Head of the Firm

by Caz Finlay

  When he didn’t answer, she stepped towards him and placed her arms around his waist. ‘Do you honestly think I don’t want to be with you? Do you think I’m that good of an actress?’

  He stared at her, tucking her loose hair behind her ear. ‘No,’ he finally whispered as he leaned his forehead against hers.

  She smiled at him as she pressed her body into his. ‘Glad to hear it,’ she said as she moved her hands up to his neck and pulled his face close to hers. ‘The kids are both fast asleep and I’ve missed you.’

  ‘Grace,’ he sighed as he kissed a trail along her neck. ‘I love you so fucking much.’

  ‘I know. I love you too.’

  Chapter Seventy-Nine

  Michael woke early, with Grace’s warm body pressed against his, and smiled. It had seemed like forever since he had felt anything, as though he’d been walking around in a daze since Paul’s death. Now, finally, some of the fog had started to lift and although his grief still threatened to overwhelm him at any time, and his heart felt like it was broken beyond repair, he knew that he would know happiness again, largely thanks to the woman who lay beside him, and their other four children, who, he realised, needed him now more than ever.

  Michael knew that Grace had been up to something. She had been doing what she did best – quietly going about her business, with minimum noise and fuss, and silently getting the job done. He hadn’t asked her what she’d learned yet, trusting that she would tell him when he needed to know. Sometimes he wondered if she knew him better than he knew himself. She knew exactly what he needed. She was exactly what he needed.

  She stirred beside him and opened her eyes.

  ‘Morning, handsome,’ she said

  ‘Morning,’ he replied before kissing her.

  ‘How are you feeling this morning? You’d had quite a bit to drink.’

  ‘Not that much,’ he reminded her with a grin. ‘I’m okay. Better than I’ve felt in a while.’

  ‘Good. I’ve really missed this,’ she said as she wrapped an arm around his neck and snuggled in closer to him.

  ‘So, what have you found out so far?’ he asked, matter-of-factly.

  ‘What?’ She moved her head to look at him.

  ‘I may have been walking around like a zombie, Grace, but I’m not stupid. I know you’ve been looking into it. At least I hope you have.’

  ‘Of course I have. But so far all my leads keep coming to a dead end,’ she said with a sigh.

  ‘As soon as you find out who’s responsible—’

  ‘I’ll tell you as soon as I do. It’s your call how we handle it,’ she said before he could finish his sentence. ‘I’ll find him. I promise.’

  ‘I know,’ he replied, pulling her to him for a kiss.

  Grace stepped out of the shower and wrapped a fluffy towel around herself. Michael had taken the kids downstairs for some breakfast and she was relieved to see she was alone in the bedroom. Grace was about to call in a favour that she had promised she never would – but desperate times and all that.

  Picking up her phone, she dialled the number and waited for the person at the other end to pick up.

  After six rings, there was an answer. ‘I can’t believe you still have the same number after all these years. Especially in your line of work.’

  ‘I could say the same about you,’ Grace replied.

  ‘I can’t believe you’re calling me.’

  ‘I’m desperate,’ Grace said.

  ‘You must be if you think I can help you.’

  ‘But you can help me, and you know it.’

  ‘But I won’t, and I can’t believe you’re even asking me to.’

  ‘Don’t make me say it,’ Grace warned.

  She heard laughter on the other end of the phone. ‘I knew you’d call in the favour one day. Despite all of your promises.’

  ‘I saved your life, Leigh,’ Grace said.

  ‘Meet me in the Old Bank pub on Stanley Road at six tonight. Don’t be late.’

  The phone rang off and Grace sat down on the bed. There was no going back now.

  Chapter Eighty

  Grace made her way through to the back of the Old Bank. The place was almost empty apart from a few stragglers at the bar. Old men with red faces, who she guessed were the regulars, but who were far too drunk or engrossed in their newspapers to notice her sliding past them. She suspected her companion had slipped past similarly unnoticed and wondered if this was why Leigh Moss had chosen this particular establishment for their meeting. It was a pub not too far from the station so she could explain nipping in for a quick one after her shift, but one coppers didn’t usually frequent. It was dark and quiet – a perfect spot for illicit meetings.

  Grace noticed Leigh tucked away in the corner. Two glasses of a dark liquid on ice sat on the table in front of her. Leigh was looking at her smartphone but her head snapped up as she heard Grace’s footsteps approaching. She stood up then, smoothing the creases from her navy woollen skirt as she did. Her dark hair was pulled back into a neat chignon, and despite the circumstances of their meeting, she smiled.

  ‘I hope you still like brandy,’ she said as she indicated the glasses on the table.

  ‘Yes. Thanks, Leigh.’

  The two women sat down and took a sip of their drinks. Both of them sat in silence for a few moments, each waiting for the other to speak first. Finally, Leigh gave in.

  ‘So, why did you want to see me, Grace?’

  ‘I think you know why,’ Grace replied.

  Leigh shook her head. ‘I’ve already told you I’m sorry about Paul. Despite who he was, if he meant something to you, then I truly am. And I know you have my old boss Weasel Webster in your pocket, Grace. But in case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t play those sort of games. In fact, I’m insulted you’ve even come to me.’

  ‘But you’re here though, aren’t you?’

  ‘I came here out of courtesy to you. I will never forget what you did for me, Grace. Never,’ Leigh whispered. ‘But I would never jeopardise my career for you. We may have been friends a long time ago, but we have chosen very different paths. I could never condone what you do.’

  ‘I’m not asking you to.’

  ‘Then what are you asking?’

  ‘I honestly don’t know, Leigh. But someone high up arranged to have Paul shot. It was a professional job. You know most of the people round here haven’t got the clout or the money to pull off a job like that.’

  ‘If that’s the case, then your list of suspects must be very short,’ Leigh replied.

  Grace sighed. ‘Try non-existent. I don’t know of anyone who would have that kind of backing, who would want Paul dead.’

  Leigh snorted in response.

  Grace glared at her. ‘I know full well the line of work Paul Carter was in, Leigh. I know he has connections up and down the country. But if it were about that, I’d have heard some whispers. And why take him out and not Connor? They each knew as much as the other. This had to be something personal, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out what.’

  ‘I still don’t get where I fit into all this,’ Leigh said.

  ‘I know you’re good at your job, Leigh. I know how much you sacrificed for your career and ordinarily I would never ask you to risk any of that for me…’

  ‘But?’

  ‘But I saved your life once, Leigh. I never thought I’d have to use that as a bargaining chip, but I’m out of options.’

  Leigh shook her head. ‘You don’t realise what you’re asking of me.’

  ‘I do. But I’m asking you anyway. We both know that Paul’s murder has caused mayhem. There is a war going on out there. Every day I hear something new and I know it’s connected to the ramifications of Paul’s death. I want all that to stop. For the people I love, I need that to stop,’ Grace pleaded. She would never expressly admit that Jake or Connor had anything to do with the spate of shootings and violence that her recently erupted across the city, but Leigh was smart enough to know that was exactl
y what she meant. ‘If I can find out who was really behind all of this, I can stop that.’

  ‘Just like that?’ Leigh said as she sipped her drink.

  ‘Yes. You know I can.’

  Leigh stared at Grace. ‘I never thought you would become one of them, Grace. After everything you went through with Nathan.’

  Grace shrugged. ‘If you can’t beat them.’

  ‘I made myself a promise that I would never get sucked back into this world, Grace. That’s why I joined the police. To make a difference. To stop people like you, not to help you get revenge.’

  ‘I know that, Leigh. I know your all about your past. I was there—’

  ‘Is that a threat?’ Leigh interrupted.

  ‘Of course not. Your secrets are safe with me. You should know that by now. All I’m asking is for you to keep your ears open for any information that might lead me to who is really behind this. A name is all I’m asking for. Just give me a name and I will never bother you again.’

  Leigh shook her head. ‘I don’t know.’

  Grace placed her hand over Leigh’s as it rested on the vinyl-topped table. ‘Please just think about it, Leigh. For old times’ sake?’

  Leigh nodded. How could she refuse this woman, to whom she literally owed her life?

  DI Leigh Moss climbed into her car and checked her smartphone. She’d missed two calls from one of her sergeants while she’d been chatting to Grace. She dialled his number as she pulled away from the kerb, allowing the call to be picked up by the Bluetooth system in her car.

  ‘Evening, Ma’am,’ Nick Bryce said as he answered the phone.

  ‘No need for the ma’am, Nick,’ she said. ‘I’m in the car. On my own. What is it?’ Nick Bryce was her best sergeant, one of her best mates, and a friend with benefits when the mood struck them both.

  ‘There’s been another shooting in Everton.’

  ‘Another one? That’s the fifth this week.’

  ‘I know. The boss told me you’d want to know asap.’

  ‘Yeah. Text me the location, and tell the team I’m on my way.’

  As Leigh drove to the crime scene, she thought about her meeting with Grace. She hadn’t seen her for six years. Not since she’d become a sergeant. Before that, they’d maintained sporadic contact. Maybe twice a year they’d go for dinner. But then Grace had seemed to be getting deeper and deeper into a world that Leigh had no right being involved in. It had become too difficult and dangerous to remain on friendly terms with the woman who had become the queen of the Liverpool underworld. Not that Leigh and her colleagues hadn’t noticed the calming effect that Grace’s reign had had at one time, but now her son and stepson had taken over and all hell was breaking loose. Could Grace really put a stop to it all? Leigh wondered. She had never encountered a woman like her. She was benevolent, yet terrifying. She was loyal and fierce, and for a short while, a lifetime ago, she had been the truest friend Leigh could have ever asked for.

  Leigh shuddered at the memory. She had been twenty-one, working as an exotic dancer called Candy after dropping out of uni, when she’d fallen head over heels for Nathan Conlon. He had promised her the world. Then she’d fallen pregnant and he’d talked her into having an abortion, promising her that he’d leave his wife and son if she terminated the pregnancy. Of course he hadn’t. He’d laughed in her face and called her a cheap slut. Her cheeks burned with shame as she remembered storming into the Rose and Crown pub one freezing cold Christmas Eve and screaming the place down, demanding that he leave his evil bitch of a wife.

  It was Grace who had found them together less than an hour later, in a freezing cold alleyway behind the pub, after Nathan had raped her and was choking the life from her. He’d sworn he would kill her and she could see in his eyes that he was telling the truth. She promised herself that if she made it out alive she’d stop using drugs and do something useful with her life. It was then that Grace appeared. She distracted Nathan long enough for Leigh to make her escape and Leigh had no doubt that Grace suffered the consequences of her actions that night for some time to come. After learning that Nathan had ended up in prison, Leigh summoned the courage to go back to the Rose and Crown to apologise, and also to thank Grace for saving her life.

  Leigh had found a different woman from the hollow shell she’d encountered twelve months earlier. Grace had hardly recognised Leigh either. Gone was the bleached blonde hair and false eyelashes – and everything else that had made her Candy. Instead she was Leigh again, working as a support worker for a sexual abuse charity and applying to become a police officer.

  She and Grace had developed a kind of friendship afterwards. At first it had been based on their mutual fear and hatred of Nathan, and then it had developed into something more, each of them spurred on by their past to become better versions of themselves. Who would have thought they would take such different paths? Leigh had joined the police force shortly after, and had excelled in everything she did. Recently promoted to Acting Inspector of the newly created Organised Crime Group Task Force, she was one of Merseyside Police Force’s brightest stars.

  Grace Carter was a shrewd woman. She knew exactly who she was dealing with when she asked Leigh for information. And the truth was, Leigh already had a name. As the OCG Task Force Inspector, she had been one of the first to have been given the intel from the Crimestoppers line. A female. Her voice trembling as she’d whispered the name of the man responsible for Paul Carter’s death and the reason why. This wasn’t a name that she’d heard bandied about before. For all their big talk about loyalty and respect, half of the criminals she knew couldn’t wait to grass each other up, given the first opportunity. Not that they’d ever be obvious about it: it was always whispers and hearsay – nothing they could hang a case on. Names were always thrown into the frame when someone was murdered – especially someone like Paul Carter. But this particular name had only been given once. By one solitary woman who had sounded terrified. But Leigh knew that a frightened woman was capable of bringing down an empire. Suddenly, Leigh realised that it all made sense. It was a pity she didn’t have a shred of actual evidence to prove it.

  Grace climbed into her car and saw Leigh’s car pull away from the kerb a few metres in front of her. Grace watched the red BMW disappear along Stanley Road. Leigh was a brilliant police officer. Grace had plenty of Merseyside’s finest in her pockets, and she had no doubt that Leigh knew it, but Leigh herself was incorruptible. She had no family to speak of. An only child, much like Grace, although Leigh’s parents were alive and well. They lived in Manchester, where Leigh had been born and raised, and they’d disowned her when she’d become a police officer. A stripper they could deal with – but a copper! Not a chance!

  Although Grace knew about Leigh’s colourful past, it wasn’t a crime to be a stripper. Leigh would hold her head high and brazen it out if the truth ever did come out – Grace was sure of that. Leigh Moss was as tough as nails and as straight as a die. The only way she was going to help Grace was if she believed it was the right thing to do. Grace could only hope that Leigh would realise it was.

  Chapter Eighty-One

  Leigh Moss stared at the television as Nick Bryce walked into the room.

  ‘Penny for them?’ Nick said as he handed her a glass of Pinot.

  ‘What?’ she replied.

  ‘I said, “Penny for your thoughts.” You’ve been in a daze since you got here. Was it that bad?’ He frowned at her as he sat on the sofa beside her.

  ‘Just the usual,’ she replied, aware that he was talking about the shooting incident she’d been called to a few hours earlier.

  ‘So, what’s up then?’ he asked, his voice full of concern.

  ‘Nothing,’ she said, forcing a smile. ‘Just thinking.’

  ‘Sounds dangerous,’ he replied with a grin.

  ‘Any sign of that Chinese?’

  Nick glanced at his watch. ‘Should be here soon. I phoned it half an hour ago, but you know what they’re like on a Friday night.’
r />   ‘Wish they’d hurry up. I’m bloody starving,’ she said as she took a swig of her wine.

  Nick laughed. ‘You’ll be pissed before the grub even gets here if you don’t slow down.’

  Leigh stared at him. He was wearing a thin white T-shirt and she could see the outline of his muscles beneath it. He worked out in the gym every day and she liked that he took good care of himself. He was good-looking, but not in that pretty boy kind of way. Not the type she used to go for back in the day. Nothing like Nathan Conlon. Leigh shuddered at the memory of her affair with Nathan, and its chilling end. It had been a long time since she’d allowed him to invade her thoughts, but her meeting with Grace had her rattled, for more reasons that one.

  ‘Do you ever wish we could do more, Nick?’ she asked him.

  ‘Do more? How?’

  ‘To stop them?’

  ‘Them?’

  ‘These criminals. The ones who go about ruining people’s lives with no thought for the consequences.’

  ‘Don’t most criminals do that?’

  Leigh shook her head. ‘No. Not all of them. I’m not talking about the gangsters who are only interested in taking each other out either. I mean those evil bastards who traffic kids and threaten them into doing their dirty work. We know who they are, but sometimes it feels like there’s nothing we can do about it.’

  ‘We do plenty, Leigh,’ he reminded her.

  ‘I know we do our job. But mostly it’s only ever the little fish we catch, isn’t it? Or at least that’s what it feels like.’

  Nick shrugged. ‘I don’t see it like that. I think we do the best we can. Remember that big case we worked on with Greater Manchester last year? We got plenty of the big fish then. How many people are better off for them bastards being locked up?’