Chapter 7

Summary

The chapter opens with a tour of Upshott, a Cotswold village that has a pub, a shop, a church, a Ministry of Defence range on the site of an old USAF base, and not much else, and closes by noting that even harmless villages suffer screams in the afternoon. River Cartwright has been there three weeks under the cover of Jonathan Walker, a thriller writer, and is sleeping with Kelly Tropper, who tends bar at The Downside Man and flies from the village airstrip. He has found no trace of Mr. B. In London, Louisa Guy and Marcus Longridge are received by Arkady Pashkin in the Ambassador’s penthouse, and Louisa remembers the bargain she struck with James Webb to stay on the assignment after Min’s death. Pashkin asks to see the Needle before the summit, and Webb authorises the tour. Catherine Standish works through the village’s biographies and then, with Shirley Dander, matches Mr. B to airport footage: he flew from Gatwick to Prague the morning after the killing. Webb, meanwhile, remembers pressuring Taverner to have Min’s death signed off as an accident.

Beats

• C07S01 · Narrator — The chapter surveyed Upshott, a Cotswold village with a pub, a shop, a church, a Ministry of Defence range on the old USAF base and little else, and noted that even harmless villages suffer screams in the afternoon.
• C07S02 · River Cartwright — River Cartwright, three weeks into his cover as the novelist Jonathan Walker, spent the afternoon in bed with Kelly Tropper and learned nothing about Mr. B beyond village gossip.
• C07S03 · Louisa Guy — Louisa Guy and Marcus Longridge were received by Arkady Pashkin in the Ambassador’s penthouse, and Louisa recalled the deal she had made with Webb in order to stay on the assignment after Min’s death.
• C07S04 · River Cartwright — River leafed through Kelly’s sketchpad, then telephoned Lamb to report that Mr. B had left no trace in Upshott and that he would go into the MoD range that night.
• C07S05 · Louisa Guy — Pashkin told Louisa and Marcus that he knew they were not from the Department of Energy and asked to visit the Needle that afternoon, so Louisa went to telephone Webb.
• C07S06 · Catherine Standish — Lamb left the office with a carrier bag and a shirt, while Catherine worked through profiles of Upshott residents until Shirley Dander came in to say she had found Mr. B.
• C07S07 · Louisa Guy — Webb authorised the Needle tour, and Louisa waited on the pavement while Marcus argued that Pashkin was angling for the Kremlin and that Webb meant to recruit him.
• C07S08 · Catherine Standish — Shirley showed Catherine airport footage matching Mr. B, placing him in a Gatwick departure queue and on a morning flight to Prague seven hours after he reached Upshott.
• C07S09 · James Webb — Webb recalled telephoning Diana Taverner on the night Min died and pressing her to have Nick Duffy’s finding of accident put in writing before the summit went ahead.

People

• River Cartwright — Under cover as Jonathan Walker in Upshott; sleeping with Kelly Tropper and finding no trace of Mr. B.
• Kelly Tropper — Barmaid at The Downside Man, local, a pilot, and River’s lover.
• Louisa Guy — Back at work three weeks after Min’s death, escorting Pashkin and managing her grief.
• Marcus Longridge — Paired with Louisa; sceptical of the oil-deal cover story and quick to speculate.
• Arkady Pashkin — The oligarch, installed in the Ambassador’s penthouse, who asks to inspect the Needle.
• Piotr — Pashkin’s man; smooth with visitors and watchful of them.
• Kyril — The second bodyguard, stationed by the lift.
• James Webb — Runs the Pashkin approach and takes Louisa’s call about the tour.
• Jackson Lamb — Takes himself off with a carrier bag after speaking to River.
• Catherine Standish — Researching Upshott’s residents and hunting Mr. B’s movements.
• Shirley Dander — Finds the airport footage and brings it to Catherine.

Places

• Upshott — Cotswold village with a shop, a church, a pub and an MoD range; River’s posting.
• Regent’s Park — Interview suite where Webb offers Louisa her condolences and the job.

Lines worth keeping

“It’s the most alive you can ever be. You should try it.” — Kelly Tropper, on why she flies

“You’re shagging a local.” — Jackson Lamb, deducing River’s progress

“A pissed cyclist. Which part doesn’t spell organ donor?” — Jackson Lamb, on Min Harper’s death

“It was an accident, that’s all. We looked into it very carefully.” — James Webb, closing the grief meeting

Threads

• Plants: Kelly Tropper flies from the airstrip beside the MoD range and will not take River with her.; The last page of Kelly’s sketchpad is a design of a skyscraper struck by lightning, with words scribbled over.; Mr. B left Upshott and flew to Prague from Gatwick the following morning.; Roger Barrowby’s audit is in full swing and limits what the Park can do openly.
• Payoffs: The Upshott trail is confirmed: Mr. B was physically present at Gatwick and boarded a flight out.
• Continuity: River has been in Upshott three weeks under the name Jonathan Walker, a thriller writer working on a novel about a US base.; Min Harper has been dead three weeks; Louisa Guy is working the Needle assignment with Marcus Longridge.; The summit at the Needle is set for the following day.

Characters

• River Cartwright
• Kelly Tropper
• Louisa Guy
• Marcus Longridge
• Arkady Pashkin
• Piotr
• Kyril
• James Webb
• Jackson Lamb
• Catherine Standish
• Shirley Dander

Places

• Upshott
• Regent's Park