“Just relax, honey,” she said.
“Honey?” said Mark. “You never call me honey.”
“Maybe I thought I should try something new,” she said. She swept her hair behind her ear and gazed down at him, encouraging him to look at her body. But Mark’s eyes stayed on hers.
“Please, Mark, chill. Relax. What is it? You’re worried your mother’s going to come back early? Forget it. You know she won’t.”
“No. It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“Then forget it. Come on. Let’s just have some fun.”
She moved over him, sliding down towards him, her breath on his face. Her kisses teased him. The feeling of her soft warm skin started to overwhelm him again. He closed his eyes tight shut, but in the blackness, he recalled her strange glances back at the office. He remembered new clothes completely unexplained, now crumpled on the floor beside his bed and the tablet she had bought too. Why buy a new piece of office kit? She hated that job. Where was all of this coming from? And then the lead… the Robert Poulter lead she’d given them which had brought them to this. The awkwardness and the doubts. His eyes blinked open and Joanne slowly sat up.
“Honey…”
Mark’s head turned to the floor. He looked at the crumpled black dress with the blouse with the sleeves attached.
“Where did you get that?” he whispered.
The girl shrugged and moved closer. “Why? Do you like it?”
Mark winced. Joanne smiled.
“It’s nice,” he said, flatly.
“From the high street…
“It suits you. It’s smarter than your other dresses. Did you buy it for work?”
Joanne flicked her hair.
“Yes. I bought it to look the part. To look professional. If you like it, then it’s serving its purpose.
He saw it again – the distance in her eyes. It stayed there for just for a moment, before she came back to him again. She raked her hand across his chest and leaned over him. Joanne kissed his cheek, and he gasped. The girl read his body and gave him more kisses. But the questions remained. He spoke into her kisses.
“The tablet. Why did you get it?”
“Because,” she whispered. “Forget all that. We’re here. It’s just us, see. Just us.”
Joanne blotted out the world with her kisses and her touch. The sensation almost overwhelmed him but he wouldn’t give in. She moved over him gently, prompting, leading, guiding him. But his thoughts badgered him to speak.
“The lead, Joanne. The Robert Poulter lead. Where did you get it?”
“Please, babe. Don’t ruin this. Let’s be together. I know you want that…”
“I do but…” he whispered, his words tinged with a hint of sadness. Joanne caught it, and hesitated for a moment, she seemed ready to break apart from him then thought better of it.
“No buts,” she said. Mark looked up at her, wanting to see her, wanting to look into her eyes, but now her eyes were closed. He wanted the truth. He knew it was hiding. But Joanne was closed and away from him – and yet, here she was, beautiful, irresistible, a force of nature. Lust finally overwhelmed him and he let go of his doubts and reached for her body, for her face. Joanne smiled and watched him as he lost control. Mark’s body gave way. He watched her, the light in her eyes, the power, the enjoyment in her face as he succumbed and the world flashed out of existence. The moment stretched, and the ecstasy seemed stronger for all his resistance and all his doubts. He had been fighting but now he was beaten. Slowly, as he came to from a deep sleepy warmth, the doubt crept back into his mind. He found his arms around her, holding her tight but she was silent, breathing evenly, fully aware. He squeezed her arm and she slid up on his body.
“There. Is that better?” she said.
“Always,” he said.
There was a but in his voice. Joanne heard it.
“Mark, what is it?”
“I don’t know… The new work dress, Jo. Your new tablet. That new work lead. Everything about you is new! To be honest, I’m struggling with it. You never mentioned any of these things, and we’re supposed to be close. I mean, look at us, we’re this close. Yet, I don’t know why but… but it feels like… it feels like… like we’re not nearly so close as it seems.”
Joanne shook her head and gave him a playful look. “You think too much. Or maybe you were busy thinking about Alma the tattoo woman sitting on your lap in Dan’s car. Is that what this is all about?” she said, her smile broadening.
“Please. The woman’s in her thirties and she’s terrifying. I think she might have been a junkie too. She’s hardly my type.”
“I think she might well eat you alive. Best stick with me then, eh?”
Stick with Joanne? But was she sticking with him? She was distant already, as if she was drifting away. Then there was the sex… even there something was missing. Mark realised she had barely shown any pleasure herself. Joanne had been the one too busy thinking.
“Mark?” she said, reading his eyes.
“I don’t know what’s going on, Joanne. You’ve never brought a lead back from your job before and you’ve never made any kind of effort for it. You avoid Civic Centre whenever you possibly can, and now you’re fielding case inquiries from the people on your team. It doesn’t make sense.
The moment was going. The electricity between them had already passed. Joanne tutted as she slid away from him. Their bodies were still touching beneath the duvet, but her mouth was open as if looking for the right words to say.
“I don’t like my job, true. But then I realised something. I don’t have to like it or accept it, but I still don’t have to see it as a ball and chain. It’s a stepping stone, Mark. It’s an opportunity. I spoke to a work colleague…”
“Who? Which colleague? I’ve never known you to talk to anyone there about anything other than how bad it is.”
Joanne nodded. “But then I started looking at things another way. All people have problems, don’t they? And PIs solve problems. I decided I’m not going to be there much longer, I promise you that, but while I’m there, I’m damn well going to use the place as a platform for what comes next.”
“A platform. How?”
“Connections. Showing people what I can do. Stepping up to the next level.”
“So now you’re after a promotion?” said Mark, confused.
“You know what I’m after,” said Joanne.
“Yes, I do. For some reason you want to be a PI,” he said.
“I want us to be the next Eva and Dan.”
Mark smiled, but his smile quickly wavered.
“What? You don’t want that?” said Joanne.
“No… I’m not ready for that,” he said. “Not anywhere near ready.”
There was silence between them.
Joanne nodded slowly. “Yes, I had wondered…”
“We’re young, Joanne,” said Mark, “and I think we’ve still got a lot to learn.”
“Damn it, Mark. Why do you always have to postpone everything for so long. It’s so bloody dull and sensible.”
“Jo, today I helped kidnap a wild-tattooed woman from two gunmen. That’s not dull or sensible. It’s also not my idea of a having a good time.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure? We can do this stuff. I know we can.”
“I got hurt today, Joanne. They knocked me out, punched me in the face. The guy had a gun, Joanne. This is dangerous. I know I’m not ready for this stuff. You know it too. I know you do.”
The girl looked into Mark’s eyes. “When will you be ready?”
“Maybe not ever.”
“Mark?”
He looked away before returning her gaze with a flash of suspicion. “I don’t know where you got that lead. But how could you have possibly got it from your office? You’re barely there these days. And I know you don’t like anyone there, so…”
“Hang on! So you don’t trust what I tell you, a
nymore? Funny that you didn’t mention that two minutes back when we were rolling around in your bed.”
“I think I know what this is about. I know what you really want, even though you’ve never said it out loud.”
“Go on then, genius. Tell me.”
“You want my job, Joanne,” said Mark. “You think you can do it better than me, I know you do. And who knows, maybe you could.”
Joanne started to speak. “But that’s not…”
“It’s okay, Joanne. I worked it out a while back. And it’s okay.”
The girl looked at him, their faces close together on the pillow, but the feeling between them had turned melancholy.
“Look.… if this thing is your calling… and who knows? I think it could be… then maybe I should stand aside. I could quit the job and tell Eva to give it to you. Actually, I think they’d like that.”
“What? Mark!” said Joanne. “No.”
“But it makes sense. I could get another job easily enough. And I’d probably earn more money elsewhere too…”
“Mark – tell me you seriously want to leave that job.”
Mark fell silent.
“See. I knew you didn’t. I won’t have you falling on your sword just because you think I want your place. There’ll be another way for me to get what I want. I will be a PI, but I’m not going to steal your job to do it.”
“How then? I don’t see any other way.”
“I’m telling you, there’s a way. There’s always a way.”
There was another brief, awkward silence.
“You sound pretty confident about that. How did you get that lead, Jo?” said Mark. “I mean, how did you really get it?”
“I told you already,” Joanne replied. “From a work colleague… But then I didn’t know it would work out as badly as it did. I was assured the inquiry came from a reputable source.”
“You said it came from your work colleagues at the council… And you used to say they were nothing but a bunch of backstabbing liars.”
“Not all of them,” said Joanne. “I guess I was wrong when I said that.”
“Wrong – yeah. And so were they. That lead turned out to be a lot worse than a dud. It could have got someone killed.”
“I know…” said Joanne, “and I can’t stop thinking about that.”
“And then you’ve been distant with me all day. First there was the lead, then your new dress, and the new tablet, it all seems so mysterious. You had me worried, Joanne…”
“Worried about what, exactly?” said Joanne.
“I don’t know. Maybe that I’d lost you,” he said.
Joanne leaned up on her elbow and looked into Mark’s eyes.
“Look at me, Mark. If I’ve been distant it’s only because I’ve been working hard. I’ve got my job, and on top of that I’m trying to prove to Eva and Dan, to you, and to myself that I really can handle life in the PI business. And then I end up helping some scumbag use them for all the wrong reasons. That Alma woman could have ended up dead. I got you hurt – and Dan too. I can’t stop thinking how I played a part in that. That was my fault.”
“No, it wasn’t your fault, Jo. It was the person who gave you the lead. Their fault. Did you tell him the trouble he caused?”
“Yes, I spoke to him,” said Joanne, quietly. “He apologised. The guy said he feels just as used as we do.”
“Used? But why would he feel used? Wasn’t he just the messenger? At least, that’s the impression you gave everyone…”
Joanne’s mouth formed a crumpled smile. “Yeah,” she said. “But he still feels bad about it. Either way, it was my mistake. I’m the one who passed it on… and I can’t forget it.”
She slid out of the bed and grabbed her clothes from the floor.
“Where are you going now?” said Mark. “She won’t be back for ages yet.”
“But you’re right, Mark.” said Joanne. “I’ve got a lot on my mind and I think I’ve got to work this out. I owe Eva and Dan big time. I only wanted to help but I’ve made things worse.”
“Hey, it was a mistake. We all got used by this Robert Poulter guy. Let Dan handle it. He’ll know what to do.”
“But that Alma woman looks like trouble too. She looks dangerous. If Eva’s out of the picture, Dan might need help.”
“Joanne. He told us to go home. Stop trying to prove yourself.”
“Come on. Do you think Dan will be resting now? With that mad woman in his office, with armed gunmen hunting for her?”
“Maybe not, but—”
“And what about Eva? No doubt Lauren Jaeger will still be sucking the life out of her. Eva won’t get a rest either.”
“No, but she needs one. They’re not always the best role models, Joanne.”
“Maybe not. But I landed this mess on them. The least I can do is try to get them out of it. I’m going to get a shower, then I’m heading back to the office. I bet Dan is still there.”
Mark sighed and dragged a hand down his face. “I hope Eva’s back. She’ll know how to handle Alma.”
He slid out of bed. Joanne opened the bedroom door and looked back over her shoulder.
“Mark, you don’t have to come with me. I’m not after your job.”
“I know, but I’m still coming. Alma Poulter said the danger had only just started. If you’re going, then I am too.”
“And yet you say that you’re not cut out for this business?” said Joanne with a wafer-thin smile.
Mark shrugged. He could still sense the distance in Joanne’s eyes – more than a hint of fakery. His misgivings wouldn’t leave him. One way or another, for good or ill, the truth had to come out. And Mark knew if he stayed close to Joanne, closer than she liked, there was always a chance he would learn more than she intended to let on…
***
As far as the office was concerned, it was late and Dan Bradley was still sitting at his desk. He didn’t want to be there, but he was damned if he was going to take Alma Poulter up into the flat. Yes, it might have been safer up there. Certainly more discreet. With the shutters left up the big windows of their office were a virtual a goldfish bowl – it was as easy to see inside as it was to look out on the street. Alma should have been hidden away for safekeeping but instead was practically flaunting her presence – and Hamstel Road wasn’t exactly a sleepy back street. If either gunman was serious about finding her, they were bound to pass through sooner or later. Leaving the shutters up also meant he could see what was coming, but Dan knew he should have left her upstairs in the apartment while he kept watch. But he had been stung by wild women before and Alma Poulter was a definite wild child. Danger or none, he wasn’t going to risk anything else going wrong. He wouldn’t have put it past the woman to engineer something devious if it suited her purposes. So, in the office she stayed, Dan looking out on the street with a mug of coffee in his hand, his legs crossed over the corner of his desk while Alma sat on the other side, sipping water from a chipped mug, as she spent time brooding, occasionally shooting him moody looks.
Eventually, she broke the silence. “Is this your idea of helping? Sitting around slurping coffee with your feet up? The way this is going, Cripps is going to die of old age before you ever find him.”
“Hey. We’re waiting for brother Robert to call us, remember? Until he makes his play we can’t do a thing.”
“He’s not my brother. And I don’t like doing things on anyone else’s terms.”
“No, I bet you don’t. Your life has been all free and easy on the road in Europe. But there was a reason for all that easy living, wasn’t there? Because you were being bankrolled by a gangster.”
“I didn’t know what Simeon was into back then, did I? Besides, I would have travelled just the same, with or without the money. A tin of beans, a rucksack and a sleeping bag would have done me just fine.”
“What? For a thrill-seeking hedonist like you? I don’t think so, Alma. I think you prefer the high life.”
“The high life? You can ju
dge me, Bradley, but you don’t know me. Cripps is the only one who ever did.”
Dan knew the feeling. Eva was the only one who had ever known Dan. A statement like that, and it was clear to see Alma and Cripps were close. Alma had never mentioned love, but the inferences were there to be drawn. She’d called them friends, but Dan’s guess was lovers, and if not yet, maybe soon to be… Unless the man called Robert got in their way.
“Don’t worry, he’ll call,” said Dan as he tried to reassure himself that Eva would do likewise. But why hadn’t she? Since charging his phone, he’d already seen the shower of missed calls and texts missed while his phone battery was out. Now Eva was returning the favour. He had texted her three times and Eva had responded once.
With Lauren. Difficult. Will call you soon. Glad you’re safe.
Glad he was safe. Well, being safe in this business was always relative, and he doubted Eva was any safer than he was. Dan chided himself for not listening to her after the Clancy case. Eva had said she wanted out, but back then he didn’t believe she was speaking from the heart. Now, he wasn’t so sure.
Alma and Dan were busily ignoring each other when Dan’s mobile phone ring cut the air. Both of them jerked upright in response. Dan picked up his phone, his heart thudding. When he saw the screen he looked up and shook his head. Alma’s expression turned sour and miserable, but he couldn’t blame her. The screen said, ‘No Caller ID.’ Experience said calls like these were either from a foreign call centre, or, if he was lucky, someone from the cop shop was returning his call.
Dan was in the mood to gamble. “Dawson,” said Dan, as soon as he answered.
“How did you guess?” said Dawson.
“My sixth sense is coming back. I could feel macho cop vibes coming down the line,” said Dan.
“Flirting doesn’t work with me, Dan.”
“Worth a try, wasn’t it? I take it you’ve heard something.”
“Not about your latest female companion, no. But I did hear something about one of your suspects.”
Suspect. A true police word. In Dan’s world no one was a suspect, but everyone was suspicious. And right now, at least two of them were out and out enemies. But the word suspect meant the police were connecting at least one of them to a crime or crimes. Interesting. Dan sat up in anticipation. Alma took note and leaned forward to eavesdrop on the call.
Cuts Both Ways Page 20
