This was now the third time and Ann had no doubt about what was coming when she received the name of the hotel and the room number. Surprisingly, it was one of London's most expensive hotels and she was curious to know what the price was, but decided that that was a question she could leave for later.
"That's why you left yesterday without saying anything when we were painting?" Ann asked, suddenly putting the cigarette out.
"Yes. Yes. You've got it," Colin answered her more quickly than normal. "I had to check that everything was in order. It's a special occasion and I didn't want anything to ruin it."
"What I don't understand is how you changed clothes so quickly. One minute you were in overalls and the very next you were in an elegant white suit."
"That's a secret. One has to maintain a veil of mystery, don't you think? If you knew everything there'd be no surprises like this one."
"That's true," she said, snuggling into his chest. "What I don't understand is why we argue so much at home when everything's perfect here."
"Living together's not easy. This is like going on holiday." He paused. "Hey, wait a moment. We agreed not to talk about this. You don't want the magic to disappear, do you?"
"You're right, darling. It's only a little detail, but the colour of the room… You'll change that, won't you?" she asked, thinking back to the argument the day before. "I was really looking forward to having salmon-coloured walls."
"As you wish." Colin kissed her and left the bed. "But promise me you'll remind me when we get home. You know how forgetful I am."
"OK. Are you going now? It's always the same story, isn't it? It'd be nice to stay one more day. Please."
Colin sighed. "I wish we could. But you know I have to go early. Don't complain. After all, I've brought you to one of London's finest hotels."
"Of course not. It's only that I'm sad that it's all over. We spend all our time arguing at home. It's not fair that this can't last longer."
"We can't change it," her husband said, buttoning up his shirt. "What can we do? Life stinks."
# # #
Aidan Zack hurried along the corridors of Wilfred's mansion as if he was on a mission. He was furious with the old man and had to keep repeating his promise to Carol to avoid the pleasant vision of his hands around Wilfred's neck, strangling him slowly. The old bastard had pretended he was going to help him, but failed to mention knowing Tedd and Todd, who it appeared were key players in the whole deal with the Blacks and Whites. Maybe the old blighter didn't have cancer? Aidan simply couldn't understand why Wilfred had concealed his knowing them from him.
"Stop!" the bodyguard at the entrance to Wilfred's room said. "You can't enter."
Aidan twisted the hand that was pointing at him, forced the guard to the floor and then kneed him in the head, leaving him unconscious on the floor. Then he kicked the door open and closed it behind him.
Wilfred Gord stirred in the bed on seeing him. "Aidan! I was just about to call you. You're not going to believe it."
"I'm not interested in anything you've got to say," Aidan said, striding to the bed and leaning over the frail old man. "I want to know right now why you didn't tell me about Tedd and Todd."
"What are you talking about?" the old man said, trying to sit up straighter in the bed. "Who are they?"
"Mind what you say, old man. Your life depends on your next few sentences. I think you know what I'm capable of doing."
"Aidan, I promise you, I don't know what you're talking about." Wilfred was clearly frightened. His eyes had a glint of panic in them. It was obvious that he took Aidan's threat seriously. Knowing that Aidan had thrown Bradley in the river, it seemed he was capable of doing anything. "I've never heard those names in my whole life. What would I gain by lying to you? Think about it. I'm condemned to stay in this damn bed. I need you. Why would I hide something from you if you're the key to everything?"
Wilfred's argument calmed Aidan down. He sounded sincere. His tone of voice and body language suggested he was telling the truth. And if he was, where did that leave Aidan? The thought flashed through his mind that it was Tedd and Todd who had lied when they said Wilfred had sent them. He'd jumped to one conclusion too many, and too fast, by the look of it. He'd been an inch away from throttling old Wilfred. Lance's death had clouded his judgement. He had to calm down, and fast.
"You honestly don't know anything about them?" he asked incredulously.
It was the type of question that could only be answered one way. Even in the case that Wilfred knew something, he was going to deny it, especially lying in a bed with a mad policeman threatening to kill him.
"I know absolutely nothing about them," Wilfred repeated. "In fact, now I've got an indescribable curiosity to know who they are and what made you think that I knew them. Have I given you any reason to doubt me up to now? I'm going to die, Aidan. Nobody wants to solve all of this more than I do."
"I… I'm sorry. Lance's death has knocked me for six."
"I understand. I'm sorry about your friend. And I don't want to pressure you, but we've got to get a move on. Big Ben has stopped working. It's been breaking down so often lately that they've given up trying to fix it. Those responsible for its maintenance haven't got the least idea what the cause of the problem is. Time's stopped. Tell me what you know about these two individuals."
Aidan nodded and pulled a chair up close to the bed. He told Wilfred what Carol had found out about Tedd and Todd. The fact that their business was founded the day Big Ben started chiming, along with all the other curious facts. And while he was talking, he noticed the deterioration in Wilfred. The cancer was doing its work quickly. His eyes were sunken and there was hardly a trace of life in them. His hands moved slowly as he listened to Aidan's summing up.
"We've found them, then," Wilfred said triumphantly. "They're the ones responsible for everything. Listen, Aidan, I don't know why, but they want something from you. They got you out of jail. That is what I was going to tell you when you arrived. Aston Lowel, the lawyer who was going to process your case, died this morning. The scaffolding collapsed in front of the building in which he worked, trapping him underneath. And Bradley Kenton escaped from the hospital and has disappeared. The witnesses who were going to testify against you have changed their minds. The three main witnesses have received large sums of money in their accounts. I'm investigating the whole deal, but it looks to me like Tedd and Todd are protecting you."
"Why? What do they want from me?"
"I don't know, but whatever it is you couldn't have done it locked up in jail."
"Damn. I've got no idea what it could be," Aidan snarled, punching the chair. "But I think that your father wanted you to meet them. Dylan Blair had some sort of deal with them that's made him rich. Your father did too. And it looks like he's been drinking from the fountain of youth. If I was looking for a cure for cancer I'd check it out with them first."
"You're right," Wilfred agreed. "And that's why Ethan said that you were the key. But there are still a lot of things that don't make sense. All this business with the Blacks and Whites, for a start, along with this mysterious woman in the wheelchair."
"I think I can clear everything up as soon as I get hold of Tedd and Todd."
"How do you propose to do that?"
"I still don't know, but something will turn up. I'll go to the station and start a fracas with a couple of sergeants that I don't like."
"And that's going to help?"
"If I'm that important to Tedd and Todd, they'll get me out again."
"You never cease to surprise me," Wilfred said. "If I'd met you before all of this, I would've put you in charge of one of my businesses. I like your idea. But I'd keep it as Plan B."
"So how do you propose I get hold of Tedd and Todd?"
"Through James White. I'm sure he knows where they are. I've still got him under surveillance. He spent the night in a hotel with the wife of one of the other Whites. One who's identical to him. If I'm not mistaken, he pretended he w
as her husband."
Aidan seemed surprised. "He's not as dumb as I thought."
"When he left the hotel, Dylan Blair was waiting for him. I'm sure James knows all there is to know about everything," Wilfred pointed out. "There are two problems with your plan. One is that it needs too much time. And I don't believe we've got that. The other is that Tedd and Todd could get you out of jail without needing to talk to you. I'd go with James first, but if it fails, you can always go back to your plan."
"I guess you're right. Besides, there are still a few things I need to clear up with him," Aidan paused. "But I'll need another car, something a little less flashy."
"No problem."
"Thanks, Wilfred. I don't know how all of this is going to work out, but without your help…"
"Don't worry about that. Remember, I didn't do all of this out of altruism. Both of us have got our own interests at heart. If, by some sort of miracle, I get to beat cancer, then you can ask me for anything you want."
Aidan shook Wilfred's weak, wrinkled hand and, looking into his eyes, asked himself how their relationship might have been under different circumstances. Surely a detective and a multimillionaire wouldn't have had much in common. But despite that, he didn't feel more attached to any other person in the world than Wilfred. Carol was close, but the intensity was different with Wilfred. It came down to a question of living or dying. And that made their relationship special. Aidan just hoped the fairytale would come true and Wilfred would get his health back again.
His phone interrupted his thoughts.
"Aidan, I've got something to tell you." Carol sounded excited. "Where are you?"
"With Wilfred."
"Has he told you about Tedd and Todd?"
"No, they don't work for him. I made a mistake. Have you found anything out?"
"Something that I don't think you're going to take very well," she said. "I want to be with you when you hear, but at the same time I want to tell you as soon as possible in case you meet Tedd and Todd."
"What is it, Carol? You're making me nervous."
"I studied the services that Tedd offered to Ethan as his lawyer, just like you asked me to. For five years he helped him with the buying and selling of houses, just as he does with the Blacks and Whites now."
"Are you trying to say that Ethan killed clones?"
"Something like that. I've put the pieces together during the period we're talking about and I think he killed two Blacks. Or, at least he lived in their houses."
"Very interesting. If I can get Ethan to tell me about that then maybe James will open up more when I talk with him."
"I've gone over all the records during the last fifty years and it would seem that there are houses being bought and sold and exchanged between Blacks and Whites and also between other individuals with different surnames."
"We'll have to check and see if these other types are still doing this today. My guess is that the woman in the wheelchair is one of the others. I bet each one of these other people is linked to each of the gangs. Ethan was with the Whites, maybe he was their leader?"
"I've already checked whether it's still going on," Carol said. "Tedd has two clients who aren't Black or White. One is called Otis Cade."
"That doesn't tell me anything. Wait! Does the name Otis Cade mean anything to you?" Aidan asked Wilfred, who responded by shaking his head. "No, we don't know him. And the other? It has to be the woman."
"Are you sitting down?"
"Who is it, Carol. Tell me!"
"Aidan, please…"
"I have to know, now!"
"She's got your surname," Carol paused. "It's your wife, Ashley Zack."
* * * * *
CHAPTER 25
"I've got to admit you've impressed me," Dylan Blair said as James White walked through the hotel door. "Have you managed to do that with all the wives of the other Whites?"
"You're a degenerate," James said, laughing at him. "I don't propose to tell you how the wives of my beloved brothers are in bed."
"You're a bastard. I wish I had seven twins like you do and could borrow their wives from time to time. It'd be perfect. I would get out of all the hassle of living with them and get the benefit whenever I felt like it. You're a genius, dwarf," Dylan said patting him on the back. "Are you sure they don't know the difference?"
"We're identical in every aspect, including the voice. Anyway, you knew that. Why's it so surprising for you?"
"I don't know. It's hard to believe," he said, shaking his head. "And you've slept with the lot?"
"Save two. Larry died first and he hardly had time to get a girlfriend. And Karen, Peter's wife, finished up paralysed in a wheelchair after a traffic accident."
"Poor thing," Dylan said. "Was it really an accident?"
"I'm not sure it wasn't. She was pregnant. And that was impossible, given that we're all sterile. But strange things happen. Me, for example, I'm the only one who's aware of our condition. The rest think they're normal. Maybe Peter got Karen pregnant, but Tedd and Todd corrected the mistake. It would fit with what I know about Peter. He gave everything up for his wife; his friends, and his job. He was completely devoted to her until that bastard Kodey Black decapitated him with a boomerang."
"And you think he felt guilty," Dylan paused. "It's a sad and interesting theory you've got there."
"Maybe it was love," James reflected. "We'll never know. Karen's case got to me. I was even going to visit her and try and ease her pain somehow. But that's out of the question now. She's in a mental home and I doubt she'll ever come out."
"This stuff depresses me," Dylan complained. "We were talking about sex and look how it's changed. Get back to the point and give me some details. I lost my bet but I deserve some satisfaction. After all, I'm the one who paid for the hotel."
"No way. I wouldn't tell a rat like you about anything that happened up there," he said, stopping in front of Dylan's limousine. "In the end you're going to do it? Isn't that true?"
"Of course," Dylan answered him, frowning. "Don't look at me like that. If I don't do it, somebody else will. It's not that much effort and I'll gain points with the boss."
"That's the correct point of view. There's no doubt about that. It's only that on this occasion it seems too cruel. That poor bastard doesn't even know who he is."
Dylan Blair seemed surprised. "Since when did you start worrying about anybody else? That's not your style, Mr Life Stinks, worrying about a policeman he doesn't even know."
"It's a question of curiosity, nothing more. I wanted to know what Tedd and Todd are up to with Aidan. I regret having found out. I would have preferred that you hadn't told me. I can't imagine anything worse than what's in store for that poor soul."
"You're looking at this from the wrong angle. What's going to happen is hardly our fault. That's for certain. And can we stop it? The answer is clearly no. Nor should we. If you want to talk about that point, we'll be arguing and philosophizing all day long. Forget it. I only want to get some benefit out of the inevitable."
"At last, my end is getting close, my friend. I'll miss you," James White said, changing the theme and extending his hand.
"Don't say that. Maybe you'll survive," Dylan said, shaking his hand. "Who am I going to have fun with other than you?"
"You've seen Big Ben. I'm the key to victory. Otis won't let me live much longer and if he does, Ashley will sacrifice me just the same. Either way, I'm fucked. As I say, life stinks!"
# # #
Aidan Zack turned the phone off and drove too fast around the curve. Carol had been calling him constantly and the melody of the telephone was ringing in his head. He couldn't think clearly.
He knew Carol was trying to maintain some control over what he was doing. No doubt she had the best of intentions, but that didn't matter. He was dangerously close to going mad and the only thing that was keeping him sane was the thought of finding out what was going on. The latest news had almost blown him away, as if a bolt of lightning had struck him
on the head.
His wife, Ashley, she was alive! There had to be some other explanation of why she was on Tedd and Todd's list. Somebody had assumed her surname, for example. But deep down he felt that wasn't true. He'd been finding out well enough in the last few weeks that there were plenty of people out there who could laugh death in the face. Maybe it was true that Ashley was alive and that was the reason she hadn't been found in the Thames five years before. But thinking that released a surge of adrenalin through his body that threatened to blow his heart into a thousand pieces if he didn't control it. And that was exactly what he had to do right now, control it.
But he couldn't. There were a million questions raging through his mind at the same time. If Ashley was alive and was involved in this war between the Blacks and Whites, why hadn't she contacted him in the last five years? Why had she let him think that she was dead? He desperately needed to find that out, and he figured Tedd and Todd had the answer. He had to find them at any cost.
Aidan parked the car and got out quickly. He wasn't aware of Carol running behind him.
"Aidan, wait for me. I only want to help you."
"How did you find me?"
"Wilfred told me where you were going. Don't worry. I understand how important this is for you. It's part of you."
Aidan nodded, glad that she had come, and suddenly another problem appeared in his mind. His feelings for Carol hadn't disappeared. Seeing her there, beside him, calmed him. But if Ashley was alive? He held Carol in his arms, as he thought about finding Ashley. If this kept up on top of everything else, he was going to go crazy for sure.
The Big Ben mystery Page 23
