‘I knew you was a good man when you brung me here.’
He squirmed at her naivety. ‘I’ve never been a good man. But I’m trying to be like a good father right now.’
She pulled away slightly, inspecting his saggy cheeks, the careworn eyes, the spiky grey and white eyebrows, and said something he had never, ever expected to hear.
‘I wish you really was my dad!’ She kissed him on the forehead.
***
‘He’s bloody mad! He broke my sodding nose!’ The man was walking along Oxford Street, one hand still nursing his face with tissues, the other holding the mobile phone to his ear. He dodged the shoppers pressing around him, occasionally one of their bags would thump against his thighs as he concentrated on the voice in his ear.
He listened then said, ‘On Tuesday you said we could carry on as normal. Simm may be dead, but life goes on.’
He listened and spoke again, ‘Oh, I see. Fair enough. I can wait. When are we meeting?’
The man nodded, and then yelped as a little old lady, determined to assess all the Oxford Street bargains she could, jammed her umbrella into his groin and shoved him out of her way. He finished his conversation, bent double, and held his crotch with his left hand, his nose with his right.
The man he had been speaking to, who had been relaxing, congratulating himself on the financial coup he was expecting from his SimmpleTravel dealings, put down his phone. It seemed to Sir Benjamin that Sir Jeremy was going to be a problem after all.
***
‘You’re in danger here, Kylie. Think about it. Would George really have given you this apartment? Millions of pounds worth?’
Kylie bit her bottom lip, chewing, gradually shaking her head. ‘When you brung me here, that day, he came and told me it would be mine. Asked me, same as you – wot’s it worth? I said fifty grand and he said that was about right.’ Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. ‘Why not tell me – five million is loads more?’
‘Because you would’ve suspected something, wouldn’t you?’ Sir Jeremy did not want to panic the girl but needed her to understand the danger she had been in, may still be in. ‘I think George murdered girls when,’ he hated to say it, to admit it, his throat tight as he said it, ‘...when we’d finished with them.’
Her eyes were wide, fear transmitted like an electric shock. ‘He murdered them?’
‘I don’t know for certain, Kylie. I think so. You see, now I look back,’ I was so blind, ‘it explains why he’d told me not to get too close, not to talk to the girls, not to talk to you. To come here just for sex, treat you as if you were prostitutes. I’d have my own private, personal Lolita he’d said!’ Sir Jeremy choked as he spoke, realising the enormity of what he had done, been involved in.
‘But he might not have killed them!’
He could see from her face that she did not want to believe it, but became more convinced himself as he uttered the words. ‘Listen. I thought I was the only one who came here. With you. George told me that.’
George said a lot of things, he thought: We’ll find a young girl. I’ll give you the apartment, set it up, nothing for you to do. Just come along twice a week on agreed days. I’ll come at other times, just take some photos, not see her for sex as she’s your girl, Jeremy. Your reward for services rendered.
‘He’s a lying cunt!’
‘Yes he was, Kylie.’ Sir Jeremy scratched his head, scrubbing at his scalp, trying to dig out the memories, to scrunch them up, throw them away.
‘So that’s why he said not to tell you about the uvvers!’
‘Yes. And to be honest Kylie, I was always worried that you or the other girls might tell someone about us, about me.’
‘Course I won’t, I’ve won the lottery thanks to you!’
Sir Jeremy tried to be gentle. ‘Not so much you, the others. The girls George brought here before you arrived. He didn’t even tell me when they were going until after they’d gone. Each time he told me he’d paid the girl off, she’ll never talk, she’s happy where she is now.’
Kylie looked hopeful, reassured. ‘Maybe he did pay them off. Maybe they are happy!’
‘I don’t think so, Kylie. As you say, George was a lying cunt.’ That was another first for Sir Jeremy, the word tasted alien in his mouth but seemed a fitting epithet for his former friend. ‘I believed him, preferred not to think about it. But now.’
He could see the fragility, the youth in her face, the child beneath the make-up, but forced himself to go on. ‘He can’t promise all of you the same apartment, can he?’
Sir Jeremy watched as Kylie’s lip was sucked in again, chewed as if vital to the process of thinking. She had told him she was clean of pills today, had been excited, waiting for his return. She was clearly thrilled to have the flat, but terrified in case George could somehow reach out from the grave and take it from her.
‘The fuckin bastard! He was gonna do me in!’ She started pacing. ‘But he’s gone. I’m safe now aren’t I?’ The hope and doubt in her voice tore at Sir Jeremy.
‘Yes. I think you are, if we move you.’
Kylie chewed it over, literally. ‘But he didn’t need to kill me. He could’ve given me fifty grand. I’d have been happy with that! Half that!’ She slammed her hand on the table. ‘He was rich enuff.’
Sir Jeremy tried a different tack. He had to convince her. ‘The man who was burning you yesterday, with candle wax. You know who he is?’
‘Course. I told yer. He’s on the telly.’
‘Do you think anyone might pay you to tell them what he did to you?’ Sir Jeremy took a deep breath and blew out his cheeks as Kylie looked quizzical. Clearly the thought had not occurred to her. He said, ‘Like a newspaper?’
‘Newspaper? Never read ’em though the Bitch sometimes bought one. So you mean like kiss’n’tell stuff. Wot? They pay for that?’
‘I should think fifty grand would be a small sum, though you might find them difficult to convince.’ He wasn’t so sure about that, but did not want to put ideas in her head. ‘Like I said yesterday, the deal with the apartment...’
‘Don’t get your knickers in a knot. I won’t tell no one. I’m gonna go to Spain. My Uncle John’s there, he really is me uncle. Says it’s hot and the sea’s warm too.’ Her face lit up as she spoke. ‘I can do what I want now! I’ve won the lottery y’know!’
Sir Jeremy could not help feeling worried for her still. When he had received the apartment as his reward Simm had told him of the existence of his pervert’s club. George wanted him to join, but he didn’t want to know, preferred his own private space, something Patricia would never know about. His exclusive sanctuary, for his obsession.
His pay off.
George’s club was a worry now, though. Someone must be continuing with it in George’s absence. And the club had been using Kylie. His Kylie.
His slut.
Sir Jeremy suddenly realised who was running things in George’s stead.
***
‘Boss! Guess what!’
‘Come on in. How’s my favourite dago today? And get that bum fluff off your chin!’
Gus Valens wasn’t biting. He was too excited. ‘You know that totty, Julie. The Gary Knight three-in-a-bed bird?’
Of course Charles knew. Her breasts were plastered all over his paper today. ‘What about her, son?’ Charles puffed his twelfth cigar in two days. His doctor would not be happy, but he was.
‘She...’ Gus waited until Tandy stopped fiddling with his keyboard, waited until he had his boss’s full attention, ‘...is in hospital. Casualty, with a busted jaw!’ Gus clearly had not finished, wanted to build the effect.
‘Let me guess. Knight’s bird clocked her one?’ Charles puffed a noxious cloud at his top man, savouring the moment. This was great copy, and more crap tomorrow for Gary Knight and SimmpleTravel. ‘And?’
‘It gets better, boss. They’ve just wheeled Knight in. According to my contact in the paramedics, Knight’s bird found him face down in a pile of cocaine
, today’s copy of The Crusader open in front of him!’
‘That is totally brilliant, Gus!’ Tandy stood, grabbing the phone. ‘Let’s get someone...’
‘Joe’s already on his way, boss, got a photographer with him. Julie wants some more dosh. I thought, some pics of her with her jaw wired and that twat in his hospital bed unconscious have gotta be worth another ten grand!’
‘No problem, son. Get her in here. Is the girlfriend, what’s her name..?’
‘Susie.’
‘Is she talking to us?’
‘Not yet, boss. Maybe never. Julie says it’s true love. They had a shouting match in Casualty when she brought Knight in. Susie got slung out by hospital security before Julie phoned. I told our girl to wait until Joe got there.’
Charles sat back, puffing smoke contentedly. This just has to be the best week ever, he thought.
***
‘Where is he then?’ He scowled at the girl.
‘He’s in hospital, Sir Benjamin. His girlfriend Susie called this morning. He’s had an accident. He’s unconscious but she said he’d be fine.’ The SimmpleTravel receptionist pushed back her chair, the wheels easing her away from this overbearing man.
‘Bloody hell! Who’s in charge?’ Sir Benjamin had arrived expecting to see Gary Knight and then go through George’s things.
‘Ian. He’s our IS Director, in charge of Information Systems.’
‘Tell him I want to see him. Now.’
‘He’s in a meeting, Sir Benjamin.’
‘Tell him. Now!’ Sir Benjamin’s head was thrust across the reception desk and the girl had nowhere to go to escape him as her chair was already backed against the wall.
She buzzed through, waited as the phone chirped in the meeting room. ‘Ian. Sir Benjamin’s here. He has an appointment to see Gary. Can you see him now? He’s in a hurry.’ She tried to smile at Sir Benjamin, but her nervousness was making her mouth twitch instead. ‘Okay, thanks. Sir Benjamin, if you wouldn’t mind waiting in Ian’s office, it’s next to Gary’s.’ She pointed, her smile more confident now, clearly relieved to be rid of him. ‘He’ll only be a minute.’
Sir Benjamin waited in the office. Fuming.
The IS Director ambled in, offered Sir Benjamin his hand but would not make eye contact. George had once described him to Sir Benjamin as an intensely shy man who preferred machines to humans, and hence was quite brilliant with computers. ‘Sorry. I wasn’t expecting you. Gary’s diary had no appointment recorded.’
‘I spoke to him and arranged things late yesterday evening. Now, tell me Ian, what’s the matter with Gary? The girl said he was unconscious. He needs to be here.’ Sir Benjamin was worried. This man could work magic with computers, but could not run a multi-million-pound company. He could not even look a person in the eye, for God’s sake! Gary Knight was the one who should be here running the company. According to George he had pretty much been doing so for years.
‘His girlfriend said he’ll be in tomorrow. He took some... ’ The eyes rotated as the introverted genius shuffled from foot to foot. ‘He took something to help him relax. It’s happened before, she said. Some drugs don’t agree with him.’
‘Oh, what? Like sleeping pills?’
‘I’m not sure.’ The man’s eyes were everywhere but Sir Benjamin’s. ‘I expect so.’
‘Thank you, Ian.’ He was mollified, but this was not good news. At least Gary would be back for the Board meeting tomorrow.
‘No problem, Sir Benjamin.’ Ian turned to go.
‘One thing, Ian. I promised Gary I’d sort out George’s things for his widow. I’ll do that now, save Gary the distress.’ He did not want a wasted trip.
‘Sorry, Sir Benjamin. Gary has all the spare keys for the boss’s office and George had his set with him.’ Ian’s eyes were on the floor, the ceiling, Sir Benjamin’s tie, back to the floor.
Idiot! ‘I’ll be back tomorrow.’ As Sir Benjamin reached for the door, the receptionist pushed it open.
‘Sorry to interrupt, Ian, but the police are on the phone from Thailand. They want to know if George had a laptop or other computer with him.’
‘Of course he did. Didn’t go anywhere without it. It’s a bit special too. It’s not missing, is it?’ Ian’s face twisted with worry.
‘Well, they say it wasn’t in his room or his wall safe. D’you want to speak to them?’
‘Yes. I wouldn’t be surprised if George kept all sorts of things on that machine. Mind you, he said it was impossible for anyone else to get into it. I hope he was right otherwise, if it got into the wrong hands, our competitors, they could probably shut us down. Sorry, Sir Benjamin, I have to go. This is serious. See you tomorrow.’ Ian shuffled to his desk to wait for the girl to put the call through.
Sir Benjamin walked out in a daze. He thought he would be able to check out George’s office computer himself, or if he was unable to access it, get the O’Sullivan boy to hack into it and check it for any incriminating evidence. It had not occurred to him to worry about a bloody laptop. He just hoped George was right and that no one could open it up. Otherwise it might be worse for him, and the rest of the Young Boy Network, than SimmpleTravel. Who knows what George kept on the thing?
And then he remembered what Jeremy had said over lunch.
He needed to make a call.
For the first time since George had died Sir Benjamin was seriously concerned about what the police might discover. And he had a fortune riding on SimmpleTravel. He needed to find that computer before the police, or somehow destroy it if they found it first.
***
Her hair looked like a bird’s nest. She had been tugging at it, pulling and twisting until it was knotted and stood on end, witch-like. Her hands moved in front of her, her fingers clawing the air, as if to grasp something invisible before her. The noises she made did not really form words, made little sense. She had eaten her lipstick, taken it from the compact beside her bed, the brilliant red smeared around her mouth as she chewed, sucked and smudged her way through it.
Veronica, the maid, had called the doctor earlier in the day and he had already given Gloria Simm a shot. Now the doctor was back, perched on the edge of Gloria’s bed, observing the woman propped up by the pillows. Veronica watched from the other side of the bed, wringing her hands.
‘When are Cindy and George Junior back?’ The doctor was worried for his patient. He wanted to speak to someone in the immediate family, the two children.
‘They should be here later today, doctor.’
Cindy and George Simm Junior had been safari trekking in Africa when their father died. It had taken some time to track them down and organise flights back.
‘At least that’s something.’ The doctor gave Gloria another shot. He stood, pulled off his gloves and rolled down his sleeves. ‘Ask them to call me. I want to see them immediately they arrive.’ He put his coat and hat on, nodded to Veronica and left.
The sedative began to take effect and Gloria’s arms cycled less and less until they stopped. She sat staring, waxy crimson bubbles foaming at the corners of her mouth.
Veronica wiped them away and tried to clean the lipstick off her face. ‘Let’s make you look nice for Cindy and Georgie Junior,’ she said.
***
The boats carved across the bay, white plumes of wake arcing in the turquoise sea. Kate’s iPad was propped on her thighs, but her eyes were on the shimmering view. Pop’s house was too much. She needed some space to think, to put into words what she had seen, felt in there.
She could write a sensational story. But would Charles Tandy want it? She doubted it. He had briefed her on what he did want – a tape of her interview with the Chief of Police. ‘Focus on the brutality and sex trade, Kate. I doubt he’ll admit much but get him talking about what they should do, what he’d like to do, but can’t. You know what these orientals are like! And corruption, it’s big over there. Get him to talk about violence against tourists too, the cases that have hit the news. Big stuff. Thin
k juicy. It sells.’
Charles wanted to paint this professional man, Chief Lee, as callous, brutal and corrupt, the head of an incompetent police force. Make out the place was a pervert’s haven and unsafe for normal tourists. A scare story.
Kate could not do it. She knew the half truths and innuendo of tabloid journalism could paint a saint as the devil himself. Tandy could take the words from an interview, spin them and voila! A hard working, dedicated, intelligent officer is branded an incompetent thieving bully.
Yet, she realised she was not working for the Times. She had walked into Tandy’s office and sold herself, probably to the highest bidder she could have found at the time, and now she was here on his money.
She looked across to Lee as he walked on to the terrace. He had finished briefing his men. ‘I’m going to the orphanage. Would you care to join me?’
The ride down was equally scary. Kate, trying to work with the tablet on her knees, finally had to give up as the vehicle slithered round the tight bends. She pushed damp hair from her eyes and tucked the machine in its cover. ‘I can’t do this at the moment!’ She reached behind her and placed it on the floor.
‘Do you take that with you everywhere?’ Lee watched her, only one eye on the road.
Kate wished he would use them both for driving. ‘Yes, but only when I’m working. It’s my magic memory.’ Kate grabbed the dashboard as the vehicle slid side on into a bend. ‘My brother, he’s even worse. Can’t go anywhere without a computer!’ She chuckled, thinking, ‘He gets withdrawal symptoms if he’s away from one longer than it takes to pee!’
‘What, does he work with computers?’ Lee’s attention was fully on Kate now but the vehicle did not slow.
Her knuckles were white as she replied. ‘Yes, he designs, hosts and fixes websites. He wanted to use mine while we’re here, but I need it. We had to buy him one at the first opportunity. He’s like a cyber junkie!’
The Land Rover fishtailed, sliding to a halt, brakes burning hot, the smell hitting Kate as she was thrown forward.
‘Jesus, Chief!’
Lee ignored her, his eyes staring ahead as he grabbed the radio mic from under the dashboard to call his office. ‘Sergeant, Chief Lee. Tell me, Simm’s possessions. Was there a computer, a laptop, a personal organiser, anything like that?’ He waited, fingers drumming the wheel, deep in thought.
The Hack Page 20
