His wife agreed reluctantly.
When they reached the front of the queue, d.i.c.k purchased two entrance tickets and, for a small extra charge, selected an English-speaking guide to show them around.
"I don"t feel too good," said Maureen as they entered the Empress Catherine"s bedroom. She clung onto the four poster bed.
"You must drink lots of water on such a hot day," said the tour guide helpfully.
By the time they had reached Tsar Nicholas IV"s study, Maureen warned her husband that she thought she was going to faint. d.i.c.k said sorry to their guide, put an arm around his wife"s shoulder and a.s.sisted her out of the palace on an unsteady journey back to the car park. They found their taxi driver standing by his car waiting for them.
"We must return to the Grand Palace Hotel at once," said d.i.c.k, as his wife fell into the back seat of the car like a drunk who has been thrown out of a pub on a Sat.u.r.day night.
On the long drive back to St Petersburg, Maureen was violently sick in the back of the taxi, but the driver didn"t comment, just kept a steady speed as he continued along the highway. Forty minutes later, he came to a halt outside the Grand Palace Hotel. d.i.c.k handed over a stack of notes and apologised.
"Hope madam better soon," he said.
"Yes, let"s hope so," replied d.i.c.k.
d.i.c.k helped his wife out of the back of the car, and guided her quickly up the steps into the hotel lobby and towards the lifts, not wishing to draw attention to himself. He had her safely back in their suite moments later. Maureen immediately disappeared into the bathroom, and even with the door closed d.i.c.k could hear her retching. He searched around the room. In their absence, all the bottles of Evian had been replaced. He only bothered to empty the one by Maureen"s bedside, which he refilled with tap water from the kitchenette.
Maureen finally emerged from the bathroom, and collapsed onto the bed. "I feel awful," she said.
"Perhaps you ought to take a couple of aspirin, and try to get some sleep?"
Maureen nodded weakly. "Could you fetch them for me? They"re in my wash bag."
"Of course, my darling." Once he"d found the pills, he filled a gla.s.s with tap water, before returning to his wife"s side. She had taken off her dress, but not her slip.
d.i.c.k helped her to sit up and became aware for the first time that she was soaked in sweat. She swilled down the two aspirins with the gla.s.s of water d.i.c.k offered her. He lowered her gently down onto the pillow before drawing the curtains. He then strolled across to the bedroom door, opened it, and placed the Do Not Disturb sign on the door k.n.o.b. The last thing he needed was for a concerned maid to come barging in and find his wife in her present state. Once d.i.c.k was certain she was asleep, he went down to dinner.
"Will madam be joining you this evening?" asked the head waiter, once d.i.c.k was seated.
"No, sadly not," replied d.i.c.k, "she has a slight migraine. Too much sun I fear, but I"m sure she"ll be fine by the morning."
"Let"s hope so, sir. What can I interest you in tonight?"
d.i.c.k took his time reading the menu, before he eventually said, "I think I"ll start with the foie gras, followed by a rump steak " he paused "medium rare."
"Excellent choice, sir."
d.i.c.k poured himself a gla.s.s of water from the bottle on the table and quickly gulped it down, before filling his gla.s.s a second time. He didn"t hurry his meal, and when he returned to his suite just after ten, he was delighted to find his wife was fast asleep.
He picked up her gla.s.s, took it to the bathroom and refilled it with tap water. He then put it back on her side of the bed. d.i.c.k took his time undressing, before finally slipping under the covers to settle down next to his wife. He turned off the bedside light and slept soundly.
When d.i.c.k woke the following morning, he found that he too was covered in sweat. The sheets were also soaked, and when he turned over to look at his wife all the colour had drained from her cheeks.
d.i.c.k eased himself out of bed, slipped into the bathroom and took a long shower. Once he had dried himself, he put on one of the hotel"s towelling dressing gowns and returned to the bedroom. He crept over to his wife"s side of the bed and once again refilled her empty gla.s.s with tap water. She had clearly woken during the night, but not disturbed him.
He drew the curtains before checking that the Do Not Disturb sign was still on the door. He returned to his wife"s side of the bed, pulled up a chair and began to read the Herald Tribune. He had reached the sports pages by the time she woke. Her words were slurred. She managed, "I feel awful." A long pause followed before she added, "Don"t you think I ought to see a doctor?"
"He"s already been to examine you, my dear," said d.i.c.k. "I called for him last night. Don"t you remember? He told you that you"d caught a fever, and you"ll just have to sweat it out."
"Did he leave any pills?" asked Maureen.
"No, my darling. He just said you were not to eat anything, but to try and drink as much water as possible." He held the gla.s.s up to her lips and she attempted to gulp down some more. She even managed, "Thank you," before collapsing back onto the pillow.
"Don"t worry, my darling," said d.i.c.k. "You"re going to be just fine, and I promise you I won"t leave your side, even for a moment." He leant over and kissed her on the forehead.
She fell asleep again.
The only time d.i.c.k left Maureen"s side that day was to tell the housekeeper that his wife did not wish to have the sheets changed, to refill the gla.s.s of water on her bedside table, and late in the afternoon to take a call from the minister.
"The President flew in yesterday," were Chenkov"s opening words. "He is staying at the Winter Palace, where I have just left him. He wanted me to let you know how much he is looking forward to meeting you and your wife."
"How kind of him," said d.i.c.k, "but I have a problem."
"A problem?" Chenkov was a man who didn"t like problems, especially when the President was in town.
"It"s just that Maureen seems to have caught a fever. We were out in the sun all day yesterday, and I"m not sure that she will have fully recovered in time to join us for the signing ceremony, so I may be on my own."
"I"m sorry to hear that," said Chenkov, "and how are you?"
"Never felt better," said d.i.c.k.
"That"s good," said Chenkov, sounding relieved. "So I will pick you up at nine o"clock, as agreed. I do not want to keep the President waiting."
"Neither do I, Anatol," d.i.c.k told him. "You will find me standing in the lobby long before nine."
There was a knock on the door. d.i.c.k quickly put the phone down and rushed across to open it before anyone was given a chance to barge in. A maid was standing in the corridor next to a trolley laden with sheets, towels, bars of soap, shampoo bottles and cases of Evian water.
"You want the bed turned down, sir?" she asked, giving him a smile.
"No, thank you," said d.i.c.k. "My wife is not feeling well." He pointed to the Do Not Disturb sign.
"More water, perhaps?" she suggested, holding up a large bottle of Evian.
"No," he repeated firmly, and closed the door.
The only other call that evening came from the hotel manager. He asked politely if madam would like to see the hotel doctor.
"No, thank you," said d.i.c.k. "She just caught a little sun but she"s on the mend, and I feel sure she will have fully recovered by the morning."
"Just give me a call," said the manager, "should she change her mind. The doctor can be with you in minutes."
"That"s very considerate of you," said d.i.c.k, "but it won"t be necessary," he added before putting the phone down. He returned to his wife"s side. Her skin was now pale and blotchy. He leant forward until he was almost touching her lips she was still breathing.
He walked across to the fridge, opened it and took out all the unopened bottles of Evian water. He placed two of them in the bathroom, and one each side of the bed. His final action, before undressing, was to take the DON"T DRINK THE WATER sign out of his suitcase and replace it on the side of the washbasin.
Chenkov"s car pulled up outside the Grand Palace Hotel a few minutes before nine the following morning. Karl jumped out to open the back door for the minister.
Chenkov walked quickly up the steps and into the hotel, expecting to find d.i.c.k waiting for him in the lobby. He looked up and down the crowded corridor, but there was no sign of his business partner. He marched across to the reception desk and asked if Mr Barnsley had left a message for him.
"No, Minister," replied the concierge. "Would you like me to call his room?" The minister nodded briskly. They both waited for some time, before the concierge added, "No one is answering the phone, Minister, so perhaps Mr Barnsley is on his way down."
Chenkov nodded again, and began pacing up and down the lobby, continually glancing towards the elevator, before checking his watch. At ten past nine, the minister became even more anxious, as he had no desire to keep the President waiting. He returned to the reception desk.
"Try again," he demanded.
The concierge immediately dialled Mr Barnsley"s room number, but could only report that there was still no reply.
"Send for the manager," barked the minister. The concierge nodded, picked up the phone once again, and dialled a single number. A few moments later, a tall, elegantly dressed man in a dark suit was standing by Chenkov"s side.
"How may I a.s.sist you, Minister?" he asked.
"I need to go up to Mr Barnsley"s room."
"Of course, Minister, please follow me."
When the three men arrived on the ninth floor, they quickly made their way to the Tolstoy Suite, where they found the Do Not Disturb sign hanging from the door k.n.o.b. The minister banged loudly on the door, but there was no response.
"Open the door," he demanded. The concierge obeyed without hesitation. The minister marched into the room, followed by the manager and the concierge. Chenkov came to an abrupt halt when he saw two still bodies lying in bed. The concierge didn"t need to be told to call for a doctor.
Sadly, the doctor had attended three such cases in the past month, but with a difference they had all been locals. He studied his two patients for some time before he pa.s.sed a judgement.
"The Siberian disease," he confirmed, almost in a whisper. He paused and, looking up at the minister, added, "The lady undoubtedly died during the night, whereas the gentleman has pa.s.sed away within the last hour."
The minister made no comment.
"My initial conclusion," continued the doctor, "is that she probably caught the disease from drinking too much of the local water " he paused as he looked down at d.i.c.k"s lifeless body"while her husband must have contracted the virus from his wife, probably during the night. Not an uncommon occurrence among married couples," he added. "Like so many of our countrymen, he clearly wasn"t aware that " he hesitated before saying the word in front of the minister "Siberius is one of those rare diseases that is not only infectious but highly contagious."
"But I called him last night," protested the manager, "and asked if he"d like to see a doctor, and he said it wasn"t necessary, as his wife was on the mend and he was confident that she would be fully recovered by the morning."
"How sad," said the doctor, before adding, "if only he"d said yes. It would have been too late to revive his wife, but I still might have saved him."
Endnote
1. Based on true incidents Amy"s Diary Maureen Lee Beyond the Bounty Tony Parsons b.l.o.o.d.y Valentine James Patterson Blackout Emily Barr Chickenfeed Minette Walters Cleanskin Val McDermid The Cleverness of Ladies Alexander McCall Smith Clouded Vision Linwood Barclay A Cool Head Ian Rankin A Cruel Fate Lindsey Davis The Dare John Boyne Doctor Who: Code of the Krillitanes Justin Richards Doctor Who: Made of Steel Terranee d.i.c.ks Doctor Who: Magic of the Angels Jacqueline Rayner Doctor Who: Revenge of the Judoon Terranee d.i.c.ks Doctor Who: The Silurian Gift Mike Tucker Doctor Who: The Sontaran Games Jacqueline Rayner A Dreadful Murder Minette Walters A Dream Come True Maureen Lee The Escape Lynda La Plante Follow Me Sheila O"Flanagan Four Warned Jeffrey Archer Full House Maeve Binchy Get the Life You Really Want James Caan The Grey Man AndyMcNab h.e.l.lo Mum Bernardine Evaristo Hidden Barbara Taylor Bradford How to Change Your Life in 7 Steps John Bird Humble Pie Gordon Ramsay Jack and Jill Lucy Cavendish Kung Fu Trip Benjamin Zephaniah Last Night Another Soldier Andy McNab Life"s New Hurdles Colin Jackson Life"s Too Short Val McDermid, Editor Lily Adele Geras The Little One Lynda La Plante Love is Blind Kathy Lette Men at Work Mike Gayle Money Magic Alvin Hall One Good Turn Chris Ryan The Perfect Holiday Cathy Kelly The Perfect Murder Peter James Quantum of Tweed: The Man with the Nissan Micra Conn Iggulden Raw Voices: True Stories of Hardship and Hope Vanessa Feltz Reading My a.r.s.e!
Ricky Tomlinson Rules for Dating a Romantic Hero Harriet Evans A Sea Change Veronica Henry Star Sullivan Maeve Binchy Strangers on the 16:02 Priya Basil Survive the Worst and Aim for the Best Kerry Katona The 10 Keys to Success John Bird Tackling Life Charlie Oatway Today Everything Changes AndyMcNab Traitors of the Tower Alison Weir Trouble on the Heath Terry Jones Twenty Tales from the War Zone John Simpson We Won the Lottery Danny Buckland Wrong Time, Wrong Place Simon Kernick Praise for Jeffrey Archer"s novels "If there was a n.o.bel prize for storytelling, Archer would win"
Daily Telegraph "Probably the greatest storyteller of our age"
Mail on Sunday "The man"s a genius . . . the strength and excitement of the idea carries all before it"
Evening Standard "A storyteller in the cla.s.s of Alexandre Dumas"
Washington Post "Archer has a gift for storytelling that can only be described as genius"
Daily Telegraph "Back in top form . . . Archer"s imagination at its most sublime . . . an entertaining, pacey page-turner"
Sunday Times "Few are more famous than Archer for keeping the pages turning . . . an extravagant romp possibly his best"
The Times Praise for Jeffrey Archer"s short stories "Jeffrey Archer plays a subtle cat-and-mouse game with the reader in twelve original short stories that end, more often than not, with our collective whiskers twitching in surprise"
New York Times "Stylish, witty and constantly entertaining . . . Jeffrey Archer has a natural apt.i.tude for short stories"
The Times "Archer hits the bull"s eye with an exemplary collection"
Daily Mail "The economy and precision of Archer"s prose never fails to delight. The criminal doesn"t always get away with his crime and justice doesn"t always prevail, but the reader wins with each and every story"
Publishers Weekly "Outstanding . . . white-knuckle suspense . . . [An] enjoyable, suspense-filled rival to Roald Dahl"
Daily Express
Four Warned.
JEFFREY ARCHER, whose novels and short stories include Kane and Abel, A Prisoner of Birth and Cat O" Nine Tales, has topped the bestseller lists around the world, with sales of over 270 million copies.
He is the only author ever to have been a number one bestseller in fiction (fifteen times), short stories (three times) and non-fiction (The Prison Diaries).
The author is married with two sons and lives in London and Cambridge.
www.jeffreyarcher.com Facebook.com/JeffreyArcherAuthor @Jeffrey_Archer Also by JEFFREY ARCHER NOVELS.
Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less Shall We Tell the President?
Kane and Abel The Prodigal Daughter First Among Equals A Matter of Honour As the Crow Flies Honour Among Thieves The Fourth Estate The Eleventh Commandment Sons of Fortune False Impression The Gospel According to Judas (with the a.s.sistance of Professor Francis J. Moloney) A Prisoner of Birth Paths of Glory Only Time Will Tell The Sins of the Father Best Kept Secret SHORT STORIES.
A Quiver Full of Arrows A Twist in the Tale Twelve Red Herrings The Collected Short Stories To Cut a Long Story Short Cat O" Nine Tales And Thereby Hangs a Tale PLAYS.