Prologue

"You have to break him out of prison, Mr Davenport – you really must.”
“Why me?”
“From what I’ve discovered, there’s no one else in your league – no one else who could pull it off.”
“So, whet my appetite.”
“£1 million cash, with £200,000 as a retainer and the rest – how can I put it – when I see a photo of his smiling face with a glass of Bollinger in his hand.”
“Sorry, not interested.”
“May I ask why not?”
“I’ll tell you why not. One is a lonely number. Anyway, officially, I’ve retired – gone straight.”
“And unofficially?”

Miracles Cost Extra - Extracts

From Chapter 6

A summary of Jake’s intellectual boundaries would
make a curious read:

Politics – virtually nil.
Knowledge of history – limited to Churchill, Napoleon, General Custer, The Alamo and Gordon of Khartoum.
Specialist subjects – an encyclopedic knowledge of British crime, the currency exchange market, cigars, whiskey, Rolex watches, and Italian restaurants.
The Law – an experienced campaigner in court procedure, tactics and lying in the witness box.
Favourite TV programmes – Dragon’s Den, Antiques Roadshow, André Rieu concerts, reruns of The Sweeney, Sergeant Bilko and John Wayne films.
Travel – Miami, Dubai, Naples, Marbella, the French Riviera, Bangkok, and the Old Bailey.

On the other hand, compared to the usual type of characters to be found in what is emotively referred to as The Underworld, Jake was verging on genius level – The Einstein Gangster.