Nutton was making notes. He looked up as he flipped his pad closed. ‘Where will I find you when I’m done?’ he asked.
Hendricks glanced at his watch. ‘I have something to attend to, and then I’ll get hold of Randall – no way am I waiting for him to bother to find me. I suspect we’ll remain close by for a while yet, so sort us out a couple of rooms somewhere in town and text me with the details. We’ll meet up there later this evening.’
‘Unless there’s movement on Lynch, right?’
‘Of course.’
For the first time since he had arrived unexpectedly, Nutton stepped up to confront Hendricks. ‘You’re not looking to side-line me, are you? I mean, I accept you didn’t really want me here, but now that I am, and I’m making myself useful, I hope you wouldn’t just take off if the police get a decent lead.’
Hendricks raised his hands defensively. ‘That’s not it at all, and I’m sorry you think that of me. It’s not the way I work, Nutton. But I am used to working on my own, so I do need my own thinking space. I have my routines for working things through. That’s all. I hear anything, you hear it a second afterwards. Same goes the other way, of course. I’d expect that in return. Okay?’
Nutton nodded. ‘Fair enough. I’ll get cracking on this and we’ll meet up later.’
‘Oh, something I just thought of. Check on car thefts within the same time range. He might just have nicked himself a set of wheels.’
‘Will do. Good thinking.’
Hendricks watched as the junior officer walked out of the room and into the ticket office. Whatever happened next, it was his firm intention to never see the man again.
*
The problem with following a decent sized group of people was that sooner or later they always split up. Rhino thought about how that was playing out right now. He called his boss immediately. ‘Chris, we have movement. I know I’m your eyes on the ground, but we may need some extra hands down here.’
‘What’s your problem now, Rhino?’
Now? The word rattled Rhino. He had called Chris once so far to complain, and somehow this had earned him attitude. He let it pass. For the time being. ‘The problem is they’re splintering. At the lay-by they formed three distinctive groups. All three came here to Chippenham railway station. What we’ve got now is one group – which seemed to have two men working together, but each with their own car – now about to go their separate ways. One is headed to his motor, the other is still somewhere inside the station. The second group, larger and definitely the men in charge, are gathered out by their vehicles and to me they look set to move off very soon. Another group, lesser detectives I’d say, have not emerged from the station since they went in.’
‘So you want to know who to stick with?’
‘I do.’
‘No, you don’t. You don’t want to know, you want to be told.’
‘Well… that’s how I end up knowing.’
‘No, Rhino. That’s how you end up doing what I suggest. That’s how you end up evading responsibility for anything. The only one who can really know what to do is the person down there watching events unfold. Who might that be, Rhino?’
The big man hated being spoken down to. ‘Haystacks?’ he suggested.
‘Don’t fucking wind me up, Rhino. You’re on the spot. Make the decision. But, Rhino…’
‘Make the right one?’
Chris Dawson laughed. ‘You got it.’
Rhino did not like the way this was shaping up. It was a hard enough task as it was without Chris acting like a prick. He thought about what he had witnessed from up on that hill, how that fit in with what he’d seen since the circus had moved here. The middle group – larger, more cohesive. They were the ones in the know.
Haystacks had returned to the Merc an hour earlier, drink and muffin in a white paper bag, scrunched up at the collar. What he had managed to pick up was not quite as useless as Rhino had expected. Apparently, three tickets had been purchased by someone fitting Mike Lynch’s description. Cash had also been withdrawn. The story being told was not being bought by the cops however. They were convinced that the three had remained in the town.
‘Haystacks,’ Rhino said now. ‘We have to split up for a bit. I need you to get back to the station. Linger, but blend in. I may have to follow that bunch waiting out by the unmarkeds. I reckon they’re looking set to move any moment now, but a whole bunch are staying behind. You go, I’ll stick with them. Call you later.’
His colleague slipped out of the vehicle without another word.
Now that was the Haystacks Rhino enjoyed spending time with.
EIGHTEEN
On leaving the park and the tranquil river behind, I began to feel curiously detached. On the one hand, I felt we were more exposed; on the other, just knowing my meeting with Susan was only hours away somehow made me feel invulnerable. For the first time since leaving the motel I wasn’t expecting to be snatched up by some armed squad dressed like Robocops. Charlie was happy enough, having enjoyed herself in the park, but it was only a matter of time before she started bleating again. Her chatter for now was idle, the mindless ramblings of a small child coming to terms with new surroundings and a change in routine. I dreaded that whining starting up again. She’d had an ice-cream, but she would soon be hungry. Plus she was getting tired. A combustible combination.
Melissa was not in a good place, however. Understandably she was apprehensive, but moving away from the wide open spaces unnerved her. She explained that she felt the tight streets were closing in, the taller buildings looming over her. I thought I understood what she was going through. I had experienced something similar on my walk back to the library after I’d dumped the car.
‘It’s natural I think,’ I told her. ‘You’re starting to feel hemmed in, a little paranoid. That’s no bad thing, as it keeps you alert.’
‘Oh, I’m that all right. I feel jumpy. My flesh is crawling.’
‘You feel watched, right? Eyes everywhere.’
She turned to look at me as we walked on. ‘Exactly that.’
‘Don’t fret about it. It comes with the territory when you feel you’re being tracked.’ I deliberately avoided using the word ‘hunted’, despite believing that’s exactly what was happening.
I turned the conversation around to how everything would feel better once we were safely ensconced within a hotel room that no one could track us to. A place where we could rest up and feel safe while we planned our next move.
‘Sue will be bringing us some more cash,’ I told Melissa as we turned into Gladstone Road, where the hotel Susan had booked was located. ‘And maybe by the morning she will have dug up some news we can act upon.’
I tried to sound more confident than I felt. It was just as likely that a further night would allow Hendricks to plant and create more evidence as it was for Sue to find a weakness we could exploit. But Melissa didn’t need to know this. She was coping remarkably well, but there were recent signs that the stress of our desperate situation was getting to her.
‘Why is she not coming directly here to the room?’ Mel asked me as we approached the Angel Hotel courtyard. ‘Why meet elsewhere first?’
‘Because at this stage we can’t be too careful,’ I explained. ‘I want to make sure she really is okay with all of this before putting the four of us in the same room together. Also… and I hate saying this, hate myself for evening thinking it, but I have to consider the fact that she might bring the police with her.’
‘Why would a friend do that?’
I shook my head. ‘Oh, not out of malice. Not Sue. But if she genuinely thought it was the best solution then she might just go for it and to hell with facing my wrath. What’s that old saying: ‘better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission’. Something like that, anyhow.’
Just then Charlie stopped in her tracks. Her face was set, sullen all of a sudden. ‘How long do we have to stay here?’ she demanded to know. ‘I want to go home now.’ She folded her arms acros
s her chest.
‘It’s just for one more night, sweetheart’ Melissa reassured her, crouching down so that they were eye to eye. ‘Think of it this way, you’ll go to sleep later on tonight and then when you wake up we’ll be heading off.’
‘Home?’ The kid raised her head, her eyes imploring her nanny and guardian to end this misery. ‘Will Daddy be there?’
Melissa looked back over her shoulder. I shrugged. I didn’t know what to tell the kid. Mel looked away again and stroked Charlie’s hair. ‘We’ll see, sweetheart. We’ll see.’
‘Will Roger be there?’
‘I’m sure he will be.’
‘Is Mike coming with us?’
‘Is that all right by you if he is?’
Charlie nodded. No second thought necessary. I was touched by this small show of affection. It was like the hand-holding earlier. Once again it made me think about my own daughter, now almost six thousand miles away. I felt a twinge deep in my stomach. An ache I knew I would never truly be without.
We still had time to kill, and I saw an advertisement hoarding that made me grin. ‘Hey, Charlie,’ I said. ‘You like Ice Age, right?’
The kid nodded. Interested, but not ready to fully commit.
‘Well, the new one is on at the cinema, and that’s just a short walk away. How about it?’
The look on her face told me I had come up with just the right idea. Melissa, too, appeared relieved by the suggestion. We blew a decent wad of money on the tickets, tubs of popcorn, large drinks, and a bag of M&Ms to share around. The movie series had run out of steam a long time ago, and this one was yet another rehash of the familiar. It didn’t matter. It got us off the street, and in the dark where nobody would take notice of us. It was a perfect way to pass the time.
Afterwards, we took a slow walk back in the direction of the hotel. Charlie’s mood was greatly improved, and for that I was grateful. As we reached the street on which the hotel stood for a second time I stopped in my tracks.
‘I’d better go,’ I said to Melissa, checking my watch. It was a little early, but I didn’t want to be around the kid if she kicked off. ‘You head to the room. I’ll see you in an hour or so.’
Melissa gave me the strangest smile.
‘What?’ I asked.
‘You seem different somehow. There’s no panic anymore, no stress. It’s like you’re a whole other person.’
‘Well, don’t bank on me being a better one,’ I scoffed. ‘There’s not even a tiny part of me doing this for you or her.’
The kid jerked her head up, suddenly very much alert and scowling at me. ‘You’re mean,’ she snapped. ‘I don’t like you anymore. I want Roger back.’
Melissa glared as she stood upright, turning to confront me. ‘Why do you do that, Mike?’
‘Do what?’
‘Let people in just enough to have them start believing you’re a decent guy, only to prove yourself the arsehole they originally thought you were.’
‘Hey,’ I said, spreading my hands. ‘You’re the one who made the mistake. I never said I was anything but an arsehole.’
I regretted the sentiment more than the comment.
Melissa stared me down. Fierce disappointment blazed in her eyes. ‘True enough, Mike. I won’t make that mistake again, believe me.’
I met her angry gaze. ‘But you are confident there will be an ‘again’? I mean, you do believe I’m coming back? You think I’m at least decent enough to do that.’
‘Of course. I’m your alibi, right? You need me to help get you out of this.’
I raised a finger and wagged it in her direction. ‘You got it, darling.’
She leaned forward and lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘Well, me and Charlie come as a pair. Remember that. If you need me, you need her, too. So be nice. It won’t kill you.’
I turned and walked away, already regretting my outburst and putting an end to the good will I had earned throughout the day. I hadn’t meant a word of it.
*
That was a little under an hour earlier. Here in the high-rise car park for my meeting with Susan, I was aware of my every sense opening up like a budding flower. I wasn’t exactly afraid, more anxious. Excited, too, at the prospect of seeing a good friend again.
My thoughts turned back to the disagreement with Melissa. She had been right. I did need her. Far more than she needed me. She and the kid came as a package deal, and I was okay with that now. I no longer felt any antipathy towards either of them. But my focus at the time, as now, was on meeting with Sue and trying to get our three lives back on track. I had not handled things well, and I made a mental note to apologise later. Try and put things right between us. Not for the first time, I had acted like an arse. No great thespian qualities were required on that score.
Susan Healey was – had always been – the brighter side of humanity. The very opposite of me, in other words. She could almost always offer a positive spin on any situation, no matter how bleak it might appear at the time. I recalled that I had initially considered her to be naïve, yet our time working together had eventually dissuaded me of that notion. Susan simply refused to embrace the darkness that seemed to so overwhelm most people. I decided I had been right to contact her, and was absurdly pleased that she had suggested coming to meet me. It implied she had forgiven me, and for that I was more grateful than I could ever express.
At the end of a grim concrete walkway, intended (but failing) to make pedestrians feel safe and separate from the vehicles entering the car park, was a blue door. It looked heavy, but when I applied most of my weight to it, it flew open and I found myself in the stairwell which, as car park stairways always do, had a strange chemical odour and a particular dirty light quality.
I made my way up two flights and then out into the parking area itself, which was about the size of a football pitch. I crossed over to a circular column and leaned against it. It seemed a good place to wait, because under the meagre lighting the concrete pillars cast deep shadows. This provided plenty of places to hide in the gloom, from where I could see the ramps that directed the vehicles from floor to floor. I stood with my back against the column and took a breath. By my watch I was a few minutes early, though I had dragged my heels after I’d left Mel and the kid. There was no sign of Sue’s Mini Cooper. I hoped she wouldn’t be too late, because only now was I realising how out of place I looked standing there. You did two things in car parks: you drove in, exited your car and went about your business; or you got back into your car and drove away. Loitering by one of the support columns would draw unwanted attention.
Not good planning on my part.
Rusty, I thought.
The first vehicle that came up the ramp continued on and up to the next level. The second, a silver Audi, took a space close by the ticket machine. The driver claimed his ticket and walked off down the ramp he’d just driven up. The third, just a few minutes later, was a red Mini Cooper. I had told Sue to look for the stairwell exit sign and park close to that, which she did. I tracked her progress and gave it a few minutes. No other vehicle followed. I saw nobody else taking any interest in the car, nor was anyone studiously avoiding looking at it. As I started slipping between cars, moving in the direction of the Mini, I took one more quick look around, and then jogged the last few yards over to her car.
NINETEEN
The moment our eyes met I felt it all over again; whatever we had once shared was still there. It was as if the intervening years had not occurred, or at least had melted away to the point where they did not matter. Sue looked exactly the way I remembered. Same angular features and high cheekbones, same wavy dirty-blonde hair flowing over her shoulders and halfway down her back, same piercing blue eyes. Even the same wide smile; which I hadn’t entirely expected. She wore a navy linen jacket over a grey top and blue jeans, which were tucked into leather boots, and was apparently no older than the last time we had met.
We hugged one another like the long-lost friends we were. When I pulled back, I w
as almost overcome with relief and regret in fairly even doses.
‘You’re still as gorgeous as ever,’ I told her. I was aiming for something light-hearted, but I also meant every word.
‘Hmm. Flattery will get you nowhere, my friend. Not this time.’
I smiled. Her words were tough, but I could tell her heart wasn’t in it. ‘Seriously, Sue, you look great. Damn! It’s been too bloody long.’
‘Hey, that’s not down to me, Mr.’
‘I know, I know. My fault all the way. No arguing with you there.’
She pulled her head back, eyes widening. ‘Good grief! Michael Lynch, sincerity, and an apology are not three things that often occur at the same time.’
‘Okay. I deserve that. But for what it’s worth, it is good to see you again. I’ve missed you so much.’
She forced out a long sigh as we got into her car and sat there looking at each other. ‘You, too, Mike. You can’t believe how much I’ve been rehearsing on the way down here. All the home truths I was going to tell you. All the finger wagging, all the… disappointment I was going to express and get out of my system. But now that I’m actually here, it just feels a bit petty and unnecessary.’
I hung my head a little. ‘I know I let you down, Sue. I know I may even have hurt you. It’s no excuse, but you know the state I was in at the time. The drinking got a real grip of me. I’d like to blame it all on losing both my career and my marriage, but of course I lost both because of the booze, and I hurt everyone who was in my professional and social orbit at the time. Whatever I said, whatever I did, I apologise. That’s all I can do.’
I felt her hand on mine. A light touch. The touch of a friend. But electric all the same. ‘It’s okay, Mike. It was a long time ago. I won’t deny that you hurt me. It was hard to take, but life moves on. We all move on.’
I nodded my agreement. ‘It’s easy to forget that. When you leave behind a life that had been in your blood for years, leave people you care for behind, somehow you still think about them as they were, not how they may be now. You still look terrific, though. I’ve read your columns and you’re writing better than ever, too.’
Scream Blue Murder Page 13