The Wolves of London (12 page)

‘How do I know that?’

‘You’ll just have to trust me.’ Her voice was persuasive, even sympathetic. ‘I’ll explain it all when you get here.’

I didn’t like it, but it seemed I had no choice. ‘It’ll take me a while to reach you.’

‘Just be as quick as you can.’

Thinking she was about to ring off, I said desperately, ‘Please, Clover. Just tell me if Kate’s safe.’

She hesitated. ‘As far as I know.’

‘As far as you know? What does that mean?’

‘See you soon, Alex.’

The phone went dead.

For the latter part of the journey I sat hunched over, staring down at my hands, which were clenched between my knees. I didn’t look up, didn’t move. I felt like I was conserving my energy for some ordeal. I went through everything that had happened, trying to find some new insight, some clue in the conversations I’d had with Paula, with Benny, with Clover. I tried to work out whether I was doing the right thing by going back to Incognito. I’d been there last night, so if Benny or Clover meant to do me harm they had already had ample opportunity – yet even so I couldn’t shake the suspicion that I was the equivalent of some unsuspecting woodland creature wandering blithely into a hunter’s trap. Then again, if I was the real target, kidnapping Kate seemed like an odd move. Wouldn’t it have been easier to have put a bullet through my head and dump my body in the Thames in a weighted sack? After all, a missing kid is big news. National news. It’s emotional, it tugs on people’s heart strings. But a single guy? If
he
goes missing, or does a bunk, nobody much cares outside his immediate family.

The other factor that disturbed me about Kate’s disappearance was that it seemed to have been no spur-of-the-moment thing. Assuming that the Sherwoods had been her kidnappers, didn’t it follow that they had moved into the building with the sole purpose of abducting her? They had been living across the landing from us now for… how long? The best part of a year? I couldn’t remember exactly, but they had certainly taken the time and effort to gain my trust over many months. It now appeared that they had bided their time, waited for the optimum moment… and then simply vanished with my daughter.

And all this stuff with Candice and her drug-dealing boyfriend, and with Benny and Clover – had that been part of the plan too? Was Mitch’s threatening of Candice merely the first of a chain of pre-planned events leading to this moment? Or had the Sherwoods – whether acting alone or as part of some group or organisation – simply taken advantage of the situation, seizing their moment while my back was turned and my attention diverted elsewhere?

Round and round it went in my head, and each time I came up with different questions, different possibilities, different permutations. But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t seem to get the pieces to fit.

Maybe it
would
be better simply to hand everything over to the cops. They were the experts, after all. They had the manpower, the know-how, the authority. Then again, they would just play things by the book. They weren’t emotionally involved like I was. They wouldn’t be prepared to bend the rules, to negotiate.

I was still trying to work it all out when I arrived at Incognito. In the daylight the neighbourhood looked more of a shithole than ever. The alleyway was filthy and stank of overflowing bins. I wondered if any of the other businesses flanking the club or facing it across the street were still operational. This whole place had the feel of a corpse that was long dead and rotting. I raised a fist and banged on the metal door.

As I stood waiting I got the feeling that someone was standing behind me. I felt a chill across my back, a prickling in my shoulders and neck. It was as if someone had stepped up close enough to blot out what little warmth and light was seeping from the grim sky after that morning’s rain. I spun round, ready to defend myself – but there was no one there. I saw a flash of movement in the grimy glass of the building opposite, but it was just the reflection of my own body, raising its fists.

Next thing, the door to Incognito was grinding open and Mary was peering out at me. I glared back at her without saying anything. I wasn’t prepared to take any of her bad-tempered bullshit today.

She let me in and led me through the labyrinth of corridors to Clover’s office with hardly a word. Clover rose from behind her desk, hands clasped in front of her. She looked sympathetic, eyes sad and mouth downturned, as if she understood exactly what I was going through. I wondered how much of that was show, and whether she was deliberately keeping the desk between us as a shield. Mary hovered in the background, waiting for instructions.

‘Would you like some tea, Alex?’ Clover asked.

‘No,’ I said.

Clover glanced at the older woman. ‘Thanks, Mary. If anything crops up can you deal with it? I don’t want to be disturbed.’

Whatever Mary’s response was, I didn’t see it. I kept my eyes on Clover. A couple of seconds later I heard the door close behind me.

As soon as Mary had gone, Clover said, ‘I’m so sorry about what’s happened, Alex. You must be worried sick.’

‘Just tell me what you know,’ I said. After my inner turmoil on the tube, I was pleased to hear the calmness in my voice, even if my throat did feel a little tight.

She nodded. ‘Of course.’ Glancing down at the computer screen in front of her, she put her hand over the mouse, moved it an inch or so and left-clicked. ‘A couple of hours ago I got this.’

She stood to one side, indicating that I should join her behind the desk. I walked round and looked down at the email she had opened. I made myself concentrate on it, read it slowly.

Dear Ms Monroe,

You don’t know us, but we have a mutual acquaintance, Alex Locke. I would like you to contact Mr Locke immediately and inform him that we are currently in possession of his youngest daughter, Kate, and that in order to maintain her well-being and facilitate her release he must follow our instructions to the letter.

We know that you contacted him yesterday with regard to obtaining a particular artefact. What we require Mr Locke to do is to obtain the artefact, as per your offer, and deliver it to our mutual clients, representatives of the Ishikawa Corporation, who will be awaiting his arrival in Suite 5 of the Royal Gloucester Hotel on Frith Street at precisely 2 a.m. tomorrow morning (Wednesday, 3 October).

At present Kate is being well looked after. She believes she is in the care of a friend of her father’s, and that her father has been called away unexpectedly on business. As a treat she has been allowed to choose her favourite food for lunch (Hawaiian pizza and Super Noodles, with Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food ice cream to follow) and is now watching her favourite movie Toy Story 3 on DVD.

If you and Mr Locke accede to our request, Kate will be returned unharmed tomorrow morning. If, however, our requirements are not met, then we will kill the child. Please be assured that this is not an idle threat.

The situation, therefore, is clear. Mr Locke will obtain the artefact and deliver it to our clients at the previously specified time and location. It is a simple task, and one which we are certain he will perform admirably. Naturally, neither yourself nor Mr Locke will inform anyone else of the task, or allow them to become involved in its execution. Any suggestion of police involvement – or indeed of the involvement of friends, colleagues or family members who you may feel tempted to contact – will result in Kate’s immediate death.

Any attempt to track this email to its source will similarly result in Kate’s death. Please be assured that your actions are being monitored at all times, and that any attempt to deviate from the course set out for you will be met with the direst of consequences. To remove temptation, we feel compelled to inform you that this temporary email account was created in an internet café, and that all traces of its creator have been excised from online records.

Finally, please don’t think that once the task has been completed to our satisfaction and Mr Locke’s daughter has been returned to him, either of you will be free to entertain notions of justice and/or retribution. It would serve you well to remember that you, Ms Monroe, together with Mr Locke and his daughters, will remain for ever vulnerable.

That was it. No goodbye, no ‘Yours Sincerely’, no name. At some point during the reading my hand had crept up to cover my mouth, as if to stifle a scream. Now I became aware that the hand was trembling, and also that I felt cold, sick, trapped. I leaned against the wall, worried that if I didn’t support myself my legs might give way.

Clover was looking at me, a frown of concern or apology on her face. Although my mind was frozen with shock, I tried to read the email again, searching for clues hidden within the text. The message had been sent at 8.55, but what did that tell me? I had no idea what time the Sherwoods had left their flat and started their journey to wherever they had taken my daughter, which meant that Kate could be literally anywhere in the world by now. Having said that, if the bit about the pizza, Super Noodles and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream was to be believed – and the fact that they
were
Kate’s favourite foods led me to think that the sender was telling the truth – then presumably she had to be somewhere where those products were readily available. Not that that narrowed things down a great deal.

Toy Story 3
. Mention of the film sent a pang through my chest. It was unsurprising that Kate had asked to see it, but combined with what the sender had said about my actions being monitored at all times, it gave me the creepy sensation not only of being watched, but also of my thoughts being accessed. However, even as I recalled how I had reached out for the colouring book in the flat earlier, whilst remembering mine and Kate’s visit to the cinema, I was telling myself that I mustn’t think that way, I mustn’t allow myself to get paranoid. I had no idea who had sent the email, or who – if anyone – he was working for, but I mustn’t start to imagine him as some invulnerable supervillain.

So where did that leave me? And what should my next move be? I didn’t realise Clover was talking until she shouted my name so loudly that it was clear she’d already repeated it several times.

Startled, I looked at her. ‘What?’

‘Are you all right?’ she asked, reaching out tentatively and placing a hand on my arm.

I laughed without humour. ‘What do
you
think?’

She rolled her eyes as if the question was too big to answer. ‘What I think is that we’re probably out of our depth.’

I scrutinised her face, looking for signs of deception. ‘You
really
have no idea what this is about?’

She shook her head. ‘Not a clue.’

‘Because what strikes me is that this would be a sure-fire way of getting me to do the job you want me to do.’

Her eyes widened, as if that hadn’t occurred to her. ‘I swear, Alex, this is nothing to do with me. I would never stoop so low…’

‘But how can I be sure? I don’t even know you.’

She shook her head. ‘I don’t know. You can’t, I suppose.’

‘And this
is
your job. Your idea.’

‘Then someone must have hijacked it.’

‘Who?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘But who else knows about this? Who else knows about
me
?’

Either she was a bloody good actress or she was genuinely shocked as the penny dropped. ‘Only Benny.’

‘So it must be him.’ I took my phone out of my pocket, started to dial.

She reached out as if to snatch the phone off me. ‘What are you doing?’

‘I’m calling him. What do you think?’

‘But what if it
isn’t
him?’

‘It is. It’s got to be.’

‘But what if it
isn’t
, Alex? Remember what the email said about not telling anyone else. Are you prepared to take that risk?’

I paused, turned off the phone. Thinking hard, I said, ‘If it
was
Benny, he would say that, though, wouldn’t he, to keep us off his back? It’s got to be Benny. And if it’s not Benny, then it’s you.’

‘It’s not me,’ Clover said. ‘And I can’t believe it’s Benny either. But if it
is
Benny, and he’s got Kate, then won’t he kill her if you call him? I mean, you’d still be going against his instructions, wouldn’t you?’ She paused. ‘It must be someone else.’

‘Must it? Who?’

‘Well… Benny could have told someone. Or the Japanese – the Ishikawa Corporation – could have been keeping tabs on us.’

‘That doesn’t make sense,’ I said. ‘Kate’s abduction was no spur-of-the-moment thing. It looks to have been carefully planned. The people who took her were her regular babysitters, friends and neighbours of mine; they’ve been living next door for about a year. They have a little boy called Hamish. But this morning their flat was empty, cleaned out.’

Clover looked baffled, but I could see that she was trying to figure it out. ‘Well… maybe it was just
made
to look as though they’d taken her, to throw you off the scent.’

‘Maybe, but…’ I thought about it, but I still couldn’t seem to make the pieces fit. There were too many possibilities, too many variables. And too many suspects – including Clover herself. What really baffled me was why
I
was so important to the plans of whoever was behind this – because that was what it looked like. Someone had gone to great lengths to manoeuvre me into a corner. But why? Why did
I
have to be the one to steal the artefact? Why couldn’t they get some other guy, someone who was happy to do the job, someone with less baggage? Frustration boiled up inside me and I thumped the desk. ‘Fuck!’ I blurted. ‘Whoever’s behind this has got us over a fucking barrel, hasn’t he?’

‘Looks that way.’

‘Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!’

Clover waited until I’d simmered down, and then she asked, ‘So what are you going to do?’

I pulled a face. ‘I don’t think I’ve got much choice.’