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.My heart was beating so fast I thought it might trip up - maybe stop altogether, and I'd just die of fucking fright.'I believe you,' he said.I bent down and leaned on my knees.'Deep breaths.' He patted me on the back.'She's been kidnapped,' I said.'By that guy on the news.''Yeah, I know.' He rolled his shoulders.'Come on, man.Stand the fuck up.'I took another couple of breaths, then risked it.It seemed more or less okay.'I got a text from her,' Choc said.'The police were there and they were interested in that.Too fucking interested.And then later on, she was all over the TV.''I know.''We've been keeping a watch on your office all day.We followed that fat guy you work with.''Rob.''Yeah, we followed that guy.The police are at your house and your office, and there's one of them who was keen on you yesterday morning when they showed up.Obvious conclusion is, they think it's you.'I nodded.'It isn't, though.''Yeah.I believe you now.If I didn't, you'd be in the skip.So the question is, why aren't the police as smart as me right now? Aside from the usual reasons.''I got a text from her too, and I went round to check she was okay.I found a note.The guy who's taken her has been making me do things.He said if I told the police, he'd kill Tori.He's been making it look as though it was me.' I thought about Emma again.'Some of the things he's made me do.'Choc tilted his head and looked at me.Re-evaluating me slightly, perhaps.'Yeah, but why? And who is this guy?''I don't know,' I said.'But he's got Tori, and he's going round to my girlfriend's house.Probably right now.We've got to call the police.'Choc turned around and shook his head.'Not as easy as that.''What? You said you believed me--''Alex is dead.'He said it quietly, expecting it to silence me.It did.I tried to piece it together in my head, but I couldn't.The only thing it explained was why Choc was so angry.Beneath it, I could now sense the grief inside him.He was standing with his back to me, utterly motionless.'What happened?' I said.'Someone called round on him.Nothing got stolen, but he was beaten up pretty badly, as though someone wanted to get something out of him.''What?''That, I don't know.But in our line of work it pays to have a few sources.The police have found something at his place.Whatever it is, it connects him to this, somehow.Either the guy wanted it, or the guy left it.'Why would the killer have attacked Cardo?It didn't make any sense.'Maybe he was watching me,' I said.It was the only thing I could think of.'He might have followed you guys from my flat that evening you called round.But I don't know why.'Choc nodded once, but not as though he believed it.Then he turned back to me.I expected there to be something in his face, even if it was just hatred or rage, but there was nothing.In fact, he looked completely calm, as though he'd just finished storing away the emotions I'd seen, until he was ready to use them properly.'You say he's going to your girlfriend's?'I nodded.'We need to call the police.''No,' he said.'We're going ourselves.'He stared at me, as though daring me to disagree.I wanted to.But then I thought about it.If the killer was there when the police arrived, he might be true to his word and not tell them where Tori was.I glanced at the skip behind me.Choc would probably have a bit more success in getting him to talk.'Come on, then,' I said.Chapter ThirtySaturday 3rd SeptemberBack in the incident room, sitting at his desk, Sam Currie was trying hard to soak up the fact that three of his officers had just spent the best part of an hour tracking Dave Lewis's phone to a post office van on its way south of the city.The bastard must have stuck his mobile in an envelope and posted it.His resources were stretched thin enough as it was.He wearily addressed the officer who had called him.'You're going to have to stay with the vehicle,' he said.'And sort through the mail until you find the envelope it's in.''Okay, sir.There are about fifteen full bags in the back.'Jesus wept.He took his own mobile out and typed Dave Lewis's number into it.Dialled.Waited.'Is one of the bags ringing, officer?''Yes, sir.''Then it's in that one.'He hung up, then closed his eyes and massaged them gently.His head was beginning to pound.An hour ago, despite the remaining questions, everything had been so much simpler.Lewis had seemed a dead lock for the killings, and they'd been closing in on him.Now they had no idea where he was or what was going on, and Currie no longer knew what to think.'Interfering with the post counts as treason,' Swann offered.'Doesn't that still carry the death penalty?'Currie raised his eyebrows but said nothing.Come on, Sam.He opened his eyes and picked up his coffee.The three of them - himself, Swann and Dan Bright - were sitting at a round table in the main incident room, slightly apart from the other officers.Bright was in his fifties, but had the good tan and tight skin of a man determined to wage war on the ageing process by any means necessary, including cosmetic.His grey hair was cut short and spiky, and he seemed trim and fit, dressed in an expensive-looking suit.Currie was annoyed to find himself feeling old in comparison - much as he did whenever Swann hit the gym, or had his hair styled.At least he could console himself that his partner had another ten years to stop caring.Bright had a case file in front of him, and was clearly waiting patiently for Currie to get his wits together.He still wasn't sure why the man was here, or why they were going to listen to him - more than ever, Currie felt that urge to be moving - but at the moment there was nowhere else for them to go.The various scenes were ticking over slowly, and that was all they had.'Okay, Dan.' He took a sip of coffee and tried to shrug away the tiredness.'Thanks for coming over.''It's my pleasure,' he said.'If you can call it that.And when I put your phone call together with what I'd seen on the news, it was also my responsibility.'Currie glanced at the whiteboard.'I should tell you that I was only wanting some background when I phoned.Carroll's name came up in the course of our investigation, but we don't think he's responsible.In fact, we know he isn't.'Bright looked at him for a second, and his face reminded Currie of Mary.You have no idea what my father is capable of.'Perhaps it would help if I told you a little more about him?'Currie relented.'Okay.Give us some context on him.He was a colleague of yours, is that right? A detective.'Bright nodded.'We do things a little differently down there, though.In the city, I guess you cover a lot of different ground, but Richmond is small, and in those days, we more or less handled our own patches.Everything from community support upwards.Frank was Officer in Charge of the Carnegie estate [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]