The Goldsworth Series Box Set

by Davie J Toothill

  “We’ll be fine,” Clint said, and Aurora looked into his face. He must have seen the look on her face and thought she was worried about taking Angel home. She smiled, and he did too. He kissed her lightly. “We’re a proper family now, and I’ll make sure we’re okay.”

  Aurora knew he meant it.

  * * *

  Asher Brunns waited outside the police station, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket, palms already sweaty with nerves. He had changed out of his uniform and was waiting for Carl, though now the familiar excitement at seeing his boyfriend was dimmed by the knowledge that Carl would be quick to tell him about the progress he was making on the Jasper Okoro case.

  He wanted him to succeed, but at the same time Asher knew that it was entirely possible that at some point his own involvement could be exposed. He had carried out Bolton’s dying wish and retrieved the bundles of cash that he had taken off Dante. He had done it for his sister, for the future security of her and the baby, but it had also been in the heat of the moment.

  Bolton had died in front of him, and it had been impossible for Asher not to carry out what he had promised him. Now the implications of what he had done were starting to worry him. He would lose his job, he was certain, and probably be up on charges himself if anyone found out.

  The front doors opened and Carl came out, his sleeves rolled up to the elbows and his jacket slung over his shoulder. He hugged him, and Asher followed him down the street to the car.

  As he had expected, Carl instantly launched into a conversation about the case.

  “Well, Patterson finally turned up today,” he said, shaking his head. “For all of about a minute this morning before she ran off somewhere. Then she showed up an hour ago and finally sat down long enough to open a file.”

  “That’s good,” Asher mumbled, his mind already racing.

  With both Patterson and Carl investigating, he was sure nothing would be overlooked. He listened, nodding in silence, as Carl continued to vent, unable to shake his concern over what the case might expose.

  * * *

  Serena tried to focus on the screen in front of her, but she could not shake the smug look on Troy Bank’s face that afternoon when the judge had adjourned for the day. Both Amal and Tamar had failed to show up, and there was nothing that Mandy the witness liaison officer, by then flustered and pink-faced, could do.

  She forced the thoughts away, already feeling frustrated that she had overstepped the line in going to Amal’s house, not once but twice, and achieving nothing for the trouble. She thought about Casey’s advice yesterday, and knew that she had to move on, or at least take her mind off it, shift her attention to other things.

  That was why she had returned to the station and knuckled down over the Jasper Okoro files. Carl had been surprised, but he did not seem impressed with her. She could not blame him, remembering her first impressions of Corey when he had failed to have her back when she had first returned to London after Shaniqua Curtis’s death.

  The office was quiet now. Most of the day shift had gone home as the evening slunk in, and Carl had bid her a testy goodnight a few minutes ago. She got up and went to the vending machine, pressing the button for another coffee.

  She returned to her desk with the cardboard cup and took a sip. It tasted bitter, but it was free, so she could not complain. Taking another sip, she started to review the notes she had looked over.

  Whilst Carl was focusing on day to day operations within Okoro’s empire, Serena had started to look at his final days. His brother Nathaniel had killed him. In his statement, he had confessed, having shot him in revenge after the boyfriend of his daughter had been killed at his behest.

  It was indeed a messy case, Serena had thought, when she had sat down to read the overview. Now she felt like she was getting somewhere. Jasper had wanted Bolton Smith dead for a reason, and he had wanted Dante Cortez to be the one to do it.

  In his own statement, Dante had admitted that he had killed him because of some stolen money, numbering in the thousands. He had retracted his statement later, of course, but Serena knew which story she believed.

  The way she saw it, there were two possibilities. Either Bolton had the stolen money before he died, and Dante had stolen it from him, killing him in the process. Or Dante had stolen the money and killed his best mate to cover his tracks.

  It was a sad story, whichever was the truth, Serena thought. A third possibility sprung to mind. Perhaps Dante had never retrieved the money from Bolton, and somebody else had it. She scribbled it down in her notepad.

  It was a line of enquiry worth pursuing, she thought, taking another sip of coffee and flipping over another page in the file.

  * * *

  Clint felt uneasy as he climbed out of the taxi and paid the driver, before taking Angel into his arms so Aurora could get out. The driver waved them off and drove away, rolling up the windows as he went.

  He felt bad that his daughter would spend her first few weeks living on the Goldsworth, but she wouldn’t remember it as she grew up and he felt relieved that she would not have to grow up here like him.

  “It’s okay,” Aurora put a hand on his shoulder, and he suspected the same thoughts were going through her mind. He smiled, and together they walked onto the estate and up the stairs to Marlena’s flat.

  Aurora tried the front door and it was unlocked. Marlena greeted them in the hallway, and she rushed forward and cooed over Angel. Clint couldn’t help but smile. They went through to the lounge and Marlena sat down so that Clint could pass Angel to her. Angel gurgled and looked up at her grandma, and Marlena wiped a tear from her eye.

  Clint felt Aurora beside him and held her hand, giving it a soft squeeze. It felt strange to be back in the flat with their daughter, Clint thought. The last time they had been here was when Aurora had been pregnant, and now it all felt so much more real.

  Aurora went to sit beside her mum, and Clint went through to the bedroom. The first thing he noticed was that it looked tidier. The single bed that Kojo had been sleeping on was clean, all the clothes that had littered the duvet and floor around it were gone. Clint panicked and dropped to his knees, checking under the bed. Kojo’s suitcase had gone too.

  He pulled his phone out and dialled Kojo’s number, wondering what his brother was playing at. He walked into the lounge and looked at Marlena. She caught his gaze and her smile faltered.

  “You know then?” she asked. Aurora looked between them, uncertain.

  “Kojo moved out,” Clint told her. Aurora frowned. He looked at Marlena, frustration pounding. “Why did you let him go?”

  “It’s not my place to stop him,” she said, shaking her head. “The lad’s nice enough, but he ain’t my family. I’ve got no right to stop him, not when he wants to go.”

  “Where did he go?” Clint asked, his voice tight, trying to calm himself.

  “Back to your parents,” Marlena replied.

  Clint went back into the bedroom and sat down on the bed that Kojo had slept in until today. His phone rang and he looked at the screen, his hope that it was Kojo quickly dashed. It was his mum. He answered, knowing that she would be ringing about her granddaughter, but he intended to talk to her about Kojo instead.

  * * *

  Aurora heard Clint’s voice from down the hallway and knew that he was arguing with his mum about allowing Kojo to return home. She forced herself to stay calm, to not let it all bother her. They could deal with it tomorrow, right now she wanted to be happy that her daughter was born and healthy, and that her mum seemed overjoyed at meeting her granddaughter.

  She returned to the lounge, closing the door behind her. Marlena looked up at her, Angel in her arms, a smile on her face. Aurora hadn’t seen her mum so happy in a long time and she found herself unable to stop smiling.

  Her coat was on the arm of the sofa, and she knew that her mum had been intending to go down to the pub to wet the baby’s head. Seeing her look, Marlena put a hand on Aurora’s as she sat down besi
de them.

  “I think I’ll give the pub a miss tonight,” Marlena said, with a smile. “I just can’t seem to stop looking into little Angel’s eyes, can I?” She cooed over the baby, and Aurora felt her spirits lift further.

  If her mum had turned down a trip to the pub, that really was something, and it made her feel reassured about the future. Perhaps her mum would clean up her act, finally begin to move on now that she had a granddaughter.

  Aurora watched her mum cradling Angel in her arms and felt happy.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Her alarm sounded right next to her ear and Brandy fumbled for her phone to switch the noise off. She groaned, sunlight filtering through the threadbare curtains. She shut off the alarm and sat up, rubbing her eyes, for a moment feeling refreshed, before the dread of what she had to do today crept back over her and she felt exhausted all over again.

  She could hear Aunt Bo singing along to the radio in the kitchen, breaking song only to coo at Frazer as she fed him. She couldn’t hear her mum and hoped she was still asleep, too comatose from last night to stir.

  Getting out of bed, Brandy tried not to think about going to court. She showered and did her hair, before facing the black trouser suit that Aunt Bo had bought in Primark for her. She pulled it on, wishing she could go back to bed and forget about court. She did not want to see Troy, she wanted no part of it all.

  In the kitchen, Aunt Bo smiled at her as she walked in.

  “Very smart,” she beamed. She turned to Frazer. “Doesn’t your mummy look smart? Doesn’t she just? She’ll do us proud today, baby, don’t you worry.”

  Brandy rolled her eyes. Frazer’s eyes followed her as she went to get a coffee, and she wondered if he had any idea who she was. She didn’t spend any time with him and she never talked to him. Perhaps he thought Aunt Bo was his mum. Brandy smiled at that, wishing that Aunt Bo could take him with her whenever she went back to her own place. That would be great, she thought, if only her mum could go with them, and that wasn’t likely to happen.

  “What time are we leaving?” Aunt Bo asked as she wiped Frazer’s mouth with a cloth. “I’ve checked the bus times, and –”

  “Wait a sec,” Brandy said, turning to look at her, worried. “We aren’t going anywhere. I’m going by myself, getting this shit done with, and then getting wasted.”

  Aunt Bo glared at her, and Brandy groaned.

  “Don’t listen to your mummy’s naughty words,” Aunt Bo chimed at Frazer, shaking her head and wagging her finger, eliciting a smile from him. She turned to Brandy, hand on hip. “We’re all coming with you. We’re a family, we support our own. What kind of auntie would I be if –”

  “I don’t want support,” Brandy snapped. “I don’t need it.”

  “Nonsense,” Aunt Bo waved her off, still smiling. “I’ll just tidy up Frazer and then I’ll go and wake your mother.”

  Brandy snorted, shaking her head.

  “You can’t be serious?” she demanded. “You’re bringing mum to court? She’ll be up in the dock the moment we walk through the bloody doors, the state she’s likely to be in. Get a grip.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Aunt Bo insisted. “I got little Frazer a nice suit. He’ll just look adorable,” she said, smiling at Frazer and lifting him out of his chair.

  Brandy felt panicked. Troy and his family would be in court, and Aunt Bo wanted to bring Frazer along with them. It was ridiculous, and dangerous. If Troy or anyone else suspected that Frazer was Troy’s son, she would be in serious shit and the thought made her chest constrict painfully.

  “Stop worrying,” Aunt Bo smiled, mistaking her fear for nerves about taking the stand. “You’ll be fine, my love. You’re doing your bit, and –”

  Brandy walked out before she could finish the sentence, kicking a wall on her way to her bedroom.

  “Oi, don’t kick my fucking walls,” her mum hissed, standing at the bathroom door naked except for a pair of knickers and huge hoop earrings. She glared at her. “Once you got a place of your own, you can kick ten shades of shit out of the walls, but in my flat, where I’m the goddamn boss, you treat them walls with respect.”

  “What do you want me to do, fucking pray to them?” Brandy retorted, slamming her bedroom door behind her and kicking out at her bed post, then wincing with pain.

  “That goes for the doors and all,” her mum shouted from the landing. “Don’t be slamming shit, that old bitch next door’s going to be on the phone to the council to complain, and I ain’t about to be evicted ‘cos you can’t keep your shit together.”

  Brandy shook her head, and the sound of running water indicated her mum was finally having a shower. At least that meant a few minutes of peace.

  She closed her eyes, pacing her room, aware that her hands were trembling. She had been terrified of giving evidence, standing in front of the judge and Troy and everyone else. Now she had bigger things to worry about. If Troy or his family realised Frazer was one of theirs, she knew her life wouldn’t be worth fuck all.

  * * *

  Asher let himself in to his mother’s flat and was greeted with the sound of the usual morning chaos. Huw darted into his bedroom, half-dressed for school, and Torey stood by the kitchen door, hand on hip, scowling into the room.

  She barely glanced at him as he joined her and their mother in the kitchen.

  “It’s just not fair,” Torey snapped, throwing her hands up in the air. “I’m old enough to do what I want, mum. Look at Charley, she’s -”

  “You’re not going to a party,” Toni replied, her voice level. “End of story.”

  Torey cursed and Toni span around from the counter, raising her hand. She lowered it as Torey flew from the room, and smiled towards Asher.

  “Did you want some breakfast love?” she asked him, anger gone as fast as it had erupted, as it always did with his mother.

  He shook his head. His stomach was still twisting with nerves, more so this morning now that he knew that Carl and Serena intended to visit Dante in prison. He had been right, with two of them working different angles, Serena had soon spotted something. She had called Carl last night, just as they had sat down for dinner, and told him about her suspicions that either Dante or Bolton had stolen from Jasper.

  “Is that Carl feeding you properly?” Toni asked, and Asher realised with a start that his mother was looking at him with concern. “You look exhausted, you should take a holiday.”

  “I’m fine mum,” Asher waved her off, trying to stop himself from thinking about what Dante might say. “I just came to drop in, see how everyone is.”

  “Same old,” Toni replied, turning back to the counter, though she gave him one last, scrutinizing look, as if he might collapse at any moment. “Some things never change, you know.”

  Asher mumbled a response, pulling out a chair and sitting down, already feeling worn out by the day as early as it was.

  * * *

  Dante did not often get visitors, so when he had been told that two detectives were asking to set up a meeting, he had agreed at once. It would be fun, he thought, as he followed the guard into the visiting room, where the two detectives sat on one side of a plastic table, their eyes on him.

  He sauntered over, dismissing the guard, and sat down opposite them.

  “I’m Detective Patterson,” the black woman introduced herself. “And this is my colleague, Detective Hurst.”

  “And you already know who I am,” Dante said, looking from one to the other. He leant back in his chair, the plastic squeaking softly at the movement, and crossed his arms against his chest. “So, what do you want to see me about?”

  “Jasper Okoro,” Patterson replied. “We’re looking at his businesses, his finances. We wanted to talk to you about a few things that have come up.”

  Dante considered her answer. She had been upfront with him, but that did not mean that he could trust what she said. This could all just be some ploy to trick him into confessing. He knew Charley’s brother was on the force, perhaps they
had all rallied around to trick him because he had pled not-guilty, he mused.

  “Jasper had a deputy, didn’t he?” Patterson asked. “A man called Ritchie.”

  “Maybe,” Dante shrugged, his voice level.

  “Do you remember him at all?” she asked. “He disappeared, if that helps to jog your memory.”

  “Doesn’t ring any bells,” Dante shook his head, though a smile crept onto his lips before he could help himself. He remembered Ritchie, and how he had screamed like a baby when he had battered him with that crowbar.

  “Are you sure?” Patterson asked, leaning closer. “Looks like you do.”

  “Well, I don’t,” Dante said, his smile vanishing.

  Patterson’s lips pursed, but she changed tactic.

  “Some of Jasper’s associates have suggested that Ritchie might have been stealing from him, and that was what prompted his disappearance,” Patterson said. “Do you want to know what I think?”

  “I’ve got nothing better to do,” Dante replied. It was true, he thought.

  “I think that you or Bolton Smith were in possession of that stolen money,” Patterson said. “Perhaps one of you stole it off Ritchie, perhaps you just let him take the fall for it.”

  Dante tried hard not to let the surprise register on his face. He had not expected her to be so close to the mark.

  “What do you think about that?” Patterson prompted him. “Am I close?”

  Dante smirked.

  “If I had all that money hidden away somewhere, do you really think I would still be stuck in this shithole?” he laughed. “I’d be sunbathing in Alicante with a beer and couple of ho’s.”

  “Was it a lot of money then?” Patterson asked. “I take it you saw it, if you know how much was stolen.”