“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve seen them.”
Blane made a face and shook his head. He kept his hands level but raised in the air, half in surrender, half as a shrug.
Eva paused, her brow dipped low over her eyes, the knife slipped lower between them.
“I saw the bruising, Mr Blane. Bruising where you hurt her.”
“We argued, of course we do. And she drives me mad. You must understand, she’s been living under my roof, hating me, not talking to me, hurting me emotionally and physically… and all the while she goes out and sleeps around and lies to my face. Of course we’ve fought. I’d be lying if I said otherwise, and yes, I may have overstepped the mark once or twice… but she does worse. I’m telling you, this isn’t even a two-way street. You want to see a scar? Then look at this…”
The man pulled at his leather belt. Eva shook her head but Blane pulled his shirt tails free, and lifted them to expose a flabby white stomach with an ugly pink scar sunk into it, like a little vortex of ugly pink lines.
“That’s abuse. She stabbed me in the stomach just last Christmas. Lauren, the victim, stabbed me just because she felt like it. Stabbed me, because she was angry because I probably asked who she was screwing in my bed while I was working. But there’s always something. Always another reason to hurt me and she won’t leave. She’s cold, and vicious and unpredictable and she’s ruining my life. I know if I let her stay here, eventually, she’ll kill me. This is just the latest thing, involving you, a stranger, threatening me, blackmailing me, accusing me of murdering my wife. It’s just one more unspeakable cruelty in a very long line…”
“But you were at the Perryman last night.”
“Yes, with Suzie. I never imagined Lauren would follow me there. I thought we would be safe there. It’s a bit seedy but at least Suzie and I—”
Eva cut across his words. “The man you were with in the restaurant. I heard you discussing doing away with Lauren. I heard you, Mr Blane. You can’t deny that.”
“Doing away with her? What? We were discussing arrangements for a clean break, moving her out before she could do anything about it, not murdering her! Henry is one of my oldest friends. He’s one of the few people who knows how much I’ve suffered. He doesn’t stand for any of my dithering bullshit. He’s always said I should dump her and damn the consequences. But I always feared what she might do. He was going to help me get rid of all her stuff, and front up to her, and tell her to go. I was going to do it tonight, maybe tomorrow at the latest.”
“You said about pushing the button…”
“Yes – that button! On the plan of getting her out…”
“But she’d already gone. She was with me.”
Blane’s shoulders drooped. “Only because she cottoned on to the plan. And look, she’s turned it against me, made it impossible. The accusations. The abuser stuff. It’s part of what she does. This is a threat against me of what will happen if I try to get free.
“But the emails…”
“I’ve never sent any emails about killing anyone. And I certainly never made any purchases of any bloody cleaning equipment.”
“But it’s in your name on your account… your credit card…”
“But I still didn’t do it. I swear. I’m not guilty of any of that.”
“Show me your car,” said Eva.
“What?”
“Let me look in your car, Mr Blane.”
“Why? What trick is this? You want to steal my car for her now, is that it?”
Eva lowered the knife and tossed it back into the drawer. She pushed the drawer shut and folded her arms.
“I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt. But I just need check something in your car…”
“And then?”
“And then we’ll see. But I warn you, if you try anything at all, I’ve got more than one way to defend myself. Are we clear?”
Blane nodded slowly. “We’re clear.”
Eva’s mind was tense, but blank, her rage confused, suspended as if waiting to land on its proper target.
“Then please lead the way,” said Eva.
Blane nodded. He loosened his tie and tugged his shirt collar open, and he led the way to the apartment door. Eva followed behind at a distance. They stood apart in the elevator, silent, suspicious. When they reached the ground floor, the concierge and the older bald man in uniform watched them emerge together. Eva and Blane looked ruffled, sweaty and awkward. They nodded at the concierge desk and the two men nodded back, faces blank, eyes full of knowing.
Blane led the way across the car park to his Merc parked in the corner. Eva’s eyes flitted around the neighbouring streets. She didn’t see Lauren anywhere.
“I don’t know what you want to look in here for, but, here we go,” said Blane. He pressed the key fob button and the Merc indicators blinked.
He opened the car door, and Eva moved past him to peer inside at the leather seats. Eva looked in the door pockets. They were clear, clean and empty. She walked around the car and opened the passenger door and opened the glove compartment. She saw a neat leather-bound car manual, an ice scraper, and a pack of cards. Eva frowned.
“Have you got any other storage areas in this car?”
Blane shrugged “Only the boot.”
“Pop it open,” said Eva.
Blane sighed and pulled the boot lever. The boot clicked open, and Eva walked to the back of the saloon. She lifted the boot and looked inside at the immaculate grey interior. It was spotless, as if the boot had never once been used. Eva traced a finger around the edge of the boot lining carpet and lifted the rim. Beneath the carpet there was room only for a car jack, a first aid kit and a spare tyre, also spotless and clean.
Eva’s mouth drooped.
“Has Lauren ever had access to this car?”
“I don’t know. I can’t be sure about that.”
“Lauren claims she found a knife in your car not more than two or three nights back. A knife of the kind a soldier might carry. A weapon.”
Blane’s eyes widened. “Bloody hell. I knew she came out here the other night… Upstairs just now… why exactly did you pull a knife on me? Tell me.”
“Because you were threatening me, Mr Blane. Pure and simple.”
“Only because you were threatening me. Twisting things against me like she always does.”
Eva closed her eyes to think. “Mr Blane. Did you have any weapons in this car?”
“Yes, I did. But now I’ll tell you why. That woman has threatened to kill me more than once. She hates me. I know she does. I’ve tried to shout at her, to freak her out. I’ve begged her, I’ve even tried to give as good as I’ve got, but that didn’t work. I’ve offered to pay her off, buy her out of my life, but the harder I tried, the worse she gets, and crueller too. If you were in my shoes, if you had been stabbed and the woman threatened to kill you, what would you do? You’d try and defend yourself, just the same as you did upstairs, wouldn’t you? I’m not willing to let that woman kill me. I’ve had enough. Do you understand? I want a life.”
Eva looked at Blane, scanned his face. She tried to dig beneath the surface of his words and read him deep inside. But there was simply no way to be sure. If Lauren wasn’t lying, Blane was. But whoever was lying, they were truly accomplished at it.
“I swear to you. I swear on my mother’s life. I didn’t do any of what you’ve accused me of.”
“I’ve never liked people swearing on the lives of others, Mr Blane. You’ll need to do better than that.”
“Whatever. But if I can prove my integrity, prove it’s true… will you drop this blackmail?”
“There was no blackmail, Mr Blane. There’s only ever me trying to do the right thing,” Eva shook her head. “…whatever the hell that is.”
Blane nodded.
“I can prove it.”
Eva looked over her shoulder towards the corner of the street beyond the tower block.
“How long have
you got?” he asked.
“Before Lauren wonders where I am, or drives off in my car? About five minutes.”
“She’s here?!” he said in surprise. And then, “Of course she is,” he added with a frown.
Blane nodded. “That’s all I need. One phone call, one call, and I’ll be totally exonerated. You okay with that?”
Eva wasn’t okay with anything. “Then make your call.”
They sat inside the man’s Merc while he made the call, the smell of the leather seats filling Eva’s nostrils, the leather cooling her neck as she waited. Blane had one of the oversized smartphones not much smaller than Joanne’s tablet. He held the device above the steering wheel, the screen towards him. When the call connected, a wide male face filled the screen. He was a big man with thinning dark hair and had a square chin. The camera seemed to have warped his face slightly, a little like a fish-eye lens. He had a dimple in his chin.
“Hey, Blane. What’s up? Don’t tell me she’s done another number on you already?”
“It’d be fair to say she’s getting trickier all the time.”
“We should have pushed the button weeks ago. You deserve better than this shit.”
“I know. But listen, would you mind spelling out a couple of things. I’ve got someone listening this end who needs to know a few things about what’s going on.”
“Someone listening?”
“Lauren’s told this lady a few things, it’s no problem as such, but this lady needs a little clarity. I just need to ask you a few questions about what’s been happening and for you to give me the honest answers.”
“Why?”
“Because it’d help me a lot right now, that’s why.”
“What is Lauren pulling this time?”
Blane stayed quiet. The other man nodded. “Okay… whatever. Fire away.”
“Thanks, Henry. So… whenever we talk about pushing the button, what exactly do we mean by the phrase?”
“You know exactly what we mean. Facing up to that witch who you let into your life.”
“Could you tone down the colourful language. Just say what it means.”
“Fine. It means having a face to face meeting with Lauren and telling her to go, with me along for the ride. Because she’s never taken any notice of what you said by yourself and she won’t go apeshit if I’m there with you.”
“So pushing the button meant organising that confrontation, right?”
“Yeah. We tell her to go, and she goes. No messing around. End of story.”
Blane nodded as if he was happy with the answer.
“And what do you know about cleaning products? Rubble bags, cleaning liquids, all that kind of stuff. Have either of us ever placed an order for anything like that?”
“What the hell are you talking about? Of course not? Do I look like a cleaner to you?”
“No, you certainly don’t,” said Blane, chuckling. “Now, what would you say if I said to you someone thought we were planning to kill Lauren, then organise a clean-up?”
“What? Are you serious? Not that the idea isn’t without merit, but come on, I like my life, and you like yours. A prison uniform isn’t a good look in the recruitment business.”
“So, Henry, please, what are the extent of our plans for Lauren?”
“To tell the psycho bitch to stop torturing you and get out of your life so you can move on. That’s it. Whoever’s listening, do they know how sick this bitch is? What she’s been doing to you?”
“No. But I’m hoping the penny might soon drop. Thanks, Henry. You’re a star.”
“Too true, too true. Chin up, Blane. I’m ready when you are.”
“We’ll put it on hold for today. Maybe tomorrow,” said Blane. He ended the call and looked at Eva.
“Do you believe me now?”
Eva sighed. “Right now I’m finding it extremely hard to believe anyone. You confessed to having a knife.”
“Self-preservation only. I admit it.”
“Where is it now?”
“In my desk at work. I couldn’t leave it at home. She’d kill me with it. I was having second thoughts about the knife, as it happens.”
Eva looked dead ahead to where the concierge and his colleague were watching them through the glass while pretending otherwise.
“Mr Blane, I’ll need you to look at some other pieces of evidence I’ve got. I need you to give me a very good reason for each one. A watertight explanation.”
“No problem. Here’s one. They’re all fakes.”
“Better than that, Mr Blane.”
“It stand to reason, if they’re not genuine, then they’re fakes. But you can send them to me, I’ll check them out.”
Eva nodded but she was struggling with what to do next.
“I think I’d better go before I lose my car,” said Eva, looking at the digital clock on the dash.
“Do you mind if I ask you a question or two,” said Blane. “It’s only fair, seeing as you’ve grilled me and my friend.”
Eva nodded and sighed.
“First of all. Who are you?”
Eva got out of the car and leaned down inside the cab to give her answer.
“My name is Eva Roberts. I’m a private investigator.”
“It was you she called. And she hired you to snoop on me?”
“Partly,” said Eva.
Blane nodded. “So, then. What was the supposed end game here? What was her plan? I mean, she must have known the truth would come out when we got talking.”
“That’s an interesting question, Mr Blane…” Eva’s mind flashed with the times she’d been warned against listening to anything the man said. Either because he was an arch manipulator or because he would tell her the truth… Do whatever it takes. “Actually, I think Lauren might have been hoping we didn’t talk at all.”
“And? What would have happened if we didn’t?” said Blane.
Eva stared at the man and remembered the feeling of the knife handle in her hand, the fire of hatred in her chest, and the feeling of staring at his chest, right where her other hand had rested.
“I know what you’re capable of…” Lauren’s words. Eva recalled the hints, the pushing, the persuasion. The knife: had she been prepared to use it? Because of a monster called Blane. Because of the so-called evidence. Because Lauren had primed her for the kill…
“I’d better go, Mr Blane.” Eva blinked and looked away. “I’ll be in touch,” she added, before turning away without meeting the man’s eye.
“What about that supposed evidence?” he called after her.
“I’ll be in touch,” said Eva, without looking back.
Eva walked away briskly. She left the car park and turned the corner alongside the tower block. She was strung out, angry and confused. Either one of them could have been lying to her – both seemed capable of spinning the truth as it suited them, Eva was still bothered by what she had almost done. She recalled the temptation to strike as if she still had the knife in hand. Now she knew she had to be the one to manipulate and spin. She had to buy time. It was clear now what Lauren had always wanted from her. She’d wanted to use Eva as a weapon. Whether she was a victim or the perpetrator, Lauren had still tried to make her kill. And because she had been so well primed, Eva had almost done the unthinkable. The thought made her shake her head in revulsion at herself. She saw the Alfa still waiting at the side of the road and saw Lauren’s tiny face reflecting at her from the wing mirror. Before Eva got there, the passenger door opened, and Lauren clambered out. Eva saw a look on her face, eager, desperate, imploring. It looked authentic enough, but what result was she eager for? Until Eva knew for sure, she had to play it smart.
An old, hackneyed phrase came to mind… under the circumstances, it seemed pertinent enough. Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer. For now, Eva would have to do both at the same time.
“What happened? Are… are you okay?” said Lauren. The woman came close and looked into her eyes. She put her hands on
Eva’s shoulders and leaned against her briefly as if they were old friends. Eva simply gave way and let her do as she liked, Eva impassive until Lauren pulled back to look into her eyes.
“What is it? What happened?” said Lauren, seeking a response.
“I told him it was over and I gave him an ultimatum. I said we’d use all the evidence we had unless he let you go.”
“You talked to him? But Eva, that will never work. Not with Jamie. He’s a snake. I bet he tried to talk you out of it…”
“Oh, he did. But he also tried to throttle me and if I hadn’t retaliated I daren’t think of what could have happened.”
“Retaliate…? Eva? What did you do?”
Now Eva watched Lauren’s eyes closely. “I drew a knife on him. Purely to defend myself. I had no choice.”
“Of course you didn’t.”
Eva watched a smile flash through the woman’s eyes, flickering at the corners of her lips before it was gone.
“And did you… hurt him?”
“Don’t worry, Lauren. He got what he deserved. I don’t think he’ll be bothering you again. Now, as for your belongings, your money… we’ll have to wait and see how he reacts. But I did what you asked.”
“Yes, yes, you did. You really are a friend, Eva. And you’re every bit as strong as the stories said you were. Ruthless, in fact!”
“You shouldn’t believe everything you read in the newspapers, Lauren.”
“But it was true! Look what you did. Come on, Eva, let me buy you lunch.”
“Lauren, I need to see Dan. Why don’t I drop you somewhere – you can grab lunch yourself if you’re hungry?”
“No, Eva, I insist.”
Eva looked at the woman and tried to hide her displeasure. She wanted to copy and send those documents to Blane, to test him. She wanted him to attempt to disprove their authenticity. She wanted him to try. If he failed, the man was guilty. If he succeeded, Lauren was a liar. But nothing could be done until Lauren was out of the picture
“Lauren…” said Eva. “I have to see Dan.”
“And you will, Eva. Right after lunch. I have to say thank you.”
Cuts Both Ways Page 33
