The Final Minute (26 page)

Jeff, though, seemed genuinely happy to see her, and was already on his second pint of lager, while Tina was coming towards the end of her orange juice and soda water, and not planning on drinking another. It wasn’t that Jeff was bad company. He wasn’t, and to be fair, he still looked pretty good for a man in his forties who spent too long behind a desk (and she could tell he fancied her as well, since he was making very little effort to hide the fact). But she really wasn’t in the mood for chat, and the pub, with all its temptations, was making her feel uncomfortable. It was busy tonight, with laughing regulars packed round the bar, and the majority of tables taken up with diners. Out of the corner of her eye, Tina saw an older woman taking a sip from a big glass of red as she chatted to her husband, and the look of pleasure on the woman’s face as the wine went down made Tina desperate to snatch the glass from her hand and down its contents in one.

Her phone rang.

‘Sorry, Jeff, I need to take this,’ she said, getting to her feet and heading for the door.

It was Sheryl Warner, and she sounded upset.

‘What’s wrong, Sheryl?’ Tina asked, making her way into the car park.

‘Dylan came round. He beat me up.’

Tina felt a rush of guilt and anger. ‘Do you need an ambulance? I can call you one.’

‘No, I’m OK … Can you come over? Dylan said something about Jen and Lauren. About the way they disappeared.’

‘What did he say?’

‘I can’t talk about it over the phone. Can you come over?’

The last thing on earth Tina wanted to do right now was drive to Camden but she felt obligated.

‘I think you’ll want to hear it,’ added Sheryl before Tina had a chance to answer.

‘Sure. I’ll be with you in about half an hour. Don’t let anyone else in.’

‘OK,’ said Sheryl, and ended the call.

‘Is she coming?’ Pen asked Sheryl.

Sheryl nodded vigorously. ‘She says she’ll be here in half an hour.’

‘Good. You’ve done well.’ Pen smiled and leaned forward, brushing a lock of Sheryl’s hair away from her face.

‘What are you going to do to her?’

Pen laughed. ‘What do they always say? If I tell you that, then I’ll have to kill you. Let me give you a piece of advice for the future, Sheryl. Keep out of matters that don’t concern you, and never ask awkward questions. That way you’ll live a long and happy life.’

Sheryl managed a weak little smile and Pen could see the hope filling up in her eyes.

Poor little bitch, she thought.

For a good ten seconds after finishing the call, Tina stood in the car park staring down at the handset. Something about the conversation hadn’t felt right. In fact, several things hadn’t. Firstly, what information could Dylan have given Sheryl while beating her up? Surely the most he would have said was that if she wasn’t careful she’d end up like Jen and Lauren, or words to that effect, and if that was the case then she could easily have told Tina that over the phone rather than get her to drive for half an hour to hear it. The wording Sheryl had used also rang an alarm bell. When she’d said ‘I think you’ll want to hear it’, it hadn’t sounded like a natural thing for a girl like her to say.

Tina pocketed the phone, wondering if she was just being paranoid. Probably, she concluded, although being paranoid had saved her life more than once. She went back inside and saw that Jeff had almost finished his pint.

‘Everything all right?’ he asked as she sat back down.

‘I’m going to have to go. I might have a lead on the case I’m working.’

He smiled. ‘That’s not an excuse, is it? You know you can tell me if you just want to go home. I’d be disappointed, of course. I like your company.’

Tina knew he was hitting on her. ‘No, Jeff, it’s not an excuse. I do actually have a lead that needs sorting now.’

‘Anything I can help with? I’m free all evening.’ He said it as if he was expecting a brush-off and was just trying his luck, and ordinarily Tina would have turned him down flat, but on this particular occasion a bit of back-up was no bad idea.

‘Well, now you mention it, I could actually use your services if you don’t mind. But it’s strictly gratis, right? I can’t afford to pay you.’

Jeff didn’t look quite so happy now. ‘OK, but what is it you want me to do?’

‘Nothing strenuous. The girl who just called me wants me to go round to her flat in Camden. She says she’s got some information, but I think it might be a set-up.’

‘What kind of set-up?’

‘I had a run-in with a guy yesterday who’s connected to her and it’s possible he’s round there with a couple of friends looking to give me some payback. It’s unlikely, but I’d prefer to be on the safe side.’

‘So you want me to go in there with you?’

‘No. I’ll call you on your mobile before I go in, and we’ll keep the line open. You hang back, and if you hear down the phone that I’m in trouble, call 999, and maybe come to the door yelling “Armed police!” or something that scares them. I’ll have some spray on me and a Taser but, as I said, I’m almost certainly being overcautious.’

‘Can never be too overcautious. Sure I’ll come with you. You’re not going to be that long in there, are you?’

Tina shook her head. ‘No. If it is legit, I’ll just get the information and leave.’

‘Maybe we can grab some dinner afterwards. I’m getting hungry, and there are a few good places round Camden.’

Tina gave him the kind of look which said don’t push your luck, but she was smiling too. ‘Maybe,’ she said, ‘but don’t try to make any unwanted passes, not when I’m carrying a Taser and spray.’

He winked at her. ‘I know you too well, Tina. I wouldn’t dare.’

Thirty-nine

At that time in the evening, the journey to Camden took twenty-five minutes. Tina drove, promising to give Jeff a lift back to his car later. On the way, they chatted about the old days at Islington nick, the people they’d known, and what had become of them. Tina had forgotten what good company Jeff could be. He was funny and open, and, philanderer or not, he came across as refreshingly honest. He was based out of Holborn nick these days and still just plodding along, investigating what he was told to investigate, and presumably just counting the days until his retirement.

‘Why did you never settle down and get married?’ she asked him after a short break in the conversation.

‘Hey, I’m not terminally ill. I still could. I just haven’t found the right woman yet. And anyway, I could ask you the same question.’

‘I got close once.’

‘With John?’ he said, referring to John Gallan, a man they’d both known.

She nodded. ‘I think after what happened with him I got put off committing too much to one person.’

‘Sometimes it’s easier not to,’ he said. ‘That way you can’t get hurt.’

And they fell silent once again, pondering that particular thought.

Tina found a spot only a few minutes’ walk from Sheryl’s flat. It had just turned nine p.m. and the streets were busy with people out for the night. Camden was a fashionable area these days, and the sight of full restaurants and groups of drinkers standing around outside the pubs enjoying the balmy temperatures calmed Tina and made her question her suspicions about Sheryl’s phone call.

Leaving Jeff out of sight in the car, she made her way to the building’s front door and rang the old-fashioned buzzer there. Sheryl let her through.

When she was inside, Tina used a couple of envelopes from the communal mailbox to prop open the door, then put a call through to Jeff.

‘Any problems, you know what to do, right?’ she whispered into the phone.

‘Be in there like a shot, Tina, don’t worry.’

Jeff was a big guy. He might have been running to fat a little, but Tina knew he could handle himself in a scrap.

‘Thanks, Jeff, I really appreciate this.’ She replaced the phone in her pocket and mounted the stairs.

It was empty and quiet, and Tina felt herself tense as she went up to Sheryl’s door and knocked hard. The Taser was in her other jacket pocket and she gripped the trigger, ready to use it at a moment’s notice.

The door opened and Sheryl stood there, a smile frozen on her face.

Two things struck Tina straight away. One: she was petrified. Two: she didn’t have any injuries.

‘Thanks for coming, Tina,’ she said, moving aside to let her in.

The flat seemed empty behind Sheryl, and Tina hesitated for a second. ‘Let’s take a walk,’ she said without stepping inside.

Sheryl was suddenly yanked to one side by someone just out of view, and almost at the same time a blonde woman appeared in her place, pointing a gun at Tina, the end of the barrel barely five feet from her head. Her gun hand was perfectly steady, like she knew exactly what she was doing.

It all happened too fast for Tina to get out of the way. ‘Don’t shoot!’ she said, loudly enough for Jeff to hear in the car.

‘Get inside and take your hands out of your pockets very slowly,’ demanded the woman, in an American accent. ‘Or I’ll kill you right now.’

Tina didn’t argue – she could see the woman meant it – and stepped over the threshold, taking her hands out of her pockets so they could be seen.

She was immediately grabbed by the same unseen hand that had pulled Sheryl away and flung across the floor in the direction of the sofa as the blonde closed the door behind her, trapping her inside.

Steadying herself, Tina turned back round to face her adversaries, hands in the air, trying to look as calm and unthreatening as possible.

The man who’d grabbed her was huge. Ex-military for sure, with closely cropped hair and a square jaw, he was a good six feet two, with muscles that looked like they were trying to burst out of the clothes he was wearing. Tina hoped that Jeff didn’t make a dramatic entrance, because this guy would break him in half.

Tina’s eyes met Sheryl’s. The poor girl was standing in the shadow of the man, who absolutely dwarfed her. She looked confused and terrified, and was clearly unable to understand what she’d got herself involved in. Tina gave her a supportive look, but she was close to panic herself.

‘Sit down on the sofa, and keep your hands where we can see them,’ the blonde woman said. ‘Try anything stupid, and the first bullet goes through your kneecap.’

Tina did as she was told, the blonde woman following her with the gun.

The woman then motioned to the giant, and he walked round the sofa so he was standing behind Tina. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him produce a gun of his own from the back of his trousers and slowly fit a suppressor to it.

When he’d finished, the blonde moved her gun away from Tina. ‘Thanks for your help, Sheryl,’ she said evenly, pointing it at Sheryl’s head and pulling the trigger. Sheryl crumpled to the floor without a sound, blood pouring down her forehead, her eyes already closed.

Tina had seen violent death at close hand a number of times before but it never ceased to shock her. It was the suddenness of it, the way a whole life, full of experiences and memories, could be ended with the flick of a finger, and with barely a second’s thought. It was debatable that the blonde had given it even that, because even as Sheryl fell she was turning the gun back on Tina.

‘You need to answer our questions,’ she said, walking over, gun arm outstretched. ‘If you do, we’ll make it quick. If you don’t, it’ll be very slow and very painful. Do you understand?’ For a second, Tina thought about telling them that she had police back-up outside, but just as quickly dismissed the idea. If they had to, they’d just kill her and leave. What she needed to do now was stay alive, appear to cooperate, and hope Jeff had called the cavalry. ‘Yes, I understand,’ she said, and this time there was no mistaking the fear in her voice.

‘Good. You look like an intelligent woman. Under other circumstances we might have got on, but …’ The blonde shrugged. ‘I guess that’s not going to happen. We’re going to turn the music up a little bit. Just in case we need to hurt you.’

She motioned to the big guy again and he turned up the volume on an iPod player until the room was filled with the chilled, relaxed sound of a melodic female voice. Tina recognized the track as something by Zero 7, a band she normally liked. If she ever got out of here alive, she knew she’d never be able to listen to it again.

She swallowed, stared up at the blonde. Knowing she was talking for her life now.

They looked each other in the eye. The blonde’s expression was hard and merciless, and sat wrongly on her pretty, youthful face. Monsters come in all forms, thought Tina, but she’d never have guessed this was one.

‘Who else knows the details of your investigation?’

Fear seemed to fire up every nerve ending in Tina. She knew that if she gave the wrong answer, they’d hurt her, and if she gave the right one, it took her a big step closer to death.

‘No one knows the details,’ she said quietly.

The blonde’s finger tensed on the trigger. ‘And where have you made a record of your investigations?’

Tina knew this was the last question they’d ask her. Once they had the information, she was gone.

Please, Jeff, if you’re hearing this … do something.

‘On my laptop.’

‘Where’s that?’

‘In my car.’

‘Where’s your car parked?’

‘I’m not sure.’

The blonde’s expression darkened. ‘What do you mean you’re not sure?’ She lowered the gun so it was pointed directly between Tina’s legs. ‘Maybe I should give you another hole for your boyfriend to fuck.’

‘Armed police!’ came an angry shout from beyond the front door. ‘Open up now!’

The door shook alarmingly as it was kicked hard.

Tina recognized the voice as Jeff’s, which wasn’t good, because he wasn’t armed. Then the sound of a wailing siren carried through an open window somewhere at the back of the flat, sounding like it wasn’t that far away, and getting closer.

‘Shit,’ hissed the blonde, turning her head in the direction of the shouts.

The hiss of bullets being fired towards the door came from behind Tina. It was the giant, but Tina couldn’t see if he was hitting it or not because her view was blocked by the blonde.

All this happened in the space of a couple of seconds, which was all it took for Tina to make a decision. She knew she was about to be shot. The blonde was already turning back towards her. One more second and she’d end up like Sheryl.