Murder on the Hill (17 page)

“Because if I signed those papers and gave him the divorce, he’d get half of this place.”

CHAPTER 19

After resting for a few hours and taking some pain medication, I was feeling much better. I didn’t think I had a concussion or anything like that.

I finished my piece of Key Lime pie and washed it down with a mug of tea. There were few things that couldn’t be fixed with good pie and a cup of tea. Cordi was cleaning up dishes by the sink and humming some tune.

It was dark outside, and I knew I had to visit the office in Soho for Cole. I still had the USB drive in my jeans pocket.

“Cordi,” I said, “I need to go out for a few hours. Will you be okay here on your own?”

She turned to me, hands covered in soapsuds. “Out? After what happened today? You really ought to rest. Especially as you refuse to see a doctor.”

“I’ll be fine, really. It’s just a small bump on the head. The embarrassment was worse than the injury.”

“Where are you going?” she asked with a tone that sounded motherly.

“Just doing a favour for Cole.”

Her eyebrows rose. “I know what kind of favours he expects of you.”

I was about to protest when she held up her hand. “Listen, I’m not going to tell you what you can or can’t do, that’s your business, but if you’re going to be up to something, then I’m coming with you.”

The thought of Cordi coming gave me conflicting thoughts. On the one hand, she might get in the way and do something to give us away, but then on the other, she might be a good lookout, and I was worried about leaving here on her own, especially with the break-in and Ivanov’s threats.

Given our new friendship, I decided to be honest. I told her exactly what Cole wanted me to do and why.

“Well,” Cordi said, “it’s for a good cause, so count me in.”

It was nice not to be judged for a change. Cordi’s open-minded attitude was refreshing. I began to wonder just why the hell Alex wanted to divorce this woman. He was throwing away a real gem, and he didn’t even see it.

“I’ll brew another pot of tea,” Cordi said, “and you can tell me the plan.”

For the next thirty minutes we researched the place on Google Streetview and made our plans. We’d have to take the tube as Cordi’s car hadn’t had new tires fitted yet, but that was fine. I wanted to get there for around one a.m. That was late enough that most people in and around the Soho bars would be drunk and not paying attention. But not so late that the police would be out dealing with closing time at the bars and pubs.

With the throbbing pain in my head receding to a dull ache, I made our final preparations, and we left the house, heading for the tube station. Cordi looked excited, and her enthusiasm put me in a good, confident mood. It was nice having an ally I could trust.

***

We exited Leicester Square station and made our way north into Soho, crossing over Shaftesbury Avenue, until we arrived at the corner of Dean St. and Old Compton St. Here I spotted the office block that Cole had identified.

We were right on time, just a little after one a.m.

The streets were busy but not massively so.

The hubbub of Soho gave the night a kind of electric atmosphere. I loved it here and spent many a night at the various drinking and eating establishments along with the rock bars and clubs.

But at that moment I was in my professional zone. “Light a cigarette and keep an eye out,” I said as I approached the door with the number pad security entrance system. Cordi leaned her back against the wall and did as I suggested.

She looked just like any late night reveller taking a moment out for a smoke. “All clear,” she said, scanning the street. I took a quick glimpse either side.

A group of five drunk guys were staggering toward us from the upper end of Dean St.

I worked quickly, entering the code Cole had emailed to me. With a held breath I pressed the enter button and waited, partly expecting it to be rejected. But a green light flashed and the door unlocked.

“We’re in,” I said, opening the door.

“God, this is exciting,” Cordi said as she stubbed out the cigarette and entered behind me.

We put on our black balaclavas.

I couldn’t be sure there weren’t cameras working inside.

Even if there were, that wouldn’t be a problem. Once I found the right office, I’d be in and out within minutes.

The response rate in this part of London gave us at least twenty to thirty minutes after an alarm was raised. By then, we’d be deep into Soho with thousands of other late night revellers.

The office block was dark inside, but the light from the street enabled me to see the lift and the stairs. The target was on the third floor. These offices were short-term lets, so I wasn’t ruling out some entrepreneurial spirit working late.

We moved quietly and carefully across the empty lobby and up the stairs. We both wore soft shoes so as not to make any noise. I found the door to the right office.

Bryant & Johnson Finance
was printed on the door’s narrow metal sign.

It didn’t take a genius to realise the finance was actually through fencing stolen goods.

“Keep a watch,” I said as I kneeled down to face the lock. I pulled out a set of jeweller’s screwdrivers, the kind you buy to fix spectacles, and worked the lock. It wasn’t ideal, I’d have preferred to have used my proper picks, but these would do in a pinch.

This kind of lock wasn’t that difficult, with just a few tumblers to manipulate.

Thirty seconds later I opened the lock and stepped inside. Cordi followed silently behind me. “Is this it?” she whispered.

“Yeah, exactly how Cole said.”

The room was dark, with blinds lowered over the windows. I could hear singing and shouting coming from outside. The office overlooked Old Compton St., a busy junction this time of night. That was good. It was always helpful to have background noise.

“Keep watch at the door,” I said. “I’m going to install the software.”

There were only two computers facing opposite each other and a single large desk in the middle of the room. A second door was to the right, and a large filing cabinet stood in the right corner with a dead pot plant drooping over its top.

I couldn’t tell which computer I would need to install the software on, so decided on each of them. They were both in standby mode. I pressed a key on the first one, and the screen came to life.

They hadn’t even installed a user login. Amateurs. A tip for everyone: always set your computer so you have to enter a password when coming out of standby or sleep.

“All okay?” I asked Cordi.

She looked back inside and gave me the thumbs-up. I could tell from her eyes she was smiling behind her balaclava and clearly enjoying being a Robin Hood character.

I used a small key ring penlight to find the USB ports and installed the drive. A window popped up showing the software installation icon. I double-clicked and waited for the key logger to install.

Two minutes later it had finished, confirming that it had sent a file to the main server across the Internet. I typed out a secret message to Cole, knowing that it would appear at the top of the file.

I then moved on to the next machine.

Like the first, there were no login requests. I followed the same installation procedure and waited for it to install. It must have been an older machine with a slower USB port as the progress bar told me it would take over five minutes.

That’s when I heard the two voices.

Cordi’s body stiffened, and she backed away from the door, backing into me.

“Easy,” I whispered.

“There’s two people coming up the stairs,” she said.

“They could be for a different office. Just keep quiet and don’t panic.”

Her expression turned from one of excitement to fear.

My heart rate increased, and I felt the sweet sensation of adrenaline pump around my body. This was one of the reasons I liked doing this. It made you feel alive, on the edge.

As the voices grew louder, I put the first computer into standby. The second one still had some four minutes to go. The only thing I could do was switch the monitor off and let the transfer continue.

That sent the office into near darkness.

Cordi stumbled into the edge of a desk and sucked in her breath.

“Easy,” I whispered close to her ear. “Just wait until your eyes adapt to the dark.”

“They’re coming this way.”

“I know, just keep calm, and follow me, okay?”

I closed the door to the office and locked it from inside, then led Cordi to the other door. It was a small stock cupboard, and we had to really squeeze together to get in. A shelf unit full of paper and stationary dug into my shoulders, but at least there were no golf balls.

“Sean, don’t be long, I pulled a nice bit of trim, and she’ll go off the boil if we don’t get back to the bar soon,” a voice said shortly before the sound of the lock clunking and the door swinging open.

I swore under my breath. I was hoping they would be heading to another office. But of course not. We couldn’t be that lucky.

“Chill, Johnny,” Sean said. “I just need to send the boss some info, and then we’re out of here.”

I felt Cordi tremble against me. I squeezed her shoulder. “It’s okay,” I whispered as quietly as I could. “Just stay calm and breathe slowly.”

That was easier said than done. Even my heart was banging against my chest and I had done this dozens of times before.

“I was thinking about that, Sean, perhaps it’s not such a great idea. What if he finds out?”

“He won’t if you stop being a pussy about it. My forger is one of the best. Besides, we’re only replacing five of the necklace’s diamonds, the bidders at the auctions won’t even notice—well, not until it’s too late, of course, but by then we’ll be long gone, right?”

It was all I could do to stop from busting out right there and then at the mention of a diamond necklace. Now, it could just be coincidence and they were talking about an entirely different item, but I had been around the criminal underworld to know that these kinds of deals and auctions were smaller than most people realised. I don’t believe in coincidences, and I knew in my bone marrow that this was the same one that I was after.

“I guess, but if he finds out it was us…”

“He won’t. I’ve made sure of that.”

“How?”

“For Christ’s sake, Johnny, give it a rest, mate. Just let me get on with this so we can head back. Just trust me, will ya?”

“It’s not you I don’t trust, it’s that bitch with the diamonds. What if she’s playing us?”

“Nah, my boy’s done a real number on her. She thinks she’s in love. Got the whole Bonnie and Clyde thing going on. Just keep ya cool for one more day, and we’ll be out of this shithole for good.”

“If you say so.”

I could smell kebab meat wafting through, and my stomach rumbled. The sound of typing echoed out. Given the lack of alarm, I had to assume the key logger had finished installing, or they were using the other computer.

A cramp set in, tightening my calf muscles. I tried to move, but we were jammed in too tight. I gritted my teeth as the pain gripped me.

For a further minute, I held on, spots appearing in my vision as I tried to hold my breath against the pain in my calf. Finally, I heard the two men leave.

I opened the door, and we both fell out. I landed on Cordi, and we tumbled to the floor. I let out a quiet scream as I stretched my leg. “Help me, Cordi,” I said, holding my leg. “Cramp!”

Cordi grabbed my foot and pushed to help stretch out the muscle. “That feels good,” I said as the cramp receded. “Jesus, I couldn’t have held on much longer.”

“Me neither,” Cordi said. “I’ve never been so scared in my life. How do you handle all this?”

“You get used to it,” I said. “Come on. Let’s get the hell out of here. It seems the auction tomorrow isn’t going to go as smoothly as Cole thinks.”

I grabbed the USB drive and left the office, making sure the two goons weren’t waiting in the dark for us. We removed our balaclavas, and I breathed a sigh of relief when we closed the main door behind us and stepped out into the warm London evening.

“I don’t know about you,” I said to Cordi, heading down Dean St. “But I need a drink after that, and something a bit stronger than tea.”

“Vodka?” she asked.

“Yeah, that’ll do. Come on. I know a cool place we can go to relax for a while.”

“Do you think they were talking about the black diamonds?” Cordi asked.

“I’m sure of it, but if the software installed properly, then Cole will know soon enough.”

I led Cordi through the streets of Soho. The walk did both of us good, letting out the tension and excitement of a successful job. And we learned some interesting intel. All in all, it was a rare successful night.

But I had to wonder who Sean and Johnny were referring to when they mentioned ‘the bitch’. I presumed it was the owner of the necklace.

If we could find that out, I think we’d find our killer, considering one of the diamonds was in the fake doru. Finally, it felt like we were making some headway. Naturally, Cordi and I decided not to share this with Alex. We were determined to break the case before he did.

I let those thoughts sink into my subconscious as I came across my favourite drinking hole: the
Crobar
. A tiny place with the best jukebox and range of drinks to get you happy in the area.

CHAPTER 20

Day 6

I woke to a wet rasping sensation in my ear. Opening my eyes brought bright light and a deep throbbing in my head like a goblin with a drill had made its home in there. I flinched as something touched my ear. Twisting away, I saw Monty on all fours, his mouth open and his tongue poking out.

His breath smelled as if he’d just eaten a dead fox.

Ew!

“What the hell are you doing licking my ear, you freaky cat?”

“Merp,” Monty replied, flicking his tail and lying down on the sofa.

It seemed I had crashed here after coming back from the
Crobar
last night.

Given how my head hurt, I guessed I had drunk quite a bit. That, combined with the incident at the golf course. I stumbled my way out of the living room and into the kitchen.