The Half Truth (7 page)

Tina’s breath caught in her lungs. She grabbed at the venetian blinds with one hand, pulling the wooden slats apart.

There, striding down the path towards the front door, was John. Tina felt her knees buckle with relief. The hammering on the door was the sweetest sound to her ears. Putting Dimitri down and taking his hand, she hurried him downstairs.

‘Thank God you’re here!’ she gasped, surprised by how relieved she felt to see John. He was in the hallway, closing the door behind him before she could catch her breath.

‘What’s happened? I saw Dimitri up at the window,’ said John. ‘The lights were going on and off downstairs so I thought I’d check it out. Are you both okay?’

Tina composed herself. She looked from John to Dimitri and back again, willing John to understand.

‘I came down for some water, dropped the glass. You know what it’s like, unexpected things going bump in the night.’ Over the top of Dimitri’s head she flicked her eyes towards the kitchen. ‘I think the back door has been left open.’

She watched John take in the glass lying on the carpet, the coats on the floor and then search her face.

He reacted instantly, but with such an air of calm and authority that immediately Tina felt safe.

‘You go back upstairs,’ he said. Then he mouthed to her to lock the bedroom door. ‘Wait there, I’ll be back in a minute.’

John watched Tina and Dimitri go back upstairs. Once he heard the bedroom door shut and the key turn in the lock he withdrew his Glock from its holster. He was pretty certain that whoever had been in the house was long gone, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

The kitchen was empty and the back door wide open. John opened the blinds to allow some light to seep across the garden. Cautiously he stepped out onto the patio, giving his eyes time to become accustomed to the dark. His instincts told him there was no one in the garden, but he checked anyway. The back gate was locked from the inside, so presumably the intruder hadn’t left that way. Probably hopped over the wall. John looked up and down the access footpath at the rear.

Convinced that the intruder had gone, John went back indoors and up to Tina’s bedroom. He tapped on the door.

‘Tina, you okay? I’ll put the kettle on,’ he said softly, conscious that she was probably trying to settle her son. ‘I’ll be downstairs.’

Tina came into the kitchen some ten minutes later. She looked a mixture of relieved and upset.

Without thinking, John took her in his arms and held her for a moment until she pulled away.

‘Thank you. I needed that,’ she said.

‘Are you hurt?’

‘No, not really. Banged my head, but it’s okay.’

John sat Tina at the table with a strong cup of tea and listened as she relayed to him what had happened.

‘I can’t understand how I didn’t see him,’ said John. ‘You say, you heard him unlock the back door before he ran off?’

Tina nodded. ‘Definitely. I was listening for him to go.’

‘I doubt very much he came in that way and locked the door behind him,’ said John. ‘Locking your escape route is a schoolboy error. No one would do that.’

‘And you didn’t see him come through the front door?’ said Tina.

John shook his head. His mind trawled through all the possibilities. He didn’t want to make the next suggestion, but it seemed the only feasible scenario. ‘Did you leave the house at all, even for a few minutes? Not even to go out into the garden, put something in the shed, bring the washing in? Anything like that?’

Tina thought for a moment. She closed her eyes and let out a small groan. ‘I went next door to see Mr Cooper.’

When she looked at John, her eyes were filled with tears. ‘The man must have come in then. Dimitri was in the house. Alone.’ Two tears raced each other down her face. ‘The man was in the house when Dimitri was here and I wasn’t.’

‘Hey, it’s okay,’ said John. He came round to her side of the table and pulled out the chair next to her. He put his arm around her shoulders. ‘Don’t upset yourself. Dimitri wasn’t hurt. Nothing happened. Whoever it was, wasn’t interested in Dimitri.’

‘It makes me feel physically sick to think about it,’ she said, brushing away more tears. ‘Who do you think it was? Pavel?’

‘It seems the most likely,’ said John.

‘Why the hell would he creep up on me like that? Why did he frighten me? I really don’t understand.’

‘Was there anything about him at all that seemed familiar?’ said John. The question he really wanted to ask burned on his lips. He squeezed his finger and thumb across his mouth, swiping it away. She didn’t need spooking any more tonight.

‘It all happened so fast,’ said Tina. ‘I was thinking about Dimitri. I was terrified he would come down and I didn’t know what the man would do to him.’ She shivered. The shock was hitting her now. Time to end the questions.

John made Tina another drink and sat with her until she seemed calmer. The tears had stopped, as had the shivering.

‘I think it would be a good idea if I stayed here the night,’ said John. ‘If that’s okay with you.’

‘Okay? Of course it is,’ said Tina. ‘In fact, I was hoping you would say that. I would be a lot happier knowing you were in the house rather than across the road.’

John looked at his watch. It was the early hours of the morning. He probably wouldn’t sleep now. Not after what had gone on. He didn’t think the intruder would be back tonight, but John wanted to be on the safe side.

‘You go up to bed and I’ll see you in the morning,’ he said. He walked her to the bottom of the stairs. Her hand rested on the newel post and he covered it with his own. ‘If you need me, just shout. I’m only down here.’

She turned her hand so their palms were touching and curled her fingers around his, squeezing it. John returned the gesture.

‘Thank you,’ she said. Her voice was soft. Her eyes full of gratitude and trust. ‘I feel a lot safer knowing you’re here.’

The night passed without any more activities. John dozed on and off on the sofa, assured that Pavel, if indeed that’s who the intruder had been, wasn’t coming back. As the morning sun broke, John went out into the back garden and phoned through to Martin to give him an update.

‘It’s safe to rule out Tina being involved in any of it, then,’ said Martin.

‘She was properly spooked last night,’ said John. He turned to look back at the house. ‘If she was acting, then she’s missed her vocation.’

‘And you think it was Pavel? No one else?’

‘Put it this way, it wasn’t anyone who particularly cared about her.’ The blind went up at the kitchen window. Tina gave him a smile and, holding up a mug, pointed to it. John gave her the thumbs-up. As he did so, he became aware of the breadth of his smile. Unnecessarily wide. ‘Anything from Baz Fisher?’ he said to Martin. He noted the pause before his partner answered.

‘We haven’t been able to find Baz. No one’s seen him for two days.’

John understood the significance of this information. ‘You think he’s hiding?’

‘Could be one of two options.’

John swore under his breath. ‘Keep looking.’

He ended the call. Baz Fisher unobtainable. This was not a good sign.

‘Morning,’ said Tina. She sounded brighter although the heavy eyelids were traitor to her demeanour.

‘Hey. How are you?’ said John, taking the cup she held out to him.

‘I’ve had better nights. What about you? Did you get any sleep?’

‘Enough. How’s Dimitri?’

‘Still sleeping. He was okay, though. I don’t think he realised anything happened last night. He just thinks he had a nightmare.’

They sat at the table. John sensed she wanted to say something but was choosing her words. He sipped at his tea, giving her time.

‘Do you think Sasha was mixed up with the stuff Pavel was into?’ Her voice had a sad edge to it and she kept her eyes firmly fixed on her cup.

‘It’s possible,’ he said quietly.

‘But you must have an idea. You must have considered this before. If you think his brother is, then it stands to reason that Sasha might be as well and you would have investigated it or it was on the agenda. I mean, I’m no detective, but even I’ve thought of that.’ This time she did meet his eyes. There was that quiet strength in there he hadn’t seen before.

He nodded to soften the blow of the words that followed. ‘Yes, it’s been considered.’

‘And?’

‘And … we never found anything to arrest him for.’

It was her turn to nod this time. ‘But you looked.’ She took a sip of her drink. ‘How long will you be about? What if Pavel doesn’t turn up?’

‘It’s indefinite, but subject to change at any time. We may get new information in that sends the investigation off in a totally different direction, a different location. It’s really a fluid thing. Nothing is set in stone.’

‘And I suppose it’s all about funding and making the best of police resources.’

‘Sadly, yes, funding and overtime do come into it.’

‘What does your wife or girlfriend think to you being out all night? Does she mind?’

‘I haven’t got either of those.’

‘Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to assume … of course, your partner. What do they think?’

For a moment John was confused. She looked embarrassed, as a flush of red crept its way up her neck. Suddenly it dawned on him what she had meant. He laughed out loud. She looked at him, a look somewhere between bewilderment and embarrassment. He reined his laughter in. ‘I don’t have a partner either. For the record, I’m SAS.’

‘SAS? I thought you were in the police. Wait, are we having two different conversations? I’m so confused.’

‘Straight and single.’ He grinned at her.

Tina threw her head back, covering her face with her hands. ‘Oh, my God! I’m making such a fool of myself.’ She took her hands down and laughed. Her eyes sparkled like fairy lights. For a moment the tension and unease had been eradicated. It was good to see her relax.

‘And something else, for the record,’ said John. ‘I’m divorced after a very brief marriage.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t be. I’m not. We were young. And, if I’m honest, I put my job first.’

‘You don’t sound like you have any regrets.’

‘No. It was a mutual agreement to separate. We didn’t have any children, so it was pretty painless.’

They chatted some more, both aware that it was a distraction from real life: time out from the unsettling events of the last few hours. Besides, it was nice getting to know her through his own eyes and not through the lens of his camera or police files. The conversation poignantly avoided Pavel and Sasha. They talked of only superficial things; films they liked, tastes in music, favourite food. Safe topics, but ones John found they had a lot in common with. It was enjoyable getting to know her this way. Not a trial, like it sometimes was when he was undercover or fishing for information. This felt, somehow, real and genuine. He was glad she hadn’t pushed him any further about Sasha’s role in the investigation. He wasn’t in a position to divulge any information to her and that would, he guessed, irritate her. He needed to keep her on-side so she trusted him and, in turn, would feel able to confide in him. He also needed to play the long game, but he was aware that time wasn’t his friend. Any time now Brogan could take him off surveillance if he didn’t get any results. The impatience in his personal desire to get to know Tina better was also hot on his heels.

Tina got up and put the cups in the dishwasher. ‘I was wondering if I could ask you a question? Well, it’s more of a favour.’ She turned to look at him and twiddled the heart- shaped pendant on her necklace.

‘Fire away.’

‘It’s a bit awkward, so feel free to say no.’

‘Okay, but I need to know what you want to ask,’ he said, tacking a smile onto the end, which hid the apprehension he was feeling.

‘I’m supposed to be attending a fortieth birthday party on Friday evening. My boss’s wife. I have said I would go, but what with everything I was going to make an excuse.’

‘You shouldn’t let the events take over your whole life,’ said John. ‘Don’t stop doing things, otherwise you’ll become a prisoner in your own home.’

‘I know. That’s the thing that is bothering me the most. I hate the thought that it has the potential to control me like this.’ She continued to run the pendant back and forth along the chain.

‘So where do I fit into all this?’ said John, although he had an inkling what was coming next. The thought warmed him.

‘Would you consider coming with me as my plus one? Not in a boyfriend capacity,’ she added hastily, her cheeks once again tinged with a blush of pink. ‘Just as a friend. I figured you would be sitting outside anyway, you know, following me, so you might as well come in and socialise a bit. That’s if you want to. I mean – you don’t have to, not if you would rather not. I don’t want to get you into trouble, or anything …’

John couldn’t help smiling. She was gabbling and the pink flush had turned a deeper rose colour. He held up his hand to put her out of her misery.

‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Yes, I’ll come as your plus one.’ The relief on her face was clear. Again, a warmth swept through him.

‘Oh, thank you. I do appreciate it,’ said Tina. She grinned at him. ‘I promise we won’t have to stay very long and I won’t leave you to fend for yourself.’

‘So, you’ll be protecting me?’ The thought amused him.

‘Most certainly! Jessica will probably be there. She’s my boss’s sister. She’s works in the café sometimes when we are short-staffed. She’s, how shall we say, a rather desperate man-eater. Jessica is to men what heat-seeking missiles are to tanks.’

‘Then I’m totally depending on you.’

‘Will it be okay with your boss?’

‘He’ll be absolutely fine. I’m lucky when I’m out in the field like this, I have the autonomy to make my own decisions. Working undercover, you can’t just tell the bad guys to hang on a moment while you check with your guvnor.’

Okay, he was bending the rules slightly and John was pretty sure Brogan wouldn’t be too impressed. He’d cross that bridge if, and when, he got to it.

‘Thanks so much,’ she said. ‘Dimitri is staying with my parents. He goes to stay with them most Friday nights. They love having him and he really loves being there too.’

‘Gives you a break as well,’ said John.

‘Not that I do anything, but it’s nice to know I can, should I want to.’ Tina looked at her watch. ‘Eeek, I didn’t realise that was the time. I’d better get Dimitri up. I did wonder about keeping him out of school, but I don’t want to worry him.’

‘No, keep to your usual routine. I’m sure Dimitri will be safe. Have you got work today?’

She nodded. ‘I think sticking to my routine will do me good too.’

‘I’ll drop you both off,’ said John, acknowledging the slight feeling of disappointment ebbing through him at the thought of Tina not being about that day. He took his cup over to the sink, where she was standing. She didn’t move out of his way and as he reached around to place the cup in the sink, he was very aware of the closeness of her body to his. The ever-so- faint smell of perfume teased his nostrils, a delicate flowery fragrance. It was at odds with the strong young woman he was only really getting to know. His perception of her five years ago, as a delicate, fragile widow, was slipping and making way for someone who had weathered a fierce storm of grief and was heading towards calmer waters, full of a quiet confidence that he hadn’t noticed before.

‘Thank you,’ she said. An awkward silence settled between them. Tina broke first. ‘I’d better get Dimitri up.’ A small look of embarrassment caressed her face. As she side-stepped away, John concentrated on looking out of the window, ahead of him.

What the hell was he getting himself into? Agreeing to all but go on a date with her, thinly disguised as police protection.
Shit
. This simply wasn’t like him. He hadn’t planned this at all.

Tina’s cat wound its way around his legs, arching its back slightly. It let out a small purr. He bent down and picked it up. ‘We seem to have strayed from the script, kitty. Let’s hope your mistress is worth it.’