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‘Oh, okay.’
‘He’s a nice fella – keeps himself to himself.’
Thea thought that sounded like him.
‘But he says good morning to me every morning, unlike a lot of ’em.’
Thea furrowed her brow. It was probably just a figure of speech. Even so, she had to ask, ‘What do you mean every morning?’
‘Just like I said. Well, when I’m here on my shift. I do unsocial hours some of the time, like this weekend. No one else wanted these shifts, but then I get paid more, and still have time off during the week, so it works for me.’
Ah, that explained it. She wouldn’t be surprised if they were like ships passing in the night. It probably felt like he said good morning to Miles every time he was here, because he did – on the rare occasions they were in the building at the same time.
‘What was the message?’
‘If you could write down,Can’t wait to see you when you’re back in London.’
‘Is he going somewhere?’
‘Yes, I believe Dubai.’
‘Lucky fella. I’d love to go on holiday there.’
Thea shook her head. ‘Oh, it’s not a holiday; it’s work. He’s just come back from Hong Kong, then he’s off there.’
‘Oh! Really? When was he in Hong Kong?’
‘He lives there, and works over there for this bank. He comes back here and there, mostly at weekends, touching base with head office.’
The security guard stopped writing and looked up. ‘Look, are we talking about the same guy? The Miles I know works here nine to five, Monday to Friday, in the accounts department. I think he’s some sort of support worker, you know – not exactly a high-flying lawyer.’
Thea felt like the ground was moving beneath her.
‘Ma’am? Are you all right?’
Suddenly Thea could feel an arm around her waist as her legs gave way. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said. ‘I came over dizzy all of a sudden.’
‘Here, come into the back office.’ He guided her through a door behind the desk and sat her down in a comfortable leather swivel chair. There was another person in the office who was monitoring some screens which were linked to CCTV inside and outside the building.
‘Let me make you a cup of tea.’
‘Oh, no – really. I haven’t got time. I’ve got a taxi waiting.’
‘A glass of water, then.’
‘All right.’
He handed her a paper cup of ice-cold water from the water cooler beside the desk. She sipped the water, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. The security guard knelt down in front of her chair. ‘Feeling better?’
Thea wouldn’t exactly say she was feeling any better, even though the dizzy spell had passed, but she nodded all the same. ‘Yes, thank you.’
‘Good. Look, I think we are talking about two different people. I don’t mean to sound condescending, but are you sure you’ve got the right building?’
‘Of course I have. I saw him walk in!’
The security guard walked up to his colleague and leaned over, looking at the security cameras. He pointed. ‘Is that him?’
Thea carefully stood up and walked over. There Miles was, on the little screen, sitting at his desk. ‘Yes. Yes, that’s him.’
