Following directions given at the hotel reception they found a tiny computer shop crammed in-between a bookstore and a small café. For such a miniscule emporium, it was surprisingly well stocked and Alec was able to purchase the drive and cable he required. The book shop proved irresistible and Naomi chatted to the owner while Alec browsed, eventually returning to the counter with a stack that fell over as he set them down.
‘What on earth? Sounds like you’ve bought half the shop.’
‘No, just some local history guides, including two of Rupert’s and a few old paperbacks.’
‘Like?’
‘Oh, the usual, you know.’
Naomi laughed. Alec loved forties and fifties pulp detective stories from both sides of the Atlantic. They were getting harder to find, though, and he had taken to haunting car boot sales and rummaging in the furthest corners of second-hand book shops to fulfil his desires.
‘These sell very well,’ the shop owner said. ‘The local history guides, I mean. So sad that he isn’t with us any longer.’
‘It is,’ Alec confirmed.
‘We were so looking forward to his new one. Guy, in the computer shop next door, he reckoned we should stock up with metal detectors. Free book with your treasure detector, that kind of thing.’
Naomi laughed. ‘So everyone knew about the new book then?’
‘Oh yes. Rupert, Mr Friedman, was a regular in here. And then there was that piece in the local rag, with a picture and so on. I’d already got my order in. Like I said, he always sold well.’
She totalled Alec’s purchases on a calculator. ‘These old things don’t scan, of course. Rupert was a real character. Did you know him?’
‘Yes,’ Alec told her. ‘He was my uncle.’
‘Oh, I’m so sorry. He was a lovely man. I’m surprised you don’t already have copies of his books, then?’
‘I do,’ Alec assured her. ‘But at home, not here. I didn’t think we’d be staying long enough for sightseeing.’
‘It’s nice round here,’ the woman said. ‘Plenty to see. You take care now.’
‘Of course,’ Naomi said as they stepped out on to the pavement and the shop door rattled shut behind them. ‘Everyone knew Rupert and what he was up to.’
‘Or thought they did.’
Slowly, they wandered back towards the hotel. It was market day and the square had been crowded and humming with noise when they’d walked through earlier. Traders were now packing up; Naomi listened to the crack of a trestle being broken down, voices shouting instructions, a van with a reversing alert beeping across to her right. The pungent smell of bruised cabbage and overripe fruit wrinkled her nose and suddenly …
‘Alec!’
‘What?’
She let go of his arm and spun around. ‘I just heard him. The man from Fallowfields. I just heard him.’
‘You certain?’
‘Of course I am.’ She turned her head trying to get her bearings, trying to catch the voice again.
She heard it shout, ‘You bloody well watch where you’re going!’
‘Over there. He just shouted.’
‘I heard. Stay here.’
‘Alec!’
Damn. He was gone. Clutching Napoleon’s harness Naomi cast about, trying to pinpoint the direction Alec had taken, straining to hear the man again. Someone pushed past her and then apologized.
‘Mind your back love.’ Someone else eased by, brushing Naomi with the boxes he was carrying.
Reaching behind her she groped for the wall, then fumbled in her bag for her folded cane. Not there. Furious with herself, she realized she had left it in the hotel room, assuming that, with both Napoleon and Alec present, it would be superfluous.
‘Alec, where the hell are you?’
Naomi was both angry and afraid. She wanted him to get the man, but she didn’t want to risk him being hurt and, though she was flattered – or knew she would be later – that he’d made no concession to her needs and just taken off after the man as he would have done had she been a sighted colleague, she was also furious with him for having left her.
Sounds surged and broke around her; noises seemed suddenly too loud as though the space in which she stood condensed and concentrated them. Naomi took a deep breath and pulled Napoleon closer to her side. He nuzzled at her hand.
She could do this, she told herself. Just stand still until Alec came back. She could do that. But what if he didn’t come back? The insistent thought nagged at her. What if he got hurt? What if he actually caught the man? He’d have to hold on to him while he called for back-up and … Impatient both with herself and with Alec, she reminded herself unnecessarily that they were not on their home turf and that back-up would neither be automatically on tap nor swift to arrive.
Where the hell had he got to? Naomi concentrated on the sounds flowing and flooding all around her, listening hard for signs that he would return. Voices shouted instructions as the remaining stallholders packed up for the day. A man laughed loudly; a burst of sound quite close by, which jolted her even though it was a pleasant sound. A woman spoke to a child and another chatted to a friend; the sort of ‘I said she said’ conversation to be heard the world over.
She did not hear the man again and she caught nothing that sounded remotely like Alec coming back.
Alec had lost sight of the man as he struggled to cross the market square. Crowds still jostled the remaining stalls, looking for late bargains, and the cries of the traders drowned out anything further that the man he pursued may have shouted.
Alec dodged around a half dismantled trestle. His feet skidded on something that smelt like rotten fruit. Cursing, he regained his footing and ran on, searching over the heads of the crowd for the individual he had glimpsed only for a second or two. A big man, heavy set and balding. Not young, but from what Alec had seen and Naomi’s description of his actions at Fallowfields, very capable of taking care of himself.
Alec was not a fighter. He had boxed in his teens and kept himself fit, but he resorted to using his fists only in the direst emergency and it occurred to him, even as he skated and dashed across the crowded space, that he didn’t have a clue what he’d do should he actually catch up with the man who’d tried to break down the front door at Fallowfields. Driven by anger at what might have happened to Naomi, he had thought no further than catching up with him.
And right now he could not even see him.
Alec had reached the opposite pavement. Able now to see ahead he scanned for a sight of his quarry. There! The dark jacket and bald head. The man was tall and Alec could see him now through a gap in the crowd. He pushed his way forward, making better speed now that he was moving largely with the flow and not across it.
He reached the corner of the market square in time to see the object of his pursuit disappear down a tiny side road. Glancing across he could see Naomi and the dog pressed nervously against the wall.
Bugger, Alec thought. He really hadn’t thought this through but it was too late now. Briefly he thought about breaking off his search and returning to Naomi but he’d almost caught up with the man now. Instead, Alec groped in his pocket for his mobile and called DS Fine, grateful for the foresight and habit that had impelled him to place the officer’s number on speed dial. His relief, when Fine picked up, was profound.
‘Reg, it’s Alec Friedman … Out of breath? Yes I’m running. Naomi heard the man who came to Fallowfields … Yes, she’s sure.’
Fine listened as Alec filled him in and gave his location. Fine was several miles away but he promised to get someone to him.
‘Alec, this man is dangerous. Stay back. Observe but keep out of the bugger’s way.’
‘Do my best,’ Alec said and rang off, hoping that Fine would be as good as his word. He could see the man he pursued very clearly now. The side street was relatively empty of people and the man walked at a deliberate but unhurried pace.
Alec slowed and caught his breath. Fine was right, he should stay back. Observe. Th
ere was little cover here and should his quarry choose to turn around he would see Alec. Would he know who I am? Alec asked himself. He had come to Fallowfields demanding to speak to the new owner, but did he actually know who Alec was or what he looked like? The suspicion Naomi had voiced that day, that the two who had broken in had waited until Alec was out of the way, resurfaced. Oh yes, Alec thought. You know who I am. He slowed down again, aware that he was getting too close now and there were far fewer people around.
Halfway down the street was the back entrance into a pub yard, and to Alec’s surprise and discomfort, he saw the man open the gate and slip through.
What did that mean? Was he staying at the pub? Was this where Rupert had died? Impatiently, he reminded himself that he still had no direct connection between Rupert’s death and the men who had threatened Naomi, however strong his intuition was that they were involved.
Cautiously, he slowed even more and stood uncertainly a few yards from the gate.
He should wait. He should call Fine again. He glanced back towards the marketplace, hoping to see the cavalry racing to his assistance, but he saw only a middle-aged couple wandering hand in hand towards the square, and a woman with a pushchair, loaded down with shopping, walking slowly towards him.
He tried Fine’s mobile again. Engaged. He was on his own.
Alec sighed and knew he was now committed. He took the final steps and, cautiously, standing well back, pushed the gate. It swung open easily on well-oiled hinges and Alec stepped inside.
Fourteen
Alec scuffled, trying to find some purchase for his feet but they seemed to be too far off the ground. The man had him by the throat and he was struggling just to breathe. Alec grasped the hand with both of his own but the fingers gripped like steel bands.
He felt his assailant’s weight subtly shift and wondered what was coming next, but then the rabbit punch delivered to Alec’s kidneys drove all coherent thought from his head. He was dropped, unceremoniously, to the floor, sprawling on the concrete as the waves of pain surged through his body. A kick to his exposed abdomen, followed by another to the ribs, and all the air in his body followed through in its abandonment of him.
Alec lay curled in an instinctive, protective ball, just trying to draw breath back into his lungs. A shadow fell across his face and the man knelt down beside him. Alec did not have the breath to move even if he could have thought of some way of escape.
He waited, his body too pained to tense for the anticipated attack, although some corner of his mind still screamed in panic.
His attacker did not touch him again.
‘I know you, Friedman.’ The voice was surprisingly soft. ‘Take this as payment on account. Your uncle owed me, big time.’
‘Who … who the hell are you?’ Alec gasped.
The face split in a wide and mirthless grin. ‘Someone you really don’t want to know,’ he said. ‘Pity you don’t get a say in the matter, isn’t it?’
Then he was gone. Alec heard the gate swing closed behind him and struggled to move but his body had other ideas. Nothing seemed to work. His legs, his arms, even his head, were attached like dead, lead weights to a torso that throbbed and shrieked with pain. For a terrifying moment Alec was convinced that he was paralysed, that he would never be able to move again. Grimly, he forced his hands to close, his feet to push against the concrete, his head to lift. No one knew he was here. He tried to get his hand into a pocket to find his phone, not even sure which pocket it might be in, suspecting anyway that he might be lying on it. He managed to roll from his side on to his hands and knees though they shook and trembled as if he’d run a dozen marathons. He knew he couldn’t even attempt to stand. His head swam and his breath burned as he drew air hungrily into lungs that felt blocked as though the man’s hand still gripped his throat.
Somehow, he reached the gate, dragged it half open and began to crawl through. That was how they found him, barely conscious and half in, half out of the gate, one hand in his pocket clutching the now broken mobile phone.
Fifteen
There are times when you just know and Naomi knew when she first heard the sirens that they were coming for Alec. Desperately, Naomi tried to head towards the sound but she had no idea what obstacles were in her way. She stepped awkwardly off the pavement, urging Napoleon on when he tried to pull her back. A car horn sounded and a voice shouted. She jumped, stumbled on a raised paving stone, felt the dog press against her side and guide her towards the wall.
‘Are you all right?’ A woman’s voice, local from the sound of the accent. ‘Are you lost, dear?’ The voice was earnest, even slightly patronising, but at that moment Naomi was prepared to forgive that.
‘My friend …’ she began, then realized how mad it would sound if she tried to explain. She didn’t even know for sure what had been going on since Alec set off in pursuit of the man.
‘I got separated from my friend,’ she managed at last. ‘My dog doesn’t know the area.’ She shrugged helplessly. ‘So yes, we are lost,’ she admitted.
‘Oh, my poor girl! Where did you lose your friend? Oh, I’m sorry dear, of course, you wouldn’t know, would you. Now let me see. What best to do?’
Naomi, thankful of the help, but a little impatient with the procrastination, wondered how she could make use of her new-found friend. She didn’t have DS Fine’s number in her mobile otherwise calling him would have been her next move.
‘Look, I feel really stupid getting lost like this. I really don’t want to put you to any trouble. Is there a policeman about, or even a traffic warden? Someone like that?’
‘Well …’ Naomi could feel the woman turn and look around, then abruptly, she left her side.
‘Seems to be the day for it,’ Naomi muttered wondering if she was about to be deserted again. Then she heard her would-be rescuer calling out to someone from a few feet away.
‘I say. Yes, I say. Yes, officer. I’ve found one,’ she told Naomi triumphantly. ‘He’s coming over here now.’
Naomi sagged with relief as the officer arrived and took charge.
‘The ambulance,’ she demanded almost before he’d had the chance to ask her name. ‘The ambulance, were you on scene when it arrived?’
‘On scene? Miss, I was there but—’
‘The man they picked up. It was a man, wasn’t it? Was his name Alec? Alec Friedman.’
He was clearly taken aback. ‘We’re not certain yet,’ he said slowly. ‘Miss, what is going on here?’
‘Alec was with me,’ Naomi said. ‘He went off, chasing after a man I …’ It dawned on her that he had not been certain of the identification. ‘How badly is he hurt? Tell me, please.’
She reached out and grasped the officer’s sleeve. ‘Can you take me to him, please? Or put me in a taxi and send me to the hospital. I don’t care either way, but I’ve got to get to Alec.’
How many hours, Naomi wondered, had she spent hanging around in hospitals? In her days as a serving policewoman she had waited to interview suspects or victims. Since then, she’d waited with a friend for news of their son who had been stabbed. Now, she waited to hear about the man she loved and felt as guilty as sin because she had sent him out after his attacker.
It did no good to remind herself that Alec was his own person; that he had chosen to go racing off in pursuit of a very dangerous man; that Naomi hadn’t really had a say in the matter. All she could think was that she had alerted him to the presence of the thug who’d beaten him, half strangled him, left him unconscious.
‘Naomi?’ DS Fine sat down beside her on another of the uncomfortable plastic chairs. ‘Alec knows you’re here. He was worried sick.’
‘Any news?’
‘The doctor will be with you shortly. He was on his way then got called to another patient. Alec will be fine. He’s got a couple of cracked ribs and he’s bruised to hell, but nothing permanent; nothing life-threatening. Doc reckons the bastard kicked him in the ribs and belly and they want to keep an eye on him overnig
ht, watch for any internal bleeding, but, apart from being bloody uncomfortable, he’s all right.’
‘Can I see him?’
‘That’s what I’ve come to fetch you for. Dog will have to wait out here, I’m afraid.’
She nodded, allowed Fine to lead her out of the waiting room and down what felt like a very long corridor. The sounds and smells of the ward reached her as Fine opened swing doors and held them while she passed through. Dinner time evidently, from the aroma of food and clatter of plates. Voices, sounds of machinery, footsteps on a hard smooth surface.
‘He’s in a side ward,’ Fine told her. He took her hands. ‘We have to clean our paws with this gel stuff. Just rub it in and it evaporates.’ He pumped the alcohol gel into her cupped hands and she rubbed it over her hands and between her fingers.
‘But he’ll be all right?’
‘He’ll be all right.’ Fine opened the heavy door and then led her over to the bed.
‘Alec?’ She reached out. The relief when he took her hand was utter and profound. She couldn’t help herself, she began to cry. Harsh, dry sobs that shook her entire body and brought relief only when the tears began to fall.
Fine had her driven back to the hotel. Alec had been ordered to sleep and Fine, having taken a statement and a description from him, had arranged to come back in the morning. Later there’d be time with a police artist or computer ID, but for tonight there was nothing more to do or that could be done.
Fine had alerted the reception desk to what had happened and Naomi was finally left alone in a very quiet, very empty feeling hotel room. She sat on the edge of the bed, listening to Napoleon snuffling his way into sleep, and the need to hear a friendly voice became an overwhelming urge. She fished her mobile out of her bag, set it on speaker and listened as she scrolled through the list until she reached ‘Harry’.
He picked up on the fourth ring and she realized she had been holding her breath. She could not have borne it if the call had gone unanswered.
Legacy of Lies Page 8