“I told you, didn’t I? You’re one of us now.”
Maggie’s words were not about camaraderie. Eva knew better than that. They were about ownership and permanence. On the other side of Maggie’s warm words was an invisible threat.
Eva didn’t say a word, but she set her face like stone. She would never be one of them, not in a million years. Eva was deeper into the sordid world of crime than she had ever been in her life. She had always been good. But the need for cash had forced her to cross the line. She wasn’t sure if she would ever find her way back, or even if she could ever truly be clean again… but whatever plan Maggie had for her wasn’t going to happen. For the first time in weeks, Eva felt a solid, grim determination. It was bitter. But the strength of it felt reassuring. She was going to get Maggie safe. She was going to take her payment, and then she was going to spend every penny trying to forget this had ever happened. Then she was never going to deal with Maggie Gillespie ever again. But before she could get over anything, Eva was going to have to survive.
Fifteen
Jess couldn’t do anything but watch as the shouting, the screams and the violence erupted from within the house. It was a horror story with the volume turned low. If any neighbour heard anything, maybe they would have thought an argument was going on. Jess knew better, and her heart jackhammered the whole time. Soon after that, the front door opened and the man in the mask closed the door with all the calm of someone popping out to the shop. He walked slowly to the gate where Jess was waiting. He rolled up his mask to wear it as a hat once again. His face was blank, but he raised and dipped his eyebrows at her in some minimalist greeting. There was something different in his eyes. It made Jess scared. He moved past her, and Jess looked after him with a lurching feeling in her stomach. What had he done?
“Where are you going?”
The man didn’t answer.
“You can’t just walk away and leave me…”
But he kept on walking down the dark road.
“You can’t…”
The man turned around. “I would have helped you, Jess. But the people you know, they’re beyond help. They’re a part of the whole bloody problem.”
“Stop talking in riddles, please. I brought you here to help but you haven’t helped at all, have you?”
“Here’s my help for you: whatever arrangement you’ve got with your boss, it’s not worth it anymore. Take my advice. Get away from her before you end up as ruined and rotten as she is.”
“She needed your help. So did I. We were trapped.”
“No. You’ve always got a choice. I do what is right. Those people in there… your boss included. None of what happened in there is right. And sooner or later justice will be served. You’ll see.”
The man turned away, his black clothes already fading into the night.
“Hold on. Wait. Was that a threat…?” There was no response. “You can’t just walk away. Town is miles away.”
The man in black kept walking until he disappeared. Frustration and anguish overcame her. She stood quietly sobbing knowing that she’d ruined things all round. If only Dan had never left them. What the hell had gone so wrong? Eva was lost and all at sea, clinging to any proposition that passed by… but she was still Eva, strong, clever and wilful. But what did Jess have apart from a natty wardrobe and a barrow full of sass… Jess’s shoulders gently shook. She didn’t notice the gate swing open behind her until its hinges creaked. Jess looked round and saw Eva. Her boss’s face was serious, and the shadows hid her eyes. All she could see was the smallest glint of light reflecting from them. She was serious and very angry, but mostly she looked tired. Jess felt the disappointment pouring from her. The disappointment was much worse than the anger because it confirmed the disappointment Jess felt in herself. She’d tried to help, yet she’d created another layer of disaster weighing heavily on the top of the first. “We need to talk,” said Eva. From that point on, Jess was sure that nothing was going to be the same ever again.
Eva talked, Jess listened. It wasn’t even the content of what Eva said that hurt Jess. It was the tone of her voice - all trust was gone. Jess guessed this is how Dan must have felt not long ago. This was the beginning of the end for her- of that she was certain. But however it played out from here, Jess was determined to go out on a high. For Eva’s sake, she was going to turn this whole thing round.
Sixteen
It was very late. The old clock in the sitting room said it was almost one o’clock in the morning. Eva had avoided the room for hours, but the evidence of the murder was now almost entirely gone. She had guessed some details and heard others. Gerrard had wrapped Kendra in a tarpaulin found in the shed, then double wrapped her in black bin bags, taping the gaps between them with parcel tape. Gerrard was pleased with his work. “It’s totally watertight. Not a drop will leak from there,” he had said, sounding like a handyman proud of his work. But it was not something Eva wanted to hear. She didn’t want to look at the parcel, or acknowledge what had happened. Instead she sat with Maggie and Jess in the lilac room behind the sitting room. The room was very small, and Maggie’s presence made conversation nigh-on impossible, so Eva and Jess sat and made brittle small talk, the kind of chat no one wants to engage in and none benefit from. All of them knew what was happening a few feet from them in the other room. Gerrard was busy packaging Kendra’s body, destroying the evidence and cleaning the carpets. Eva sat in a small old chair covered in a purple woollen throw. On the arm of her chair, totally out of place, was a large gleaming black handgun. The gun given to Eva by Gerrard. She wasn’t sure if she could use it, but with killers at large, and a corpse in the front room, the presence of the gun made Eva feel safe. She saw Jess look at the gun. Jess looked almost broken, her eyes pink, and eyebrows upturned. Eva half-wanted to cut her to the sword and finish her with a few choice words, but at the same time, she saw Jess was already busy punishing herself as hard as she could. The silence pushed in from all sides, broken only by the noise of Gerrard destroying evidence next door. The ageless queen stood in the doorway to the lilac room filling it with her dark presence.
“What are you going to do with this one?” said Maggie with a derisory tone. “It seems to me, she’s our Achilles heel.”
Our Achilles Heel. With every word and each passing moment, Maggie was attempting to co-opt Eva deeper into their little cabal. Eva was determined to resist with every fibre of her being. Even if the law decided she should went down for being an accomplice to murder Eva would never be a part of Maggie’s plans. She would help the woman to safety, and then she would fight until she was free. But Eva couldn’t reveal her intentions now or else the tinderbox was likely to explode. So Eva played it careful.
“Jess knows that she did wrong. Very wrong. But the lesson has been learned. We’ll talk about it later. She’s not your problem, Maggie. Jess is my problem.”
“If that’s your decision. But remember who’s paying to get everyone safe. Eva. I am and I don’t want her round, understood? This situation is between you, me and Gerrard and no one else.”
“Agreed. Jess doesn’t need to be at risk with us here. But she can’t go back to our offices. Brian Gillespie knows our names and faces, and if he sees Jess, his people could capture her and use her against me. She has to stay with us until we can get to safety.”
Eva kept her professional cool, but deep down she had no idea when they would ever be safe again. “Where are we going next? Brian knows all my hidey-holes too well. He paid for most of them.”
Maggie left her doorway pose, and walked into the room. She pulled a stool from the edge of the room and moved it into the centre space between Eva and Jess. Now they were a close knit triangle with Maggie invading their space. Jess recoiled, and though Eva felt the same, she did not recoil. In Maggie’s mind they were allies and right now, it had to seem so. In Maggie’s world, her closet allies were her property.
“This is what I can promise you, Eva. Fix this situation and I will pay you fi
fty grand cash, and on top of that I will pay you a retainer for your services. What happened in the past between us is finished. Water under the bridge. We’re in a new era now, a partnership.”
“I don’t want to think beyond getting us out of here. We can discuss all that when you’re safe.”
“I wanted to talk with you. Why doesn’t the girl go and keep a lookout in the front room.”
In normal circumstances, Jess would have supplied a cutting retort, but she was still quietly crushed. She looked at Eva. Eva shook her head strongly. “I like Jess to hear my business dealings. I like to have someone to reflect with.”
“You can reflect with me, now.”
“Jess stays, Maggie. She’s my assistant.”
Maggie tutted, her eyes showing her displeasure.
“Okay I know my life has changed forever now. I know that. I am going to need someone I can rely on who is smart enough to see the enemy coming. I need you on my team. I must be your first priority – your main client.”
“Maggie… I’ve never ever worked like that.”
“You’ll earn more than you’ve ever earned before. I guarantee it.”
Eva smiled thinly. “I appreciate the offer. Let’s talk about it after we’re finished here.”
“I want an answer.”
“Fine. It’s a delicate matter, Maggie. I need time to think. Then we can talk about it.”
“Alone.”
Eva didn’t reply. Being alone with Maggie was a dangerous business which she didn’t plan for.
Maggie let her eyes linger, then she broke into a big smile. “I think a deal is close. Be cheerful Eva. We survived. We should have a drink to celebrate.”
Gerrard appeared at the door in a vest with a sheen of sweat over his brow. He wiped his hands on a handkerchief, his arms flexing as he moved. Eva couldn’t help notice the man looked good in a vest. She blinked the thought away. There were so many other issues to deal with, a distraction like sexy killer was no way to spend her thinking.
“Gerrard. Fetch us a bottle from the front room.”
“You want to drink now? We need to get out of here!” said Gerrard. “What’s your master plan, detective?”
“I’m working on it, Gerrard.”
The man was a cynical bastard, but a good looking one.
“Then while she’s working on it, let’s have a glass. One glass won’t hurt. Fetch the white, will you Gerrard. White is Eva’s favourite.”
Gerrard cussed under his breath and walked away. Ten minutes later, the first seductive tendrils of warm relaxing booziness were easing her, kneading the tension on her temples, persuading her that every problem facing them could be overcome.
“You shouldn’t drink too much, Eva. You need to stay sharp,” said Jess. Thought of a tension relieving drink stole Eva’s attention. She had seen a bad woman get killed. She was working with bad people, trapped together with them, and the air had been filled with tension for days. Yes, Eva needed a drink all right. She needed to stay sharp, but any sharper and she was going to cut herself in half. “Don’t worry, Jess. I’m sharp,” said Eva, taking another sip. Maggie’s eyes barely left Eva as she jotted down another set of ideas in a quick scrawl and drew lines between each, planning out the possibilities before them on the back of an old electricity bill. The alcohol flicked a switch in her brain. She felt freed from fear, and ready to fix their problem and move on. She scribbled out the names of people who could help. She crossed some out and other names she underlined. And Eva knew Maggie’s possessive eyes were upon her, but right now she didn’t care. The wine made the danger seem less of a burden. The wine was so bad it was good. The attention from Maggie Gillespie made the situation charged with energy, and though she didn’t want Maggie’s attention, with the booze in her veins Eva found some small part of it flattering too. Then there was Gerrard and the offer of more money than she had ever earned in her life. It didn’t quite feel real. It felt like she was in a scene in a film or maybe one of those strange and unreal dreams. Eva’s life was changing tracks. In many senses, right now, Eva was a fugitive. Right there and then, under the pained watch of her assistant, being a fugitive didn’t seem all that bad. As Eva scrawled, joining the dots figuratively and in her mind, she realised she had the basis of a workable escape plan.
After the plan had been designed, the drink flowed faster and further than Eva intended, and Jess’s eyes changed from pained to disparaging, Eva accepted her third glass. After making the last call, Eva slid her phone away and walked back into the lilac room.
“The good news is that I think I’ve got us a way out.”
“I want the bad news.” Said Gerrard, gruffly, drinking wine from a mug.
“You always do,”
Eva laughed. She felt the unintended edge of flirtation in her voice, and she regretted it. She knew Jess would have picked it up. She glanced at Jess, but the girl had looked away. Gerrard smirked, then killed it with a sip of booze.
“The bad news is we can’t move until they’re ready. We’re have to stay in this place one more night.”
Gerrard shrugged. “The night’s nearly done anyway. I can keep watch.”
“The wine’s almost done, Eva. I have some brandy in my room, if you care to join me.”
Direct, blunt and obvious. Eva looked at Maggie just to make sure she’d understood the inference. Maggie’s eyes were pure mischief, deep darkness. Eva understood all right. Her eyes were seeking to dominate, to cajole, and to own.
“No. I’ve drunk enough thanks.”
It was definitely time to end the evening. Eva looked the rest of her glass, and decided to leave it there “Let’s pack up…” She stood and left the room, refusing to meet Maggie’s eyes. As Eva placed the glass down in the sink, she felt a sudden presence beside her. Eva turned, ready to rebuff Maggie, but her hands landed squarely on Gerrard’s solid chest. He was close, looming over her. She could see the detail of his stubble, the lines around his fine eyes. In close proximity, she felt the man’s magnetic pull, and sensed the hunger in him for the first time. He grinned at her, and laid his hands on her shoulder. Eva kept her eyes and breathing steady, and tried not to shudder at his touch. Maybe it was the danger. Maybe it was the alcohol. The combination was sending them wild.
“You know Maggie wants to eat you alive, don’t you? But I know what you want…” Gerrard squeezed her shoulder and leaned down towards her. Drunkenly, Eva was drawn towards him, ready to kiss him, but recovered her senses in the last moment. An image of Dan’s smile, of a kiss with Dan flashed into her mind. She drew away, leaning back and away over the sink. She tucked her hair behind her ears, and broke eye contact.
“No, Gerrard. It’s been hell tonight... It’s been too much…”
“What’s done is done, Eva.”
Eva shrugged and pulled away. “What the hell are we doing? All of us… Gerrard… It’s late and I’m tired.”
But right then, the last thing Eva wanted to do was sleep.
“I know what you really want, detective. I’m not worried. There’ll be another time and another chance. And next time, I’ll take that kiss.”
Eva leaned on the sink as Gerrard chuckled and walked away. She knew he was right. With every taboo falling away, with every temptation surrounding her, Eva wondered if she was losing herself altogether. In the space of just a few days, what had she become? One of Maggie Gillespie’s flunkies… an accessory to murder… She fought with the alcohol. Eva needed to find a way out of this before there was no way back.
Gerrard left the kitchen and went into the lilac room. Jess came out from her hiding behind the kitchen door. Through the crack of the door, she had seen the near kiss. Jess knew they were not safe here at all. What was wrong with Eva? There had been a murder for God’s sake! Self-defence they would say, of course they would. But there had been a murder all the same. The man in the mask was right. Eva had compromised herself- she had all but lost what she used to stand for. Jess told herself to leave whi
le she still could. But still Eva was right even when she was wrong. The enemy was out there, and Jess was fair game. So she had no choice but to stick close by and watch the big man and the queen bitch fight over Eva to claim Eva for themselves. Right now, Eva was weak and seemed ready to give in. She just hoped it was an illusion, that Eva was acting again, that really she was one step ahead of them, and playing them at their own game. But Jess wasn’t so stupid as to believe that. She knew what she saw. Eva was falling. She was giving in to temptation and had lost her way. Jess needed to get out and take Eva with her before it was simply too late.
Seventeen
By five thirty am the house was dark and dark, but tinged with a hint of morning sun. Eva hadn’t taken a run for five days and she was paying for it. She felt fat, irritable and antsy. She got up and walked past Jess, who had slept on a sofa along the wall of their small shared bedroom. Eva left the room without waking her. When Eva had gone, Jess opened her eyes and sighed. Eva got to the kitchen, clattered some pans and put the kettle on. Being awake before the others gave her time to think, to deal with the anxiety brought on by the booze and the desperate situation she found herself in. Desperate? Yeah, it was pretty desperate. She made a few more calls to double check on Maggie’s remaining exit routes to safety. The problem was that the only exits easily available were through the law. For Maggie the law would mean prison, followed by a swift prison cell execution by one of Gillespie’s cohorts
The people Eva really needed help from were other villains. Anyone could track down villains easily enough. You didn’t need the yellow page, all you needed to know was the name of one dodgy crim, and from there it was usually only a few short calls to someone who was more than merely dodgy. Every call she made raised the stakes and deepened her involvement. Especially in the eyes of the law. She remembered how badly she had treated Dan after his court case and imprisonment for tampering with the Marka case evidence. There was a good chance Eva was going to go down for far worse if this went wrong. Calling hardened criminals, was one cause of her bad mood and heightened anxiety. There were others. Gerrard was another. Sexy as hell, though with not the usual quota of brain cells and charisma Eva usually opted for, the man was still well built and as handsome as a male model. She’d noticed all that before the booze took hold, but afterwards, she’d almost succumbed to him. That could not happen ever again. Then there was Maggie, always pushing and prodding, making lewd remarks, looking for an angle to lure her into something well beyond what she’d agreed to. Maggie, beautiful and deadly, the murderess, the gangster’s moll. And of course, Eva was now the proud owner of an oversized handgun. Dan would have known the make, model, country of origin, its qualities and its flaws. All Eva knew was that she was hung over, in it up to her neck, and surrounded by people who were pulling her down into the darkness. She’d almost gone the whole hog already. How easy it would have been to have slept with Gerrard, just to have ended up the appendage to a gangster’s stooge. The wrath of Maggie would have been amusing, but also terrible to bear. No. She’d done everything the wrong way so far, but Eva was determined, was absolutely committed that she would go no further. The end had been reached. From now on, Eva was going to do this her way. Not her conventional way, that ship had sailed long back, but she would still do right from here on in. While Eva made tea, she put the handgun into her jacket. It pressed cold and heavy against her chest, and stood prominent beneath the tweed. She’d have to find somewhere else to stash it, but it had to stay near and accessible from now on. It was Eva’s only defence and it was going to help her bring this mess to a close.
Better the Devil Page 12
