Blood Ties: Obsession, secrets, desire and murder (A Jack Le Claire Mystery)

by Kelly Clayton

  “And you got Irena to take her place?”

  “Look, I gave her a home, a good job and a man by her side. I did nothing wrong”

  “But she wasn’t enough? Nor was your wife?”

  “I wanted the real deal, and Laura would have turned to me if Scott didn’t want her. I know her type. She can’t live without a man to look after her and pull the shots.”

  And he kicked out at Irena again. Only this time she threw herself forward and, with a primeval howl that made Le Claire’s hair stand on head, clamped her jaws around Adamson’s leg, sinking her teeth into his calf.

  He screeched in pain and loosened his hold enough for Ana to pull herself from his grasp. Le Claire pounced and dealt Adamson a vicious blow to the head. He went down, still screaming as Irena held his leg in a feral grip.

  #

  Ana and Irena were in hospital. Ana was suffering from shock. Irena’s wounds, physical and mental, would run much deeper. Adamson was in holding, but Le Claire had something urgent to do before he went to see him.

  He dialled the mobile number Ana had given him. The phone was quickly answered.

  “Mrs Hamlyn, its DCI Le Claire.”

  “If you’re calling at this time of night, I hope you’ve something good to tell me?”

  “I’m in London at the moment, and we’ve apprehended Scott’s killer. It was David Adamson.”

  “David! No, he was Scott’s friend. I can’t take this in. Why would he do that? Why?”

  Her voice trailed off in an anguished sob. He could hear her talking to someone in the background. Her husband, no doubt.

  “I’m afraid Adamson knew about you and Ana. From what I can gather, he was using the threat of discovery to force Scott to split up with Laura Brown.”

  Silence. Sarah Hamlyn was quiet, but he could hear her breathing. He was about to speak when she said, “And he wouldn’t give her up. The bloody fool. I assume he was trying to pay David off. Oh sweet Jesus, the sins of the fathers and mothers.”

  “There’s something else. Adamson held Ana captive tonight with her friend Irena. Both girls are in hospital now. Ana is unhurt but she has had a terrible shock and probably won’t be released until tomorrow at the earliest. She asked if I could let you know she’s at St Thomas’ Hospital. I mean, you are her next of kin. As her aunt, I mean.”

  “Thank you for letting me know.” Her voice was distant and cold.

  He sighed, knew he had to warn her. “You won’t be able to keep the past hidden. I’m afraid this will all come out.”

  “Oh, I’ve got myself accustomed to that over the last few days. Never fear.”

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Le Claire and Dewar had caught the morning flight back to Jersey. Adamson was locked up in London, and Penny and Gareth Lewis would sort through the minefield of paperwork and jurisdiction, for Adamson had committed serious crimes in both Jersey and London. Both went straight to work. There were matters that had to be dealt with.

  Le Claire had just left a debriefing with the chief when Dewar came thundering in, bursting with excitement.

  She had gone to inform Beth Adamson that her husband was under arrest and had received an unusual response.

  “She is bouncing with rage. Apparently, the firm she works for in Panama runs the foundation. She uses her maiden name, Elizabeth Edwards, for work, and is one of the foundation council members. She thought it was for Aidan Gillespie to do charitable works through. Adamson must’ve set the whole thing up, forged signatures and everything. She had thought it was a bit suspicious with money coming in from all over the place and was going to talk to Adamson about it. He had blocked her from meeting Aidan Gillespie before, and she wanted to know why. I said there would need to be a full investigation of the foundation, and she said she’s sure her boss will cooperate.”

  “She sounds very accommodating to our case. I wonder why?”

  “Ah, seems she had to take the kids to the doctor. They weren’t sleeping well and kept asking for their tonic.”

  “Tonic?”

  “Yeah, Adamson must’ve been drugging them so they’d sleep through the night and he could get out and about to do whatever he needed. What a charmer.”

  “And cue the wife’s rage. Good work.”

  “What now?”

  “Now we try and build a case against Danny Gillespie for running paid sex parties, prostitution and, probably, drug dealing. For Adamson, we’ll add in the murder of Scott Hamlyn, beating up Laura Brown, the kidnapping of Irena and Ana and being the bastard who led Katrina to her death, for at the very least he got her hooked on drugs.”

  “Can I go home and get changed first?” The cheeky quip had him laughing. Dewar joined in, and the tension of the last few days finally disappeared.

  “Tell you what. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? I’m going to do the same. I’ve got something I need to do.”

  “So have I. See you later.” Dewar left, and he sat alone, building up courage for his next task.

  #

  Laura turned toward the opening door and gave a weak smile as she recognised DS Dewar. She pressed her palms against the mattress as she slid up the bed and, exhausted from the slight effort, leaned back against the headboard. “Hello, this is a surprise, Detective Sergeant.”

  “Call me Dewar. Everybody does. How are you?”

  “Okay, I guess. I came round properly last night, and Dr Foster says I should be out of here in a week, hopefully. I think they’re being a bit protective.”

  “I’ve been told I’ve got five minutes and then they’re chucking me out.”

  She laughed, wincing as a sharp pain lanced across her jaw. She tentatively touched the aching area.

  “I guess you’ll be sore for a while?”

  “Yeah, and I won’t be looking too pretty either. It’s better than the alternative though. Dr Foster says you got the bastard.”

  “David Adamson? Oh yes, he’s being held in London whilst his list of crimes is totted up. How did you know him?”

  “Through Danny. I met Danny when I was fifteen and moved in with him the next day. A couple of years later and he’d introduced me to the finer things in life and a long line of men who were happy to look after me for a night, a week, maybe even a month. A few years after Danny and I split up, I bumped into Aidan. He never accepted what a shit Danny could be, but he saw the people I was with – a pretty fast set – and asked me to meet him for dinner the next night.” A coughing fit overtook her and Dewar poured a glass of water from the bottle on the bedside unit. She wasn’t using to talking so much. “I thought he wanted to be my protector for a little while. I turned up for dinner in a killer dress with a flirtatious attitude. Aidan swiftly put me right.”

  “He wasn’t interested?”

  “Not in the slightest.” She laughed. If she was honest with herself, she’d been offended at how horrified he’d been when he realised what she thought he was after. “Instead, he offered me a lifeline.”

  “Your job?”

  “Yes. It took me a few days to accept, but then I realised that this was one of those rare opportunities that could reshape my life. So I said yes and went to work for his promotions company.”

  “We wondered about that. The company was owned by another non-UK company, and the trail stopped there.”

  “Aidan doesn’t like people to know his business.”

  “Where does Adamson come into the picture?”

  “Danny slowly came back into my life. Not how it was before. He’d just turn up at work sometimes, teasing, but with an edge. I hadn’t considered that working for Aidan would bring him back into my life. He said he was having a party and wanted to know if I would come. It was an organised orgy. He holds these parties, gets people to pay for the privilege of attending, and then blackmails the shit out of them.” She let her eyes close. Funny, it didn’t make the shame go away. “He paid me to attend. I guess old habits die hard.”
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  “Is that where you met Scott?”

  “That was later. I met David Adamson. To my shame, I took drugs again. I know it doesn’t excuse my actions, but I was numbed; everything was blurred. I went with David that night. It was brutal, and I’ve kept away from him ever since.”

  Compassion was shining out of Dewar’s eyes. It made Laura feel even more ashamed at the woman she’d been for so long. “And Scott? How did that happen?”

  “I wouldn’t go to any more parties. Danny begged me, just one more time. Said I wouldn’t have to do anything. Just be there and look pretty. I agreed, and that’s where I met Scott.”

  Dewar’s mouth fell open. “You met him at one of the sex parties?”

  “Yeah, funny, I know. David had invited him. Poor Scott was like a fish out of water. He’d gone along to please his friend and been horrified by what he saw. It was a casual thing to begin with between us. I didn’t know it until much later, but Danny was making Scott pay a ‘monthly fee’ for me. I was raging. I wasn’t his to sell. Scott carried on paying once we were properly together. Said it was so they’d keep their mouths shut and wouldn’t have a hold over me. I had pretty much told him everything.”

  “But Adamson wouldn’t let it be?”

  Her skin chilled as she thought of the lengths he had gone to secure her. “He suddenly got even friendlier with Scott. Popping in for a drink, usually when I was there. His eyes would undress me, and he’d make lewd remarks whenever Scott was out of the room. I ignored him, thought he was a harmless fool.”

  “Why did you go and see Aidan Gillespie the night of the party?”

  “Danny was playing up again. He kept phoning me all the time about doing some work. I knew Aidan could keep him in order. I just wanted to be left in peace.”

  “And now?”

  Laura shook her head. “I don’t know. Paul Armstrong has been to see me. When I’m out of here, he’ll help me with the finances part. You know, selling the apartment and everything.”

  “Will you keep your job at the promotions agency?”

  “No, I can’t work for Aidan anymore. It’s unhealthy to be around any of the Gillespies. I think I might travel for a bit. Work out what I want to do.” And who she needed to be. She had spent a lifetime being what other people wanted. Now it was down to her.

  Dewar stood. “We’ll send someone to take a proper statement when you’re feeling up to it. Good luck, Laura.”

  As the door closed, Laura sank back into the mattress. There was a stabbing pain in her jaw, her right eye wouldn’t yet open properly and every single part of her ached. But she was alive, and she was going to make that count in future. She lay down and daydreamed of second chances and new beginnings, only it wasn’t a dream, it was her reality.

  #

  Dewar headed for the exit and was almost at the main doors when she heard her name called. She turned and saw David Viera making his way toward her, his long legs covering the distance between them with ease.

  “I didn’t realise you were back. I was at the station this morning, and Vanguard said that you guys had closed the Hamlyn case.”

  She ran a hand through her hair, smoothing it a little. Quite irrationally, she wondered if she had put on mascara this morning. “Yeah. We need to get everything tied up, but we’ve got David Adamson for Scott Hamlyn’s death. Adamson is also in cahoots with Danny Gillespie for just about everything else.”

  There was a brief silence. Viera looked down at her through the thick lashes that surrounded his chocolate eyes. He maintained contact far longer than was appropriate, then cleared his throat. “Did you get my text?”

  She kept her voice even. “Yes, I did. Sorry, I didn’t have a chance to reply. I was just busy.”

  She hadn’t known how to respond. Viera’s text message had been innocuous enough; just hoping that all was going well in London. However, Viera had never contacted her before, and she didn’t even know how he’d got her number. She certainly didn’t know why he had reached out to her.

  He ran his hands through his hair and the silky locks stood on end. He glanced to the side and then those soft eyes locked on hers. “Look, I’ve been thinking. Well, wondering actually. Would you like to…”

  A high-pitched female voice cut across his words. “David, there you are. We’re late for the meeting. Hurry up; Dr Wells will be spitting blood, not analysing it, if we aren’t there on time.”

  A pretty red-head, dressed in a tight, fitted dress and matching jacket, hooked her arm through Viera’s and started to pull him away. She nodded at Dewar. “Sorry to break up your chat but we’ll get a tongue-lashing if we don’t get a move on.”

  “Sure, no problem. See you around, Viera.” Dewar shrugged and turned to the exit. She smiled to herself as Viera’s deep voice floated behind her.

  “Take care of yourself. I’ll be in touch.”

  #

  Ana awoke after a restless night. She had lain awake for hours as she tried to piece together what had happened and understand the last few weeks.

  She threw a hospital-issue robe on, which matched the plain cotton nightdress, and tiptoed out of her room. The ward reception desk was manned by a sweet-faced nurse who beamed at her. “How are you today?”

  “I feel okay. I mean, I’m not hurt.”

  “Not that can be seen, but we needed to check for delayed shock. What can I do for you?”

  “I need to know if my friend is okay, Irena Kobus.”

  The nurse quickly checked the notes. “She’s in the private room at the end and has just had some breakfast. Why don’t you go and find out how she is for yourself?”

  Irena was sitting up in bed, remote in hand as she flicked through the TV channels. She grinned when she saw Ana and then immediately held a hand to her face. “Ow, that hurts. The swine kicked me right on the jawbone. Pig!”

  Ana laughed. “I see you’re as feisty as ever. I’m glad.”

  “Yeah, well, what else can I do? It’s heart-wrenching to know you’ve been used as a substitute for someone else. I bet the wig he made me wear was just like that woman’s hair. Laura, they called her.”

  Ana didn’t know what to say to that. She figured that out of anything that had happened, this betrayal was what hurt Irena the most. “David Adamson is a piece of work. No one saw through him. The only person who knew how despicable he was is Danny Gillespie, and he obviously had reasons to keep quiet.”

  Irena spoke, her eyes downcast. “I don’t know what to say about my behaviour. The drugs gave me a warped sense of reality. Things I would never have done before suddenly seemed exciting, and I just wanted to please him. What kind of fool am I?”

  Ana couldn’t answer. It was down to Irena to work through and accept her past behaviour in all its tawdriness before moving on. “What are you going to do now?”

  Irena snorted. “I’m not staying in London, that’s for sure. I think I might go home, you know. Lick my wounds and decide what’s next. How about you?”

  “I don’t know. I went to Jersey to find my family, and with Scott gone, there seems little to keep me there.”

  A deep voice broke in from the doorway. “And here’s me thinking I’d made an impression on you.”

  Ana spun round. Ben was leaning against the doorjamb, two huge bouquets of flowers in his arms. He handed one to Ana and placed the other on the table by the side of Irena’s bed. “I got these in the hospital shop. Hope they’re okay.”

  Irena smiled. “These are lovely. Thanks.” She looked a little closer at Ben. “Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”

  “I think we met in one of the bars in St Helier. You were with Daria; she had a fling with Danny once.” He turned to Ana. “I wonder what’ll happen to her now. I mean, will the agency close if the Davies’ get imprisoned?”

  Ana saw Irena’s puzzled look and quickly interjected. “I’ll tell you all about that later.”

  Irena lay back on her pillows. “There�
�s more? I’m exhausted as it is.”

  “Then we better leave you alone. Come on, Ben.”

  Ben dutifully followed Ana back to her room.

  There was a sink in the corner, and she busied herself carefully placing the flowers in water.

  “Ana, I can’t say how sorry I am about Scott and that he died at the hands of a supposed friend. As for Danny, I’m ashamed to be related to him. Aidan is in pieces, but I think the blinkers have finally fallen off. He said he’ll pay for a good defence lawyer, but after that he doesn’t want anything to do with Danny for a long time.”

  She plucked at the dressing gown tie. “It just feels pretty weird that you’re connected to all this, even peripherally. I’ve been thinking maybe I should move somewhere else. There’s not much in Jersey for me.”

  He was right next to her before she’d even finished speaking. “There is. Look, Aidan’s deal went through. He’s sold the clubs and is out of that business entirely. I’ll be living full-time in Jersey, with just the occasional business trip. Aidan had nothing to do with any of this, and nor did I. Give me a chance. Spend time with me; let me show you what life can be like.”

  “But I only came to Jersey to be with my mother’s family, and the only one of them who gave a damn about me is dead.”

  “Maybe I can be your family in time.” He ran his fingers through his hair, leaving a rumpled mess. She wanted to reach out and smooth it but didn’t.

  “What do you say? Will you be my girlfriend?” The look on his face was like that of an anxious five-year-old.

  “I thought I already was!” She reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down until his mouth touched hers. She whispered against his lips, “Why don’t you show me how you treat your girlfriend?”

  His eyes darkened, he crushed her to him as his mouth caught hers and he deepened the kiss until Ana couldn’t think.

  It took a moment for her to realise that there was a voice speaking, a familiar voice. She pulled away from Ben and turned round. Charles and Sarah Hamlyn stood in the open doorway. Her aunt was uncharacteristically quiet as Charles spoke. “Sorry to barge in on you. Le Claire let us know what happened, and we got the first flight from Jersey this morning.”