“Please… if there’s anything else…?” said Joanne.
“Oh hang on now, I was thinking. Look. There was another young lady of the same generation, the same school year. This one contacted me a year or two back. She was one of the bad ones, I never expected to hear from her again. But life is funny like that sometimes. People can change if they want to. This girl, her name was Tina. She was a right wee troublemaker back at school. One of the followers of Miss Lauren’s crowd so she was. But then all these years later she got in touch with me out of the blue and said she wanted to apologise for all the mean things she’d done in the past. I accepted her apology, and she asked to stay in touch. I didn’t say no, but she never did, mind. You know why? Because the deed was done. The apology accepted.”
“I really don’t see how that helps, Mrs Gernahue,” said Joanne, leaning back in her chair, frustrated.
“But it might, because young Tina had plenty to say about Lauren Jaeger in that phone call. And none of it was any good.”
Joanne frowned in thought.
“Would you have a number for this Tina?” There was a sound behind her. Joanne glanced back over her shoulder. She turned but saw nothing.
“Just you wait there, dear, and I’ll have a look for it. Wait there a mo, will you, love?”
Joanne shook her head as the woman shuffled away. She stared grimly at the computer screen for a long minute before the old woman returned to the line. “Yes, now here we are. Tina Dolby, Dolby like the stereo speakers. She used to be called Peters, so she did. Now, you want her number?”
“Please…”
The old woman read out the number and Joanne scrawled it on the edge of her A4 pad.
“Thank you, Mrs Gernahue. I’d better call her right away.”
“Good luck now. I can tell Eva has a real friend in you.. Nothing less than she deserves.”
Joanne rang off as quick as she could. Toby had been a long time already. Surely he would be back any minute now... but Joanne gambled. She picked up her mobile and made the call. Any information on Lauren Jaeger was a must..
After five long rings, a woman with a strong estuary accent and a weary voice took the call. In the background, Joanne heard one child screaming and at least one more jabbering and shouting. Parenthood. It was a type of life Joanne was happy to avoid.
“Hello there? Is that Tina Dolby?”
“Who is this?”
“My name is Joanne. I’m a friend of Eva Roberts.”
“Eva? …Eva Roberts?!”
“Yes. Do you remember her?”
“Of course I remember. Why are you calling me about Eva Roberts?”
“Because…” Joanne rolled the dice again. “Because Lauren Jaeger is back. She turned up a few weeks ago in Eva’s life and she’s been trouble ever since. I’m worried for her.”
“Worried?”
Joanne heard a noise behind her. The sound of a breath. She looked back but saw no one. She twisted back in her seat and saw the space behind the wall was empty… just as Falk shifted out of sight, pressing himself beside the door, a coffee cup in each hand.
“Yeah,” said Tina. “If Lauren Jaeger is back, I’d be worried too.”
Joanne leaned forward in her seat.
“Why would you say that?”
“You sound like you’ve worked it out already. Lauren is bad news. Real bad news. She always was. Always will be. I don’t even know where to start. Look, just tell Eva to keep away from her. I mean it.”
“Tina, I really need to know more about Lauren. Eva seems to believe she’s some kind of reformed character.”
“Reformed? There’s no way to reform someone like that. Can’t be done. Look. I’ve gotta go. The kids need me…”
“Tina. How about I come to see you. You could tell me more.”
“No. I’m busy.”
“Wait, I could get you something for the kids…”
“It’s not a good time.”
“Please. I’m really worried about Eva…”
There was a tut at the other end. “Okay… you’ll need to bring something. I could do with a pint of milk, actually. And the kids could do with something sweet. A Freddo bar might shut them up for a minute or two. If you don’t mind.”
“I’ll bring a whole pack. Now where are you…?”
As Joanne jotted down the address, Falk kicked the door shut behind him and slowly walked into the office. He put a smile on his face as he brought the coffees over.
“Okay, thanks for that,” said Joanne looking back at Toby. “I’ll see you soon.”
She dumped the handset onto the cradle and gave Toby a bright smile. Her eyes were busy and her face was flushed.
“Who was that?” said Falk.
“Just something related to my old job.”
“At the council? Or the other one. The one that never paid you?”
Joanne took her coffee and set it down on her desk.
“The council one. I think I’m going to need to go back there actually. Now, if possible.”
“Why would you go back?”
“Just to collect something I left behind.”
“But I thought you got all that stuff.”
“Apparently not. Look, I don’t want this hanging over me. They’re not exactly fans of mine at Civic Centre. I’ll go now, if that’s okay,” she said, already rising from her seat.
“What’s the hurry? I could give drive you there later on.”
“Toby, you know I like spending time with you, but not every second of the day.”
“But you’ve got a job to do, remember?” he snapped. Joanne looked at him, her eyes flitting between his, indignation already burning her cheeks.
“You’re not paying me yet, Toby.”
“But I offered, didn’t I? I’ll put you on payroll now, if you like.”
“No thanks, not yet,” said Joanne. “I’m going out. If you like, I’ll make up the time later on. For free. Like everything else I do for you.”
“What does that mean?” said Toby.
“Nothing,” Joanne said sheepishly.
“You are being honest with me, aren’t you, Joanne?”
Joanne looked around the office a few times before she met his eyes. “Of course.”
“I’d hate there to be a problem between us.”
“I wasn’t aware of one. Were you?”
“No.”
“See you soon then,” said Joanne. She grabbed her jacket and put it on as fast as she could. Cheeks still bright red from her cross examination, she headed for the door.
“Joanne?”
“Yes?” she said, turning back.
“Missing you already.”
Not knowing if he was being sarcastic or not, Joanne flashed a smile. But with a line like that, she almost hoped he was.
As Joanne left the office, Falk considered his options. He thought of following her. Then decided better of it. Too clingy. Desperate. Better to wait for the drink with Alice Perry instead because if anyone knew anything, she certainly would. Then everything would become clear.
***
Dan walked into the Starbucks coffee shop at the top of town. He had expected Alice to be sitting at the black bistro tables in the middle, but there she was, seated with primly crossed legs like a TV chat show host, settled into one of the deep plush chairs at the front, right by the floor to ceiling window. So she wanted them to be on show. Her legs were angled just-so to ensure her guest, and half the coffee shop were ensured a full-on view. On the table were steaming drinks and a tray of fancy sandwiches still in their wrappers, along with packets of crisps.
Perry listed the items on the table like they were the dish of the day. “Black coffee. Filter, not Americano. Pastrami sandwich with horseradish and salad, and bag of ready salted for the action man with an appetite. So, how did I do?” said Perry, batting her eyelashes.
“Pretty good,” said Dan. “How much do I owe you.”
“Nothing. At least not after you’ve gi
ven me a story I can run in The Record.”
Dan settled into his deep chair. Without thinking, he found his eyes running along the line of Perry’s legs, all the way down to her shoes. By the time he caught himself, it was too late. Perry was watching him. Dan took his coffee and punished himself with a too-hot sip. Perry smiled.
“So, caring is sharing. What have you got to tell me?”
“I told you, I brought myself. I don’t have much to give you right now. Must say, I didn’t expect you to choose the window seat. The whole high street can see us.”
“We’re not hiding these meetings are we? Because that sounds a lot like a guilty conscience.”
Dan frowned. “Of course not. Eva knows that I have to meet you time to time. It’s a necessary evil.”
“Time to time,” said Alice. She picked up her mug of coffee and looked at Dan over the rim. “That would imply that she doesn’t know that you’re here with me now.”
“We’re in a coffee shop, Alice.”
“Who knows what she would think.”
“Alice.”
“Where is she? Eva?”
“Leave Eva out of it.”
“No, I mean it. You know I’m always interested in your wild exploits, I just wondered what the other half of the dynamic duo was doing.”
Dan frowned at the sarcasm. “She’s busy.”
“Doing?”
“Work. She’s got a problem with a friend. It’s a paying case. That’s all you need to know.”
“That’s not enough even for an anecdote, Dan. I’m only asking. What is her case about? I smell a story there somewhere.”
“There is no story. I’m the one with the stories, remember?”
“Now here’s the thing. Why would someone call and ask me what kind of trouble Eva Roberts is in? Why would someone ask me that? Worth a thought, right? Especially for a journalist who has columns to fill.”
“Who told you that?”
“Don’t fret. It’s a grapevine thing.”
Dan sipped his coffee and put it down.
“Have you been speaking to Joanne? Or Mark?”
“You mean Jack and Jill. Your little helpers? No. I don’t talk to monkeys, only the organ grinders.”
“Then who…?”
“Ah-ah-ah… You’re trying to turn this little meeting on its head. You’re supposed to provide me with something. So tell me what kind of trouble could Eva Roberts possibly be in?”
“No way. You’re revelling in this. It’s just a case.”
“Revelling in it? Why? Because of you? Dan, look at me. I’m not swooning over here. We’re grown-ups. I can read you like a book, baby, but that’s okay. You play dumb if you like. But the only thing I’m after here is the story. And I think Eva might be it.”
Dan shifted and put his hands on the arms of the chair, ready to push himself up to leave.
“Wait,” said Alice. “This meeting isn’t over.”
“If you keep pushing me it is. Eva is just working a case for her friend.”
“Are you sure she’s not in trouble?”
Dan nodded, but he couldn’t hide the flash of concern in his eyes. He relaxed back in his seat, tilted his head and rested it on a finger then looked Perry in the eye. “Move on.”
“For now… okay. Then give me something else.”
“I might have something. But I need a little longer just to make sure it’s all finished.”
“What kind of something?”
“A good story. A neighbours from hell kind of thing.”
“Nah. Sounds like a filler story to me. Page six. A quarter page at best.”
Dan shook his head. “But this one could have all kinds of bells and whistles.”
“Tell me.”
“Not yet. I need to know if they’ve done what I asked.”
“Then find out.”
Dan sipped his coffee, non-committal.
Perry leaned forward. “See. We’re good at this game. You know what I want, and I know what you want. Better than you do, in fact.”
Dan tensed.
“Eat. I know you’re a man with an appetite,” said Alice. “A neighbourhood dispute. I mean, I might get a story out of it, but it all sounds a little bit beneath you, if I’m honest. What happened to taking on crime lords, corrupt politicians and serial killers?”
“We can only do the job in front of us,” said Dan with a shrug.
“I still need more.”
“Then get me some better leads, and I’ll get you better stories.”
“You want leads? From me?”
“It was a joke. A figure of speech, that’s all.”
Perry shifted in her chair. She leaned forward to make sure she had Dan’s full attention.
“Maybe I’ll see what I can do. But If you want more from me, you’re going to have be more giving.”
“That’s it. I think we’re done for today.” Dan drained half his coffee and set the rest down.
“Not quite,” said Alice, leaning back. “I’m still empty handed. You said you’d give me something.”
“I did. A promise of more to follow.”
“That’s just stringing me along. I warned you not to mess me around.”
“Was I supposed to take that seriously?”
“I would if I were you.”
Dan settled back in his chair and narrowed his eyes. Not from fear, but because he was intrigued. Where were the threats coming from?
“What else do you want?”
“Let’s talk Uber, shall we?”
Dan picked up his drink and settled back in his seat. “There’s not a lot to say. But… if we must.”
***
Eva and Lauren drove through town, following Lauren’s pointers as Blane’s Mercedes streaked ahead. The car was heading towards the A127. They needed to keep up. If Blane reached the arterial before them, they would have no chance of following.
“They went that way,” said Lauren, pointing to the triple-lane across one of the town roundabouts. “Take the second exit. He’s taking her home again – that’s exactly where we want them.”
“Or he could be taking her to see a client,” said Eva. “It could be a business meeting.”
“You don’t believe that, do you?” said Lauren. “He’s taking her home. That little bitch must be revelling in it, taking my place in that palace of a penthouse.”
“You wanted out, Lauren. He was hurting you.”
The Alfa crossed the roundabout and took the exit. Blane’s saloon was up ahead, moving fast in the middle lane.
“Yes. He was hurting me,” said Lauren, her eyes fixed on his car. “But I wasn’t scared of him until I caught wind of his plans. Until then, I had control. Hurry up! We might be able to catch them.”
“If you know where they’re going, what’s the hurry?”
“You said you wanted this done. So do I.”
“Lauren, when you first came to me, you were terrified of him,” said Eva. “You said he was hurting you. You made a huge deal out of it, and now you’re telling me he never had you worried? That’s a very big change…”
Lauren stopped smiling and looked at Eva with narrowed eyes.
“Nothing’s changed. You’re reading far too much into my words. Now keep after them!”
Eva didn’t like the look in Lauren’s eyes. She turned away and focused on the road. The Merc was streaking away in the distance. Much nearer, an articulated lorry was weaving between lanes, struggling with its load. Eva noted it, but her eyes remained fixed on the Merc.
“It’s fine,” she said. “We know where they’re going.”
“Don’t lose your head about some little turn of phrase, Eva. Keep your focus, we’re almost there.”
Eva shook her head. “I’m not losing anything.”
“Well, it sounded like it. Just because I was the one who walked away, doesn’t mean I won, Eva. I lost – big time. Compared to you, I was always losing.”
“What are you talking about now?�
�� said Eva.
“What we’ve always been talking about. It’s there beneath everything we do, everything we say. Our past. It’s been there the whole time. You know it has.”
“Next to me? You were the pretty one, Lauren. You were the one who had all the jokes and the personality. You were the popular one.”
“Really? I made the best of what I had, that’s all. But you had the brains and the potential, you were always the one the teachers liked, the pretty, brainy girl who all the boys secretly liked.” “That’s not true. I was a wallflower. I was always petrified of everything… then you went and left me for dead.”
“I walked away because I had to. You outshone me at everything. But even that didn’t work. Leaving you behind backfired on me for the rest of my life. End of story.”
Eva looked at Lauren’s face. Her eyes were large and intense, her jaw set firm with anger. Eva looked back to the road. This was the danger she had read about – sitting in the car right beside her. Eva had believed she could control it, contain it. Now she wondered if she had been kidding herself. A ticking timebomb.
“Why are we even talking about the past like this? It’s over with.”
“No. It never goes away. Believe me, I wish it would.”
“But you couldn’t you try to ignore it. To forget.”
Lauren fixed Eva in her gaze.
“And how well has that worked for you, Eva?”
Eva looked her in the eyes.
“No. I didn’t think so,” said Lauren. “So how about we just keep driving, before we both say something we’ll regret.”
Eva shook her head and turned her eyes to the road ahead. Blane’s Merc was suddenly long gone, but Eva thought she saw them take the third exit on the next roundabout. If so they were going to go right past the A127, back into the leafier edges of Basildon.
“Speed up or we’ll lose them,” said Lauren. Eva put her foot down but, when she looked at the road ahead, took her foot off again. The big lorry was dead ahead of them now, and as an uneven load of long pipes dragged it left and right, the lorry driver was dabbing his brakes and checking his wing mirrors. Was he in trouble? The trailer was overladen with pipes and was weaving across the white lines between two lanes. As Eva applied the brakes, the impatient boy racer behind her pulled out into the fast lane, and immediately cut in front of her. The small silver hatchback roared away, pulling alongside the lorry cab before trying to overtake it. The lorry’s trailer swung over the lane markings again and the silver car swerved out of the way. The hatchback driver hit his horn in complaint. Spooked, the lorry driver seemed to lose control. The truck’s brake lights flared bright red, his brakes groaning loudly. But the trailer wouldn’t stop. The silver hatchback pulled away unscathed, as the trailer jackknifed into the lorry cab, before swinging across the two lanes, sliding to a calamitous screeching halt. The pipes stayed on the trailer, but the incident wasn’t over. Eva planted her foot hard on the brake. The Alfa stopped dead in its tracks. The back of the trailer clattered into a lamppost on the edge of the central reservation, knocking it flat with a spark and a bang. Behind Eva everyone hit their brakes. An ear-piercing chorus of screeching brakes and the lone smash of a distant car collision filled the air. The truck and trailer had finally stopped. But now the lorry trailer blocked the entire road ahead of them. Eva gripped the steering wheel and stared ahead in shock.
Play With Fire Page 34