by Colin Wade
It didn’t work. His stomach was in knots. He felt sick. He had never felt terror like it. A level of vulnerability that he often saw in others but had never felt before. He continued driving, almost immobilised by fear when he realised the turn for Goring was coming up.
OK, Mr black 4x4, let’s see if I am being paranoid or if I really am in the shit.
He took the turn and kept an eye on his rear-view mirror. The black car did not follow. He almost cried with the relief and tried to stop himself shaking as he drove home.
Rob got home, made his dinner and phoned Clark. He was still having small panic attacks as he thought about the events of the afternoon.
“What do you think? Am I being paranoid?”
“No. I don’t like the sound of this. The fact he didn’t follow you home doesn’t mean he wasn’t the man. I know there are lots of black 4x4s but I don’t believe in coincidences, especially after the incident at the ward door. We need to be more vigilant. If these people are as ruthless as they seem, they probably have someone keeping an eye on things at the hospital. I reckon someone has told them about you visiting every day.”
“Shit Clark, I really needed you to reassure me about this. I was absolutely terrified.”
“Well, I am sorry mate but we knew this thing would get heavy. This suggests to me that they are still trying to clear up anything related to Anya.”
“What do I do?”
“You’ll just have to remain vigilant. If you see the car again, see if you can get a registration number or a picture of the driver.”
“Bloody hell Clark. I didn’t sign up for this. To have a murderer following me. Do you know what this is like?”
“Look, we don’t know for sure it is anything to worry about. Just keep vigilant and ring m—”
Clark stopped in mid-sentence.
“What’s the matter?”
“Shit, how could I be so stupid?”
“What!”
“We have been using our phones.”
“So?”
“If the Hardacres are involved in this, you can bet they have access to people like me. People that can mine our digital footprint. If they know your name, they will surely be monitoring your phone calls, which will lead them to me.”
“Oh magic, you just told me not to worry!”
“For God’s sake Rob, grow up. I know you are frantic with worry but you need to man up. We are in this thing whether you like it or not.”
There was another uncomfortable silence. Rob broke it.
“What can we do?”
“I can sort out the digital footprint. I just need to hack into the records and delete our call history. You can keep using your phone for normal stuff but, tomorrow, buy a burner.”
“A what?”
“A burner. A pay-as-you-go mobile phone with no contract, which you don’t register to your name. I’ll buy one too and we can swap new numbers when you next come to see me.”
Rob left the call with an uneasy feeling and double checked that all the doors and windows were locked. He had never felt so alone. So scared. So out of control of his life.
*
He had watched the Audi take the turn for Goring. At that moment, that had been good enough. He could be pretty sure that this man lived with Anya and decided not to take any more risks by following him any further. He had carried on past the turn and went home.
At 2 a.m. he drove up to the bottom of the close that Anya’s house was in. He got out and moved quickly into the cul-de-sac towards the house. There it was. The Audi the man had got into earlier was parked on the drive.
Well, well, well. So, you do have a boyfriend Anya. What a shame you will never get to see him again.
He got back in his car and texted his father the update.
‘Anya Novak has a man friend. Lives with her and is the man who visits her every day. Shall I kill him?’
His father texted right back.
‘NO! I want to know where he goes, what he does and who he meets. We need to know if there is anyone else linked to Anya that we should have known about. Follow him for a few days and let me know. You can kill him when the time is right. WHEN I SAY SO.’
He looked at the text and shook his head.
God, Daddy, you spoil all my fun.
39
The next morning, he followed the man from his house and watched him go into a building in the village called Simmons Art Gallery. He looked up the website and found the proprietor was called Rob Simmons. Anya was listed as a partner in the business.
So, this is how you make your money. I shall soon put a stop to that.
He sat in his car and watched the gallery from an inconspicuous distance and texted his dad.
‘His name is Rob Simmons. He owns an art gallery with Anya Novak.’
His dad responded.
‘Good work. I will get my people to put a digital trace on him. Keep following him and tell me what he does.’
He sat and waited. Time dragged on and he was getting impatient. Just after lunch, Rob emerged from the gallery and headed back home. He followed at a discreet distance. Rob had retrieved his car and was on the move, taking the road towards Reading. He followed and was not surprised to end up at the hospital. He gave up the tail for the day and went home. He really wasn’t sure following this man was part of the deal. He was impatient for another kill, to clear this mess up and bugger off to South America. He would do as his dad asked, for now, but he wasn’t sure how long it would last.
*
After another day doing his IT job ‘standing on his head’, Clark got back to his obsession. The conspiracy. He touched his dad’s picture. He was in the zone.
He contacted Snap.
KRYPTO:
Snap. You out there? How ya getting on?
SNAPDEVIL:
Yo Krypto. This bank is some serious shit. Cypher encryption. 1028 bit. The maths worm won’t beat it. I had it running and given me part of the answer. Need to supplement with own knowledge. Will get there but is gonna take some time.
KRYPTO:
Understand. Keep going. Bank is key. Conspiracy growing. Lives in danger.
SNAPDEVIL:
Hear you dude. Laters.
Clark was as satisfied as he could be. Snap had never let him down and he knew he would get through the security eventually. He would just have to work on the other leads and try to keep Rob alive and as calm as he could in the meantime.
He had erased their phone histories and bought a burner. He was pretty sure if Rob was being followed that he was now under surveillance and his life was almost certainly at risk. Despite that, Clark had to protect himself. Stay off the radar if they were ever to break this conspiracy. The familiar butterflies played in his stomach. He looked at his dad’s picture again. It calmed the butterflies and kept him focused.
Clark resumed his Poirot mode. Staring at the murder board. Letting the little grey cells work their magic. The foundations were all there but the bank was vital. His mind snapped back to the most recent revelation… it’s starting again.
Clark hacked back into the Fairport Medical network. He was sure that the secure medical records he had found, which confirmed the five original girls had been at the Loughborough Clinic, would tell him whether some new ‘victims’ had been admitted.
He found the admissions records for the last ten days. Five admissions. Two that had been ‘red flagged’, almost certainly the security feature that had stopped the normal staff seeing Anya’s and the other four girls’ records.
He rubbed his hands together. Come to Papa.
He clicked through to their individual records.
Bianca Mav
roudis and Sam Clarke. OK, so maybe two new victims. Let’s see what they are in for. Huh, surprise, surprise… drug addicts. This can’t be a coincidence. They ARE doing it again.
He opened up a browser session and started to look at their wider lives. It didn’t take long for them to tick all the boxes.
Drug addicts. At Oxford University. Only children. Dead or distant parents. Young and beautiful. Holy crap. I think this has nailed it. We have a live situation. This might just be the way to crack this conspiracy. Catch the bastards in the act.
He sat in his chair. Poured himself a coffee and stared at the information he had found. He was itching to tell Rob but, as he hadn’t visited with his new phone details, he had no way of contacting him… safely.
He got up and wrote the girls’ details on the board. He finished his day with a mixture of fear, apprehension and a little bit of excitement. Was this really payback time?
40
William Hardacre sat in the private office of the prime minister at 10 Downing Street, waiting for his son to emerge from whatever lame meeting he was involved in. His boredom was broken by the sound of tiny feet bounding into the room.
“Grandpa!”
“Hello Sophie. How is my favourite granddaughter?”
“Good. Do I have a present?”
“Oh, you are a cheeky one, but I just may have something in here.”
He rummaged in his bag and pulled out a soft toy.
“Peppa Pig. Thank you, Grandpa. I will love it always.”
She bounded out of the room, Peppa in tow. He smiled to himself. She really was a gift, amongst all the shit he had to deal with on a daily basis. His happiness was brief as James walked in.
“Hello Dad and what can I do for you?”
“Have you got that Chinese trade deal nailed yet?”
“We are getting close. The final commons vote is tonight. We should be all right.”
“Well, I bloody well hope so. I have paid enough people off to make sure you get a free ride.”
James Hardacre sighed inwardly. His relationship with his dad seemed only to be about what he could now do for him. He wasn’t sure of the last time he had acted like a father, rather than a ruthless businessman.
“What are you sighing for? I have given you everything you wanted. It’s no time to have cold feet.”
“That’s just the thing isn’t it, Dad. I am constantly in your debt and you are never going to let me forget it are you?”
William Hardacre stood up to leave.
“Get some backbone son and deliver me that trade deal.”
James sat and stewed. What the hell was he thinking allowing himself to get into this position?
41
He followed Rob for the next three days. His life was a routine of gallery, hospital and home all evening.
God this man is boring. I can’t see how he is a threat to us. He just wants to see his little Anya get better. Ah well, I will enjoy snuffing you both out when the time is right.
He sat in his car and texted his dad.
‘Been following Rob Simmons for several days. Same old routine every day. He is no threat to us so it won’t matter if I just deal with him. Will it?’
His dad responded.
‘Where the fuck were you when patience was handed out? The digital trace shows some strange activity on his phone records. His history has recently been deleted. My people can’t retrieve the data. I am sure someone with some technical knowhow is helping him out. You need to keep tailing him. Do not kill him… yet.’
He read the text and cursed. This was getting really old and his rage was building. His old man might be a ruthless bastard but he was being a right pussy about this Anya and Rob situation. He would keep an eye on Rob when he could be bothered. After all he had several other things to do, including those Swedish twins he bumped into the other night. They were definitely up for it.
42
The next day, Rob continued on his hamster wheel. Gallery, five-minute handover with Elisha, hospital to see Anya… not getting any better.
He was a constant nervous wreck. He thought he had spotted the black 4x4 at odd times over the last few days. Fleeting glimpses, or was he just being paranoid… again? Clark had told him to be vigilant but he had never seen it for long enough to really be sure.
He had decided to see Clark again that evening. He had bought the new phone and had to go there so they could exchange new numbers. They had to stay dark after Clark had said he was sure Rob was being watched, digitally and physically.
He nattered away to Anya about the gallery, the latest news, anything to take his mind off the fact that she lay there, non-responsive.
*
“I can hear you. I can hear you.” Anya wanted to scream it out. Tell Rob she was here, but her body was locked down. The darkness would not lift. Those horrible dreams were still coming, mixed with the pain of hearing Rob’s voice. Was this hell? Was she dead?
*
Rob kissed Anya on the forehead and set off for Clark’s. He was a bit concerned about the black 4x4. He kept looking around as he drove out of the car park. Kept an eye on his rear-view mirror. As he got nearer and nearer to Clark’s flat his apprehension grew. He couldn’t lead them to Clark. He got to the car park near Clark’s flat. He couldn’t see anyone following him. He hoped he was in the clear.
He bounded up the stairs to Clark’s flat and rang the bell.
“Oh, hello Rob. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I know. Sorry. Just had to break the routine. Do something different. I have the new phone.”
“Good, come in. Were you followed?”
“No, I don’t think so. I do think I have seen the black 4x4 around Goring but never for long enough to be sure. I kept a close eye behind me when I was driving over here and couldn’t see anyone suspicious. I have been a complete wreck. I am sure the terror is making my mind play tricks on me.”
They convened in the living area and agreed to get some pizza in. Mr ‘West Midlands’ Giovanni was getting more business from the Clark household.
As they waited for the pizza to arrive, they talked about the new revelation. It’s starting again.
“I did some digging Rob and found the names of two girls who I am certain have been admitted under the same conspiracy.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Sam Clarke and Bianca Mavroudis. They fit the same profile as Anya and the other four girls. Drug addicts, at Oxford, only children, distant or dead parents and critically they seem to have the same security markers on their medical records, meaning the general staff can’t access them. Dr Normandy is hiding their records and with the money trail starting up again, this can’t be a coincidence.”
“So, let’s ring the police. Catch them at it.”
“And tell them what?”
“That two girls are being…” Rob paused, not able to complete the sentence.
“Exactly, we don’t know what is happening to them. If the police go in there now, Dr Normandy will just say he is treating two girls for drug addiction. Unless there is something completely obvious happening to them that is criminal when the police go in, I can’t see they would have anything to go on.”
“But that’s crazy. Can’t we tell them what we have found? The emails, the money trail.”
“Look, we could. I had always envisaged sending an anonymous crime file to someone when the time was right but I just don’t think we have enough yet to give the police a watertight case. We are the only ones that know about this. I really think we have to do our own investigations.”
“Fine, but all the while Anya and, now probably me, are being pursued by killers.”
“I know. I don’t really have an answer to that. My mate is trying to hack the Cayman Island bank but it is going to take time. While we are waiting, we need to be careful an
d think about how we can find more evidence, whilst keeping you and Anya safe.”
“And keep you off the radar.”
Clark sensed the accusatory tone but tried to ignore it.
“Um, well yes. I think it is vital that the trail doesn’t lead back to me. Like you, I don’t really want to spend any time in jail.”
Clark was getting used to Rob’s brooding look. It was just Rob’s way of processing the utter shit that he was being constantly bombarded with. Clark had learned to keep quiet at these moments. Rob would come around when he was ready.
“OK Clark, I am not sure I completely agree with you, but if the police can’t go in there, we have to find a way to get in there ourselves.”
“Hmm, that is not a bad idea. How would we do it?”
“Could we go in as fake relatives?”
“They don’t seem to encourage visitors, so not sure that is going to work. I can definitely hack their security system to get us past the exterior doors but without knowing the layout of the place, we are running a high risk of being caught if we don’t know where we are going when we get in there. I haven’t checked but I bet the whole place is covered by CCTV. Again, I can turn that off but this will only mobilise their security staff to find out what is going wrong. That might buy us a few minutes at a time but is not a sound plan.”
“What about going in as delivery drivers?”
“That might present us with a small window of opportunity but our movements would still be restricted. That could be part of a wider plan. We need something more permanent. Something that will give us more regular access to case out the place.”
“You are a technical whizz. Can you go in as IT support?”
“That is a better option but really depends where they get their IT support from. You may though have stumbled on the best plan Rob. We need to get in there as a member of staff.”
Clark navigated to the Fairport Medical website and found the job vacancies page. ‘There are no current vacancies at the Loughborough Clinic.’