‘I don’t understand what that’s got to do with Dave and Mickey?’
‘My conversation with Liam wouldn’t have made him kill himself. I know I probably said it first of all so I’d feel better, but the more I thought about it the more unlikely it seemed. I know he’d made a hell of a lot more than I asked for. I did that deliberately so he wouldn’t make a fuss.’
Tom still wasn’t sure what Janine meant. ‘But then Dave told us about Liam’s debts.’
‘Yes,’ said Janine. ‘But Liam could have asked for time, enough to make more trades and pay off Dave’s boss, as long as he didn’t continue to gamble.’
‘You said yourself everything fell apart as you dug into his accounts.’
‘I know that, but it still doesn’t fit with the rest.’
‘What else is there?’
‘When Liam and I had our conversation, he said he would put money into an account for me by the following Wednesday. I wasn’t in their office for a couple of days, and when I rang they said he was off sick. He wasn’t at home, and didn’t answer his mobile. I was suspicious, obviously, so I checked those accounts again. Goodness knows why I didn’t do it sooner. He’d moved more money around.’
What! He must be confused about the time she meant. He really must focus.
‘I looked into some of the movements,’ said Janine. ‘I thought he was trying to cover up what I’d already discovered.’
‘The changes Liam made after you last spoke to him, when were they?’
Janine told him the date.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes. It was the day after my birthday. I thought I’d be celebrating by then.’
He didn’t know how he got through the next few minutes, but he finally put the phone down. Liam had moved money through accounts two days after they’d found the Kalina. Two days after he was supposed to be dead.
Was Liam working with someone else? Somehow Tom didn’t think so. Even if Liam couldn’t tell anyone, he would want to know he’d done it himself. Liam was like that.
He had told Janine about Liam’s suicide when they met at the apartment, but not the date. It was obvious she didn’t realise the importance of when those last money movements took place.
What began as an awful thought became a reality.
A sickness swept over him like nothing he’d ever known, as if an arctic chill had descended in the middle of summer. If Liam was the only person who could have made those changes, then it meant he’d faked his death.
Chapter 17
Tom
Tom stumbled out of the cottage and up the cliff path until his shaking legs cramped. He’d covered for Liam on so many occasions; he was the older brother and felt it was his responsibility. As an adult, he realised in some abstract way that Liam never felt accountable for his actions, but he hadn’t imagined Liam would run out on something as serious as this, and leave him and Andi to face the threats.
He stopped on a rocky outcrop, and for the first time he understood how someone could hurl themselves onto the cruelly sharp rocks. That was not the answer. Not for him.
He moved back from the edge and sank onto the bench, wrapping his arms around himself for warmth. At another time, the full moon and stars would have mesmerised him, but now he stared out into the darkness of the sea. When the chilly night air finally brought him to the present, he wasn’t sure how long he’d sat on the cliff top. The earlier light breeze was now stronger, and he felt he would never be warm again.
He lurched down the path and back to the village. All the lights were off, and he guessed it was well past midnight. What did it matter to him? He wouldn’t sleep.
He wandered through the streets until he stood at Liam’s front door. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to go in. Whether he could stand the memories of Liam. Stupid. The memories of Liam were always in his head.
The front door opened, and Dave stood there. ‘Are you coming in, or did you forget the key?’
Tom shuddered, and Dave raised his eyebrows. ‘Cold? Or something else?’ He opened the door wider, and Tom went in as if pulled by a magnetic force. The door closing behind him sounded ominous in the darkness.
‘Sit down.’ Dave pointed to a chair and sat in the one opposite. ‘Enjoy your walk?’
Had Dave followed him, or was it a lucky guess?
Dave grinned, as if he could read minds. ‘Or maybe a drink at the pub followed by a stroll. It’s long past chucking out time.’
Tom leaned back in the chair, and tried to relax his muscles. He would have heard someone on the rough gravel, and if Dave left the path, he’d have had to contend with thorny gorse, or turned an ankle in one of the rabbit holes that riddled the hills.
There were no lights on, but the moon shone through the uncurtained window and gave enough light for him to see Dave.
‘You’ve put your house up for sale. Good move, but I have to tell you, it won’t fetch nearly enough to pay off your brother’s debts.’ He looked around the room. ‘This place will have to go as well.’
Tom wanted to throw up. He felt the sting of acid in his throat and swallowed hard.
‘I’ve seen that look more times than I can count.’ Dave showed his teeth in the semblance of a smile. ‘But I have a bit more sympathy for you than the usual losers.’
Tom wanted Dave to get on with whatever he had to say, but remained silent. He needed to keep Dave onside. If Dave was ever on anyone’s side.
‘My boss wants you to know you’ve got a week to pay, after that he’ll add interest. That’s a good deal. Better than most. I put in a word for you.’
Did Dave expect him to say thank you?
‘But the house won’t sell that fast.’
‘I like you Tom, but it ain’t my problem and it ain’t gonna be enough. You’d better work on this one, and see whether your sister can persuade her husband to find some money.’
‘It doesn’t work like that, at least not that quickly.’ This was far worse than he’d imagined.
‘If you don’t make a decent payment next week, then the boss will take an interest in your family. Those twins are lookers. He don’t usually deal in people, but he knows men who do. I’m sure you don’t want that.’
Tom hauled himself out of the chair, and rushed into the toilet to throw up. His forehead felt clammy and he shivered. He leant over the sink to wash his face.
When he returned to the living room, Dave had gone. He stared at the chair opposite, as if Dave was still there, but all that remained was the stench of vomit.
Chapter 18
Andi
The phone woke Andi at 5.30. As soon as she saw the time, she threw back the duvet and rushed to the phone. Steven or Tom? What had happened?
She shook with anger as Tom told her that Liam had faked his suicide. ‘We’ve got to go to the police. There must be something they can do.’
‘Andi, these are scary people.’ He told her what Dave said would happen to Sophie and Kristen.
Her legs shook as she thought about all the things she’d read in newspapers about the sex trade. She shivered, but sweat prickled the back of her neck.
‘These people sound as though they mean what they say. I don’t think we should go to the police, but it’s not just my decision. If you disagree, I’ll back you and tell the police everything I know about Dave and Mickey, and what Liam did.’
Her legs shook so much, she couldn’t stand any longer. What should she do? Things had always been so black and white. Innocent people went to the police and bad people got caught. Was this belief naïve?
She’d always made decisions quickly, the opposite of Tom. Now her brain refused to work. Sophie and Kristen smiled at her from a photo taken on their last holiday. Last holiday. She couldn’t think like that.
These men must come from London, but she didn’t know that for sure. Dave and Mickey had followed Tom in London, but Dave had also been in Bristol and Poldrayth. Another of them had talked to the twins. They knew a lot about her an
d Tom, and she knew nothing about them. To the police, they would only be names. Would the police be able to protect Sophie and Kristen? Would they even try?
She rubbed her eyes with her fist.
‘Andi?’
She’d forgotten she still held the phone.
‘Andi, get the girls away somewhere safe.’
Her lip trembled. How could Liam do this to them? ‘They’re with Steven. Should I ring them, or go round there? Will it be okay?’
‘They know a lot about us, but I don’t think they follow us all the time. Dave likes to turn up when I least expect it. I think you should go with Sophie and Kristen. Just get away. Be careful as you leave, and don’t tell anyone where you’re going.’
‘Steven’s got a cousin, Martin. They live in the middle of nowhere. Steven keeps in touch with him. I’m sure he’ll let us stay.’
‘That sounds good. Leave now. You can call the police from there if you change your mind.’
‘What about you?’
‘I’ll be okay. I plan to see the estate agent this morning, and tell him to get my place sold as fast as he can. I don’t know what else to do. The bank won’t lend me money. I’ve no idea about your financial affairs, but if you win the lottery it would help, because I think even the sale of both places might not be enough. For now just get away.’
Andi rushed into the bedroom and tossed some stuff into a bag. A faked suicide made more sense to her, but to involve Sophie and Kristen. She threw her bag into the car boot, as if throwing it at Liam.
She didn’t see any vehicles following her, and didn’t even think about the speed limit. She needed to reach the twins.
Andi banged on the front door until it opened.
‘Mum, what are you doing? You woke us up,’ said Sophie.
Andi pushed past her into the hallway. ‘Come in, and shut the door.’
Steven came down the stairs. ‘This is an early call.’ He took one look at Andi’s face. ‘What’s happened?’
Andi felt tears run down her cheeks, and couldn’t do anything to stop them. The last few weeks had been too much. She gulped and hiccupped as she tried to explain, but Steven was there, holding her, and for the moment that was all that mattered.
‘Here, Mum.’ Sophie pushed a tissue into her hand. As Andi pulled away from Steven, she saw the worried look on the twins’ faces.
‘Sorry.’ She blew her nose.
‘Come and sit down.’ Steven tugged gently on her arm.
‘No. We don’t have time. We need to go.’ She saw a different expression flit across his face. ‘I don’t mean like that.’ She hoped he knew what she meant, because she wasn’t totally sure. ‘We need to go to Martin’s.’
‘What?’ Whatever Steven might have thought before, she had surprised him. ‘Andi, slow down and explain.’
She took a gulp of air and tried to collect her thoughts. She wanted to tell the twins to go upstairs so they wouldn’t hear, but they weren’t children any more, and this affected them. She didn’t want to frighten them, but they needed to know they were in danger.
‘I can’t even remember what I’ve told you. Liam was sort of embezzling money from his company. Then an auditor discovered it.’ She stopped and shook her head. ‘That bit doesn’t really matter.’
‘Sounds pretty important,’ said Kristen.
‘Not now,’ said Andi. ‘He gambled as well. He got himself into a lot of debt at the same time the auditor found out about the other stuff. Tom’s pretty sure Liam didn’t commit suicide. I can’t remember the details now. Some stuff got changed after Liam was supposed to have killed himself. It looks as though he faked his death and did a runner.’
‘What’s this got to do with you, and this sudden trip to Martin’s?’ Steven’s voice was calm and measured. Andi took a deep breath, and tried to explain the connection.
‘The gambling. We’ve been threatened and told we have to pay Liam’s debts.’
‘When you say threatened, I take it this isn’t a legal business?’ asked Steven. He looked worried now.
Andi bit her lip and nodded.
‘Do you know how much?’
‘Way more than we have. Tom has put his house up for sale and started the process to sell Liam’s, but it’s not enough.’ She looked at Kristen and Sophie. ‘Go and get your stuff packed.’
For once they left without any argument. Andi turned to Steven. ‘The debt guy broke into Tom’s place last night. He’s threatened to take the girls if we don’t pay, and he’s only given us a week. Liam owes them eight hundred thousand! The cottages won’t raise that kind of money in a week. Tom said to get the girls out of the way, somewhere safe, while he tries to sort it out. That’s why I thought of Martin and Barbara. I don’t have any family other than Tom.’
‘Has Tom gone to the police?’
‘Not yet. He doesn’t think we should. I don’t know. Those men seem to know all about us, and we don’t know anything about them. One’s called Dave and there are others, but we don’t know who they work for. They’ll take the girls and hurt them, and I won’t let that happen.’ Her voice trembled, but she held firm. ‘Whatever else we do later, I’ve got to get them away now.’
‘Wait here a minute.’ Steven went through to the living room, and she heard him make a phone call. She went upstairs as the girls came out of a bedroom with a bag each.
‘We’ve packed everything we brought here,’ said Kristen.
‘What about your stuff, Mum?’ asked Sophie.
‘I’ve got a few things in the car.’ They went downstairs to find Steven.
‘It’s all settled,’ he said. ‘We’ll go to Martin’s.’
‘Who’s we?’ asked Andi.
‘All of us. I’ll get some things. My car’s in the garage, so we can pack without being seen. We’ll move your car in once we’re ready to go.’
Andi hadn’t thought much beyond leaving Bristol, but she was so relieved Steven had decided to go with them.
Chapter 19
Tom
Tom stretched, his head ached and his neck was stiff from the short sleep in the chair. He put the phone down. At least Andi would get the twins away.
He stumbled into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The water felt good, pounding on his head and neck, but it couldn’t relieve the weight of worry. His phone rang. Andi would be on her way to Steven and the twins, so it wasn’t her. Any other bad news would have to wait. Finally he turned off the water, or he’d have stood there until it ran cold. At least he felt a little more human. The phone rang again, but cut to his voicemail before he reached it. The number was blocked, and the caller hadn’t left a message. If it was important they’d ring again. He made himself a coffee.
Andi had taken the news more quietly than he expected, though her sniffles made him feel guilty, as if he had caused their troubles.
He went to see Ray at the estate agency, and told him he needed the house sold as soon as possible. Ray looked as though he was about to ask a question, but then nodded.
Jack wasn’t at the police station, so Tom left a note asking him to speed up the process to have Liam declared dead. That was an irony, now he was certain Liam was alive. Perhaps it was good Jack wasn’t there; he might have weakened and told Jack about Dave and his threats. Jack was a conscientious man, but he was no match for people like Mickey. Would Jack be able to persuade the London police to look after Andi and the girls? That could wait until he knew they were safely away from Bristol. He thought briefly about where he might live when he sold the two cottages, then shook his head. Right now that was the type of problem he’d welcome.
How could he raise the money? Kalina was a great boat, but if he tried to sell her quickly he’d only get around twenty thousand. More if he waited a little. But he didn’t have time, and if he sold the boat how would he earn money? How much would the bank lend him? Not enough to get rid of Dave’s boss. He smiled grimly; imagining a conversation where he asked the bank manager for money to pay off Liam’s
illegal gambling debts.
Back at Liam’s, he opened the top of the bureau and poked around until he found the secret compartment. He pushed and prodded, hoping he’d overlooked something when he found the driving licences. There was nothing.
He pulled out the drawers and threw them across the room, and then got an axe from the garage. If there was anything in the bureau he would find it. The crack of the axe on wood and his gasps mixed together, until his rage gave out and he dropped the axe onto the floor.
Splintered wood littered the living room, and small nicks showed where larger pieces hit the wall. He sorted through the debris, but didn’t find anything.
He pulled all the wood out into the garden, and lit a fire. If only he could rid himself of Liam’s legacy as easily.
His phone rang and he answered. His sooty fingers left smears across the surface.
‘Hello, my name is Vivienne Duval. Are you Tom Trethowan?’
‘Yes.’
Her name sounded French and she had a slight accent, but her English was perfect.
‘Do you know a Chris Toogood?’
His heart did a funny flip when she mentioned the name.
‘Yes.’ This had to be something to do with Liam.
‘I’m very sorry to tell you Chris is dead.’
He pushed down the urge to laugh. Chris Toogood had died years ago.
His voice came out in a squeak. ‘How?’ He swallowed hard and tried again. ‘How did he die?’
‘It was a car crash. I’m very sorry.’
‘Is there a body?’ Please don’t let it be burnt beyond recognition.
‘Yes.’ She sounded surprised.
‘Don’t let them bury him, and whatever you do don’t let them cremate him.’
‘I’m not sure whether I can stop them.’
‘You have to. I’m his brother, I have to see him. Tell them that.’
Vivienne agreed. She lived in a small village, Saint Catherine. He could fly to Toulouse, and hire a car there. She described how to get to the village, and said he could ask in the Boulangerie for directions to her house.
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