Risky Business

by W. Soliman

  “Miller’s ex has coughed to the whole thing,” he told me. “Broke down in tears and said if he couldn’t have Miller then no one would.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Is it sound?”

  “Oh yes. He tried to pretend he wasn’t there but we got him on CCTV, just like you said we might. As soon as we told him that, he gave us chapter and verse. I think he was glad to be caught actually.”

  “Congratulations, mate. That’s quite a feather in your cap.”

  “Thanks to you. I won’t forget that.”

  “Well, you stuck your neck out for me.”

  “Yeah, but even so I—”

  “How’s Slater taking it?”

  Jimmy’s raucous laughter echoed down the line. “She tried to take over when she realised what was going down but I basically told her it was my collar and to fuck off.”

  “Good for you.”

  “Then she wanted to know who tipped me the wink about Miller being gay. I said it was a snout.”

  “Just as long as you kept my name out of it.”

  “Course I did. That would only make her more determined than ever to involve you. Slater looked like she was sucking on a lemon when we charged the bloke.”

  “She always looks like that. How could you tell the difference?”

  “Yeah well, the word is that she’s being moved sideways.”

  “Brighton’s gain will be another patch’s loss.” I heard a burst of laughter in the background and loud music that sounded as though it was coming from a jukebox. The guys were letting off steam. “Are you in the boozer?”

  “Course we are. We’re celebrating. That’s why I’m ringing. You ought to be here.”

  “No, I’m still off the sauce.” Well, that wasn’t strictly true but I wouldn’t have crashed Jimmy’s party and stolen his thunder even if I had been in Brighton. “It doesn’t mix with the painkillers.”

  “Sorry to hear that.”

  “Don’t be. It won’t be for much longer. Well done again, mate. Enjoy the moment. I’ll let you get back to your beer.”

  Paul joined us as soon as I hung up.

  “Well done,” I said. “That was quite a show.”

  “Yes, good work,” added Hal. “That’s the first time you’ve beaten French.”

  Paul grinned. “He’s not a happy camper but he can’t complain, not when I gave way to him.”

  “Hmm, I can imagine.” Hal drained his glass and stood up. “Excuse me, I have things to do so I’ll leave you two to catch up.”

  “Did they get him?” Paul asked as soon as Hal left us.

  “Yes, it was Miles and he was charged this afternoon.”

  Paul let out a long sigh. “Good. But will Jason’s dirty linen have to be washed in public? He would have hated that.”

  “Depends upon whether he pleads guilty. He’s confessed so he really doesn’t have a lot of choice, and the evidence is stacked against him. Now that they have his prints they’re bound to be found, if not in the flat then certainly in the garage. But he might lawyer up and renege on his confession.”

  “Can he do that?”

  I shrugged. “It happens.”

  “Won’t he get a lighter sentence if he pleads guilty?”

  “That’s the way the system works. It saves the hard-pressed taxpayer from the cost of a trial. But his brief might claim mitigating circumstance. He could try and persuade the judge that he was emotionally unbalanced at the time and didn’t know what he was doing.”

  “Will that fly?”

  I wobbled one hand. “Depends on the shrinks. And on the judge.”

  Paul ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Thanks, Charlie. It helps to know what happened and why. I just wish I didn’t feel I was to blame.”

  “You?” I looked at him askance. “You weren’t even there.”

  “No, but I made a big play for Miller even though I knew he was in a relationship.”

  “It takes two to tango, mate. And your name won’t come up, if that’s what’s worrying you. Not if Fisher didn’t know about your relationship with Miller. I didn’t tell anyone.”

  “No, he didn’t know for sure. He might have suspected, that’s all.”

  “That’s all right then. If your name stays out of it, no one will know where I got Miller’s last notebook from.”

  “Well, that’s good,” Paul said. “And one good turn deserves another. About your mother…”

  * * *

  Two nights later Kara and I were curled up in the salon, listening to mellow jazz, talking, doing quite a lot of kissing. Drinking wine. Feeling content. The kids were with her mother and she was spending the night on board. She’d be doing a lot more of that in future if I had any say in the matter. Where our relationship would go beyond that was anyone’s guess. She certainly wasn’t putting pressure on me to commit.

  “You look like you’ve gone five rounds with a heavyweight,” she said, reaching up to gently stroke my bruised face. “Can you see out of that eye yet?”

  “I can see all the bits of you that interest me.”

  “Those bits not including my face, presumably.”

  I chuckled. “You seem to forget that I’m still traumatised.”

  “We were lucky, weren’t we?” she said. “To come out of it all unscathed, I mean.”

  It was the first time our escapade had been mentioned since my return from Devon. I’d been waiting for her to bring it up.

  “Hey, I’m not unscathed. I have serious injuries that need careful nurturing.”

  “Don’t push it, Hunter.”

  “The sympathy round these parts is totally underwhelming.”

  “You’re quite the hero of the hour, Charlie. None of this would have been possible if it weren’t for you but you’re letting everyone else have the glory.”

  “That’s me, modest to the bone. But at least Garnet won’t be around for a good long time. The entry in the notebook that had him so steamed up wasn’t about his lunch with Miller but the location of some of his ill-gotten gains. Whether or not the powers that be will ever get their hands on them is another matter.”

  “Why not?” Kara asked. “If they can prove they were obtained illegally.”

  “The proof will be almost impossible to find. Besides, some of these offshore locations interpret international banking law rather laxly and will drag their feet. But at least the accounts have been frozen whilst their contents are disputed so Garnet won’t have access to them either.”

  “Is Andrea Garnet being charged?”

  “Oh yeah. They can’t pin any of the drug trafficking on her but at the very least they can get her for luring you into a kidnapping situation.”

  “Will she go to jail?”

  “Probably not. If it’s a first offence she’ll get probation and community service. But she will be poor, what with most her husband’s assets being seized.”

  Kara laughed. “That will kill someone like her.”

  “Exactly.”

  “What about Mike Kendall?”

  “Well, the wheels are turning quickly and he’s likely to be out on licence as early as next week, pending a full pardon.”

  “That’s good,” Kara said. “Cleo will be pleased.”

  I chuckled. “She is.”

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Well, she rang me to tell me the news and was highly incensed because her sister wants to play happy families again.”

  “The bitch!”

  “Right. She wouldn’t even help Kara with their mother’s medical expenses but now she wants to be on the courthouse steps when her father’s released, basking in the media attention.”

  “What did Cleo say about that?”

  “She basically told her to fuc
k off.”

  “Good for her.”

  “My sentiments exactly.”

  “But where will he go?” Kara asked. “Has he got anywhere to live?”

  “Well, that’s the other thing Cleo told me. It seems that Jeff Spelling’s widow visited him regularly in jail. She never thought he’d done the killing, you see. She was most emphatic about that when I went to see her, but I didn’t realise she and Mike Kendall were quite as friendly as they actually are. Anyway, she’s offered to take him into her place.”

  “How sweet.”

  “Well, stranger things have been known to happen, and the guy deserves a break.”

  “There’s something else on your mind, Charlie,” Kara said after we’d lapsed into a long silence. “Come on, out with it.”

  “It’s something Paul told me,” I said reluctantly. “I don’t quite know what to do about it.”

  “Are you still letting him get to you? I thought you’d patched things up.”

  “About my mother. He doesn’t know who ordered her to be killed or even if she was the intended target. But he’s pretty sure Marianne was plotting something. He was at a party at their house once, not long before Mum died. Marianne took a phone call during the middle of it. Paul said she seemed agitated. He’s always been a nosy sod, wanted to know what she was up to and watched her through a gap in the door. She talked for a long time, Mum’s name was mentioned and so was a large sum of money.”

  “She paid an assassin?” Kara’s hand tightened on mine.

  “There were no large unexplained amounts of money missing from her account but she could have paid it in small instalments to avoid suspicion, I suppose. I’ll have to take another look now that I know what I’m looking for.”

  “Did Paul know who she was talking to?”

  “No.”

  She looked discouraged. “Oh, well then—”

  “But he pressed last number redial when Marianne left the room.” The air left my lungs in an extravagant whoosh as I relived Paul’s revelation. “She was talking to Graham Sullivan, a very mediocre saxophonist who was always hanging round my mother. His presence wasn’t welcome and, as Paul suggested, we have firsthand experience of what men scorned are capable of.”

  “You have a lead at last but it will be impossible to find Sullivan after so much time.” She smiled her sympathy. “No wonder you’re so frustrated.”

  I chuckled mirthlessly. “That’s what I said to Paul but he told me to have more faith. He’d made it his business to keep tabs on Sullivan over the years.”

  Kara jerked upright. “So he knows where he is.”

  “Oh yes. He bought a house in France just after Mum died and paid cash for it.”

  I fell silent, recalling how Paul had stood up and shook my hand firmly. “Now we’re even,” he’d said. “And friends, I hope.”

  “Yeah, friends,” I’d said, too numb to disagree.

  Kara was quiet for a long time but I could see that she was dying to say something.

  “Go on then,” I said. “Get it over with. Tell me to give it up and get a life.”

  “Actually, Charlie,” she said, reaching up to kiss the side of my face, “I was going to ask when we’re planning to go to France.”

  * * * * *

  For further adventures of reluctant P.I. Charlie Hunter, check out the first book in the Hunter Files series. Available now!

  Unfinished Business

  Where is Jasmine Webb? Charlie Hunter retired from the force at 40 to relax, work on his boat and go fishing with his son on weekends, not become an amateur sleuth. But he can’t say no to Kara Webb when she seeks his help in tracking down her sister, missing for 15 years. The disappearance of teenaged Jasmine Webb was one of the first cases Charlie worked on. He’s never forgotten it or his suspicions, even after the case was closed. When Charlie’s son is threatened, finding Jasmine becomes even more important—it’s no longer just about closure, it’s about protecting his family…

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  About the Author

  W. Soliman grew up on the Isle of Wight, in southern England. She blames the castles, fabulous old buildings and ancient monuments that surrounded her for her enduring love of history. She started writing stories at an early age and basically never stopped.

  Wendy now lives in Andorra, dividing her time between there and the west coast of Florida. She lives with her husband and a rescued dog of indeterminate pedigree. When not writing she enjoys reading other people’s books, walking miles with her dog, drinking decent wine and generally making the most out of life.

  Visit her website at www.wsoliman.com for more details about her and her books.

  Also by W. Soliman from Carina Press:

  Unfinished Business

  Writing as Wendy Soliman:

  Of Dukes and Deceptions

  A Scandalous Proposition

  The Perfect Impostor

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  ISBN: 978-14268-9397-1

  Copyright © 2012 by Wendy Soliman

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  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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