The Liberation of Alice Love (24 page)

“It seems to be her,” he agreed. “I’ve started contacting the police, getting access to the reports and any investigator files, so we should get something back soon.”

“Maybe I should get in touch with the victims,” Alice suggested. It had been hard enough waiting for Nathan to provide this information—she wasn’t about to sit back and let somebody else follow every clue without her. “I mean, they might be more relaxed, chatting with someone who’s been through the same thing. And, I’ll be able to recognize anything linking them to Ella.”

“Sure.” Nathan shrugged. “I’ll send you over the details.”

Alice beamed at him. “Have I told you how wonderful you are?”

Nathan adjusted his jacket, falsely modest. “Well, I don’t like to brag…”

“Yes you do,” she laughed. “But this time, you deserve it.” Seized by an impulse she couldn’t quite control, Alice stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

As soon as she was back down on solid ground, Alice began to regret the gesture. Nathan was looking down at her strangely, and their cozy alcove suddenly felt too small. She glanced up at him, about to make a casual quip, but her eyes caught his, dark and intent, and she quite forgot what she was planning to say.

“There you are. I’ve been looking for you all over.” A familiar voice cut through the intimate moment and Alice looked up to find Julian closing in. He glanced back and forth between them, frowning. “What are you two conspiring about?”

“Oh, nothing.” Alice slipped the list into her bag. “Having fun?”

“More now I’ve found you.” Julian grinned at her. “Here, I got you some juice.”

“Already taken care of.” She held up her glass. “But thanks.”

“I thought you didn’t like to drink at these things.” Julian frowned. “Anyway, you’re almost done. I can take that.”

Alice looked at him curiously. “I’m fine.” She took a deliberate sip of the wine and looked back at Nathan. “So, did you guys have a chance to get to know each other? Julian is an accountant, over at Deloitte.”

“Really? How’s that working out for you?” Nathan lounged back against the wall and surveyed Julian.

“Pretty well, actually. I’ll be heading up my own department from next month.” Setting the glass of juice down nearby, Julian put his hands in his pockets and gazed back at Nathan evenly. “You’re in the same field, aren’t you?”

“Not exactly.” Nathan seemed amused by the thought. “I don’t sit around all day, crunching numbers.”

Julian raised an eyebrow. “My mistake. I suppose you’re running around, chasing after petty thieves then.”

“That’s one way of putting it, I guess.” Nathan folded his arms.

Alice blinked back and forth between the men. There was a definite sense of challenge in the air. “Do you play any sports at all?” she asked Nathan quickly, trying to dispel the strange tension. “You guys should get together for squash sometime—he’s always looking for new partners.”

“Aly and I used to play together, in university.” Julian added, “Did she say we’ve known each other since then?”

“No,
Aly
didn’t.” Nathan just looked amused. “It’s great, that you’ve been buddies for so long. Like brother and sister, right?”

Julian narrowed his eyes. “Not exactly.”

Alice frowned at him. “I think I’ll try and find Flora again,” she decided, starting to maneuver her way between them.

“Wait a sec.” Nathan stopped her, his hand closing softly on her arm. “I was going to ask, if you’re free next week at all.” He smiled down at her, ignoring Julian completely. “I’m off working a case this weekend, but we could get together, Wednesday maybe? Reminisce about our vacation.”

Alice felt a glow at the invitation, but before she could reply, Julian spoke up again. “We’ve already got plans, I’m afraid.”

She turned, thrown. “No, we don’t.”

“The Hitchcock season, remember?”

Alice blinked. “I hadn’t said I could make it yet.”

“Great.” Nathan threw a smile at Julian. “I’ll call you then.”

“But, Alice—”

Feeling increasingly caught between them, Alice searched for an escape. “Flora!” she called across the room. The slip of pink satin didn’t turn, but Alice had found her exit. “I’ve got to run,” she said brightly, pretending she didn’t notice the careful stares being exchanged over her head. “But yes, Nathan, call me about next week.” She smiled at him briefly. “And you have fun at that film,” she told Julian. “With Yasmin.”

***

She found Flora in the middle of a knot of people, Stefan beaming proudly at her side as the compliments flowed. “Hi.” Alice slipped beside her. “Isn’t this great?”

“Really great.” Flora smiled brightly. “It’s all perfect.”

“And what’s next for you?” a slim, bespectacled man asked eagerly. “Any new mediums, or product ranges planned?”

Flora shrugged prettily. “Oh, I don’t know. Whatever I feel like, I suppose!”

They all laughed, but Alice was studying Flora’s face carefully. Something wasn’t quite right. Flora seemed full of her usual bubbly enthusiasm, but Alice could sense an almost fierce self-control radiating beneath the angelic curls. She may be fooling everyone else, but Alice had known her too long to be deceived. Flora wasn’t happy.

“Sorry, everyone, but I’m going to have to steal my sister away for a minute!” Alice announced, steering Flora out of the circle.

“But I can’t,” Flora protested. “Everybody’s expecting—”

“They’ll wait,” Alice told her. “Besides, Nathan and Julian are about to start marking their territory around me, or something. Rescue me, please. I need you!”

“You do?” Flora started to smile.

“Absolutely. I need some air. We’ll only be gone a little while.” Alice was already pulling her out onto the street, away from the clusters of admiring fans and whatever it was that was making her so tense.

“So what’s happening with Nathan?” Flora trailed after her across the road. It was still light out, soft with dusk hues, and Alice quickly found them a low wall on which to perch, watching the trickle of passersby heading out to restaurants and local bars.

“Nothing’s happening,” Alice told her, before allowing herself a small smile. “Yet.”

Flora lit up. “Really?”

“Perhaps. I mean, I’d like it to, maybe…” Despite the cool flirtation she’d enjoyed all evening, Alice almost felt like an adolescent again, confessing her attraction. “But you can’t say anything.”

“Lips, sealed, I promise.” Flora mimed extravagantly. A passing group of rowdy teens blinked at her, clearly dazzled by the pink satin ball gown, but Flora just looked at Alice, oblivious. “So, do you like him? Did anything happen, in Rome?” She beamed excitedly, with a genuine enthusiasm she hadn’t shown in all the past hours of flattery.

“Yes…and no,” Alice confided slowly. “But I introduced him to Julian tonight, and now they’re in some kind of strange masculine showdown.”

“A duel?” Flora gasped.

“Not quite,” Alice laughed. “I don’t know…It’s not like him to be so protective. But I suppose it has been a while since there’s been any prospects around.”

“Since James,” Flora agreed quietly.

Alice looked up, surprised she remembered the last, and only man, to break Alice’s heart. “Right, not since him.”

“Maybe Julian’s realized that he’s madly in love with you, and can’t bear to see you with anyone else,” Flora sighed happily.

Alice laughed. “I doubt it. These things are never that simple.”

She gave Flora a careful look. “So…How are you feeling? It must be nerve wracking, having your new series up for everyone to see.”

Flora gave a small shrug. “Not really. I’m used to it by now, I think. And everyone’s said such nice things.” She swung her legs back and forth, pink kitten heels clattering against the wall.

“Yes, but you’ve been under lots of stress.” Alice tried again: “Maybe now you’ll get to relax a little. You could go on that holiday with Stefan you were talking about,” she said encouragingly. “Somewhere with white beaches and little umbrellas in your drink.”

“Maybe.” Flora shrugged, and then turned to Alice with excitement again. “So, Nathan. Tell me everything! I saw you off in that corner earlier, very private…”

Alice smiled. “No, we were just talking about the investigation. We’ve found an old address for her, in Bath, so I think I’m going to go out there and ask around.” She paused, suddenly remembering Flora’s hurt at being excluded from the Rome affair. “You, could come with me, if you want,” she added. “I mean, it would be nice, to have the company.”

Flora’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Sure.” Alice smiled, glad she’d suggested it. Time away together would, perhaps, encourage Flora to open up. Plus, her trademark innocence might be a useful tool when it came to investigating Ella’s past. “It could be fun.”

Flora hopped down from the wall. “What are we waiting for?” she exclaimed. “Let’s get on the road straight away. I’ll drive, and you book the hotel, and—”

“Whoa! Aren’t you forgetting something,” Alice grabbed her arm. “Your opening? The room full of people gushing over your life’s work?”

Flora bit her lip. “I’m sure they wouldn’t miss me. I’ve said hi to everyone there at least twice already.”

Alice frowned. “Flora, are you sure you’re all right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…” Alice paused, noting the defiant angle of her chin. Flora clearly wasn’t in the mood for sharing now. “No, never mind.” She managed a smile, linking her arm through Flora’s as they began to walk back toward the gallery. “The investigation can wait, one night at least. Let’s get you back to your adoring fans.”

Chapter Twenty-four

They set off the next morning, equipped with five emergency-breakdown numbers and what seemed to be the entire contents of Marks and Spencer’s snack food section.

“So you think this Kate Jackson woman is really Ella?” Flora curled up in the passenger seat, slurping on a carton of juice. They were just emerging from the traffic of London onto the wide swaths of motorway that would take them to Bath.

Alice paused, careful to keep her eyes on the road. “I’m not sure. She did everything she could to cover her tracks after she left, but I’m hoping she wasn’t so careful, before.”

A person just didn’t emerge from the womb a criminal mastermind: they had to learn it. And along the way, Alice hoped, they made some mistakes.

“I still can’t believe you have to do all this yourself.” Flora made a face. “Can’t the police run, like, DNA tests or something?”

Alice grinned. “She’s not a murderer.”

“You don’t know that. She could be anything!”

“No.” Alice shook her head firmly. “I know her, she’s not that kind of person. And even what she stole from me—it was only what could be replaced. She doesn’t do this to hurt people.”

There was silence, and when Alice glanced over, she found Flora watching her with curiosity. “What?”

“You don’t even sound angry,” Flora said slowly.

“I’m not. Well, I was at first,” Alice admitted, carefully checking the rearview mirror before merging into another lane. “But what was the damage, after everything? The bank’s refunded my money, the credit card debt is being written off. And…” She’d been about to mention Safe Haven and all the good Ella’s donation was doing over there but caught herself just in time. Instead, she said vaguely, “And, perhaps she did something worthwhile with it, after all.”

“That’s very…Zen,” Flora said dubiously.

Alice smiled. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m sorry about all the inconvenience it caused for you, and Stefan, and everyone, but…” She shrugged. “She didn’t leave me any worse off, in the end.”

“But didn’t someone have to pay?” Flora asked. “Money can’t just appear, right?”

“So some multibillion-pound banking corporations had to eat into their profits.” Alice remarked with a grin, “Let’s all take a moment to weep.”

Flora giggled. “Alice!”

“What? You know it’s true.”

“I know, it’s just…Where did this come from?” Flora looked at her, clearly taken aback. “You’ve always been the one going on about rules and doing the right thing.”

“You make me sound so exciting,” Alice remarked drily.

Flora giggled again. “No, it’s good. I think. You seem…happier now.”

“See?” Alice flashed her a grin. “This mess hasn’t done me any harm at all.”

Perhaps Ella had even planned it that way.

***

When they were nearing the outskirts of the city, Alice had Flora call ahead to the first victim and set up a brief chat. Illana Mayers still lived at that same address as before and would be happy to talk to them. Soon, they were turning up Elmwood Avenue: the former home of one Miss Kate Jackson.

Flora climbed out of the car, looking around eagerly, but her face quickly settled into a more bemused expression. “It doesn’t look like a hotbed of fraud and deception…”

Alice had to agree. The suburban street was quiet, leafy, and entirely unremarkable. Semidetached houses lined the road, divided by hedges and freshly painted fences, and although there wasn’t anything as idyllic as children playing freely in the street, there were enough toys scattered in front gardens and bicycles leaning against garage doors to prove the area a family-friendly zone.

“Why would Ella bother living somewhere like this?” Flora followed her up the road. “It’s miles out of the city center.”

“I don’t know…” Alice looked around, trying to put herself in Ella’s mind-set again. By now, it was simple. “Maybe she wanted the peace and quiet. Or maybe she just figured people around here wouldn’t be shredding all their important documents.”

“Weird.” Flora shrugged. “I mean, what does she do—just pick a place, and show up, and start stalking people?”

“Not stalking,” Alice corrected. “Watching.”

“Like there’s a difference.”

The address from Nathan’s file was near the top of the road: a large Victorian with gravel in the front yard and four buzzers lined up beside the door, marking the separate flats. Alice tested the door before calling up, but it was firmly locked, no doubt an aftereffect of the fraud. Sure enough, when Illana buzzed them in, there was a pile of letters jumbled on the doormat and a simple hall table for post and other deliveries: an invitation for theft and mail tampering if ever she saw. No security cameras either, of course, and she would bet that the residents didn’t know each other well enough to guess if that nondescript woman slipping in behind them was a friend dropping by or an imposter set on stealing their life savings.

Illana was waiting in the doorway on the second floor. A nervous-looking woman in her early thirties, she was outfitted in baggy sweatpants and a T-shirt, with her dark hair scraped back in a ponytail. “Hi,” she greeted them with an awkward smile. “Come on in. I can’t talk long, I’m afraid, but maybe it will help…”

“Thanks so much for seeing me.” Alice quickly moved to reassure her: giving a friendly grin and whipping out her notebook and pen. They followed her through to the sitting room, which was strewn with magazines, dirty cups, and random items of clothing.

“I’m sorry about the mess.” Illana blushed. “I didn’t have any time…”

“Oh, no, it’s fine!” Alice insisted, as Flora plucked a pair of tights from the couch and took a seat. “You should see our place—you can barely see the floor sometimes.” Flora raised an eyebrow at the obvious untruth, but the white lie worked: Illana perched on the edge of a chair, seeming to relax.

“So, you want to know about the identity theft?” she asked, blinking at Alice. “It was a while ago now, and I told the police everything I could.”

“Let me guess,” Alice said sympathetically. “They couldn’t help at all.”

“They tried,” Illana offered. “And the banks too, but it took months to unravel everything, and get them to replace the money.”

“But you got it all back, in the end?” Alice sent a meaningful look at Flora.

“Yes, eventually.” Illana nodded. “I was lucky, they didn’t open any credit cards or anything in my name, but Patrick—he lived downstairs,” she explained. “He had about seventy grand of debt by the end of it. They were calling him all the time, really hassling him.”

“And you never had any idea who did it?” Alice prompted.

She shook her head. “They said it could be criminal gangs, you know, professionals, but if you say it was this woman Ella,” she sighed. “I really don’t know. CCTV showed a woman withdrawing the money at ATMs, but it was always dark, or she had a scarf around her hair or something. Sorry.” She gave a weak smile. “I wish I could be more help.”

“You’re doing great!” Flora piped up.

“This is going to sound strange, perhaps,” Alice began. “But did you make any new friends around that time—or even before then, any time in the previous six months or so? See, that’s how it happened to me,” she explained. “Ella—this woman—she met me in a class and struck up conversation. We became friends, that’s how she was able to access my papers and things.

Illana blinked. “No…No, I don’t think so. I mean, I keep pretty much to myself,” she blushed. “So, I would have noticed if there was anyone new hanging around. The police went through this all,” she added. “When we realized it was more than one of us, in the building? They thought it might be a friend, or partner, or something, so they interviewed everyone. But…” She trailed off.

“She would have been about my height,” Alice tried again. “Brown hair, perhaps, although she could have dyed it to anything. Average features, but…” Now it was her turn to trail off. Her descriptions were so vague as to be practically useless.

“Sorry,” Illana apologized again. “I really didn’t meet anyone new or see anyone suspicious. That was the thing, we couldn’t explain it.”

“That’s OK.” Alice tried to smile. “You’ve been really helpful.” She and Flora got up. “Can I leave you my number, in case you think of anything?”

“Sure.” Illana took the scribbled details and showed them to the door. “Good luck, I guess.”

Alice waited until they were on the street again before sighing. “Well, that was useful…”

“She seemed nice,” Flora noted, glancing back up at the flat.

“Nice, yes—observant, no.” Alice frowned. Clearly, Ella had infiltrated her life in some way but had been so discreet, Illana didn’t even notice. So much for her training-period theory. She unlocked the car, wondering how Ella had blended into the background so completely—nondescript clothing, perhaps, and an average haircut. It had always been Ella’s charm and vivacity that made an impact, so Alice had little doubt she could become invisible should the situation demand.

“So, who’s next?” Flora slid into the passenger seat.

Alice consulted her notes. “Randeep Karimi. He moved just after it happened; he’s an assistant manager at CompuWorld, working a shift today. Let’s hope he’s more of a help.”

***

But he wasn’t. In fact, out of the three people who had been thoroughly defrauded by Ella, not one could recall so much as meeting her.

“Nope.” The final victim, Patrick O’Neal, shifted restlessly on the spot. A masculine man with greasy red hair, Alice had managed to catch him at his Saturday football league, taking a halftime break from what was clearly a raucous, violent match on the far corner of a muddy park. “Never seen her.”

“You’re sure?” Alice asked again, a note of desperation creeping into her tone. This was her final clue. Illana had been useless, and Randeep, apologetic but blank—Patrick was their final hope. “You didn’t meet anyone in a bar, or club, around that time?”

His face stretched into a sleazy grin. “Darlin’, I meet girls all the time. Doesn’t mean I remember them.”

Alice sighed. “This one, you would have maybe taken home? Or—”

“Look, I told the cops everything I could.” He shrugged. “Anyway, there’s no chance it was just some girl ripping me off. The fuckers took everything. It was a gang, right. Professionals.”

“Yes, but—”

“Look, I ain’t got time for this.” Patrick started backing away. “Good luck with it, yeah?” He turned and jogged back to where his teammates were gulping sports drinks on the sidelines.

Alice began to walk back across the field, dejected. It had been a long shot, she knew, but still, she’d expected something to be revealed, a small gem of insight or information into Ella’s makings.

“Well?” Flora was perched on a park bench in the sun. She was wearing a pretty, gauzy white dress, with her hair in two thin plaits. “What’s the news?”

“No news.” Alice sat down beside her with a sigh. “He says he hasn’t seen her, but he would hardly even talk to me…”

“Why not?”

She shrugged. “Busy, with the game. Also, I doubt it’s his finest moment—being defrauded like that.” Alice looked at the small figures, dashing around on the other side of the field. “He’s been telling himself it’s the work of a vast criminal network,” she told Flora. “I think to take the edge off. Nobody wants to admit it’s as easy as one woman and an old bank statement—it undermines their manly prowess, you know?”

Flora laughed. “Why don’t I try talking to him?”

Alice paused, smiling over at her. “That’s sweet of you to offer, but I don’t think it’ll help.”

“No, really, let me try,” Flora argued. “I can help, you know, with his manly prowess.”

Alice raised an eyebrow, but Flora made a knowing face. “Come on, it’s not like I’m exactly threatening.” She held up a braid in each hand as evidence.

Alice laughed. “Well…OK. Why not?” She looked back across the field. It wasn’t as if she had any better options, and if Flora could actually prompt him to reveal something… “But these will have to go, I think.” She reached over and began to undo Flora’s hair. “They do make you look, um, rather young.”

“I know.” She shrugged, apparently unconcerned, and started combing out the other plait. “Sometimes it’s just easier, looking fifteen. People don’t really expect anything from you.”

Before Alice could think more about that curious statement, Flora leaped up. “Wish me luck!”

“Good luck. And remember to ask him about anyone he invited home,” Alice added. “And if they—”

“Relax!” Flora laughed. She fluffed out her hair and quickly applied a slick of Vaseline to her lips. “I’ve been watching you do this all day.”

Alice watched her trot enthusiastically toward the football game. The match was under way again, with shouts and the frequent blast of the referee’s whistle drifting on the breeze, but clearly, the lure of Flora’s angelic visage was temptation enough for Patrick. All it took was a comment to one of the teammates, and within moments, he had been fetched from the field. She certainly had her skills, but as Alice waited, she wondered about that cryptic comment. Flora had been so upset by being left out of the Italy operation. She’d accused Alice of underestimating her, but on the other hand, there she was, happy to act young and helpless because it was just easier that way—to have people doting on her and doing everything in her place.