A few minutes later Lexie had managed to corral everyone into the living room, but she could tell from their stony expressions that things were going to be far from easy. ‘I don’t want to talk about last night, if that’s what you’re thinking. As far as I’m concerned it was just some drunken banter that got a bit out of hand. But we’re not back at school and I’m not going to suggest we need to all shake hands and make up. What I think last night showed is how stressed we are about things and I reckon as soon as we get away from here it’ll all return to normal.’ Lexie looked at each of the young men in turn, searching for signs of agreement, despite her not believing a word of what she’d just said.
‘She’s right,’ Taylor declared, turning to glare at Cole as though to dare him to make a comment. ‘We should just cut and run. We might only have enough for some flights and a few months’ rent but…’
‘No, that’s not what I meant,’ Lexie interrupted firmly. ‘We do need to get out of here but, like I said yesterday, what’s the point if we just find ourselves skint somewhere else? We need that last big job and we’re going to do it tonight.’
‘What?’ Cole exclaimed, inadvertently finding himself agreeing with Taylor. Even Jordan looked surprised.
‘Think about it, I reckon we could shift what we get from it by tomorrow lunchtime if we work hard enough, which means we could be someplace else by the evening. We can do whatever we want then, go our separate ways if that’s how some of you feel, even if I still like the idea of us running a bar out in Benidorm or wherever.’
The crew shifted uncomfortably in their seats. ‘I know I said we would need to take our time to plan this thoroughly, but I’ve already worked everything out. We’ll scope our target on the train itself this time, that way we’ll have more people to choose from and it will pretty much guarantee we pick someone rich.’
‘How’s that?’ Taylor asked, but it seemed a genuine question rather than him continuing to protest.
‘We’ll look at their clothes and shit,’ Lexie replied, wishing she’d thought of a more convincing answer. ‘You know about watches, don’t you? We’ll just scope out the person who looks the most wealthy.’ She could see Taylor’s mouth opening again. ‘And before any of you start talking about CCTV, like I said, we’ll be long gone before the pigs manage to trawl through all that. So, what do you think?’
There followed some shrugs that gradually turned into nods before Jordan finally spoke. ‘We’ve done it so many times now, we’re practically professionals.’
‘Exactly!’ Lexie responded, taking his comment as though it represented the view of the whole group. ‘Tell you what, if we pull this off properly, I’ll buy the first round of drinks at the airport.’
Chapter Eighteen
Kate was running nearly two hours late and it had nothing whatsoever to do with her plan to engage Scott in some morning sex; she had awoken to find him having already left for work. Realising the bed next to her was empty, Kate had a panicked few moments thinking he was never to return but a quick search in his wardrobe revealed that nothing besides his work clothes had been taken.
She sat forlornly in the kitchen beside the note informing her of an early meeting. She considered her options. In reality, him not being there to paw at her didn’t change much but feeling refreshed in body, if not quite in spirit following her sleep, she wanted to see if there were any other options available than the conclusion she had come to last night.
But as the sun’s rays rose to greet her over the fence at the bottom of the garden, every avenue seemed to lead to the same ending – loss. If she drove him out then he would be granted what he wanted whilst she was left with nothing, but to entice him to stay would be to abandon every last ounce of self-respect she possessed. Presenting their marriage as something worth preserving would overlook the fact it was Scott who had led them to the precipice, and if anybody needed to be making concessions, it was him.
What Kate kept revisiting was how she felt yesterday when she had been so determined to find the evidence to confront him. She had already accepted that their marriage was over and now it was just about ensuring she came out on top. Whatever misery he had heaped on her, she wanted to be dished back with interest, where his adultery saw her the victim, and him to be shunned by their family and friends; destined to live a worthless existence. The revelation that he was waiting for his opportunity to leave threw out Kate’s willingness to be the injured party in this. What good would all the sympathy be when he was off with his whore, telling her how happy he now was? No, she somehow needed to make it so he was a victim too, and it would need to go beyond exposing his indiscretion at work. For whilst his slut was likely to be humiliated, even this far into the 21st century, Scott was likely to receive as much admiration as condemnation. What’s more, having got off with little more than a slap on the wrist by his bosses, Kate was sure he would enjoy the sly pats of the back he received and the knowing winks from his male colleagues.
What Scott really needed was a dose of his own medicine, and for that to happen Kate understood there was only one solution. She needed to conduct her own extra-marital affair, or at the very least create the sort of evidence that suggested she was having one. Surely if that creep could lure someone into sleeping with him, then she should be able to. Not only did she have the distinct advantage of being a woman in a world where men took greater instruction from their cock than their brains, but she was far from unattractive.
As she skipped upstairs to apply more make up than she had done in years, it felt as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. The path set before her was clear; not only would acting the subservient and dutiful wife in the meantime buy her enough time to ensure she could get to him first, but it would then illustrate to him all that he would be missing now that she had found herself a new man. Although she was sure that he would still look to shack up with that tramp of his, Kate gave their relationship weeks at best.
Chapter Nineteen
‘Explain why we have to go into Watford so early again?’ Cole moaned as the four of them walked to St. Albans Abbey station.
‘It’s not hard to understand, is it?’ Lexie replied irritably. ‘Whilst what I said about them checking the CCTV is true, how suspicious would it be for us to be doing a round trip there and back without at least us spending a couple of hours in Watford? Four guys walking up and down the carriages in hoodies is hardly inconspicuous, now is it?’
‘Inconspicu-what?’ Cole replied quizzically, causing a titter of laughter to escape from Taylor.
But Lexie wouldn’t rise to the bait, much less reveal the real reason for getting them out of the house whilst it was still morning. Having got them to tentatively agree to her plan, she wasn’t going to allow them to sit around and begin sowing seeds of doubt in each other’s minds. ‘And like I said, being in Watford gives us a chance to shift the rest of the stuff from the other jobs. We can price some of it up in the jewellers first, not that we should risk trying to flog any to proper shopkeepers, even if it is a different town.’
‘I guess,’ Cole conceded, and, with him seemingly satisfied, few more words passed between the group until they were on the train.
* * *
‘Watford’s a shit hole,’ Taylor declared as they made the ten-minute walk from the station to the town centre.
‘Look around you, what do you see?’ Lexie asked, trying to keep frustration out of her voice.
‘Just some poxy office blocks,’ Taylor responded.
She sighed despite herself. ‘Office blocks are full of office workers, and most of them will be pouring out of these buildings come 5pm.’
‘Yeah, but it’s hardly Canary Wharf, is it?’ Cole said.
‘Okay!’ Lexie shouted forcefully enough to see the three guys stop in their tracks. She supposed she should draw some strength in Cole choosing to agree with Taylor for the second time that morning, but she’d had enough of all the negativity. ‘For one thing, targeting someone from th
ere, or the fucking Shard or wherever, means London and London means St Albans’ main line. We can go back there right now. We may find plod up our arses as soon as we get within 100 yards of the place but if that’s what you want…’ She glared at each of them in turn. ‘Is it?’
‘No,’ Cole and Taylor replied in unison, presenting themselves as the sulky teenagers she was increasingly believing them still to be. Jordan had remained silent throughout and was merely regarding Lexie thoughtfully.
‘And second,’ she continued, ‘Watford is a shit hole which means that the ordinary workers will be wandering off to wherever, but guess where the directors will be going; the ones with all the money?’ She didn’t wait for a response this time, stalking off again in the direction of town, certain this was going to be an excruciatingly long afternoon.
Chapter Twenty
Were it not for Kate’s new plan of action, she probably would have taken the entire day off work; continuing to use the excuse of her sick mother that had worked so well the day before. But that would be to delay what needed to happen and time didn’t seem to be on her side. To prepare some of the groundwork, she sent a text to Scott whilst on the train.
Sorry I missed you this morning. Thank God you stopped me opening that third bottle of wine otherwise I’d still be asleep now! Probably going to have to work late to make up the time. K x
Certain that her husband would be too busy cavorting with his slut somewhere to respond, she put her phone back in her bag and looked around at the other passengers in her carriage. Normally, travelling into work she would be lucky to get a seat, but the relative number of other occupants wasn’t the only difference she noticed. Whilst a couple of men were wearing suits, the majority were dressed casually and she found herself wondering as to the reason for their journey into London. Focusing on the guy nearest to her, she even considered attempting to strike up a conversation, but she figured her chances would be far better if she were to chat up someone on their way home. Besides, she was hoping that she wouldn’t have to bother with a total stranger because she already had a candidate in mind.
* * *
Another benefit of travelling into work so late was that Kate’s favoured coffee shop wasn’t nearly as busy as first thing in the morning. Not that it had stopped the barista striking up a conversation with her on the day she had pretended it to be her birthday. Opening the door to feel a welcome rush of warm air, as well as the inviting aroma of freshly brewed coffee, she anxiously scanned the counter to check that he was on shift.
And there he was. In all the time Kate had been visiting here she had never even sought to establish his name; something as simple as merely regarding the badge pinned to his uniform. As she walked tentatively towards him, thankful he hadn’t spotted her yet, she regretted spending so much of the train journey scrutinising other passengers rather than rehearsing in her mind what she was about to say.
‘Hi!’ she greeted him cheerfully as soon as he looked up at her.
‘What can I get you?’ Kate was as thrown by the question itself as much as the perfunctory delivery. Even before her supposed birthday he had become accustomed to enquiring whether she was having her usual. Perhaps her arriving far later than normal had thrown him.
But with him now regarding her impatiently, despite the lack of a queue behind her, Kate understood the truth of the situation. Whilst she might be focusing on the occasion when they had struck up a conversation, something upon which she was hoping to build, he was probably concentrating on their last encounter. ‘Look, I wanted to apologise for yesterday. I guess I overdid it a little on my birthday and was in a bit of a mood.’ She offered him her warmest smile.
‘It’s fine,’ he shrugged. ‘Usual is it?’
His decision to revert to their original relationship may have represented progress of sorts, but it was nowhere near where Kate needed it to be.
‘Erm,’ she said, leaning forward to study his badge. ‘Alex? My name’s Kate and I’m genuinely sorry if I offended you. You must serve hundreds of customers each day and for you to show me such kindness on the morning of my birthday, especially when there was a line of other customers waiting, meant a lot.’
‘Honestly, it’s fine,’ he repeated but with a warmness that was noticeable by its absence up until that point.
‘Well I’m not suffering the effects of a hangover now, and so was wondering if there was something you could recommend for me today; I really did enjoy that gingerbread latte.’
‘I could make you another one seeing as you liked it so much…’
‘Yeah, why not?’ Kate laughed, a little too shrilly for her own ears. ‘I guess you must welcome it when they introduce some specials. You know, add a little variety to the day.’ She winced at this pathetic attempt to continue to engage Alex in small talk.
‘I guess,’ he replied awkwardly.
‘What time does your shift finish?’
‘I’m sorry?’
Kate drew in a deep breath. ‘Look, I don’t want you to think I’m an alcoholic or something, but I was wondering whether you would like to go for a drink after work?’
‘Oh, I, er…’
‘You know, so I can apologise properly. I really do feel bad about yesterday,’ she added hopefully.
‘Well, er, the thing is that I’m due to meet my girlfriend as soon as I finish but, erm, it was nice of you to…’
‘No, no,’ Kate interrupted far louder than she would have liked, and could just imagine the customers at the nearest tables tuning into her conversation, if they hadn’t been doing so already. ‘Like I said, it was just so I could make it up to you. But if you’re cool about it then I guess there’s no need then, is there?’
‘It really is fine,’ he repeated for the second time. ‘Let me get that gingerbread latte made for you.’
‘Can’t wait!’ Kate replied with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, grateful that the arrival of another customer meant that Alex would have to leave her coffee’s preparation to one of the other staff.
Walking out of the shop a minute later, Kate didn’t even bother to sample the milky, sugary concoction this time, before disposing of it in the same bin as she had the one the other day. But much as Alex had chosen to knock her back, she did draw some encouragement from their encounter. She had managed to turn a bad situation around and, had it not been for the fact he had a girlfriend, she felt confident he would have accepted her offer. If her experience with men was anything to go by, if people were willing to throw away their marriage for the promise of a quick fuck, why would someone unattached show even the slightest resistance?
Chapter Twenty-one
‘I suppose we should start heading there now,’ Ruby conceded reluctantly, looking at her watch.
‘Do you think we should check in with Nelson first?’ Cooper asked.
‘Sod that! I’m sure we’ll hear enough chatter from him over the radio but why go and see him now, just to give him a chance to berate us for our lack of progress today?’
It hadn’t been for the want of trying but, despite going back through all the evidence, speaking again to the victims of the burglaries, and asking around all the jewellers in the city centre, nothing had turned up.
‘If you think he’d be bad now, imagine what he’s going to be like in the morning if this doesn’t work,’ Cooper responded, pulling on his coat and following Ruby to the stairs out of CID.
‘What do you rate our chances?’ Ruby asked as they made their way into the secure carpark.
‘Of catching them in the act, you mean? To be honest, I don’t know what to make of them. The fact they’ve left little in the way of clues suggest they’re a professional bunch – in which case, I would agree with you that they’d be mad to be there tonight when surely they must know we’re on to them.’
‘But?’ Ruby encouraged, picking up the pace subtly so she would beat her partner to the driver’s door of the unmarked Vauxhall Insignia.
‘I just can’t shake th
e feeling that we’re over-estimating them somehow and that it’s more down to luck than anything that they haven’t left us much to go on.’
‘Aside from ensuring that all the victims are either knocked unconscious or seemingly too scared to say anything helpful.’
‘Yeah, about that, I get that it points to organised crime and that you…’
‘Go on, you can say it,’ Ruby prompted, hoping that they had been together long enough now for him to know that she wasn’t an overly sensitive person.
‘You have prior experience with OCGs don’t you?’ Cooper continued. ‘I can’t help thinking that, with this lot, the level of violence is them compensating for them not really knowing what they’re doing. Like, if they were more professional they would know how to force cooperation rather than having to resort to such brutality.’
‘I guess,’ Ruby replied thoughtfully, attempting to digest this line of argument. ‘I suppose that would fit in with the take from the attacks. Clearly they’re targeting people who appear wealthy but, from what we know has been stolen, it hardly justifies the effort they’ve gone to.’
‘More opportunist, you mean?’
‘Organised crime would be a bit more… well, organised. Their preparation would be thorough to ensure they would get a decent haul.’
‘So, I’m right then,’ Cooper responded with a smug smile as he settled into his seat for the short journey,
‘Well, hopefully we’re about to find out,’ Ruby replied flatly.
Chapter Twenty-two
‘Okay, I admit it, there’s a steady stream of them now heading into the station,’ Cole said from the vantage point they had chosen in The Flag pub. Lexie had reluctantly agreed to them going in there, once they’d tried and failed to shift the remainder of their gear in town. Although confident they had found some of the shadier parts of Watford, the local criminal underworld wasn’t just wary of strangers entering their patch, but actually rather unwelcoming regardless of the bargains they supposedly had on offer. Surmising that they would feel the same back home, Lexie had dragged the boys around the shopping centre before eventually conceding defeat. ‘Perhaps we should get going,’ Cole added.
Scorned Page 5