CAUSE & EFFECT Read Online Free PDF Page B

instinctively grabbed the envelope and folded it in his pocket. Engagement girl brought in a tray with two coffees then closed the door behind her without a word.
    “You’ll also be needing this.” Sir Peter snapped a key down on the desk. “Follow the instructions.”
    He could see that it had been newly cut; the edges gleamed under the office strip lights. He dragged it across the hardened skin on his thumb and gulped his coffee down.
    Sir Peter set his cup down. “Well, I won’t keep you. Ring me when the job is complete.”
    Once he was out in the corridor, he slit open the envelope and read the contents. On paper this looked like the easiest job in Christendom; he’d fallen for that one before. As he waited for the lift he played mental somersaults, pondering why the Old Man had insisted on him for such a routine job.
    The fourth floor was a hotchpotch of government offices. He found room 402 without difficulty and rapped on the door. A muffled voice called him in by name. More head games, more subterfuge and more bollocks. Room 402 was little bigger than a cupboard.
    “Sign here, please.”
    He gave his autograph and studied the man opposite, noting how the sweat dappled the redness of his bald head. The stranger adjusted his glasses and peered back.
    “You have your instructions?”
    He nodded curtly.
    Evidently satisfied with the paperwork and sphinx impression, the man went through a door behind him and promptly returned with a bulky parcel. Thomas was still putting his gloves on.
    He was surprised by the size and weight of it, feeling the hard plastic case through the packaging. The authentic looking stickers and travel stamps were a nice touch. The guy behind the desk didn’t get the joke.
    Having got what he came for, he headed straight out the building. If he was carrying currency again, they’d put in more effort than the ripped bag on the Leeds retrieval six months before. Maybe that was progress.
    He took a short walk to Victoria Station and wandered through the complex to find a weighing machine, where he carefully weighed the package. Next, he tracked down a hardware shop in nearby Ecclestone Street and bought a tape measure. He detailed the dimensions in his notebook and then visited the gents in the station. In a cubicle he took photos of the package from all angles.
    He also took a couple of close-ups of the key before sealing it in a small padded envelope, adding the PO box number and address from the label to his notebook. According to his instructions, the key had to be posted off after that day’s collection. All that was left was a short trip over to Charing Cross Station to deposit the goods at Left Luggage. By the time he called Sir Peter back, it was only three thirty.
    “I’ll come down to meet you and then why don’t you consider your work finished for the day?”
    Thomas wasn’t fooled by the sudden attack of generosity, but he wasn’t going to argue either. Especially when he had inquiries to make on Jack Langton’s behalf.
    Sir Peter was waiting as he neared the building. It seemed strange to find the Old Man outside in daylight on London’s busy streets. He seemed diminished without his desk or his Daimler.
    Thomas slipped him the receipt in an awkward handshake. He was mindful that Karl’s people still had the Old Man under surveillance. Sir Peter muttered a few words of thanks and then scurried back inside.
    Karl picked up on the second ring. “Jaysus, Tommo, I was beginning to think they’d kept you in prison.”
    “Sorry, there were one or two complications. Not much point coming out to you now. I’m going to head over to . . .” He stalled, distracted by the little padded envelope. “ . . . Janey’s and see what I can find out. Do you wanna meet at Caliban’s?”
    “Miranda’s place?”
    “Unless you know another one. Hopefully I’ll have an update for you.”
    “Good, and you can tell me what Jack Langton said.”
    “Chapter and verse.”
    “I’d