Текст книги "Disgraced"

Автор книги: Annabel Chant

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    Nine

Him

‘I’m being blackmailed,’ Felicity sobbed. ‘I can’t tell Father, and Hugh won’t want to know me if it all comes out.’

‘All right,’ I said, even though it was anything but. ‘Calm down, sweetheart. I’ll fix it. I’ll come over to yours as soon as I finish the meeting I’m in. Okay?’

‘O…kay,’ she said, her voice shaking with misery. ‘But hurry, please.’

I went back to the living room, everything slotting into place in my mind. I’d known there was something that didn’t add up. To be honest, I’d even known what it was – I just hadn’t wanted to believe it.

I didn’t speak at first, but walked over to the French windows. I could just make out the Thames in the distance, not more than a slim silver ribbon weaving in and out of the buildings. By rights, I shouldn’t have been able to see it at all, but the hotel was tall – higher than anything around it – and it offered a glimpse of all sorts of secrets – inside and out. I remembered that night, chasing Rick; the subsequent drop into the water, and I wondered how it’d come to this.

‘I always thought it was strange,’ I remarked finally, turning to Alex. ‘That Rick would stab you. I mean, given your history.’

I watched as the colour drained out of his face, pausing again for effect. ‘Not bothering you now, is it? The wound, I mean.’

Alex blew out his cheeks. ‘Well, no, Sir. It’s a lot better, in fact.’

‘Mind if we see it?’ I said, casually, as if it were of no real importance. ‘I’m sure we’d all be interested.’

I looked around at the others. They looked bemused, but shrugged and nodded.

‘Certainly, Sir.’ He stood up and untucked his shirt. Lifting it up, he turned to give us all a view of the gauze covering his side, strapped into place with criss-crossed layers of surgical tape.

‘Take off the dressing, Alex,’ I said, unmoved by this display.

‘I’m sorry Sir?’

‘Take it off.’ I knew I was backing him into a corner, and could already see more sweat standing out on his brow. ‘I’d be interested to see how quickly such an injury would heal.’

‘Well, I don’t know, Sir,’ he blustered, clearly trying to prolong the inevitable. ‘Risk of infection…you know.’

Ronnie stood up. ‘Is this really necessary, my love? I mean, this is Alex we’re talking about.’

‘Sit down, Ronnie.’ I moved around to the door of the living room. ‘Yes, this is Alex. The Alex who got off the train when he was supposed to stay on it, and insisted on being in front for the chase. The Alex who, when it seemed we weren’t going to lose Rick, suddenly claimed he had the tape and, without waiting for orders, jumped him.’

Ronnie gasped and Matt let out a groan of disbelief. Only Lionel didn’t react. He’d watched the whole exchange in silence, and only turned to Alex, eyebrows raised.

‘I did it to get the tape back.’ Alex looked aghast. ‘For you, Sir. I got stabbed.’

‘Did you, though?’ I said. ‘It’s just a polite enquiry. Only, you see, that brief interlude alerted Rick of our presence and gave him time to get away. Or was that just coincidence?’

‘Show him the wound,’ said Matt. It was evident he didn’t want to believe it. ‘Alex, show him.’

Alex didn’t move for a moment, then made a sudden break for the door. I closed it firmly, and stood in front of it.

‘There’s no need to be dramatic,’ I said. ‘Where would you go, anyway? I get it, I do, really. He was like a son to you. That was what’d been bugging me throughout this whole farce.’

Alex didn’t move for a moment. When he did, it was to go back to the others and sink down in an armchair. ‘I told him not to do it,’ he said, his head in his hands. ‘I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen. I couldn’t let you find out where he was hiding.’

‘He’s at yours, Alex, isn’t he?’

He didn’t speak, only nodded. Matt looked distraught by now, and Ronnie gasped again. ‘I went round there – took you food, when you came out of hospital.’

‘He was never in hospital,’ I said. I was getting no joy out of this, but at least the truth was out. ‘At least, he was never admitted.’

Lionel got up, shaking his head in disbelief, and went out onto the balcony. I shot Alex a look of disappointment and went to join him. He was already over the far side of the balcony, and looked to be on his phone, but I had to get away from Alex for a few minutes. I was so angry. As I was about to go out through the French windows, Alex spoke again. ‘Sir?’

I turned back. ‘Yes?’

‘I’ve got the tape.’ He fished in his pocket and pulled out the source of all the trouble. ‘I got it from him when he was asleep. Replaced it. He doesn’t know.’

He held it out to me and I took it, heavy with relief.

‘Good work, Alex,’ I said, with a sigh. ‘Phone, please, as well.’

‘He says he didn’t kill the girl.’ He held out his phone.

‘Were you with him?’

Alex shook his head. ‘He could’ve done, I suppose,’ he said, reluctantly. ‘He had more reason than anyone.’

I tucked the phone in my pocket, along with the tape, and sat down on the arm of the sofa. Ronnie patted my leg. ‘Don’t be too hard on him,’ she murmured. ‘He’s not the first person to suffer divided loyalties.’

I put my hand over hers. ‘I know,’ I said. ‘If I had a child, or someone as close as one, I’d be the same. I wouldn’t give them up, not for anything.’

‘Me neither.’ Her face bunched up, suddenly, in misery and I squeezed her hand.

‘I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘I wasn’t thinking.’

She gave a brave smile and, after that, we all sat in silence for a while. The whole episode had been draining beyond measure, and I think we all needed to absorb the betrayal we’d suffered. Alex had his head in his hands again, and didn’t look at anyone.

Eventually, I got up. ‘I have to go out,’ I said. ‘But first I need to call the police.’

Alex looked up at me in alarm.

‘I have to,’ I said. ‘It’s not about the tape anymore, Alex. I can deal with that. Murder is something else.’

I got out the card my favourite police officer had presented me with on my most recent departure, and dialled her number.

At that moment, there was a knock at the front door. Ronnie went to answer it.

‘Hello, is that…’ I tailed off, as I saw the person walking through the door.

‘Were you looking for me?’ said the voice into my ear, as the speaker stood looking at me, her eyebrow raised, as usual, sarcastically.

‘Yes,’ I said, on the back foot as usual. It was becoming my habitual stance, and I didn’t like it. ‘How…?’

Lionel stepped in from the balcony. ‘I’m sorry, my boy. Your loyalty does you credit, but it’s in your best interests to be open with them. You’ve done nothing wrong.’

‘Would you care to accompany us to the station?’

‘Not really,’ I said. ‘I have things to do.’

‘You always have things to do, Mr Fforbes,’ she said, coming up close until her face was nearly touching mine. She walked around me, invading my personal space with every step. ‘I’ve never met someone so busybusybusy.’

I heaved a sigh of disgust. ‘Can I at least make a phone call before I go?’

‘I’d prefer you to come right now,’ she said in my ear. ‘Before I have to arrest you for the third time, for obstructing an investigation. I have questions for you and this time, as your lawyer so wisely suggested, it’d be helpful if you were honest with us. Save us wasting any more of your precious time.’

I turned to Lionel. ‘And Rick?’

‘It’s all in hand, my boy,’ he said, following me out. ‘It’s all in hand.’

    Ten

Him

The journey to the station was frustratingly slow, being rush hour by now. I hadn’t a clue what they were going to ask me. Christ, by now it could’ve been any number of things.

All I could think of was that I hadn’t told anyone else to check in with Felicity. Once I’d had the tape in my hand, in my mind it was sorted, but she didn’t know that. I’d wanted to call her before I left but, as usual, DI Brown had stymied my plans. It was like a full-time job to her, making my life difficult. I was tempted to be deliberately obtuse this time, just to piss her off, but I was worried about Felicity and what she’d think when I didn’t show up.

Alex had been taken in another car. Lionel arrived just after us, in his own car and, as we walked through to the now-familiar interview room, I caught sight of Rick, being divested of his personal property at the custody desk. He looked thoroughly pissed off.

As he caught sight of us, his eyes widened and he shot me a dirty look. I didn’t return it. Strangely, I didn’t feel angry with him, even after everything he’d done. It was more sadness. He’d been a valued member of my team for years, and now he was up on a murder rap for something I could’ve dealt with, if he’d come to me in the first place. In a strange way, I felt responsible. My strict moral code wasn’t for everyone, and it had proved his undoing in the end.

The questioning began almost as soon as I’d sat down.

‘Well, here we are again,’ DI Brown said, settling herself into the chair in front of me. ‘It’s almost like you’ve never been away.’

I threw her a tight smile. I had to get through this quickly, and I didn’t have time for witty ripostes.

‘Rick Palmer,’ she said. ‘How well do you know him?’

‘Quite well.’ I shrugged. ‘Not as well as I’d thought.’

‘And you think he had reason to murder Miss Fielding?’

‘I guess so.’

‘And you never thought to mention this before?’ She threw me a disbelieving look.

‘I thought he was dead.’

‘You thought…’ She trailed off and raised her eyebrow. ‘And what gave you that idea?’

‘I saw him taken under in the Thames.’ I shuddered slightly, remembering that arm reaching skyward, before disappearing into the depths. ‘He didn’t resurface. I thought the current had taken him.’

‘And you didn’t think to help him?’

‘I was in the water, too. There was nothing I could’ve done.’

‘My, my.’ She sat back in her chair. ‘What an active life you lead, Mr Fforbes. First the Thames – what’s next? The channel?’

‘It wasn’t for pleasure,’ I snapped. ‘I was chasing him.’

‘Chasing him? How quaint. And to what purpose, dare I ask?’

‘He’d…taken something of mine.’ I pursed my lips, not wanting to divulge more.

‘And had you thought of asking him nicely for it?’

I nodded.

‘Did you say please?’

‘This isn’t getting us anywhere.’ I looked at my watch. I was sure she was delaying me on purpose. ‘Can we get to the point, here?’

Giles touched my leg. ‘Easy now,’ he said. ‘Answer the nice lady’s questions.’

That seemed to ruffle her feathers far more than anything I’d said.

‘The nice lady,’ she said, acidly. ‘Will have you both here all night, if she feels like it. Now, Mr Palmer stole something from you. That is correct?’

I nodded again, trying to keep my cool.

‘And you didn’t think to report it to the proper authorities?’

‘I wanted to keep it in-house.’

‘You know,’ she paused for a moment and looked from one of us to the other. ‘That’s what I love the most about you people. Your high-handed disregard for the law. If you’d used the correct channels in the first place, maybe we wouldn’t be here today.’

I looked away from her. She could well have been right, which made it all the more galling, but it hadn’t been an option. Giles would’ve had my balls before that tape had become public knowledge. I glanced down at my pocket. The thing was in there right now, burning a hole in my chest.

‘So,’ she continued, clearly enjoying watching me squirm. ‘When your cute little game of kiss-chase ended with a man to all intents and purposes drowning in the Thames, you didn’t think to report that to the authorities?’

I shook my head. ‘It seemed pointless. In fact, it was pointless since, as I’ve just seen, he’s still very much alive.’

‘Which is the only reason I’m not charging you.’ She slammed her hand down on the table. ‘I’m fed up with your cock-and-bull stories, Mr Fforbes. Stolen artefacts…chases through the Thames… This isn’t the fucking Da Vinci Code. Give me something useful – something I can actually work with – or, I promise you, I’ll be bringing you breakfast.’

‘He was screwing around, okay?’ I said, wearily. ‘And Charlotte was blackmailing him. He was going to lose his house and, if he did, he’d have lost his family, too. His wife isn’t exactly the forgiving type. Is that clear enough?’

‘There.’ She stood up. ‘That wasn’t so difficult, now, was it? Wait there.’

She was gone for a few minutes, during which time I took the opportunity to berate Lionel and his tactics.

He listened dispassionately until I’d finished cursing him, before holding up his hands. ‘You’re still a suspect in this investigation,’ he said, unmoved. ‘My duty is to protect you, even if you don’t want to protect yourself. If it had all come out later, you’d have looked far worse.’

Again, I had no answer worth giving – he was right in everything he said, and yet it was so frustrating. I didn’t have time to worry about myself at the moment. I had to get to Felicity. She’d sounded desperate on the phone and, in my experience, desperate people committed rash acts.

When DI Brown reappeared, it was to stand at the door, looking disgruntled. ‘It seems your story checks out,’ she said, sounding none too pleased. ‘Your…colleague’s statement is pretty much the same. Of course, you could have concocted it between you, but time will tell. You’re free to go.’

I pulled myself to my feet, stretching my legs as I did so. Giles gathered up his papers, and we went to leave the room. As I was going, she stopped me. It was her usual tactic, I’d realised by now, designed to leave me unsettled, and, as usual, it worked.

‘I have to tell you, Mr Fforbes,’ she said, an unfriendly smile playing about her lips. ‘We’re going through the Jane Does from the time of Miss Maitland’s disappearance. We’re held up by her unusual family history, and the difficulty in obtaining dental records, but when we find what we’re looking for, we’ll be coming back for you. And this time, you will be charged and I’ll make damned sure it sticks.’

So that was why she had such a down on me. Giles had sorted the original assault charges, and now she was watching the murder charge fade into the sunset too. No wonder she was pissed off.

I smiled back at her. ‘I can hardly wait,’ I said, and left the interview room without looking back.

    Eleven

Him

After my escort to the police station, I’d had to take a taxi to Felicity’s. It wasn’t such a bad thing – my thoughts were all over the place, and my mind wouldn’t have been on the road.

As the taxi headed to Felicity’s, I wondered how hard they were really looking for Aimee’s body. They’d never seemed too interested at the time she’d disappeared, so why now? It was all down to DI Brown, I was sure. She seemed to have made me her pet project, as if she had some point to prove. Christ, I was beginning to hate her with a passion.

Felicity lived just outside Chiswick, in a purpose-built flat presumably bought for her by Giles. It wasn’t too far from Chelsea and, by now, the rush hour was over, so the run was smooth. That was the best that could be said for the whole scenario. I wondered what she’d thought when I didn’t turn up, and whether she’d believe me when I told her the tape had been recovered. I was looking forward to telling her, to be honest. It was the first good news I’d delivered in a while.

As we neared Chiswick, my thoughts drifted to Grace. I wondered again what she’d made of my arrest, and whether she was back with Sparkes. I hoped not but, knowing how flighty she could be, I suspected it was probably the case.

Still, there was nothing I could do about it, no matter how heavy my heart. I was still the prime suspect in a murder investigation and, with that hanging over my head, she was best off away from me. Though she hadn’t rattled me exactly, DI Brown’s final words had had an impact. I was a liability, if nothing else.

The evening light was paling as the taxi pulled up outside Felicity’s building. I got out the car, feeling almost excited at the news I was about to deliver. It was a good feeling to be the bearer of glad tidings for once but, even before I mounted the steps, I had a feeling something wasn’t right.

I knew which one was her flat. I’d followed her home after her fuckfest in the car park, and I’d waited until she got in to make sure she was safe. The light had come on, shortly after she’d entered. It was the ground floor flat on the left; the flat which now had its curtains open and only a dull light emanating from it.

I looked in at the window, and that was when I saw the sight I hope I never have to see again. Felicity was sprawled across the floor in the middle of the living room, one arm outstretched, her head turned to the side. She wasn’t moving. I tried to force open the front door, but it was solid. I hesitated for a moment, not sure what to do, before heading into the porch and ringing all the buzzers on the entry board.

After what seemed an eternity, one of them answered.

‘Please,’ I said. ‘Open up. There’s something wrong with the girl downstairs.’

I waited, but no response came, nor did any buzz to let me in. I rang again. This time several people answered, talking across each other and sounding pissed off.

‘Open the fucking door,’ I shouted. ‘It’s an emergency.’

This time, the buzzer sounded. I had no way of knowing who’d listened to my plea, but I thanked them silently as I pushed open the main front door and raced through to her own. It was nowhere near as solid as the main door. The usual crap quality of the purpose-built flat, for which I was grateful. I put my shoulder forward and rammed into it as hard as I could muster.

It started to give immediately but, even as I pulled myself back for the second thrust, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

‘Excuse me.’ It was a foreign voice, female. ‘I have the key.’

I assumed it was the concierge. To be truthful, I didn’t give a fuck who it was. They were there, the key to Felicity’s flat in their hand. For that fact alone, I applauded them. I stood back and waited while she grappled with the lock, my heart banging against my ribcage as if it wanted a swift exit.

After a few failed attempts – I think my panicked demeanour was making her nervous – I heard the lock click open. I didn’t wait for her to stand aside, but pushed straight past her into the living room I’d seen from outside. If I’d been hoping to be greeted by a different view, I was disappointed. She hadn’t moved at all. She lay in exactly the same pose, slumped on the floor. What I hadn’t been able to make out from outside were the pill bottles, strewn haphazardly around her, or the slices to her wrists, still seeping blood.

‘Mon Dieu,’ said the concierge, or whoever she was, from behind me.

I pulled out my phone to call for an ambulance. They wanted the usual ins and outs and, with each inconsequential question, I grew increasingly frustrated.

‘Can’t you just get here?’ I spat at them, after a minute or so of this. ‘My name’s Nathaniel Fforbes, though what that matters, I’m fucked if I know.’

‘You talk to them.’ I said to the concierge, eventually, before dropping to my knees, the better to assess Felicity. ‘I don’t have time for this.’

She didn’t even reply – just scuttled from the room, phone in hand – leaving me there, alone but for the seemingly lifeless body of the girl I’d promised to help.

‘Felicity,’ I urged, turning her face to me and searching for signs of life. I lifted her eyelid and her dilated pupil stared back at me, unseeing. ‘For fuck’s sake, Felicity. I was on my way. I tried to get here earlier, I did really. Please, help me out here.’

There was no response. As I took my hand from her head, it lolled back to one side, the eyelid dropping again slowly as it did so.

‘I was never going to leave you to it,’ I said, choking back the tears as I lay my ear against her chest, desperately hoping to hear some sort of rhythm, however faint, inside it. ‘Please, Felicity. Show me you’re still in there. If not for me, do it for your father.’

Whether it was because I was panicking, or whether it was because I was trying to give the kiss of life to a cadaver, I couldn’t tell, but I was met with silence. There was nothing there that I could hear – just a cavernous emptiness.

In a last desperate bid to resuscitate the lifeless body beneath me, I pulled myself up and knelt above her. Frantically trying to remember my CPR, I checked her airway, before putting the heel of my left hand on her breastbone. When I was sure I was positioned correctly, I brought the heel of the right down on top, pressing so hard I was scared I’d break right through her chest wall. One…two…three…four…five…. I didn’t pause until I’d hit thirty. Then I stopped and crouched down over her, pinching her nose between my fingers and bringing my mouth down, open and panting on top of hers. I blew, long and steady, through her flaccid lips, once…twice…before getting up above and starting again. Three lots of chest compressions, six lungfuls of air, and I paused for a moment, trying to get my breath back.

I bent down and put my ear back to her chest. ‘Come on Felicity. Nothing’s worth this,’ I said, my breathing coming hard and dry in my throat, my cheek pressed against the fleshy bosom she’d been so proud to show off in the car park. There was nothing. No response that gave me any hope. I knelt above her again. One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…

I was still doing CPR, however hopeless, when the emergency services arrived.