“Come on, Jess. Mr Gillespie must have been too busy to meet us.”
She heard Lee Mitkin laugh mockingly. They left Parker there without saying a word. Soon he called after them, trudging down the ramp, but the anger in Eva’s stomach was almost sickening. She didn’t feel able to look him in the eye.
“What is it Eva? What’s up?” asked Jess in pursuit.
“Two things. We learned two very important things here.” Eva was walking quickly, and Jess had to struggle to keep up.
“Yes?”
“Dan isn’t on this Estate. He probably isn’t in any of their other places either.”
“How do you know?”
“The stupid one said so.”
“Did he?”
“If you read between the lines, yes. They don’t have him.”
“Right…” said Jess, not really keeping up. “What’s the other thing?”
“We need to keep Parker sweet. As of now.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s working for the enemy.”
“What do you mean?”
“Parker is working for whoever kidnapped Dan.”
Seven
The office was closed and the old roller-shutter had been pulled down to protect against those who had a reason to throw something. Eva’s Alfa was parked far enough down the street, to suggest it belonged to someone else, so that was relatively safe. Now Eva and Jess sat at Eva’s dining table. Eva had a biro in her hand with which she had scribbled the names of everyone involved in the case so far on a cheap lined pad. The mind map on her PC had more details, but there was no time to wait for firing up the desktop. She was angry, uptight, and wanted to strike out. Jess hadn’t seen her like this in all the time she had worked for her.
“But how do you know for sure?”
“For sure? I don’t. But I know all right. When I spoke about Gillespie coming down for the meeting, Lee Mitkin was the only one who wasn’t bothered, the only one who didn’t believe me – did you see it?” said Eva, excitement and anger in her voice.
“So?”
“So it’s because he doesn’t find Gillespie a threat. He knows what Gillespie is like, what his habits are. And most importantly, he isn’t scared if Gillespie does actually surprise him and turn up unannounced.”
“But it could have been that he’s just thick. After all, Lee Mitkin is clearly the densest gangster in town, right?”
“He’s probably not good at algebra, but to get where he is, he must know people well enough. He wasn’t scared. But the others, Parker included, were quiet and cautious.”
“And?”
“They exchanged a glance specifically about Gillespie coming down to see them. It was a shared point of view, a shared thought. You know the kind of thing, like when two people have a secret and the third person spots the secret between them and calls them on it. It was there, it was real.”
“Okay. You’re positively fizzing on this. Carry on. Fizz. I’m listening.”
“Right. I’m fizzing. So we know Rob Mitkin and Parker have something going on. And they are worried about Gillespie. What does that mean?”
“You tell me.”
“I will when I work it out… but I think it could mean Gillespie isn’t involved with Dan at all.”
“You’re jumping around more than Super Mario.”
“It’s their reactions… it’s their behaviour and drawing logical conclusions from it. It is not just about guessing, Jess. You know me better than that.”
“Okay, Miss Marple. Spill the beans.”
“Lee Mitkin got told off by his nasty brother because he let out enough information on Dan’s whereabouts for us to conclude he’s not on the Estate, and quite likely not in their other local properties. Now Gillespie could have been funding their property splash, and if he was, we could assume Dan would be in those new houses, on the Estate, or worst case scenario, trapped and secure over on Roe Park with the Travellers. But the dodgy reaction of Rob Mitkin and Parker going all awkward when they thought Gillespie was going to show up tells me they aren’t working with him. If anything, they don’t trust him, not one bit. So the property money must be coming from somewhere.”
“The Somalis, they are earning top drawer.”
“All due respect to those heartless monsters, but Jess, do the Somalis look like property moguls to you? They work in cells, work round the clock like some kind of military operation. I can’t guess what they do with their money apart from reinvest it in more and more powder. And tracksuits. And trainers. But I don’t think Real Estate is their business.”
“But it could be.”
“It could. But I’m not feeling that at all.”
“Feel it! Listen to you! You call that logic?”
“Investigation needs some intuition as well as logic. I’m telling you, the Mitkins have a backer. And I think Parker’s been trying to distract us all along.”
“From Victor Marka?”
“Absolutely. The tell-tale Remy got abducted in London. Dan got kidnapped on the A127, the main road to London, it wouldn’t have been a very long trip up to Marka’s backyard in the city and the South East quarters. They could have made it inside an hour.”
“That’s a big leap, Eva.”
“Not as big as the leaps Parker’s been persuading us to make all along. You said Parker’s been horny for Gillespie. I think he’s been too horny, don’t you?”
“Yuck. That brings all the wrong kind of pictures to mind.”
“But the most rotten prospect is that Parker is responsible for Dan going missing.”
“Seriously? Do you really think that?”
“I don’t know. It could be. It’s horrible to think, but if Parker is in with Rob Mitkin, anything is possible.”
“Shit, after the twenty-four hours we’ve just had you can say that again!”
“Now we have a problem. He’s been steering us the wrong way. We have to assume that. But now we have to go against the flow, meanwhile keeping Parker onside, so we still have a chance of learning something from him along the way. He may reveal something else by accident.”
There was a buzz on the intercom.
Eva nodded, and Jess went to get it.
“You’re better at this than I gave you credit for, Eva.”
“Just living on my wits, like always.”
Jess picked up the intercom phone, an old white device that hung on the wall near the lounge door.
“Yeah?”
She made a face. “Wait a minute.” She pressed a hand over the mouthpiece. “It’s Parker. What do you want to do?”
“I’d like to empty my dustbin all over his head. But what I’m going to do is play it dumb and pretty, just like he always thought I was. And be as stubborn as a mule.”
“Why play nice, Eva? You should stick it to him. I will if you want.”
“You’d do it for kicks. But if he really is a part of the Dan kidnap, the show must go on.”
Jess made a wincing face, and then put the handset back to her ear.
“Yeah. We were in a hurry. You know how it is. Eva says come up.” Jess pressed the buzzer, and a minute later, he was coming through the front door, a thin film of sweat on his forehead, his eyes flitting and unsettled.
“Hello Eva. You made off quick as a fox.”
“Those people are gangsters, Devon. It was their territory. They could have struck at any time. Besides, we have work to do.”
“And Gillespie… did you actually ever really speak to him?”
“I tried,” she lied. Eva knew if she admitted the truth to Parker, he would wonder why she had lied to him and become even more suspicious. The ruse had served its purpose to expose Parker’s thinking, and to prevent him from any dangerous moves she had to keep the lie going.
“How did you get his telephone number?” he was on to her, but she was clever.
“Mad-Maggie, the tall woman with a thing about girls and cruel threats. She gave me her number the first time
I visited - practically stuffed it down my blouse. It was all I had. And I know she would have let Gillespie know.”
“Why?”
“Because of her penchant for capturing women. She probably thought Gillespie could have stuffed me in his car boot.”
“It’s just as likely the text never reached him. After all, you only sent it to the mad wench.”
“It’s possible. But I sent the text. He could well have responded.”
Jess nodded, seemingly satisfied with the quality of the lie.
“Why did you risk it, Eva? It seems like madness. I thought you were lying to prove a point somehow at first.”
“I never bluff, Devon. I always have reasons for what I do.” This was true. But she had said nothing about lying.
“So now what? You’ve rattled the cages of all the local menaces. Are you just going to try and sit out the storm you’ve created? I don’t see how you can operate this case when all of the people involved know who you are and what you are up to. And meanwhile the clock on Dan’s life is winding down second by second. You know that, don’t you? Eva? Because it looks to me like you’ve taken leave of your senses.”
Parker was all indignation, faked of course. It was designed to make her feel guilty, to push her into hasty compliance with every one of Parker’s desperate whims.
“You should do motivational talks, Devon. I feel all pumped up and ready to go now, thank you very much.”
Devon Parker blinked at her. “Sorry,” he said. “I am worried about Dan, that’s all. Gillespie is capable of anything.”
And so are you, you lying bastard, thought Eva.
“Okay. Here is what we’re doing with the time we have left. You’re so right, Devon. The clock is ticking, and I’m terrified what could happen here. We’re not even close yet.”
“You’ve got that right.”
“Yes. Well. This is the plan. We divide up the action. You’re the Gillespie expert. You go for Gillespie. You know his habits, his henchmen, his work areas. I mean, Gillespie’s all you talk about. He’s your focus. He’s all yours.”
Parker’s face hardened, his brow dropping over his eyes, which now turned bleak and serious.
“And you – what will you do?”
“Try the other angle of course.”
“Which is?”
“Everything else?”
“The Mitkins and the Somalis?”
“Some of that.”
“Get real, Eva. That’s too big a patch, with too many threats. Together we can mitigate the risks, apart we’re finished. And Dan could be dead.”
“You’re being pessimistic, Parker. I’ve given up being pessimistic. It’s bad for my health.”
“How sensible. What are your other ideas?”
“You should investigate Roe Park, keep your ear to the ground. The Police have been involved there for over a year. I bet they’ve got intel on any people who might like keeping prisoners if that’s their style.”
“And how am I supposed to get this ‘intel’ for goodness sake?”
“Use your initiative, Devon. You don’t need me teaching you to suck eggs.”
Parker nodded.
“I know a copper called Rowntree. Jess, can you look up Rowntree’s number? You can call him and let him know I gave you his number. It could help.”
“But you should do it. He’s your contact, Eva,” said Parker.
“No. I told you Parker, division of labour. I have to try the other track.”
Parker stroked his flabby chin, pinching the waxy flesh between finger and thumb.
“What is it, Eva?” he said slowly, evenly, seriously.
“What do you mean, what is it?”
“You’re not revealing your whole hand, are you?”
She looked at him hard, scanning his face, pushing at his eyes with her own for any signs. There were none. “And neither are you, Devon, old bean.”
A thin smile crept up underneath his moustache. “You’re quite astute, aren’t you?”
“I worked and lived with your protégé for the best part of a decade, Devon. I had to become astute or get steamrollered on a daily basis.
“You’re after another layer of the truth, that’s all, Eva. And that’s fine. You can have it. Did you know that I am broke, Eva? Absolutely stone broke. Potless.”
Eva analysed him, his eyes, his hands for any tell-tales. He was telling the truth.
“What happened?”
“You heard I got married to Barbara.”
Eva nodded. Jess watched them both, her eyes flicking between with intrigue.
“Well, it turns out that besides having a great backside and a cracking smile, she was also a money-grabbing, back-stabbing bitch. She played me like a fruit machine, emptied me of everything, and then dumped me like a sack of the old proverbial.”
“Sorry, Parker. I had heard you were happy.”
“I was… for a few years. But hey… that’s my lot.” He leaned forward. “I need this case, Eva. I need to bring down Gillespie. I need to land a big fish before the world forgets who I am entirely. If I can do this, I could make enough money in my last few years of working life to pay for some kind of dignified retirement. If I don’t, I can look forward to subsistence on the state pension, cold weather payments, and a bed-sit in Peckham and that’s if I’m lucky.”
“I heard Peckham is on the up and up these days,” said Jess.
“Then what you heard is unadulterated shit, my dear,” said Parker with a starchy grin.
“What about Dan? Where is he in your retirement plan?”
“I am sure he’s in this, Eva. Sure of it. Remy in Leathermarket? It’s one of Gillespie’s haunts. Remy was one of his boys, kept at arm’s length of course. Outsourced. I’m sure it’s Gillespie.”
“Well, I’m not so sure, Devon. We’re still with you, but I have to go at it another way. I don’t get the Gillespie connection yet. Keep going, and if you find something concrete, I’ll come and help.”
“And what concrete clues have you got, Eva? You haven’t got a thing, have you?”
“I have the Mitkins. And more specifically, Rob Mitkin.”
Gillespie’s face flickered with something like concern, and then it was gone.
“Why him?”
“I can read people, Devon. I do it very well. And he lied to us. Lee Mitkin didn’t. It’s Rob Mitkin who is the door to this thing.”
Trust is a funny thing. He had given her some truth. She smelt it, and it brought her a little closer to him. Enough to reveal a particle of her own truth. It was still entirely possible Parker was working with Rob Mitkin, in fact she was almost sure of it. But now she had his motivation. He had given it away freely. He had some of her own truth, her secret thinking in return. But he didn’t know she suspected Rob Mitkin was the door which led all the way to Victor Marka. And Eva was going to kick it wide open. She just hoped Parker didn’t have enough wit or power with his clients to second guess her and warn them first. Marka was a giant. Hopefully, he would never see someone as insignificant as Eva Roberts coming straight at him until it was all too late. The only problem was Marka was notoriously cruel. And just as Dan had already highlighted, Marka was fond of having crushing victories which permanently ruined his opponent’s lives. Even as she contemplated Marka, Parker was still bothering her. Enormously. She thought about the long friendship Parker was putting aside so he could pursue his retirement fund. Dan is somewhere, suffering – while the old bastard is lying all the way to the bank. He had drawn her into this thing on account of Dan. But now she saw that Dan was just bait. Could Parker have changed that much? It seemed he had rolled lie after lie her way since he had come back in her life. Was even the list ever true? Who was Remy anyway? Everything Parker had ever said or done could be questioned. The truth he had given her was only enough to throw all his lies into bright relief.
“Devon, as you’re so sure it’s Brian Gillespie, I’ll do you one last favour, just to back you up.”
“A favour, for me? The only favour you’ll be doing is saving Dan’s life.”
“We’ll see about that,” said Eva. It was time to end the road with Devon and cut out all the risks he represented. But she didn’t know if she could. Parker’s eyes settled with a new kind of peace. And behind the peace, Eva felt his brain brewing a new set of calculations designed to prosper no one but Devon Parker. But there was the grain of truth. And with it she saw the slimmest chance to set herself free of Parker before he ruined any chance of saving Dan.
Eight
Parker insisted Jess could not go with them, but Jess pleaded and Eva backed her pleas immediately. There were obvious reasons to take her on Parker’s mission to Gillespie’s business address, and beyond providing back up, Jess had a sharp brain and might see Parker’s next moves coming their way. Parker was interested in one of Gillespie’s building firms. The outfit worked on house builds and offices, where rumours circled about a scam involving Gillespie with two corrupt Councillors receiving a kickback for persuading the planning office to have some restricted Greenfield reclassified as ‘Brownfield’ and suitable for development – by Gillespie of course. As far as Eva was concerned, it was clearly highly unethical, a swindle which was going to cost the residents of Wakering (a district on the northern outskirts of Southend) their remaining country views and access to green spaces. But then again, what was new about that? Compared with Dan’s situation, it was like comparing a parking penalty with a plane hijack. If it wasn’t clear by now, it was certainly getting clearer where Devon Parker’s priority lay. It was in destroying Gillespie, staying close enough to hurt him big, yet far enough to stay out of the brutal gangster’s deadly snare. It was repugnant too, because each time Jess questioned the relevance of Parker’s detours from saving Dan Bradley, Eva would watch Parker momentarily rack his brain for a suitable excuse, and hand over some rambling reason like it all made sense. And some of it did, just about.
It was the afternoon of day two. Dan had a day and a third of his crucial first 72 hours missing left. Eva was worried. Parker had wasted their time all the way through. Even Jess looked stressed and frustrated. But Eva hadn’t had the chance to tell Jess what she was planning. She wasn’t sure exactly what it was yet, but she knew the goal – to blow Parker so wide open the whole fiasco would be exposed and the fat lying monkey would be off her back. They were currently waiting in the back of his Vauxhall Calibra – always in that bloody old Calibra - sitting outside the dated office building of Gillespie McAnnion, the construction firm about to be granted planning permission to build flats, budget homes and townhouses all over the only green space left just beyond Southend. The firm was set to make a killing when the build came off, so no matter how much it cost to grease the palms of local Councillors Townsend and Maher, it was going to be well worth the outlay.
Never Back Down Page 10
