High Pressure

by Sam Blake

  ‘Getting better. She’s badly dehydrated. She’s in hospital in Wexford town. Brioni’s staying with her. She’s hoping they’ll let her out later today so she can come home, but her house is still sealed … At least she didn’t see Steve.’

  Rob put his arm around her shoulder. ‘You look exhausted. Shall we get a coffee before we leave here?’

  Anna could feel her heart beating. She just wanted to sit down with him, on his own, and tell him everything that had happened. There seemed so much. But that couldn’t happen either.

  ‘I think they need you in Scotland Yard, I’m not sure there’s time. There’s a driver waiting outside. Mike knew we were both arriving at the same time, so he arranged it.’

  ‘That sounds very Mike. If I can’t pretend I was delayed, let’s walk slowly. I have to go straight into a meeting with some guy called Julian from MI5 as soon I get there.’

  ‘MI5?’

  ‘They’re overseeing everything. This one’s sensitive. Very sensitive. I can’t tell you more yet. I’m seeing Mike this afternoon. Let me get through these meetings and then we can talk properly.’

  In the rear of the police car, Rob’s hand snaked across the seat to squeeze Anna’s. Their driver had the cricket on, and was fully focused on the traffic and the radio.

  ‘Tell me what happened in Wexford.’

  Anna let out a shaky sigh. She wanted to speak to him across a table with candles and soft music, but with the news he’d just given her, she could see that his brief visit to London was going to be dominated by this case. She couldn’t begrudge his time being taken up – this was what he did, and he was damn good at it. She squeezed his hand.

  ‘Brioni knocked Reiss out. Then she calmly texts this detective she knows.’

  Anna grinned. From what she’d caught from the Emergency Response Unit, they’d been pretty impressed. As she had been herself. Anna reckoned Brioni had a brilliant future ahead of her when she’d graduated, if she ever wanted to go into the security services.

  Anna smiled. ‘She’s utterly fearless. She came into the house looking for me. She knew the chopper had landed, but she had no idea if Reiss had an associate in the property. Once she knew the ERU were outside, she let them know the house was clear.’

  ‘But no one got hurt?’

  ‘Only Reiss Chanin.’ Anna raised her eyebrows, trying not to look too pleased. ‘He really whacked his head.’

  ‘I’m not seeing that as a problem.’

  Anna smiled. ‘Me neither, honestly. God, it’s so good to see you.’

  ‘Have you given your statement?’

  ‘Yes, I did it right there at the Garda station.’

  She’d done this before; she knew how important first-person witness reports were.

  ‘And they know the full story with Chanin?’

  ‘Yes, the recording on my phone pretty much sealed it … Marissa’s devastated though, about Steve. It’s all such a mess.’

  Rob squeezed her hand and glanced into the front seat to see if their driver was listening.

  ‘Rebecca texted yesterday afternoon to say she’s left me for an insurance salesman.’

  He made it sound flippant, but Anna’s heart literally skipped a beat. She gripped his hand.

  ‘She’s left you?’

  ‘Apparently so. And now I’m in London. Do you have some time in your diary for me when I get through these meetings?’

  He already knew the answer to that. Anna shook her head, unable to fight the smile that was creeping across her face. A tear rolled down her cheek.

  Chapter 60

  Wexford General Hospital had changed enormously since Brioni was last there – or perhaps her memory of the building had been coloured by the events surrounding it. She wasn’t sure. She doubted that it had been done up since she’d come here with Mar and their mum, so perhaps it was just that she had grown. Her ten-year-old eyes had seen endless corridors and glass, strange machines and nurses with squeaky shoes. The smell was the same, though. Brioni would never forget that. Even after everything that had happened, she would never forget that.

  Sitting on a hard plastic chair outside Mar’s door on the top floor, Brioni closed her eyes. The private room Marissa had been allocated was on its own at the very end of a corridor; it must have been used before for high-risk patients. At the turn in the corridor, a guard had been stationed since they’d arrived.

  Brioni really didn’t like hospitals; she had her fingers crossed that Mar would be released soon. As well as the whole illness thing, the building was incredibly stuffy, the heat itself lingering like a sickness. Their mum had sworn by fresh air, had insisted they slept with the window open even on the coldest of nights. It hadn’t done her much good, the cancer taking her in six short months, but neither she nor Marissa had ever really been ill, so perhaps she’d been right.

  Last night, the minute Mar had been allocated a room, Brioni had opened the window to what little breeze there was. Marissa had been exhausted, had reached for her hand and closed her eyes. Brioni had sat with her and talked, telling her about travelling, about the sunsets and the food and the crazy people she’d met along the way.

  Brioni knew they could talk about the events of the past few days when Marissa was stronger. Right now, all she needed to know was that she was alive and safe.

  Brioni had stayed at her parent’s house for what was left of last night. For the first time in over a year. It had felt strange, falling asleep to the sound of the ocean, but she’d only slept for a few hours, waking early and heading over to the hospital just as Anna had texted her to say she’d landed in Heathrow and was going to meet her friend from New York. Anna had said she’d text if she heard anything new about Steve. There had been nothing since, but it was still only early – just gone eleven o’clock.

  Her eyes still closed, Brioni shifted in the chair. It wasn’t very comfortable, but she wanted to let Marissa sleep undisturbed, and the events of the past few days were starting to creep up on her.

  ‘Morning, Brioni, how are you?’

  Brioni’s eyes flew open to find Mike Wesley standing a few feet away from her, two cups of coffee in his hands. She tried to keep the surprise off her face, as if it was perfectly normal for a Metropolitan Police chief inspector to turn up in a hospital in Wexford. He smiled as he continued.

  ‘I hear you’ve been busy. How is she?’

  ‘Sleeping.’ Brioni paused. ‘Anna’s gone back to London, she went early this morning.’

  ‘I know. I’m due there myself this afternoon. I’m sure I’ll catch up with her then. I need to have a bit of a chat with your sister, if I may. I brought you some coffee.’

  Hiding her curiosity, Brioni smiled gratefully as the scent of the coffee hit her. The hospital coffee was atrocious, but he’d obviously been forewarned and had found a Costa on the way down. And at that moment, she definitely needed caffeine.

  ‘Thanks. Long way to come to bring coffee, but much appreciated.’

  Handing her the paper cup, Mike sat down beside her, rooting in his blazer pocket for sugar and holding it out to her. Brioni waved it away.

  ‘Thanks, I’m good.’

  ‘New look? You staying with black?’

  She shook her head. ‘Back to pink as soon as I get to London. More cheerful.’

  He nodded slowly, clearing his throat.

  ‘Some information has come to light about Steve.’ Brioni raised her eyebrows as he continued. ‘You know we are already treating Steve’s death as a murder investigation. There was the petrol – but the way the rope was tied was suspect as well. Knots tell us a lot.’ He sighed. ‘Then Chanin confessed to Anna that he’d put the bomb on the bus. Did she tell you she got it all recorded on her phone? She’s one smart lady.’ He pursed his lips. ‘He also admitted he’d killed Steve. It appears they were part of the same alt-right network, the White Wolves.’

  Brioni took a sip of her coffee. ‘Anna told me.’

  Mike eased off the lid off his cup an
d took a mouthful.

  ‘The thing is, it’s become apparent that Steve wasn’t the terrorist we all thought he was. That’s why I’m here.’ Mike paused. ‘We wouldn’t normally share this without Mar’s permission, but this isn’t a normal situation – you’re in the middle of it, too. She’s going to need a lot of support.’

  Brioni looked at him, frowning.

  ‘So what’s the story? He built this Wolves network with Reiss. didn’t he? That’s what Anna said.’

  ‘It’s not quite that simple.’ Mike glanced behind him, down the corridor, as if he was making sure there was nobody listening. ‘This is highly confidential – classified, as the Americans say.’ He paused while Brioni nodded. ‘It turns out that Steve was actually working for our US colleagues. He was undercover when he met Mar, and had to stay that way. I’m pretty sure she didn’t know.’

  ‘Undercover? Doing what?’ Brioni frowned. It didn’t make sense, sounded utterly ridiculous. ‘Who was he working for?’

  Mike glanced across at her, keeping his voice low.

  ‘I know it’s a bit of a surprise – it was to me, too, trust me. Apparently he was with the CIA. They deal with US security abroad.’

  Shocked, Brioni’s mind suddenly started to fire with about a million questions. But now wasn’t the moment to ask them. Steve had been undercover? One of the good guys?

  She found that really hard to believe.

  Brioni took a shaky breath.

  ‘That’s a bit of a head wreck, to be honest.’ She needed time to process this. But it did mean one thing, that was for sure. ‘That fairly lands Chanin in the shit, doesn’t it? Like with a mass murder charge, he wasn’t in deep enough already. They’ll be looking to extradite him?’

  Mike pursed his lips and nodded.

  ‘Indeed. It puts a different face on the whole situation. Mar’s going to need you now. As well as coping with her husband’s death, her marriage was based on quite a web of untruths, and that’s going to be hard to deal with.’

  ‘You’re telling me. Like Steve not being able to have children.’ Brioni grimaced, shaking her head. ‘The mumps he supposedly had in school were obviously part of some elaborate cover story, too.’ Her tone was laced with sarcasm.

  ‘Sorry?’

  It could have been Brioni’s imagination, but she thought that Mike had gone a little pale.

  ‘She collapsed because she was dehydrated. She’s pregnant. That’s why she’s still here. They want to keep her in until everything’s back on track.’

  Before he could reply, they heard voices from around the corner: the garda protection officer, checking ID. A moment later, the nurse who had been looking after Marissa the previous day appeared, her soft shoes silent on the polished floor, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She smiled warmly at Brioni.

  ‘I’ve just come on. How is she today?’

  ‘Better, I think – she’s getting her colour back, anyway.’

  ‘That’s good. I’ll just say hello. Won’t be a second.’

  She let herself into Marissa’s room as Mike took a slow sip of his coffee.

  Brioni turned to him. ‘So how do you know? About Steve, I mean. Why didn’t you know before? Aren’t the Americans supposed to tell you who their people are?’

  Mike shrugged. ‘If too many people know, secrets get out. We don’t tell them who our people are, so we can hardly expect them to.’

  ‘Does Anna know? Her friend Rob is in the CIA, isn’t he?’

  ‘I’m not sure if she does. But yes, Rob Power’s working with us on mapping the social media activity around the hoaxes. We’ve worked together before, on a different case. I can’t discuss it with her, but he might well have.’

  Brioni nodded slowly.

  Maybe Anna had more information than Mike was allowed to tell her.

  The nurse reappeared, cutting off the conversation.

  ‘She’s awake, if you want to go in. Blood pressure’s down, too, I’d say she can go home as soon as the doctor’s checked her.’

  The nurse smiled and headed down the corridor.

  ‘Do you mind?’ Mike indicated the door.

  ‘Be my guest.’

  Mike was talking to Marissa for what felt like ages. Almost an hour later, he emerged, his face serious.

  ‘Sorry that took so long, we had a lot to go through.’

  Brioni had no idea what he’d found to talk to Mar about that had taken so long, but the time had given her a chance to process what he’d said.

  And the way he’d said it.

  ‘Did you tell her about Steve?’

  Mike nodded. ‘She needs a few minutes to herself now, I think, but she’s going to need a lot of looking after when she gets out. I’ll make sure she’s OK when you start college – you don’t have to worry.’

  Brioni just about stopped her eyebrows from shooting up. Why exactly was he taking on that responsibility? Anna had told her Mike was one of the good guys, but that seemed to take his job to a whole new level.

  ‘She’s so excited for you. It’s pretty impressive, getting into Empress College.’

  Brioni grimaced. ‘I prefer numbers to people, they’re more reliable.’

  ‘You’re right there.’ Mike put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. ‘It’ll all work out. I’ve got to get back to London now, but the Gardai have got Reiss Chanin locked up, so she’ll be able to relax. There’s some paperwork to do, and then he’ll be moved to London in the first instance. Our tech guys were able to get into the USB key eventually. It took them all night, but there were a lot of arrests early this morning. There are a lot of people looking out for her.’

  Brioni smiled warmly. ‘Thank you. It’s good to know.’

  He gave her shoulder a pat and headed off down the corridor.

  Brioni watched him go, still puzzled. There was something about the look he’d given her …

  Brioni pulled out her phone, scrolling through the numbers she’d saved. She found the one she was looking for and hit call.

  Just as he reached the corner of the corridor, the sound of an old-fashioned telephone ring erupted from his pocket. Mike stopped, his back to her, and reached inside his jacket. Pulling his phone out, he looked at the screen. Then he looked over his shoulder at Brioni and smiled.

  Chapter 61

  A salt wind whipped Brioni’s hair into her face as she sat at the top of the dune, looking out to sea. The moon was just a sliver in the sky; the waves picked up the starlight, ripples glittering as they rolled in and washed over the beach.

  She had some thinking to do, and ever since she was small, this had always been the best place to do it. Behind her, the house was in darkness. Mar had gone to bed ahead of their early start in the morning – they were heading up to Dublin and then back to London. To the heat and the city, and the questions.

  Despite the hour, the air was still balmy; if she hadn’t known that the world was going to shit with global warming, this would be a rare tropical summer. Brioni could smell seaweed as the breeze caught her hair again and blew it into her eyes.

  Beside her, a group of hares lolloped through the scrub, pausing to nip at the grass. She couldn’t remember what the collective term for them was, but she loved how they appeared at night, their ears twitching, always alert.

  Out to sea, a single light cut through the darkness – a tanker perhaps, heading for Dublin port. Brioni watched it, enjoying the moment: the sound of the waves on the shore; the calm of the night air. She could identify with a ship coming home. She’d needed to come to home, to reconnect with Mar, to connect with her people before the next step, before going to college.

  But now Brioni knew she’d be spending much more time with Marissa. She was pregnant, and a widow. She was going to need help with the baby.

  They hadn’t had long to chat. Mar had been exhausted, had slept almost continuously since she was admitted to hospital. And she had even more to deal with, now that she had been discharged and was going home.
r />   There would be plenty of time to chat when they got to London.

  This morning, before Mike Wesley had shown up, Brioni had caught up with Thelma O’Riordan from Mar’s church. Marissa had asked Brioni to call her – and the Dalton guy who did the garden, particularly – last night, but it had been too late.

  ‘They’ll be so worried. Especially Dalton – he looks after me like I’m his sister, he’s so sweet. He’s getting married soon. His boyfriend is a musician, he’s lovely, too.’

  Anna had told Brioni there was still a press blackout in London on the news of Steve’s murder. Brioni had focused on telling Thelma that Mar was all right and that they’d be coming back in the next few days, and Mar had made a point of asking her to tell Dalton that she was all right. Thelma had been full of questions, but Brioni had pretended the line was bad. She’d said that a neighbour from home had called to say they’d seen Mar – the explosion had obviously given her some sort of selective amnesia. Thelma had been so happy to hear that Marissa was alive and well that she didn’t seem too worried about the details. She said she’d pass on the news; she knew Dalton would be over the moon. It was good to know that Marissa had so much support.

  And from some very interesting areas.

  Mike Wesley had been the man she’d met at the restaurant – Brioni was sure of it. And from the way he’d spoken about her, calling her Mar rather than Marissa, Brioni had a feeling they knew each other very well. Perhaps Steve had had good reason to be worried.

  And now she was pregnant.

  Mar had always wanted kids. Brioni knew she and Steve had talked about adopting, although nothing had come of it. Steve had always found a way to divert the conversation – Brioni could see why now, with the job he was in.

  But, ironically, it seemed to have been the job that had added the pressure to their relationship – that had, Brioni suspected, resulted in Mar finding love elsewhere. At least, she hoped she had.

  On the way from the hospital, Mar hadn’t said much – Brioni was pretty sure she was still in shock.

  The whole Steve thing still felt incredible – that he’d lived a double life for so long, and that Mar had had no idea. Brioni could sort of see his reasons, but it felt like a double betrayal. Had he loved his job more than his wife, not trusted her enough to share the truth?