Hudson reached out and placed a hand over hers. He bowed his head, then raised it and stared directly into her eyes without blinking.
“I swear to you on everything I most hold dear, Remy, that I never touched a hair of her head. Sure, we had our moments of disagreement, but you know my commitment to family.”
She knew his commitment was to the Loughborough family.
“That’s all I wanted to know, Dad,” she answered, staring back into his eyes. Two could play at that game, she thought. All you had to do was convince yourself and then you could convince anyone you were telling the truth. That much she had learned from growing up in the shadow of the Loughboroughs. “Thank you for being honest with me. I needed to put those ghosts to bed.”
She was relieved when he released her hand, nodding at her. It was important he didn’t suspect her reasons for making contact after such a long absence.
“What have you been doing with yourself all these years? I tried to track you down, but you’ve been elusive.”
She let her face cloud over.
“Living on the streets mainly. I’m getting by.”
“Come back to the family, Remy. I’ll talk to Jack. We can let bygones be bygones and it’ll be like you never went away.”
“To do what? You think you’ll train me up to take your place in the hierarchy and become Drake’s right hand tough guy?” Anger bled through her words before she could control her reaction. She softened her tone. “I don’t think so. I like my life right now. I thought I’d pay a visit just to see if you were still alive. I hadn’t read your obituary in the papers, and your life insurance company hadn’t been in touch, but you never know.”
Remy sipped her coffee. She hadn’t come here to argue with him, but she felt conflicted sitting down having a genial chat with him. A rational chunk of her brain knew that her father murdered people to keep the Loughborough empire safe, and not even those he loved were exempt from their vendettas.
But Hudson believed he owed Mortimer. The old man had picked Hudson up as a scrappy sixteen-year-old and given him a purpose in life. Hudson would never leave the Loughboroughs and would never waver from that purpose.
“I’m glad to know you’re alive too. I’ve wondered over the years whether you were. Why don’t you come home with me, Remy? It’s better than living on the street.”
She gave him a sad smile, no acting involved.
“I can’t do that.”
“Can I at least stay in touch with you?”
This was her opening. She fished a phone out of her pocket.
“Give me your number and I’ll send you my contact details.”
He did so and she sent him the message. As soon as he clicked on the message it would download the spyware that would allow police surveillance to remotely access his phone and turn on his microphone as well as track his messages. She was sure the number he’d given her was to a spare burner phone so there would be no messages worthwhile keeping track of, but he couldn’t stop them turning on the microphone. As long as he kept the phone on him, they could listen in to his conversations.
She rose, throwing some notes on the table. She didn’t want to be beholden to him for anything, not even a cup of coffee.
Hudson levered himself from the chair. He was still a hulk of a man, his forearms thick with ropy muscle.
“Is this goodbye again?”
“For now,” she said.
Before he could move in for a hug, she scooped up her plastic cup and sped out the door.
Hudson stayed at the table while she walked rapidly, disappearing into the crowd. But she didn’t trust him and she reasoned he wouldn’t trust her. She tossed her cup in a trashcan she passed and took a quick glance around as she secured the hoodie in place. She let the crowd thin around her until she noticed a figure trailing her. One of Hudson’s goons she guessed. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her hoodie, wrapping her fingers around a small canister in one and her multi-tool in the other.
Turning down an alleyway she dodged behind a dumpster. She didn’t have long to wait before her follower slunk around the corner.
She pulled out her canister of police-issued PAVA spray, stepping out from behind her shelter to smash him in the eyes with the pepper spray. His lids closed immediately, his hands rising to his face while he began coughing and spluttering. The spray wouldn’t leave any lasting damage. She had used it to stun him sufficiently to let her escape.
While he was scrabbling at his face, she shoved him back against the wall. He clawed blindly at her and she shot a fist into his solar plexus, letting him double over onto the ground. She bent one knee to hiss in his ear, “You can tell Jerimiah I’ll see him again when I’m good and ready.”
Then she loped back to the street.
Chapter 32
New Scotland Yard, Friday, April 5
“That went well,” said Cynthia, the Police PR spokesperson.
Her irony wasn’t lost on Bex. If she had said “no comment” once, she had said it a dozen times in the snap press conference Titus had made her call to discuss police progress in the Coldmarsh shooting.
“We are investigating a number of persons of interest,” was as much information as had passed through her stiff lips before Cynthia had finally had the decency to send the disgruntled reporters packing.
After her discussion with Remy, Bex had confirmed to Titus the barebones of their strategy to trap the Loughboroughs and track Griffin’s whereabouts. She was surprised at how easily he bought the idea.
“By God, this could be the break we need in this case,” he said with glee. “If you can just pin down and plug the leak so the media don’t get wind of it, we’re in a fair position to crack their balls.”
After that everything had moved with the speed and precision of a Japanese bullet train. By 3:00 p.m. she was back in her office when Remy called her to confirm she had planted the recording device. Now it was a matter of waiting to see what intel they could gather.
Disconnecting from the call, Bex was taken by surprise when Cole knocked at her office door.
“Thought I’d stop by while I was in the building. Sheryl called me in for Titus to tell me I didn’t make the cut to Superintendent this time around,” he told her. “Very white-gloved of them. I expected my hopes to be dashed by a terse email.”
“I hadn’t realized they’d already made a decision!”
“Titus wasn’t exactly forthcoming about the state of the position, but what is for sure is that I won’t be your boss and you won’t be mine for much longer. That’s a silver lining amongst the clouds, wouldn’t you say?”
Bex ignored the speculative gleam in his eyes, not prepared to commit herself to more with him than a working relationship.
“I’m sorry, Cole. I know you wanted the promotion.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got some other irons in the fire so I won’t be left high and dry.” He eased himself into a seat and she was glad he kept the conversation professional. “Titus said I should check in with you about the Loughborough case. What’s this all about?”
Bex presented the bare facts to him. Cole’s face took on a harsh expression.
“You’re telling me the star witness in next week’s trial is gone? As in, no one knows his whereabouts?”
“I’m sorry, Cole,” she said again.
“You’re telling me that months of meticulous work to gather evidence and all my painstaking efforts to cultivate trust in Griffin are now reduced to rubble. To nothing more than an empty motel room that’s being scraped for more evidence?”
“That’s a fair deduction of the situation,” she answered more calmly than she felt.
Bex could sense Cole’s frustration leeching out in the heavy drum of fingertips on her desk.
“This news screws up next week’s court case!”
“You could ask for a delay. I’m hopeful we can track Griffin down. If not, then the surveillance sting might yield results you can use against Jack
Loughborough.”
“Those are some very big ‘ifs’,” Cole snorted. “I’ll have to approach Isla about petitioning the court for a postponement. It means the prosecution will lose momentum, and who knows if the case will even go ahead now! What a total balls up! Simon Fenwick from the Prosecutions Office will rip off my bollocks and use them as shark bait!”
The tapping fingers were now a galloping race.
“That’s a worse case scenario. For now, we need to keep Griffin’s kidnapping and Remy’s surveillance strictly confidential,” she stressed. “I’m worried about Trending News’s story on Griffin.”
Cole threw up his hands. “Having that third rate news blog and its publicity hunting tart break the news to the world would just be the cherry on top of this shit fest! You really think there’s a leak?”
“Aislinn quoted an ‘unnamed source close to the police’. Seems legit considering very few people knew about Griffin being in the witness protection program. You said you would have to fill the prosecution team in on Griffin’s details, so I just wondered if you had any suspects there?”
Cole quirked an eyebrow. “You’re seriously trying to pin the leak on my side of the investigation? I told Isla Standing because she’s the lead barrister and Simon Fenwick, head of the police prosecution team. I can’t see either of them giving diddly squat to Trending News. Who else knew Griffin was in witness protection?”
“Idris knew the arrangements, but I told Quinn to keep it off the record,” Bex said.
“Hmm, Idris has always struck me as a stickler for doing the right thing. Are you sure no one else on the team could have found out? What about that new detective, how much do you trust her?”
Bex was pensive for a few minutes, recalling Remy’s disclosures. Had Remy revealed the whole truth? Or had her sudden offer to spy on the Loughboroughs been motivated by something other than concern for Griffin? Could Remy be playing her and the whole police force?
“Did you ever look into Jack’s wife’s disappearance during your investigation?”
“Penny Loughborough? Not really because it doesn’t have a bearing on our case. She disappeared a number of years ago when Griffin was still in primary school. Jack made an official report about her disappearance, but she was never found, nor was a body. I think everybody hoped the woman had managed to escape his clutches.” Cole’s forehead creased. “Something odd that I do remember from when we were doing background checks on Loughborough’s associates were rumors that Jerimiah Hudson’s wife and daughter disappeared around the same time.”
A sinking feeling enveloped Bex. Was it possible that Remy’s mother had also been Hudson’s wife? It would make sense for the two women to be friends if their husbands were close associates and for one woman’s daughter to babysit the other’s younger children.
“Do you know their names?”
Cole shook his head. “Not off hand, but the information will be in the files somewhere. I can send the background file through if it’s important.”
“It could be. I’ll keep you in the loop about the surveillance in case there’s intel you can use against the Loughboroughs,” she said.
Cole stood. The look he gave Bex was bleak. He nodded acknowledgement of her words in a quick, grim motion, but didn’t thank her or say goodbye before he stepped out of her office.
Chapter 33
Bridesmead, Friday, April 6
The silence in the Youth Crimes Team office frazzled Idris’s nerves. Quinn had marched out of his office just before lunch and ordered Idris and Eli to drop everything they were doing and focus on checking into bank accounts and travel tickets between London and Canada for various combinations of names involving Henri, Emile, Benoit and Matisse.
Quinn refused to budge on revealing any details, not even going as far as confirming what locating the information had to do with Griffin Loughborough’s shooting.
“Bloody hell, we’re all over the place in this investigation,” Eli grumbled. “And where’s that new detective? Left us in the lurch with all this ruddy paperwork!”
“Quinn said Bex had a special assignment for her,” Idris said.
His restless fingers toyed with a pen, twisting and twiddling it over and between his fingers repetitively.
“She’s been with the team less than ten minutes and she’s become Bex’s new favorite. Talk about women sticking together.” Eli took a slurp of tea from his mug and scowled. “Even my bloody tea’s cold. I’ll just go and make a fresh cuppa and then I’ll get down to business.”
Eli shuffled from the office, leaving Idris to delve headlong into what he did best, figuring out the details of their search. First he made a list of all the airlines flying between London and Canada before making contact to elicit information from their online booking systems.
“What are you up to?”
Eli’s quiet approach startled Idris, so the pen flew from his fingers, rattling to a stop against the coasters on his chair.
“Jumpy as all get out today, you are,” Eli observed.
The door to the office opened and Remy appeared, her cheeks flushed and her eyes glittering, the only welcoming flashes of color against the prison conformity of her beige pant suit.
Eli ostentatiously checked his watch and Remy flicked him a smile.
“I know it’s late, but I’m here now.”
“Well, about bloody time,” Eli said. “We could use another pair of eyes. How are the names going, Idris?”
“Dozens of Henris and Emiles, and various spelling combinations for Matisse and Benoit from the airline companies so far,” Idris responded.
“Have you tried any of those with Griffin as the first name?” Remy swung her satchel over her shoulder and took a seat. She opened her laptop.
“So we are searching for an alias for Griffin Loughborough,” Eli confirmed. “Would the silly berk use his real first name though?”
“That’s what they do in witness protection,” Remy said. “When changing your name it’s easier to remember to answer if you keep the same first name, which makes you seem less suspicious. And most first names are fairly common.”
At her mention of witness protection, Idris was glad his dark complexion masked an uncomfortable flush. Was Remy having a dig at him? Did she know he was the leak in the team? Of course not, you berk, that’s just your guilty conscience!
“I’ll go back over the lists and check,” Idris said, settling himself to act like normal. He pushed a sheet of paper towards Remy. “I’ve ticked off the airlines I’ve already contacted, so you can phone the others. Eli, you’ll need to get onto the banks to look for matching account names.”
Remy looked up from her screen.
“I doubt you’ll have any luck with a bank account. If Griffin’s accumulated a nest egg it’s more than likely saved as bitcoin. Bitcoin accounts are almost impossible to trace. Our best bet is concentrating on exit points out of London.”
Eli rubbed his hands. “Right, then, let’s crack on with the airlines! I’d love to go home on time tonight and have a free weekend!”
“You might as well go home, old man, Remy and I can knuckle down to the job.”
Idris looked past Eli as Quinn exited his office. Quinn had been holed up in his office all day. He still looked the worse for wear and it was eating Idris up that he didn’t know what had transpired between Quinn and Isla last night. Had she told him her news about the pregnancy? Did Quinn know that he knew as well?
“Is it alright if I knock off now, boss?” Eli said.
“Sorry, Eli, but the telco’s sent through the information on Drake’s phone. See if you can match the time and duration of any of his calls to Kaufman’s and if you do, then we need to request IT to trace the call redirection so we can confirm the connection.” When he paused, his eyes landed on Idris. “Can I see you for a minute?”
Anxiety flared in Idris’s chest. Quinn knew!
He followed the shorter man inside the office, glad his jacket hid the sweat stains
he knew were spreading under his arms. He felt like loosening his tie, but resisted the urge in order not to give away any guilty tells.
There was no window in the office. Even when Bex occupied it, it had always seemed little more than a converted storage room. Now, with the door closed behind him, Idris found it difficult to get enough air into his lungs.
Quinn held out his hand. “Isla told me you were there for her last night when she needed a shoulder. I just want to say, thank you.”
After a shocked hesitation, Idris took his hand, his own palm slick with perspiration and mumbled that it was nothing. All that filled his mind was that Quinn didn’t know he was the source of the leak.
“I know Isla told you she was pregnant, but I’d appreciate it if you kept that news to yourself for now. It’s still early days and we want to get scans done and make sure everything is okay before we make an announcement.”
“Congratulations.” Idris struggled to get the word out.
Quinn responded with a sheepish grin.
“I won’t deny the news has come as a bit of a shock, but I’m getting used to it.” He shot Idris a shrewd look and said, with just a hint of intimidation, “Just so you understand my feelings. Isla really wants this baby and I really want Isla, so it’s a package deal. Like they say in the movies, we’re going to be one big happy family.”
Idris understood Quinn’s threat. It was his warning to back off from Isla and keep his distance.
“Is that all?”
“Yes. I just wanted to thank you personally.”
Quinn picked up his jacket from the back of his chair and shrugged himself into it.
“I’m taking Isla out to dinner tonight to celebrate, but if there are any breakthroughs, give me a call.”
Bex Wynter Box Set 2 Page 36
