David smiled. Linny and her husband, Caz, had recently moved to Earlsfield in Wandsworth, a short commutable distance from their work in the Capital. He started to text her to ‘have a great time’ and then stopped as an idea came to him. He called her instead. She answered immediately.
“Hi, Dad!”
“Hi, Gorgeous!”
“Did you get my message?”
“I did. It sounds great, though I can’t remember Caz asking permission to take my daughter away.”
“No? Well, I definitely told him to.”
They laughed.
“I’ll have to have a word with that little rascal,” said David.
“He’s not little, Dad. He’s six-two. He only looks little next to you.”
“Whatever. Anyway, I want to ask you a favour. I’ve got a job – some security consultancy work – in and around Cobham for the next week or so. Would it be possible, seeing as you’re away, to stay at your place?”
“’Course, Dad. But you could have stayed anyway. I hope you know that.”
David looked at his reflection in the mirror over the fireplace; at the shaven head, at the colourful tattoos on his forearms and round his neck – albeit temporary ones he could remove using the small bottle of special solvent which came free with the make-over – at the clip-on earring with its dangling cross. He wondered if his daughter’s invitation would have survived the shock of his new image.
“Yes I know I could, but I never thought about it until I picked up your message. You sure it’s okay?”
“Of course it is. Listen, why not come tonight and stay over. We would love that and …”
“Sorry, Linny, but I can’t make it tonight. What time are you leaving tomorrow?”
“First thing. Trying to get a flyer before the worst of the M25. Leaving around five. Probably better if you’re not here. We’d only wake you up, I guess.”
“Perhaps I could stay to welcome you back. You could show me all your photographs and if that didn’t work, Caz could beam me to sleep.”
Linny laughed.
“That would be great. So make sure you plan to stay over the Friday night we’re back. You’ve still got your key? Not forgotten where you’ve put it or anything?”
“Look, I’m only fifty-six. You’re not suppose to start forgetting things until you’re at least sixty.”
“Really?”
“Really. By the way, what did you say your name was?”
*
Week 11; Tuesday, 2 June…
David arrived at 23 St Herbert Street – a medium-sized Victorian terraced – just after noon. He was relieved to see that there was no-one around.
He pulled off the road onto the paved area in front of the house – previously the front garden – grabbed his hold-all from the back seat and rushed into the property. He was starting to think that the two parts of his brilliant plan might not fit comfortably together. His new image, calculated to give him an air of menace in any confrontation with his quarry, might prove to be something of a liability in a tranquil London suburb. He wondered what the neighbours would think of a very large, shaven-headed, tattooed individual suddenly replacing a friendly young couple in their street. A couple who, it might seem, had disappeared without trace overnight.
He settled into his temporary accommodation, laying out his clothes and placing his toiletries in the bathroom. He checked the fridge and noted that Linny had left him enough milk, eggs, bacon and spread to last him a good few days. In the freezer compartment there were also several ready meals for the microwave and a couple of loaves of bread, one of which he removed and placed on the worktop to defrost.
He changed into black jeans and a tight black tee shirt, flexing his chest and arms in front of the mirror to test the effect. Satisfied, he picked up his leather jacket and peered out of the front door, looking up and down the street before rushing into his car like an escaping bank robber.
*
“Bon soir, Cherie.”
“Hercule! Quelle surprise! ‘Ow goes eet?”
“I’m just phoning to let you know I’m staying at Linny’s – moved in earlier today – just in case you were planning to drop by my place with wine and flowers. It’s in Earlsfield, on the Cobham line into Waterloo. How’s that for a piece of luck?”
“That’s great. I feel a bit sorry for Linny, though.”
“No need, she’s, on holiday in the Lake District, but thanks a lot, anyway.”
“Then I’m definitely not sorry for her. Have you done anything yet? A bit early, I guess.”
“Just a bit, but I’ve been to Cobham, checked around the railway station for likely dealing places – no obvious ones, as you would expect – but found the guest house where Laser’s aunt lives. Not asked around at all yet. Planning to do that tomorrow at the stations along the route. Very exciting, all this.”
“Great, keep me posted. How’s the invisibility cloak working?”
“I tell you, you wouldn’t see me if I was standing right behind you.”
Jo laughed.
“Well, just be careful, anyway. Speak soon.”
*
Week 11; Wednesday, 3 June …
Before they left the holding centre, Mags spent a few minutes with Jason while Katey went to see her brother.
Tom waved Emily to one side.
“Could I have a word in private, please?”
“Of course.” Emily smiled and waved him towards a door off the reception area and they seated themselves across the table in a small interview room.
“Look,” said Tom, “I wonder if I can have another one-to-one with Jack. Could you arrange that? I just want to put everything right between us. I don’t want to look back and think of things I should have said. I’m sure you can appreciate that. And I know Jack will feel the same.”
Emily hesitated. “Well, as you know, sir, such a meeting would normally only be allowed at the request of the prisoner.”
“Well, ask him!”
“But …” Emily continued, still smiling sweetly. “I really can’t see a problem. Frankly, I’ve never understood why that rule applies; it seems nonsense to me,” she added. “What about tomorrow afternoon? Three-thirty?”
“Yes, thank you,” said Tom, a little sheepishly. “That would be ideal.”
*
Emily watched them leave the building then picked up the phone.
“Alison Anders speaking.”
“Hi Chief, just to let you know, father and son have another meeting arranged for tomorrow – Thursday – three-thirty – just the two of them again. After the weird conversation they had last time, thought you might be interested in listening in; perhaps Doc Wallis as well. Did you come up with anything about ‘Heaven’s door’, by the way?”
“Not yet,” said the Chief. “Still looking into it. Obviously some connection with the father’s years in the armed services, but there’s nothing jumps out. I’ll definitely come down and listen in tomorrow though, and I’ll ask the doc.”
*
“Right,” David said. “The story so far, day two.” He was stretched out on Linny’s sofa with a large malt at his elbow and his clip-on earring in his pocket. “I have spent the whole of the day – well, pretty much – travelling between Waterloo and Cobham – backwards and forwards. Did you know you can get a daily saver ticket for £10.80 that gives you unlimited journeys…?”
“That’s absolutely fascinating,” interrupted Jo. “And I’ve made a note of it, so you don’t have to keep the receipt. Now, can you tell me – was it worth it? What did you find out?”
“You know, you can be very pushy sometimes. Anyway … around most of the stops I managed to locate some user action – nothing major, just soft legit stuff. I waved the photos of Laser around and five people at three different stops identified him, though none of them could – or would – say where I was likely to find him. They all confirmed, however, that Laser’s patch – or perhaps ‘stretch’ is a better word – is along the ra
ilway like we thought, but none of them had seen him for quite some time.”
“Did you check at the guest house yet?”
“I didn’t want to knock on the door and risk frightening her so I phoned instead.”
“No, I can understand that. An elderly lady answering the door to someone she can’t see; a disembodied voice asking her awkward questions – very scary.”
“Look, I think you’re taking the invisibility thing a bit too literally. It’s my new street-fighting-man image that’s a bit … well, I’ll show you next time I see you.”
“Can’t wait. So what did you find out?”
“Well, I asked if she knew where her nephew was – said I was a friend who’d arranged to meet him last night and was wondering why he hadn’t turned up. She hadn’t seen him for nearly a week, but – very encouragingly – is expecting him any day to pick up the benefit payment she’s just collected for him. So tomorrow, I’m bound for Cobham and a stake-out at Chez-le-Nook.”
“And how does your new image assist you in the hunt?”
“So far it’s worked pretty well. The biggest challenge is getting back into Linny’s without causing a panic. I keep thinking about that scene in Frankenstein where all the villagers are marching to the castle carrying flaming torches to burn the place down and kill the monster. I’ve put the fire extinguisher next to the front door just in case.”
Jo laughed.
“Good luck tomorrow. Keep me posted. Oh, and please be careful.”
“I will. Night.”
“Night.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Week 11; Thursday, 4 June …
Jack was wearing just his tee shirt and jeans, having discarded the fleece. He looked thin and frail; his fair hair was uncombed and flat to his head and his whole body seemed to have sagged.
“Before we start, can I see Katey again afterwards?” he asked.
The door opened briefly and Jools popped his head in.
“Will do, Jack. We’ll extend the session for ten minutes or so.” Mags thought how very young he suddenly looked, and how vulnerable.
“Are you eating, Jack?” she asked, tentatively. “You don’t look as though you are.”
He took a long time to reply.
“Not much,” he said. “Can’t see the point, really.”
“What about exercise?” Mags realised she was asking obvious, basic questions for the first time.
There was another long silence.
“We have access to a gym and there’s an exercise yard. Been out there a few times just to see Jay.” He looked intensely at her and then Tom. “But, as I said, what’s the point?”
“Jack, we haven’t given up you know. Where there’s life …”
“There’s shit happening!” Jack completed the sentence for her. “You carry on hoping, Mum. Do it for both of us, because I’m not sure I …”
He stopped, as if he had simply shut down; as if a switch had been thrown inside him. He stared intensely at her for a time, his eyes gradually softening. Finally, he gave her a smile before turning to Tom.
“So, how are things coming along, Dad. Making progress, are we?”
“I’m doing what I can,” said Tom.
“Well, I guess you’ll keep me posted.”
Most of the time they sat in silence, but the atmosphere became more relaxed. As they left, he shook hands briefly with Tom and then hugged Mags closely to him for a long time. When they broke off the embrace, his eyes were full of tears.
“Take care, Mum. And please, I want you and Dad to stay friends. You love each other. Everyone knows that. You must take care of each other. Promise me that.”
Mags broke down and Tom could feel his own eyes filling up.
“Of course we will, darling,” she said, choking out the words. “Of course.”
As they left the room, Jack shouted out to the prison officers.
“Is Katey coming? I need to see her.”
“She’s on her way, Jack,” said Jools.
*
David had not seen a soul for two-and-a-half hours; which made it all the more remarkable that the first person he did see was the one he was looking for.
A thin, stooping figure in the same shabby hooded top he had been wearing on the CCTV images, scurried furtively up to the front door of The Nook on Ivygreen Avenue. The houses on both sides of the road were small semi-detached dormer-bungalows with reasonably large and neat front gardens and narrow drives. The guesthouse was a conversion of a pair of semis into a single dwelling with a porch added in the middle to form the entrance. The front gardens had been paved to provide off-road parking for up to six cars behind a low brick wall with an iron gate opposite the porch for pedestrian access.
Turning the knob and finding the door locked, Laser hammered impatiently with the knocker, looking anxiously around him as he did so. David, watching from his car a hundred or so yards away, guessed that someone had told him there was a big guy looking for him. Lawrence Harvey Newhouse was decidedly uncomfortable. His aunt eventually opened the door and he almost pushed her over in his haste to get inside.
*
He had a decision to make. It was two hours since Laser had gone into the house and by now David knew there was a good chance he would have seen him waiting in the car.
He started the engine and drove along Ivygreen Avenue, passing The Nook on his left without looking at it, and accelerating fiercely to give the impression he was leaving the area. He turned first left fifty yards beyond the house, and then made two further left turns, taking him round behind the guesthouse and stopping just before he reached Ivygreen again.
He got out, threw the hi-vis jacket he’d been wearing onto the back seat and walked quickly towards the avenue, positioning the clip-on ring on his left ear as he went.
*
Tom sat at his dressing table and opened the small padded box, which held his grandmother’s locket and chain. Taking it out, he opened the large oval-shaped pendant and removed the two small photographs of his grandparents, carefully replacing them with a picture of him and Mags in one side and one of Jack and Katey in the other. When he had finished, he looked at them for a long time before his grief overwhelmed him and he sobbed, loudly and uncontrollably.
He got up and put on his sports jacket, placing the locket in the left side pocket and checking for the fifth time the small envelope in the right one. Then he strode from the room, down the stairs and out to his car. He looked at the dashboard clock – 2.40 pm – and eased down the drive and out through the slowly opening gates.
*
As David approached Ivygreen Avenue on foot, he heard the metallic clang of a gate closing. He quickened his pace, looking left as he reached the corner. Laser was heading towards him along the avenue, half-walking, half running and looking back over his shoulder, checking there was no one following him. When he turned to the front again, the two men were no more than five yards apart.
Laser stopped, eyes bulging at the man blocking his way. David moved forward quickly, reaching out and grabbing his left arm just above the elbow.
“It’s your lucky day,” said David. “You’re obviously in a big hurry, and now you’ve got a lift.”
“Look …I …” stammered Laser.
“Plenty of time to talk in the car,” said David, increasing the pressure on his arm and turning to walk him the short distance back to where he had parked.
When they reached the car, David spun him round to face it, pushed him hard up against the passenger door, and checked his pockets.
“Lost your screw-driver, Laser?”
“Wha…”
David could feel him trembling, and when he opened the door and shoved him roughly into the seat, he looked as though he was going to burst into tears. David slammed shut the door and went quickly round to get in the driver’s side. He grabbed Laser by the chin and twisted his head round towards him, leaning across until their faces were only inches apart.
“Listen, s
on,” he said, “I have no intention of hurting you – none at all – providing you cooperate, tell me what I want to know, and do exactly what I ask you to do. But if you don’t cooperate, I promise you I’ll break every bone in your body, finishing with your neck. Understood?”
“I haven’t done anything.”
“Understood?” David shouted.
Laser gulped and nodded.
“Say it!”
“Understood.”
“Good boy,” said David, releasing his chin and slapping him hard twice on the cheek in acknowledgement. “Now put your seat belt on.”
David started the engine and pulled away. He drove out of the residential area to where the road passed through fields before reaching an abandoned builders’ yard. There were still piles of old bricks, timber and breezeblocks lying around the crumbling walled perimeter, but the extensive presence of buddleia and thistle was evidence to its disuse.
He pulled in to the yard, turning sharp left and parking out of sight of the approach road against the boundary wall, close enough to prevent Laser from opening the passenger side door. He switched off the engine and took his mobile from his jeans pocket, pressing the mode button a couple of times and placing it in the hands-free console.
“Okay, Laser, we can do this one of two ways. Either we can sit here in comfort and you agree to everything right away, or I can introduce you to some of the materials round here – bricks, stones, blocks and such like – until you do. Personally I don’t mind either way, so you decide. What’s it to be?”
“I’ll do whatever you want,” whined Laser. “I mean … just tell me. And then you’ll let me go, right?”
“Well, let’s see how we get on before I start making promises I might not be able to keep.”
Laser looked blank. “Who are you?” he asked. “What am I supposed to have done?”
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