Silence.
'Did you hear me, Tobey?'
'I'm sorry, Mr McAuley, but I can't do that,' I replied.
'Tobey, when you're in a hole you don't keep digging,' McAuley said silkily. 'You'll do as I say or you'll force me to show you what I do to those who let me down.'
'I'm sorry, Mr McAuley, but Rebecca has nothing to do with this and I think you should leave it that way. So I'm not doing it.' I disconnected the call before McAuley could make his threats more specific. I must be mad. This had to be the very definition of painting yourself into a corner. I dropped McAuley's phone on the pavement and ground it under my heel, enjoying the satisfying crunch it made as the plastic shattered. No more phone calls. No more orders. He was finished and I wanted nothing more to do with him or any of them.
I knew what I had to do now. And I had to act fast.
Time had just about run out.
sixty-six
At the coffee shop, Rebecca and I sat at a table by a window. Outside the rain was beginning to pelt down. Usually I loved the rain. It calmed me down. But not today. My brain felt hot-wired. My filter coffee sat untouched. Rebecca sipped at her skinny latte. She wore denim jeans, a red blouse and a denim jacket – and she looked the business. Her braids were tied back in a ponytail, but she seemed unaware or unconcerned about how pretty she looked. Conversation between us flowed like boulders travelling uphill. Neither of us had quite plucked up the courage to say why we were here. Rebecca took another sip of her coffee, then placed the tall glass down on the stained wooden table.
'Tobey, d'you like me? And please be honest,' she asked.
'I like you very much,' I replied at once.
'D'you love me?'
I thought of Callie. 'No,' I said.
'D'you think you could ever love me?'
All kinds of lines about not being able to tell the future and the like skipped into my head. But I couldn't lie to her. It wouldn't be fair.
'I don't think so,' I said. I took a deep breath and mustered up a straight answer rather than a prevarication. 'No.'
'I didn't think so,' Rebecca said. 'I'm your rebound girl.'
'My what?'
'You split up from your last girlfriend and I came along at the right time to stop you being lonely,' she explained.
'That's not true,' I protested. 'I mean, there was more to it than that.'
'Let's be honest, Tobey. You like me, but it'll never be more than that – and we both know it. I think it takes a lot for you to love someone, but once you do, that's it for you,' said Rebecca. 'Your ex-girlfriend doesn't know how lucky she was.'
'Rebecca, I didn't set out to use you,' I said at last. 'I want you to believe that.'
'Oh, I do,' she said. 'In fact, I want to thank you for helping me to realize that I'm more than just my mother's daughter.'
'You don't give yourself enough credit,' I told her. 'You can do anything, be anyone. The only person stopping you is you.'
'You really believe that? It's that simple?'
'Yeah,' I replied at once. 'When you get right down to it, it is that simple. And you're in a better position than most people. You don't have class or status or money holding you back. You just need to get out of your own way. Godsake! That sounds like something my sister would say!'
Rebecca laughed. I'd told her about Jessica's meditation and inner-peace phase. I just hadn't mentioned how much I missed it compared to Jess's latest kick.
'I love the way you have such faith in me,' said Rebecca.
'What's not to believe in?' I smiled.
'To be honest, I've already made enquiries about teacher training courses at university,' she said, almost shyly. 'I haven't told my family yet, though.'
'That's fantastic,' I said. 'You'll be a great teacher. You have a lot of patience.'
'Except with certain girls called Misty,' Rebecca laughed.
'You're not alone in that one,' I told her.
We both finished our coffees.
'I don't work for McAuley, Rebecca. I want you to know that. I detest the man.'
'I know. And I'm sorry about your sister.'
I licked my lips as I tried to frame what needed to be said next.
'I've heard that McAuley blames your family for the loss of some shipments he recently arranged. You need to be on your guard, Rebecca. McAuley's a filthy piece of work who'd roll a tank over his own mother if she got in his way. And his back is against the wall, which makes him even more dangerous.'
'Don't worry,' Rebecca said with a confident smile. 'Mum and I are off on holiday tomorrow so McAuley won't be able to get anywhere near me.'
I sighed, relieved. That was OK then. To my surprise, Rebecca leaned across the table and kissed me. It was short but sweet.
'So you and me, we're still friends?' I asked.
I guess I wanted to have it all, but I really did like her.
Rebecca placed her hand over mine on the table. 'Of course we are. Nothing's going to change that.'
'I'm glad.' I smiled. 'Fancy another coffee?'
She considered. 'Oh, go on then. But I can't stay long.'
'Fair enough,' I said, standing up. 'Want a cake to go with it?'
'Tobey, you're a bad influence,' she admonished with a smile.
I grinned at her. 'I know!'
Over the next thirty minutes, I told her about Jess and finding her on the floor in the bathroom at home. Rebecca told me about the long-running feud between her two brothers. Apparently they'd been at each other's throats since they were kids. Reading between the lines, it sounded like their antagonism towards each other had been fuelled and fanned by their mother, but I wasn't about to spoil the affability growing between us by saying so.
Rebecca glanced down at her watch. 'Tobey, I have to go now,' she said reluctantly. 'Mum's expecting me back home. I have to finish my packing.'
Which was a real shame because both of us were enjoying our time together.
I said, 'Make sure you send me a postcard, OK?'
'Every other day,' said Rebecca.
'One will do,' I replied. It was only when I caught the smile on her face that I realized she was teasing me.
I paid for our coffees. We walked to the exit and hugged.
'Want me to walk you to your car?' I asked.
'No, don't bother. I'm only a couple of minutes up the road. I managed to find a parking bay. It must be my lucky day,' Rebecca smiled. 'Tobey, can we meet up for another coffee when I get back?'
'I'd like that. Very much,' I replied truthfully.
Outside the coffee shop, Rebecca dug into her bag and pulled out an orange and yellow umbrella. The thing was up and over her head in two seconds flat. My sister didn't like her hair to get wet in the rain either. Another hug made a tad awkward by the brolly, then a wave and we set off in opposite directions. The rain was still pitching down, but after the heat wave we'd had I was now kind of enjoying it. I'd always liked the rain. I was actually smiling! My meeting with Rebecca had gone better than I deserved. When she got back from her holiday, I'd definitely take her out for a meal or something, rather than a measly coffee.
A black van drove past. It was only after about five more steps that I realized where I'd seen it before – outside McAuley's house. Was McAuley following me? I turned. The van was heading away from me. I was sure it was McAuley's, but in that case, why hadn't he stopped? Even with my hair plastered down and the rain falling like a barrage of arrows, he must've seen me.
Rebecca.
No . . .
I raced back to the coffee bar and saw Rebecca and her brolly about twenty metres ahead of me, heading back to her car.
'REBECCA,' I called out, trying to make my voice heard over the teeming rain and the roaring traffic.
'REBECCA, WAIT . . .' I sprinted towards her.
Rebecca spun round to face me, just as McAuley jumped out of the passenger side of his van.
'BECKS, LOOK OUT!' But I was still at least six metres away. And McAuley was right
behind her. A slight movement of his arm was all it took. Rebecca didn't even have a chance to look surprised before she fell to the pavement. Her umbrella rolled away from her. She lay motionless on the ground as McAuley stood there, his arms at his side, a dripping knife held in his right hand. I skidded to an abrupt halt less than two metres away from him and stood stock still, unable to move. And even though the rain kept slanting into my eyes, I'll swear until my dying day that McAuley smiled at me. A brief, satisfied smile.
'You let me down, Tobey,' he said. 'My warehouse at ten tonight, or I'll come to your house – and through your family, if necessary – to get you.'
He climbed back into the van. It drove away at an unhurried pace. Those closest to Rebecca's prone body rushed to her aid, her discarded umbrella an indicator that something was very wrong. And still I couldn't move. Rebecca lay face down on the ground, her head to one side. Raindrops fell into her open, sightless eyes, but she didn't even flinch. She stared across the pavement and into the gutter. The world went very still, very quiet. Just for an instant, but it was enough. Cold sweat and warm rain drenched my body. My stomach began to fold in on itself. I tried to take a breath, but my body had forgotten how. It was only when my burning lungs were howling out for air that I managed a horrified gasp. Then all the sounds around me were amplified to such a degree that the noise was painful, deafening.
Through the drumming rain came cries for help, calls for an ambulance and pleas for witnesses. The crowd was getting bigger all the time. Most were still trying to figure out what had happened. One Cross man turned Rebecca over onto her back and tried to administer mouth to mouth and CPR. His actions were frantic, one breath away from pure panic. His face . . . the glasses he wore . . . familiar . . . he'd been in the coffee bar with us. Following us? I instinctively knew who he was. Rebecca's bodyguard – assigned by Gideon to keep his distance but protect. Too much distance.
He'd failed.
I'd failed.
My mistakes. Expensive mistakes. Costly. Priceless. I couldn't afford the price, so Rebecca paid. She was motionless. No blood . . . why was there no blood? The rain snatched it up and escaped away in every direction with it. I stared down at Rebecca and the world grew colder and quieter. It was only when a distant siren split the air that the blood started racing around my veins again.
My body shaking, I turned and walked away.
I was good at that.
I only made it halfway along the road before, without warning, my stomach erupted. I was sick all over my shoes and the pavement. I wanted to lie down and curl up in a ball until the image of Rebecca's unseeing eyes left my head. I wanted to lie down spread-eagled in the rain until I was washed clean again. But there wasn't enough water on the planet.
First Callie Rose. Now Rebecca.
Oh, God . . .
Rebecca.
No more. Please no more.
sixty-seven
My mobile started to ring. I answered it on auto-pilot, my hand trembling. My whole body was shaking. Breathe in, breathe out. Calm down, Tobey.
Rebecca . . .
Breathe out, breathe in.
Tobey, get it together.
Rebecca.
Rain washed over my hand and my phone, but I didn't care. Why couldn't I stop shaking? Keep walking, Tobey. Whatever else happens, keep walking.
'Tobey? This is Detective Inspector Boothe.'
'Yes, Inspector?' I said faintly.
'I have some good news for you.'
Good news for whom? Had he got to McAuley . . . before I could?
'Good news?' I prompted.
'We found our corrupt cop. She's been arrested, along with Gideon Dowd.'
'I don't understand.'
'Acting on an anonymous tip-off, we were able to place surveillance equipment and use undercover personnel from other regions to catch Gideon Dowd discussing future payoffs with DCI Reid. In return she gave him details of a raid on his house and one of his business premises planned for two days' time. DCI Reid was the one in the Dowds' pocket.'
DCI Reid . . . Where had I heard that name before?
'The woman who interviewed me at the police station?' I remembered.
'That's right,' said DI Boothe. 'I believed what you said, Tobey. And as it was DCI Reid's idea to bring you in, I went over her head to get permission to lay a trap for her. And she walked right into it.'
I shook my head, which felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool.
'I . . . I don't understand. You got an anonymous tip-off?'
'Yeah. Some public-spirited citizen provided us with chapter and verse. We know all about DCI Reid and her involvement with Gideon Dowd. We were sent files documenting meeting times and payoffs, offshore bank account details and all the operations she scuppered on Dowd's behalf. We also got information tying a whole shipment of hijacked drugs to Gideon. He was stupid enough to store them in the basement of his town house. With the data we were sent and the surveillance evidence, that piece of trash Reid and her scumbag lover Gideon will both be dining on prison food for twenty years minimum.'
'I see.'
'I did wonder if I have you to thank for the files I was sent?' Boothe enquired ingenuously.
'Nothing to do with me,' I replied slowly.
No, DI Boothe needed to thank Owen Dowd.
Gideon was out of the way. McAuley was on the ropes and busted. Owen Dowd now owned it all. Meadowview was out of the frying pan – and into the fire.
Well done, Tobey.
What was my mantra? Whatever it takes?
All I had to do now was head up to the top of the tallest building in Meadowview and wait for one and all to thank me. With a psycho nut job like Owen Dowd now running things, the thanks would pour in.
'So are you prepared to talk to me now?' asked Boothe. 'Will you testify against McAuley?'
'Why would I do that?'
'Because we both know he's the one responsible for your girlfriend ending up in hospital. Testify against him and I can guarantee you and your family will be protected. We can even relocate you if necessary,' said DI Boothe.
'It's too late,' I replied.
'What d'you mean?' I could hear the frown in Boothe's voice.
'I mean, it's too late tonight. Ask me tomorrow.'
I disconnected the call.
sixty-eight
I tried phoning Dan, but his phone just rang continuously. There was only one thing left to do. I headed for his lockup. It was only on my second attempt that I accurately remembered the combination to his padlock. I went in, coughing against the smell of stale air and stale hopes and stale dreams. The single bulb didn't cast enough light to sweep the corners of the place. No matter. I knew what I needed. I found it in a box in the far corner of the room, a P99 military semiautomatic – the 9mm version. It had a green polymer frame – an eco-friendly colour, I told myself. I checked the magazine. It was fully loaded. Making sure the safety was on, I put the gun in my jacket pocket. I spun around and halted in mid-step. Dan stood at the entrance to the lockup, watching me.
'Dan, I need your help,' I launched in at once. 'McAuley killed Rebecca Dowd and now he is after me.'
'What d'you plan on doing about it?'
'It's me or him,' I said quietly.
'Finally gonna get your hands dirty?'
'Dan, please. Will you help me?'
The smile Dan gave then was a long way from friendly. 'Why don't you just call the police?'
''Cause then McAuley will find a way to make my whole family pay, not just me.'
'Why should I care about you or your family?' asked Dan.
'It's not about me, Dan. My mum and sister don't deserve what will happen if McAuley gets hold of them.'
'Says the man who started all this in the first place,' he said bitterly. 'You wound us all up like your little dancing dolls and now you're complaining because we're not dancing the way you want us to.'
What could I say to that? Nothing.
'Dan, please. McAuley's
at his warehouse, but he's not alone. I can't do this by myself.'
'You're gonna have to.' Dan shrugged. 'This isn't my fight.'
'But McAuley's men will all be armed to the teeth.'
'Not my problem,' said Dan. 'And now we're even.'
So much for that then. The faint glimmer of hope I'd felt when I turned round and saw Dan standing there flickered and died. Only desperation had made me believe that he might help me. Far too much had passed between us.
'Can I take your P99?' I took the gun out of my pocket to show him.
'Are you going to bring it back?' he asked wryly.
Probably not.
'If I can.'
'Then go ahead. Take a couple of extra magazine clips, just in case.'
We could've been talking about comic books or sausages rather than guns. I took an extra magazine clip out of the box and headed for the exit.
'You won't change your mind and help me?' I tried one last time.
Dan shook his head, adding, 'You do know you won't get past Byron and the others packing a gun, don't you? It'll never happen.'
I looked down at the gun in my hand and shook my head. What did I think I was doing? I'd never fired a real gun in my life. Targets at a fairground and pellet guns with my dad were about my speed. What did I think was going to happen? I'd go in, guns blazing like some Cross cowboy in a film, and save the world from McAuley? Yeah, right.
I walked back to Dan's table and put down the P99 and the extra clip.
'Ah! Going to use a new technique against McAuley and his crew, are you? Gonna poke them in the eyes or swear at them? Or were you thinking of throwing the odd shoe?'
Dan was right – and I resented him for it.
I didn't stand a chance with a gun.
I didn't stand a chance without one.
'Welcome to the dance floor, Tobey,' Dan said with satisfaction. 'The song is called "Survival".'