Hot Seat (29 page)

‘Keep up with the mouth and you won't leave this building upright.'

Barrington laughed dismissively. ‘Are you threatening me?'

‘Just fair warning and I warn only once.' Steve picked up a two-foot-long adjustable spanner. ‘No one threatens my grandson. Not you. Not anyone.'

Steve was the best. He was my bulletproof vest.

‘I understand that the situation you're in has gotten away from you, so you need to keep a grip on what you have left. You conscripted this lad to help crack your case. If you still want his help, you'll keep it civil. You can start by closing my door.'

Barrington held his ground for a moment before returning to the workshop door and closing it.

I looked at Claudia. The set-to had failed to ruffle her feathers. I was in the presence of the Unflappables.

‘OK, let's get down to business,' Steve said and led the way to our situation room. He sat on the table and Claudia sat next to him, while Barrington and I remained standing.

Barrington looked at our freshly re-mounted murder board with names, facts and connections linking the various players to each other. He read the wanker comment under his name and smiled. ‘Christ, what is this place – the clubhouse for the Nancy Drew Appreciation Society?'

‘What did I say about keeping it civil?' Steve said.

Barrington raised his hands. ‘OK, OK, I'm on my best behaviour now.'

Claudia went up to the wall and studied our findings. She looked at me and smiled. ‘Nicely thought out, gentlemen.'

Barrington turned his disappointment on me. ‘Want to explain yesterday's fiasco?'

‘Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you running the show yesterday?' Steve asked Barrington.

‘OK. Fair point. Tell me what happened.'

I outlined the day's events, including how Dylan had marked the wheels with a dot of blue paint.

‘I can't explain how they got the drugs out from under us,' I said.

‘I can,' Claudia said. ‘You didn't discover a shipment going to 'olland. You discovered one that had just come into the UK and was unloaded before you left for 'olland.'

That put a different spin on things. ‘That means Rags picked up the shipment at some point during the Norisring race.'

‘Correct,' Claudia said. ‘I think we 'ave a couple of options.'

‘We don't have any options,' Barrington said. ‘None of this matters now.'

Claudia blushed at being chopped off at the knees.

‘I think it does,' I said.

‘Well, it doesn't,' Barrington said. ‘I'm here to tell you that you're off the hook.'

‘What?' I said.

‘We've shown our hand,' Barrington said. ‘The traffickers know we're on to Ragged Racing. They'll find a new mule. This case is dead in the water.'

‘You're walking away?' I said. ‘You're joking.'

‘No joke. I took a big risk and it didn't work.' He looked deferentially to Steve. ‘All I can do is regroup and try again.'

Claudia couldn't look me in the eye and her gaze fell to the floor.

‘No,' I said. ‘Look at what you've got.'

‘Enlighten me. What have I got?'

‘The drugs in the tyres. You can bust Rags and turn him in.'

‘What drugs? They're gone. All I have is your word that they were ever there.'

‘I bet if you swept Ragged Racing's workshop you'd find traces of cocaine.'

‘You're probably right, but it wouldn't give us any concrete evidence as to how much had passed through there or who was involved. A good lawyer would claim the residue was from personal consumption.'

‘Look, last night, Rags went to a factory owned by Andrew Gates in a panic. Now you've got an iron-clad connection between Andrew Gates, Rags and this drug operation.'

And possibly the reason for Jason's murder. There was no way drug traffickers would let him live after he'd stumbled on to their operation. I wondered if Jason had suspected Ragged Racing was involved in the drug trade or if his need to dig into their affairs was triggered by something else and finding the drug trafficking was an unfortunate accident.

‘Did Gates show?' Barrington asked.

I sighed. ‘No.'

‘That tells me everything. Gates is done with Rags. The Ragged Racing pipeline is capped. His no-show was a message telling Rags his services are no longer required.'

After all we'd done, this wasn't right. As much as I wanted to be out from under Barrington's operation, I didn't want to walk away from the job now. We were so close to trapping these people and finding Jason's killer. I couldn't believe he was binning the operation.

‘Look, I understand your frustration because I'm feeling it too.' Barrington's tone had switched from antagonistic to consolatory. ‘I could have played it safe and wrapped up Rags a long time ago, but mules are a cheap win. You shut down one distribution line and another three replace it. I need the whole thing, from cartel to distributor, to really make a difference.'

I wondered how much heat Barrington was taking for this failure. It had to be a lot. He'd gone all in and gotten blown away by a better hand.

‘At least we now know Andrew Gates is part of this,' Barrington said. ‘He was a piece of the puzzle we didn't even know we were missing. We can regroup with Gates as the focus.'

Gates had everyone fooled on that score. Eddie Stores never knew Gates to deal in drugs and Gates had almost torn my head off for alluding to drug dealing within his organization. No wonder Jason didn't trust his brother. ‘So that's it?'

‘The battle was lost, but the war is still winnable. I'd just like to say thanks for your assistance and apologies to you and your friends for squeezing you so hard.'

‘What about Jason Gates' murder?' I asked.

‘What about it? It's a police issue, not a Customs one. It's down to them to solve, not me.' Barrington looked to Claudia. ‘Let's go.'

She remained seated next to Steve. ‘I need to go over a couple of things with Aidy. I'll catch the train back into town,' she said.

Barrington nodded and walked out. No one said a word until we heard the roar of a car engine.

Steve wiped the eraser across Gates' name.

‘Put his name back,' I said. ‘This isn't over.'

Claudia hopped off the table and rested a hand on my shoulder. ‘I know you've been through a lot, Aidy, but it's finished.'

‘For you, Barrington and Customs maybe, but nothing's changed for me. Andrew Gates still wants to know who killed his brother and he expects me to find out.'

This was the perplexing part of all this. Andrew Gates was connected to the drug trafficking and Jason had stumbled upon it. So did Andrew have his brother killed? It was possible but not when you factored in my involvement. Gates wanted me to find Jason's killer. If he was behind the murder, he had no reason to bring me in. That meant someone had killed Jason without his permission and he was using me to find out who'd crossed the line.

Steve nodded and rewrote Gates' name on the board.

‘Aidy, what are you playing at?' Claudia asked. ‘You don't 'ave Customs' protection now.'

I wasn't sure I ever had it in the first place. ‘This case may be dead as far as Barrington's concerned, but I say it isn't. We still have plenty to work with. The question is, do you want to be a part of it?'

‘Aidy, I can't go against orders.'

‘But you want to. You're a good undercover agent, but you wear your emotions on your sleeve. I can see that you disagree with Barrington. You know there's more mileage in this one.'

‘Regardless of 'ow I feel, I'm not going to blow my career for you.'

‘You don't work for Customs. You're only on loan to them. Are you telling me that you blowing off the British wouldn't go down well with your bosses in France?'

Claudia grinned.

‘You know you want in,' Steve said, providing an additional piece of arm twisting.

‘Tell me what you 'ave planned, then I'll decide whether I'm in or not.'

I
was having breakfast at home the following morning when Dylan called.

‘You're not going to believe this.' He was boiling with excitement.

‘What?'

‘Rags just sent the whole team home until further notice.'

‘Did he say why?'

‘He just said he needed time to follow up on things after the Dutch cops stopped us.'

The wheels were coming off Rags' world and he was heading for a crash. I wanted to be there when it happened. The best time to hit him was at his weakest.

‘Where is he?'

‘He's still at the workshop.'

‘OK. I'm coming up.'

‘Wait. I've got more. I know who doesn't have their keys. It's Nevin.'

Haulk had said that Nevin had taken Jason under his wing. Naturally, Jason would go to him. I wondered how Nevin featured in all this now.

‘Where is he?'

‘I'm following him.'

‘Get him alone. I want to speak to him.'

‘I'll call you.'

I grabbed my car keys and blew out the door. I got as far as the Honda when Sergeant Lucas pulled up.

‘Is your grandfather around?'

‘No, he's at work.'

‘OK. Could you let him know we found his van?'

‘Sure. Where'd you find it?'

‘Over by Thorpe Park. Someone stripped it and torched it. It's a real mess.'

I didn't like the casual tone Lucas was using. He hadn't liked that his key piece of evidence had been stolen and to find it obliterated wasn't going to leave him in a jovial mood. He was gearing up for something.

‘Could I have a word, Aidy?'

‘I have an appointment and I can't miss it.'

He parked himself at the end of the driveway. The only way out was through him. ‘I wasn't really asking.'

I circled the car and leaned against the boot. ‘I suppose I have a few minutes.'

Lucas didn't reach for his handcuffs, so I guessed I was safe for the moment.

‘Thank you, Aidy. I appreciate that.'

I hated police smugness.

‘I'm troubled by this case. I feel that I'm the only one who doesn't understand what's going on.'

I really didn't have time for this. I could see Nevin slipping away. But at least Lucas was finally seeing the cracks in the case.

‘You're not alone. I'm just as lost.'

Lucas' mistrustful look said otherwise. ‘I'll tell you what doesn't make sense to me. I have a crash site that doesn't support the statement. I have a piece of critical evidence in the form of your grandfather's van that goes missing before I can examine it. Care to explain?'

I could, but I had the feeling Lucas didn't need my help. He seemed to be on the right track.

My mobile burst into life. It was Dylan. I bet he had Nevin. ‘I can't explain what I don't know myself. Really, I do have to go.'

I went to leave, but Lucas stepped in front of me to block my path.

‘There's something going on,' he said, ‘and I suggest you tell me before I find out.'

My phone rang again. I couldn't lose Nevin. Not now.

‘Sergeant, I suggest you ask the victim why she was in Egham when she lived all the way over in Harrow.'

Shock spread across Lucas' face. ‘How do you know that? Have you been in contact with her?'

Oh, crap. I'd screwed up. I could kick myself for my stupidity.

‘What's going on?'

‘Nothing. Now, you will have to excuse me.'

I pushed by Lucas and got into the car. He kept barking questions at me, but I reversed out before the questions changed into an arrest.

As soon as I was on the road, I called Dylan. He'd caught up with Nevin at an ASDA. Somehow, he was now riding in Dylan's car. I didn't ask Dylan how he'd convinced Nevin to ride with him, but Dylan was a foot taller than Nevin and twice as strong. I was nervous now. My friends and I were really sailing close to the wind. I hoped we didn't end up shipwrecked.

I caught up with them in a field outside of Banbury. I stopped my car behind Dylan's Subaru. Nevin burst from the car the second I appeared. Dylan climbed out, looking tired. I could only imagine the conversations they'd had.

‘What the hell is wrong with you?' Nevin demanded. ‘Why did you have this idiot drag me over here?'

‘You didn't do anything stupid, did you?' I said to Dylan.

Dylan held up his hands. ‘Do you see any bruises?'

‘Hey, I'm talking to you!' Nevin barked at me.

‘I'm sorry for all this. I just wanted to give you these.'

I fished out Nevin's keys and tossed them at him. He caught them and the colour drained from his face as his indignation turned to fear. He failed to take ownership of his keys. He didn't pocket them or clutch them in his fist. He just cradled them in both hands.

‘They are yours, aren't they?'

‘I don't know what you're playing at, Aidy, but I don't like it. How did you get these?' Nevin's voice had dropped to a whisper.

‘From Jason. He had them on him when he died.'

The keys fell through Nevin's hands into the mud at his feet. He stared down at them but made no attempt to retrieve them.

I liked Nevin and I hated squeezing him like this, but I didn't have a choice. I needed the truth from him. ‘I still need an answer, Barry. Are they your keys?'

‘Answer him, Barry,' Dylan said. He stood a respectful distance from Nevin, but if he bolted, the two of us had the angles covered.

‘Yes, they are.'

‘Why did Jason have them?'

‘I don't know.'

‘I don't have time for this, Barry. Seriously, I don't,' I said. ‘Know when you're caught. I have the detective in charge of Jason's murder crawling all over me. If I tell her who those keys belong to, she'll leave me alone and come after you. Do you want that?'