A moment later Maggie appeared beside her, and trailed an arm over her shoulder. Eva flinched a little but hoped it was not too obvious. Maggie was dressed, somehow already fully made up, and looked as stunning and dangerous as ever.
“I don’t know how you do it, Maggie.”
Eva pulled away from Maggie’s arm and fetched the milk.
“The habit of a lifetime, Eva. It looks like it’s just us for breakfast.”
“Maybe not. We’re vacating ASAP. What’s happening with the… the body?”
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that, darling. That’s Gerrard’s job. He’s got contacts.”
“Even if it’s Gerrard’s job I’m the one being paid to worry, like you said…”
“Gerrard will send it out for despatch across the channel. We’ve have contacts who are expert at waste disposal.”
“Experts? They do this for a living?”
“For years, yes. Brian’s kept them busy for well over a decade.”
Eva tried not to look bothered by the idea of a professional body disposal service, but she must have let it show, because Maggie gave her a pitying smile.
“You’re going to be fine, Eva. The carpets are totally clean. No one can connect Kendra to us. No one is even going to miss her. She was a nobody with no one to miss her. It’s going to be fine, really.”
“Not even you? You won’t miss her?”
“She was going to kill me, remember? Besides, I’ve got other things on my mind now.”
Maggie let the words hang in the air, but Eva was in no mood for Maggie’s innuendoes this morning.
“This is a professional arrangement, Maggie. What happened between you and Kendra was something entirely different. You’re my client. That’s all.”
“Oh, Eva. Stop being so serious. Relax. Your tea is stewing.”
Maggie was nearly a foot taller than Eva. The woman moved close beside her and finished the tea. Maggie had invaded her space and loomed over her again. There was no fixing this. As soon as the woman was safe, Eva was going to leave. Of course she was. But part of her knew she would be at risk from Brian Gillespie for the rest of her life… It didn’t matter. The woman was too much and Eva needed her freedom. As soon as Maggie was deposited into the care of a Gillespie rival, she would move on and leave Maggie for dust.
“Maggie, please…” Eva stepped away. “My job is to keep you safe. When you’re safely stowed away, my job is done.”
“You keep changing your mind. On the one hand, I do find that charming. On the other, I find it frustrating. The trait I want in my staff is compliance and consistency. You work for me now, Eva. Are we clear?”
“You heard what I said.”
Maggie raised an eyebrow. Her eyelids dropped, and the weather on her face went from playful to severe in a second. “I heard you.”
“Then we’re clear.”
“You’re going to help me win here, Eva. That’s why I picked you. I always win in the end, Eva. No matter the odds. I would remember that if I were you.”
Eva gulped the hot tea and turned away to look out of the dark window. She was grateful for the gun in her jacket and the protection it afforded. Before she’d had another gulp of tea, Gerrard was yawning at her side. He was still in that vest. And with a restrained smile, Eva couldn’t help noticing Gerrard had applied aftershave and his teeth smelt freshly brushed – though he was feigning just waking up. Men. Even the murderers were the same.
“You remember last night, do you?” said Gerrard, pouring himself a cup. His voice was careful, just above whispering.
“I remember nothing happened. I had a few drinks. You didn’t get what you were after, and we went our separate ways.”
“Wow. That’s some imagination, you’ve got.” Gerrard moved closer and pressed his lips to Eva’s ear through her cascading red hair. “The way I remember it is that you spent all yesterday looking at me and you followed me like a cat on heat in the afternoon. Then I saved your pretty little body from a hail of bullets and by night time you were melting for me. You want me, don’t you? I know you do.”
“And you think I’ve got the imagination? Dream on, Gerrard.”
The man’s face reddened. Eva walked away, fluttering with inappropriate feelings from Gerrard’s touch. She managed to play it straight and sat down by herself. Eva had never liked weapons, but right then she’d never been so glad to have a gun to hand. Without looking back at Gerrard she said.
“Pack up, we’re going in fifteen minutes.”
“Who made you the boss, detective?”
“I’m not in charge, Gerrard. But you still need to do what I say. Ask Maggie if you don’t like it.”
Gerrard went a deeper shade of red. By the end of her cup of tea, Eva felt strained and alone. Then Jess appeared looking tired and equally stressed.
“Eva. This whole thing is a mess.”
“I know. And it’s my mess. Not yours. This situation isn’t going to get any safer for you.”
“You say that every time. But this isn’t safe for you either.”
“Maybe But seriously, this is dangerous. I want you to go home, Jess. Not to the office but back home to your family. Just until this blows over.”
“Is this because of what I did with…?”
“That was bloody stupid and highly disloyal.” Eva snapped. “But no, it’s not because of that.”
Jess’s eyes fell on the shape in Eva’s jacket.
“Eva, what’s that?”
“You know what that is. It’s my protection.”
Jess stood up. “Eva, I think you’re right. I need to go. But the reason isn’t to do with me, it’s to do with you. They’re getting to you, Jess. That guy was right. You’re in this up to your neck. You’re one of them now. Don’t you see that…?”
Eva didn’t say a word. She did see it. She looked down at her empty cup and let Jess walk away. However badly Jess made her feel, Jess would at least now leave and be safe. One minute later, the door slammed. Jess was gone. Maggie’s heels slowly clacked onto the kitchen floor.
“I’m glad she’s gone. The girl was a liability.”
Eva humphed.
“But she was right, you know. I heard what she said. You are in this up to your neck. You are one of us now. You see?” Maggie laughed. “We’re birds of a feather…”Eva stood and loudly dumped her cup in the sink. “Get your things. We’re leaving now.” Eva walked into the hall before she gave in to her emotion. Maggie had trapped her. But she would fight the trap all the way, until she was free.
“But we can’t leave yet. Someone is coming for the package.”
Eva checked Maggie’s eyes for mischief and deceit. There was plenty of mischief, but there was no trace of a lie. “If we leave now and that body hasn’t been taken something could happen and we couldn’t control it.”
“Like what?”
“A delivery man… a neighbour… whoever… they might discover the body without meaning to. We need to wait.”
“We’re in danger the whole time we’re here, Maggie.”
“I’m not worried. They won’t be long.”
Eva was ready to complain when her mobile started ringing. She looked at the screen and recognised the number. It was the number she hoped for. Galvan junior had called back. She dumped her jacket and bag back onto the kitchen table and answered the call.
“Hi. Eva Roberts?”
“Yes.”
“Alex Galvan here. Yes, we can handle that. On a short term basis, then agree terms.”
“I think we’ll need to know what sort of terms you’re likely to offer before we can agree…”
“Financial obviously. And information. They’re both valuable and Maggie Gillespie will have them in spades.”
Eva thought about the offer. Maggie’s dark eyes were reading her thinking.
“Who is it and what do they want?”
She cupped her hand over the phone and walked to the kitchen window, where Kendra had s
tood last night just before she went to kill Maggie and got topped herself. Topped. Such a polite euphemism. Eva put her hand over the phone.
“It’s my contact. They have a place we can stay and lay low, but they want recompense. They’re considering their price.”
“They sound just perfect. Tell them they can have Brian’s bank details, my card and pin. Well, maybe not the pin. Maybe not everything, not yet. How could I pay you, if I give them everything?”
Eva peered out of the kitchen window as she waited. Just beyond the front gate a white van parked up and Gerrard started walking out towards the front gate.
“We want cash plus information. Those are the terms. We can talk numbers when you’re safe and comfortable with us. To be honest, Miss Roberts, I don’t think you’re in the best negotiating position, do you?”
Eva bit her lip. He was right, Of course he was right.
“We’ll take it. Where do we go?”
“You’ll like this. It’s central, but it’s no bedsit. It’s in the conservation area. If we sold it tomorrow we’d pick up a half mil with no sweat.”
“Good for you. So what’s next?”
“I’ll give you the address. You go there and you’ll find the door open. The door key will be under the inside door mat. You’ll be watched of course. And when you’re inside, call me and I’ll have your shopping brought to the door.”
“That’s very handy.”
“It should see you staying alive a while longer. If I were you I’d take advantage of the darkness and make your move now while you can.”
“The address?”
“I’ll text it to you. Do we have a deal?”
“You know we do.”
“Excellent.”
Galvan hung up the call. Eva looked around to see Maggie smiling in the doorway. She must have liked what she heard. “I told you it would be just fine, didn’t I, Eva?”
“I don’t remember, Maggie. You’ve been telling me a lot of things.”
Eva looked out to the front garden and saw Gerrard and a Middle Eastern looking man in overalls toiling by the shed. They were closing the lid on a wooden crate, nailing it shut.
“If Kendra’s in that box, it’s time for us to go.”
“It’s reassuring to know you take my safety so seriously” This wasn’t the usual innuendo. Maggie’s voice was firm and angry.
“What do you mean…?” Eva looked at Maggie’s side. She slid her arm from behind her back and revealed the dark and gleaming gun. Eva looked at it, and moved to grab her jacket. Maggie laughed a little and gave her best smouldering look. Eva lifted her jacket and knew instantly what had happened. Her jacket was far too light. The gun was gone.
“It’s good to see your taking all the necessary precautions, because Kendra got too cocky. Too arrogant. She was a treasure. But arrogance is so unbecoming, I find it repugnant I really do. So I know you won’t do that because you’ve got too much class, Eva.”
Eva’s throat was going powder dry. She knew the disposal man was outside and she hoped he hadn’t been booked for two boxes. But there was only one way to find out, and Eva really didn’t want to give Maggie any ideas.
“You tell me that you’re leaving as soon as I’m safe, is that right?” said Maggie.
Eva nodded as the words wouldn’t come. Her eyes flicked between Maggie’s face and the barrel of the gun by her hip.
“Then you can do me one last favour, Eva. Today, let’s have a final meal together. I insist.”
Eva didn’t say a word. There was nothing else to say. She’d sold herself down the river for an easy meal ticket, when all along she’d known it was too good to be true. What the hell had she been thinking when she agreed to help the woman? The answer was simple enough. Eva was a sucker for giving people a second chance. But that was her more noble reason. The biggest reason of all was the parlous state of the business. Cash flow had survived on goodwill donations after the Will Burton case. But donations can’t last for ever. The business was sinking. And as Maggie gently swayed the gun in her long hand, Eva wondered if she was set to follow the business down into the abyss. Maggie was too dangerous to trust. She always had been. And now Maggie had the power which flows from the barrel of a gun. Her safety was gone. Now Eva had only a shred of hope, but looking at the gun in Maggie’s hand, she wondered if that shred was just an illusion.
Eighteen
The new safe house was in the heart of town, just as Galvan junior had promised. And it looked like he had pulled out all the stops. Eva texted the new address to Jess, but the girl was still sulking, as she didn’t respond. Eva wondered if the quality of this house was because Galvan liked her- which was a totally conceited thing to think, she knew that - but she wouldn’t have cared if it was a factor. The houses here were terraced, but that was where any common ground with a standard terraced house ended. They were Georgian, two and three storeys with a windowed-basement. The bare brick ones were plush, their brick faces clean as teeth fresh from the dentist. Their gardens were neat. Everything about them spoke of an historical English dream made reality – hard to believe for houses in the heart of the town, but here they were. The Galvan house was a two storey effort with brown bricks, a multi-level front garden full of topiary and the front was guarded by two small bay trees either side. There was a light on in the house, soft light coming from the top of lampshade. The inside of the house looked like the middle class dream too, with strong red walls split off from white walls below by a dado rail. Eva enjoyed the experience for the briefest of moments, and then the tension took control again. She looked around. Opposite the house was the new French café by the bowling green. On another corner was the old Congregational Church which had been claimed by the University and turned into some kind of student theatre. She looked for people. There was a street-cleaner in high-viz sweeping the streets. There was a man walking briskly with a brief case in hand. There were no motorcycles or people looking back at her. It was dark. The front door had appeared closed, but when they pushed it, she found the door was open and on the snib.
It wasn’t early anymore. This day had passed slower than the others put together. Once again, Eva had the feeling that they were being watched. But it wasn’t truly possible. They were hidden from sight in every way. But from the tension in the air, and from Maggie and Gerrard’s curtain twitching behaviour she was sure they felt it too. Eva was tired and though the words hadn’t been said, she felt that she was a captive all over again. A captive and yet only a stone’s throw from her own office. It was crazy and torturous. Gerrard kept his distance, though on occasion she found his eyes on her. She didn’t mind that too much. As captors went, he wasn’t so bad. It was reassuring that he was still interested. And he gave her potential to create an exit if she had to, but before she could do that, Eva knew she would have to engineer one. Leaving without her money was plan Z. Leaving and being able to claim the money she was promised had to be the best plan of all. Even with Maggie stealing her gun, Eva was going to give the mad woman no excuse to withhold her payment. It meant she had to play along for this ridiculous meal – probably ending with another one of Maggie’s ham-fisted attempts to seduce her. –. There would be a sting in the tail, there always was. Maybe Maggie would threaten her. Of course she would. She’d done it before, but Eva was steadfast and strong. She would be resolute and find a way to block Maggie, and then she would demand her fee. Maybe the woman would withhold it… but Eva doubted that. Even with Maggie’s desperate attempts to force Eva into bed, the woman appeared to have some kind of perverse moral code. Presumable Kendra had been paid for her work. Presumably if she wanted to retain any chance of having good relations with Eva, Maggie would also pay. The idea gave Eva hope. The clients had been thin on the ground for months, and Jess had been making noises about cash flow even longer than that. The easy money jobs were drying up too. It was cyclical, of course. The business would pick up. But without a decent chunk of money coming in Eva knew the business would have to chan
ge beyond recognition. Jess would have to go. The office and flat would be sold. And if it didn’t pick up within a year, Eva would have to look for another job. A ridiculous notion, of course. Logic stated that this was just a dip in business, and it would return to normal soon enough. But there is a part in all of us which panics, which flies in fear at the worry of losing income and security. The drinking, Dan’s absence and the lack of money all coincided with the dreaded moment Maggie Gillespie and Kendra came knocking. She had been desperate, lonely and drunk. And Maggie had played the poor desperate victim who needed a hand. The fifty grand offer made saying yes a formality, all of the danger pushed out of her mind at the prospect of the cash. Now it was almost the other way around. The money was just a hope, but Eva still had to pursue it to the end. She had been promised it. She’d risked her neck for it. And this mad queen bee was going to pay it one way or another, even if she held some serious cards in her favour. Eva was wily and had her act together again. As good as it was going to get, anyway.
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