by Kevin Brooks
‘They killed my parents,’ I said.
He looked at me. ‘Your parents’ death was an accident. Their car spun off the road. I should know, I supervised the investigation—’
‘Why?’
‘Why what?’
‘You just told me it was an accident, their car just spun off the road.’
‘So?’
‘So what’s a high-ranking CID officer doing investigating a run-of-the-mill road traffic accident?’
Bull hesitated, and I knew then that he was definitely covering something up. ‘It was purely a supervisory role,’ he said, trying to sound nonchalant about it. ‘I wasn’t involved in any procedural capacity—’
‘Why don’t you just tell me the truth?’ I said. ‘I mean, what harm can it do now? I’m going to be dead before the day’s out. All I want is to know the truth about my mum and dad before I go. That’s not too much to ask, is it?’
Bull shook his head. ‘I’m sorry kid, but I honestly can’t tell you anything. I admit that I sometimes do a bit of work for these people you call Omega, but I don’t know anything about them. I’ve never even met any of them. I just get a coded message every now and then from an anonymous contact, asking for information or telling me to do something. I do what I’m told, I get paid, and that’s it. But my instructions to supervise the investigation into your parents’ death didn’t come from Omega, not directly anyway. They came from within the force, from someone a lot higher up than me. I wasn’t given any explanation or further details, I was simply told to look over the investigation, check it out thoroughly, and make sure there was nothing suspicious about it.’ He looked at me. ‘If there was any kind of cover-up, it was all taken care of long before I got involved. The only thing I can tell you is that when I went over all the evidence and the accident reports, there was no indication whatsoever that your parents’ crash was anything other than a single-vehicle road traffic accident.’
It was possible that he was lying, but if he was, he was one hell of an actor. And I just didn’t think he was that good. Every instinct told me he was essentially telling the truth. Of course, that didn’t mean that Omega hadn’t used the police to cover up their involvement in my parents’ death, all it meant was that Bull wasn’t their only asset in the local police force. They had people working for them who were much higher up than Bull – higher up, more influential, more powerful. Bull was just a hired hand, a middleman, a go-between. He didn’t know anything about Omega. He hadn’t even known they were called Omega until I’d told him. I wasn’t going to get anything out of him. So I left him to his thoughts – whatever they might be – and I spent the rest of the time before Dee Dee came back trying to figure out a way to stay alive.
50
By the time Dee Dee returned, I still hadn’t come up with any ideas as to how I was going to save my skin.
‘He’ll be here in twenty minutes,’ Dee Dee told Bull as they came back into the kitchen.
‘I’ll leave you to it then,’ Bull said. ‘You don’t need me any more, do you?’
‘You stay till he gets here.’
‘Why?’
Dee Dee just glared at him. Bull looked back at him for a moment, and I thought he was going to stand up for himself and argue his case, but after a second or two he just let out a weary sigh and went back over to the sink. Dee Dee came over and sat down opposite me at the table. He lit a cigarette and blew out a stream of smoke.
‘Scared you can’t handle me on your own?’ I said to him, glancing at Bull.
‘I could handle you with my eyes closed.’
‘You think so?’
‘I know so.’
‘Cut me loose then,’ I said. ‘Let’s see how tough you really are.’
Dee Dee grinned. ‘What do you think this is – a James Bond movie?’ He shook his head. ‘You can try riling me as much as you want, kid. You’re staying tied to that chair.’
‘If you’re so sure of yourself,’ I said, trying again, ‘how come you need someone else to do your dirty work?’
He shrugged. ‘If I need a haircut, I go to the barber’s. If I need my flat painted, I call in the decorators . . .’
‘Right,’ I said, nodding. ‘And if you need someone killed, you call in your hitman.’
‘Delegation,’ Dee Dee said. ‘It’s the first rule of business. You have to know how to delegate.’
‘You’re not a businessman,’ I said scornfully. ‘You’re just a thug and a bully. You’re a small-time gangster, and that’s all you’ll ever be.’
He shrugged again. ‘I’ve already told you, you’re wasting your time. You can insult me, put me down, disrespect me . . . you can say whatever you like about me. It’s not going to do you any good.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘In fifteen minutes’ time, a guy who cares even less about you than I do is going to be here, and you’re still going to be tied to that chair.’
‘What’s he going to say when he sees DI Bull and I tell him that you’re a grass?’
‘Well, firstly he’s not going to see DI Bull. Secondly, he wouldn’t believe you even if you did tell him. And thirdly, you’re not going to be able to say anything anyway because by the time he gets here I’ll have taped up your mouth.’ Dee Dee smiled at me. ‘Got any more smart ideas?’
The answer to that, unfortunately, was no. I couldn’t think of anything else to say or do. That’s not to say that I’d given up – I was never going to give up – but at that moment I simply couldn’t see anyway out. I was securely bound to the chair. I could barely stand, let alone run anywhere. No one knew where I was. And I didn’t have anything to bargain with.
I was, to put it simply, stuffed.
The funny thing was, I didn’t actually feel all that scared. I was perfectly aware of the gravity of the situation, and I knew there was a pretty good chance that I wouldn’t live to see the end of the day, so it wasn’t as if I was trying to kid myself that there was nothing to be frightened of. I suppose I’d just realised – probably subconsciously – that there was simply no point in being afraid. Fear didn’t help me. It didn’t serve any purpose. All it did was make things worse. So, just for now, I’d bundled it all up into a tight little ball and buried it away in a place deep inside me where it couldn’t do any harm.
There’d be plenty of time to let it out later.
Dee Dee had got up from the table now and was talking quietly with Bull over by the sink.
‘. . . leave by the back door when he gets here,’ I heard Dee Dee tell Bull. All you’ve got to do is keep your mouth shut and everything will be fine.’
‘You realise this is going to be massive, don’t you?’ Bull said. ‘Once the media find out that a young kid’s gone missing, everything’s going to go crazy. TV crews, national newspapers . . . the whole town will be swarming with people. There’ll be televised press conferences, cops everywhere . . . I mean, this’ll be the biggest investigation we’ve had for years—’
‘And you’ll be right in the middle of it, won’t you? So if there are any problems, you’ll be in the perfect position to deal with them.’
‘The police are going to be looking everywhere—’
‘They won’t find anything.’
‘But what about—?’
‘Listen, Ronnie, there’s nothing to worry about, OK? It’ll all be forgotten in a couple of weeks anyway. He’ll just be another missing kid. Something else will come along that grabs the headlines, the police will start scaling back their operation, and everything will get back to normal. So just sit tight and relax, all right?’ Dee Dee looked at his watch. ‘He’ll be here soon, you’d better get ready to—’
The doorbell sounded then, a loud piercing buzz, and Dee Dee and Bull both froze for a moment.
‘Is that him?’ Bull said.
Dee Dee leaned over the sink, pulled down one of the slats of the blind, and peered out through the gap. ‘What the hell?’ he said, sounding confused and surprised. ‘What’s she doing here?’
�
��Who is it?’ Bull said.
‘The old woman . . .’
‘What old woman?’
‘The one from Delaney’s.’
‘Gloria Nightingale?’ Bull said, leaning over and looking for himself.
‘You know her?’
‘Sort of . . .’ Bull said, still gazing through the blinds.
The doorbell rang again.
‘She’s something to do with those people I was telling you about,’ Bull told Dee Dee. ‘You know, the ones you organised the riot for?’
‘She works for them?’
‘I don’t know if she actually works for them, but she’s definitely connected in some way.’
‘How does she know we’re here. Did you tell her?’
‘No, of course not. I’ve only ever spoken to her once, and that was weeks ago.’
‘So how does she know?’
‘There’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?’
‘Christ,’ Dee Dee said angrily, shaking his head. ‘I really don’t need this.’ He looked through the blinds again. ‘Is she on her own?’
‘I can’t see anyone else.’
‘All right,’ Dee Dee said thoughtfully, moving away from the window. He pulled his knife from his pocket, then came over and stood behind me. He held the knife to my throat, then said to Bull, ‘Go and let her in. If she’s with anyone else, just shout as loud as you can, OK?’
Bull hesitated for a moment, then headed out of the kitchen.
Dee Dee rested the blade of the knife against my skin. ‘You’d better hope she doesn’t try anything,’ he told me.
I didn’t answer, I just sat there, trying to work out what was going on. What was Gloria doing here? What was her connection with Bull? Was she just another of Omega’s many assets, like Bull, or was she actually part of the organisation? Was she here because of Bull? Or because of me? And how did she know that either of us were here anyway?
I didn’t have any answers.
I heard the front door opening, then muffled voices. The voices sounded friendly enough. There was no warning shout from Bull, so I guessed Gloria really was on her own. I could hear footsteps approaching the kitchen now, and as the kitchen door opened, I felt the blade of Dee Dee’s knife pressing into my skin.
Bull came in first, followed closely by Gloria.
‘It’s all right, Dee,’ Bull said, ‘there’s no one with her.’
‘Good evening, Mr Devon,’ Gloria said calmly, looking at Dee Dee.
He didn’t reply.
She looked at me. ‘Hello, Travis. Are you all right?’
‘Yeah, wonderful, thanks.’
She smiled, then turned her attention back to Dee Dee. ‘I strongly suggest you put down your knife, Mr Devon.’
‘Or else what?’
She started to reach into her pocket.
Dee Dee immediately grabbed my hair and pulled my head back, exposing my throat to his knife. ‘If you do anything stupid,’ he told Gloria, ‘I’ll cut his throat.’
‘There’s no need to be alarmed, Mr Devon,’ she said, keeping perfectly still. ‘I just want to show you something. May I continue?’
Dee Dee nodded. ‘Nice and slow.’
Gloria reached slowly into her pocket and – equally slowly – pulled out her mobile phone. She held it up for Dee Dee to see. ‘I’m just going to play a video for you, OK? I’m not calling anyone, I promise. Can I go ahead?’
‘Go on then,’ Dee Dee said.
Still moving very slowly, Gloria pressed a couple of keys on her mobile then held it out again for Dee Dee to see. When the video began, I couldn’t make out what I was seeing at first. All it looked like were two dark round lumps on the screen. But then the sound kicked in, and I immediately recognised Dee Dee’s voice: Listen, Ron, I’m getting a bit sick of waiting for you to bust Malik and his boys. Everything’s in place with Beacon, the deal’s all ready to go ahead. I just need Malik out of the way.
And then Bull’s voice replying: I’m working on it, Dee. It takes time. I’ve got to get the go-ahead from my boss, get the warrants sorted out—
I don’t care what you’ve got to do, I just want it done. I’m paying you good money, and you’re going to be getting a ton of gear out of it. I want results.
All at once I realised what I was looking at on the screen. It was a video of Dee Dee and Bull, talking in the corridor at the car park, but it had been shot from directly above them. The two dark round lumps were the tops of their heads. I couldn’t believe it. While I’d been hiding in the maintenance room, recording them through the meshed glass of the door, someone else had somehow been recording them from above.
Gloria stopped the video.
‘I have the entire meeting on tape,’ she told Dee Dee. ‘And there are numerous copies of the video secured in various locations.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘If I don’t send a pre-arranged text within the next sixty seconds, a copy of the tape will be posted on YouTube and texts advertising the posting will be sent to scores of your colleagues. I’m not going to send that text until you drop the knife.’ She stared at Dee Dee, and suddenly there was nothing ‘old-woman-ish’ about her at all. She looked as hard as nails.
‘I think you’re bluffing,’ Dee Dee told her, doing his best to sound confident.
‘Forty-five seconds,’ Gloria said.
51
It took Dee Dee about fifteen seconds to realise that he couldn’t risk calling Gloria’s bluff.
‘All right,’ he said, dropping the knife and holding up his hands. ‘Now send your text.’
‘Move right away from Travis,’ she told him.
‘OK, OK,’ he said quickly, moving back. ‘I’m not going to touch him.’
Gloria kept her eyes on Dee Dee for a moment, then she glanced down at her mobile and pressed a key. ‘That’s just the first in a series of pre-arranged signals,’ she said, looking back up at Dee Dee. ‘Each one has to be sent at a specific time. If that doesn’t happen, the video will be posted and the texts will be sent. Do you understand?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Sit down on the floor over there,’ she told him, nodding towards the corner of the room.
Dee Dee did as he was told.
‘You too,’ Gloria said to Bull. ‘Down on the floor.’
‘What are you doing?’ he said, frowning at her. ‘I thought you were . . .’
‘You thought I was what?’
He glanced sideways at me, then turned back to Gloria. ‘I just thought . . . well, you know . . .’
‘I told you to sit down,’ she said firmly.
He lowered himself to the floor.
‘I couldn’t care less what you think, Detective Inspector,’ she said to him. ‘All I want you to do is sit there and keep your mouth shut, OK?’
He didn’t have anything to say to that, so he just sat there with a sulky look on his face. Gloria stared at him for a few moments, then looked over at me.
‘Have they hurt you at all, Travis?’ she asked.
I shook my head, desperately trying to work her out. She seemed genuinely concerned for my well-being, and there was no doubt that – for the moment, at least – she was on my side. But I’d seen her meeting secretly with Winston and passing him information, and there was no denying that either.
I really didn’t know what to think.
What I did know though was that if I didn’t tell her about Dee Dee’s hitman, we were both going to be in serious trouble.
‘Dee Dee called someone to come here and finish me off,’ I told her. ‘He’ll be here any minute.’
She looked over at Dee Dee. ‘What does he look like?’
Dee Dee didn’t answer.
‘I’m only going to warn you once more,’ Gloria told him, holding up her mobile. ‘Unless you do exactly as I say, everyone’s going to know about your collaboration with the police. Now, what does this hitman of yours look like?’
‘He’s a scrawny little white guy,’ Dee Dee said, with a resigned sigh
. ‘About five seven, long straggly hair, bad teeth.’
‘How’s he getting here?’
‘Car.’
‘Make and model?’
‘He usually drives an old BMW. It’s black. I don’t know what model it is.’
Gloria hit a key on her phone and put it to her ear. Whoever she was calling answered almost immediately.
‘Dee Dee’s called in a hitman. He’ll be here any minute. White male, five seven, long straggly hair, bad teeth. He’s probably driving an old black BMW. Do what you have to do, OK?
She paused for a moment, listening, then said, ‘OK,’ and ended the call. She came over to me, picked up Dee Dee’s knife from the floor, and began cutting me loose.
‘Hold your hands apart if you can,’ she said gently. ‘That’s it . . .’
I could feel the knife slicing through the plastic cuffs round my wrists, and then all at once my hands were free. I immediately began rubbing at my wrists, trying to ease the pain from the cuffs and get my circulation going again.
‘Is that better?’ Gloria asked me.
I turned round and looked into her eyes, still not knowing what to think of her.
She smiled at me. ‘It’s all right, Travis. I know you’re confused, but I’ll explain everything later. Just trust me for now, OK?’
I nodded, giving her the benefit of the doubt . . . for now.
‘Right,’ she said, turning to Dee Dee, ‘I’m going to tell you what you’re going to do now, and you’re going to listen very carefully and not say a word until I’ve finished. Do you understand?’
He nodded.
Gloria turned to Bull. ‘The same goes for you, Detective Inspector. Do you understand?’
He nodded as well.
‘Good,’ said Gloria. ‘First of all, let me remind both of you that failure to comply with the following instructions will result in the video of your recent meeting being made public. Safeguards have already been put in place with a number of third parties to ensure that the video will also be made public if any attempts are made to nullify this threat. That not only includes attempts to destroy or appropriate the tape, but also any attempt to gain access to the video through personal attacks or threats to the staff of Delaney & Co and/or their immediate family and friends.’ She paused, looking at Dee Dee and Bull to make sure they understood what she was saying. ‘Now I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what will happen if the video is made public, but what you do need to know is that I’m well aware of the consequences too. I know that the revelation of your relationship would be a death sentence for both of you, and you need to know that I’m fully prepared to accept that. In fact, if it was up to me, I’d quite happily have you both taken out right now. But that’s by the by. All that matters is that you don’t doubt me for a second. This is not an empty threat.’