Betrayed (12 page)

Donna glanced furtively outside to where his white van was parked in their drive, and then stepped back into the hallway.

Andy gave a soft whistle as he looked around him.

‘Nice place, Donna. Pretty damn swish.’

‘Yeah. Would be great if I was here by myself.’ She took the tool bag off him and placed it on the floor. ‘Come on, let’s sit out in the garden for a little while.’

‘Are you sure it’s all right, me being here?’ Andy said as he followed her through the kitchen.

She poured both of them iced tea and handed one to him. She knew the risk she was taking every time they were together, and bringing him to the house when Eddie was away was beyond reckless. But she couldn’t help herself.

‘Sure, you’re a handyman, doing a bit of work. Anyway, this whole estate is like a graveyard during the day. Everyone’s either working or old and rich. You can go a whole day and never see a person. That’s one of the reasons I like to get out when I can.’ She paused, thinking how attractive he looked, the shaft of sunlight coming in the window making his eyes an even brighter blue. ‘One of the reasons I took the job at the bakery.’

‘I’m glad you did,’ Andy said, running his hand over her back as they walked into the garden.

Donna felt a little shiver at his touch. They sat at the table and he reached across and took her hand.

‘Donna, I wish you’d leave him.’

Donna opened her mouth to speak, but Andy went on.

‘I know what you’re going to say. You’re too scared he’ll come after us. I know.’ His fingers gently touched her bruised cheekbone. ‘But we can’t go on like this. I know how we could do it. I’ve thought about it every day and night. I’ve got some money saved up, we could go away somewhere. Another country. France, Spain or something. I could buy into a wee baker’s shop or something. That’s my dream. Have my own place. But it wouldn’t mean anything to me without you.’

‘But Andy, how can we just up sticks and disappear? I’d love to. I wish I could. I think about it every day too.’ Her eyes filled with tears. ‘Do you think I want to be part of what he’s made me? He treats me like a slave. Every way. Mentally, physically – sexually. I can’t stand it.’ She stopped. ‘But you know what he is. There’s no hiding place for anyone who crosses them.’

Andy squeezed her hand and they sat for a long moment in silence. Eventually, Donna spoke.

‘Listen. I want to tell you something.’

She told him about the card, and about the bodies in the quarry, and how she knew Eddie must be involved.

‘Andy, if anyone ever found out I was telling you this, I’d
get a bullet in the head. No questions asked. I’m promising you that. Please don’t tell anyone. Christ, I can’t believe I’m even telling you.’

‘Have you got the card? Can I see it?’ He was calm.

Donna got up and went into the kitchen. She took the card out of the drawer and handed it to him. He held it very carefully, only touching the edges.

‘I didn’t pay much attention to the story on the telly when I saw it, to be honest,’ he said. ‘Are you sure it’s the same name?’

‘Look.’ Donna opened the paper at the page where the story said the cops had no new lines in the quarry murder. ‘See for yourself.’

‘And that card was in his pocket the night he came back here and told you to burn the clothes?’ He shook his head, incredulous. ‘Jesus. That’s heavy-duty stuff, Donna.’

‘I know.’

‘So Eddie’s obviously forgotten about the card. Or he expected you to burn it with the clothes.’

‘Yeah. He would have expected that. I think he forgot it was there. I didn’t notice it at first. But when I’m doing a wash I normally empty the pockets in case there’s anything in them. I didn’t even see the card. I actually only found it below the bed when I was hoovering the next day. Then I realised I should have burned it. I just stuck it in a drawer.’

Andy sat staring at the card on the table. ‘Can you give it to me?’

‘What?’

‘Can I have it? Then what I want you to do is forget about it. Completely.’

‘What you going to do with it? You know you can’t go to the cops and tell them the truth. First thing that would happen is they’d come battering on my door. Jesus, Andy, you can’t do that.’ She picked up the card and looked at him. ‘If you did something stupid with this, you’d be a dead man. I’m telling you.’

‘Look, just give it to me and forget you ever saw it. That’s all I’m saying. Trust me.’

Donna handed him the card.

The sound of the doorbell ringing woke Donna. She turned to Andy and let out a gasp.

‘Shit! We must have fallen asleep.’ She leapt out of bed. ‘There’s someone at the door.’

Andy sat up, rubbing his eyes.

‘Leave it,’ he whispered. ‘Maybe they’ll go away.’

The doorbell rang again, and Donna looked out of the window. She saw Rod Farquhar’s blue Mercedes outside their house.

‘Christ. That’s a friend of Eddie’s. It’s big Farquhar.’ She stumbled around the room, pulling on her skirt and bra. She drew a vest over her head. ‘I’d better go down. Don’t move a muscle. I’ll get rid of him.’

When she opened the door, Rod Farquhar had that smug
look she detested. His eyes roved up and down her body, stripping her naked.

‘You in your bed?’

Donna was conscious that he was speaking to her breasts. Creepy bastard that he was.

‘No,’ she said sharply. ‘Course not, Rod. In the middle of the afternoon?’

‘I was ringing the bell.’

‘I was in the back room. I’m clearing out cupboards.’

He nodded slowly, his eyes resting on her thighs.

‘Eddie’s away, Rod. Did you not know? He’s in Holland.’

‘Aye,’ he said. ‘I knew he was going to the match.’ He licked his lips. ‘I was just passing. Thought I’d call in for a coffee.’ He took a step forward onto the threshold.

‘No,’ Donna said quickly, feeling herself blush. ‘Actually this is not a good time, Rod. I’m really busy. You know what it’s like. So many things you promise yourself you’ll do when you get the house to yourself,’ she gushed, pushing her hands through her hair. ‘So I’d best be getting on with it. I’m going to be up to my eyes all day. Eddie’s home later on tonight.’ She started to close the door.

Rod’s face fell, his eyes suddenly cold. He scanned her bare legs and again rested on her breasts. He stepped back and glanced at Andy’s white van in the driveway, but said nothing. Donna felt her insides churn.

‘Right,’ he said, walking away. ‘I’ll let you get on with your work then.’

Donna closed the door and stood with her back to it as she heard his car door close and the engine start up.

‘Christ!’ she whispered.

‘Who was it?’ Andy was on his way downstairs, buttoning his shirt and carrying his shoes.

‘Some arsehole mate of Eddie’s.’ She felt her hands shaking. ‘He was calling in for a bloody coffee. He’s a creep. He’s made a pass at me once or twice. If Eddie knew he’d tear his head off, but I’ve never mentioned it. He obviously thought he’d chance his arm because he knows Eddie’s away. Pervy bastard!’

Andy took her in his arms.

‘You’re shaking.’

‘I know. I’m so scared we’ll get found out. And he had a look at your van in the driveway.’

‘Did he say anything?’

‘No. Nothing. But he definitely clocked it.’

Andy sat on the stairs and put his shoes on.

‘Just say I was pricing a job for you or something. Don’t worry.’

‘I can’t help it.’ She hugged him. ‘Don’t go just now. Give it a half-hour in case he’s lurking around. That’s the kind of creep he is.’

Donna tried to muster a smile as she walked into the kitchen.

‘Come on. We’ll have a coffee before you go.’

*

As Matt crossed the border into Scotland, Rosie was glad they were only an hour from home.

‘I always feel a bit misty-eyed when I leave England behind and we’re back home. Makes me patriotic,’ Matt said.

‘Yeah, right. You’ll be quoting from
Braveheart
next.’

‘They can take our women! They can take our freedom, and our deep-fried Mars Bars! But they’ll never take our shitey weather,’ Matt declared as the downpour started.

Rosie looked at the horizontal rain sweeping across the hills beneath the heavy sky.

‘Good to be back.’ She sighed. ‘Though I don’t feel we gained a whole lot from the trip.’

‘What did you expect? It was more of a recce than anything else. I’m quite happy with what I’ve got, pic-wise. Plus, we’ve got some kind of handle on who McGregor deals with.’

‘Yeah. I suppose so. But still we don’t know who the hell he is.’

Rosie reflected on Adrian’s phone call after he had followed the man who’d exchanged bags with McGregor in Utrecht. As planned, he had managed to tail him until he arrived in Amsterdam just under an hour later. Adrian stayed with him discreetly while he parked his car in the city and met up with another man in a cafe close to the town centre. He even took the chance of sitting a couple of tables away from them. From what he could gather, the man he’d followed spoke with what he thought was a Scottish accent, but it could have been Belfast. He wasn’t sure.
The other man, he said, spoke broken English, and Adrian thought he was Moroccan or Turkish. Definitely didn’t look Dutch or Spanish. He watched as the man who’d been with McGregor went into the holdall and handed him a wedge of cash. They stayed in the cafe less than half an hour, then Adrian followed him again as he took a taxi to Schiphol Airport. He almost lost him as he tried to park his car, but he’d sprinted into the departures area and caught up, staying far enough behind until he saw him checking into a flight for Malaga. That was when he phoned Rosie and asked what she wanted him to do. Take the flight, she told him. She would tell McGuire when she got home. But the flight had been full, and Adrian was now on his way back to Sarajevo. At least they had a picture of the dealer, whoever he was. But it wouldn’t make McGuire happy.

Rosie’s mobile rang, and she recognised Liz’s number.

‘Hi, Liz. How you? I’m on my way back. Just crossed the border.’

‘Rosie, listen. Can you talk?’

‘Sure. What’s up?’

‘You’ll never believe this but I’ve just had a call from Wendy.’

‘What? You’re kidding.’

‘No. Can’t fucking believe it myself! Wendy’s alive, Rosie! She’s alive!’ Her voice went up an octave. ‘I’m still shaking thinking about it.’

‘Oh my God!’ Rosie covered the phone with her hand and turned to Matt. ‘Wendy’s phoned Liz.’

‘You there, Rosie?’

‘Yeah. Was just telling Matt. This is amazing! What happened? Where is she?’

‘She’s in Spain. Costa del Sol. She’s told me everything. About the rape. That bastard McGregor. He threatened to kill her if she told anyone what he did. Said he would hunt her down and make her disappear. She felt there was nothing else for it than to do a runner.’

‘Christ!’ Rosie said. ‘But what about her parents? Jimmy? Has she been in touch with them?’

‘No, not yet. Listen. She doesn’t want to tell anyone. She’s still scared. McGregor might be looking for her.’

Rosie thought for a moment.

‘Yeah. Better if she says nothing right now. Especially to Jimmy.’

‘What time will you be back in Glasgow?’

‘Should be there in just over an hour. Can we meet?’

‘Yes. But I’m going away. I’m going to Spain to join Wendy. Fuck it! I want out of this place after what happened to her and with McGregor sniffing around to see where she is. He’s the only one who knows she’s still alive.’

‘I’ll meet you in that coffee shop at the top of Byres Road at seven. We’ll talk then.’ The line went dead.

‘What in Christ’s name is happening, Rosie? Has Wendy really turned up?’

Rosie shook her head and puffed. ‘According to Liz she has. Says she phoned her and she’s in Spain. Did a runner.’

‘Jesus!’

‘But she doesn’t want anyone to know. I’m meeting Liz at seven. She says she’s going to Spain to join her.’ She looked at Matt. ‘That might well be useful for us.’

CHAPTER TWELVE

Liz’s face lit up when Rosie walked into the cafe.

‘Hi, Rosie,’ she said brightly. ‘What a great day this is.’

‘Well, it’s a right turn up for the books.’ Rosie slid into the booth.

She ordered a skinny latte from the waiter, and Liz asked for the same.

‘I’m still kind of numb with shock,’ Liz said. ‘I spoke to her again an hour ago and she’s really glad I’m going out to see her.’ She lowered her voice. ‘I haven’t told anybody, as you said. Nobody. I haven’t even mentioned that I’m going to Spain. I’ve only just booked the flight.’

‘Liz,’ Rosie asked, ‘how did Wendy get out of the country? The police said her passport was still in her house.’

Liz gave her a furtive look. ‘I can’t tell you that right now. Okay? I need to talk to her first.’ She put a hand up. ‘Don’t ask.’

Rosie didn’t like the sound of it, but she nodded in agreement.

‘Okay. But good for you, Liz, getting the hell out of here for a while. Wendy will be delighted. I’m really glad she’s all right.’ She paused. ‘But I’m still wondering why she needed to go away. I know you said she was scared of Eddie and he’d threatened her. But what about Jimmy? Was she not really keen on him?’

Liz sighed. ‘Well, yeah, she is. But the thing is, Jimmy’s all mixed up with this UVF crap now. She knows that, and thinks he’s in too deep. She doesn’t want that to be her whole life, because that’s what happens when you end up with a guy like that. She hasn’t said much about it, but I’m sure she’ll tell me how she feels when I get there. Maybe she’ll get in touch with him eventually. But not right now.’

‘What about her parents? The police?’

‘She’s going to do all that. But not for another wee while.’

‘Seems awful hard on her parents. Could she not just call them and say she’s safe, without saying where she is?’

Liz thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

‘Actually, you’re right. I think that’s only fair on them. I’ll tell her to phone them. Do as you say. Just don’t tell them where she is.’

They sipped their coffee. Rosie had been considering all the way back to Glasgow whether she trusted Liz enough to tell her what they were planning to do in Spain. The truth was, she didn’t really have a plan yet, just a few ideas how they could bring it all to a head when they got there – if that was how the trip panned out. Bringing Liz in on it now was
risky, and she didn’t even know Wendy. But the two of them in Spain with so much hatred against McGregor could be useful, so she decided to test the water. She went into her bag and brought out a photograph of the man they’d seen in Utrecht with Eddie McGregor. Matt had gone to the office and run off a print when they arrived back in Glasgow.