‘Now, can we get through the final briefing for Miss Wentworth’s performance tomorrow morning?’ Joe suggested, and without waiting for a response he launched himself into the task. ‘The constable presents herself at St Katharine’s Square at nine sharp. The princess, fully briefed by then, receives her. With a bit of luck, Anna Petrovna will be lurking behind a door listening in. Now, all Russians like a mystery, I observe. So we offer one. The photograph of the painting, Bacchus? Ah, thank you. Still damp? I’ll be careful. You know what you are to say about this first offering, Wentworth?’
‘Yes, sir. I suggest that there is a hidden message in it. The grave is empty. There is no attempt to convey butchery, none at all. There are simply — no corpses. The inference the observer is meant to draw is that the family has escaped this burial pit. And gone … where?’
‘Right. You plant the question and then supply an answer. This is our first slice of realia.’
‘Ah. Well, next comes the bully-beef filling. I offer the letter purportedly from Tatiana. The princess remarks that it has been opened. I say — of course! All communications from our consulates are screened and the interesting ones examined. I say that she will realize, as did our secret service, that this is a letter of some importance. It contains a shattering piece of information that the British government is honour-bound to keep from being broadcast. The first thought was to suppress the letter but wiser counsel prevailed in the present circumstances. I say that with heavy emphasis. I hand the letter over and she reads it, exclaiming the while.’
‘Yes, remember to leave plenty of reaction time for the princess. Remember that she is Anna Petrovna’s anchor in an unsafe world. Our girl will place much faith in her advice.’
‘When she’s taken this in, I hand over the second envelope containing the tickets to heaven and a British passport in the name of Anna Peterson and say they come with the compliments of the British government who are finding Anna and her activities a bit of a nuisance and would be glad to see the back of her. It’s that or a spell in Holloway jail. Finally, I present the second slice of something verifiable: the newspaper report.’
‘And bring yourself straight back here. That’s a clear order.’ He thought for a moment and added: ‘Make no attempt to deal face to face with Anna Petrovna. It’s our opinion and that of an alienist I’ve consulted that the woman could be dangerously deranged. Suffering a condition not unlike shell shock. She’s primed and ready to explode. She’s failed once and that may well have increased the pressure. We know her targets and I, for one, recognize that she may already have begun to associate you with the forces that gather protectively about them. Do not put yourself into her path.’
‘Sir?’ Fanshawe had a question. ‘If we’re giving this deranged criminal a British passport, what’s to stop her turning round and coming straight back into the country when she finds she’s been duped?’
‘Our border force, Fanshawe. You know their qualities. Her passport will be flagged and she’ll be arrested at the port.’
‘And that’s it. I make my farewells and walk back here,’ Lily finished.