Play With Fire

by Solomon Carter

  “I hope I’m wrong, you know,” said the woman, looking up from the sofa. “But I doubt it. Come again if you like. Let me know how you got on. I don’t get many visitors… and Eva Roberts really wasn’t all that bad…”

  Joanne nodded, but she was already on her way to the front door. She stepped out of the small house and gave Tina a final nod of goodbye. “Yeah. I might do that,” she said. She looked up at the brooding August sky and racked her brains for what to do next. Toby? Could he help? But Toby Falk was too much an office man, too much a desk detective for her tastes, and he was already beginning to annoy her. No, not him. Joanne began to walk, faster and faster, until she broke into a run. By the time she reached the edge of Bruton Square, the shabby shops, the take-aways, the play park and the tower blocks, Joanne had made her choice. She put her mobile to her ear. Her voice was breathless and jerky.

  “Mark?”

  “Joanne…?” he said. There was a pause at the other end of the line, before he said firmly, “What do you want?”

  “Mark. Listen. This is about Eva. She’s in deep, deep trouble and I don’t think she knows it.”

  “Trouble. What kind of trouble?”

  “Lauren Jaeger… I’ve been looking into it and I think the woman’s a psychopath… and she’s got a grudge against Eva…” Joanne snatched in a breath and ran along Bruton Square. If she made it to the main road, there was a chance of hailing a taxi.

  “You’re serious?” said Mark.

  “Of course I am… is Dan there? I’m on my way to you now. We need to find her, Mark, we need to find her fast.”

  “Dan’s not here. He went out for a meeting. Joanne? Have you told this to Falk?”

  “No, I haven’t. He doesn’t know I’ve been working on this.”

  “Oh.”

  “Forget about all that, Mark. Forget about him. This is Eva we’re talking about. We need to find her now.”

  “She’s with Lauren.”

  “Any idea where?”

  “She told Dan they were going to meet Blane. Lauren’s ex-partner. To make him face facts and close the case.”

  “Face facts? Oh no… That could end badly. Just find out where she is, Mark. I’m on my way. And tell Dan too, will you?”

  “Dan’s out of contact. He went somewhere for a lunch meeting.”

  “What? Who with?”

  Mark paused. “I don’t know. It could be the Renton Trust about the Uber case, but he didn’t say… But it could just as easily be with Alice Perry…”

  “Perry? I thought he was over that?”

  “She’s putting herself about again.”

  “That one never stops, believe me. Look. Whatever he’s doing, get him. We need him there. And so does Eva.”

  Joanne jogged the length of a street full of pre-fab council houses, until she came to the drive-through McDonald’s at the wrong end of Hamstel Road. She took in lungsful of air and looked left and right. Far away, back up the other end of Hamstel was Eva and Dan’s office, but it was too far too walk or run. Joanne looked around at the crossroads, the nearby roundabout and the speedy traffic of Eastern Avenue. She caught a glimpse of a grey-blue taxi cab coming around the curve of the roundabout. It looked to be heading her way, but she would need to cross the road to be seen. She had to be fast.

  “Mark, I’ve got to go. Be ready, okay?”

  “I will,” he said. Joanne slipped the phone into her jacket pocket and broke across the pedestrian crossing, cars angrily blaring at her for blocking their way as they pushed well past the speed limit. Joanne ignored them. She ran on, risking her neck to reach the other side. But the taxi mini-van, sped past her, the driver oblivious to her calls and waves.

  “Shit!” said Joanne. She took another gasp, hands on her hips and looked around. There was no other option. She would have to start walking and hope another cab would come her way… before it was too late.

  Twenty-four

  “Now you’re just showing off,” said Lauren. “You don’t have to, you know. I told you. I already know what you’re capable of… once you stop getting in your own way. Or letting others do your dirty work.” There was a nasty smile on her face as the Alfa sped to the outer reaches of Basildon, where the flat greens would give way once more to the suburban grey of Laindon.

  “Dirty work?” said Eva, gripping the wheel. She checked her mirrors then stared ahead so she wouldn’t have to look the woman in the eye. Lauren was goading her and Eva sensed she was even winning at her perverse little game, but Eva was still angry. She couldn’t help it.

  “Yes, you know,” said Lauren. “Even the other two. The boy and girl. He soaks up all the flak from your temperamental man and she does all your digging for you, doesn’t she? That’s what you said.”

  “She looked into you off her own back. I don’t control Joanne, I never could. What she does is up to her. Anyway, she left the firm.”

  “Still, I’m sure you didn’t try too hard to discourage her exploits. What were you hoping to find on me? A skeleton in my closet?”

  “I wasn’t hoping to find anything. But as we’re not exactly hitting it off, I think it would be good to get this case closed so we can move on, don’t you?”

  “You said we were friends, you acted like it too, you even made me promises, so now you’re dumping me off? Is that how you operate? Maybe you planned it this way. Planned to exact your revenge for what happened in our schooldays.”

  “Please. I’m not that pathetic,” said Eva.

  “And I am? Is that it?” said Lauren.

  Eva felt a prickle of caution. “They’re your words, not mine. We’ve been through this too many times. Lauren, we were at school. We were children.”

  “No, we were young women. The die was already cast for us, even then. You were a hard-nosed young woman, hiding behind sweet looks and a soft voice, when all the while you were hard as nails. You were the driven one. And you left me behind.”

  “Hardnosed? Lauren, I was scared of my own shadow. I just wanted to do the best I could and get out of there unscathed. You were the one who cut me off, remember?”

  “An act of self-preservation. I knew what I was doing. I remember it.”

  “So you think you were justified? Even now? After everything?”

  “Of course I was. I couldn’t compete with you, couldn’t keep up, because you wouldn’t allow it. It became painful to try, so I gave up and pursued the alternative.”

  “Which was?”

  “Whatever it was that was the opposite of trying to be you.”

  “You were never me, Lauren. I admired you because you were better than that.”

  “Rubbish. You’re still hiding, Eva. Only now you’re hiding your true nature behind fancy words. You use that Mark boy as a foil for your substandard partner, and you use the girl as your tool. At school you used me for a shield too. Until I wouldn’t let you anymore. But the mask came off that day when you threw the fork at Jake. We all saw the real you… and that’s the girl I’ve been after seeing ever since.”

  “Ever since when?” said Eva.

  “Since I came back,” said Lauren. “I need her today. Not the Eva who pretends she’s something other than she is and uses others to reinforce the pretence, but the Eva who is fire and ice and can do anything she wants and doesn’t let anyone get in her way. The ruthless one, able to use people as she likes. The one able to kill…”

  The colour drained from Eva’s face at the accusation.

  “None of it’s true! I’ve never used anyone. Especially Dan. And he’s not substandard. He’s wild but controlled with it. And he’s as smart as they come.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  They were getting close now, just a couple of minutes left before they would reach the Hawksale tower block and Blane’s penthouse apartment.

  “But if you believed all those things, why would you want to come back to me? And why would you want me to be like that again?”

  “Because I needed you. I needed you to
deal with Ironvelvet, Boothroyd, whatever. And you did, see? And now I need you to be there at the end.”

  “You want me to kill him, is that it? You want me to kill Jamie Blane?”

  “If it suits you, you will. You won’t even think about it. He is a murderer, Eva. You know he tried to have you killed.”

  Eva nodded and kept her eyes on the road. “It was attempted murder,” said Eva. “I’m still alive.”

  “It’s the same thing. Murder is in the heart. It’s the intent. He wanted both of us dead. I need you to feel that, to see him for what he is, before we meet.”

  “I think I already do. But why, Lauren? Why do you want me to be this… dark person?”

  “Because it’s what you are. Because you and me have always been alike, even when you were so busy pretending not to be.”

  “Dark? But no one has to be dark. No one has to be evil. It’s all choice, Lauren.”

  “No, Eva. It’s part of the human condition. Let’s be honest. It’s in you and it’s in me. It’s time to let it out again.”

  “Is it?” said Eva, looking at Lauren for the first time in a while. Lauren sat calm and serene, yet there were those pinpricks of light in her eyes. The gleam and the barely hidden smile.

  “Oh yes. That’s what will help us finally win today, do you see?”

  Eva shook her head.

  “What happened to you, Lauren? What made you see the world this way?”

  “Life,” said Lauren. The smart Hawksale tower block appeared like a shark’s fin, cutting across the suburban skyline on their left.

  “And you, of course,” said Lauren.

  “You confuse me, Lauren,” said Eva, her voice tight with the risk of speaking her mind.

  “Do I?”

  “Yes. You have since the start. It feels like you do it on purpose. One minute you’re my friend… then the next, you’re berating me, persuading me to be someone I don’t want to be.”

  “To be who you are.”

  “To be like you?” said Eva.

  Lauren nodded. “Now you’re getting it. We were always so similar. But we diverged at school, and you kept up the pretence. That’s what ruined everything.”

  “I stayed where I was, I remained who I am. I never changed. That’s all.”

  “I hope so too,” said Lauren. “Because I’ve always been able to see what’s inside you, Eva. Let’s hope today we bring it all out into the light, eh?”

  Eva shook her head.

  “In some ways today will bring us closer than ever.”

  “Lauren… please, stop talking. If you want me to help you today, then please just stop and let us get this done.”

  “Fine,” said Lauren as they turned the final corner with Hawksale looming at the end. “Anyway, I think we’ve said almost everything there is to say. Don’t you?”

  Eva let the woman have her final word. She slowed her driving to compose herself, to stop her hands from shaking, and take a good deep breath before pulling into a space at the side of the road. Before the Alfa’s engine had even stopped, Lauren opened the door and stepped out into the street. Eva sat stiffly behind the steering wheel and watched her go. Her mobile buzzed in her jacket and she took the phone from her pocket and looked at the screen. The office? It was Mark. Eva was about to reject the call, thumb poised above the red button, when she thought better of it. Between Blane and Lauren there was no telling where this would end. She answered the call with a quiet, controlled voice which sounded nothing like her own.

  “Mark?” she said.

  “Eva. Where are you? We’re worried about you, Joanne called and told us about—”

  Eva cut across Mark’s words as Lauren stopped walking and looked back.

  “Mark, I’m at Hawksale tower, on the other side of Basildon. I’m with Lauren Jaeger, and I think I’m finally about to finish this case…”

  “Eva, Joanne says—”

  “I haven’t got time for what Joanne says. I’m telling you where I am in case anything goes wrong. But whatever you do, please don’t send Dan down here, no matter what Joanne says. Lauren Jaeger and Jamie Blane are my problem. Lauren’s always been my problem. I need to fix this one for myself.”

  “Eva—"

  “No. I’ll be in touch when it’s done.”

  “When what’s done?”

  Eva ended the call. Lauren put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to one side, giving Eva a sarcastic ‘come on’ look and a wave of her hand. The woman was far too eager to face Blane. Too keen to initiate something which could easily get out of hand. Eva wondered what her plan was. Eva was just as eager to finish things, but Lauren’s enthusiasm left dark questions in her mind. She stepped out of the car, locked it and set her eyes on the wide windows of the penthouse suite high above the street.

  The moment of truth was almost upon them. For better or worse, the moment when the haze would finally be scorched away.

  “We still have to get inside, you know,” said Eva.

  “Oh, don’t worry,” said Lauren. “We will.”

  “How?”

  “Through a stroke of good luck,” said Lauren.

  “You think we deserve one?” said Eva as they walked together side by side.

  “Deserving or not, look. I think our little stroke of luck has just arrived…”

  Eva looked ahead to the foot of Hawksale to see the outline of a young woman stepping out of the glass fronted lobby. A slim woman in smart workwear. Just a white blouse, skirt and dark tights, the wind causing her blonde hair to flow behind her as she walked across the car park and opened Blane’s Mercedes by pointing the key.

  “She’s not going out. She’s not wearing her jacket. She must be getting something from the car,” said Eva.

  “Which means she’s going back in,” said Lauren. “We need to hurry. Come on.”

  “She’ll never let us in there,” said Eva. “We need to find another way.”

  “No more hiding, no more excuses, no more delays, Eva. She’ll take us in there. We won’t give her any choice.”

  ***

  Dan sipped his coffee. “I don’t get it. Why are you so interested in this Uber gig? You’ve been all over me about it ever since I first got wind that working for Renton Trust was even a possibility.”

  “I’ve been all over you for a lot longer than that.”

  Dan shook his head. “You know what I mean.”

  “Think about it,” said Alice. “The Renton Trust’s hiring you… to bring down a drug empire… single-handled…”

  “So, it’s the story.”

  “It’s always the story.”

  “Then you’re overstating things, massively. I’ve got no idea what this job will be. They might want me to collect names for the police, who knows? And as for single-handed? Any work I’ve ever done single-handed has almost always gone wrong.”

  “Dan. Never let the details – or the facts – get in the way of a good story.”

  Dan scratched his jaw while Alice’s eyes burned holes in him. She looked hungry… but not for lunch. For him? Maybe. Maybe not. Dan was too long in the tooth to kid himself that he was the prize she was after. Sex was a tool for Perry. Yes, maybe she wanted him as a trophy, but she wanted something more. He still couldn’t quite see what. And despite the appeal of the hunger in those bright eyes, Dan decided to proceed with extreme caution. Better to douse the flames than let them rise any higher. Lying wasn’t his favourite pastime, but Perry was pushing so hard for news on the Uber job, Dan decided a white lie really wouldn’t hurt. Not if it stopped her chasing him quite so hard.

  “The thing is, Alice. The Renton Trust called me today. They called me right before I came here.”

  “Yes?” said the girl. Perry leaned forward in her seat.

  “You know, I was hopeful. I thought the call was going to be the green light but I should have known it wasn’t, because one of their grunts called me. That’s always a bad sign.”

  “Oh…” said Perry, trying to loo
k innocent, and falling short.

  “Barry. He’s one of their project workers, he called and said they’d decided to mothball the Uber project.”

  “What? Meanwhile people are still dying because of that stuff?! That’s big of them!”

  “I get that. I do. But we can’t hold The Renton Trust responsible for the whole drug war, can we? That’s on everyone. The police, the council, government… the media too. It’s on all of us.”

  Alice nodded slowly and thoughtfully. Her eyes glazed. Dan frowned in confusion, struggling to work out what she was thinking and whether she had believed him. He gave up trying as his phone buzzed in his pocket and raised a ‘just-a-minute’ finger to her as he put the phone to his ear.

  “Mark? What’s up?”

  Perry’s eyes switched back to life, latching onto Dan’s face, her eyes locking onto his.

  “Joanne said what? But I couldn’t stop her going. She left just after I woke up. She said she was closing the case… that she’d be back this afternoon…”

  Perry listened and sipped her coffee.

  Dan shot her a look of warning.

  “Okay. Okay. Calm down. I’m leaving now. I’ll need to know everything, Everything!”

  Dan thumbed the end-call button and jumped up from his seat.

  “I’m sorry, Alice, I have to go.”

  “Something wrong?”

  “You know it is.”

  “With Eva?”

  Dan’s eyes narrowed and he turned away. “I’ve told you what I could. I must go.”

  “Dan, take your sandwich. You might need it.”

  Dan sighed and reached towards the table, but Perry stood up and put the sandwich in his hand. She leaned across the table and touched his face with her lips.

  “See you soon. I hope Eva’s okay.”

  Dan looked out of the window and shook his head. He took the pastrami sandwich and walked away. “See you around,” he said.

  Dan stalked out of the coffee shop onto the high street, and Alice saw him looking left and right before he marched out of sight. She knew he was looking to see who might have seen the kiss on his cheek. All the same, Alice noticed that he hadn’t complained. There might have been too much on his mind, or maybe he was just getting used to the idea… time would tell. Alice finished her coffee and thought about a world in which things didn’t end well for Eva Roberts. She imagined making herself available as a shoulder to cry on. It was a cruel world, after all. Anything could happen, and it usually did.