The sneering way that Clark said it made Lauren feel anger rising inside her. Jake was obviously aware of her reaction, because he reached out a hand and rested it on Lauren’s thigh, warning her to stay calm.
Clark turned back to Jake and said curtly, ‘Now we’ve got the social niceties out of the way, can we get down to why you’re here. You said you have a book to offer us. Why, when you’ve spent all your energies so far opposing us getting hold of them?’
‘Because I’m charged with murder,’ said Jake. ‘The books will be no use to me if I’m in prison.’
‘You want us to represent you?’
‘Perhaps,’ said Jake. ‘But right now we need to see Guy de Courcey, and we’d like you to arrange that.’
Clark shook her head.
‘We’ve advised Lord de Courcey not to have any contact with you.’
‘Why?’
‘Because you are both accused of Alex Munro’s murder, with the suggestion of conspiracy. In our opinion, contact with you could compromise his position in this case. We think it best if you and he remain separate.’
‘What if I became your client?’ asked Jake.
‘Why would we want to take on your case?’ countered Clark.
‘You’ve always said you wanted to work with me before,’ Jake pointed out.
‘That was different,’ said Clark. Then she added carefully, ‘Unless you really have got one of the books to offer.’
‘You don’t trust me?’ asked Jake. ‘You think I’m lying about the book?’
‘I’ve got an open mind on the question,’ said Clark. ‘However, I do keep asking myself: why would you suddenly offer me the book?’
‘I’ve already told you, I’ve got a murder charge hanging over me,’ replied Jake.
‘And, if you really have got hold of one of the books, why haven’t you put it out into the public domain, as you both have said you wanted to do with the books?’ added Clark.
‘Because our experiences have taught us to be very careful,’ put in Lauren quickly. ‘We still don’t know who we can trust.’
‘And suddenly you’ve decided you can trust us?’ queried Clark suspiciously.
‘No,’ admitted Jake. ‘But right now I’m in deep trouble, and using the book as a bargaining chip is the best way of getting out of it.’ He shrugged. ‘There are other books.’
Clark studied Jake’s face carefully, trying to see if he was lying.
‘We’d need to have sight of the book first,’ she said.
Jake shook his head.
‘Oh no,’ he said. ‘The last time I handed over one of the books to you, it was taken off me and I was thrown out of the building with nothing.’
Clark fell silent again, and Jake could almost see her mind whirring and working.
‘We’d need some kind of proof from you, first,’ she said. ‘You could be bluffing.’
‘What about a photograph?’ suggested Lauren.
‘A photograph?’
‘A film, even better,’ continued Lauren. ‘We record us holding the book, and then opening the first page so you can get a look at it.’
‘And then what?’ asked Clark.
‘You let us meet Guy, and you sign the necessary paperwork to say you’ll represent Jake in this case, and we’ll hand the book over to you.’
‘As easily as that?’ queried Clark, her voice filled with disbelief.
‘Do I have to say it again? I’ve got a murder charge hanging over me,’ said Jake. ‘The book will be no use to me if I end up in prison.’
Clark fell silent again. Obviously she hadn’t expected this offer.
Finally, she said, ‘I’ll have to take this up with the senior partners. As I’ve said, Lord de Courcey is in a very secure and protected environment, for his own safety, and the senior partners will need to be persuaded it’s in our firm’s interests to let you see him.’
‘Tell them about our offer,’ said Jake. ‘One of the lost books of Malichea.’
‘With the photograph and the video as proof,’ reminded Lauren.
‘Very well,’ said Clark. ‘I’ll pass that on to them. And you’ll hear from me shortly.’
Chapter 10
As Jake and Lauren left the building, Jake whispered, ‘Are you crazy?’
‘What?’ asked Lauren.
‘That offer of videoing us with one of the books! I was just going to offer her the idea of a book!’
Lauren shrugged. ‘She didn’t believe you. We needed to show her some proof.’
‘But we don’t have one of the books to film!’