A Narrow Trajectory

by Faith Martin

  The young man quickly hung his head and shrugged. ‘I was very young,’ he repeated in a small voice.

  Yes, Hillary mused. He probably was. Growing up in a confined and religious household, she was perfectly willing to believe that the eighteen-year-old boy was probably very naïve and innocent when he first arrived in Oxford. But naïve enough to fall in love with a working girl? Now that she simply couldn’t swallow.

  Yet he’d admitted to being smitten with Lydia. And Lydia, desperate to grab her prize of a rich, handsome student, must have realized that Kyle was by far her best shot. And yet Lydia would have had a working girl’s often cunningly good instincts, plus a solid grasp of human psychology. So she’d have quickly summed up the hold his family had on him, and the fact that they’d hardly welcome someone like her into their family with open arms.

  So why had she been so confident that they were going to get married?

  Unless … Hillary gave a mental nod. Yes. That made sense.

  ‘Pregnant, was she, sir?’ she asked quietly. ‘And, since you two were so exclusive, did she claim it was yours?’

  Kyle Karastrides’s head shot up and his dark brown eyes widened on her. His jaw went slack.

  ‘Very awkward that, sir,’ Hillary sympathized, as if he’d just verbally confirmed her guess. ‘After all, it was hardly likely to be yours, really, was it? And it’s not as if you can trust a prostitute in something like that, after all. And even if by some chance it was yours, you could hardly take her home to your parents, could you? What did she do? Threaten to tell them? Insist on a DNA test? Did it all get a little too real for you, sir?’

  ‘What? No. I don’t … look, this has gone on long enough,’ he blustered. ‘I’ve tried to co-operate with your investigations, but if this is the way you’re going to go on …’ He got to his feet. ‘I think I must insist you leave now. And if you want to speak to me again, I shall have a solicitor present, I think.’

  Hillary nodded and slowly rose. She knew her exit line when she heard it. ‘Of course, sir,’ she said pleasantly. ‘That is certainly your right. Thank you for your time.’ She smiled at him calmly, and couldn’t resist one last little probe. ‘You’ve been most informative.’

  And yes. There it was again. That flicker of real, sick terror.

  Hillary allowed him to show her out without saying another word, but she was already reaching for her mobile, even as she set off down the back streets in search of where she’d finally managed to find a parking space.

  ‘Hello? Wendy? I want you to get on the computer right now. Drop whatever else it is you’re doing.’ As she walked the narrow pavements, dodging the ever-present shoppers and cyclists who preferred the pavement to the road, she was thinking furiously. ‘Find a current contact number for me for a Mr Michael McIntyre if you can. No – not the comedian. He was a student with Kyle Karastrides. According to Karastrides, he’s now a resident somewhere in Scotland. Oh yes, and I might need to talk to Cindi-with-an-I myself at some point.’

  ‘OK, guv,’ Wendy said, on the other end of the line. ‘But Cindi might not be happy talking to you. I kind of promised her that she wouldn’t have to talk to anyone senior, like.’

  Hillary shook her head and sighed. ‘It’s never a good idea to make promises you can’t keep, Wendy,’ she advised sagely and uncompromisingly, and hung up.

  As Hillary Greene slid behind the steering wheel of her ageing Volkswagen, intent on returning to Thames Valley HQ, Darren Chivnor was busy researching how easily, in this digital age, someone could electronically transfer money out of one account and into another.

  And the answer was very easily indeed.

  And as he closed down his laptop, he was grinning widely. He could scarcely make himself believe it. But before the week was out, he was going to be a millionaire! It was actually going to happen.

  When he’d met up with Barnes yesterday at the library, he’d almost expected it to be yet another disaster. Maybe Barnes had been lying all the time and he’d have his copper friends there to arrest him. Or perhaps he’d try and threaten to turn him in to Medcalfe if he didn’t just tell him what he wanted to know. Maybe the money on offer would only turn out to be something like a measly fifty grand after all, for all his big talk of a million. Or what he wanted would turn out to be something that Darren simply couldn’t deliver.

  But something.

  Because in his heart, Darren found it almost impossible to believe that he could, for once in his life, get that lucky. All he’d ever known was grind, disappointment, ugliness and the same old shit, day in, day out. He’d never had a break, never got to grasp the golden, glittering prizes that sometimes seemed to swim past him, just out of reach. It was always the other guy that got it.

  So when he’d sat in that bloody silly library and Barnes had told him just what it was he wanted, and was willing to play a cool million for it … well, Darren simply hadn’t been able to believe it. Which was why he’d had to bail so quickly and get himself sorted out and under control. Otherwise he might have started to do cartwheels, right then and there. He’d wanted to scream with laughter.

  It was just so unbelievably easy. He wouldn’t even have to worry about Dale. To think – all he had to do was take Barnes to Jas Sudbury and he and Lisa could start a new life somewhere warm and glitzy.

  Again, a wide, gleeful grin split his face. Of course he had to admit that it had been a bit of a facer, learning that Barnes and Jas were brother and sister. Well – almost. Who’d have thought that? A skank loser like Jas, related to a genuine golden boy? It just went to show.

  Darren shrugged, then reached for his mobile phone. One thing was for sure. He wasn’t about to look this gift horse in the mouth.

  As he began to pound out the numbers, his hands were shaking so much in excitement that he fumbled twice, and had to start again.

  Back at Kidlington, Jake Barnes answered his phone. All his incoming calls were being automatically recorded now, but he was expecting to hear his mother’s voice, or that of one of his friends. He certainly hadn’t been expecting to hear from Chivnor so soon, so when he heard Darren’s voice he almost had a coughing fit as a bit of saliva went down the wrong way.

  ‘Yeah, Jake? It’s me,’ Darren began. He didn’t give his name, but then Jake hadn’t expected him to. Both Steven and Rollo had warned him the thug was bound to be wary over the telephone line.

  ‘Hello. Have you had a chance to think about things?’ he responded equally as cautiously, careful not to mention any specifics, as his bosses had coached him.

  ‘Yeah, I have. And I think we can come to some arrangement. You’re a bit of an IT buff, right? Well up on online banking and what not?’

  Jake felt his heart start to pound. It was actually happening. Right now. He glanced up, but only Jimmy was in the office, Hillary being out somewhere and Wendy having left, muttering something about finding Cindi-with-an-I. Or had he misheard that?

  ‘Yes, I do all right,’ he admitted. Jake wondered if he should get up and go to Steven’s office to warn him what was going down, but thought it might not be a good idea to get distracted. Besides, Steven could hear it all later, when he played the recording back.

  ‘So you’ll know how to transfer funds from your account to one I give you?’

  ‘Yes,’ Jake said. ‘I can do that from my tablet.’ And then, remembering Steven’s dictates, added, ‘But don’t think I’d be fool enough to go with you to some lonely spot in the woods or something.’ Not that Jake had needed telling that! There would be nothing to stop Darren from luring him to some remote spot on the promise of taking him to Jas’s buried body, only to stick a knife in his ribs and force him to wire-transfer the money, before killing him and disposing of his body. ‘And I’m not getting into a car with you, either,’ he added. Again, the same scenario applied. ‘If you want me to transfer money electronically, then we’re going to have to meet up, via separate journeys. And it has to be in a public place with lots of people around.’


  On the other end of the line, Darren Chivnor laughed. And he sounded genuinely happy. ‘Sure, I understand,’ he said, again without any apparent rancour. ‘So how does Bristol train station sound? All those busy commuters – public enough for you?’

  Jake felt totally nonplussed. ‘Well, sure,’ he said cautiously, trying to figure out the angles. ‘But you don’t get any money until I see Jas. You do understand that, right? I mean, I did make that clear, yeah?’

  ‘As crystal, mate. No worries – so, tomorrow morning, ten o’clock. Meet me at the burger joint not far from platform three.’ And before Jake could object, or ask any more questions, he rang off.

  Back at HQ, Hillary felt the buzz even as she walked past Steven’s office and into the communal area.

  ‘What’s up?’ she asked curiously.

  Jimmy glanced up at her and grinned. ‘Chivnor’s just been in touch with our boy wonder. They’ve arranged another meeting for tomorrow. They’re all together now in the guv’nor’s office, discussing the ins and outs.’

  Clearly Jimmy expected her to go and join them, because he looked surprised when, instead of leaving, she walked over to Wendy’s desk instead and scanned the mess of paperwork. ‘I asked Wendy to track down … ah, I see it.’

  Hillary picked up a slim folder with her name on it. Inside was not only a telephone number, but a print off of all the information on Michael McIntyre that Wendy had been able to find. And according to Wendy’s cheery accompanying note, their Michael McIntyre wasn’t related in any way to the comedian.

  Instead, he was the son of a wealthy Essex pawnbroker, who’d studied Zoology and Ecology at Oxford, and was now managing a game estate in Ayrshire.

  Hillary nodded vaguely at Jimmy and retreated back to her stationery cupboard. There she got on the phone, and within minutes, was talking to the man himself.

  He was clearly surprised to be taken away from his trout streams and grouse and transported back in time to his Oxford days, but after a few minutes, was soon talking away quite happily. And whilst his thoughts on the odd romance between his former flatmate and his call girl paramour weren’t particularly illuminating, Hillary, with a bit of deft questioning, was able to learn something more interesting by far.

  CHAPTER NINE

  After hanging up the phone on the unknowingly helpful Mr McIntyre, Hillary leaned back in her chair and racked her brains.

  Who did she know in the canine unit who owed her a favour? She reached for her old diary and pretty soon had tracked down a now retired mate from Bunko who knew the head of the unit. It turned out that the top dog man still owed him a favour, but he was happy to pass it on to her.

  This rather convoluted system of bartered favours was something Hillary knew all about and was quite comfortable with. So after contacting him and promising the top dog man a favour of her own (via some computer work which would be done under the table by one of the CRT’s IT people) she was granted her own wish. Which for now was off the book and might well remain so if she was just chasing a wild hare.

  As she walked back to Steven’s office, she had the name of an officer and his canine pal written down in her notebook and an appointment with both in half an hour’s time. Which was very fast work indeed, but it was the only time slot that this particular officer and his spaniel had available.

  She knocked quickly on the door and stuck her head around. She saw Steven first of course, but mindful of the changing of the guard in just over a day’s time, she addressed her opening remarks to Rollo Sale. ‘Sir, I hear Chivnor’s made contact. Is there anything we need to worry about?’

  ‘Come on in,’ Rollo said, but Hillary, although stepping through the door and carefully shutting it behind her, made no move to approach his desk.

  ‘Sorry, sir, but I’ve got to be somewhere in…’ she checked her watch, ‘twenty minutes. And I have to make it in time. It’s not something that can be put off.’

  ‘OK – that’s fine. And yes, Chivnor did ring Jake a short while ago. It’s as we more or less expected. He wants Jake to bring the means with him to electronically transfer the money to an account of his choosing.’

  ‘Jake reckons he can rig it so that it’ll appear that the money has been transferred, when in fact it hasn’t,’ Steven put in.

  Hillary glanced at him, eyebrow raised sceptically. ‘Really? I thought banks had pretty tight procedures nowadays?’

  ‘So they do,’ Steven said dryly.

  ‘So won’t Darren sense a rat?’

  ‘Jake says not. And he’s the IT boffin – so he should know. He did try to explain it to us – something to do with him not really contacting a bank at all, but setting up the system to make it appear as if he has. To be honest, I didn’t really follow it,’ Steven admitted.

  ‘Me neither,’ Rollo Sale said.

  ‘So long as he’s sure,’ Hillary said. ‘The last thing he wants to do is stuff it up and get on the bad side of our Darren. But what if Chivnor doesn’t just rely on Jake’s computer gizmo, but actually rings his bank in person, on the phone, and talks to an actual human being? If the bank official tells him the money hasn’t been deposited, Jake could be in serious shit. Our Darren has a reputation of settling his anger issues with a knife, remember.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Rollo said, just a shade nervously. ‘Jake made it quite clear they wouldn’t be meeting up in any remote places. Or travelling in the same car. So there shouldn’t be any opportunities for Chivnor to turn nasty.’

  Hillary nodded. ‘Good. And how did our Darren take all that?’

  ‘Remarkably well in fact,’ Rollo said. ‘He even suggested a venue for the meeting that not even Jake could argue with.’ He nodded across at Steven. ‘We were just discussing why he seemed to be so OK with it, in fact. He has to have an angle – but we haven’t been able to pinpoint it yet.’

  Hillary nodded. It was a good rule of thumb. Most villains had angles. ‘Where’s the meeting exactly?’ Hillary asked.

  ‘Bristol train station – tomorrow at ten in the morning,’ Rollo said.

  Hillary gave a small mental nod. It was just as she’d thought. It was looking more and more as if her theory about Jas Sudbury was on the money.

  ‘Right,’ she said simply. Because the venue Darren had chosen made perfect sense. ‘We’ll all be there, I take it?’ she added, but was actually taking that for granted. ‘You’re arranging cover for him now?’

  ‘All that’s already under way.’ It was Steven who answered the question, but he was looking at her thoughtfully. ‘We’ve been in contact with our Bristol CID colleagues, and they’re talking to the transport police that cover the Bristol rail terminus. They’re not particularly happy about it, apparently, but we’re all agreed there shouldn’t be any danger to the public.’

  ‘No,’ Hillary said. Unless …

  ‘We were just discussing the possibility of having Jake wear a wire,’ Steven went on, interrupting the dark direction of her thoughts.

  Hillary shook her head. ‘I think that’s an unnecessary risk,’ she said. ‘If Darren spots it, it’s all over. Just drum it into Jake’s head that he’s not to go off anywhere else with Darren, no matter what incentive he offers.’

  Not that she thought Darren was likely to ask Jake to go anywhere. Unless she was totally off her game, it was all going to go down at the station.

  ‘You think …’ Rollo started to say, but Hillary was already heading back towards the door.

  ‘I’m sorry, sir, but this other thing really can’t wait. I’ve only got a short window to get it done. Perhaps we can discuss it again later, when you’ve had a chance to fine-tune the details with Bristol. What time do you want us all in tomorrow?’ Her hand already on the door handle, she cast a quick look over her shoulder.

  ‘Five a.m. for a briefing. It’ll take a couple of hours to get to Bristol and then we need an hour or so to make sure of the site, and that we and the Bristol lot are all singing from the same hymn sheet,’ Rollo said.
<
br />   ‘Fine,’ Hillary said crisply.

  And was gone.

  In their office, Rollo Sale glanced across at the outgoing Acting Chief Superintendent and gave a wry smile. ‘In a bit of a hurry, wasn’t she?’

  ‘Yes,’ Steven agreed with a grin. ‘Something must be breaking on one of her cases.’

  Rollo nodded. ‘You didn’t push her on it, though?’ he asked curiously. ‘You didn’t feel the need for an update?’ He wasn’t criticizing Steven Crayle’s methods – he was just genuinely curious. Within a matter of hours now he was going to be solely in charge of the CRT and Hillary Greene was one of his major assets. And he was willing to get all the top tips he could on how best to manage her.

  ‘No,’ Steven said. ‘If there was something she needed us to know she’d have said so. She’s probably checking out a hunch or a long shot, in which case she wouldn’t want us to know if it didn’t pan out. But don’t worry – they usually do. And she’ll let us know as soon as she has something important, don’t worry. She’s not the type who needs to grandstand.’

  ‘All good to know.’

  Steven smiled across at his replacement. The more he got to know Sale the happier he became about leaving him in charge. Naturally, he and Hillary had discussed him in some detail over the past month, so he knew that Hillary had no serious doubts about her ability to work with the man. But he felt he owed it to Rollo to give him a heads up now. The quicker he learned the ropes as far as his top investigator was concerned, the better.

  ‘Was that the only thing you noticed about her just now?’ he asked carefully. ‘That she was in a hurry?’

  Rollo caught his tone and looked at him for a moment. He clearly thought about it for a moment, and then slowly frowned. ‘Not really. Why? What are you getting at?’

  Steven smiled peaceably. ‘When you mentioned that Darren was happy to meet up in a very public place, and even chose Bristol train station of all places, did she look surprised to you?’

  ‘Well, no… . Oh.’ Rollo slowly leaned back in his chair as he finally understood what the other man was getting at. Because Hillary Greene should have been surprised, of course. When Jake had reported to them about Chivnor’s call, and they’d listened to their recorded telephone conversation, both of them had been very surprised indeed. For a man who knew that he wasn’t going to get his money unless Jake had proof of Jasmine Sudbury’s whereabouts, he hadn’t seem at all worried about the very public nature of Bristol’s train station. Especially since Jake, as per instructions, had made it very clear that he wasn’t going to go anywhere with Darren on his own.