Chapter 11

Martin Lomax leads a Sunday Telegraph journalist and photographer through his immaculate gardens, accepting praise while weighing the costs behind the beauty. He notes hidden emergency cash and plans his first Open Garden, determined to impress visitors while enforcing strict boundaries.

As the journalist flatters his design and requests biographical detail, Martin keeps his past and nature concealed. He internally reviews his criminal portfolio: a pending sale of decommissioned Saudi anti-aircraft missiles to a Ukrainian buyer and a down payment involving a kidnapped racehorse he is prepared to stable.

Operational risks crowd his thoughts. He plans to cordon off the house and other sensitive areas, mindful of bodies in a cesspit, misplaced buried grenades, and the need to avoid digging. He considers community optics, including a Scout-run refreshment stall, while eliminating anything that could draw scrutiny.

The journalist asks to use a bathroom inside the house, but Martin refuses, directing her to the equipment shed to maintain his strict security rule: no one enters unless it is business. He reflects on a recent MI5 break-in connected to twenty million in diamonds, aiming to remain an ally rather than an enemy, yet accepting someone may die so long as it is not him.

As the visit ends, the shed toilet flushes and the thrum of an approaching helicopter reaches the garden. Martin, still plotting hospitality and concealment in equal measure, braces for whatever comes next.