Hot Seat

by Simon Wood

  ‘Look, last night, Rags went to a factory owned by Andrew Gates in a panic. Now you’ve got an iron-clad connection between Andrew Gates, Rags and this drug operation.’

  And possibly the reason for Jason’s murder. There was no way drug traffickers would let him live after he’d stumbled on to their operation. I wondered if Jason had suspected Ragged Racing was involved in the drug trade or if his need to dig into their affairs was triggered by something else and finding the drug trafficking was an unfortunate accident.

  ‘Did Gates show?’ Barrington asked.

  I sighed. ‘No.’

  ‘That tells me everything. Gates is done with Rags. The Ragged Racing pipeline is capped. His no-show was a message telling Rags his services are no longer required.’

  After all we’d done, this wasn’t right. As much as I wanted to be out from under Barrington’s operation, I didn’t want to walk away from the job now. We were so close to trapping these people and finding Jason’s killer. I couldn’t believe he was binning the operation.

  ‘Look, I understand your frustration because I’m feeling it too.’ Barrington’s tone had switched from antagonistic to consolatory. ‘I could have played it safe and wrapped up Rags a long time ago, but mules are a cheap win. You shut down one distribution line and another three replace it. I need the whole thing, from cartel to distributor, to really make a difference.’

  I wondered how much heat Barrington was taking for this failure. It had to be a lot. He’d gone all in and gotten blown away by a better hand.

  ‘At least we now know Andrew Gates is part of this,’ Barrington said. ‘He was a piece of the puzzle we didn’t even know we were missing. We can regroup with Gates as the focus.’

  Gates had everyone fooled on that score. Eddie Stores never knew Gates to deal in drugs and Gates had almost torn my head off for alluding to drug dealing within his organization. No wonder Jason didn’t trust his brother. ‘So that’s it?’

  ‘The battle was lost, but the war is still winnable. I’d just like to say thanks for your assistance and apologies to you and your friends for squeezing you so hard.’

  ‘What about Jason Gates’ murder?’ I asked.

  ‘What about it? It’s a police issue, not a Customs one. It’s down to them to solve, not me.’ Barrington looked to Claudia. ‘Let’s go.’

  She remained seated next to Steve. ‘I need to go over a couple of things with Aidy. I’ll catch the train back into town,’ she said.

  Barrington nodded and walked out. No one said a word until we heard the roar of a car engine.

  Steve wiped the eraser across Gates’ name.

  ‘Put his name back,’ I said. ‘This isn’t over.’

  Claudia hopped off the table and rested a hand on my shoulder. ‘I know you’ve been through a lot, Aidy, but it’s finished.’

  ‘For you, Barrington and Customs maybe, but nothing’s changed for me. Andrew Gates still wants to know who killed his brother and he expects me to find out.’

  This was the perplexing part of all this. Andrew Gates was connected to the drug trafficking and Jason had stumbled upon it. So did Andrew have his brother killed? It was possible but not when you factored in my involvement. Gates wanted me to find Jason’s killer. If he was behind the murder, he had no reason to bring me in. That meant someone had killed Jason without his permission and he was using me to find out who’d crossed the line.

  Steve nodded and rewrote Gates’ name on the board.

  ‘Aidy, what are you playing at?’ Claudia asked. ‘You don’t ’ave Customs’ protection now.’

  I wasn’t sure I ever had it in the first place. ‘This case may be dead as far as Barrington’s concerned, but I say it isn’t. We still have plenty to work with. The question is, do you want to be a part of it?’

  ‘Aidy, I can’t go against orders.’

  ‘But you want to. You’re a good undercover agent, but you wear your emotions on your sleeve. I can see that you disagree with Barrington. You know there’s more mileage in this one.’

  ‘Regardless of ’ow I feel, I’m not going to blow my career for you.’

  ‘You don’t work for Customs. You’re only on loan to them. Are you telling me that you blowing off the British wouldn’t go down well with your bosses in France?’

  Claudia grinned.

  ‘You know you want in,’ Steve said, providing an additional piece of arm twisting.

  ‘Tell me what you ’ave planned, then I’ll decide whether I’m in or not.’

  Lap Thirty-Five

  I was having breakfast at home the following morning when Dylan called.

  ‘You’re not going to believe this.’ He was boiling with excitement.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Rags just sent the whole team home until further notice.’

  ‘Did he say why?’

  ‘He just said he needed time to follow up on things after the Dutch cops stopped us.’

  The wheels were coming off Rags’ world and he was heading for a crash. I wanted to be there when it happened. The best time to hit him was at his weakest.

  ‘Where is he?’

  ‘He’s still at the workshop.’

  ‘OK. I’m coming up.’

  ‘Wait. I’ve got more. I know who doesn’t have their keys. It’s Nevin.’

  Haulk had said that Nevin had taken Jason under his wing. Naturally, Jason would go to him. I wondered how Nevin featured in all this now.

  ‘Where is he?’

  ‘I’m following him.’

  ‘Get him alone. I want to speak to him.’

  ‘I’ll call you.’

  I grabbed my car keys and blew out the door. I got as far as the Honda when Sergeant Lucas pulled up.

  ‘Is your grandfather around?’

  ‘No, he’s at work.’

  ‘OK. Could you let him know we found his van?’

  ‘Sure. Where’d you find it?’

  ‘Over by Thorpe Park. Someone stripped it and torched it. It’s a real mess.’

  I didn’t like the casual tone Lucas was using. He hadn’t liked that his key piece of evidence had been stolen and to find it obliterated wasn’t going to leave him in a jovial mood. He was gearing up for something.

  ‘Could I have a word, Aidy?’

  ‘I have an appointment and I can’t miss it.’

  He parked himself at the end of the driveway. The only way out was through him. ‘I wasn’t really asking.’

  I circled the car and leaned against the boot. ‘I suppose I have a few minutes.’

  Lucas didn’t reach for his handcuffs, so I guessed I was safe for the moment.

  ‘Thank you, Aidy. I appreciate that.’

  I hated police smugness.

  ‘I’m troubled by this case. I feel that I’m the only one who doesn’t understand what’s going on.’

  I really didn’t have time for this. I could see Nevin slipping away. But at least Lucas was finally seeing the cracks in the case.

  ‘You’re not alone. I’m just as lost.’

  Lucas’ mistrustful look said otherwise. ‘I’ll tell you what doesn’t make sense to me. I have a crash site that doesn’t support the statement. I have a piece of critical evidence in the form of your grandfather’s van that goes missing before I can examine it. Care to explain?’

  I could, but I had the feeling Lucas didn’t need my help. He seemed to be on the right track.

  My mobile burst into life. It was Dylan. I bet he had Nevin. ‘I can’t explain what I don’t know myself. Really, I do have to go.’

  I went to leave, but Lucas stepped in front of me to block my path.

  ‘There’s something going on,’ he said, ‘and I suggest you tell me before I find out.’

  My phone rang again. I couldn’t lose Nevin. Not now.

  ‘Sergeant, I suggest you ask the victim why she was in Egham when she lived all the way over in Harrow.’

  Shock spread across Lucas’ face. ‘How do you know that? Have you been in contact with h
er?’

  Oh, crap. I’d screwed up. I could kick myself for my stupidity.

  ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Nothing. Now, you will have to excuse me.’

  I pushed by Lucas and got into the car. He kept barking questions at me, but I reversed out before the questions changed into an arrest.

  As soon as I was on the road, I called Dylan. He’d caught up with Nevin at an ASDA. Somehow, he was now riding in Dylan’s car. I didn’t ask Dylan how he’d convinced Nevin to ride with him, but Dylan was a foot taller than Nevin and twice as strong. I was nervous now. My friends and I were really sailing close to the wind. I hoped we didn’t end up shipwrecked.

  I caught up with them in a field outside of Banbury. I stopped my car behind Dylan’s Subaru. Nevin burst from the car the second I appeared. Dylan climbed out, looking tired. I could only imagine the conversations they’d had.

  ‘What the hell is wrong with you?’ Nevin demanded. ‘Why did you have this idiot drag me over here?’

  ‘You didn’t do anything stupid, did you?’ I said to Dylan.

  Dylan held up his hands. ‘Do you see any bruises?’

  ‘Hey, I’m talking to you!’ Nevin barked at me.

  ‘I’m sorry for all this. I just wanted to give you these.’

  I fished out Nevin’s keys and tossed them at him. He caught them and the colour drained from his face as his indignation turned to fear. He failed to take ownership of his keys. He didn’t pocket them or clutch them in his fist. He just cradled them in both hands.

  ‘They are yours, aren’t they?’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re playing at, Aidy, but I don’t like it. How did you get these?’ Nevin’s voice had dropped to a whisper.

  ‘From Jason. He had them on him when he died.’

  The keys fell through Nevin’s hands into the mud at his feet. He stared down at them but made no attempt to retrieve them.

  I liked Nevin and I hated squeezing him like this, but I didn’t have a choice. I needed the truth from him. ‘I still need an answer, Barry. Are they your keys?’

  ‘Answer him, Barry,’ Dylan said. He stood a respectful distance from Nevin, but if he bolted, the two of us had the angles covered.

  ‘Yes, they are.’

  ‘Why did Jason have them?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘I don’t have time for this, Barry. Seriously, I don’t,’ I said. ‘Know when you’re caught. I have the detective in charge of Jason’s murder crawling all over me. If I tell her who those keys belong to, she’ll leave me alone and come after you. Do you want that?’

  Nevin said nothing. I reached for the keys and he stamped a foot over them.

  ‘Don’t.’

  I straightened. ‘Give me one reason why I shouldn’t.’

  ‘I can’t.’

  ‘You can and you will, because I’m not leaving without an explanation. As I see it, you’re a guilty man. Was that guilt the reason you attended Jason’s funeral when no one else from Ragged did?’

  ‘Call her, Aidy,’ Dylan said. ‘Throw him to the wolves.’

  ‘No, don’t. Please. Let me explain.’

  Nevin ran his hands through his hair. He removed his foot from the keys, picked them up and slipped them into his pocket without wiping the mud off.

  ‘OK. I stayed in touch with Jason after he left. I liked him. We’d go for a pint from time to time. The last few times he kept asking about the team and the operation. I thought Russell Townsend had put him up to it, but at Earls Court he asked me to help him. He said Rags was up to his neck in something shady and he wanted to check out the car and transporter. I told him I didn’t want any part of his bullshit. There’s no way Rags would cross that line.’

  ‘But you had second thoughts?’

  Nevin nodded.

  ‘Because Rags has coloured outside of the lines from time to time, like when he played with loan sharks?’

  ‘You know about that?’

  ‘Nothing stays a secret forever.’

  ‘Yeah, well. In those dark days, when Rags got behind with his payments, the heavies weren’t shy about dropping by. That got me wondering if he was in trouble again, but I believe in Rags and I wouldn’t go behind his back. I told Jason I wouldn’t help him directly, but he could check things out himself, so I slipped him my keys at the end of the day. I said if he found anything, he was to come to me first.’

  ‘And did he?’

  ‘I don’t know. Someone killed him before he got back to me.’

  I opened my mouth to ask another question when I picked up on something Nevin had said. He said that he believed in Rags and wouldn’t go behind his back. A frightening conclusion presented itself that left me nauseous.

  ‘Barry, don’t tell me you told Rags.’

  Nevin swallowed.

  ‘Barry?’

  ‘I had to. I couldn’t go behind the man’s back. He’s my friend. I told him what I’d done. He told me not to worry about it and that he’d take care of it. Christ, do you think he killed Jason?’

  I couldn’t believe Nevin’s naivety. I retreated back to my car.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Nevin asked.

  ‘Don’t let him go and don’t let him call anyone,’ I told Dylan.

  ‘No worries. Where you going?’

  ‘To talk to Rags, of course.’

  Lap Thirty-Six

  I reached the Ragged Racing workshop around lunchtime. Rags’ Mercedes was the only car parked out front. I pulled up alongside it and went inside. I found Rags in his office staring at the ceiling. Had he been sitting there since he’d sent everyone home?

  I took that as a good sign. He was a desperate man. Desperate men made decisions from a place of weakness.

  What wasn’t a good sign was that I was possibly meeting with Jason’s killer alone. He had every reason and now the opportunity to have killed Jason that night. I was keeping that titbit to myself for the moment. I had to hook Rags with a separate line first.

  I leaned in through his door. ‘Got a minute?’

  ‘Can’t it wait, Aidy?’

  ‘No.’

  He sat up in his seat. ‘OK. What do you want?’

  ‘Assurances.’

  ‘What assurances?’

  I took that as an invite to enter his office. Instead of taking a seat, I stretched out on the sofa against the opposite wall. I was being disrespectful on purpose. I had a part to play. ‘I know you’ve been talking to Chloe Mercer about replacing me. I’m here to tell you that’s not going to happen. What also isn’t going to happen is you dumping me at the end of the season.’

  ‘You’ve got some nerve.’

  For the first time, I saw the spark back in Rags’ eyes. Not surprising. He thought he was talking to someone he could dominate. I just grinned, reached into my pocket and tossed him a packet containing a few ounces of cocaine. It landed on his desk. Claudia had gotten me the cocaine from Custom’s supply once she’d gotten on board with our plan.

  Rags eyed the packet but made no attempt to touch it. ‘What’s that?’

  ‘You should know. I found that in the wheel of my car. Actually, it was a lot more than that, but I just needed a sample.’

  Rags picked up the resealable bag and opened it. He wetted his little finger, dabbed it in the powder and tasted it. The colour drained from his face.

  ‘I know what you’re doing and I want in.’

  Rags spat the cocaine out. He resealed the bag and tossed it back on his desk. ‘And what’s that?’

  ‘Do I really have to say it?’

  ‘Yes.’ Rags’ voice cracked.

  ‘You’re transporting drugs in your cars. You’re hiding them in the tyres of the cars and when we reach the tracks, someone comes and takes the wheels. Genius, really. No one gives these transporters a second look at the border crossing. The Customs people are all dazzled by the big, shiny racecars, so it never occurs to them that it would be a Trojan horse.’

  ‘Except for you.�
�

  ‘Not really. I wouldn’t have guessed in a thousand years if I hadn’t noticed it leaking from one of my tyres,’ I lied. ‘I thought it was chalk dust. Dylan tried to pop the tyre and guess what came tumbling out?’

  Rags said nothing.

  ‘It was so obvious you were up to something. You were spending money on exclusive testing and R&D like it was water, but you didn’t have the sponsorship to back it up. I’d bet you’re two hundred grand shy of balancing the books every season. Everyone thinks you’re up to something, but no one would have guessed you were a drug trafficker.’

  I could have kept going, bringing Andrew Gates into the mix, but I’d be overplaying my hand. I was playing the part of the greedy driver in over his head. I wanted Rags to bring me into the fold and take me to Gates.

  ‘You think you’re pretty clever, don’t you?’

  ‘Not really. I’m lucky more than anything, but I’m clever enough to know an opportunity when I see it.’

  ‘And you see one here?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  Rags shook his head in disappointment. ‘I didn’t think you were the type for this sort of thing.’

  ‘I could say the same about you.’

  My answer forced a slight smile from Rags. ‘So you want a longer contract in return for your silence, is that it? What, three years?’

  ‘To start with.’

  ‘To start with? What more do you want? A lifetime contract?’

  I shook my head. ‘No, a three-year deal will do me very nicely. We can always renegotiate at the end or I can move on. But no, I want a piece of this. I need a pension plan and what you’re doing is it. I want five grand a month. That’ll guarantee my silence.’

  Rags threw back his head and laughed. ‘Christ, you must be a racing driver, because you’ve got the worst fucking timing off the track. Remember that little roadside incident at Zandvoort? That was the nail in the operation’s coffin. It’s over.’

  Rags picked up the little baggie of coke and tossed it to me. It landed at my feet.

  ‘You should have taken more because your pension plan is worth precisely as much as you can sell that for. I’ll give you your three-year contract. Fuck it, I’ll give you ten, but Ragged Racing will be done before the end of the season. You were right. I don’t have the money to keep this team afloat. I could have gotten loans, but the problem with them is that you have to pay them back and without a sponsor, loans only delay the inevitable. I needed money without ties and the money I get from trafficking keeps this team afloat. Without it, it sinks fast. You raided the piggy bank after it was emptied.’