Part 13

Sarah and I were somewhat gobsmacked at that statement. There we were, trying to avoid the Minister and now we were expected to be at a dinner he would be hosting. I quietly said to Sarah that it may be a blessing in disguise, in more ways than one.

She did not grace me with a reply but I knew she was thinking. “Pushy bitch, running my life!”

When we got back to the tower we both gave David a kiss, Sarah on the cheek and mine on his luscious lips. We waved him off and carried her new painting kit into the lift and up to our floor.

We were sitting with our steaming cups when my phone rang. It was Holmes to let me know that I had raised the quarry as he had thought and that Jerky was now parked in a holding cell while the SOCO guys went through the lock-up he had been tracked to.

I told him that I had been invited to a dinner that the Minister was hosting and that Watson may be interested. He said that he would like to be a fly on that wall and I told him that he was a very lucky boy, because that opportunity had arisen.

I passed him over to Sarah who spoke with him before telling him that she was also invited to the dinner but did not have a partner to go with. This, she told him, was an opportunity for him to be near the Minister for a number of hours. He jumped at the chance and told her that he would be in touch.

Monday I went shopping for the two of us. We needed similar dresses and shoes for the Saturday evening. David had told us that he needed to be seen as a player now the company had won the top award so he would fund our outfits again.

I was looking for dresses that were not low cut in case Watson wanted us to wear a wire and I did want to have the disc on but out of sight. I found a pair of glorious silken fabric cheongsam dresses that would make the men drool.

They were in a bright red and a deep blue, both with dragons on them. I was still in town for lunch when Watson rang and asked if he could meet me. I was not far from him so we met up at a little café and he asked me about the dinner.

I told him all I knew and he told me that he had approved an operation that evening where Holmes, Sarah and I would be wearing small radio mics that would transmit everything we hear to a control van parked next to the venue.

He pulled one of the mics from his pocket and it looked a bit like a pearl brooch. I opened the shopping bags and showed him the dresses and he promised to have a pair of mics for us that would suit the dresses.

I told him that, as it was the first time David had been invited, it was unlikely that we would be close to the Minister and he said that it didn’t matter as all background conversations would be recorded for future listening.

I said that the dresses were too tight fitting to allow for a transmitter and he told me the mics had enough range to get from one end of the dining room to the other and that Holmes would have a repeater with more power disguised as a pack of cigarettes in his pocket.

Before he left he said that Jerky was proving to be a real fountain of information, firstly from what they had found in the lock-up and, secondly, because he had done a deal to testify against the ones above him in the supply chain; as long as he could be protected.

I half expected that because Jerky had always been one to look after himself first. In the afternoon I found us some strappy heels that went with the dresses and went home, as they say, tired but happy.

Tuesday was clean-up day and the rest of the week followed the usual course. I did my make-overs, Sarah went to the office and the evenings were taken up with an artistic flavour.

Sarah had been taking pictures with her phone and was trying to create pictures based on the result. It was a lot harder for her than the field scene but I could help her with her initial drafting outline. I spent a lot of time doodling with the sketchbook to give me a range of basic pictures that I could turn into paintings.

Saturday afternoon Sarah came into the salon and Ingrid did our hair to suit the oriental dresses. I then did our make-up to suit. Holmes joined us at the tower and we sat with a soft drink waiting for David.

Sarah and Holmes were hesitant at first but soon got chatting away like old friends once they had latched on to anecdotes from the courts. David texted me that he was downstairs and we went out to meet him with the limo.

It was the same driver and he gave us a wink when he helped us in. David did not know that Holmes was the law and we introduced him as being with public relations.

Actually we introduced him as Mike Howard. Sarah and I both had a dragon brooch that Holmes had supplied and his was a small microphone with an ITV logo under it.

When we got to the venue we were helped out of the limo by uniformed flunkies and I linked arms with David as we went in.

There was a sign that pointed to the room where the Minister was holding his dinner and we strolled to the room where a ministerial staffer checked our names off a list, filling in Mike Howard in the blank next to Sarah.

David said, as we went in “This is where you find out who the movers and shakers are. They’ll be the ones nearest the Minister. I expect that, as this is our first time, we’ll be somewhere near the back wall.”

To our surprise, we were led to a table set for eight where Mrs. Butcher was already sitting. We were shown our places and we joined her, ordering drinks from a waiter.

I knew the minister was getting close as the disc started vibrating. A few moments later he walked into the room, in close conversation with Mr. Butcher and a stunning blonde girl walking behind with a bored look on her face.

They came over and Mr. Butcher made the formal introductions with Holmes giving his new name when looked at. The blonde was, we found out, Miss Yvonne Golightly, a professional companion if I ever saw one.

Everyone sat and the meal started to be served. There was a soup and entrée and a big choice of main course.

The Minister was the real deal, urbane, chatty and very well-schooled on Devine Builders. He teased David with a couple of government contracts that were coming up for tender which would put the company into the upper echelon if they won just one of them.

I felt that there may be more there in the way of discrete backhanders being asked for but I knew that David would never fall for it.

Holmes actually made good work about public relations in a discussion with Mr. Butcher while his wife spoke to us three other girls.

After the main course Yvonne said she needed the toilet so, naturally, it was a general exodus of women heading for the conveniences.

After we had used the cubicles we stood at the mirrors and I helped the others with their make-up repair. Yvonne wanted to know how we knew that Minister and Mrs. Butcher said that he was an old friend of her husband as she left the room.

Once she had gone Yvonne made that comment that the Minister had no friends, only people who did his bidding for reward.

Sarah said that this was a bit harsh but we probably would never find out if she was right as this was our first invitation and could be our last.

“No way,” spat Yvonne, “A pair of girls that look like you are exactly his preference. I can tell you that if I didn’t need the money I would be at home looking after my little one. He will expect full service and I am sorry to say that that will be what I do. At least I managed to steer him away from the kinky stuff.”

“Cathy, one of the other girls in the agency, used to see him regularly until he produced some handcuffs and tried to restrain her. She looked like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth but used to be in the army. She had him on the bed with his hands cuffed to the bedhead and sucking on a dildo. She took pictures and told him that if he ever tried it again we would release the pictures to the press.”

I commented that it would be good for a little blackmail and she said that the agency did not do things like that as they needed to have a reliable reputation. She stopped for a moment and then said, as we were heading back to the table. “It’s odd, though, Cathy seems to have gone off without saying goodbye and she was usually very sociable.”

Back at the table we had the dessert and coffee and the Minister turned his attention to the two of us, being very open in his admiration of our looks as twins as well, or so he had been told, of our skills as presenters. I felt as if I was being chatted up.

When his attention was diverted by something Mr. Butcher said, I turned to David and said, “Get us out of here, but do it gracefully.”

After about twenty minutes we were back in the limo heading for the tower. On the way Holmes sent a text, no doubt to Watson. When we got to the tower I gave David a hug and a kiss and told him I would see him Sunday morning to take us to the painting session.

He shook hands with Holmes who said he had his car around the corner. As the limo left we turned to go into the tower, only to find Watson waiting for us in the entrance lobby.

“Good work, tonight, you three. There was a lot to listen to but the conversation with Yvonne gives us something to go on. I happen to know that a girl called Cathy is one of those that seem to have disappeared. I have notified Patterson and he will be coming in to listen to the recordings tomorrow.”

We gave him his brooches back and he and Holmes said goodnight. I could see Holmes looking wistful so I nudged Sarah. “Don’t you think your partner for the evening deserves a little goodnight kiss,” and she went to him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

He left with a smile on his face. On the way up to our floor she asked, “How is it you keep setting me up with guys? My life was very ordinary and structured before you changed. Now it is so full of wonderful things I don’t know if I can take it all.”

Part 14

The next morning David picked us up to go for our painting session. He was a little hyper about his time with the Minister and had looked up the two projects on the government web site early in the morning. He estimated that each one was worth millions and would really put Devine Builders on the map.

When we saw Zach he looked at the paintings that Sarah had done over the week and he declared them as good work. We got set up in the studio and David excused the two of them as they needed to have a talk about the projects and how they may tender for them.

Sarah and I started working on our paintings. She worked from more pictures she had taken on her journeys to and from work, as well as a couple she had taken in her office. She wanted to do something that she could present to her fellow workers to hang on the office wall if the partners allowed it.

I started by sitting and sketching a scene with the Minister, Yvonne and the Butchers sitting at a table with a meal in front of them because I just wanted to capture the essence of last night.

I then started to work on a full-size painting of the picture I had drawn of Sarah as an angel with me as the supplicant. It was incredibly easy once I had sketched the outlines and she ended up looking like a true Madonna.

I drew myself with short hair and no make-up to show the difference between us. As I was doing some finishing touches she came over and stood behind me to see what I had been doing. It took several minutes of hugs before we were able to dry our tears of love for each other.

We covered up our pictures and went to find the boys to see if we were going for lunch. Over the meal we all spoke about the projects and David told us that usually a developer would tender and then sub-contract the actual building but he and Zach had decided that, if they were going to tender, it would have to be a proper package, with drawings of the vistas and amenities.

One was out towards the mouth of the Thames and would have some waterside frontage once the land had been reclaimed; the other was a bit contentious as it was set near the West Downs near a conservation area and would have to fit with its surroundings. Zach asked me if I would like to help with concept pictures and I agreed as long as Sarah was able to contribute with her landscape skills.

The boys needed to talk some more so we went back to our creativity for another couple of hours. Sarah and I worked on a single painting of a scene of rolling hills with livestock, bordered by a housing estate which I took some liberties on the building designs to fit with the scenery.

It was a bit of fantasy, I know, but there was a sense of sisterly companionship as we worked on it together. Sarah said that if the boys didn’t like it we could hang it on our own wall to remind us of what we had achieved. She did comment that she loved the look of the houses and wouldn’t mind living in one like that.

The attitude of the guys when they came in to look at what we had done was interesting. The picture that Sarah had done for her work colleagues was well regarded by Zach as a real leap forward in her skills and was a pointer at how good she could be.

We told her to sign it and Zach said he would get it framed for her. My painting of Sarah the Madonna was looked at with some level of awe by both guys. David thought it was just beautiful and Zach said that it would fetch thousands if it went on the market. I told him that it would be going on our wall at home.

The painting of the rural development brought gasps of astonishment from both of them, especially when we told them that it was a joint work. They both looked closely at the house designs we had put into the countryside and they were adamant that we had come up with something new and vibrant, as long as they could be built.

It started a conversation about new movements in construction with poured concrete that went way over my head, even though I still knew roughly what they were talking about. David said it would hang in his office to give him inspiration.

On Monday I was cleaning up in the flat when I was visited by Watson and the Homicide Inspector Patterson. He had listened to some of the conversations from Saturday and wanted to talk to me to get some idea of my feelings.

I didn’t tell him about the Wish Disc as I thought it may be too much a leap of faith for him. I did tell him that I had a very bad feeling about the Minister and put forward my thought that he may be corrupt in regard to contracts.

He did divulge that there was quite a big file on the Minister and a lot of supposition and corruption had been included but he was very careful. He did say that the comment Yvonne made about him only having lackeys had caused him to think a bit further down that track, starting with the Butchers.

Tuesday morning David picked me up and took me out to look at the waterside area so that I could visualise the possible development.

We had a bit of a discussion about building with concrete and I remembered an article about precast walls with the window and door openings already in the correct place, a system that has been used in other countries for some years now.

He thought about it and said that it would bring the building costs down as long as they could come up with some way to put texture on the outside face. We stopped at a little café for a coffee and cake and then he took me home so I could get ready for work.

The rest of the week went as usual, plenty of ladies leaving the salon looking better than when they arrived. Sarah spent most evenings painting small pictures while I was frantically sketching buildings and retail areas.

Saturday evening she went out for a meal with Holmes and was a bit flushed when she got back, quite late. I went out with David to see a movie.

Sunday we did another art session but this time was much more aligned to a possible concept package. Much of the time I did detailed sketches based on photos that Zach showed us.

He had been spending a lot of time in the countryside at the project sites and had been able to get a map of each site off the government web site.

During the following week we were sitting at home when David rang to see if he could come and talk to us. When he arrived he was in a state of excitement and showed us a set of tender forms that he had been sent from the Minister.

For each of the tenders there was an official looking form which listed the company’s attributes in relation to the granting of the tenders and was signed by the Minister as recommending Devine Builders for the project.

He told us that if we could put a viable tender package together, this alone would put him on the front of the queue. He then told us that we were invited to yet another dinner with the Minister, but this time with other developers present.

I reminded him that we couldn’t wear the same dresses so he said he would fund us again as we had such a positive effect on proceedings.

So Sarah came around to the salon Saturday afternoon to get prettied up. When we left she was presented with a loyalty card which gave her the fifth session free. She had found the dresses this time, contrasting colours on simple sheaths.

We got dressed and had been joined again by Holmes in his alter ego. David came by with the limo again. Before we went down to the car David gave us both an envelope. He said that they contained cheques to pay for our clothing outlays as well as for the pictures we had done that he would be keeping.

The driver gave us a wink when we got in as we were getting to be good regulars by now. The event was in an entertainment venue north of the city and was in a separate room with tables set for ten each.

We found ourselves sat with the Butchers again as well as two couples from other building companies. The Minister had a table with nine guys and I asked Mr. Butcher who the guys were.

He reeled off their names and said that they had all completed projects in the past. I hoped that Watson was getting all of this as I thought it was good information.

The wish disc had set up a vibration from the moment we had come in and didn’t settle until we left. In the meantime we had a pretty ordinary meal and the Minister had circulated around the tables between courses.

He spoke to David and then asked if he had got the documents, stressing that the recommendation would not be any good if the tender was poor.

David assured him that he would be pulling out all of the stops to make sure it was up to scratch and that we would get the papers in before the tender period elapsed.

Before he went on to another table, the Minister again commented on how beautiful Sarah and I were and how lucky David was to have us. The last was said in such a way that it made my skin crawl.

Before we left we went to the toilet and Mrs. Butcher talked to us. She asked us what we were doing Monday and Sarah told her that she would be at work and I said I would be meeting her at her office. I thought we may go for a meal, seeing that I wanted to go to town and see my bank.

She mentioned that her husband had been out looking for a gift for each of us as a thank you for our help with the presentation and that she would get in touch when he had found them.

When we got home Holmes took our microphones, gave Sarah a kiss or two and left us to go up to the flat. We had a look in the envelopes before we went to bed and were blown away by the generosity.

David had put in a note that Zach had valued all of the pictures he had and the cheque showed the market valuation. All of a sudden I had a massive windfall.

Sarah filled out a deposit form for hers so that I could put both cheques in our banks on Monday.

Sunday we had a trip into the country with Zach and Zoe; Zach directing David to the right places within the project boundaries so we could get a good idea of the lie of the land and make some decisions on where various things would be put.

The riverside one was first and David decided that we would tender to include reclamation of a considerable stretch of riverbank.

In the afternoon we went to the West Downs and ended up in the country pub where Alan cooked us a great meal.

Marianne Gregory (C) 2022