by Anna Jacobs
‘But—’
‘I mean it: stay nearby and keep watch or I’ll have you removed. We’re too close to breaking this gang to risk anything.’
‘I’ll be very close by, then, and if there’s any doubt about her safety, I’m going in, whatever you say.’
‘As long as no one sees you while you’re keeping watch. Need a different car?’
‘No. I’ll change mine for my friend’s when he takes over this job for me. We’ve done that before.’
Dan didn’t like the idea of staying away from Gabrielle, but he could see the sense of not giving the criminals even the faintest hint that they might be in the sights of the law. Damn! He should have listened to his instincts and handed over the final stage of Marla’s meeting with her son to his friend.
He’d stay in the shadows – reluctantly – unless Gabrielle was in real danger. But he wasn’t letting anything happen to her. If he had to, he’d go in and rescue her. She was too important to him to take risks. This was one time where he’d take his gun.
While Nada drove the truck up to Lancashire, Josef stole a car and headed north. When he was about halfway there, he turned off the motorway and dumped the car in the first small town he came to, planning to steal another from a shopping centre.
He watched a young woman park a car and head into the centre with her friend, chatting away. He didn’t have to follow them far before he found an opportunity to lift the keys out of her handbag. He made sure what he was doing was hidden from the surveillance cameras by passers-by – well, as much as it was possible to hide what you were doing these days.
He smiled. The car’s owner would get a shock when she came out to get her car. He wished he could stay to watch.
By the time the police were informed, he’d have dumped her car and stolen another further along the trail. He needed his own transport to keep an eye on that English fool.
He smiled. He always enjoyed this part of a job. The fool was in for a big shock.
He changed cars again in South Yorkshire, then doubled back across the Pennines towards Littleborough.
When his phone rang, it was Stu.
Josef sighed and prepared to listen to the fool. No, this guy was more than a fool; he was strange – there was something wrong about him. No one in the group could understand why an intelligent woman like Radka would employ him in the first place. There were other men who could satisfy her in bed, surely? She didn’t usually keep any of them with her this long.
‘Josef? I think I’ve found which antiques centre she’s working at. It’s called Chadderley Antiques and it’s on the road into Littleborough from Yorkshire. I’ll go and check that she’s there, then I’ll follow her and phone you again.’
‘Right.’
‘Is that all you can say?’
‘What else is to say?’ He always pretended his English was worse than it was with people he didn’t trust. Besides, you heard useful things muttered sometimes.
He pulled to one side and studied the map on his mobile phone, then phoned Nada and told her what was happening. When he set off again, he continued on the same road until he saw a big sign saying Chadderley Antiques. He laughed aloud. Fate was definitely on his side on this trip. Or, as the fool would say, ‘Lady Luck’.
Stu was heading for trouble if he didn’t watch out. Josef had seen how Radka had lost patience with him, and if the fool didn’t toe the line on this job, he’d be in more trouble than he realized. Or didn’t he realize exactly what Radka would do to keep the money coming in? Didn’t he know how important she was?
Josef turned into the antiques centre, got out the photo of this Gabi woman that Radka had supplied him with and studied it again. Even if she’d changed her hair colour and style, he’d recognize her.
He went inside, strolling past exhibits that shrieked valuable. Might be a good place to raid one day.
A quick study of the room changed his mind. The place was well guarded, and then you had to get the stuff out to the coast or to an airfield. No. There were easier targets. The owner of this place knew what he was doing.
Josef strolled on, following a sign that said ‘Market Hall’ towards the back of the building. He found himself in what looked like an old barn, the sort that had belonged to monasteries in the past, or to very rich people. Lots of stalls. Nice selection of goods.
A young man with a big moon face stopped dead near him, then hurried out of the hall. What had caused that? Josef wondered whether to leave, because he didn’t want to attract anyone’s notice, but a small bronze figurine caught his eye and he lingered to study it.
Two minutes later, the young man was back with a woman. Josef tensed.
She stopped to ask, ‘Can I help you, sir?’
‘Just looking.’ Josef was amazed to realize it was her – the one Stu was looking for. More good luck.
‘He’s a bad man,’ the young fellow said. ‘Tell him to go away, Gabrielle. Tell him to go away.’ He kept his distance, tugging at her arm.
Josef had already realized that the guy was a natural, born with less of a brain than the rest of the world. Why was he saying that Josef was bad, though? They’d never met before, and he couldn’t possibly know why Josef was here. Or that this woman was the target of the whole trip.
‘Toby, that’s not polite.’
‘He hurts people. He’s bad. Tell him to go away.’
Josef didn’t want to cause a scene, so he shrugged and said in his best English, ‘I was only looking round to fill an hour. If I’m upsetting your poor friend, I’ll leave. Are you in charge here? It’s a lovely place.’
‘I just work here.’ She walked to the door with him, the young fellow trailing them, a few paces behind.
Was she making sure he left? Or only being polite? Josef couldn’t tell, but kept a smile on his face as he went across the car park to his car.
She stayed at the door, so he had to drive away.
He could have done without the annoyance. He’d have to ditch this car quickly now, in case she recognized it following her. Damn the idiot! People of his sort should be locked away, not let loose in the community.
He parked further down the hill, waiting to see if Stu turned up at the antiques centre.
He smiled as he saw Stu drive past shortly afterwards. The fool was using his own car for the trip. How easy he’d be for the police to trace.
Stu found the centre, but he didn’t go inside. He parked as far away from the door as he could, round a corner in a sort of overflow car park. He opened the bonnet and pretended to be fiddling with the car, which gave him a clear line of sight to the entrance.
As the day began to fade, people started leaving, so he crouched down, hoping no one would come to this part of the car park. They didn’t. They got into their cars and drove away.
By the time Gabi came out, the car park was empty. She hurried across to a car Stu didn’t recognize. What had happened to her other one? Had she wasted money on a newer one, when she hardly drove anywhere?
He waited till she’d left the car park, then followed her, knowing she’d never seen this car, so wouldn’t realize it was him. She went down the hill, but didn’t go into the town. Turning on to a side road, she cut across country to a minor road that ran along a shallow valley.
He could afford to fall back here, because he could see a long way ahead. At one point he stopped to cram a hat on his head and stuff some papers in the corner of the dashboard, hoping it’d make the car look a bit different.
Gabi turned left and went slowly up a hill, along a road signposted ‘No Through Road’. If it was a cul-de-sac, there was no need to follow her yet. Stu drove past the turning and parked by the side of the road at a small rise. He got out and stood on the higher ground to watch where she went, using the small but powerful binoculars Radka had given him.
The top of Gabi’s car was visible all the way up the slope and she didn’t stop until she came to what looked like the last house. He watched her get out and walk along a path to the fron
t door, which she unlocked. Aha! This must be her new home.
‘Gotcha!’ he muttered and went back to lock his car. There was no one around, so he strolled up the lane, taking care to do nothing that would draw attention to himself. If anyone asked, he’d claim to be stretching his legs in the middle of a long drive.
He needed to find out whether this house was worth stealing from. He shook his head. Stupid of Radka to insist he hit on Gabi again. But women could do stupid things when they got jealous, even though it surprised him that a savvy woman like Radka could have such a weakness.
The lane turned into a path with a sign indicating a hikers’ trail that led up on to the moors. Bit of good luck, that. The residents would be used to people walking up their lane.
The hiking path skirted the garden, which was surrounded by a drystone wall. He stopped when he found he could see into the rear of the house, which was brightly lit with no curtains drawn.
He got out the binoculars again and studied the interior. Yes! Plenty of furniture to fill the truck. Looked like some of it was antique stuff, too. Might be worth a bit. Trust Gabi to set up a place worth robbing. She cared a lot about her house and would have had the insurance money to buy furniture. Where had she got the antiques from, though? The centre where she was working?
Or was this a rented house? He smiled. He hoped it was: then she’d be in trouble for letting someone else’s furniture be stolen.
Lady Luck was definitely moving his way again.
He suddenly remembered that he had to let Josef and Nada know where she lived, so he crouched behind the drystone wall and rang them.
‘Where are you now?’ he asked.
‘I am parked in Littleborough, as you told me,’ Nada said. ‘If I am not needed yet, I’ll get some food before I come to you.’
‘Yeah. You do that. But don’t be long.’
Josef answered just as quickly and Stu gave him the same information. ‘Where are you?’
‘A few miles away from Littleborough. I need to steal another car and then I shall join you.’
‘Well, be careful you don’t get caught. I won’t be doing anything till after it gets fully dark. Got to give people down the lane from Gabi time to get to sleep.’
Stu broke the connection and went back to his car, where he settled down for a boring wait. Gabi couldn’t get out of here without passing him. No need to draw attention to himself by staying too close to the house – not until it was time to act.
Dan arrived in Littleborough mid-afternoon, later than he’d planned because his friend’s car had had a flat on the motorway. He had cursed as he changed the tyre, his heart heavy with anxiety for the woman he loved. What the hell did Stu want with her?
He parked just off the main road, in a farm access track that wasn’t used very often. He reconnoitred the area near their house. No cars parked in the lane, no sign of anyone walking on the moors.
He liaised with Leon’s operative by phone and they agreed to find observation points slightly uphill from the house, one to each side.
The other guy was hidden behind a wall, and Dan made sure he found a good place to hide and observe, too, behind some raised ground with a few shrubs on it. The grass he had to lie on was damp and it was chilly, but all he cared about was keeping Gabrielle safe.
He waited, but could see no sign of anyone at the house, so he slipped down the hill into the house. His phone vibrated, but he ignored it. His had to get his gun. He didn’t like using the damned thing, but these were serious criminals.
It was clear that no one else had been inside the house since Gabrielle left for work this morning. Her mug had been rinsed out and left on the draining board. He touched it briefly, as if it would bring her closer, then shook his head at himself. He’d got it bad for that woman.
He wished he hadn’t agreed to do things this way, wished he’d stayed with her in the first place.
Moving outside again, he went up the hill. He still felt worried and couldn’t figure out why. Her ex was a thief, not a hit man. But the two with Stu added another dimension to the situation – a more dangerous one.
His phone crackled to life again and this time he answered it.
‘You weren’t supposed to go inside,’ Leon said.
‘So shoot me. I was unarmed, needed to get my gun, given what you’ve told me about these people with Dixon. And I wanted to make sure that that no one else had been there since she left, that there were no unpleasant surprises waiting for her.’
‘And the place was clear?’
‘Yes. She won’t be back from work until about six o’clock, by the way.’
‘All right. But don’t go into the house again.’
‘Not unless I have to.’
He continued to half sit, half lie on the damp, windy hillside, wishing he had his thermal underwear.
At last a car turned up the lane. He got out his binoculars. Gabrielle was home. She looked happy as she got out of her car. Clearly she’d enjoyed her day.
Something caught his eye and he watched another car pull into the side of the main road just past the turn-off into the lane. A man got out – a man whose face he recognized from photos the minute he brought it into focus: Stu Dixon. He must have followed her home.
Dan shook his head in bafflement. What the hell was going on here? Why was the fellow pursuing his ex? Was he obsessive about her? He didn’t sound to be the sort to care about anyone but himself.
He was about to communicate the identity of this new arrival to Leon’s team when he saw another car drive past and stop further down the main road. There wasn’t a layby there, only the rough, gravelly verge, so there was no reason for anyone to stop. The car didn’t appear to have broken down.
A tall, powerful-looking man got out and stretched, then crouched by the car, using binoculars to observe Stu. He looked like a Slav of some sort, Dan decided, with straight dark hair, high cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes.
No operative of Leon’s would be so obvious about following someone. So who was this? One of Radka’s people? Must be. Why the hell was he following Stu, though? They were supposed to be working together.
Anxiety made Dan’s pulse speed up and his whole body tense for action, but nothing happened for a few minutes.
Dixon continued to watch the house, and the other guy watched Dixon.
Gabrielle didn’t come out again.
When Dixon got back into his car, the other guy hastily did the same, as if afraid of being spotted.
Puzzled about what was going on, Dan kept his binoculars focused on the driver he didn’t know and saw him speaking on a mobile phone. When Dan flicked back to Stu, he was on his phone, too.
Which seemed to suggest they were talking to one another, and therefore working together. Only, if so, why was the big guy hiding from Stu?
Curiouser and curiouser! Dan was beginning to feel like Alice in Wonderland, only this wasn’t Wonderland – it was Crazyland.
Dixon couldn’t be stupid enough to try to steal Gabrielle’s houseful of possessions again, surely? Or nasty enough? Not to mention arrogant enough to think he could get away with it.
Perhaps he was an undetected lunatic. Dan would make sure he was a very sorry lunatic if he hurt Gabrielle in any way.
It must have been Dixon who’d had her bank account emptied – must have been. But if he had stolen her money, that made it even more stupid for him to follow her to Lancashire.
Baffled, Dan called Leon to report what was happening and give him the numbers of the two cars, then he continued to watch the players in this drama.
Leon got back to say the other guy’s car had been reported stolen a short time ago, but Dixon’s vehicle had belonged to him for five years.
Which solved nothing. Hadn’t Gabrielle mentioned her ex driving a luxury car? Yes, Dan remembered that distinctly. Well, this car was quite old and definitely not a luxury vehicle. So where had Dixon kept it hidden?
None of this information made it any clearer
what was going on. Dan thumped the soft ground with his clenched fist in frustration.
He could only watch and wait.
Happy to be home, Gabrielle changed out of her working clothes and put on jeans, a T-shirt and a cardigan, because it was a cool evening. She smiled wryly. This was now her only cardigan, and she possessed two pairs of jeans and three tops, as well as a few basic business clothes. She needed to buy some more clothes now that she was settled for a while and had money coming in.
She hummed as she began to cook a simple stir-fry for tea. She had so enjoyed her day at the antiques centre. Friendly people to work with and fascinating objects everywhere.
It had been strange, though, the way Toby had taken a dislike to the tall man with the slight accent. She couldn’t place his nationality.
Remembering the incident, it occurred to her abruptly that the guy might be from one of the Slavic countries. He had those high cheekbones.
It hit her then. Stu was in the Czech Republic.
A shiver ran down her spine and her light-hearted mood evaporated abruptly. Was the man connected to Stu? Toby had been so certain he was ‘bad’.
She left what remained of her meal to go cold and went round the ground floor, making sure the doors were locked, the old-fashioned sash windows screwed down tightly, and all the curtains drawn. Getting her mobile phone out of her handbag, she tucked it into her cardigan pocket for easier access. She could dial the police or contact Leon with one click. But the police would take ages to get out here and so would anyone Leon sent.
Should she ring Dan and ask him to come back straight away? No, it’d take him several hours. He’d be here tomorrow anyway. She just had to get through the night.
She could nip down and ask the neighbours for shelter. Only she didn’t know any of them and they’d probably think her crazy. Still, at a pinch she might be able to slip out at the back and run down the hill.
She cut such thoughts short. No need to get paranoid about this. She had no proof that Stu was going to come after her.
She passed an uneasy evening, unable to settle to reading her novel, not wanting to switch the television on in case it masked the sound of anyone approaching. She went to peer out of windows in the darkened rooms a few times after she’d heard noises she couldn’t figure out.
