Chapter one.
Slim, black-stockinged legs stretched above him, then a glimpse of firm suntanned thigh, before triangulating at a pair of skimpy black knickers. The knee-length flared chiffon skirt did little to hide such delights and Michael found himself slightly surprised at the adventurous underwear. This was a vision to stir any hot-blooded male, but not from floor level and certainly not when the legs, centimetres from his ears, belonged to hot property of the boss.
He knew he was in deep shit. Gazing up Melissa’s skirt was not only embarrassing, it was downright dangerous.
‘Spendthrift, get off my floor and stop being so bloody clumsy!’
Sir Malcolm’s voice brought him back to reality.
‘It’s Spellbound, sir, not Spendthrift.’
‘And stop staring at Melissa’s knickers, useless man! And Melissa - get the notes on Steiner and try to avoid piercing Spendthrift’s ears as you go.’
Michael winced. Rubbing his head where he had collided with the floor after coming in contact with a vicious hat stand, he waited while the legs were replaced by a stuccoed white ceiling.
‘Sorry, sir, I caught my foot. Didn’t notice the thing sticking out - must be a bit tired.’
‘Didn’t notice! You’re an agent, for God’s sake! Bloody stupid, that’s what I call it. Agents are meant to notice things. But then, you don’t, do you?’
Michael waited out the usual blurb from Sir Malcolm.
He could practically recite it by heart. ‘...seems to me there’s quite a lot that you don’t notice. You didn’t notice the fact that several of your student friends engaged in extra curricular activities. Nor the fact that they obviously needed to fund those activities. You didn’t notice that the necklace had obviously been taken out of Switzerland...in fact, just what did you notice, Spendthrift?’
‘It’s Spellbound, sir.’
‘Apparently even two dead bodies and a gun with your prints on the butt escaped your notice.’
‘I’m afraid that was connected to another case, sir.’
‘And finally, you go and trip over my hat stand! Thank you, Melissa, that will be all.’
Placing a buff folder on the leather of Sir Malcolm’s desk, she glanced at Michael for a moment with more than a hint of a grin.
‘I said thank you, Melissa,’ a comment guaranteed to propel Melissa quickly from the office.
Michael kept his eyes firmly on the pigeon strolling outside the window past the bulk of his boss. It was a well-known fact that Sir Malcolm Mortimer KCB RN ret. had not chosen his secretary purely for her administrative qualities. The pigeon pecked idly at the muck on the windowsill as Sir Malcolm continued. ‘And the whole episode has cost an absolute fortune! Have you any idea how much this has tarnished our image, let alone rocked the boat upstairs? And look at your hotel bill from Lucerne. What the devil did you think you were doing - entertaining royalty? Spendthrift by name, spendthrift by nature! Utter bloody fiasco, that’s all I can say. Comments?’ The last word expressed as though it were an expletive, Sir Malcolm relaxed into the leather padding of his chair.
Ignoring the irritating play on his name, Michael said, ‘Sir, I did explain all of that in my report and I’m sorry about your hat stand. The situation is complicated. I know it looks pretty bad but there are some fairly sound leads which I can follow up.’ He added rather lamely, ‘I thought Steiner was in