‘He said there were some weird terms. Some of the people involved had taken the split very personally, very badly. Dad said they made a joke document but it wasn’t very funny. It was full of these pretend terms which were supposed to apply as a result of dissolving the company.’
‘Can I see it?’
Miles frowned. ‘No. I’ve got absolutely no idea where it is. Probably lost. Or it might be in the attic. Or it might have been shredded when we cleared dad’s house.’
‘You read it, though?’
Miles shook his head. ‘Dad said it was a spoof. Made out to look like a legal document but full of daft fairy tale things.’
‘Such as?’
‘Oh, I don’t know, I can’t remember.’
‘Try,’ Lydia said, squeezing her coin in her palm.
Miles closed his eyes. ‘Floral bounty. Freedom below. Your first-born girl.’ His eyes flew open. ‘My father didn’t have a girl.’
‘No, but you did,’ Lydia said. ‘If I were you, I would find that document and burn it.’
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The next day was Thursday and Lydia made her way to her meeting with Mr Smith. She stopped on the way and bought takeaway coffees and two large slices of chocolate fudge cake. She didn’t bother to arrive early to sweep the flat for bugs, having accepted that it was futile. Mr Smith belonged to a world with far greater resources and tech than she did.
He was already in the kitchen, the bakery box of Pasteis de Nata on the table.
Lydia put down her cardboard tray. ‘I brought a farewell gift. Cake.’
‘But we’re just getting started,’ Mr Smith said. ‘This will cheer you up. I found your friend’s family and the reunion went very well. I filmed it on my phone, if you want your heart-warmed.’
‘He’s leaving the hospital?’
Mr Smith nodded. ‘Discharged and on his way to his parents’ home. I can give you the address. FYI, his name isn’t Ash. It’s Simon.’
Lydia lifted the lid on her coffee and blew on the liquid inside. ‘I’ll take his details. And I’ll follow up to make sure he stays safe and well.’
‘I don’t know what you’re implying,’ Mr Smith said. ‘But he has volunteered to speak to us about his experiences. And he will be well compensated for his time.’
Lydia used the shark smile she had been practising. ‘You’re giving me your word?’
A small crease appeared between his eyebrows. ‘Has something happened? You seem a little…’
Lydia took a sip of her coffee and pushed the tray toward Mr Smith. ‘Have some cake. It’s not poisoned.’
‘You said ‘farewell gift’. You know that’s not how this works, right?’
Lydia put her coffee down. ‘What would you say if I said I could deliver my uncle into police hands with enough evidence to put him away?’
‘I would be surprised,’ Mr Smith said. ‘Can you?’
‘There’s a bigger problem. Two Crows were killed in Wandsworth. I don’t think prison is safe.’
‘Agreed. Your uncle must have many enemies.’
‘Your department,’ Lydia said. ‘Do you detain people?’
‘Sometimes,’ Mr Smith said. ‘Are you suggesting that my department would handle the incarceration of Charlie Crow. Keep him safe while he’s locked up?’
‘I don’t know,’ Lydia said. ‘Is there a deal to be made? One which protects Charlie and gives him more freedom than prison, but still…’
‘Removes his civil liberties?’
‘That’s not exactly what I… Something like that.’
‘No halfway house on that, I’m afraid,’ Mr Smith said. ‘We could give him comfortable accommodation, treat him with dignity and respect, only include experiments with his full consent, allow him visitation rights and communication tools, but a locked door is a locked door.’
Lydia closed her eyes. The mutilated body of Big Neil filled her mind, snapping into horrific focus. ‘If I delivered Charlie to you, would you heal my father?’
Mr Smith inclined his head. ‘I assume he wouldn’t be coming willingly? He may not cooperate with our research?’
‘Not willingly or knowingly. He won’t walk into prison quietly. As for research, I don’t know. He’s curious about the Crow powers, too, so he might cooperate if you offer to share results. I honestly don’t know.’ She clasped her hands together. ‘You would do things without his consent, wouldn’t you?’
‘Absolutely not,’ Mr Smith said. ‘We have a code of conduct, same as any branch of the civil service.’
‘But we’re talking dark ops and without seeing a copy of that code, that doesn’t mean very much.’
Mr Smith nodded. ‘True.’ He didn’t elaborate.
Lydia had turned over this in her mind ever since it had occurred to her, sometime after she had finished throwing up. Big Neil had not been a good person, but he hadn’t deserved to die in fear and pain. And Lydia could not belong to a Family which acted in that way. She had to do something. She had to change the rules and that was never going to happen with Charlie in charge. Even if she took over from him, he would continue to pull the strings, to order people around. He had been doing it for longer. He knew how the game was played and Lydia barely knew what the game was. ‘I’ll bring you the evidence you need. You’ll have to act fast, though. He can’t see you coming. And in return, you will heal my father. If you can’t do that, the deal is off.’
‘I can do it,’ Mr Smith said.
‘You said before that you would only be able to try, that you couldn’t guarantee it would work. What’s changed?’
‘You have sufficiently motivated me. Good job.’
‘How do I know I can trust you? If you lied about that…’
‘I didn’t lie. When I heal somebody, it takes something from me. It’s not something I do lightly. I said I would try, but I was keeping the proviso that it might not work or work completely so that I could stop the process if I felt it was taking too much from me.’
Lydia nodded. That actually made sense and Lydia found that she believed him. It was possible that Mr Smith’s powers or the prize he offered was interfering with her judgement, but Lydia didn’t think she had a choice. She had to believe him. Believing him meant that she might be able to save Henry Crow. ‘We have a deal, then.’
‘Are you really going to do this? Swap your uncle’s freedom for your father’s life?’
Lydia swallowed. ‘I think so.’
‘Better get more sure than that,’ Mr Smith said, his voice gentle.
Saying the word and meaning it were two different things. Standing outside in the cold air, tasting car exhaust, Lydia knew that she had to be absolutely certain. There would be no going back from an action of this magnitude against Charlie Crow. And she had to make sure everything was tied up before she pulled the trigger. There was a chance things would go poorly, even allowing for the mighty power of the secret service. She used the contact details from Mr Smith and called Simon’s home phone number. A woman answered and Lydia asked for Simon.
‘Are you a journalist?’
‘No, a friend.’ Lydia felt a stab of guilt. She had no right to that label. ‘Lydia Crow.’
‘Simon? There’s someone on the…’ The woman’s voice became muffled as she put a hand over the receiver. A moment later, Simon’s voice said ‘hello’.
‘I just wanted to check in on you. See how you’re doing.’
‘I’m okay,’ he said. There was a pause as if he was waiting for something and Lydia could imagine his anxious mother retreating to another room, Simon watching her go. ‘I mean, it’s weird,’ he said, finally. ‘They’re old. I still feel, I dunno, pretty much the same. I don’t know why I expected everything to be the same. It’s not like I hadn’t seen my own face in the mirror. I knew time had passed, but I still… It’s stupid.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Lydia said, feeling helpless.
‘Don’t be. I’m glad you called, I wanted to say thank you.’
Lydia phys
ically flinched. ‘Don’t-’
‘That guy, the one who found my parents. He’s giving me money and he said that you…’
‘It’s nothing. Don’t thank me.’ Lydia took a deep breath and crossed her free arm around her middle, hugging herself. ‘I’m sorry. I should have helped you sooner. I was caught up in my own stuff and I thought you were…’ She broke off before she could say ‘delusional’.
‘I saw something on the news,’ Simon said. ‘A girl went missing in Highgate but she’s been found.’
‘Yeah,’ Lydia said. ‘That’s right.’
‘I was in Highgate.’
‘What?’
‘I’m remembering a little more. Just pieces. But it was Highgate Woods we went to on New Year’s Eve. I drank a lot of Mad Dog and some vodka, I was pretty out of it, but I remembered something else.’
‘What?’
‘There was this little kid. A girl. She was holding my hand, I think. I got lost from my mates and it was really cold and I was drunk, but like, not so drunk that I didn’t know I was seriously freezing and that I might end up with hypothermia or something. And then there was this little kid and she said she knew a really good party. It was weird, because she wasn’t old enough to be out at that time. Or partying.’
Lydia thought of the Pearl girl outside the house.
‘She said something really old fashioned about me going of my own free will. And I think we went underground.’
‘Underground? Where was that?’
‘The woods. I don’t remember going anywhere else. Everything after was underground. Different rooms, different places, but no windows.’
‘Do you remember any of the people at the party? Anything else about what happened?’
‘I’m not allowed,’ Simon said, his voice cracking a little. ‘I mustn’t. I know that. But I was thinking about that girl. Not the little girl, the one in the news. If she went missing same place as me, maybe the same people took her. And that means maybe they’ve done it before or will do it again.’
‘Maybe,’ Lydia said, squeezing her coin in her palm. ‘I wouldn’t think about it. Just concentrate on getting better. I mean, you’ve got your life back.’
‘What’s left of it,’ Simon sounded angry, now, and Lydia couldn’t blame him. ‘I’ve lost twenty years.’
‘It’s not fair,’ Lydia said. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘It’s not your fault. It’s them. The people who kept me. They can bend time or wipe memories, because I can’t remember much, but I know I feel like I was only with them for, like, months. A year tops. They can’t get away with it. They’ve stolen years of my life.’
‘You can’t look for them. Best thing you can do is to forget about it.’ Lydia felt the uselessness of that statement and wasn’t surprised when Simon laughed.
‘I’m going to find out who they are and stop them from ever doing this again.’
‘That’s a very bad idea.’ Lydia pushed a little bit of Crow whammy into her words. The poor guy had been manipulated enough by magic, but this was definitely for his own good. The Pearl King and their court were extremely dangerous and, thanks to Lydia, extremely pissed off. Simon needed to stay well away. To her surprise, her power seemed to bounce right off him.
‘I’m serious,’ Simon was saying. ‘I need something to live for and getting back at the bastards who stole my life is as good as anything. Do you know I can’t sleep? And I can’t get used to my name. I mean, I kind of remember that I was called Simon, but it doesn’t feel right.’ He lowered his voice. ‘Every time they use it, mum and dad, it makes me flinch. I miss the name ‘Ash’. That’s insane, right? I hate the people who gave me the name and I miss it at the same time. If I don’t do something I’m going to lose my mind.’
‘Let me help you,’ Lydia said. ‘Let me look into things.’
A pause. ‘You’d do that?’
‘I told you, I should have helped you before. This is my atonement.’
‘I can pay.’
‘No pay,’ Lydia said. ‘Just promise me you’ll sit tight until I can do some digging.’
There was a short pause and then Simon agreed. ‘How long will it take?’
‘I’ve got an urgent matter to attend to today, but I’ll get started as soon as possible. And I’ll keep in touch. Don’t do anything until you’ve spoken to me first.’ Lydia stared across the street for a moment after hanging up, not really seeing anything. She had let Simon down and had to make it right but, more than that, the man had a point. How many others had the Pearls abducted over the years? How many little playthings had the king taken? And had Simon just been unlucky, a case of wrong place at the wrong time, or had he been chosen?
Lydia knew that she was teetering on the edge of a cliff, and before she jumped off, there was one final thing she had to do. She rang the buzzer on Fleet’s building and waited for the door to unlock. When Fleet opened the door to his flat, he was in shirt sleeves, his tie loose. ‘You can use your key,’ he said.
‘I didn’t want to presume,’ Lydia said. ‘We’re still…’ She had been going to say ‘broken up’ but the words got stuck.
Fleet nodded and turned away. ‘Can I get you something to drink?’
‘I’m fine, thanks.’
He turned back. ‘Is everything all right? Did something happen with Charlie?’
Lydia didn’t know how to explain and she felt her eyes aching with unshed tears. She shook her head. ‘He’s not going to be in charge anymore.’
‘You quit?’ Fleet said, one eyebrow raised. ‘How did that go down?’
‘That’s not really…’ Lydia stepped into Fleet, trusting that he would hold her, and let her head rest on his chest for a few precious seconds. She had been so angry and hurt, had felt that Fleet had let her down. He had chosen his job, his position as a copper over Lydia and, when she as in custody in Camberwell nick, she felt he had sided with his profession. Deserted her in her hour of need. Now, she had seen the true meaning of betrayal. Betrayal not just of Lydia, but of everything she had thought a person was capable of. It really put things into perspective.
‘What’s happened?’ Fleet was rubbing small circles on Lydia’s lower back. ‘What’s wrong?’
She looked into Fleet’s steady brown eyes and read the love and concern which lived inside. ‘I’m going to take over as the new head of the Crow Family.’
His frown deepened. ‘What does Charlie think about that? Is he going to go after you?’
‘He won’t be in the picture,’ Lydia said. ‘I’m calling in a favour from MI5. Turns out,’ she smiled a little, ‘the official channels have their uses.’
Fleet was searching her face, his frown still very much in evidence. ‘There will be repercussions. Charlie isn’t going to take this quietly.’
Lydia shook her head lightly. ‘You’re not listening. I’ll be the head of the Crow Family. I’ll be the new Charlie. Nobody is going to move against me.’
Fleet opened his mouth to argue but Lydia ploughed on. ‘That’s not why I’m here, though. I’m not asking your advice or your permission. This is my work, my Family, and I don’t think I’ve got a choice.’
‘Okay, but-’
‘I wanted to ask you something. It’s the final thing I need to work out before I go ahead.’
‘What’s that?’
Lydia took a deep breath. ‘Would a London copper consider a steady romantic relationship with the head of the infamous Crow Family?’
Fleet’s frown smoothed away and a smile like sunshine appeared. ‘This one would.’
Lydia sat at her favourite table in The Fork. It was one at the back, giving her a good view of the whole cafe, and the wall behind meant that nobody could approach without her knowing about it.
She hadn’t turned on the overheads, so the room was lit with the glow of the streetlights and the headlights of passing cars. Lydia flipped her coin over the back of her knuckles and waited. The cafe had been called The Fork after a fork in the road. A pla
ce where two diverging paths met. Charlie had given so many people stark choices in this room, often two terrible options. He wouldn’t have hesitated. And, if Lydia knew her uncle, he wouldn’t have lost sleep about them afterward. She wasn’t her uncle, but she was a Crow. And Crows don’t flinch.
Lydia felt the brush of a wing on the back of her hand just before a noise from the kitchen alerted her that she was no longer alone. The door behind the counter opened slowly and there was a pause before Charlie walked in. Lydia imagined he had been peering out through the gap, assessing the situation, probably wondering if she was stupid enough to meet him alone.
‘It’s just us,’ Lydia said. ‘For now.’
Charlie moved through the dark cafe like a shark cutting through water. Everything about him that Lydia had once found terrifying - his certainty, obvious power and those dead eyes – were still very much in evidence. Lydia felt the urge to run away or to bend to his will, and shoved it down.
Charlie sat opposite her and leaned back in his chair, assessing. ‘Not very bright, Lyds. You can’t summon me.’
‘Clearly, I can,’ Lydia said.
Charlie’s expression didn’t betray anything but Lydia felt the tension in the air increase. ‘This isn’t a pissing competition,’ she said. ‘I’m not trying to score points or disrespect you. I’m just telling you that you need to step down from your position and head out of town. I don’t care where you go as long as it’s far away from London and you keep very, very quiet.’
Charlie smiled then. He gave a little head shake, like she was a pet that had learned an amusing trick. ‘You’re giving me an ultimatum? This is…’ He waved a hand while pretending to think. ‘What? A threat?’
‘Not a threat,’ Lydia said. ‘A chance. I wasn’t going to give you one. You’ve crossed too many lines and I’m having you removed. I made a deal with the secret service. Agents are at your house right now. If you hadn’t come to this meeting, you would already be in their custody. They’ve got a room in a secure facility with your name on the door.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Charlie was going for bluster, but there was something moving behind his eyes. Something which suggested that the penny had dropped.
The Pearl King Page 24
