by Helen Harper
He looked at me for one very long, very heavy moment as my words sank in. ‘So,’ he said finally, ‘not only were you present during the robbery, but you also knew it was going to happen.’ His hands dropped to his sides. ‘In which case, DC Bellamy,’ he bit out, ‘I would love to know what the fuck you are playing at.’
This was the first time I’d heard Mosburn Pralk swear. Until now, I wouldn’t have believed that a swear word could ever cross his lips. I acknowledged his anger with a nod but I didn’t drop my gaze. ‘Believe me, I’ve been trying to find the best way to deal with it. This is my last chance to get things right. Nobody has died this time around, which I count as a win. I know where the gang will be this evening, and I know how to stop them in their tracks. What I don’t yet know is who they all are. At least one of the gang members has eluded my efforts so far.’
‘Nobody has died this time?’ He didn’t move. ‘So on other occasions…’
‘There were deaths, including your own employees.’
He swallowed. ‘Oh.’
I pointed at the empty lockers. ‘Lord Horvath. Lady Carr. Lady Sullivan. Lord McGuigan. Lord Fairfax.’ I paused. ‘And the Talismanic Bank. The robbers knew exactly which boxes to go after.’
‘You’re suggesting someone from this bank is involved?’ He shook his head vigorously. ‘No. Carpe Diem potion or not, I won’t believe that anyone who works here had anything to do with this.’
I allowed myself a small smile. ‘That’s what you’ve said every time.’
‘Because it’s true!’
‘It’s not.’ I licked my lips. ‘It can’t be. The gang knew exactly what to take.’
‘There is not a single employee here who would pass on that sort of information.’
‘How about,’ I asked softly, ‘the employees who aren’t here?’
Pralk frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Can we go to your office?’
‘Now?’
‘There’s something there I need to check.’
His unhappiness deepened. ‘I have to inform the Board of Governors about what’s happened. I have to make sure my staff are alright. I have to…’
‘Please. It won’t take long.’
He passed a hand across his forehead and sighed heavily. ‘Very well then.’
We walked up the staircase in silence. Pralk’s desperate gloom was palpable and there was nothing I could say that would ease his anxiety. He was thinking about all the information that had been lost and the ramifications if it fell into the wrong hands. I couldn’t guarantee that I could stop that from happening. I was doing the best that I could, and I was certain I’d thought through all the possibilities, but it wasn’t a foolproof plan. There wasn’t one.
Pralk’s office door was open. I walked in, ignoring the desk and the pile of files on top of it. Instead, I focused on the far wall and the array of smiling photos. I found the one I needed in seconds. ‘This one.’ I tapped my fingernail against the bespectacled goblin with the cravat. ‘According to this photo, he was employee of the year in 2019 but when I interviewed your staff he wasn’t here. Is he here today?’
Pralk stared at the photograph. ‘That’s Boswell Strom.’
‘Where is Mr Strom? Did he call in sick? Is he on holiday?’
‘Neither.’ Pralk folded his arms and looked at me defiantly.
‘He’s the only member of your staff I’ve not spoken to. I’ve cleared all the others, but Strom…’
‘I can assure you that he had nothing to do with the robbery and he certainly hasn’t been passing on privileged information to anyone.’
‘You can’t be sure of that.’
The bank manager sniffed. ‘I can. Boswell Strom is dead. He passed away after a stroke.’
My stomach dropped. ‘When?’
‘November. Almost seven months ago.’ Pralk’s voice was flat. ‘He is not your man.’
I sank down into a chair. Damn it. When I’d thought of the photograph before the smoke had reappeared to reset my day, I’d been so sure this man had to be involved. He was the missing link who would lead me to the last member of the gang, not to mention the missing safety deposit boxes. But if Boswell Strom was already dead and had been for several months… I cursed loudly.
‘Were you pinning all your hopes on him?’ Pralk asked. ‘Was this old photograph your only lead?’
Not the only lead, it had been the best one. I grimaced and cursed again.
‘Frankly,’ Pralk continued, ‘the idea that Boswell would have betrayed this bank is laughable. He dedicated his life to it. He’d been here for decades. He even risked his own marriage because of his job here. His wife was none too happy – she wanted him to retire and frequently told me so. She was a pixie, though, not a goblin. She didn’t understand what this place means to people like us.’ A fond light crossed Pralk’s eyes. ‘Boswell always said that this place was his second wife.’
I nodded distractedly. Then my head shot up. ‘His wife. Is her name Esmeralda?’
Pralk seemed surprised. ‘It is.’
‘I’ve met her,’ I said slowly. ‘Outside the bank.’
‘She lives across the road. I don’t know why she doesn’t move away and give herself some peace of mind. Maybe she still holds a grudge against us. Boswell worked until the day he dropped dead, and she refuses to cross our threshold or to talk anyone who works here. Quite a few of us have reached out to her but she won’t respond. She sees his death as our fault, even though it was Boswell who wanted to stay on. I suggested to him several times that it was time to retire but he wasn’t interested. His wife is quite different in temperament but I suppose opposites attract.’ He shrugged, as if the vagaries of married life were a mystery to him.
‘When I spoke to her,’ I said, ‘she told me that the Talismanic Bank was a wonderful institution.’
Pralk snorted. ‘She was being sarcastic. She keeps an account here, but only because she has no choice. She hates us and she always sends in a proxy when she has any business to attend to. I told Lord Fairfax as much when I visited him a few weeks ago and he asked me about my staff and their families. And I’ll tell you what else I told him. Just because someone like Boswell’s wife despises us doesn’t mean that most of the supe community doesn’t hold us in high esteem. To think that someone like her could pull off a bank robbery on this scale is ridiculous.’
Perhaps it was. But I’d spoken to this pixie; I’d looked into her eyes and I knew what she’d said. ‘She wasn’t being sarcastic,’ I murmured. However, she might have been lying about her opinions of the bank to put me off the scent. She hadn’t told me that Margaret Wick had been taken hostage when she must have known. And Adam Jones had mentioned that the fourth gang member was an older woman – an older woman with blue eyes. My skin tingled at the thought.
There was a knock on the door. Mista Tio appeared, looking more pale and worried than ever. ‘Mr Pralk,’ she whispered.
He smiled at her. ‘What is it?’
She swallowed nervously. ‘The clan alphas are here. And Lord Horvath.’
Pralk closed his eyes briefly in dismay. ‘Very well,’ he said. ‘Thank you, Mista. I’ll come down and speak to them.’
She nodded and withdrew. Pralk glanced at me. ‘Tell me, detective. You know what’s going to happen next. How will the supe leaders take the news that their most precious valuables have been stolen?’
I grimaced in sympathy. ‘You don’t need me to tell you that. You already know.’
Chapter Twenty-Five
After the first robbery, the atmosphere had been sombre. The absence of any dead bodies on this occasion allowing the small assembly of high-powered supes to be far more vocal.
‘How can this bank have been robbed?’ Lady Carr demanded. Her petite body was shaking with rage. ‘This is beyond the pale! This institution is supposed to be safe. It’s supposed to be protected!’
‘I agree,’ Fairfax growled. He fixed Pralk with narrowed yellow eyes. ‘How c
ould you have allowed this to happen?’
‘It’s fine,’ Lady Sullivan said dismissively. ‘The Talismanic Bank has insurance. We will incur no real losses. Right?’
Pralk swallowed. ‘Er…’
I sneaked a look at Lord McGuigan. He was pale and obviously shaken, but he remained silent. My gaze drifted to Lukas in the corner; he was watching me carefully, his expression inscrutable. He knew there was more to this situation than I was letting on. No doubt he was aware it was tied to what had happened at both the London Eye and Tower Bridge.
Lord McGuigan cleared his throat. ‘What did these robbers steal?’
‘I’m afraid that it wasn’t money they were after,’ Pralk said. ‘Not in the first instance, anyway. The vaults are on a timer and you are correct that our insurance would have more than covered any financial loss.’
‘They went after the safety deposit room,’ Lukas murmured. He raised his eyebrows towards me in a dark question.
I nodded. ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘That was their target. They deliberately arranged for diversions to ensure you couldn’t intervene.’
‘You were here.’ Lady Sullivan spoke quietly but her eyes pierced me. ‘You could have intervened.’
Fairfax’s head snapped towards me.
‘I’m on the case,’ I said. I gestured to Pralk. ‘Perhaps you should show everyone the safety deposit room.’
He didn’t appear happy about the prospect but he knew it was inevitable. ‘If you’d all like to follow me,’ he said.
I ignored Lady Sullivan’s glower and Lord Fairfax’s continued stare and turned away. Events at the bank could continue without me. I headed out of the building with Lukas on my heels.
It was clear from the crowd gathered outside that word of the robbery had spread like wildfire across the supe community. I scanned the faces but I couldn’t see any sign of Esmeralda Strom. My gaze hardened.
‘What’s going on, Emma?’ Lukas asked.
I pushed up onto my tiptoes and shielded my eyes from the sun’s glare. There was a group of women towards the back, short enough to be pixies. I squinted and then grimaced. None of them was Boswell Strom’s widow.
‘It’s complicated,’ I replied. I glanced at him and smiled reassuringly. ‘But don’t worry. I have things under control.’
‘You didn’t seem particularly shocked by what happened at the London Eye with that ridiculous fake vampire. And you don’t seem particularly shocked by this robbery.’
‘Mmmm.’ I turned my head. There was the front door that Esmeralda Strom had told me was hers. I wondered if she was in. She had to be around here somewhere. When Adam Jones was killed on this very spot during the second robbery, she’d been here. She couldn’t be far away.
‘Emma.’ Lukas reached for my arm. ‘You must have left the London Eye and come straight here. How did you know to do that?’
I paused in my search for the older pixie and met his eyes. ‘I can’t explain it right now. But I will, Lukas. I promise.’ I raised my hand to his cheek. He jerked in surprise at my touch. ‘I meant what I said before. You’re my guy, and I will tell you everything as soon as I can. But now I’m on a clock and lives are at stake if I don’t do this properly.’ I leaned in and brushed my lips against his. He stood stock still. ‘I’m not playing a game. I need you to trust me.’
Part of me expected him to argue. His hand went to his mouth and he touched his lips. A dark light flickered in his eyes. Then he nodded very slightly. ‘Very well. But I’m going wherever you go, and you can’t stop me.’
‘You don’t want to check what’s been stolen from the bank?’
‘I think I already know what’s been stolen. And so do you.’ He tilted his head, still watching me.
‘Yes,’ I admitted. ‘I do.’ I smiled slightly. ‘At least if you’re with me, I’ll be able to protect you.’
I was gratified to see that I’d shocked him. ‘Protect me?’
I smiled again. ‘Just stay away from ransom demands and bridges.’ I pointed towards Esmeralda’s front door. ‘This way,’ I murmured. ‘There’s a particular pixie I need to find.’
We crossed the road, skirting round the still-growing crowd. Lacy net curtains hung at the windows of Esmeralda’s little home, preventing me from peering inside for any signs of life. I rapped hard on the door. Don’t jump to conclusions, Emma, I told myself. Wait to see what she has to say for herself first.
I dropped my hand and allowed my knuckles to graze against the back of Lukas’s hand. An electric shiver ran through me at the searing heat of his skin and he glanced towards me. Then the door swung open.
Esmeralda Strom’s lined face gazed out at me. I was short but she was at least a foot shorter. She was wearing the same tent-like dress that she’d been wearing when Adam Jones had earned himself a bullet in the face directly outside here – but on that occasion she’d been out on the street. So why had she stayed inside this time?
I looked into her eyes and didn’t smile. ‘Mrs Strom?’
‘Yes.’ She blinked at me.
‘I’m Detective Constable Emma Bellamy. This is…’
‘Lord Horvath,’ Esmeralda Strom said. She glanced at Lukas. ‘I know. We’ve met a few times, although I doubt you’d remember. I saw that there was a terrible commotion at the bank across the road. Is that what you’re here about?’ She leaned forward, the hem of her dress flapping in the breeze that blew in from the road. Her eyes widened and her voice grew breathy. ‘Was it robbed?’
‘Unfortunately, it was.’ I watched her carefully. ‘Did you see anything that might help us track down the robbers? There’s still a chance we might catch up to them.’
‘Oh goodness.’ Her hand went to her throat. ‘Was anyone hurt?’
She was delaying her answer; I knew it in the very marrow of my bones. ‘No, but the robbers were heavily armed. It’s a miracle nobody was shot.’ I didn’t take my eyes from her. ‘What did you see? You must have an excellent view of the bank from here.’
‘I’m afraid,’ she said, her words quavering slightly, ‘that I was at the back of the house pottering in the kitchen with the wireless on. I didn’t see anything at all. I heard shouts and I came to see what the noise was. But the only thing I saw was a small van speeding down the street.’ She pointed. ‘It went that way.’
I followed her finger. ‘It turned right at the end of the street?’
Esmeralda nodded. ‘I believe so.’
Except it hadn’t turned right; I knew it hadn’t. The florist’s van turned left – because the left turn led to the road for Wormwood Scrubs and beyond. The left turn led to the disused tunnel where the gang swapped vehicles.
‘That’s very helpful, Mrs Strom. Thank you.’ Lukas nodded and drew out his phone. ‘I’ll get cars sent off in that direction straight away. The robbers have probably already gone to ground, but it’s worth checking. There may be witnesses who’ve seen them.’
I placed my hand on his arm. ‘Don’t bother,’ I said. ‘It’s a waste of time.’
He frowned at me. Esmeralda’s eyes suddenly grew sharp. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘the police know best, I suppose.’ She started to close the door. ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help.’
I wedged my foot next to the door frame, preventing her from slamming the door in our faces. ‘Actually,’ I said, ‘I think you can still help. In fact, I need you to come down to the Supe Squad building with me and answer some more questions so you can assist with our enquiries.’
I felt Lukas stiffen. No doubt he was baffled as to why I was so focused on one old lady when a trio of bank robbers was escaping through the city with a haul of stolen goods in their greasy mitts.
‘Of course,’ Esmeralda told me. ‘I’ll do anything I can. But I didn’t see anything.’ She glanced at the slender golden watch on her wrist. ‘Why don’t I meet you there later today? What time would suit you?’
‘You can come now.’ For the first time I smiled. ‘I’m parked right around the corner. I’ll give
you a lift.’
‘You don’t have to do that, detective.’
My smile widened. ‘It would be my pleasure.’
***
I deposited Esmeralda Strom in the same interview room that Adam Jones had occupied on another time line, then I checked in with Liza. I could feel Lukas’s black eyes burning into me the entire time. He remained glued to my side, as if he were afraid I’d turn tail and sprint away. That was okay. As long as he was next to me, he wasn’t listening to any ransom demands or making life-threatening plans that I didn’t know about.
‘DSI Barnes had been calling non-stop,’ Liza said. ‘She’s demanding to talk to you. She said she’ll come down in person if you don’t get in touch with her soon.’ She paused. ‘Was the Talismanic Bank really robbed?’
‘Unfortunately it was.’ I grinned cheerfully. ‘But I have a feeling I’ll solve this crime before the day is out, and that everyone involved will be brought to justice.’
Liza appeared startled. ‘Uh, that’s good.’
‘It is. If Barnes calls again, tell her that I’ll meet her and DI Collier at Curtis Green later. Try and stop them from coming here. We could do without the interference.’ Then my voice softened. ‘And thank you for what you did earlier. With the money and the chocolate cake. You don’t know what a difference that made.’
‘It was just a cake.’
‘It’s never just a cake, Liza.’
Like Lukas, Liza wasn’t stupid. She gave me a long look that suggested I had a lot of explaining to do. ‘True,’ she conceded finally. ‘This one had chocolate curls on it that I made myself.’
The Supe Squad front door banged open and Fred stomped in. ‘Bloody drama students!’ he yelled. ‘It wasn’t werewolves at all. It was drama students! They thought they were doing some kind of performance. I can’t believe the stupidity of people!’
He marched up to me, his hands waving. ‘But here’s what I think. I heard about the robbery at the Talismanic Bank on my radio. Hear me out. I think that whoever is behind the robbery hired the students to create a diversion.’ He flicked a look at Lukas. ‘And the same thing happened at the London Eye. This is all about the robbery. It’s not about terrorism or suicide or anything like that, it’s about money.’