by Adam Melrose
Joe looked up at Matt, ‘What’s with Dumb and Dumber?’
Matt shook his head and gave both men a look that didn’t fill them with confidence.
‘It turns out Norton is in cahoots with Evo. Bella has been drugged, but she is going to be OK apparently. If they can be trusted.’
Max just shook his head, ‘Guess that all Figures.’
They got to the top of the stairs, and walked out onto the gantry to join the others.
Evo smirked, ‘Well… isn’t this nice; quite the gathering. I think we need to talk, and we certainly need to make a plan.
Chapter 48
Max noticed that Bella was moving slightly, and she began to groan. He barked at one of the security guards to give him his jacket so he could make her comfortable with a pillow.
‘Use your own,’ snapped the guard.
‘I’m soaking wet you fucking idiot. I am trying to help her, not make her worse with a wet pillow.’
Max glared at Evo, who in turn gave a nod to the guard that told him to give his jacket over.
Max gently knelt down and made Bella comfortable.
She managed the slightest of smiles.
Max could feel his entire body tense with anger. He stood up and walked towards Evo. Two of the guards blocked him.
‘What are you planning for us then you utter moron?’ He pointed towards Bella. ‘She needs to see a doctor now.’
Evo’s face hardened, ‘I wined and dined you, yet you still trespass on my private property. None of this is on me. I told you people to stay out of here, but you didn’t listen.’
Max was still staring hard at Evo.
‘No, you even sent your tame cop Stimpson around to warn us off.’
Matt imagined Max’s remark seemed to throw Evo for a moment but, he then thought not.’
‘It always pays to keep local law enforcement in your pocket. And to be fair, he was only asking a bunch of trespassers to stay off private property. He would be worried for your safety. Being a dutiful policeman, he would want to make sure no one got hurt.’
Max was a gentle soul at heart, but right now, nothing would give him greater pleasure than to punch Evo squarely in the face.
‘Let’s get on with this Evo; the police are on their way. I managed to get a text to Ollie asking him to make sure he didn’t go through the local police office. I’d think twice before killing us all given they are on their way.’
‘Kill you?’ Evo gave a strained laugh, ‘I’m not going to kill anyone. I want you off my property. That’s all.’
‘Your superiors told you not to kill any more people here I guess?’ said Matt.
Evo was looking more perplexed.
‘My superiors? I don’t have any superiors, I’m the boss.’
‘We know that to be total nonsense. We’ve spoken to a journalist by the name of James, he said you were a construct; someone else’s puppet.’
Now Evo was looking angry. He threw a look at his housekeeper before answering.
‘A construct. What is wrong with you people, haven’t you checked me out?’
‘We did, we even had a nice call from a man at the government, who basically said the same thing, and I’ve seen it too. It’s nothing that will stand up in court, but you constantly exhibit the wrong emotions for a situation. At first I just wondered if you were a sociopath or a psychopath; I’m no doctor of course, but then it dawned on me. Sociopaths and psychopaths tend to have no emotions as such. You on the other hand, have plenty; you just exhibit them at the wrong time. You’re like a bad actor. You get the lines right, but your motivation is all wrong.’
Evo laughed.
‘There we go again,’ said Matt, ‘This is a dire situation; you are looking at having to kill a great many more people than you already have, and yet you laugh. It’s like none of this is really on you; that would only fit if this is all someone else’s show.’
Evo’s mouth dropped.
‘What do you mean killing more people than I already have? I haven’t killed anyone; nothing I have done is illegal.’
Matt was being careful not to convey any of his own emotions in his face. The more he was pressuring Evo, the more Evo’s emotions where coming into line with reality for the first time. He would keep up the pressure if he could.
Joe butted in with something he knew would help Matt out.
‘You’re seriously telling us, that you didn’t kill Pete? What, are we supposed to believe he fell over these banisters, and then somehow shifted his own dead corpse to the quarry where he was found?’
Evo was looking more stressed.
‘Pete died in the quarry. As I have already told you; I have no idea what he was doing there or what happened. He didn’t die here though.’
Seeing what Matt was doing, Max got out his phone, brought up the picture he had taken of the blood splatter on the plinth, and handed it to Joe, who showed it to Evo. An incredulous expression fell across Evo’s face.
‘But… but he didn’t die here… he didn’t, I had their word. – Wait you said people, what other people do you think I have killed?’
‘All the previous Shadow Tide deaths, six I think.’
‘They were all accidents,’ said Evo, following with a whisper to himself. ‘They promised me.’ The team could see Evo was doing a lot of hard and rapid thinking.
Ava moved towards Evo.
‘I assure you Evo, they were not accidents. Those people were murdered.’
A look of genuine confusion began to engulf Evo’s face.
‘But they promised… they assured me, no deliberate killing.’ He looked at Matt and the others like an eight year old child who had made a genuine mistake with serious consequences. There was an innocence on his face that made them all uneasy.
‘Oh come on Evo,’ said Matt, I saw the text Norton sent warning you that we were trying to get your housekeeper to roll on you, and incriminate you. So you must know she has agreed to.’
A moments silence passed whilst Evo was deep in thought.
‘I always told them if there was any killing then all bets were off. Looking back now, I can see their mania was clearly getting worse, but I guess I just buried my head… Well no more.’
The team could see that Evo was doing some more serious thinking before committing himself to his next statement. He turned to make sure he was looking at them all.
‘I never got any communication from Norton; this is beginning to sound like a setup.’
‘OK. If they have broken their end of the deal, so be it. I will not be party to murder. I’ll tell you; though what good it will do me I have no idea. I guess I just have to hold the memory I got to live a life well beyond anything else I could have achieved off my own back. The truth is I’m not very bright; left to my own devices I wouldn’t have had half of this life. I only got this job because I look straight from central casting for a billionaire, and I can keep my mouth shut. Not much of a skill-set really.’
He paused for another moment. Gone was the bravado they had come to expect. Now before them stood an incredibly sad and forlorn looking man, that had the body language of a scared child; an innocent. None of the team could know that Evo knew what fate awaited him.
‘My name… my real name is Christopher …’
Before Evo could provide them with his full name, a thwack reverberated around the chamber, and he slumped to the floor with a thud. A red spot formed on his forehead where the bullet had entered his skull and passed into his brain. There was confusion as to who had shot him. It was a moment or two before all eyes settled on Norton.
For the second time in the last couple of days, words just fell out of Matt’s mouth.
‘Norton – what have you done?’
Chapter 49
Three unmarked four by fours pulled in to the edge of the road, close to the grey Audi A6 that had been tucked into a corner in the shade. DCI Stimpson disembarked and motioned to everyone to wait in the cars. He walked over and put his hand on the
Audi’s bonnet; cold. He walked round to the front. Pulled out his phone and pulled up some notes. He then looked at the registration plate fixed to the front of the car. FX56KTE, yes that was one of the Scott and Munro cars. He swore and headed off into the woodland in the direction of the portal entrance. After giving a complex whistle, two men rose out of the leaf-bed.
‘Alright lads?’
‘Yes boss.’
‘SITREP?’
‘Basically, two Scott and Munro lads turned up in a black Range Rover, destroyed the dam, drained the canal, and then reversed into the portal. They then…’
DCI Stimpson interrupted, ‘They drove in?’ He swore under his breath again. ‘And then what?’
‘Well boss, it’s like their hosting a party in there. Another two went in, then another three, then a whole party with some armed guards went in somewhere over the top and vanished. Then a huge wave of water came out of the Portal, and dispersed quickly through the broken dam. No bodies with it though.’
‘Damn it.’ Stimpson shook his head, ‘Right lads, you’re with me now, come on, let’s get this wrapped up.’
Stimpson sprinted back to the cars; he motioned to the other two men to join them. At his direction they drove up the track to park above the portal. A quick inspection of embankment allowed them to see how the Scott and Munro guys had got their car into the canal. Stimpson motioned to the two Land Rover Defenders to follow suit. Once down and in the canal, Stimpson radioed to two men to stay at the top. He then placed another two men at the portal entrance, and the rest he motioned forward to get into the two cars. They headed into the portal.
Chapter 50
Everyone was still trying to get their minds around what had just happened. The guards were not sure what was going on, and seemed unsure what to do now that Evo had been shot. Ava had managed to remove her phone from her pocket without causing concern. She opened a translation app, then selected Latin to English. Her stomach was churning, and her fingers were tingling; the truth was already filtering through, but she wanted to make sure. The killer had identified themselves sometime back, and she had missed it. It would be good to be able to show some sort of backup to her theory if needs be.
Ava punched the housekeeper’s name into the translator app as it was given to them at the dinner party at Nalebury. Eva Veresum. She had thought at the time it was a stupid name, but was distracted with their role of watching Evo, and gathering as much intel as they could. The housekeeper had provided them with all the proof they really needed to unlock this case; but, however much people did not mean to, they often didn’t pay as close attention to the staff as they did to the host and the other guests. It had been the perfect place to hide. Bruno may have been joking when they walked into the manor for dinner that night, but he wasn’t far off the mark.
Ava’s first attempt returned no results, so she tried a space. This time there was a match. As the results showed up, Ava carefully angled the phone so Matt could see what was on the screen. When he saw the text, he just closed his eyes and said nothing.
Eva Vere Sum - really am Eve
Matt was beginning to experience the same stomach churning that Ava had. Why had he not picked up on the name. Evelyn, a unisex name, so could be a man or a woman. The real Evelyn de Varley was still very much alive and standing next to Norton. Matt decided he needed the others to know this, and the best way he could think of doing that was by loudly accusing Eva so everyone could follow along.
Chapter 51
Matt walked as close towards Norton and Eva as he felt safe to; and a distance that she should still be able to see the phone’s screen. Norton stood forward in a protective stance for Eva’s benefit. Oddly that still stung Matt, despite what was going on and their predicament.
‘So it’s actually Miss Evelyn de Varley.’
In that instant, Eva’s whole demeanour changed. It was like they were suddenly dealing with a different person entirely.
‘Well done Mr Holland, took you long enough didn’t it. I even gave you a couple of clues; so I think I played fair.
I always needed a proxy in business. A short, plain looking woman was never going to get anywhere in city life, even with my brain. I realised very early on that I was going to need a proxy if I was to succeed in the male dominated world of the City.’
By now Bella was sitting up, but feeling groggy, her brain was working though, and she was taking in the proceedings. Aided by Max she managed to stand.
‘So… when I was – was…’ she paused for a moment to steady herself, leaning on Max before carrying on, ‘When I thought I was playing you at the Tame Swan, and previously when I spilt my drink on my lunch, it was you playing me all along.’
‘Of course it was my dear, of course it was.’
‘So you really do know your champagnes.’
‘I do; to be honest I thought that was perhaps a clue too far, but clearly not in your case. You were so focused on getting to Evo, and so sure he killed your husband you were blindsided. You couldn’t see the whole chessboard. Speaking of which, I did even tell you Nalebury was mine, I enjoyed laying that little blatant clue that you totally missed. I told you your husband made me tea in my own kitchen. Like I say, I think I played the game fairly. You had your opportunities to work things out. You just weren’t up to it. Don’t feel too bad though. I was on to your friends from the first moment they appeared at The Wellspring, and got my gardener drunk; thanks to Norton.
‘As soon as your husband met with his unfortunate end, I had my people watch you. The more fuss you made, the more I felt we needed to keep an eye on you, and control you to make sure you did no real harm to the important work I am doing here.’
Bella shook her head. ‘Control me? But you didn’t, did you? I managed to find a superb competent investigation agency to get to the bottom of this, and they have.’
Eva smiled, ‘You think that was your idea? Have you not learnt anything yet? Perhaps I have given you too much credit.’
Bella said nothing. Her face said it all; she was lost. Perhaps if her system was not still full of drugs, she would have been able to follow Eva or was it Evelyn now?
An arrogant smile drifted across Eva’s face and anchored itself firmly in place.
‘I had Norton plant the fliers. It was his idea actually; and what a stroke of luck. We could lead you to an agency that you would implicitly trust, where I could keep an eye on you, and follow your every move. Always be several steps ahead of you. That way I could obscure the light the investigation was shining on things.’
It was Matt who was trying to keep up things in his mind now.
‘But when I saw your phone in the field, you had warned Evo that we were interrogating his housekeeper. I don’t follow.’
Norton also had a smug look across his face.
‘You were meant to find that. If you remember it was written but not sent. We realised we needed to throw you off the scent, so thought that text would send you after… well after the wrong Evelyn. Our revised plan was to frame him for everything, but – well, we can’t with everything that is going on here, it would all come out, and it mustn’t.’
Six people realised their time was running out. There was no way they were going to be allowed to leave here alive.
‘Just what the hell is going on here exactly Norton?’
‘Shall we tell them?’
Eva just shrugged her shoulders, ‘I guess we could.’
‘Hang on, you have just shot Evo to stop him telling us everything… and now you’re just going to tell us anyway?’ said Matt who looked genuinely shocked.
‘Yeahhh,’ laughed Norton, ‘I just wanted to kill him, I never liked him. Any excuse really. Guess that makes me a psychopath then?’
Bruno interrupted. He wasn’t going to give these two people, if they could be called that any more self-aggrandising attention than he had to.
‘We are well aware what this is all about. This place is an illicit Freeport. You are clearly storing v
ast wealth down here; it’s probably ill-gotten gains from your gangster colleagues. You are a money grabbing psycho, who will stop at nothing to hoard as much wealth as you can, and all for what?’
Eva looked at Bruno with a genuine look of surprise that he didn’t understand.
‘I would have thought it was pretty obvious what it’s for. The end of civilisation is coming, you do realise that? There are so many problems with the world. The gap between the rich and the poor is becoming an issue. If we get a weak government, they will only seize assets and re-distribute them in order to get the populist vote; well, they’ll have to find it first.’ Her voice was beginning to sound quite manic.
Matt gave a shake of his head.
‘This has all been about money?’
‘No Mr Holland, it’s not about money. It’s about security against theft by lunatic governments. It’s about the security, safety and freedom that money buys; it’s not about the cash itself.’
‘So you have spent God knows how much constructing an illicit Freeport in the middle of the countryside under some misguided thought that civilisation is coming to an end. Of course it isn’t. You’re mad…’
Eva’s face went puce with rage. ‘Mad, mad am I? I don’t think so. I managed to build my hedge fund from nothing to it being worth billions of pounds. I did that through cunning, guile and hard work. My ingenuity of creating a proxy with a tall good looking man with the same name to ease my path through the city; those are hardly the actions of a crazed lunatic are they?’
Eva paused for a moment. ‘No one rumbled my proxy ruse did they?’
‘Well, they had begun to actually.’ snarled Matt.
Joe put his hand out towards his brother, who instinctively took it, and they shook.
‘Congratulations brother, you called it right. You said it was financial or madness, you were right on both counts. You just got the wrong Evelyn.’