Play With Fire

by Solomon Carter

  Perry stood, arranged her skirt and left the second sandwich on the coffee table. She walked out into the grey summer day and directly across the plaza in front of the big red brick Odeon cinema. She passed the taxi rank and finally stopped at a sleek black saloon waiting outside the bank with the engine running. Alice opened the door and slid into the back seat.

  “You took your sweet old time,” said a curt, gruff little voice.

  Alice looked across at the man in the suit. He was suave. He was the same size as her, almost the same build. Alice had read about this man long before meeting him, and in truth he had aged a little since the photographs she’d seen in The Record archives. His hair was close cropped and thinning. He was a little paler, but his eyes were still determined… and he was still good looking.

  “These things take as long as they take, Alex.”

  Galvan shook his head. Perry looked at the driver’s eyes in the rear view mirror. His eyes were always there, always on her. Who cared? He was just a driver. Just Galvan’s slave.

  “Well?” Galvan looked at her, and she saw a hint of a leery look about his eyes. His hand reached across the gap and he squeezed her knee. Perry stayed cool and composed. She didn’t bat an eye.

  “You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because Eva Roberts is in some kind of trouble and it sounds serious.”

  Galvan waited. “I don’t care. What about the Ubers?”

  “The Trust has cancelled on giving Bradley the job. Which means there’s no payday to be had from trying to stop any Uber trafficking.”

  Galvan grinned, and worked his hand a little higher up her leg, squeezing as it went.

  “Now that is good news. A reason to celebrate, eh?” She saw Galvan look at the driver. The driver put his hand on the gearstick and got ready to take them speeding back to Leigh. To Galvan’s bedroom.

  Perry smiled and reached across to lay her hand on Galvan’s little knees.

  “Just hold that thought,” said Perry.

  “Why? What now?”

  “I’ve got another meeting. That’s all.”

  “Yeah. You’ve got a meeting with me, right now.”

  “Give me one hour, okay?”

  “Another hour?”

  “It’s a work thing. A girl has to keep her boss happy, don’t you know?”

  “Yes… yes she does,” said Galvan.

  “Honey… Alex… you may be lot of things – but you’re not my boss,” said Perry. She slid away, opened the door and got out. “I’ll be one hour, maybe two, then I’m all yours. There’s no need to wait for me here. I’ll find my way.”

  “Come on, Alice. Did you seriously think I was going to wait?” Galvan slammed the door shut and the saloon pulled away. Perry watched, a flicker of concern followed by a sage smile. She turned away, ready for her next meeting. The next one was far less important, more of a burden really. Toby Falk. Falk: he looked the part, but Toby was much like a veggie burger. As soon as you took your first bite, you were left distinctly disappointed. But Perry scented a story on Eva Roberts. Or was she was just hoping whatever danger Roberts was in, this time it would claim her. Perry smiled. Not even she could tell for sure.

  ***

  “Okay,” said Dan, pushing the office door so hard the whole front window shuddered in the frame. “Right – now what the hell is going on?” He looked tense, eyebrows low over his eyes, his breathing laboured. Mark stood up behind his desk, his jacket on, a nervous look in his eyes. And there was Joanne, almost as if she had never left, except for wearing another of those natty, figure-hugging black suits. She stood apart from Mark on the other side of the office and looked in a worse state than Mark, almost pained. Immediately, Dan felt worse.

  “I’ve been looking into Lauren Jaeger,” said Joanne in a hurried voice. She flicked her fringe from her eyes. “I’ve never stopped looking since I started work for Tobias Falk.”

  Dan humphed… He thought of the cast-off leads. The man was a competitor. Dan imagined Falk sneering as they fed off the scraps beneath his table.

  Joanne saw Dan’s face harden. She spoke faster.

  “Lauren bothered me from the moment I saw her. She was far too needy, too grabby with Eva. It only got worse…”

  “I’ve seen it first hand, but Eva’s kept me at arm’s length throughout the whole case. She said it was personal, so I left her to it. I didn’t like it, but it’s what she wanted. And then there were all these damned new cases. The oddball leads and the timewasters…”

  Mark shot a defensive look at Joanne. “Not all of them were timewasters. Ronson needed our help. That one worked out.”

  Joanne nodded. “That’s good to hear.”

  “Is it?” said Dan.

  “It’s good to hear you’ve been busy,” she added quickly.

  Dan shook his head but let it go. “What did you find on Lauren?”

  “That Lauren lied to Eva from day one. She lied about her background in the media just like she lied about the case. Like she fabricated the evidence against Blane.”

  “But then Blane turned out to be a bastard anyway. Cut to the chase. What’s happened with Eva? Have either of you heard from her?”

  “Dan, there’s more you need to know,” said Joanne. “We need to find her before something happens. I’ll tell you the rest on the way.”

  “Why all the high drama?”

  “Because she’s in danger, Dan. I think Lauren did need Eva’s help with Blane. But that’s not all she wants. The woman is violent. She spent a decade in a French mental asylum after trying to kill her ex-boyfriend and his lover on the Paris Metro…”

  “What? You’re sure? How come you know this and we don’t?”

  “Because she’s been hiding it the whole time. She buried it with lies. Because she didn’t want Eva to know… because if she did, Eva might have never taken the case and Lauren’s plan would have been stopped in its tracks.”

  “You’ve lost me. What plan? Spit it out.”

  Joanne swallowed and looked Dan hard in the eye. “We need to go… All the people I’ve spoken with tell me that Lauren hated Eva’s guts. Some even tell me she wanted Eva dead. When she was young, Lauren talked about killing her. I don’t think Eva ever knew how much Lauren hated her.”

  “But killing her? Eva did nothing to her!”

  “It doesn’t matter. In her head, Eva is responsible for everything. And from what I’ve seen since she arrived, all she’s done is twist Eva around her little finger. I think she still hates her, Dan. I think she’s going to try and kill her.”

  As Dan took in Joanne’s words, his face contorted with anger.

  “Eva’s been in danger the whole time? And I’ve been wasting my time on what? Chasing dumb leads, playing games with tinpot cases!” He spat the words at Joanne.

  “Dan, Joanne’s been working flat out to help Eva. She knew this before any of us,” said Mark.

  Dan roared. “Eva should have told me! I should have seen it!” He forced himself to calm down and turned to Mark. “Where? Where are they?”

  “Basildon. She said they were going to talk to Blane. And I got the impression that Eva is going to force something. She wants the case over with. And she specifically told me she didn’t want anyone to try and help her. But the way she spoke was weird… it’s like she was expecting something bad would happen.”

  “You’re saying that she knows?”

  “If she doesn’t know, I think she might suspect,” said Joanne. “It’s like she’s suspected something all along, only she’s given the woman the benefit of the doubt too many times. Lauren’s always used it against her. Dan, we really need to go!”

  “Yes, you’re right. I just hope my damn car can hold up. Text me the address, I need to get going.”

  He started for the door.

  “Dan,” called Mark. “We want to come with you.”

  “No. This is dangerous. You heard what Joanne said.”

  �
�Dan, Eva’s been consistently played by this bitch,” said Joanne. “She needs us. She needs me. I know Lauren Jaeger now. I know her history. I know what she’s capable of. Eva needs clarity. I want to be there when she needs it.”

  “Fine, whatever. Just move,” said Dan, racing out of the front door. He ran to the corner and the side street where the Crossfire was parked. Mark and Joanne looked at one another.

  “What you’ve done, Joanne, I know it’ll mean a lot to Eva.”

  Joanne nodded. “But only if we get there in time.” She offered a thin, mirthless smile before they followed Dan, Mark locking the door in their wake. The car growled and clanked as it trundled forward to the nearby kerb. Dan wound down his window.

  “Hurry!” he called.

  Joanne ran around to the front passenger seat and opened the door. Then she stood back and looked at Mark. They both looked at the single seat and then at one another.

  “You get in, or you don’t get in,” barked Dan. “That’s your call but make it now.”.

  Joanne shrugged. Mark nodded and slid into the seat first. A moment later, Joanne climbed in and seated herself on Mark’s lap. As Dan put his foot down and screeched around the corner onto Hamstel Road, Joanne pulled the seatbelt around them and Mark clicked it into place. The acceleration rammed Joanne’s body back against him, pushing her head back against his shoulder. Her subtle perfume filled his nostrils, and a host of other near-forgotten feelings flooded his senses.

  “Sorry,” she said, blushing.

  “It’s okay,” said Mark, with a cough. Through the silent twists and turns of the journey, they struggled to keep balance, to resist any awkward forced intimacy. But after a few minutes, the effort to stay apart seemed futile. They gave up trying, and were soon a mass of limbs and bodyweight jerking from side to side with Dan’s driving… There was nothing to fight, because it was so easy not to. Mark shut his eyes tight. And Joanne kept her eyes dead ahead, trembling with fear for Eva, but for something else too. As the car finally broke free of the central Southend traffic, Mark gripped the door handle in an effort to stabilise himself. Joanne looked down and lay her hand on his. Mark’s eyes flashed open at her touch… and his hand stayed exactly where it was.

  As the speed limit signs changed from forty to fifty, Dan pushed from fifty to sixty. The car groaned and protested before it increased in speed, but as he pushed the car, there was a disturbing new sound from the exhaust, a deep-throated rattling that set Dan on edge. He shook his head and gritted his teeth.

  As he fought the car, he muttered…

  “Come on… come on…”

  Twenty-five

  Suzie Appleby clunked the Mercedes door shut and stood upright. In one hand she held a small lady’s briefcase, in the other was a bottle of orange label Veuve Clicquot.

  “What are you celebrating for?” said Lauren. The young woman looked up in shock, her eyes wide. “I’m not dead yet, you know.”

  For a moment the young woman was speechless, her lips floundering on unspoken words as she looked from Lauren to Eva. “Nice blouse by the way,” Lauren continued. “I suppose he paid for it, but then, he’s paying for everything, isn’t he?” Eva heard the fire in Lauren’s voice. She was enjoying herself.

  She told herself to be guard – against Lauren, against Appleby, against everyone.

  “What are you doing here?” said Appleby. The girl stood tall and composed herself with a flick of her hair. Eva watched her struggle to create a look of authority. Out here beneath the tower block, she seemed fragile. Perhaps Blane had confessed all. Or perhaps he had told her what Lauren Jaeger was capable of.

  “We’ve come to clear the air,” said Eva. “To set things straight.”

  “Things are already clear enough,” said Appleby. “You’re gunning to bring Jamie down. You’re trying to tarnish his good name with false accusations.”

  “If you believe that, sweetie, you’re dumber than you look,” said Lauren.

  “Have you heard of Ironvelvet?” said Eva. “Or Adam Boothroyd?”

  Suzie Appleby’s eyes glazed in thought. “No,” she said. But the denial rang false and Eva nodded, staring at the woman, catching something deep beyond the lie. Appleby blushed but kept up the denial.

  “What about car rentals? Cars ordered through Reva Rentals on the company account, yet not used by anyone in the office…”

  “I don’t look at those details anymore. I don’t have to. I’m not admin staff. I’m Jamie’s PA.”

  “I’m sure. You must assist him in all sorts of ways,” said Lauren, “because you’re a gold digger, clear as day. But in the end, that won’t save you from him. Because he’s a callous, evil bastard.”

  Eva shook her head, Lauren wasn’t helping.

  “I don’t have to hear this,” said the girl. “I don’t have to hear any of it.”

  She turned away, her heels clacking against the car park concrete as she marched away.

  “Miss Appleby…” said Eva. “Whether you want to face the facts or not, it’s true. You know it is. Something has been going on right under your nose. It’s on company records, and no amount of deleted emails can ever get rid of it.”

  Appleby stopped in her tracks and turned around. She raised an eyebrow, and Eva saw a hint of rouge in her cheeks and a trapped look about her eyes. Eva gathered she had provoked the reaction, but she couldn’t tell which word had triggered it. She wished she could.

  But she had the girl’s attention. Eva walked towards the young woman as she spoke, emphasising her words.

  “Your boyfriend hired a hitman codenamed Ironvelvet. The man’s other name is Adam Boothroyd. Somewhere there will be a record of all the emails between them. They’ll still exist on some big server in the sky, waiting for the police to file the proper paperwork to access them. Nothing really ever gets deleted. And even if you never saw them, Suzie, I did. I read every one of them. They prove Jamie arranged a hitman to kill Lauren, because for whatever reason, he felt that breaking up with her wasn’t permanent enough.”

  “Rubbish,” hissed the girl. “You’re a fantasist like she is.”

  But Eva had her. She kept up her approach. “No, Suzie. It’s true.”

  “She made it all up. Jamie proved it,” said the girl.

  “You wish,” said Lauren.

  “Jamie disproved some of it,” Eva admitted. “But he never dealt with the Ironvelvet issue. Why? Because it happened. It’s true. And as of the last few days, a white Kia Sportage was hired from Reva on the Blane Recruitment account – it was hired for Adam Boothroyd. The car was provided for the hitman. He watched Lauren for three days straight. I saw him. And then, he tried to strike. He failed, but only because there were two of us to deal with him.”

  Suzie’s expression faltered as she swallowed. She looked between the two women in silence.

  “That car is now in police possession. There were guns in it, Suzie. Guns belonging to Boothroyd… in a car hired by Blane Recruitment. It’s only a matter of time before the police come knocking. How do think he’ll explain this one away?”

  “Lies…” said the girl. “It’s all lies.”

  Lauren shook her head and came to join them.

  “We dealt with his hired hitman,” said Lauren. “Eva here beat him to within an inch of his life. She beat him with her bare hands. Makes you think, doesn’t it?”

  “You can’t intimidate me. I’ve heard about you. You’re warped. And now, look at you, dressed like that. I don’t know what he ever saw in you. You’ve got no class at all… and I’ve got age on my side. We’ll come through this, me at Jamie’s his side, living together in the penthouse, while you rot in the gutter…”

  Lauren snapped forward and reached for the girl’s neck. Suzie backed out of harm’s way just in time.

  “Think carefully, Suzie,” said Lauren. “Whatever you’ve heard, in the end, he’s worse than I am. Think. One day, you’ll be the one looking over your shoulder because of him.”

  The gi
rl turned away.

  “He’s going to prison, Suzie,” said Eva. “There’s no way out of that.”

  The girl paused at the foot of Hawksale’s steps. “Even if he does go to prison… I’m still innocent. I’ll still be here, in the penthouse. I’ll wait for him to come home.”

  “He’s at least guilty of attempted murder,” said Eva. “And there’s still a question mark over his wife’s death.”

  The girl frowned. “No. That’s sick. You can’t pin that on him.”

  “He tried to kill us,” said Eva. “We have to face facts – all of the facts. Jamie must deal with this, once and for all.”

  Suzie’s face hardened and she added a grim smile. “And we will. In court. Maybe, I’ll see you there.”

  Eva stormed forward and the girl turned to face her.

  “Sorry, Suzie. But none of us are going to wait for Blane to look for a legal way out of this. I’ve tried reasoning with everybody in this case. Even you. And it’s got me nowhere.”

  “You’ve got no choice in the matter,” said Suzie. “Jamie holds all the cards.”

  “We’ll see about that, Miss Appleby,” said Eva. “Let’s all have a chat upstairs, see if you learn anything new about him, shall we?”

  “You won’t get past the concierge,” said the girl.

  “I think I will,” said Lauren, her eyes gleaming. She showed Suzie the old door card and key.

  “Those won’t work. Jamie’s had them changed,” said Suzie.

  “Then we’ll just have to use yours, won’t we,” said Eva, firmly. The girl gasped silently.

  “And don’t get any ideas about involving the concierge,” said Lauren. “We made mincemeat of that hitman. You don’t want to take any undue risks with yourself, do you precious?”