“What the hell have you done this time?” said Hogarth.
“We’ve caught your other killer,” said Eva. “But only just before he caught me.”
“What? Hold on. You’re saying that your client killed Carl Renton?”
Eva nodded. “Not only that, but if you look in his bureau upstairs you’ll see that none of his allegedly stolen items were ever truly stolen, Inspector. They’re all there. So, I think that means we rose to the challenge. We finally managed to find the gold too. Aaron Clancy wasn’t a victim. He was the thief. And he’s also in possession of the centrepieces from the Saxon King’s tomb.”
“Now you’re kidding me,” said Hogarth.
Eva shook her head. “It’s all upstairs. I think you’ll be needing to pay a visit to Councillor Audley too, mind.”
“Oh. And why’s that?” said Hogarth.
“The way Aaron Clancy tells it, there was no robbery. Councillor Audley was in on it the whole time. He was prepared to fall on his sword and lose his job, so long as the proceeds of the tomb treasures paid for his pension.”
Hogarth looked at them in disbelief. Eventually he nodded as he took it all in. More police appeared on the back garden patio.
“Well, that’s a turn up for the books,” said Hogarth. “And there’s nothing like a mortified politician to cheer me up. Except maybe, a lying, thieving murderer to throw in the cells along with him.”
“Clancy’s all yours, Inspector,” said Dan. “At least, what’s left of him.”
Hogarth looked down to see the tall man holding his chest. “He had an accident with the door, I see?” said Hogarth, nodding. “How unfortunate. PC Jordan, pick up this mess will you?” said Hogarth gesturing the PC towards the man at his feet.
Hogarth looked at Eva and Dan, reading the shock and the ordeal from their faces.
“You two just don’t know when to stop, do you?”
“Nope,” said Dan.
“No. Well, you’d better try and work it out. Because as much as you two can be a royal pain in the backside to a copper like me, I’d rather not be picking your remains up at a crime scene any time soon. Life’s too short to waste it on a bunch of scoundrels like this one, trust me. I thought I was getting away from them when I came down here. Maybe not though, eh?” Hogarth sniffed, and let his words sink in. “Okay then. You know I’ll be after a formal interview from you two but it looks to me like you need a breather first.”
“I’m fine,” said Eva, but she was fooling no one.
In the end, Eva gave up. She gave Hogarth a pursed-lip smile and a nod. Hogarth nodded back and returned to his duty, starting with reading the pained Aaron Clancy his rights as PC Jordan held the man against the dented fridge. Eva and Dan retreated to the hallway full of headlights and flashing blues.
“You know, Hogarth might even be right,” said Eva. Her voice was like a tired sigh.
“Hogarth? He’s never right,” said Dan.
“I’m not so sure,” said Eva. Dan turned to face her as she spoke. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up, all this dicing with death...”
Dan hesitated and looked into Eva’s eyes. “Well... maybe you could take a break. You could work at the office for a while instead.”
Eva shook her head.
“The office? That’d kill me just as well. No. Maybe I need a real change. Something else.”
“Whoa, back up. Just take a breath. Now’s not the time for making big decisions.”
“Isn’t it? That bastard out there could have killed me and it’s not the first time. It feels like the hundredth.”
“Now who’s exaggerating?” said Dan.
“Dan, tell me you wouldn’t like to take a break from this. You were almost killed only a year back. We deserve a life, don’t we?”
Dan’s face crumpled in confusion. “And what would you do instead then, Eva? Tell me that.”
Eva shook her head. She folded her arms and walked to the front door.
“I’m here for you,” said Dan. “Always will be. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
“And what about you, Dan?” she muttered. Eva opened the front door onto a world of flashing blue lights, police radios, barked orders, camera lenses and chattering strangers. For a split second, everyone stopped and looked at her. It felt to Eva as if she was at the centre of the world, and yet she wanted to be anywhere else. She looked around in silence, then stepped down off the doorstep and walked away. And the world started up again.
Dan followed on behind. Tonight, he promised himself in silence, he would let the Pinot Grigio flow as freely as Eva needed.
Twenty-six
As expected, the next day was a write-off. The shutters were left down over the ground floor office windows, and what work had to be done was done in the upstairs living room, with the blinds closed. They called Mark and Joanne early to tell them to stay home. Life still felt like a mess, worse still with the tiredness of the booze still filtering through their veins. By afternoon, Eva was brave enough to check the company bank balance. It needed some serious TLC. Another six weeks without a decent paying job, and it would need something more like CPR. Eva winced and closed the banking app on her phone and shut her eyes tight. She recalled her brief shell-shocked chat with Dan on the doorstep of Clancy’s house. He was right. As much as she didn’t like it, he was right. Eva wasn’t made for anything else. No other job suited her, and she could never accept another boss above her. Private investigations had ruined her for a normal life, and yet, Eva still wasn’t sure if she could carry on. Dan glanced across at her seeming to read her thoughts. He set down his coffee cup and switched off the TV.
“You want to talk?”
Eva gave him a look. “About what?”
“About what you said last night?”
“Which part?” she said.
“Come on. Any part,” said Dan.
“Uh. No thanks. They were dumb knee-jerk things to say. All of them.”
“You’re sure?” said Dan.
Eva’s face stayed neutral, but she gave a slow nod. “I’ll be okay. We’ll be okay. I promise.”
Dan sipped his coffee, unsure whether to say more or keep quiet.
Eva put him out of his misery by interrupting his thoughts. “I think it’s time I tried to build bridges with Lauren Jaeger. That would probably help, wouldn’t it? It’s time I gave her the benefit of the doubt. The money would be handy too.”
“And it might be the catharsis you’re looking for.”
“I’m not looking for catharsis, Dan. Just a little peace now and then.”
Eva picked up her phone and dialled. She was surprised that the call went through so quickly. But when it was picked up no one answered. Just like the last time, Eva heard the sound of breathing. But this time the breathing was rapid and panicky and totally unlike the calm, collected breathing she had heard before.
“Lauren?” she said. Immediately, the line went dead. Eva frowned as she stared at the screen.
“What is it?” said Dan.
“Damn that girl! I was only calling to see if she was okay. I had every intention of giving Lauren a fresh start, making peace. And then she goes and hangs up on me like we’re sixteen all over again. I’ve had it. I’m not in the mood to take any more of this juvenile crap. Case or no case, it’s about time I told Lauren Jaeger that she can stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.”
“Eva wait...”
Eva dabbed the phone, tapping out a quickfire angry text. She pressed send before she even had time to think about it.
Never call me again, Lauren. I grew out of your games a long time ago. Have a nice life. Eva.
Dan watched Eva squirm as she read the text back and Dan rubbed his brow. Whatever text Eva had sent couldn’t have been good. And no more than ten seconds later Eva’s mobile rang.
Eva stared at the screen, her eyebrows flicking high on her forehead.
“Can you believe this woman? It’s her! Calling me! Again!”
“Answer it,” said Dan.
Eva looked at him.
“Answer it, Eva. For your own sake,” said Dan.
Eva sighed, gave in, and pressed the answer button.
“Lauren? What do you want?” said Eva.
“Eva... wait... the other time... it wasn’t me who called you. It was him, Eva. It was Jamie.”
“What?” Eva turned rigid. The quiver in Lauren’s voice sent a shiver up Eva’s spine.
“It’s happening, Eva, just like he said. Everything I warned you about is happening. He knows I called you. And because I won’t tell him who you are, it’s started. Just like he promised. I’m afraid, Eva. I’m scared... you’ve got to help me! I need you to help me now. I mean it. You’ve got to help me stop him before someone ends up dead.”
Eva fell silent, as her mind teetered on the brink of two possible answers. Either way seemed like a cliff edge. She struggled for a fraction too long, and Lauren’s voice became loud and shrill in her ear.
“Eva?!”
Eva took a breath. “Okay. Yes, of course I’ll help you, Lauren. Of course.”
“Thank God! Please don’t make me wait anymore, Eva. I’m scared of what he might do.”
“Just hold on. Hold on and I’ll be along soon. Be strong, Lauren. I’m coming.”
As Eva hung up, the very same words echoed in her head. Be strong, Eva, Be strong.
At three o’clock, just as Eva was about to leave, Mark and Joanne arrived at the office door. They turned up like uninvited guests, knocking on the shutters and rattling the door. When Eva and Dan went down to open the door, they found another two very unexpected guests at Mark’s side. Eva was feeling grim – as if she was being held together only by the seams of her tweed suit. But she still couldn’t help smiling when she saw Joe Clancy and Georgie. Joe looked weak and pale, but the smile on his face was genuine enough. They both looked as if a massive weight had been lifted from their shoulders.
“Eva,” said Mark. “I know you had a rough night, but I had to bring Joe around because he has something he wanted to say to you.”
“Joe,” said Eva. “Georgie. It’s great to see you... but look, I’m so sorry. I’ve got to go and see a client. I’ll have to leave in a couple of minutes. It’s urgent.”
“No problem, Miss Roberts,” said Joe. “I knew you’d be in demand.”
“I’m very sorry for what happened to your father, Joe,” said Eva.
Joe shook his head emphatically and Georgie looked at him proudly as he spoke. “Don’t be sorry,” he said. “My father deserves everything that’s coming to him. He killed my friend... And from what I hear, he almost killed you...”
“As it happens, I think your father came off worse,” said Eva carefully.
Joe shrugged and took his time. He lifted a carrier bag from his side and took out a small parcel. “Miss Roberts,” said Joe. “I just wanted to give you this...”
Eva took a white paper-wrapped parcel from his hand. It reminded her a little of the awful canvas parcel in Clancy’s drawer, but she blinked away the unwelcome feelings. “Open it,” he said.
Eva looked around at their faces before she did so, then she slowly unwrapped it to find a small gold Celtic band. Not the large ancient torq the police had confiscated but a smaller decorative clasp to fit a wrist or upper arm. The band had dulled with age.
“This belongs to your father, Joe. I really can’t take it.”
“Yes, you can,” said Joe. “It’s only one of his minor pieces. It was in the drawer with all the rest. He’ll never miss it. And not only that, I had this one valued especially for the purpose. I’m told its worth two thousand five hundred pounds, so it’s not one of his really expensive pieces. Who knows? It might fetch a few hundred more, or a few hundred less. I assume my father owed you at least that amount.”
“In the region of, yes” said Eva.
“I would pay you cash, but as you may have guessed, I’m going to be a little cash-strapped from now on. But that’s okay. At least I’m not under his watch anymore.”
“And that’s not all,” said Georgie “The rehab called. A guy called Barry from Carl’s rehab centre. It turns out Barry had received an email from Carl, saying that he wanted Barry to help him. This Barry only saw the email after Carl had disappeared. He says he’ll help Joe get better, with a specially designed outpatient programme, so Joe doesn’t have to go into those houses.”
“What?” said Dan. “So Carl’s rehab project will go on?”
Joe nodded. “Turns out Carl left the rehab projects a lot of cash in his will. Carl lived like he was broke, but he really wasn’t.. He didn’t see money and gold the way my dad did. And neither do I. I know I’m looked after, Miss Roberts. My father’s house is mortgage free. Georgie and I will be living there for the foreseeable future.”
“Together. Like a proper couple,” said Georgie.
Joe looked suddenly bashful and his face turned pink. “Something like that. Please, Miss Roberts, take that little band and convert it to cash to cover your fee. My father can’t pay his dues, so I want to pay them for him.”
Eva paused, then nodded. “Only because you insist, Joe. Yes I will,” said Eva.
Dan smiled, looking plainly relieved. “One question, Joe,” said Dan. “What happens if your old man decides to have you evicted from the house?”
Joe shook his head. “He can’t. It’s a bit like squatters’ rights, you see. I’ve lived there since I was born, and because the house was mortgage free, I never signed any kind of occupier’s waiver. I’m over eighteen years old and because of my time there I might even have a legal claim over the house myself.”
“Finally,” said Eva. “Some good comes from something bad. Just make sure you take up that offer for rehab, won’t you. I don’t want to hear you’ve blasted a whole house on that Uber junk.”
Joe nodded. “Definitely.”
“Don’t worry. That’s not going to happen,” said Georgie, firmly.
“Thank you, Joe,” said Eva. “And thank you too, Georgie.”
Eva leaned in for the briefest of hugs before she turned to give Joanne and Mark a parting look.
“I’ve got to dash. Duty calls,” she said. “Lauren Jaeger,” she explained.
Eva turned to give Dan the longest look of all. She smiled to show him she loved him and then she walked away. There was no time for regret and no time for hangovers. It was time to get back to work. And who knew? Now Eva had put Lauren in the picture regarding exactly how she felt about the past, Eva dared to hope that the case might not be so bad. And as she walked to the car, Eva was already forming viable strategies to deal with Lauren’s boyfriend troubles – and to force a quick win.
But if Eva had had time to reflect, she would have known that every plan she’d ever made had changed when it came up against reality.
Eva had no idea just how bad things were going to get.
And someone else was about to call all the shots.
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Between Two Thieves
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Between Two Thieves Page 37
