Final Justice (Lorne Simpkins thriller (Book Three))

by Mel Comley

  Silence.

  As she listened to the change in his breathing, Lorne gently turned to face him. From the light filtering through the thin curtains she studied the outline of his strong, handsome, yet scarred face and something stirred within her. Her eyes were drawn to his lips, and she imagined them roaming the length and breadth of her body …

  ‘Are you watching me, Lorne?’

  She gasped, and her cheeks flushed, she was thankful of the dim darkness surrounding them. ‘Um … No … it’s just that I prefer to sleep facing this way, I usually spend the night cuddling my collie, if you must know.’ Why in God’s name did you tell him that?

  Lorne saw his teeth show in the dark and knew he’d found her explanation amusing. She wanted to bite her tongue off for the way it had run away from her.

  He mumbled something under his breath and laughed softly.

  ‘Was that intended for me to hear or not?’ She puffed up her pillow and leant against the headboard, tucking her arms around her knees, another show of defiance she’d often used during her ill-fated marriage. Men, you always have an answer for everything, always need to get that final word in, don’t you?

  Tony turned on the lamp beside him and mimicked her position. ‘Oh, Lorne, your sense of humour really has gone AWOL, hasn’t it?’

  He caught her by surprise, she wasn’t sure what she had expected him to say but it wasn’t that. She also hadn’t expected him to speak so quietly, it was the complete opposite of how she had anticipated the conversation progressing. Silent tears ran down her flushed cheeks, and staring at the wall in front of her, she shrugged.

  ‘Look, I know the past year has been tough on you, but you need to dig deep for your resolve. Life goes on. Your life goes on, with or without those you’ve lost. It has to. Think of it like this, if you insist on letting it eat away at you you’re letting down those who lost their lives.’

  She let his words sink in for a few moments. He was right, and suddenly she felt foolish, not for the first time on their trip. She turned to face him, their eyes locked. ‘Is that what happened to you, Tony?’ she whispered.

  Something flashed in his eyes which made her think she had touched a nerve. For a minute, he sat silent, staring at the wall in front of him. She pushed down the panic rising within, the last thing she wanted to do was alienate him. A man she knew very little about, the only detail she knew about him was that he was regarded as one of the top agents in the UK, who in order to gain his current status had probably put his personal life on hold.

  He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. ‘Her name was Miranda.’ His hands raked through his short hair, and Lorne placed a comforting hand on his forearm, to encourage him to go on. ‘We lived together for a while. At first, she found my work exciting, every time I came back from an assignment the first thing she wanted to know was the whys and wherefores of where I had been etc., as you know, we’re not allowed to divulge that sort of thing …’

  ‘So what did you do?’

  He took another breath then continued, his face twisted with guilt. ‘I had to be resourceful, come up with imaginative stories to keep her happy. Sometimes, I’d catch a headline bulletin on the news and instantly make-up an intriguing story that sounded plausible, just to satisfy her interest. Most of them were so far from the truth it was laughable.’

  ‘But why? I mean most, no, all relationships should be built on trust …’

  ‘I know they should be, but …’

  Silence again and Lorne soon figured out what he was getting at. ‘Sex. You mean the more creative your stories were, the greater your sex life became.’

  He shot her a look that proved her analogy was correct. ‘Don’t think bad of me, Lorne, it’s what men do, we want our ladies to think of us as real heroes.’

  She shook her head.

  ‘What?’

  ‘When it comes down to it, you men really don’t understand us women at all.’

  ‘Okay, maybe not in your case, after all, the roles were reversed for you and Tom, weren’t they? You were perceived to be the heroine in your relationship. Didn’t your job get in the way come the end?’

  He had a point. Her career had driven several nails into the marriage coffin during their turbulent fourteen-years together. ‘Okay, you got me there. Come the end, as you put it, Tom rebelled against the job, and eventually me, but we’re not talking about me. Was this Miranda high maintenance?’

  He laughed then fell silent again. ‘Daddy was very rich, she wanted for nothing. When she moved into my one-bed apartment in London it was a bit of a letdown for her. The minute she stepped through the door and I saw the way her face dropped, I knew I had to pull out all the stops to make her happy.’

  ‘So you thought lying to her would keep her happy?’

  ‘It did to begin with. Even during sex she wanted to know about what torture techniques I used to obtain information.’

  ‘You’re kidding! Why didn’t you just dump her? I mean, if you knew the minute she stepped into your apartment that it would be hard to impress her …’

  ‘I was in love with her.’

  ‘Are you sure it was love and not lust? I know you men always think with that thing dangling between your legs, but really. What colour eyes did she have?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You heard me, what colour eyes did she have?’

  ‘Brown, I think.’

  ‘There you go you’ve just proved my point. If you really loved her you would’ve shot the answer back at me without needing to stall for thinking time. And then to give an answer you’re unsure of …’

  ‘Smart arse, bitch. You think you have all the answers, don’t you?’

  ‘Most of the time, yes. Go on with your story, what happened to end the relationship.’

  Tony chewed on a fingernail and then expelled another deep breath. ‘She came home one day, correct that, she staggered home drunk one day. I wasn’t too happy to see her in such a state. She’d been out with the girls and blabbed.’

  He fell silent again and Lorne prompted him to finish. ‘And?’

  ‘One of the girls she’d blabbed to, her father happens to be high up in the Government. Word got back to my boss about a few of the tall stories I’d told, and I was hauled over the coals about it. My boss ordered me to dump her as she couldn’t be trusted. I tried to tell them I would never divulge secrets about the job and that I’d made up the stories, but they wouldn’t listen. The subject was closed, either I dumped her, or the service dumped me, end of.’

  ‘Crikey, so …?’

  ‘That night I went home, packed her bags and waited for her to come home. I told her we were finished and that I was taking her home to Daddy. I’ll never forget the look on her face, if I didn’t know any better I’d say she felt relieved. Of course, she didn’t say it. She pouted a lot and asked me to reconsider, but deep down I could tell she wanted out.’

  ‘Do you think what she did was intentional?’

  ‘Divulging my imaginary assignments, you mean?’

  Lorne nodded, feeling sorry for him, he’d obviously never been in a loving relationship before and therefore mistook Miranda’s attention for something it clearly wasn’t.

  ‘I’m not sure, I’ve always had a nagging doubt, but ...’

  ‘Do you know where she is now?’

  ‘Yeah, six months after she left me she married an up and coming MP.’

  ‘Sounds to me like you had a lucky escape.’

  ‘Why, thank you, counsellor.’

  ‘Hey, there’s someone out there for you, Tony …’ She turned to him and was surprised to see his eyes glistening. Without thinking about what she was doing, she reached over and pecked him on the cheek, then laid her head on his bare chest. He tensed up for a moment and then his breathing returned to normal, which caused the coarse hairs on his chest to tickle her face and neck.

  His arm lazily came to rest on her back and a sigh escaped her lips. It felt good to be in a man’s arms a
gain after such a long time. The Capitaine encounter had been pure lust on her part nothing compared to how she was feeling now. Something stirred inside as his hand brushed lightly over her back.

  Her phone rang, she shot up and grabbed her bag. Her father’s number showed up on the display, making her worry. ‘Hello?’

  ‘Thank God, you’re all right, it’s half past nine, Lorne.’

  ‘Oh flippin’ heck … I’m sorry, Dad. We’ve had a hell of a day.’ She cursed the way the words had slipped out so easy.

  ‘Oh? Is everything all right?’

  ‘It’s fine, Dad, didn’t mean to worry you. We’re on the move …’ Tony tapped her arm and turning to face him, he shook his head.

  ‘Lorne? Lorne … what do you mean you’re on the move?’

  ‘Sorry, but I think I’ve said enough already.’

  ‘Enough? I think you’ll find the opposite, young lady. Now, what in God’s name is going on?’

  She hated lying to him and her heart pounded, but by the glare Tony was giving her she knew she didn’t have a choice in the matter. ‘Sorry, Dad, didn’t mean to mislead you, what I meant was, we had to change hotels, they had double booked our rooms.’ She could tell by the tone in her father’s voice that he didn’t believe her, and the call lasted for only another couple of minutes. ‘Sorry, again, Dad, for missing the nine o’clock deadline, it won’t happen again.’

  With the underlying feeling she’d upset her father, Lorne forgot all about cosying up with Tony and turned her back on him. Luckily, he didn’t force the issue, and she lay awake for hours listening to him breathe.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Lorne awoke in a daze and to her horror, found herself sprawled out on Tony’s side of the bed, with him nowhere to be seen. A strange noise made her sit up quickly. It took her a few seconds to work out it was Tony’s phone, which was vibrating its way across the console table.

  ‘Tony?’ No response. She called out again as she threw back the covers, then with her ear against the bathroom door she heard the shower running. He probably couldn’t hear her calling him. Shit! Do I answer his phone or what?

  Lorne picked up his mobile, knocked on the door and burst into the bathroom. ‘Sorry, Tony … but your phone is ringing,’ she said, her eyes tightly shut.

  The shower curtain rustled and the rings slid back on the rail. Water dripped on her outstretched hand as he took the phone from her. As soon as Tony had taken the phone she stepped back into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

  Within seconds Tony burst in and said, ‘Shit. Get dressed. They’re on the move again.’

  ‘What? When?

  ‘Just get dressed, Lorne. Sorry, you don’t have time for a shower. You’ve got two minutes.’

  Lorne sprinted back and forth between the bathroom and the bedroom, gathering her things together. They were packed and ready to set off in exactly one minute and fifty-five seconds.

  As soon as they had settled into the car Lorne demanded to know what was going on.

  ‘HQ told me the vehicles have split up …’

  She turned to him, disappointment written on her face. ‘Great. What do we do now?’

  ‘I’m not concerned about the two lorries I was expecting them to take a different route to Baldwin anyway, but if we can’t find him … then we’re up the proverbial.’

  They pulled up outside the hotel where Baldwin and his men had stayed the previous night and were stunned by the amount of activity that greeted them.

  Puzzled, Tony rang HQ to see if they could shed any light on anything. ‘I see … Well that’s fucking fantastic, isn’t it? How many days? The bastard must’ve known about this.’ He ended the call and thumped the steering wheel.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Looks like we’ve hit town at the wrong time.’

  ‘Meaning?’

  ‘The Le Mans bike rally is about to start. It’s one of the biggest events staged in the area at this time of the year.’

  ‘And, you think Baldwin knew about this?’

  ‘Don’t you?’ he snapped back.

  The crinkles on Tony’s forehead showed how annoyed he was. She decided to let him cool down a second or two before attempting to speak again. They watched the crowds jostling around the car and in the street in front of them, and struggled to fight back the sinking feeling that threatened to spoil their day.

  Tony broke the silence. ‘Sorry.’

  She shot him a puzzled look. ‘What for?’

  ‘For snapping. For dragging you out here for a second time … For involving you in the first place …’

  ‘Stop it. We’ve hit a minor hiccup, that’s all. He’ll emerge somewhere soon, and when he does, we’ll be on his trail again.’ She had no idea if her words had any merit or not, but Tony nodded, shrugged his shoulders and started up the car.

  ‘You know what, Mrs ex-DI, you talk a lot of sense. How about we grab some breakfast?’

  Enjoying the brief role reversal of keeping Tony buoyant and motivated, she smiled. ‘Sounds like a brilliant idea and it’ll give your guys a chance to try and locate some of the vehicles.’

  He returned her smile and patted her leg. Lorne took the gesture to mean. "Thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow". It made her ponder if they were actually turning into a good team.

  Two hours passed before London contacted them again. Tony snatched his phone off the table the second it rang. ‘Yep … Bloody brilliant, any suggestions? Right, get back to me ASAP.’

  ‘By the look on your face, I’d say things haven’t exactly gone according to plan back there.’

  ‘You could say that. They don’t have a clue where Baldwin or his men are.’

  ‘So, what do you think we should do?’

  ‘I was wondering whether I should pose as an associate of Baldwin’s and try and get some info out of the receptionist at the hotel, maybe someone picked up where they were heading or something.’

  Lorne shook her head, knowing how unlikely the scenario was, but after having second thoughts, she shrugged and said, ‘I guess, we don’t have any other decent alternatives springing to mind.’

  Tony edged the car through the crowds, who by now were spilling into the roads, not caring if they got knocked down. He pulled up outside the hotel, and left the engine running as he ran up the steps into reception.

  Lorne took the map from the glove compartment, opened and studied it. If I was Baldwin what would I do, which way would I go? They had already come to the conclusion his ultimate destination was likely to be his yacht, all they needed now would be to figure out his probable route.

  Come on, girl, get back into police mode, better still, get back to devious thinking, Unicorn thinking! If I was him I’d utilise this commotion to my advantage, but how?

  She glanced at the map again, the trouble was they had followed three cars, and London didn’t have a clue where any of them were at that moment. Even if they did, they didn’t know which of those cars Baldwin had travelled in. Her finger trailed down the map to the nearest town, Bourges. She looked at the scale in the corner and worked out the approximate distance, two and a half hours away. But something gnawed at her insides, she had an inkling the criminal was still in the vicinity, using the disruption around them to his advantage. Come on, London, give us something to go on please!

  The car door opened sharply startling Lorne. Relief swept through her when Tony jumped into the driver’s seat. ‘Well that was a waste of time,’ he said. ‘No one spoke English, and I struggled to make them understand what I was getting at, let alone who I was talking about. I didn’t know if he was booked in as Baldwin or what.’ He nodded at the map and asked, ‘Any thoughts?’

  ‘Some.’

  ‘Care to share them with me?’ he asked, amused that she appeared to be distracted.

  Lorne shook her head. ‘Sorry. I was miles away.’ She turned to look at him and saw devilment lingering in his eyes. Frowning she asked, ‘What’s that look for?’

>   His mouth turned up and made her heart pound faster in her chest, her cheeks warmed and her focus switched from Tony to the crowd outside.

  ‘Nothing, I was just thinking about what would have happened in bed last night if your father hadn’t rung.’

  Still avoiding his eyes she swallowed noisily and said, ‘Shouldn’t we be considering the future … I mean, what our next move should be?’

  He laughed, it was obvious he enjoyed her embarrassment. She could do little to stop the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Stay focused on Baldwin, Lorne, she warned herself as she turned to look at him. Their eyes locked, and she was surprised when Tony leaned towards her and pressed his lips gently against hers. She shivered as an electric current shot between them.

  Tony must have felt it too, as he pulled away and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth.

  Lorne cleared her throat and joked. ‘You rubbing it in or trying to remove it?’

  His eyes bore into hers and she thought she could see hunger burning deep inside. ‘I’m sorry,’ he replied quietly.

  Shaking her head, she asked, ‘For what, kissing me?’

  ‘Yes, I shouldn’t have done it.’

  Lorne gazed through the windscreen and mumbled, ‘Don’t be sorry, I enjoyed it.’ Then she spotted something else that set her pulse racing, she pointed a shaking finger and cried out. ‘Tony, look!’

  He tried to see what she was referring to, but the crowd was too thick, frustrated, he shouted, ‘What? I can’t see a damn thing. You’ll have to tell me.’

  ‘I’m sure I’ve just seen Baldwin.’

  ‘You’re kidding. Where?’

  ‘A man in a black suit came out of that building over there, is it a bank? He got into a waiting car. I’m sure it was him. Hurry!’

  Tony eased the car through a gap in the crowd, and it didn’t take him long to pick up the tail of the vehicle. Fifty feet in front of them, going at a snail’s pace due to the milling crowd was a black Lexus that appeared to be heading towards a blue sign up ahead, a French motorway sign.