by Lenny Brando
Cole heard footsteps behind him, and he turned to see Stenson and Ibrahim approach. He got to his feet and both consultants shook his hand. Stenson pulled the curtain around the bed while Ibrahim spoke. “I’m very sorry Mr Cole. We’ve done everything we can. He has suffered catastrophic organ failure.” He pointed to Daz. “You can see his liver has given up too. The machines have been keeping him alive, but they can't do the job of the liver.”
“But why did this happen?”
“We don't know. The brain trauma was significant, and I doubt he would have recovered from that.”
“But you did that operation on his head?”
“Yes. The decompressive craniectomy.” Ibrahim adjusted the tie beneath his white coat. “It wasn't as successful as we’d hoped.”
“Did you fuck it up?”
“No, Mr Cole. I can assure you we didn't. The risks were made clear in the document you signed.”
Cole shook his head. “You think I read that?”
Ibrahim pursed his lips. “We think it’s time.”
“For what?” Cole felt a sharp pain rise in his throat.
“To let him go.”
Cole swallowed several times and flexed his fingers. He brought his hand to his face and pulled at his chin. Each breath he took sounded loud and wheezy, and each beep of a machine warned him of the coming knell. He blinked back tears, took a huge breath and nodded at Ibrahim.
“Would you like a few minutes first?” Ibrahim asked.
Again Cole nodded, and the doctors withdrew to the other side of the curtain, leaving him alone with Daz. He leaned over and tried to pull Daz to him in a great hug, but tubes and wires made it awkward, so Cole just held him tight and rocked back and forth. He gave into the tears and he convulsed with sobs. Tears fell onto Daz’s face and it looked as if both brothers cried together.
Cole wiped his eyes with the edge of the sheet and took several deep breaths. “I love you, bruv,” he whispered. “Fucking love you. Life will never be the same for me again. Never.”
He brushed the curtain apart at the gap and nodded at Ibrahim. Cole let the curtain fall, sat on the bed and took Daz’s hand in his. A moment later, an arm reached in, flicked switches on the machines and then withdrew. The numbers displayed on the screens changed. The beeping slowed. Numbers lowered further. The rate of decrease increased. A number hit zero. A klaxon sounded. The beeping turned continuous. The colour drained from Daz’s face as Cole watched. An arm reached in again and pressed buttons. The sounds died. Cole was all alone in the world.
98
Kristin left her apartment and took the Tube to Monument. The journey gave her over 40 minutes to reflect on her motives for spying on Olivia. Several times, she considered going back home, or going to see Alice. Even the word spying made her shift in her seat. But she needed to be sure, so she stayed on the train and convinced herself she did the right thing.
As she walked up the steps onto Eastcheap, she blinked in the bright sunshine and put on her sunglasses. She paused to pull her hair back into a ponytail, then continued to Leadenhall Market. The outdoor tables on the cobbled pedestrianised roadways gave her pause. It would require care and discretion if she didn't want Olivia to see her.
The Lloyd’s building was visible from the market centre, and she walked to Lime Street towards the entrance. People milled in and out of the building, hurrying past a fat man in a red coat and gold braided black cap. Kristin walked on. It wasn’t lunch time yet but loitering by the main entrance would be a risk.
Instead, she crossed the street and sat opposite the church, close enough to keep an eye on the entrance so she could identify Olivia leaving the building. Or Ian. Would they leave together, or did she have it all wrong? Time would tell. But time dragged. By 1pm the pedestrian traffic thickened, but there had been no sign of Ian or Olivia, and she thought she may have missed them. But Olivia had said Leadenhall Market, so a casual stroll through the lunch crowd would be a fall back plan. Albeit a poor one.
Around 1pm, she squinted through her sunglasses and sat straighter. Her heart beat faster and despite the heat, she shivered. Olivia and Ian walked out of the building together. She stood and made her way down Lime Street after them on shaky legs. It was difficult to follow them through the crowd, as every so often, a gap would open, and fearful either would look back, she kept her distance.
By the time she reached Leadenhall Market, she lost them. She stopped at a doorway and glanced to the tables on the street ahead. Most were occupied. Then she thought she saw Olivia enter the door to a Spanish restaurant. As she hurried towards the entrance, she saw Olivia through the window while walking up the stairs. Olivia looked out and their eyes seemed to meet, but Olivia turned away and climbed out of sight.
Kristin spun around and found a table outside a coffee shop which offered a view of the entrance to the Spanish Restaurant. She ordered coffee and a sandwich and settled in to wait once more. The coffee trembled in her hand as she sipped on it. She tried to convince herself the meeting was innocent. Olivia was worried about Alice and Ian was telling her what happened last Thursday night.
But the negative thoughts from the other side promoted a different view. Ian and Olivia were both in Birmingham. Olivia had condoms in her bag. Ian and Olivia had flirted that lunch time in the Ivy. Olivia had even squeezed his arm.
Those thoughts prodded Kristin. Goaded her. Reminded her that for several weeks, Olivia had made excuses not to sleep with her. Soon, Kristin succumbed to her anxious propaganda. They’re sleeping with each other. My girlfriend is having sex with a man. Your best friend’s man. She shook her head and took a bite of the sandwich while she tried to counter her anger and fear. But no reasoning could prevent her from wallowing in the pool of bitterness.
99
The hotel room seemed smaller each hour. By lunch time, Alice had enough, and she called DS Kapoor.
“Hey Alice. Everything okay?”
“No. Not at all. I’m going crazy in here.”
“What? But it’s only been 3 days.”
Alice pulled on her hair and stared out the window. “Feels like a lifetime.”
“Is there someone with you?”
“No. I’m alone. Nothing to do but think. Like jail.”
“But you’re safe. He doesn't know where you are.”
“But if he doesn’t know where I am, I might as well be at home, right?”
Kapoor sighed. “He might look for you at home.”
“But his camera’s gone, we changed the lock, and he doesn't know the alarm code.”
“Maybe if you put in extra security?”
“Maybe if you caught him?”
“We’re doing everything we can.”
Alice turned away from the window. “What security?”
“Perhaps put CCTV at your doors, front and rear, maybe one in the hall?”
“I don't know. I think I’ve had enough of cameras spying on me. Can’t you have someone watch the house?”
“I’m sorry Alice, we don’t have the resources. Even if we did, there is no guarantee this guy will back, so we couldn’t justify it. If you take reasonable precautions, you will be fine.”
Alice lay back on the bed. “There’s something else...”
“Go on.”
“I agreed to do an interview with Xtra News at home this evening. You think I should?”
“I guess that depends on what you say. You could mention the police are investigating the assault and are pursuing strong leads.”
Alice stared at the ceiling. “That’s stretching things, huh?”
“But knowing the police are investigating might prevent him from trying again.”
“Yeah?”
“He might move on to someone else.”
“I thought stalkers are obsessed with their target. It’s what drives them. The obsession, right?”
“Just be careful, Alice.” Kapoor hesitated. “Remember, we are doing everything we can.”
100
/> Ian turned to Olivia on the stairs. “Before we meet these guys, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Oh that text you sent. I assumed it’s about them.” She indicated upstairs with her thumb.
“Not them. It’s Alice. She thinks we’re sleeping together.”
Olivia frowned. “You say something?”
“Of course not. Anyway, nothing ever happened between us, right?”
She waved a hand at him. “No. Absolutely nothing. Ever. But what makes her think that now?”
“Maybe she’s just upset.” Ian looked around and waited for someone to pass by. He lowered his voice. “Kristin may have mentioned condoms.”
“What’s that got to do with you?”
He shrugged. “Nothing.”
“Damn Kristin. Sometimes I wonder about her motives.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing.”
An itch developed in Ian’s eyebrow and he scratched at it. “Alice is upset. Understandably. Think you could call her and say nothing’s going on between us?”
“Jesus, Ian. No.” Olivia shook her head. “That’s likely to make things worse.”
Ian looked down as heavy footsteps and voices sounded at the door. It was the people from the bank they were meeting for lunch. “I’ll talk to you later,” he whispered to Olivia. Then he waved down the stairs. “See you at the table guys.”
101
Almost an hour passed while Kristin nursed a coffee. An hour spent fighting with herself, two parts of the whole beating on each other. The negative and the positive. The wrong and the right. As usual, the negative prevailed.
The waiter gave her another dirty look, and she ordered a second coffee she didn't want. By the time it arrived with a heavy plonk that spilled some onto the saucer, she saw Olivia and Ian step onto the street.
Kristin picked up her phone and set the camera recording. She leaned back in her seat to make herself small and pretended to tap on the screen as she aimed it at them. She had to grip the phone tight to stop it shaking in her hand. Olivia and Ian crossed the cobbles and stopped, well out of earshot. Kristin felt the hairs on her arms rise as she watched them hug each other tight. Ian broke away and said something that looked like ‘I’ll call you’. Then they walked off in different directions.
Kristin put her hand up to cover her face as Olivia headed towards the coffee shop, but Olivia walked past as if lost in thought. Then Kristin stopped the recording and made sure she saved it. A city type with his suit jacket draped on the back of his chair turned to her with a look of concern. “Are you okay there?” he asked. His eyes flicked to her arms.
She nodded and slowed her breathing. “Just hot.”
“Yeah. It is. Lucky you don't have to wear a suit.” He nodded once and returned to his newspaper.
She looked down and saw red marks down one arm where she had scratched at herself. She rubbed at the forming welts and pulled her arm in. Then she played the video clip she’d recorded. As she watched, she fought back tears and her shoulders shuddered. She went to rub her eyes, but she ended up pushing her sunglasses into her face with her phone.
Her thoughts whirled. The world around her spun. She let the phone fall to the table, but it bounced onto the ground with a clatter. The man beside her reached down with one hand and offered it back to her. “You sure you're okay?”
She grabbed the phone from him. “I’m fucking fine, thank you.”
“Whatever.” He shook his head and muttered something.
Kristin stared at the phone as if it was responsible for all her woes. She stabbed at the screen with one finger. The share icon displayed, and she poked at it so hard, the phone almost slipped from her tight grip.
102
Kapoor and Manning took a break from calling the people on the SO15 list. “This isn’t working,” Kapoor said. “I can't read the people by talking on the phone. It's just not the same.”
“Two of mine merit a follow up. I’d like to do a phone cross reference when we get the list.”
“Yeah. When.” Kapoor shook her head. “A few days if we’re lucky.”
“It mightn't be that useful, especially if the guy didn’t bring his phone. Or he’s not on the list.”
“This case is a bitch.”
Manning shrugged. “Let’s be blunt, Sarge, we don’t have a lot to go on, do we?”
“Thanks for reminding me.”
“We could sit on her house.”
“We don’t know what this guy looks like or even if he will return to the house. Thorne would have a fit if I suggested it.” Kapoor got to her feet and stretched. She bent at the waist and tried to touch her toes, but she couldn't reach, and she let out a long groan. “In the meantime, what am I supposed to tell Natalie Johnson?”
“Is Johnson a higher priority?”
Kapoor rubbed the back of her neck and wished she could ask Manning to massage her shoulders, instead she sat back down and stared off into the distance. “That’s a call I don’t want to make.”
“You’re the boss. You gotta call it.”
“I know. I know.” Kapoor sighed. “All right. We do all the calls on the list, then we work the Johnson case until we get the report back from the mobile carriers.”
“Maybe the guy will make a mistake?”
Kapoor clicked on the mouse and her screen powered up. “To make a mistake, he’s got to go after Madsen again.”
“And if he doesn't?”
“Then we may never get him.”
Manning got to her feet and walked away. She stopped and looked back. “It never ends, does it?”
“No. It never does.” Kapoor picked up her phone and dialled the next number on the list. It went to voice mail and she rolled her eyes as she left her well-rehearsed message.
103
Cole walked along Bethnal Green Road towards his flat on the other side of Weavers Fields. Each footstep weighed heavy. It was like he had to force one foot in front of the other. He wanted to go to the pub and get off his head, but he needed to go home and plan. The extra Xanax the hospital prescribed should help him through the next few days.
On one level, he had seen it coming. Ever since the Arab had mowed Daz over, it had been a downward spiral. Daz kept getting worse. Beeping machines. Tubes. Wires. Death. But every time Cole closed his eyes, the images of the blood draining from Daz’s face when the machines shut off played in his head like a video clip. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t delete it, and he had a suspicion the memory would haunt him.
If he had known the outcome, no bleeding hearts or do-gooders would have stopped him from killing the Arab. The thought of smashing the Arab’s face to pulp made Cole feel better, even though he knew it wasn’t real and never could be. But he still had a move to make, and his footsteps lightened as he thought about it.
His mood swung up and down with huge variation, and as he crossed Weavers Fields, he resolved to Xanax his mood down to a constant level and Captagon it up as needed to plan the next few days.
Cole almost tripped when he stubbed his toe against a brick some idiot had left on the edge of the path, but he carried on and marvelled at how he didn't notice the pain. He lit a cigarette and sucked on it with a fierce hunger. When the tip glowed red, he pressed it into the palm of his hand. He felt nothing.
A numbness had settled over him and he plunged into it with relief. The total absence of feeling made him smile at first, then it strengthened its hold on him. He threw the broken cigarette away and brushed his hands together. As he walked along the path, his phone buzzed with a direct Twitter message from someone called HardBoy97, and his grin broadened while he read. This guy sounded proper hard core. If his information was true, Cole would find it useful. Very useful.
104
Alice finished a sandwich in a small restaurant near Notting Hill and held a latte in both hands while she figured out her next move. She closed her eyes at the thought of her mother in the hospital on Nørre Allé and decided
to return to Copenhagen. She’d check out of the hotel, spend one or two nights back in Portobello, then she’d go to Denmark for a week. It seemed reasonable that as long as Ian was with her, she’d be safe in Portobello Close.
Her phone beeped and she picked it up. Kristin had sent a video with no message. Odd, Alice thought. She squinted at the screen and tried to understand what she supposed to see. Then she recognised Ian and Olivia. She saw them hug and go their separate ways. Alice frowned. The implication was clear.
She called Kristin. “Kris, what’s with that video?”
Kristin sniffled. “Sorry. I didn't know what to do. Maybe I shouldn't have.”
“What are you saying?”
“It all makes sense now. The condoms. Birmingham. The way they flirt when we’re out...”
“Who flirts?”
“Ian and Olivia. Don't tell me you haven’t seen them?”
Alice let her eyes wander around the restaurant while she thought. “I...”
“Can we meet?”
“Have you asked Olivia about it?”
“No.”
“Perhaps you should?”
“Have you asked Ian?”
“I’ve only just seen this, so how could I?”
“I mean, like, you haven’t thought they might have been, you know...?”
Alice closed her eyes again. “I said it to him last night, but I was lashing out. I didn’t really believe it. Now I’m not so sure.”
“What do we do?”
“I don’t know. For pokker. I just don't know.”
“Can we meet?”
“Where are you?”
“The City. Leadenhall Market.”
“Why don't we meet at Sunny’s Cafe on Portobello Road in an hour? Then we can go to the house. I don't want to go home alone, in case that guy is around.”
