s any of your business.’
    William placed his cup down and leaned forward. ‘You mind if I call you Justin?’
    ‘I don’t mind if you call me Jack the Ripper.’
    William talked across Chalmers’s laughter. ‘You see, Justin, the press will hound you if they discover what was going on between you and Andrew Maynard. I am aware that he paid you large sums of money.’
    Chalmers stared. William was unnerved by his assurance and turned away. He chose his words carefully. ‘It would be preferable, Justin, if your relationship was not made public.’
    ‘I have no desire to discuss my relationship with Andrew. We were good friends and I was very fond of him, although not as exclusively as he wanted.’
    ‘Did he kill himself because of you?’ William blurted out.
    Chalmers shrugged. ‘I have no idea. He seemed quite together when I saw him but, then, one can never tell another person’s real feelings, especially when that person is a politician.’He laughed, softly, leaned back and stretched like a cat, his sexuality and sensuality filling the room.
    William felt distinctly uneasy in his presence. Suddenly doubts started to filter through his mind. Could it have been murder?
    As if reading William’s mind, the other man leaned forward. ‘I didn’t kill him. I can tell you’re thinking it’s a possibility, but I didn’t. He was too useful and, as you so rightly pointed out, I received a considerable amount of money from him and hoped to continue doing so.’
    William stayed another fifteen minutes, in which time he agreed that a sum of money would be paid into Chalmers’s bank account on the condition that he left London immediately and did not speak to the press or anyone else about his relationship with Andrew Maynard. The young man did not quibble over the amount, but accepted a hundred thousand pounds immediately and said he would be on the next flight. William was relieved that the negotiations had gone so smoothly, but as he shook Chalmers’s hand, he felt the man’s fingers grip his own.
    ‘You have his diaries?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Do the police know you removed property from the scene?’
    ‘No. They will be destroyed. No one will know of their contents.’
    ‘Ah, yes.’ Chalmers sighed and smiled simultaneously. ‘But I know . . . and I also know I could make a lot more than a paltry hundred grand in one exclusive to any number of tabloids.’ He let the veiled threat hang in the air briefly then continued, ‘Because I did care for poor old Andrew, I’ll accept your offer – but I’d appreciate it if you remember you’re getting off very lightly.’
    ‘I have nothing to worry about,’ William said, removing his hand from Chalmers’s grasp.
    ‘Really? Then I’ve misjudged you, Sir William.’ He crossed his arms and propped himself against the door-frame. ‘Look at the facts. You have come here personally and you have takenpossession of his diaries. It can only mean one thing: you are worried that Andrew Maynard’s private life might contaminate your own.’ Chalmers chuckled to himself. ‘After all, you did finance his career and, knowing the gutter press, they will dig deeply into your . . .’ he snorted before continuing, making speech marks in the air ‘. . . “predilections”. Perhaps they will assume that you too are a “friend of Dorothy” as they say. They may force you to come out.’
    He smiled at William’s discomfort, but his eyes showed no signs of amusement. William grasped the subtext and reluctantly upped the kiss-off price to a quarter of a million. It was accepted.

    William drove back to The Boltons in a fury. He didn’t mind spending the money –