by Jack Probyn
Georgiy turned his back on Garrison, headed to his car and threw the money into the rear seats. Before closing the door, he opened one of the bags, checked that the money was in there and that they hadn’t been double-crossed, and then closed the door behind him.
As soon as Georgiy slotted the keys into the ignition, Garrison pulled up beside him with the passenger window down.
‘I forgot to mention, but it’s likely we’ll need your services again soon.’
‘How many?’
‘One. Maybe two.’
‘Details?’
Garrison smirked. ‘I’ll be in touch.’
CHAPTER 41
BROTHER
Liam had called a meeting early on in the morning where he’d welcomed Charlotte to the team – to which there had been an odd grunt and an even less enthused ‘hello’ from some of the team members – and then given them a brief on the actions of the day. Their main suspect in Danny Cipriano’s murder was dead, suicide, but they still needed to inspect the events surrounding Richard Maddison’s death to see if there was anything suspicious about it. Jake had breathed a heavy sigh of relief at that; it meant Liam had done a full one-eighty and was beginning to get paranoid about Charlotte potentially finding holes in their plan.
All Jake had to do was point her to them.
The Major Investigation Team were at their desks, typing away, inputting information into HOLMES and the PNC, signing documents, stapling pages together, hole punching, answering the telephone, discussing particulars of the case. Everyone was busy. Except one person. Garrison. Jake hadn’t seen the man all morning, and Drew was up and down to the toilet like he was beginning to develop a problem.
But right now, Drew was at his desk, burying himself in a coffee with his headphones plugged tightly in his ears. He seemed absorbed in his own little world, oblivious to everything that was going on around him.
Two down, one to go.
Jake slowly rotated his neck until he peered over his shoulder and looked into Liam’s office. The blinds were closed and the door was shut, so Jake had it on good authority that he didn’t want any visitors. Then he turned his attention back to his desk and scribbled a note on a Post-it. Tearing it off the pad, he rose from his chair and wandered over to Charlotte, who was sitting opposite him, hidden from view behind a large partition. She was in the middle of completing a document on her computer, her glasses perched on the edge of her nose.
As he walked past her, he surreptitiously placed the Post-it on her desk and wandered down to the toilets, found himself a cubicle and closed the door behind him. Counted in his head. Thirty seconds. Forty-five. A minute. A minute thirty. Two.
Just as he was about to leave, the door to the bathroom opened.
Shit. He held his hand on the handle, waiting for the person to leave. Please use the cubicle. Please use the cubicle.
The bloke didn’t. Whoever it was.
Jake stood there waiting impatiently, tapping his foot on the floor as the other man seemed to take forever to drain his bladder into the urinal. After thirty long seconds, he finished, washed his hands and left.
‘Finally,’ Jake whispered under his breath. He yanked open the door and headed out of the men’s. As he exited, he snapped his head left and right and made sure there was nobody coming from either direction.
He ducked into the women’s toilets opposite, praying that only Charlotte was inside. The only time he’d ever intentionally set foot into a women’s bathroom was when Elizabeth had needed rescuing on a night out after drinking too much and almost passing out with her head on the toilet seat.
Inside there were three cubicles in a row, with the sink opposite. Jake exhaled deeply. The cubicle on the far end was in use. He hoped it was Charlotte. He sauntered up to it, making sure his feet made as little sound as possible, and knocked on the door.
‘Yeah?’ came the response. He’d only heard her talk a couple of times, but he recognised her south London accent immediately.
‘It’s me,’ he whispered.
The door burst open, and standing in the cramped space was Charlotte.
‘Can—’
Just as he began to speak, the bathroom door opened. Panicked, he leapt into the cubicle with her, locking the door behind him. Jake held his breath and strained his ears. It was an intimate situation, and it gave him a good opportunity to inspect her features. She was slightly shorter than him – just. Her hair was pulled off her face and tied in a ponytail. She’d removed her glasses, revealing a set of golf-green eyes beneath the bright artificial lighting overhead. Their bodies were pressed up against one another in the confines of the cubicle like they were dancing at a wedding ceremony. Nice and slow. He hoped his breath didn’t smell. He could feel her breasts against his chest, and his legs against hers, but it was too late to change position now.
Please be quick. Please be quick.
Finally, the occupant who’d just entered finished and was out of there.
As soon as Jake heard the door close, he panted and caught his breath.
‘That was too close,’ Charlotte said as she created some space between them.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, ‘but I need to speak with you.’
‘And I needed to speak with you. But there are better places than this.’
‘The sooner the better.’ He paused a beat until his lungs were full. ‘I know who you are. I know why you’re here. But there are some things you need to understand. I can’t be seen with you. In the office, I mean. They think I’m one of them. They’re behind the Danny Cipriano killing – they know who did it and now they’re covering it up. Some guy called The Farmer. Contract killer, I think. Richard Maddison was the scapegoat. They’re making it look like a suicide.’
‘You don’t think it was?’ She stared at him blankly, as though she were a robot computing everything he was telling her.
‘I know it wasn’t. They’re gonna be treading on eggshells now you’re here. They’ll be doing things more by the book. They won’t want you getting involved with their investigation too much. Which is exactly what you need to do. Force their hand.’
‘How?’
‘Blood on the walls and door in Maddison’s bathroom. Mud on the rug too. One of the SOCOs should have gathered it as evidence. That’s your starting point. If you raise that with Liam, it’ll look like Maddison was murdered, and then Liam and the rest of them will be forced to do something else. That’s when we need to get them.’
The brain was a funny thing. It had the ability to remember things – names, places, discussions, locations – but in Jake’s mind, there was only one thing standing out for him. An image, flashing in his mind.
‘There was something else as well. A note. Underneath Maddison’s bedroom table. It could have been a suicide note. I forgot to pick it up or flag it. Hopefully one of the SOCOs has bagged it.’
Charlotte rolled up the arm of her blazer. ‘I’m impressed, but we need to speak in different conditions.’ She gazed around the cubicle. ‘Somewhere a little less intimate, and somewhere a bit more public as well.’
‘The pub,’ Jake said. ‘The Head of the House. It’s where we usually go. If anyone asks, I’m welcoming you to the team.’
‘It’s a deal,’ Charlotte said. ‘Tonight.’
Just as Jake was about to open the door, she placed a hand on his arm.
‘You need to be careful, Jake. Don’t get yourself in too deep with these people. That’s why I’m here. I’m trained in it. If they can have Michael Cipriano killed so easily, then think of what they can do to you.’
‘Michael?’ Jake asked, confused. ‘It was Danny…’
Well, shit.
A thought popped into his head. One he didn’t want, but he was grateful it had come sooner rather than later. Michael Cipriano. Not once throughout the investigation had Jake thought about him. Was the final Cipriano brother still alive or had he been killed off as well? How much information did he have about The Cabal? Or had he alre
ady spilled it and his name was next on the list?
Jake needed to speak with him before any of that happened.
CHAPTER 42
CONNECTED
Jake hadn’t bothered to call ahead before he made the ninety-minute journey to Guildford. No point. He wanted to speak with her in person. Face to face. And if she knew he was coming, then she might get spooked and drop off the radar like she had yesterday.
Clouds swallowed the sky and a light patter of rain had started to fall on the south of England. He was sitting in his car outside Danika’s house, gazing fervently at the bay window. Despite the rain, he saw movement.
Jake made a phone call. Danika picked up on the second ring.
‘Tanner?’ Her voice sounded wheezy, as if she had a cold. ‘Is that you?’
‘Yeah, it’s me all right. You free to talk?’
‘Erm… Yeah. What’s up?’
‘I need to speak with you privately.’
‘How private?’
‘Danny Cipriano private.’
A moment of silence.
‘Yeah, that’s not a problem. We can talk about it now if you’d like.’
Jake kept his eyes keenly planted on the house.
‘No, it’s OK. I’ll come round.’
He hung up the phone and waited. Within a minute, the front door opened and Danika – looking flustered and panicked – hurried out of the house. She froze mid-step as her eyes fell on him, staring back at her. He rolled down the window.
‘Get in.’
The sound of the passenger door closing echoed around the inside of the car and then disappeared, replaced by silence. Jake’s hands felt clammy – a combination of anger and adrenaline and fear surging through his body. His chest rose and fell heavily, worsening by the second.
‘Off somewhere?’ he asked her.
‘What’s with all the cloak and dagger, Jake?’ Danika asked, surprisingly bubbly and full of excitement, laughing it off like nothing was awry. But Jake saw right through it. She was nervous. And she had every right to be.
‘I think you know, Dan.’
‘What were you saying about Danny?’
‘He’s dead.’
She threw her hand to her mouth and let out a little gasp. ‘Oh my God. I didn’t—’
‘Cut the shit, Danika.’ Jake gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles whitened. ‘I know everything. How you helped Bridger get him out of remand by convincing the CPS to throw the case and dismiss all the evidence. And I know you know something about who killed him.’
‘Jake…’ She placed a hand on his knee. Her eyes, and face, looked tired and weathered. ‘I don’t know who killed him. I promise.’
‘But you admit to everything else?’
‘It wasn’t me. It was Bridger. He… he forced me into it. Bullied me.’
‘You could have said no.’
‘Still oblivious to your own ignorance, aren’t you? I’m involved with some dangerous people now. I don’t know who I can trust. I don’t know where’s safe to go, what’s safe to do. They’ve ruined my life all because I agreed to get them in the WPS. But now they’ve got me, and I’m not going anywhere.’
‘Why are you leaving the service?’
She ignored the question. ‘These people will find out anything and everything about you. They will uncover every lie you’ve ever told, every mistake you’ve ever made, everyone you’ve ever held dear – and they will use it all against you in order to get what they want. And there’s never a chance to get out.’
‘What did they have over you, Dan?’
She turned and looked ahead, out of the windscreen. As the time passed, tears began to form in her eyes. ‘You don’t know what it’s like. When I lost my kids, it killed me inside. It still kills me a little bit more every day. And do you know what I used to the numb the pain? Alcohol and drugs.’
Jake’s brow collapsed, but he didn’t disrupt Danika’s flow.
‘A lot of them. But then Bridger found out. He told me that he needed a favour and, in exchange, he would keep his mouth shut. One of his stipulations was that I get medical help – he wanted me off the drugs and drink until everything was settled. He couldn’t risk me getting wasted one night and talking about something I was supposed to keep a secret. He warned me what would happen. I handed in my notice because I couldn’t do it anymore. Keeping up the façade of happy detective. I couldn’t get the help I needed. I’m a risk. I’m a liability.’
‘Are you using again?’
She wiped away a tear. ‘I haven’t felt pain in months, Jake. Forced myself not to. I will always live my life in fear.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me any of this, Dan? You could have come to me, trusted me—’
‘You fucked off.’ Danika’s voice was laced with so much venom that he retreated a little. ‘You transferred to Stratford and left me alone at Surrey, just so you could look like the star fucking pupil. You didn’t know it but I needed you. I still need you. But it’s too late. They’re gonna come after me like they did Danny…’
‘Danika…’ Jake caught a lump in his throat and tried to swallow it down. He was unsuccessful. ‘Tell me who you and Bridger were dealing with. Their names. What they look like. Who they are. I can help you.’
‘I never saw any faces. I never knew any names. I only dealt with Elliot. I don’t know anything about The Cabal, Jake. And I know that’s why you really came here.’
‘But you know everything about the brothers. You must have met with them, spoken to them. Did they not tell you anything?’
‘That’s what got Danny killed.’
‘What about Michael? Where’s he? I need to speak to him.’
‘No.’
‘Does Bridger know where he is?’
She shook her head. ‘He kept his hands clean of it all. Wanted nothing to do with it.’
‘Then tell me. Help me so we can help him. If Danny knew things, then so will he. We can help put this to rest.’
‘Who’s we?’
Jake paused, swallowing, and then licked his lips. He’d done it again.
‘What have you done, Jake?’
‘I’ve got a UC helping me from the DPS. I think this thing – this web of corruption – spreads far and wide. It’s connected to my team in Stratford. We’re working on Danny’s murder now, but they’re covering it up. And I need to make sure I can speak to Michael before anything happens to him. I just need you to tell me his address. That’s it. That’s all I ask.’
Danika slowly turned to face him, her eyes moistening again, pupils dilating. ‘If I tell you, then you become implicated. And then when they find out, they’ll find you. And then they’ll do exactly the same to you as they’ve done to Danny.’
‘Not with the DPS protecting me. I can stop—’
‘Nobody can protect you.’
‘At least let me try.’
Danika hesitated for what felt like an eternity. The silence was profound, and it felt like it was pulling Jake into the abyss with her.
‘Michael’s address. That’s all I ask,’ he insisted. ‘You’re the only one who knows it. You’re the only person I could come to – the only person I could trust. You’re the only person who can help Michael survive. I’m one of the good guys, remember? I can get to him first. I can protect him and keep him alive.’
Danika looked down at her lap and played with her fingers, then she rubbed the snot away from her nose and sniffed hard.
Reluctantly, she gave him the address.
CHAPTER 43
FLAIR
Garrison loved that particular new car smell. The fresh leather. The polished surfaces. The brand-new Jelly Bean air freshener that the sales team had given him as an extra gift for his ‘services to the community’ after he’d told them he was a police officer. Pfft. Yeah right. Services to the community. Ain’t that the half of it. In his lifetime, he’d only ever bought three cars, and each one had excited him more than the last. It was a bit like a drug, an extr
eme hit of dopamine as he sat behind the wheel of his latest toy. But the real high came when he drove them for the first time. They were his babies – until they stopped performing to the best of their abilities – that was when the drug was used up and he needed a new fix.
His latest fix was a brand-new Jaguar XKR Coupe. Fresh off the production line – five-litre petrol engine, 503 BHP, 0–60 mph in 4.6 seconds. Beast of a car – the fastest thing he’d ever owned. And, at just a tipple over seventy grand, it was the most expensive thing he’d ever owned as well. Thanks to the help of a little disposable income courtesy of Danny and Richard’s deaths. Their loss was his gain. He needed to squeeze it back into the economy somehow. And if that was by lining the pockets of a big corporation, then so be it. He was happy. The salesman who got his commission was happy. The CEO was happy. The taxman was happy. Even the head-turning mongrels on their way to work were happy.
The only person that wasn’t happy, he supposed, was the person about to get in the seat beside him.
Garrison had called the meeting as soon as he’d finished with the Russian. He was stationed outside the BBC News headquarters in Shepherd’s Bush, parked up on the side of the road opposite the building’s entrance. He turned his head and saw Tanya Smile wandering towards him, struggling to walk properly in her high heels. She was dressed in a dark blue suit that clapped and waved in the wind, revealing a red nylon interior in the blazer and a skirt that was tight around her legs. Her hair bounced and bobbed gently as she walked, making it look as though it wasn’t moving at all. She came to a stop by the zebra crossing, looked both ways and then jumped into the car as soon as the coast was clear.
Garrison pulled away before giving her the chance to put her seat belt on, delighting in the smell of her perfume, which accentuated the rest of the aromas in the car, adding to the dopamine hits racing about his brain. They drove in silence for five minutes towards a multi-storey car park in North London where he climbed to the top of the structure and reversed into a spot tucked away in the corner. The car park was poorly lit, save for the struggling early morning light that crept in through two giant holes in the sides of the building. They were in the perfect hiding spot, giving Garrison complete autonomy over the occupants, including Tanya.
