‘I need to ask a big favour.’
He’d anticipated resistance, but the look she gave him wasn’t hostile; it was pitying.
‘I’ve just seen it on the news.’
‘Seen what?’
‘Martin. That was Cate’s ex, wasn’t it? Stabbed to death.’
He told her the little he knew. ‘Cate’s gone missing. I need to borrow your car.’
A brief hesitation, then she nodded. ‘The keys are in my bag. Will you have it back by half-five?’
‘If I don’t, can Tim give you a lift home?’
Her eyes narrowed, but he wasn’t point-scoring, and she knew it. She leaned over the counter and drew him into a friendly embrace.
‘For God’s sake, be careful, will you?’ she said.
****
It was a long and serious discussion. Gordon sensed a growing excitement take hold as they began to recognise the viability of Scott’s proposal.
Robbie left them in no doubt that the papers were at his disposal – while safely beyond their reach, of course. He also displayed an impressive understanding of the sometimes complicated methods by which Templeton had perpetrated his fraud.
‘I always thought paying tax was a mug’s game,’ he muttered at one point. ‘Now I know I was right. Half the money gets siphoned off by a load of rich, clever businessmen. Well, to put it bluntly, I wanna join the club!’
Beautifully direct, but essentially Robbie was telling the Blakes what they wanted to hear. This young man was, at heart, a salesman, possessing all the easy charm and confidence of his breed. From their perspective, all that mattered was whether Templeton would take him seriously – and Gordon felt that he would.
Then a brand new angle was suggested: what if Robbie approached Templeton, claiming that Hank O’Brien had been preparing to expose him for purely malicious reasons? Robbie had ridden to the rescue by liquidating Hank, and was now offering the return of the documentation, providing his own demands were met.
‘Fifty million quid, though.’ Robbie gave a laugh of pure delight. ‘It’s one hell of a finder’s fee. Are you sure he’ll be willing to pay up?’
Patricia nodded. ‘If this information is made public at such a sensitive time, the deal will fall through and he’ll lose twice that.’
‘Though it will stick in his craw,’ Gordon warned. ‘He’s an exceptionally greedy man.’
‘But he’ll see sense,’ Patricia said. ‘Whatever else he may be, he’s no fool.’
****
Cate strained to hear evidence of a visitor, but there was nothing. No movement outside the door, no voices. So why had she been restrained like this?
The gag made it hard to breathe. Each swallow of saliva carried with it the foul taste of the cloth, part of which kept slipping down her throat; she had to cough and retch it back out, her cheeks bulging before the air and snot was expelled from her nose.
In search of relief she twisted round to lie on her front, her head partly over the edge of the bed. She focused obsessively on the sliver of vision available to her: a strip of beige carpet. She resorted to counting the individual fibres as a way of blanking out the threat, the danger of choking to death.
For all her efforts, more tears came, soaking slowly through the blindfold. A pathetic whimpering that she tried and failed to stem, until the reverberating thud of footsteps reached her ears. Then voices, no more than a low-pitched vibration. But if
she
could hear
them
...
The only way to make a loud noise was by rolling off the bed. Even then only her upper body would reach the floor, because her feet had been tied to the bed frame.
She pushed forward, letting out a muffled screech of agony as her injured toe was squashed against the mattress. Her shoulder hit the floor with a thump that sent vibrations through the floorboards and must have been audible downstairs.
The move left her in an ungainly heap, half on and half off the bed, unable to move in either direction. The pain from her toe was excruciating, but Cate was too busy praying to care.
She had done what she could, but was it enough?
****
Gordon expected tensions to arise over the question of remuneration, but even there Robbie blindsided them.
‘I’ll leave that to you two. I’m sure you’ll have a fair idea of what’s appropriate.’
It was a masterstroke. With Robbie in such a dominant position, Gordon thought it likely that their offer would exceed whatever figure Robbie might have demanded, had he taken the more predictable approach.
‘We’ll give it some thought,’ Patricia said. ‘Let’s reconvene tomorrow morning. If we go ahead, it may be later this week.’
‘Great. I’m ready any time.’
Robbie exchanged mobile-phone numbers with Gordon. Leading him through the hall, Patricia gently held his arm. ‘The papers are safe, aren’t they?’
‘I guarantee it,’ Robbie said. ‘Nobody’s gonna—’
The noise wasn’t particularly obtrusive, but it put Robbie off his stride. He hesitated, turning to look at the stairs.
‘We have a dog,’ Patricia said. ‘Border collie, very excitable.’
Gordon didn’t care for the anxiety in her voice, so he added drily, ‘Actually, it’s the deformed child we keep imprisoned in the attic.’
Robbie just nodded: not interested. There were handshakes all round, and Robbie even had the nerve to give Patricia a kiss on the cheek. His car was on the drive: a black BMW. Undoubtedly the one that Jerry had photographed.
‘Cheeky rascal,’ Gordon said. ‘Ten minutes alone with Stemper and he’d be begging us to take that paperwork off his hands.’
‘Is that a route you favour, then?’
‘I suppose not. It’s breathtaking arrogance on his part, but he’s got us over a barrel and we may as well be pragmatic.’ He sighed. ‘How do you think he’ll react to his sister’s disappearance?’
‘We must hope it won’t affect him unduly. I still see the advantage in keeping her as insurance.’ Patricia rubbed her hands together, a lustre in her eyes. ‘You know, I really do believe we’re going to come up trumps.’
‘I wonder how Stemper will feel about this.’
‘Frankly, I don’t much care either way. Stemper is hired help, nothing more.’
Gordon liked the sound of that. ‘So from here on in, we can go it alone. The two of us, plus your hot new beau.’
‘Oh, nonsense.’ She slapped him lightly. ‘I’m old enough to be his mother.’
‘Ah, but you’re
not
his mother. Believe me, he was interested.’
‘Interested in the money. That was avarice you saw, Gordon, not lust.’
He grinned. ‘What I saw was a bit of both.’
‘Hmm. At least he was refreshingly honest about his ambitions.’ It seemed to Gordon that she was blushing slightly. Then a harsh change of mood as she gestured at the ceiling. ‘Except that bitch nearly spoiled everything.’
Watching Patricia advance on the stairs, he felt moved to issue a warning. ‘Don’t hurt her. Not too badly, I mean.’
‘Will you call Stemper?’ she said. ‘Hired help he may be, but we should run this past him all the same.’
‘I agree. And we’ll still need him to deal with Caitlin.’
Patricia looked back at him, smiling fiercely. ‘Oh, I don’t know. Maybe we can do that ourselves.’
Robbie stopped at the first pub that looked like it might serve decent food and ordered a steak and a pint to celebrate.
In his view, the meeting had been a stunning success. The only niggling worry was whether the Blakes had accepted his proposal a little too readily. On reflection, Robbie decided not. They were basically in the same boat as Templeton. If somebody had you outmanoeuvred, you had to bite the bullet and do the best deal available.
Still, he’d need to be careful with what he handed over and when. He’d certainly hold back the evidence he had on the Blakes until they’d paid him. And that point about cash being toxic ... maybe Robbie should ask for a mix. An offshore account sounded appealing, but who to approach for information? He wouldn’t want his mother’s accountant knowing about this.
He wondered what their opening bid would be. He was planning to push for ten, although he’d settle for five. Made him want to giggle hysterically just thinking about it.
Five million pounds
.
He took out his phone and found a ton of missed calls and texts, mostly from his mum and Dan. He wasn’t sure if he could be bothered with them.
A pity that Dan hadn’t played ball. His advice might have been useful, and in return Robbie would have bunged him a hundred grand to buy a cafe. In fact, perhaps he’d do it anyway, to prove to Dan how badly he had misjudged his oldest friend.
Same with his sister. He’d pay off her mortgage. And for his mother, a piece of jewellery – something really extravagant and tacky – he’d hand it over and then tell her where to stick her job ...
No, better still: bail out the business with a hefty injection of cash, in return for a full partnership.
And poor old Bree. If only she’d found him a woman like Patricia Blake. He wouldn’t have believed it possible that he could have such a strong reaction to someone of that age, but there was no denying the chemistry. Even the sad sack of a husband had picked up on it.
An unorthodox relationship there, Robbie guessed. In the past he’d had wealthy clients invite him to swingers’ parties, and he knew the type.
His phone buzzed again. Another text from Dan. In the absence of something better to do, he opened it up.
Where the hell are you? Yr sister is missing. This is SERIOUS!
Robbie had to read it three times, and even then it didn’t make a lot of sense.
Missing?
****
Hayley’s Vauxhall Corsa had a smaller engine than Dan’s Fiesta, but it was newer and felt considerably more powerful. In other circumstances Dan might have enjoyed pushing the small car to the limit, throwing it around corners and stamping on the brakes.
He went first to Robbie’s flat, but no one answered. Then he cruised up and down Woodland Drive, unsure of Bree’s exact address but looking out for Robbie’s BMW. Again he drew a blank.
He couldn’t return to work. He was too worried. He drove to Cate’s, checked with the neighbour to see if anyone had come or gone, and only then, feeling defeated, he went home. Thankfully Louis was at college, and Joan was out visiting a friend.
He made himself a cheese sandwich and slumped on the sofa. No TV: he needed a respite from bad news.
His phone rang. Hardly daring to believe it could be Cate, he snatched it up and read the display. Robbie.
Dan answered in a fury. ‘Pick up your messages, will you? Your sister’s life could be in danger—’
‘Hey, hey, calm it. What’s happened?’
‘She didn’t make it into work earlier. Have you heard from her?’
‘Not a thing. Is that why Mum’s trying to get hold of me?’
‘Of course it is. DS Thomsett was at Compton’s earlier. It sounds like they’re investigating Janine’s family, in case it’s some kind of reprisal. Because of Cate and Martin ...’
‘Jesus,’ Robbie said. ‘I suppose you never know how people will react.’
‘Can you think of anywhere to look?’
‘Nope. Maybe she’s just gone off for some peace and quiet?’ Robbie lowered his voice. ‘I can see why you want to help here, Dan, especially now you’re all loved up. But make sure your path doesn’t cross with DS Thomsett. The last thing we need is him seeing you and making a link to those e-fits.’
‘Right now finding Cate is all that matters. Where are you?’
‘Nowhere special. Why?’
‘Something else I want to talk about, but not on the phone. Can you meet me?’
‘Okay.’ A long-suffering sigh. ‘The Black Lion in Patcham? Say about four?’
‘That’s nearly an hour and a half.’
‘Yeah. I’m up in Surrey. Earliest I can do.’
He rang off before Dan could respond.
Surrey
. What was Robbie doing in Surrey?
The answer was obvious, he realised. Robbie was doing what Robbie always did.
Looking after number one.
****
Cate had failed. She knew that from the silence that followed her fall.
Then the bedroom door was flung open and somebody marched in. That heavy, aggressive stride: the woman again.
‘I ought to leave you like this.’ She grabbed Cate’s foot and pinched the damaged toe.
Cate screamed, choking on the gag, tears streaming from her eyes. The woman heaved her back on to the bed as though she were a lump of meat.
‘Pull a stunt like that again and you’ll really know what pain is.’
****
Gordon fidgeted. He felt irritated, unhappy, for reasons he couldn’t put into words. When Patricia returned he said curtly, ‘Stemper’s ten minutes away.’
She gave him a curious look. ‘Something wrong?’
He knew his protest would sound petulant, but he went ahead and said it anyway. ‘I thought we didn’t want her to know about you.’
‘Rather academic now, isn’t it?’
‘Are you serious?’
She nodded, as relaxed as if they were discussing how to dispose of an old fridge. ‘Don’t you find, after the first one, there are far fewer qualms the next time?’
He took a moment before he replied. He didn’t want to snap; nor did he wish to appear faint-hearted.
‘I’m not sure. In my view it’s important that we don’t get too blasé. This is the taking of another human life we’re talking about.’
‘For the greater good. That’s what we agreed.’
He nodded glumly. No sense arguing when she was feeling so unstoppable, buoyed by the knowledge that the scheme was saved, and her ego flattered by the attentions of a handsome young man.
She took herself off to freshen up. When the doorbell rang she called out that she would get it, and shortly afterwards Stemper swept into the kitchen with Patricia at his shoulder.