Eva’s eyes flared. “Then listen,” she snapped. Eva struck the man across the jaw with the edge of the pistol. A small, stinging blow. He put a hand to his face and grimaced.
“In 2016, Blane Recruitment hired another car. A blue Vauxhall Corsa. A nice fast sporty edition. Nothing like your current vehicle. I wondered about that for a while. Why hire a car with a sporty engine if you prefer an SUV? But after I heard about the witness reports for Mrs Blane’s car accident, it made a lot more sense.”
“What?” said the man, shaking his head.
“Don’t bullshit me, Boothroyd. I’ve seen your emails. You didn’t want Blane to point the finger at you like he did, but it was too late. He asked you about the Vauxhall and you denied you knew anything about it. But that was just to cover your backside, because you knew Blane’s email was evidence against you. It was damning. Denial was all you could do.”
“I think I remember an email about that…” said Boothroyd, frowning.
“Of course you do. That denial was the only shield you had left. But it was weak. You used that car, and you used it for one reason. Blane ordered you to kill his wife. You waited until she was on a stretch of the A12 which you knew didn’t have traffic cameras, then you engineered her fatal accident. That was smart. And here you are again, with another rental, attempting to kill Jamie Blane’s latest cast-off lover. My guess is that his current girlfriend has two of three years tops until you get the call to do it again. What’s the reason? Blane doesn’t like dealing with break-ups? He prefers the risk free, final solution!”
“You’re off your heads. Both of you, you’ve lost it,” said the man.
“Eva, there’s no need to dig into what he’s done or hasn’t done. You already know the truth ad we haven’t got time. You need to finish him… now.”
The man shot Lauren a hateful look. “I never killed his wife. Never!”
“Liar!” said Eva. “You’re Blane’s go-to man. I’ve seen the emails. You were there for him before, and here you are again… doing his bidding. But this time it’s not going to end like that.”
“Do it, Eva!” said Lauren.
Eva narrowed her eyes.
“All you have to do is admit it.”
“I can’t!” he said. “I won’t admit to something—”
“He’s lying again. He’ll never tell you what you want to hear. Finish it, Eva,” said Lauren.
“Lauren, leave it,” said Eva.
“He’s biding his time. You have to finish this now. This man was going to kill me. If you don’t…”
Eva shook her head. “I want him to tell me how it happened, Lauren. To tell me how he got that woman to crash her car.”
“Stop wasting time!” snapped Lauren.
Angry now, Eva grimaced and turned a fraction towards Lauren. And in that half-second, Boothroyd snapped forward. He reached for Eva’s gun, his fingers slipping over the long barrel, and clawing at Eva’s hand. Eva turned her attention to the man, but now she had to fight.
“Eva!” yelled Lauren. They struggled with the gun, Boothroyd pulling back to use his weight as added leverage. And as they struggled, Lauren ran in from the side. She launched at Boothroyd, clawing at his face and side. Her fingernails gouged across his face. The man growled in pain and kicked out at her. She came at him again and his grip loosened on the gun. Eva slipped away from him, the gun still in her hand. Boothroyd roared in anger, turned to face Lauren and threw a punch crashing into the side of her head. Eva watched Lauren stagger away, almost falling to the gravel. Eva gritted her teeth; narrowed her eyes. She saw Boothroyd sizing up another strike, aiming to hit Lauren even as she got away. The fire was coming back. Eva saw Boothroyd as he was. A woman killer. The gun hired by a man who used and killed woman as he pleased. “Boothroyd,” called Eva, distracting him from Lauren. The man looked at Eva, saw the threat. He was wild now, fighting for his life. Boothroyd charged at Eva, his eyes fixed on the gun as he tried to surge past it to hit her in the face. Eva dodged the blow and stepped back. She swung her right hand and slammed the gun hard against the man’s head. She saw the blood leaking from his mouth as he fell back. Blood from the claw marks raked across his forehead was already leaking in his eyes. The man came at her again. Boothroyd was full of rage. He was stronger too, but his eyes were full of blood. All she had to do was stay clear of his fists. She moved out of harm’s way as he came in and then swung a sharp reply punch. The blow landed and pain ricocheted up her whole arm. And still Eva wasn’t satisfied. Somewhere, as if from a distance, she heard Lauren cheering. Boothroyd staggered back.
“I didn’t kill—” he said.
“Enough lies!” shouted Eva. He stepped away and looked towards the water and the grasses behind him. “Admit it. Admit what you did for Blane.” The man aimed a punch at Eva, but she knocked his hands away and swiped the gun across his head. The blow landed clean and he staggered back.
“Stop it!” he shouted, rocking on his feet.
“Don’t you dare,” said Eva. “
Boothroyd was a killer. Given half a chance Eva knew they would both be dead. And more would have followed. Eva stopped walking. She lifted the pistol in both hands to steady her aim and pointed the gun at his head.
“Do it!” said Lauren. “Kill him!”
The man raised his bloodied hands.
“I told you they’d come. Look. They’re coming…” said Boothroyd. “Do you see?”
“No more tricks. No more lies,” said Eva, refusing to look back again. Her finger slid tighter around the trigger. She licked her lips and looked into the man’s blood-slicked eyes. For the first time, she saw genuine fear. Her finger lingered on the trigger, and then it slid away.
“But I’m not going to kill you. I’m better than that. We’re better than you.”
Eva looked to her left, where the grey water slicked up the pebbles and grit. She swung her arm and tossed the gun to the water where it tumbled into the first shallow waves. Boothroyd seized his moment and lunged at her, but he was tired and weakened. Eva slapped him and shoved him away.
“No. You don’t get to hurt me,” she said. And she hit him again, knocking him back. “You’re finished.”
The man staggered at the blow and dropped down to his hands and knees. Eva followed him down with a punch, landing a blow into the bloodied side of his face. When Eva pulled her hand back, she saw blood all over her knuckles. And still she wasn’t done. Her hand was hurting, her body burning with exhaustion, but Eva wanted more.
“You don’t get to hurt anyone ever again…”
She landed another hard blow and shook the pain out of her hand as Boothroyd grunted and dropped face down, his chin hitting the floor. She looked down at him as he dragged himself back up to his hands and knees. She saw the hate in his eyes. The hate still stronger than his fear. Eva shook her head. He needed more.
The sound of running boots hit the gravel behind her. The sound of running and shouting. People calling her to stop. Eva heard it, and wheeled around, gasping. She looked back to see two uniformed police charging towards her. Lauren was nearby her face cupped in her hands, but Eva saw her eyes. They were bright and full of life. Eva looked down at and saw the blood over her knuckles, the broken skin of her fingers, the blood on the sleeve of her suit. Right there, the shock hit her, and so did the pain. Her hands were grazed and swollen. And suddenly they were shaking. She looked down at Boothroyd,, the man beaten and broken beneath her. Eva immediately knew the police would misunderstand…
“Step away from him and calm down” they demanded. Eva stood stock still, needing to explain herself, so the police shouted again. “Step away now.”
But Eva stayed rooted to the spot until one of the officers moved forwards, his voice softening, and a firm hand was laid on her shoulder.
“Eva… what have you done?”
Eva looked up into the eyes of PC Rob Dawson and saw the raw shock in his eyes.
“Rob…?”
“I’m sorry, Ev
a. I’m going to have to take you in. This time I’ve got no choice.
“He’s armed, Rob. There’s a gun in his car,” she said. But she knew it sounded like an excuse. Because it was. An excuse that didn’t wash, especially with herself.
Eva nodded and she offered up her hands. But PC Dawson kept his hand on her shoulder. But a second later, his companion, PC Jordan clapped the cuffs over her wrists.
Eva nodded again in submission and listened as the smaller, younger policeman, Jordan, read Eva her rights.
“I’ll look for the weapon,” said Dawson. “We’ll take him in too.”
“Good,” said Eva, in a breathless voice.
Jordan led her past Lauren. Eva went willingly, refusing to look Lauren in the eye. Dawson knelt down to attend to the man left beaten behind her.
Eva walked away in surrender. As she was dipped into the back of the police car, Jordan pressing on her head, she saw Lauren’s face. She saw the elation. But Eva felt no joy at all. All she felt was emptiness and pain. She knew Boothroyd had lost and for now, Lauren was safe. But Eva felt that she had lost as well. She’d been taken out of the game, and she was glad of it. The police car turned away from Two Tree Island, leaving PC Dawson crouching over Boothroyd as Lauren stood alone.
PC Jordan looked at Eva in the rear-view mirror. He looked at her like she had gone mad. Like she was an animal. And the truth was Eva couldn’t blame him.
Jordan was right.
Sixteen
Eva would have killed for a simple meal and a bottle of wine at their fold-out dining table in their flat above the office. Or better still, the comfort of Dan’s arms and the warmth of their double bed. Instead she had to settle for seeing Dan’s face under the unforgiving lights of Southend police station’s main office. His eyes were full of concern and a good deal of fractious thinking. Mark was with him, but when he saw the traces of blood left on Eva’s sleeves he looked shocked and backed away. It took Eva a moment to realise she had the wrong end of the stick; Mark was looking to excuse himself so Dan could comfort her. Soon Dan sat close beside her, but every so often Eva noticed him looking around the station corridors. She guessed he was thinking about DI Hogarth, hoping to avoid yet another confrontation. The closest they got was when DS Palmer, the sometimes hard-faced woman with the blonde bob, whisked by with a purse-lipped nod. Eva replied in kind. Palmer seemed to look at her with a mixture of curiosity and pity in her eyes. Eva wanted neither.
“I wish I’d known what you’d been dealing with all this time,” said Dan. “You should have told me.”
“I tried, but there never seemed a good time. And the situation keeps changing. It’s been so bloody awful I thought it best that one of us keeps our feet on the ground. I keep losing my way with her. One minute she’s angry and manipulative, the next she seems fragile and lost.”
“I don’t ever see that part. All I see is a problem,” said Dan.
“She paid us, Dan. And I haven’t finished the job yet.”
“She paid you to protect her. Not to get yourself killed in the process.”
Dan plucked one of Eva’s hands from her lap. “Still. From the look of these fists I’d say you were the one who came out on top.”
“I think I did at that,” she smiled. They shared a moment before Dan glanced back over his shoulder and leaned in for a kiss.
“I miss you,” she said.
“You too. I’m hoping they don’t put you back in the cells. It’s the last thing you need.”
Eva forced a smile. “If I hurt him as badly as I think I did…”
“Eva, you did the right thing. The guy is a killer.”
“I didn’t intend to end up like him. Though as Lauren keeps reminding me, we’ve left a few dead people in our wake.”
“We never had a choice in that. Not once.”
“And you’re sure about that? Are you?” said Eva.
“Eva, I can’t go back there,” said Dan “It’s taken me years to deal with some of those things. I still get nightmares. I can’t live with them during my waking hours too. Neither should you. She’s been messing with your head.”
Eva looked away. “It’s like I don’t know what side I’m on,.”
“The good side. You always were. That’s why we’re together, right?”
Dan looked over his shoulder again.
“What is it?” said Eva. “You seem worried – about seeing Hogarth?”
Dan’s eyes met PC Dawson’s as he looked over from the main office at the end of the corridor. Dawson was in discussion with the hefty desk sergeant who was holding a phone in his hand. Dan could tell Dawson was talking about Eva. He was tense. Something was about to happen. News was coming their way.
“Hogarth? Why would I worry about him?”
“You might be worried what he’ll make of what I’ve done.”
“I’m never worried about what that man thinks.”
“Then what is it?”
Dan looked at Eva.
“I met Joanne outside the station.”
“Oh.”
“I think Mark must have told her,” said Dan.
“It’s good to know they’re still in touch, at least that’s something,” said Eva. “He must have thought the situation was so extreme she needed to be told.”
“It is extreme. This case, Eva,” said Dan, “we got it wrong. It’s too personal. We should have refused it. Or I should have taken it.”
“Dan, there was no way you could have taken it. It’s a woman’s case, an abuse case. And it’s seriously messed up. Much more than you know.”
Dan nodded. “That’s because she’s at the centre of it.”
Eva frowned. “Anyway. Why are you so bothered about seeing Joanne? You and her were okay last time I heard.”
“It’s not about her. It’s who she’s with. The tall smarmy guy with spikey hair. I didn’t like the look of him much, and we didn’t speak a word.”
“He’ll be the private detective. Her employer. Tobias Falk.”
“Did she have to bring him along to this?”
“I think there’s a chance he’s more than her boss. I was getting that vibe from her before.”
“She’s sleeping with the guy? Already? Joanne doesn’t waste any time.”
“Give her some credit, Dan. Maybe she fancied the guy. It happens.”
“Or maybe he took advantage of his position,” said Dan.
Dan watched as Rob Dawson advanced towards them. The big man gave Dan a nod.
“Dan,” said Dawson. Dan nodded back. Then the big cop looked down at Eva.
“The good news. There’s going to be no charges. Boothroyd won’t say a word about anything.”
“You do know the man’s a mercenary,” said Dan. “A hired killer.”
“We found the gun in the boot, with prints on like Eva said. And we got the toolbox. The doctors say we can’t talk to him tonight, but he won’t be going anywhere in a hurry.”
“Have you checked the hire car?” said Eva, “It’s from Reva Rentals. But it’s not under his name. You should check it out.”
“And we will in good time. You and Boothroyd have been the talk of the station.”
“What about Lauren. What happened to her?” said Eva.
“Who’s Lauren?” said Dawson.
“She was there when it happened. She’s the reason it happened. Didn’t you see her?”
“I saw the woman at Two Tree Island, yeah, but she didn’t hang about. I was dealing with Boothroyd. I didn’t even see her go. We’ll need to talk to her as well.”
“Forget her, Eva.” said Dan. “Let her disappear if she likes. She’ll be doing you a favour.”
“The bottom line, Eva, is that you’ve been lucky,” said Dawson. “Very lucky. If it wasn’t me and Jordan responding to that call, I don’t know what might have happened.” He looked at Dan. “I never knew she could fight like that. It looks like you’ve been training her at the boys’ club.”
“It was nothing t
o do with training,” said Eva. “I saw red. I lost the plot.”
“Then remind me not to get on your bad side anytime soon,” said Dawson. “Oh, and you’ve got another visitor in reception. I can see you’re still a bit shaken up. I can refuse them.”
“Let me guess. Is it Joanne?”
“Yeah. The pretty little blonde,” said Dawson.
“Careful. You’ve already got one of those, Dawson,” said Dan.
“Don’t worry. You don’t have to warn me,” said Dawson with a grin.
“Send her in,” said Eva. “And Rob… thanks for letting me out of the cells.”
“Wasn’t my call, actually. It was DS Palmer. But from the look on your face, I’m glad she did. I’ll go and get Joanne for you.”
Dawson walked away to reception. PSCO Bec Rawlins and her colleagues from the neighbourhood team walked in through the double doors. Dawson shot a quick word into the young PCSO’s ear as he passed her by. Rawlins looked upset and turned around to find Eva. When she did, Rawlins gave a limp-handed wave of sympathy. Eva nodded her thanks.
Joanne walked into the office, leaving the double doors closing behind her. She passed Mark who was leaning against a column, trying not to look at Dan and Eva.
“This should be interesting,” said Dan. “Let’s see how they are with each other.”
They watched as Joanne stopped a few feet in front of Mark. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and looked at him, a smile flashing across her face before dying a quick death. They muttered to one another. Mark shrugged. Joanne reached for his hand, but Mark’s hand stayed firmly in his pocket and he muttered back. Giving up, she moved towards Eva and Dan. It was hard to tell if there was still any feeling left between them. But as soon as Joanne turned her back, Mark’s eyes latched on and followed her the whole way.
“See that?” said Dan.
“He’s still raw,” said Eva.
The girl drew up in front of them, a careful smile pasted on her face. She reminded Eva of someone visiting a sick relative.
“Hey. Thanks for letting me in to see you. I didn’t think you would.”
Play With Fire Page 25
