DS Jessica Daniel series: Think of the Children / Playing with Fire / Thicker Than Water – Books 4–6 (91 page)

Leviticus was beaming and genuinely seemed proud. ‘Whatever you may think of me, they’re why you don’t hear from me any longer. I thought my days of you lot popping over to pay
me visits were long gone.’

‘What are their names?’

‘Saul, Josiah and Zechariah.’

‘Biblical kings,’ Jessica replied without thinking.

As she turned to walk towards the table, she saw Leviticus eyeing her, nodding. ‘You know your stuff.’

‘I used to go to Sunday School when I was a kid. We had to learn all the books of the Bible in order and then we moved on to the various kings.’

‘Do you still go?’ he laughed.

Jessica shook her head as Leviticus hunched forward, pouring milk from the jug into one of the cups and then using the teapot to fill each of them. He stood and passed Jessica a cup and saucer.
The china was dainty, the exact opposite of what Jessica might have thought someone like Leviticus would have owned.

‘That’s a shame,’ he said, sitting on the sofa opposite her.

Jessica felt uncomfortable, so nodded towards a stuffed head hanging above one of the doors. ‘Is that from a real bear?’ she asked.

‘Indeed, a memento from long ago.’

‘I’ve got a mate who would absolutely love that.’

Leviticus allowed her words to hang, sipping delicately from his cup, the handle of which he held gently between his thumb and forefinger. It was almost laughable but Jessica followed his lead,
thinking the cups wouldn’t last five minutes in her possession as they would end up either broken or chipped.

‘Nicholas Long,’ Leviticus said firmly, fixing Jessica with a stare to remind her that he hadn’t always been the kind, cuddly father he now appeared to be.

Jessica took another sip of her tea, refusing to allow him to dictate terms, then reached forward and placed the china on the table. ‘What do you know about him?’

Leviticus eyed her suspiciously. ‘Why are you asking after all this time?’

‘Something’s happened.’

He nodded an acceptance, putting his own cup and saucer on the table. ‘I bet you think we’re just the same?’

‘Your records are similar.’

Still nodding, Leviticus interlocked his fingers and met Jessica’s stare. ‘What’s on paper can be deceptive.’

‘So tell me what he was like.’

Leviticus suddenly seemed uncomfortable, pulling at the lapels of his suit, flicking away specks of dust which Jessica couldn’t see. ‘We both ran similar businesses. Clubs, pubs . .
. other things. We might have seemed like natural rivals but we actually worked together for a few years, me from this side of the border, him from Manchester.’

‘How do you mean, “worked together”?’

Leviticus shrugged. ‘Use your imagination. I would help him out with certain aspects of his accounting and he’d do the same for me.’

‘What changed?’

‘I did. Whatever you may think, Nicholas Long is a very different man to me.’

Jessica didn’t disagree but she wasn’t about to say that. ‘You seem pretty alike to me.’ She opened her palms to indicate the rest of the room. ‘Vast displays of
wealth, living off money made from the misery of others, violence, drugs and everything in between.’

Leviticus paused, scratching his chin thoughtfully before replying. ‘Just because I welcome you into my home and extend my hospitality to you, don’t think you know me, Ms . . .
?’

‘It’s Jessica but I didn’t hear you denying any of that.’

He said nothing but reached forward, refilling both of their cups. He sat back in his chair, again holding the cup daintily in one hand, cradling the saucer with the other. As odd as it
appeared, it also seemed natural.

‘In the type of business I used to be in, there was always an unwritten rule about female family members. As much as you might hate each other, as much as you might compete, you always
left people’s mothers and wives out of it.’

Jessica shuddered as a chill went down her spine. ‘What did he do?’

Leviticus sipped his tea, staring towards the ceiling. Jessica could hear the rattle of the cup on saucer before the man steadied himself. ‘My mother.’

He spoke the words in the same tone as Eleanor had told her about Kayleigh the previous day. Before Jessica could respond, Leviticus continued. ‘He’s a ruthless, brutal
man.’

‘What did you do about it?’

The delicate clatter of cup on saucer began again as Jessica saw his hand shaking. ‘I was arrested on the night I was going to do something about it.’ Jessica thought of the
possession of a dangerous weapon conviction she had read next to the man’s name. ‘I came out a different person,’ Leviticus added. ‘By then, things were different anyway.
Most of my businesses had fallen through.’

‘Where does all of this come from?’ Jessica asked, indicating around the room.

‘I’m not a stupid man, I planned for all eventualities.’

Jessica nodded, not wanting to know anything further but Leviticus didn’t give her a moment to interrupt in any case.

‘When you hear of the way he treated his ex-wife, you understand he’s not the kind of man to forgive anything lightly.’

Jessica knew from their files that Nicholas had a former wife, Ruby, but assumed she had simply been traded in for a newer, younger version.

‘What happened?’ she asked.

Leviticus shook his head. ‘Any man who raises his hand to a woman is a coward.’

As she looked around, Jessica realised the room was a tribute of sorts to Leviticus’s family. There were photographs of his wife and children everywhere, not just the bookcases in the
corner.

‘How does your wife feel about all of this?’ she asked.

Leviticus peered at Jessica and then turned away, taking in the vast room. ‘She accepts me for who I am – and who I was.’

‘That’s easy to say when you have vast wealth.’

Jessica wasn’t trying to wind the man up but he didn’t seem offended anyway.

‘What would you have me do?’

It seemed a fair question. Jessica thought of the way Nicholas had been using his money to create an illusion of respectability. The authorities had presumably investigated Leviticus at some
point and not found anything to indicate they should seize his money or possessions. As if reading her mind, Leviticus added: ‘Not everything I did would have interested you lot.’

He stood quickly, placing his cup and saucer on the tray and pointing towards Jessica’s still-full cup. ‘Do you want that?’

Jessica shook her head.

‘I can get you something else if you want?’

‘I’m fine.’

‘Come with me,’ he said.

Jessica followed as he walked past the staircase along a hallway and through a door that was wedged open at the bottom. She blinked as she entered, the brightness of the room a complete contrast
to the artificial light from the rest of the house. The kitchen had a row of white worktops along each side, with a huge window that stretched almost from the floor to the ceiling at the far end.
Sunlight beamed through, bouncing off the surfaces, making Jessica rub her eyes.

As Leviticus made his way to the sink, which was around half the size of the bath in Jessica’s flat, she rested a hand on the solid worktop, trying to picture just how heavy it would have
been to install. Everything she had seen of the house had a similar expensive style.

Jessica glanced up to see Leviticus watching her, drying his hands on a tea towel. Everything about his movements oozed authority – but it was a natural charisma he exuded, as opposed to
the forced aura that Nicholas had.

‘Come look,’ he said, nodding towards the window. Jessica walked across the room, running a hand along the full length of the worktop as she did. ‘What do you see?’
Leviticus asked.

Jessica peered through, looking from side to side. There was an enormous lush green garden, stretching in every direction. On one side was a large tree, with a swing tied to one of the branches.
A football goal was in the other direction.

‘How old are your children?’ Jessica asked, ignoring his question.

‘Between eight and fourteen. This is all they’ve ever known.’

‘Football pitches in their back garden?’

Leviticus stepped away from the window and leant against the counter top. ‘You’re not seeing it.’

Jessica looked out of the window again, taking in everything she had spotted previously, before finally noticing what he meant.

‘It’s like our own private prison,’ he told her. ‘I’m not complaining, we have an amazing house, cars, a garden I could only have dreamed of when I was young, we go
on holidays all around the world – and yet we’re surrounded by massive walls, security lights and cameras.’

‘Is this all because of Nicholas Long?’

‘Among other people. It’s not an easy thing to retire from.’

Jessica didn’t know if he was trying to get her sympathy, or simply defending himself against her assumptions that he had it easy because of his wealth. She didn’t know why he cared
about her opinion.

‘Why did you start to operate in Manchester in the first place?’ she asked.

Leviticus drummed his fingers gently on the counter, probably realising she knew more than he had given her credit for. ‘Greed. I wasn’t happy with everything that I had and wanted
more.’

Jessica was impressed at his honesty. ‘What made you leave?’

‘There was only one way it was going to end up: with one or both of us dead. I didn’t want that. Ultimately, he was better than me at that side of things. He keeps impeccable records
of everything; staff, accounts, who owes him money, the lot. I was never that good at all that. He always had other people to do his dirty work for him. They were always completely loyal for
whatever reason. You’d hear about networks of people he had through the city: journalists, police officers, people in the council who dealt with planning and so on. He knew what he was doing
in Manc, I didn’t. He may have been everything you’ve read about him but he’s a businessman too and knew how to play the game.’

‘Had you already left Manchester by the time . . . it happened?’

Leviticus nodded. ‘He had already won but that wasn’t enough. It was all about sending a message to me personally. My mother was in her seventies and lived in a bungalow I bought for
her. I wanted to get her a nice big house, somewhere to live comfortably, but that was all she wanted. It was on the outskirts of the city in a quiet cul de sac. She was no threat to anyone –
she spent most of her day baking for the local kids and then she’d cook chicken once a week when I went around. Cooking was what she lived for as she got older. But one day, they came for
her.’

He shuffled awkwardly, taking off his suit jacket and placing it carefully on the worktop. Through his shirt, Jessica could see just how well-built Leviticus was. His chest stretched the
material, his biceps were bigger than her thighs. As he turned, Jessica could see vast sweat patches on his back and under his arms and wondered if his confidence in talking to her was more bravado
than she first thought.

If anyone should know the signs, then she should.

‘Are you sure I can’t get you something else?’ Leviticus asked.

Jessica knew he was trying to change the subject. She wondered how many other people he had spoken to about his mother over the years.

‘Why are you telling me all of this?’

Leviticus sighed, running his hand through his hair. ‘I assumed that’s why you were here – because you’d heard things too?’

‘What things?’

He tilted his head, squinting towards her, as if trying to work out if she was playing him. ‘I thought you were here to talk about Nicky, his son?’

Jessica knew Nicholas had a son with the same name as him but no one had spent much time looking into the teenager. She tried to shield the surprise. ‘What have you heard?’

Leviticus spoke slowly, clearly wondering if he was making a mistake. ‘That he’s just turned eighteen and is ready to step into his father’s shoes.’

Jessica nodded but he wouldn’t say anything else until she was looking into his eyes. ‘Nicky’s an animal,’ Leviticus warned solemnly. ‘And I’ve heard
he’s not too keen on waiting his turn.’

There had been no reason for anyone to look into Nicky Long’s background but that didn’t stop Jessica ploughing through every piece of information they had on the
teenager. His age was the key thing; as a youth with no criminal record, there had been little cause for any of them to investigate beyond his father. Even with Izzy’s help, all Jessica had
been able to establish was that Nicky had finished at a private boarding school a few months earlier, had turned eighteen, and was now apparently living in Manchester with his father and
stepmother. Jessica noted that Nicholas’s current wife, Tia, wasn’t that much older than Nicky. His actual mother was Nicholas’s former wife, Ruby, who had been a teenager when
she had Nicky.

The more Jessica found out about Nicholas, the more she marvelled at the fact he had kept himself out of prison for as long as he had. Perhaps even more remarkable was that, despite the long
line of people he had apparently crossed, he was still going strong. She thought of her own anger at him for the way he’d behaved towards her, not to mention the fury she felt having heard
about the things he had done. She almost admired the restraint someone like Leviticus had shown after being released from prison, although wondered how different things might have been if he
hadn’t been picked up for weapon possession all those years ago.

Jessica knew there was going to come a time where she’d have to share everything she knew with Cole but he was so distracted because of the lack of a DI and everything else that needed
doing, for now she was getting away with pretty much what she wanted. Before that point came, Jessica wanted to put as many of the pieces together as possible.

‘Are you ready?’ Jessica asked Rowlands, who was in the passenger seat of her car.

The constable had been silent for the entire journey, something that was beginning to annoy Jessica. He blinked rapidly, as if just waking up, and then put a hand on the door handle.
‘I’m fine.’

Before he could open the door, Jessica touched him on the arm. ‘I need you to be on form today. You’re here for a reason – and it’s not your sad but partially impressive
knowledge of “Star Wars”.’