by Roberta Kray
The man gave a nod. ‘That’s me.’
The receptionist barged in behind Max, her high heels clicking angrily on the wood floor. ‘I’m sorry, Tom. He wouldn’t wait. I tried to stop him but —’
‘It’s all right, Annabelle. I’ll deal with it.’
And after Annabelle had retreated, throwing a withering scowl in the direction of the intruder, Tom Chase had dealt with it. Not even a flicker when Max mentioned Ann-Marie’s name. A small shake of his head. A swift but calm denial that he’d ever known her. And when it came to Budapest…
‘Ah, is that in Romania or Hungary? I always get those two mixed up. Budapest and Bucharest. But no, I’ve never been to either.’
By this time, Max had been convinced that he had the wrong man anyway. The disappointment had been almost too much to bear. He had left the studio, apologising for the interruption. Chase had been pleasant, even charming about it.
‘Don’t worry. I understand the confusion with the same name and everything. I hope you find her.’
Max’s hands curled into two tight fists on the café table. It was all down to that damn photograph. Ann-Marie had never told him that the man in the picture was Chase, but he had simply made the presumption. Now he realised he’d been wrong. Tom Chase, perhaps, was the one who’d actually taken the photograph.
He wondered how Pym had found out about Chase and the Budapest connection, but there was no point in asking. Street’s lackey guarded his sources with fervour, keen to keep his contacts to himself. Someone in the Force, perhaps? But at least Max knew now that Tom Chase had lied to him. And there could only be one reason for that.
Max’s biggest regret was that he hadn’t done some further digging. He was still cursing his stupidity when the door to West End Central opened and Eden Chase walked out. Quickly he rose to his feet and left the café. He kept her in his sights, but at a distance, knowing she was probably going to the Tube station. Her head was bowed, her shoulders slumped. Clearly things had not gone well with the boys in blue.
On the train, Eden stared at the floor for the entire journey. Her long red hair fell around her face like a curtain, preventing him from reading her expression. What was she thinking? That she had married a no-good murdering bastard – or that the cops had got it wrong? No matter how damning the evidence, some women would go on defending their men until hell froze over.
Max looked away but then glanced along the length of the carriage again. Despite himself, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. It was the hair, he thought, the hair that was almost the same colour as Ann-Marie’s. But that was the only similarity. Eden – it was a strange kind of name. The garden where Eve tempted Adam, where a single bite of an apple proved to be a snack too far when it came to the fate of the human race.
Max gave a quick shake of his head. He wasn’t going to think about Eden Chase, not as a person anyway. To him, she was only an object, a means to an end. And when the time came, he would do what he had to do.
20
Rose Rudd looked over at her son and felt tears prick her eyes. She turned away, not wanting him to see. She was doing her best to put on a brave front, but the expression on his face was killing her. No mother wants to see her child hurt or disappointed. Her hopes of protecting him from the truth, at least for a while, had been dashed at ten o’clock that morning when Archie’s brief had called to say her husband had been ghosted out of jail and was now at Chiswick nick.
‘Christ,’ Davey said again.
Rose busied herself with the mugs and the kettle. ‘You know he wouldn’t be doing this if there was any other way. He’s got no choice. It’s this or a life sentence, Davey.’
‘They’ll call him a squealer, a grass. He will be a bloody grass.’
‘They can call him what they like, but they’d do the same if they were in his shoes. And this isn’t down to him. He wasn’t the one who went shouting his mouth off after Shepperton. They pushed him into a corner, didn’t they? One of those lads went blabbing to the law about the Epping job. If they hadn’t done that, your dad wouldn’t have said a word.’
‘He’s going to have to stand up in court and name names, Mum.’
‘Yeah, well, not any names that matter.’ She was trying to sound calm and matter-of-fact, but inside she was all churned up. ‘There’s no one left round here. I mean, it don’t make no difference to Don now – God bless him – he’s long gone. And Rossi’s out in Spain. The only one who’ll be going down is the bastard who left Paddy to die. I can’t see no one complaining too much about that.’
Davey gazed at her. ‘And what the hell are you going to do in Chiswick? Have you even been there before?’
‘Oh, I’ll manage. And it’ll only be for a year or two. Once your dad gets out, we can move somewhere new.’
‘But you’ve lived here all your life.’
‘So? Time for a change, I reckon.’
‘It ain’t fair, Mum. You shouldn’t have to… I mean, it’s your home, ain’t it?’
‘So what’s more important, a few old bricks or your dad being free to smell the fresh air? It’s no competition so far as I’m concerned.’
‘And what are you going to tell everyone?’
‘I’ve already told them. Said I’m going to stay at Lil’s for a while.’ Her sister lived in Ashford, and Rose often spent time there, especially when Archie was banged up. ‘There’s nothing unusual about it, nothing for them to think twice about. I’ll just take the one suitcase with me so it looks right. They’ll shift out the rest of the stuff nearer the trial.’
‘Why don’t you go to Aunt Lil’s?’
‘I don’t want her getting involved in all this. She’d guess something was wrong and I’d end up telling her everything – you know what I’m like – and then she’d tell Jocky and… well, he can’t keep his mouth shut for more than five minutes. It would be all over the county before the sun went down. No, I’m better off doing it this way. Careless talk costs lives and all that.’
Davey gave her a look. ‘It ain’t the war, Mum.’
Rose put a mug of hot sweet tea in front of him and let out a sigh. ‘No, course it ain’t. And you don’t have to worry. No one’s going to have a go at you.’
‘I ain’t worried.’
But Rose could see by his frown that he was. ‘No one’s going to blame you, love. You’d best keep your head down for a while, mind, when the trial’s on the go.’ She felt bad for him. Although he lived over Romford way now, he still had mates in the area, boys he’d grown up with, and it was never easy to face the judgement of others. ‘It’ll all blow over in time.’
Davey shook his head. ‘There won’t be no blowing over, Mum, and you know it. None of us are going to be able to show our faces round here again.’
‘Your dad had no choice,’ Rose repeated.
‘Yeah, he did. He had a choice not to go out on the bloody Shepperton job. What the hell was he thinking? He promised you, Mum – no more shooters, no more bank jobs. If he hadn’t —’
‘I know, I know. But there’s no point going over it all. It’s done and dusted. We just have to deal with it now.’
Davey sat back and drank his tea. He was quiet for a while as he thought things over. ‘How come he’s never mentioned that job in Epping? Not a word in all these years?’
‘You know why. With what happened to Paddy… If the law had got wind, they’d all have gone down for murder.’
‘Pat’s going to do his nut when he finds out Dad knew all along.’
Rose pulled a face at the mention of Paddy’s crazy son. He’d gone off the rails after his father’s untimely death, and never got back on them again. He was a cruel, vicious man with a black heart. ‘Pat’s inside. He can’t do nothing.’
‘He’s not going to be inside for ever.’
‘Long enough. Another ten at least,’ she said. ‘They ain’t going to let him out in a hurry, not after what he did to that poor girl.’
‘Yeah, well, being inside doesn’t
always stop people from —’
‘Just drink your tea, Davey. I can’t be worrying about that on top of everything else.’
‘Sorry,’ he said.
Rose smiled at her son. She was proud of him for making his own way – he had a steady job and a flat of his own – and not following in his father’s footsteps. And that wasn’t because she had any respect for law and order, but simply for the reason that she didn’t want to see him languishing behind bars. She’d seen too many kids round here go to the bad and was grateful that he wasn’t one of them. ‘We’ll be okay. We’ll get through this.’
‘Sure we will. We always get through, you and me.’
Rose felt the tears filling her eyes again. It had been just the two of them for so much of Davey’s life with Archie in and out of prison all the time. She couldn’t have asked for a better son. He was good and kind and deserved more than she’d ever been able to give him. ‘I know it’s not fair on you, none of it is. You shouldn’t have to —’
Rose’s apology was interrupted by a knock on the back door. No one came to the front door round here unless they were rent collectors or bailiffs. She quickly crossed the kitchen to answer it. She thought it was probably Margie, who popped in most days for a brew and a gossip. Her stomach dropped like a stone when she saw Vera Lynch standing there.
‘Oh, hello.’
‘Hello, love. Not disturbing you, am I? Can I have a word?’
Rose drew in a breath. Christ, did she know? Could she? ‘Er… yeah, course. Come on in. Davey’s here. Look who it is, Davey. How are you? I haven’t seen you for a while. You’re looking well. Would you like a brew? I’ve just made a pot.’ She knew she was rambling, but she couldn’t stop herself. Fear was rattling her nerves and she couldn’t control them. ‘Why don’t you sit yourself down and I’ll bring you one over.’
‘Ta, love, I wouldn’t say no.’
Vera was a big imposing woman with wide jutting hips and a bosom that looked like it was made of concrete. She said hello to Davey and lowered herself down into one of the kitchen chairs. ‘I heard about Archie,’ she said.
Rose gave a start. ‘W-what?’
‘Back inside, yeah?’
‘Oh, yes, yes that’s right.’
‘In the Scrubs,’ Davey said. ‘But he’s doing okay. Mum’s going to stay with Aunt Lil for a while. Aren’t you, Mum?’
‘Just for a while.’ Rose’s hand was shaking as she poured out the tea. ‘The house is too quiet when he’s away.’ She took the mug over and placed it on the table. ‘Help yourself to sugar.’
‘Ta, love.’ Vera shovelled in three large spoonfuls and gave the tea a brisk stir.
‘And how’s Pat?’ Davey asked. ‘He still on the island?’
‘Yeah, still there.’
‘Bugger of a journey,’ he said.
‘You’re telling me. That ferry is like a bloody rollercoaster in winter. Last time I went I was sick as a dog. And how are you supposed to face a visit after that? It’s a bloody joke.’
Rose pulled out a chair and sat down beside Davey. Archie had done a stretch in Parkhurst and she’d made many a journey to the Isle of Wight herself. ‘A nightmare,’ she said. But that wasn’t really the nightmare she was thinking of. ‘So was there something…’
Vera slurped her tea and nodded. ‘It’s about my Paddy.’
Rose stiffened, the breath catching in the back of her throat. ‘Paddy?’ she said hoarsely.
‘There’s word going around that the filth have got one of the guys who done it. I’ve not heard nothing, mind, not from the law I mean. But then the shits wouldn’t bother telling me, would they? Too much effort to pick up the bleedin’ phone.’
‘Well, it’s good they’ve got him,’ Davey said. ‘If it’s true.’
‘If it’s true. That’s what I’m saying. I still don’t know one way or the other. I was wondering if you’d heard owt?’
‘Me?’ Rose asked, the word coming out almost as a squeak. ‘I… er…’
Davey quickly came to her rescue. ‘No, we ain’t, have we, Mum?’ He threw her a glance, a warning to pull herself together before Vera smelled a rat. ‘Not a whisper. Nothing at all. We’ll let you know if we do, though. How long is it now? Must be over ten years?’
‘Nearer sixteen,’ Vera said.
‘Sixteen,’ Davey repeated. ‘I can’t believe it’s that long. I hope they have got him, whoever he is. The bastard deserves life for what he did.’
Rose vehemently nodded her agreement. ‘He does. He really does.’
Vera pulled a face. ‘I’d pretty much given up, to be honest. After a while, you stop expecting anything. The whole fuckin’ lot of them got clear away. Makes me sick to my stomach what they done. It really does.’ She paused and then added, ‘What about your Archie?’
‘What? What do you mean?’ Rose asked, her heart missing a beat.
‘Do you think he could have heard anything before he went inside?’
‘I don’t reckon so,’ Davey interjected, coming to the rescue again. ‘He’d have said, wouldn’t he, Mum?’
‘Yes, of course he would. He wouldn’t keep something like that to himself.’
Vera finished her tea and slammed the mug down on the table. ‘If I ever catch those scumbag bastards, I’ll string ’em up myself. And as for our Pat…’
Rose shuddered, knowing exactly what her Pat would do. ‘I’d be the same,’ she said. ‘It weren’t right. They shouldn’t get away with it.’ She wasn’t a two-faced person by nature, but when it came to protecting her own, she’d lie through her teeth if she had to. ‘Who’s been telling you this stuff, anyhow?’
‘I heard it down the Fox,’ Vera said. ‘Just a rumour, you know. No names or nothing. Maybe I should go to Cowan Road and ask them straight out.’
‘If they’d tell you anything,’ Davey said. ‘You know what the law are like. Tight-lipped fuckers when it suits them. I’d hang on a day or two, see if anything else comes to light.’
Vera rubbed at her nose with the back of her hand and made a loud sniffing noise. It was hard to tell if she was upset or just suffering from a cold. ‘Yeah, I might. I’ve been looking for that Pym – he always knows what’s going down – but no one’s seen hide nor hair of him for the past few days. Typical, ain’t it? Usually you can’t get rid of the little creep, and then when you do want to talk to him, he’s nowhere to be found.’
Davey stared across the table at her. ‘Pym? You know, I reckon I saw him going into the Hope about twenty minutes ago. I’m pretty sure it was him.’
‘The Hope, you say?’
‘Yeah. I was on my way here and… Well, it looked like him. You should give it a try. He might still be there.’
‘I’ll do that,’ Vera said, hauling herself to her feet with a series of grunts. She glanced at Rose and smiled. ‘Ta for the brew. I’ll see you when you get back.’
Rose stood up too. ‘Yes, I’ll see you then. I hope you… hope you find out something.’
‘You and me both, love. You and me both.’
Rose opened the back door, showed her visitor out, and closed it again. She leaned against the wooden frame for a moment, letting the relief flow through her. ‘Did you really see Pym?’ she asked Davey.
‘Course not. I just wanted to get rid of her.’
Rose put a hand to her chest, feeling the fast beat of her heart. ‘I’ll be glad to be gone. Christ, I thought I was going to have a stroke when I saw her standing there. My nerves can’t take much more of this.’
‘What time are they coming?’
‘They’re sending a taxi at five. Just to make it look normal. Like I’m on the way to the station.’
‘Do you want me to come with you?’
Rose shook her head. ‘Best not. I’ll give you a ring when I get there, let you know the address.’
‘I’ll drive over and see you during the week. Are you sure you’ll be okay?’
‘I’ll be just fine.’
‘You shou
ldn’t have to do this.’
Rose walked around the table and laid her hand gently on his shoulder. She knew it would be the last time they were ever together in this house. Everything was changing. All the things that had anchored her – her home, her friends, her place in the community – were about to be swept away. Even her name would be different. Rose Rudd was about to disappear for ever. Her heart was breaking and there was nothing she could do about it.