‘So, is that it? I’m free to go, am I?’
Ruby began laughing and it didn’t take long before Cooper joined in. ‘Believe me, we’re just getting started,’ she said, reaching for the audio recorder. ‘Interview suspended.’
Chapter Forty-four
Lexie knew that she was cutting it fine in getting to the Abbey Gateway in time, but she dared not travel there at more than a fast walk. On more than one occasion she had been passed by a patrol car and had spent an anxious few moments waiting for it to screech to a halt. Adding to her anxiety was the fear that she would arrive there and find no sign of Jordan; not because she was late but the result of him never intending to meet her. The more she thought about it the more it made sense. For all he knew she had made the call whilst in police custody, using the lure of ensnaring him to cut herself a better deal. Not only was it the very thing she would have done in that situation, but had she been in Jordan’s shoes she would have also looked to send the authorities on a wild goose chase. With attention being diverted to the cathedral, it would give him plenty of opportunity to make his escape.
By the time she cut across Romeland, with the impressive buildings of the boys’ public school on her right, she had so convinced herself this was a waste of valuable time that she failed to notice the large man stood under the arch of the gateway.
‘Jordan?’ she mouthed when the man staring at her finally drew her attention.
‘Who did you expect?’ he replied once she was in earshot.
‘I thought… well I thought…’
‘I know,’ he responded simply and the two of them stood there awkwardly for a moment, with Lexie considering whether it would be appropriate to give him a hug. ‘I think we should get moving,’ he said eventually, breaking the silence.
‘Yes,’ Lexie agreed, nodding a little too enthusiastically. She was about to ask where he thought they should go but then remembered her claim that they would need a change of plan. She wasn’t yet ready to accept that Jordan had stayed true to her because he actually liked her or that, as skewed as his moral compass might be, he had a sense of loyalty. She would only know for sure once they were somewhere safe and, in the meantime, she felt compelled to continue to prove her worth. ‘I think we’ve got two choices in this. We have to consider the possibility that either Taylor or Cole will have given us up by now…’
‘They were caught, were they?’ The question was almost conversational.
‘Er, yes,’ she replied, before suddenly understanding that her being the only one to meet Jordan wasn’t enough of an indication. Had they all escaped she wondered how long it would have taken her to realise that their separation presented her with the opportunity she had been seeking to cut them out altogether. ‘I saw them both cuffed before I managed to escape. They’ll already have been booked in at the police station by now,’ she added, glancing at her watch and seeing that the time was past two-thirty.
‘Well, I guess that’s one problem out of the way,’ Jordan commented, beginning walking.
‘Yes, but it presents us with a far greater one,’ she responded, following. Even if they haven’t squealed, the fact they were both carrying their passports would indicate that we were planning on fleeing the country.’
‘So, what are the two options?’ Jordan said.
‘Well, the first one is that we stick to the original plan. We hope they haven’t said anything, which means the authorities aren’t specifically looking for us at the airport, but if we’re to do that I suggest we risk taking the most direct route, so we can be gone in the quickest possible time.’
Jordan may have been facing in the direction they were walking but Lexie could tell he was listening intently.
‘That means Luton airport and picking the first flight we can get seats on,’ Lexie said.
‘And the second?’
‘We look to lie low somewhere, perhaps head North. We might be able to catch a ferry to Ireland once this has all died down a little.’
The pair continued walking and Lexie waited patiently for Jordan to digest everything she’d said. Whilst she was keen to know his thoughts, it also gave her time to weigh up which option seemed best to her. Although she came across as bold, what lay beneath was cold and calculating. As a consequence, she was naturally inclined towards the more cautious approach; they had enough money to ensure they remained off the grid and could leave making their ultimate move until they had a better grasp of the extent of the danger they were in. But the more she thought about it, the more she appreciated that she already knew the answer. They wouldn’t just be buying themselves time but also the police. Although she was uncertain whether they would be grassed up by either Taylor or Cole, it was inevitable that they would be identified sooner rather than later. Neither she nor Jordan were registered as living at the property but they both had criminal records, so all it required was for them to be spotted on a CCTV camera somewhere, most likely the train back from Watford Junction yesterday, and the police would be able to run the image through their facial recognition software.
Growing increasingly dissatisfied that both options had inherent flaws, she put a hand on Jordan’s arm to stop him. He hadn’t given her a response yet and she was as sure as shit that he hadn’t been thinking about things as deeply as she had been.
‘So, what do you reckon then?’ she asked, trying to hide the irritation in her tone. ‘Hold on!’ she added before he could reply, looking around in realisation that he’d led her down a side street whilst she had been preoccupied weighing up the pros and cons. ‘Where are we going?’
‘There’s a taxi rank just up here,’ Jordan replied, continuing to walk. ‘We’ll get to Luton quicker that way.’
Lexie didn’t respond and, instead, her face broke out in a broad grin. She supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised that Jordan had picked the bold option but, rather than be disappointed by his haste, she found something decidedly sexy about it. They were going to make a dash for the border.
Chapter Forty-five
‘Are you sure that isn’t entrapment or something? You know, claiming he had stolen items on him?’ Cooper asked as soon as Cole was led away.
‘Firstly, no. Entrapment is if we induce someone to commit a criminal act, and secondly, we’re not going to need his testimony anyway.’
‘And why’s that?’ Nelson demanded, having emerged from the camera room again. He looked decidedly flustered.
‘Because Taylor is going to give us everything we need,’ she replied confidently, reading the scepticism in her colleagues’ eyes. ‘Just give me a minute to get set up in there and you can have him brought in.’
She returned to the interview room before having to face any further questions of protest.
‘Interview resumed at 15.44,’ Ruby said as soon as Taylor and his solicitor were sat down. ‘So then, guess how our chat with Cole went.’
‘He told you fuck all as well,’ Taylor replied, crossing his arms again.
‘Well, not exactly,’ Ruby said, leaning towards the audio recorder she had temporarily borrowed from one of the other interview rooms. ‘Why don’t you have a listen to this…’ She hit the button marked Play.
‘It was him, alright, everything was him.’
‘For the record, could you confirm who you mean by him?’
‘Taylor, it was fucking Taylor, all right? He was the one who did everything. The reason why you found nothing on me is because I had nothing to do with it. Okay?’
‘Thank you, Cole.’
Ruby barely listened to the words of the recording, such was the intensity with which she surveyed Taylor’s features. After a brief moment of recognition there had been dawning horror and, as soon as his name was mentioned, it became mixed in with rage; a rage that had so far seen him unable to respond verbally.
‘So, there you have it,’ Ruby said, filling the menacing silence. ‘I can see why you were reluctant to say something before, seeing as it was you all along.’
&n
bsp; ‘It wasn’t like that,’ Taylor protested, suddenly finding his voice.
More laughter from Ruby but this time it was forced.
‘If you think we’re going to believe a word you have to say after that, you can think again. We know it would just be you trying to cover your own arse. As you can hear, in Cole we’re getting all the help we need.’ She motioned as though she was about to suspend the interview recording again.
‘Wait!’ Taylor cried.
Ruby kept her hand where it was.
‘I’ll tell you everything you want to know!’
She raised an eyebrow to convey her doubt in this claim.
‘Cole said all that because it’s him trying to cover his arse. What I said to you earlier was true, you have nothing on me because I didn’t have anything to do with it. He carried out those attacks on his own,’ Taylor said.
‘So why did you run from me?’ Cooper asked, seemingly unwilling to leave everything to his partner.
‘I was scared, alright? Cole had just told me what he’d done, and I was worried I would get linked to it.’
This time Ruby’s laughter was entirely genuine. ‘Do you know how we traced you? You probably don’t remember barging into me on the way out of the jewellers but I have you on camera there trying to flog the stolen watches.’
All the sense of anger washed away from Taylor’s face, to be replaced by pure terror. ‘No, it’s not like that,’ he protested. ‘Look, okay, he did tell me before but that was only so he could use me… force me into selling some of the gear. I didn’t want to but—’
Ruby’s tutting noise stopped Taylor mid-sentence. ‘You see, there you go lying to us again. One minute Cole’s telling you just before we arrive at the house and the next minute, you’d known all along.’ She turned towards Cooper. ‘I don’t know about you but I’m tired of listening to this crap. What say we bung Taylor back in his cell and continue talking to Cole?’
‘No, wait!’ Taylor pleaded. ‘You’ve got to believe me! He’s never liked me and he’s just trying to set me up!’
Ruby’s snort of derision was interrupted by the solicitor. ‘I’d advise no more at this point,’ he said to Taylor before turning to the detectives. ‘You’ve heard what my client has to say on the matter, and it sounds like you have no actual evidence… no physical evidence linking him to the crimes. From what I can make of that ambiguous recording, all it would boil down to is a case of that man’s word against my client’s.’
Ruby regarded the solicitor for a number of long seconds. She wanted to make it appear that his intervention wasn’t welcomed, when in truth it had sped her towards the natural conclusion.
‘Well that may be so,’ she responded coldly, ‘but that would be to neglect one crucial point about all this.’ She paused as though waiting for a prompt, enjoying the build-up of tension in the room. ‘What both your client and our other suspect are failing to appreciate is that the attacks we are investigating could not have been carried out by a sole individual. They are the work of at least two people.’
Now it was her turn to sit back and cross her arms.
‘What about the other two?’ Taylor said eventually, his voice barely above a whisper.
‘What other two?’ Ruby said, virtually purring, and smiling triumphantly.
Chapter Forty-six
It probably would have been quicker for them to get the cab to drop them at the station, and catch the train straight through to Luton Airport Parkway, but it felt safer to use just the single mode of transport, and not one that could easily be monitored by the authorities. However, knowing they were doing the right thing didn’t stop Lexie becoming increasingly frustrated with the pockets of dense traffic they kept getting caught up in.
‘I call it the first rush-hour,’ the driver offered, presumably having picked up on his passengers’ mood. ‘The school run one. When I was a kid, I used to walk three miles to get to school but nowadays parents insist on dropping them off at the gates. And don’t get me started on how much worse it is on a wet day.’
‘I won’t,’ Lexie commented sourly.
‘I hope you have left enough time to catch your flight,’ he said in a tone she found disingenuous. ‘I used to think all that arriving two hours before business was nonsense, but it takes so long to clear security these days.’
Lexie was about to offer an even more caustic response this time but a gentle pat on her knee from Jordan convinced her otherwise, despite the fact the driver had hit a raw nerve. In a day of chaos the one variable she would have liked to remove was their intended destination but no longer possessing a phone and with her research from earlier redundant until she had a better clue when they were likely to arrive at the airport, she would have to sit back and enjoy a far slower tour of Harpenden High Street than she would have preferred.
‘Thanks for the advice; we’ll probably head straight through as soon as we arrive,’ Jordan said.
‘You’re welcome, and I know a couple of short cuts when we get closer should we need them,’ the driver responded cheerily, perhaps buoyed by the appreciation that a tip was no longer out of the question, and setting the tone for the remainder of the journey.
Finally pulling up came as a blessed relief and Lexie and Jordan began walking to the terminal. It might have been a weekday during term time but the place was a hive of activity, highlighted by the sounds of a number of planes taxiing to and from the runway. ‘It’s years since I last went on a proper holiday,’ she commented excitedly, unable to resist slipping her arm through his; a gesture that wasn’t rejected.
‘I never have,’ Jordan replied in a low voice. ‘Unless you can call staying in a caravan in Clacton one.’
‘Doesn’t sound so bad…’
‘Perhaps it wouldn’t be if we ever got to stay there when it wasn’t cold and wet. With my mum being so skint and all, we used to go there in the off season. The owner of the site used to give us a caravan for free… well, let’s just say that no cash changed hands. She made us call him Uncle Stanley to try and make their little arrangement seem more normal.’
‘How come you have a passport then?’ Lexie asked, keen to move the subject on.
‘My parents were thinking about moving abroad at one stage. They said that we could all do with a fresh start.’
‘I never knew that…’
Jordan shrugged. ‘They decided to get divorced instead.’
‘Oh,’ she replied simply, wracking her brains for how to steer things back to something more jolly. It was only the anticipation of finally leaving that was keeping her apprehension at what they were about to face from overwhelming her.
‘At least I’ve got you now,’ he said, turning away from Lexie but not before she could see his cheeks begin to flush. Whilst the fear of being caught remained her primary concern, at least this had removed the last doubts she’d held about Jordan’s sincerity in waiting for her in St. Albans.
Not that her improvement in mood lasted long. No sooner had the entrance come into view than Lexie hesitated. Stood outside were two police officers holding sub-machine guns. There was no suggestion they were there for them, but it served to illustrate that the stakes had been raised considerably since they had made a run for it back in Lavender Crescent.
‘We need to discuss what we’re going to do if things go wrong,’ she suggested tactfully, with the real question being how Jordan was going to react if someone tried to stop them.
‘Let’s just hope nothing does,’ he replied inadequately.
By then Lexie had already decided on her own actions should they find themselves cornered; she would hit the deck and hope that there weren’t any stray bullets.
‘How long do you think we should leave it?’ he added a few moments later, stirring Lexie from her thoughts.
‘How do you mean?’
‘Like I said before, I don’t know much about airports but aren’t you pretty much boxed in as soon as you go through security?’ Jordan lowered his voice towards t
he end of the question as they passed the two armed officers.
‘Yes, as soon as you are through security the only way out is on board a plane. Unless, of course…’ Lexie didn’t want to finish her sentence and continue to think about where they dragged suspects off to.
‘So, we should leave it to the last minute then?’
Staring up at the departures board Lexie began massaging her temples. She had thought most of the complications with catching a flight had gone when Taylor and Cole had been removed from the equation, but everything seemed to be a delicate balancing act.
‘We can’t afford to leave it too late in case the cabbie was right about the delays going through the metal detectors and all the other shit they have installed now. If we want to blend in, we need to seem like we’re not in too much of a hurry.’ She could see Jordan nodding slowly. ‘Also, I think we need to get our tickets straight away, even if that means having to give the flight company our details. We don’t know which planes will still have seats available and at least that way we’ll know our timings.’
‘Okay, but we won’t have to buy them over the counter,’ he replied, pulling out a phone.
‘Jesus, Jordan, I thought I told you to dump it!’ she hissed, reaching out to grab it and toss it away as though it were a live grenade with the pin having been pulled.
Jordan calmly moved it away from her. ‘Don’t worry, it’s a burner; never been used before. With this we can book our tickets and avoid having to go to the check-in desk.’
Lexie, although pleased, began to wonder who was the real brains of the operation.
Chapter Forty-seven
‘What makes you so sure they’re going to Luton?’ Cooper asked once they were in the car and weaving through the afternoon traffic.
A few hours earlier Ruby would have taken the question as one of criticism but much had changed since then.
‘I’m not sure at all,’ she replied. ‘But considering what we know, it’s the most sensible destination for us to go. I’m not saying the plan won’t have changed but both Taylor and Cole corroborated the story that they were going to head to the airport.’
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