Bye Bye Baby (30 page)

31

Anne handed the cheque to her companion. ‘I really appreciate this.’

‘The thanks are mine.’ Billy beamed. ‘A long rental at the tail of winter is fantastic, but I know it will suit your needs and I’m glad it worked out, Anne.’

They smiled at one another; a slightly difficult pause followed. ‘What train are you taking?’ Billy said.

She looked at her watch. ‘Leaves in about fourteen minutes, plenty of time.’

‘And I’ll still see you this evening, okay?’

‘I think you’ll like these people. As I say, one’s in hotels, I think you’ll both get on really well. Who knows where it might lead?’

Billy nodded. ‘Right, well . . .’

‘Listen, have you got much on this afternoon?’ He hesitated, shrugged. Anne didn’t let him get much further. ‘It’s just ... why don’t you hop on the train with me now?’

‘Now?’ He glanced at his watch.

‘Come on, come now. We can travel into Brighton, grab a late lunch, roll into drinks and be leaving by eight-thirty.’

‘Are you coming back to Hastings tonight?’ he asked.

‘That was my new plan. I thought I’d stay at the Dovecote. Don’t worry, you don’t have to set up any of the usual B&B gear in the fridge. So long as the sheets are clean and I have fresh towels and heating, I’m set to go. So, say yes, come now.’

Billy frowned. ‘I did have someone I needed to see.’

Anne had no intention of letting this happen. ‘Oh, come on, please. I’m going to see a marvellous mansion apartment on Brunswick Terrace. I haven’t seen it for two months. The client has spent a cool fortune on its redesign and refurbishment, all to my specifications, I might add,’ she said archly and noted Billy’s frown lighten, turn to a grin. ‘I promise you, you’ll enjoy seeing it.’

‘It must be fun spending other people’s money,’ he admitted. ‘I’m always hampered by how far I can push my bank manager, how much overdraft I can play with. I so often want to do these places up better but I have to show restraint.’

‘My sort of clients don’t understand restraint when it comes to money,’ Anne said gleefully. ‘Great for business, of course.’

‘Have you ever kitted out a place for someone famous?’

‘Celebrity, you mean?’ He nodded. ‘At least a dozen I could run off the top of my head, probably closer to twenty.’

‘Who’s your most famous client?’

‘A major movie star — I redecorated her magnificent mews in London while she was appearing in a West End production for two years.’

‘Who? You have to tell me!’

‘They make me sign papers never to share details, I’m afraid. It’s a bit like a doctor-patient relationship.’

‘Oh, rubbish — that just makes them feel important. I’m sure she sold the story instantly to
Hello
magazine.’

Anne turned a make-believe key at her lips and shook her head. Then grinned. ‘I’ll tell you if you come with me now.’

‘Anne, I —’

‘It’ll be a lovely afternoon, I promise. You work so hard, surely you’re allowed a half day off now and then? In fact, it’s hardly even a half day. And the person you need to meet — well, you can see them tomorrow, I’m sure.’

Billy didn’t look so certain. Anne guessed it had to be a woman.

‘Come on, jump on the train and I’ll drive us both back tonight. You can catch a cab from the fringe of town if you think it will set tongues wagging.’

Billy looked as though he was teetering on the edge. Anne pushed.

‘Look, I have to go. I’d love you to come and see this place I’ve done up — no client, just us. I can show you through the whole apartment.’

She saw his shoulders relax and knew Billy’s vanity had won through. No matter how the past nagged, he was flattered to have such a good-looking woman pestering for his company. If only he knew the truth.

‘Oh, what the hell,’ he said. ‘But what about drinks? Am I dressed okay?’

‘You look great,’ she cooed. ‘Love that jacket.’

Anne had changed in her van out of her mock catering clothes with a view to complementing how she expected Billy to be dressed in the middle of the day when he wasn’t expecting company. She’d already noticed he was a sharp dresser, so she knew that even if he was in jeans they’d be smart, and she was right. In his designer jeans and suede jacket Billy had nothing to worry about, and her equally casual but smart attire assured him of this.

‘I’m not changing,’ she added.

‘Okay,’ he replied, resigned. He turned off the engine and locked the car. ‘Let me just make a quick call.’

‘No time,’ Anne warned. ‘I can see the train pulling into the platform. Let’s just get on and you can call from there.’

He nodded and Anne touched the slim mobile in the pocket of her coat. Billy would never make another call during what little life he had left.

She grabbed his arm and hurried him towards the platform.

Jack strode towards a nervous-looking Kate. ‘Why the welcoming party?’

‘I need to talk to you, sir.’

‘The Yard is just down the road.’

‘In private.’

Jack sighed. ‘Kate, we’re in the middle of a major crime op—’

‘It’s about Operation Danube, sir.’

Jack stared at her, trying to guess what was coming at him. Could the day get worse? He suspected it might, going by Kate’s fidgeting and worried expression.

‘A quick coffee? What I need to say will only take a minute, sir, you don’t even have to drink it.’

‘Alright. But it’d better be good.’

Kate blinked, obviously unsure whether he meant the coffee. ‘How about this place?’ she offered, pointing towards yet another new cafe franchise.

He shrugged. ‘Fine. Any sign of the van in Hastings?’ he asked as he strode towards the coffee shop, Kate skipping to keep up.

‘No, but they’ve found Fletcher’s car. You grab a spot, sir. I’ll get them. Strong latte, right?’ He nodded. ‘Won’t be a sec.’

Jack moved unhappily to a tiny two-seater table in the corner of the equally tiny cafe and squeezed into one of the fake bentwood chairs. His long legs wouldn’t fold comfortably into the sparse amount of space so he had to sit with his back to the window and stick them out beneath another table next to them. Kate arrived balancing two glasses with paper napkins expertly tied around the top so the drinkers wouldn’t scorch their fingers.

‘Smells like a decent enough brew,’ she began, trying hard, Jack noticed, to ease the tension between them.

He softened, feeling immediately sorry for her. He liked Kate very much and had meant what he had said earlier. In a different lifetime under different circumstances and in a different profession, they may well have become involved. He had lied when he’d said that Kate didn’t fit his taste in women, but he could hardly admit to Dan that he was strongly attracted to his fiancee. He had learned a horrible but important lesson with DS Liz Drummond though, and
he had no intention of repeating it. What he hadn’t foreseen was Kate’s fascination for him.

‘Relax, Kate. This morning is behind us. I have far more catastrophic things on my mind,’ he said.

As though she hadn’t heard him, Kate launched into what sounded like a prepared speech.

‘Firstly, I want to apologise properly about this morning. I’m embarrassed by Dan and I’m ashamed we put you through that. No, wait, let me finish,’ she said as Jack opened his mouth to protest. ‘The fact is, I have been harbouring an unhealthy admiration for you.’ Jack looked into his coffee, uncomfortable. ‘It’s all been one way. You’ve done nothing wrong, sir. I think it’s a lot to do with the fact that I have been feeling hesitant recently about Dan and making the whole marriage commitment. And then this position came up — I grabbed it with both hands, desperate to escape the boredom of Kingston but even more desperate to work alongside you again. I’d be lying to you if I didn’t admit this. I can’t help how my heart feels, sir. I can, however, control it and I’m begging you not to take me off this case, and I promise you that we won’t have to speak of this again.’

She paused, began again wistfully. ‘You and I, well, we couldn’t work, I realise this now after all you’ve said, and I’m sorry for putting you in such a difficult position. I’m totally committed to this case, sir and I won’t let you down.’ She placed her hands emphatically on the table.

Jack sensed what it had cost Kate to reveal the truth. Her candidness was a quality that had drawn him to her originally and why he had chosen Kate Carter first when the Super asked him to select a
team. He had named her third to Martin, of course, but that had been deliberately done to throw the old man off the scent of Jack’s apparent ‘fatal flaw’. It hadn’t really worked. Martin suited his surname.

The silence stretched between them, the two lattes steaming untouched on the table.

‘I too am sorry that you feel this way and I do appreciate your honesty,’ he finally said.

‘Do you always want my honesty, Jack?’

He looked up at her quizzically; calling him by name and the odd question surprised him. ‘Absolutely! Why would you have to ask?’

‘Because although my apology was necessary, it’s not the reason I came to meet you from the train. There’s something I need to share with you but I’m almost too frightened to say it.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ he said, his expression earnest but clouded now with confusion. ‘You must never feel that way with me. We’re a team, there must be candour at all times and if I’m making you scared to approach me —’

‘I’m not scared of approaching you. I’m scared of how you’ll react to what I have to say. I want to lay some facts before you and I want you to remove all your emotions so that you can look at these facts as you would any aspect of any case you work on.’

Jack sat back, shaking his head. ‘Kate, I haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about. Why don’t you just tell me what’s on your mind? Time is ticking away.’

‘Am I still working on Danube?’

He nodded. ‘We need you. I need you,’ and he saw the flash of relief and triumph in her eyes. ‘But we can’t work together so closely unless you can —’

‘I can,’ she interrupted, keen to assure him. ‘I give you my word.’

‘Then you can stay.’

‘Thank you, sir.’

‘Now tell me what’s on your mind.’

Kate finally sipped from her coffee and Jack saw the previous agitation return to her expression.

He tried to make it easier. ‘Alright, tell me about Fletcher’s car.’

‘His BMW was found parked at the Hastings train station.’

‘Damn it!’

‘The police are interviewing all the staff to see if anyone remembers Fletcher, or a couple with a man fitting his description.’

‘He hasn’t rung anyone?’

‘Well, yes, he did call his mother after ringing his girlfriend, but before this meeting he spoke to her about. Nothing important was said, other than that he was due to meet someone and had to go. The most damning clue, I suppose, is that he’d already rearranged dinner tonight with his long-time girlfriend into a very late lunch, which she said was odd, but then he proceeded to stand her up. He never arrived as promised. She can’t reach him via phone, either. He’s on voicemail only and, in her words, “He never switches the damn thing off “. She has no idea where he is or why he didn’t turn up.’

‘Nothing at the B&B?’

Kate shook her head. ‘It was all locked up, nothing abnormal — fresh tyre tracks of a BMW. Fletcher had certainly been there today.’

‘But the local boys are gaining entry, just in case,
right?’ She nodded. ‘So, give me these facts you want me to hear,’ he urged.

‘Will you promise to hear me out totally before you explode?’

‘Kate, for fuck’s sake.’

‘Okay, okay,’ she said. ‘I’m just warning that you’re probably going to be angry, but I need you to hear it all.’

He nodded. ‘Tell me.’ It came out as an order.

Kate sucked in a breath, put down her coffee to one side. ‘It’s about Sophie. No, please! You promised.’

The sound of Jack’s chair scraping on the floor still echoed as his jaw worked to control a fresh wave of anger. He remained silent at her plea.

‘Thank you, sir — just let me say what I have to.’ She took another breath, allowed a momentary pause before she began again. ‘Sophie told you she was going to Devon today — that’s right, isn’t it?’

He nodded, fury barely repressed.

‘She tried ringing you this afternoon, couldn’t reach you, rang the Yard and got me. She left a message with me for you that she was fine, had arrived safely in Devon, it was raining and her mother was okay.’ She was met by stony silence and Jack’s glare made her look away. ‘You applauded my honesty, sir, and I need to be utterly direct with you now. As I told you, it wasn’t raining in Devon today. And before you say anything, I have friends in North Molton and I checked with them. They confirmed what the weather bureau told me. It was a splendid day in their region, glorious across all of Devon today, in fact, but especially in North Molton where it was cold but very sunny, not even drizzling.’

‘Perhaps she was simply making conversation,’ Jack said, his words icy.

‘Perhaps she was, but she told you the same thing apparently and I can’t imagine why the woman you’re sleeping with, the woman — whom in your words — you hold in your thoughts for each waking moment, would need to make empty conversation with you ... sir.’

‘Is that it? The sum total of why you needed this private, insulting discussion.’

Kate’s fingers clenched and unclenched with anxiety. He could see how difficult this was for her. He no longer cared.

‘No. I tried to ring the pub where you told me she was taking her mother to lunch.’

Jack closed his eyes with disbelief. ‘You did what?’

‘It’s closed for renovations. Opening in the spring.’

‘Is that conclusive, Kate? Could Sophie not have made an error? She doesn’t live in Devon — perhaps it’s been a while since her last visit.’

‘It’s been closed for almost a year, sir. They couldn’t have taken a reservation. Did she say she’d made a booking?’

Jack refused to answer that, scowling his reply instead.

‘As I thought. So she lied. Anyway, none of that matters, sir. What does is the fact that Sophie wasn’t in Devon at all today, no matter what she told you.’