He Knows Too Much

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Level 6

Cambridge English Readers

Series editor: Philip Prowse

He Knows Too Much
Alan Maley

published by the press syndicate of the universit y of cambridge The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RP, United Kingdom cambridge universit y press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, United Kingdom 40 West 20thStreet, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA 10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia # Cambridge University Press 1999 First published 1999 Reprinted 1999 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. Printedin the United Kingdom at J.W. Arrowsmith Ltd, Bristol Typeset in 12/15pt Adobe Garamond [CE] ISBN 0 521 65607 9

Contents

Characters Maps Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Postscript Glossary

Madras 1986 Family life Threatening shadows: Delhi,January 1987 Break-up and breakdown: November 1989 Down at Hove Return to Madras Nagarajan Cambridge, February 1990 Jacko of St John's A visit to Ned in Bath London: John Verghese Nandi Hills Devanahalli, May 1990 Kidnap Teatime in Barnes: London, June 1990 The Showdown: London, June 1990 In God's hands 1997
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4 5 6 12 17 26 31 36 40 49 55 62 68 71 81 86 93 96 100 108 110

Characters

DickSterling: general manager in Madras, India of Trakton, a multinational manufacturing company. Sally Sterling: Dick's wife. Keith Lennox: Dick's boss at Trakton. Works in Delhi. Barbara Lennox: Keith's wife. Visvanathan (Vish): of®ce manager at Trakton. Molly: Vish's wife. She also works at Trakton. Ramanathan (Ramu): Dick's personal assistant at Trakton. Nagarajan: in Accounts at Trakton. Lakshmi:Nagarajan's daughter. Ned Outram: a former employee at Trakton. Sir Percy Hancock: former chief executive of Trakton, once head of the Delhi of®ce. Sir Jeremy Jackson ( Jacko): retired professor of comparative philology at Cambridge. John Verghese.

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Chapter 1

Madras 1986

`He knows too much. I must ask you to do nothing.' `But this time I caught him in the act. I have proof,witnesses, everything. There is no possible doubt. Surely . . .' `I said he knows too much! The company can't afford to have any problems. Our position is very sensitive in this country. We can't afford to take risks. I am telling you once again ± you will do nothing. And if there is any trouble, I'm afraid I shall have to hold you personally responsible. So be sensible for once in your life.' `Isee. So you are telling me to close my eyes to corruption and behave as if nothing has happened. Is that right?' `I didn't put it quite like that. But, if you insist, yes. What Vish does or doesn't do is a minor matter compared with the company's global strategy. Just try to get things in perspective. After all, you won't be stuck in Madras for ever ± I'll make sure that you're not. So just go withthe ¯ow for a bit longer. When you're in your next post this will all seem a very long way away, I can assure you. But meantime, no trouble. I hope I've made myself clear. Oh, and, by the way, I advise you to forget that we have had this conversation. Goodbye.' Dick Sterling put the phone down. His hands were trembling. He was furious with himself for failing to persuade his boss in Delhi, KeithLennox, to support him,
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and was disgusted at the mixture of veiled threats and vague promises Lennox had made. `He knows too much' ± the words still rang in his ears. He wondered, not for the last time, just what it was that Vish, the of®ce manager of the factory, knew. How could it be so important that the company's position in India could be threatened by it? It simply didn't make sense....