It infuriated him to think that Eddie might have experienced that very pleasure. The thought of Lena with any man angered him. When Lena had married Danil, he had wanted to be happy for her, but it had only disturbed him to see them together. Eventually he had stopped the surveillance on her life and had come to the bitter acceptance that someone else was caring for her.
Now with Danil gone three years, it was understandable that Lena wanted companionship. She was a young, vibrant woman, alone in a foreign country and at the mercy of any charmer like Eddie. She was irresponsible with her safety and Dylan wished he could have given her the sound lesson she needed.
In some respect, he was glad that Eddie had left before his arrival. Being with Lena had been difficult enough without having her subjected to the violence that a confrontation might have initiated.
As tough as he was, Barry had died by Eddie’s hand, which only proved that age had not slowed him down. It certainly hadn’t stopped him taking advantage of a much younger girl. Dylan could only speculate on Lena’s interest in him. She was terribly lonely and her self-esteem had taken a battering. It certainly wasn’t the future he’d hoped for her.
He couldn’t blame her for what she had said to him, even if she was wrong. Just being close to her again had strained his emotions and ignited his desire for her. It had taken all his fortitude, not to hold her naked beneath him while his hands and mouth became reacquainted with every part of her body. But if he loved her, as he knew he did, then he had to stay away from her, and stop adding to her pain.
“Yvette.” His voice activated the call to her.
Her own came back through his earpiece. “Yes, Master.”
“Would you find me a bed? I need a shower, a change of clothes and a few hours’ sleep. I’ll go see Esther and Mairead later today.”
“Yes, Master,” she replied. “Is there anything else?”
“Did we have anything from the Easton’s security camera before they destroyed the footage?”
“Yes, Master, we did. We recorded a time-stamped shot of Bevan Miller at their front door, and then a masked man follows after him, carrying a shotgun.”
“Good girl. I want it sent through to Elizabeth Cooper as soon as you can, and just one more thing. I want you to access this phone number.” He read out Lena’s number. “I want to know if anyone calls it.”
“Yes, Master. Master, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, just a little tired. Get back to me soon, Yvette, and thank you.”
He hung up and stared out at the street, thinking of Lena trying to go about her work. His eyes began to sting and he swallowed heavily.
“I’m sorry, Lena, I’m so fucking sorry.”
* * * * *
It wasn’t the cheeriest atmosphere to awaken to. The room was icy cold and there was condensation fogging the window. The patterned wallpaper was faded and the ceiling was yellow with age. There were cobwebs in the corners and nestled in the ceiling rose. For a half an hour, Mairead had watched a mouse scurrying along the timber skirting boards and darting across the room.
From the light outside, she estimated it to be close to nine and she felt some relief that she had slept several hours. It was a small mercy compared to the sickening tension that was keeping her huddled under the blankets. She couldn’t dismiss the ominous thought that this could be the last morning she would waken to.
Dylan hadn’t come and she couldn’t summon the energy to care. In some way, she had known she would be going it alone. The night before, spent with Esther and Melanie, had given her some joy, listening to them talking plans of travelling around Europe together, doing the things they had once dreamed of when they were kids. Esther was ready to take up her life without Dylan, and Mairead was genuinely happy for her. She only wished she could foresee a future for herself with James and their baby.
Her misery was threatening to cripple her and keep her secured to the couch. It was her anger that had got her to this point and bitterly she cursed out loud. “Fuck you, Dylan, I thought you would come. Now I have to do this alone.”
Sitting up, she wondered if she had got anything else wrong or overlooked something simple that could have devastating consequences, but nothing came to mind. Dragging her backpack towards her, she took out its contents one by one, mentally checking them off.
As the gun was drawn out she frowned, staring at it in her hand and wondering if she could really use it. Out in the open, firing off a test shot had been frightening enough, feeling the recoil vibrate fiercely through her hand, with her ears ringing with the echoing shot. It always looked so easy in movies to fire a gun at someone, but she knew it would take everything in her to simply point it at another human being, no matter how much she hated her.
The other weapon looked much more innocent, but Mairead knew how much of a punch a cattle prod could produce. It gave her an alternative.
The last item she took out was a phone that only made her feel miserable, again. She had spent a lot of time setting up the GPS tracker, hoping Dylan would have this phone in his possession. Now it was just money spent for nothing. Each item was replaced and she made an effort to get ready.
She was tying her shoes when the door opened and Esther came in wearing a dressing gown. Mairead took a deep breath, smiled and greeted her.
“Did you sleep alright?” Esther asked.
“Yeah, I did. Tell Melanie, thanks.”
“You can stay here, Mairead. We talked about it last night. This place is as safe as any.”
“Thanks, but I have to get going. There’s things I have to do today.”
Esther shut the door, before taking a seat next to Mairead. “Tell me what you are doing. I always know when that mind of yours is working overtime.”
Mairead grinned. “I’d have to kill you, if I told you.”
“You’re up to something and that terrifies me, because you don’t do anything by halves, ever. Tell me.”
“I can’t.” Mairead stared down at the floor. “Just believe me when I say that I’ve put a lot of thought into this. I was hoping Dylan would be here with me, but that didn’t happen.”
Esther nodded glumly. “I know, and I still can’t get my head around that myself, that he hasn’t come to us. You don’t think anything…”
“No,” Mairead replied firmly. “I would know.”
“How?”
“Because we wouldn’t matter to them anymore, but they still need us to get to him.”
Esther frowned. “How do you know that?”
“I just do.”
“That’s not good enough,” Esther remarked. “This involves me as well. If you know something, I want to know.”
Mairead looked up at her. “Even if it includes holding someone hostage in Melanie’s cellar?”
“What?” Esther gaped. “What are you talking about?”
“A Russian bitch, one of these bastards who are after us, I know where she is, who she is, and I’m going to make her tell me where the rest of them are, but forget the cellar. I wouldn’t do that to Melanie. I’ve got another place set up out of town.”
Esther jumped to her feet and paced about before turning to Mairead. “You stop this now, Mairead. What you’re planning is insane. You can’t do this.”
“I can and I’m going to. I haven’t got a choice. Not only do I have Russian mafia after me, some prick in the government has it in for me too, and is going to do everything to put me away and keep James locked up. My life is over one way or the other, but I’m not going to give it up without some kind of a fight.”
Esther was chewing her lip as tears ran down her face. “Mairead, please don’t do this. We will find another way. Melanie and I will help you…”
“Esther.” Mairead bowed her head. “I’m going to have a baby.”
“Oh, my god.” Esther stood staring at her with her hand over her mouth.
Mairead’s lip trembled. “If they find me, my child doesn’t have a chance with any of them. They did awful
things to me in that prison. I couldn’t go through that again, and if these other cunts find me first…”
Esther went to her and had her arm around her. “And all the more reason you can’t do this.”
“No. It’s the very reason I have to do this.” She stared at Esther. “Even if Dylan gives himself up, that’s not going to put me and James in the clear. We’re going to go to jail as his accessories, and if we don’t, the Russians are still going to come after us, and Dylan knows this.”
“But how does kidnapping one of them help you?”
“Because I’m going to make that fucking bitch tell me everything she knows. There’s this cop, Cooper, who I think would listen to me, if I could produce some kind of evidence of what’s going on.”
“I just don’t think you can do this,” Esther pleaded. “You hate hurting people, anyone. How are you going to kidnap someone and hold them hostage, let alone torture them? It isn’t in you.”
“Well that remains to be seen, doesn’t it. Because of her, James was shot and Tammy is dead. She did that to us. She hid amongst us for the sole purpose of finding Dylan and right now, hurting her is the least of my worries.”
“What do you mean she hid amongst us? Is she someone we know?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Mairead grabbed her backpack, stood up and slung it on her back. “I have to go.”
“Mairead, please don’t do this alone. I will talk to Melanie. We will help you.”
“No,” Mairead shook her head firmly. “Last night, I listened to you talk about your future, and it sounded wonderful. We let Melanie down once before, because we were too wrapped up in ourselves. Melanie has suffered enough and she has you now and a real chance of happiness, as do you, Esther. I want you to have your future.”
Esther flung her arms about Mairead, her tears coming harder now. “Mairead, please, please don’t.”
“I’ll be alright.” Mairead patted her back. “It’s actually a brilliant plan and it’s going to work. This won’t be the end, I promise.” She extracted herself from the embrace. “And if you do happen to see that useless Master of yours, give him a kick up the arse from me and tell him to come find me.”
“How will he do that?”
Mairead smiled. “Walk me out. I have a present for you to give to him.”
* * * * *
The phone was ringing and when Vanessa answered, Mairead immediately hung up and chucked the phone in the bin beside her. It meant that they were still at Vanessa’s house, but it wouldn’t be long before they left for the hour and a half drive back to the city.
Mairead pushed off and continued her journey through the city streets. The ride was good, burning up her adrenaline as the bike made sharp turns down narrow streets, mounting the pavement, weaving through pedestrians, only to veer off and cut across traffic, inciting blasts of horns and the curses of angry drivers. It was as if the bike had become an extension of the fury pummelling through her veins.
It left no room for fear or any doubt that her plan would succeed. Vanessa was her only concern, getting her out safely and alerting her to the danger. It was a certainty that Vanessa would react badly, but Mairead hoped she would accept the truth of the situation, no matter how painful. The evidence was going to be right in front of her.
Turning into the street, Mairead could see the apartment building ahead, but she bypassed it until she had made the precautionary sweep of the block. When she was satisfied, she made a slow cycle to the Sisters of Mercy charity shop in the street behind the apartments. She stopped outside, getting off and leaning the bike up against the wall, before poking her head in the door. The shop was not much bigger than a single room, crammed with racks of clothing, books and bric-a-brac. She had to weave her way through narrow gaps to get to the counter.
A tiny, old woman with white hair smiled at her. Mairead’s gaze was drawn to the large crucifix resting on her grey jersey.
“I’ve left a bike for you, out front. Make sure it gets a good home. It should make some good money for you.”
“That’s very kind of you, dear, but could I ask you to take it around the back? The girl there will put it away until we have a little more room to display it.” She chuckled and looked about. “We’re a little crammed.”
“Sure,” Mairead smiled.
Going back out, she wheeled the bike down a narrow alley and found a door open out the back. She stepped inside to a much bigger room, stacked with other charity items. A girl was kneeling down, pricing shoes with a felt pen.
“Hi,” Mairead said.
She was startled as the girl spun about and was up on her feet, backing away. Mairead was about to assure her, when her own cautionary instincts were alerted. She stared at the girl, who was looking about frantically, as if looking for somewhere to run. Mairead was blocking the only exit.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” Mairead told her quietly. “Do you remember me? We met at the Silver Dreams nightclub.”
The girl stared back at her wide-eyed, her lip curling in a silent snarl, until she frowned and seemed to calm.
“You are girl with funny name. Madrid.”
Mairead grinned. “Close. It’s Mairead and you’re Greta.”
“What do you want?”
“I came to give you a bike,” Mairead said. “But now, I don’t know what I want.”
Greta peered at her. “You being here… this is some kind of trick. They use you to bring me back.”
Mairead frowned and slowly shook her head. “I don’t know who ‘they’ are, unless they’re the same Russians that are looking for me.”
“You know then?”
“Obviously not as much as you.”
“Where is your husband?”
“He’s in jail for the second time. The first was for assaulting Brendan North, the man you were with that night at the club.”
“I’m sorry. There was nothing I could do for your husband. Brendan North… is he alive?”
“He’s in hospital.” Mairead peered at her. “You were also with him that night he got bashed, weren’t you? You saw who did it.”
Greta breathed deeply. “I knew they were going to do it. They spoke of their plans right in front of me, how they would use your husband. They used me, to get inside.”
“How the hell do you even know these people?” Mairead struggled to keep the anger from her voice.
“Don’t look at me like that. You know nothing of me. I belong to them. I have no power over my own life. How could I help anyone?”
“You could have warned him. You could have given him a chance to save himself.”
I could have,” she nodded grimly. “But what do you think would have happened to me?”
“I don’t know. You’re telling the story.”
Greta smirked. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“You’d be surprised,” Mairead replied angrily. “I know working girls. I’ve heard all about the shit they’ve been through.”
“Yes, but try being a foreign whore with no visa or residency, no avenues of support, no-one to turn to. Sister Bernice found me when I was too weak to run any longer, hiding in the streets, not daring to find food or warmth. She lives in the room above the shop and she brought me here and has cared for me.”
“So why were you running if you didn’t warn Brendan?”
“Because, when I saw what they doing to Brendan… It was too much. I became very emotional. I told them to stop and one of them struck me and I got rage inside of me. I dug my nails into his eyes… and then I ran.”
Mairead breathed out slowly. “Greta, your testimony could put these men away…”
“Don’t even ask,” Greta told her fiercely. “You don’t know these men or who they know. Leo has owned me for over a year. In that time, I’ve been fucked by judges, lawyers, politicians; men with money and power. I wouldn’t last a day.”
“Then tell me where I can find them. Give me a name… anything.”
“What good does it do you
?”
“Please, Greta, it’s more than I have right now.”
Greta shook her head. “I have no idea where they are. I am brought to the city in a helicopter, blindfolded and driven out to meet with clients. The only name I can give you is Leo Ashrukov, the prick who has done this to me.”
“Wait a minute.” Mairead pulled her backpack from her shoulders and opened it. She extracted a pen and then rifled through until she pulled out a piece of paper. She was about to write on it when she paused, staring at it and looking back at Greta.
“What?” the girl asked.
Mairead smiled sadly. “I have something for you as well.”
Greta watched suspiciously as the paper was held out to her. She took it tentatively, frowning at Mairead before allowing herself to look at it. Her face went pale and she started shaking, backing up until she could sit down on some boxes. She was soon in a flood of tears, looking at Mairead and trying to speak. She made sounds but no words would come.
Mairead walked towards her slowly and sat next to her. “You’re not alone, Greta. Your mum has been searching for you for two years and she loves you very much.”
Greta grasped Mairead’s hand, her face contorted with emotion. “Tell me what she looked like.”
“Friendly,” Mairead smiled. “She has big brown eyes and long dark hair, with a straight cut fringe. She has a very strong accent. When she smiles, her cheeks are so round. She’s a little plump, like someone you want to cuddle.”
Greta cried afresh. “She always used to cuddle me, until I thought I was too grown up. She spoilt me terribly, and was always gentle and kind. She didn’t cope when my stepfather died, and before I came to New Zealand, we had many stupid arguments, mainly about her drinking. Then I left her alone to deal with her sorrow.”
“And yet she still came to find you.”
“She thought the world of me.” Greta grinned. “And she was always stubborn. Once she had made up her mind about something, there was no convincing her otherwise.”
Sins of the Master Page 55