No Going Back, page 12
part #1 of Daniel Whelan Series
Another pause.
‘Patrescu? I don’t think so. Why?’
He was lying; Daniel was sure of it.
‘How about Anghel Macek?’
‘What do you want to know?’
It seemed Jono was finally wavering, but Daniel had reckoned without Yvonne.
‘Paul, no!’ she said quite clearly in the background and he did an immediate about-turn.
‘I’m sorry, Dan. I really can’t help you. We practically have to wash our mouths out with soap if we so much as mention your name. Look, why don’t you try one of your old mates at the Dog Unit? What about old Joey Suzuki?’ he asked, using a common and deliberate mispronunciation of the man’s name. ‘I heard he’s working your spaniel now.’
‘Is he?’ Daniel was pleased. He didn’t know the man particu-larly well, but he’d worked alongside Jo-Ji Matsuki a time or two and he had a nice way about him with his dogs. ‘Thanks. Maybe I’ll do that.’
‘And look, Dan, if you’re on to something, you really should report it, you know,’ Johnson said.
‘On to something, Officer?’ Daniel repeated dryly. ‘I have no idea what you mean.’
He rang off, and sat looking out of the cab window to where three men stood drinking hot beverages under the awning of the burger bar.
So, Joey had Bella, did he? Bella was a six-year-old black cocker spaniel, and one of the best drugs dogs in the area. Daniel had been gutted to lose her when he’d been taken off the Dog Unit. At the time he could only thank God that Taz had been forced to retire early and was therefore beyond his superiors’ vindictive reach.
His thoughts slid back to Drew, as they had every few minutes throughout the day. In spite of his promise to speak to Amanda that morning, she had so far not answered or returned his calls. With little optimism, he keyed in her number once more, only to listen to the same bright, impersonal message. She was out, but if he left a message, she would call. Or not, he thought sourly as he cut the connection. Why wasn’t she calling? Did she know what he wanted to talk about? Surely she knew they would have to discuss it sooner or later.
The alluring scent of sizzling beef found its way through the part-open window and he realized how hungry he was. Breakfast had been at seven o’clock, just three hours after he’d finally got to bed, and he’d shared the table with Hilary, who’d looked as heavy-eyed as he’d felt. Katya had been left to sleep on, for which Daniel was grateful. However much sympathy he felt for her – and that was a hell of a lot – he could well do without her persistent questions at that time in the morning.
As it turned out, Hilary had questions of her own.
‘In my day, a comprehensive knowledge of sex-trafficking wasn’t part of the HGV test,’ she had observed, tipping creamy porridge into dishes from the saucepan. ‘It seems Kat isn’t the only one who’s been keeping secrets. How long were you in the police force, or are you still?’
Daniel shook his head. ‘I left three months ago.’
‘Because?’
‘I’d always wanted to be a lorry driver?’ he suggested fatuously.
She sensibly ignored him. ‘You don’t strike me as a quitter, you’re too young to have retired, and if it wasn’t your vocation, then why would you have thrown yourself behind Katya’s cause? Unless …’ She froze in the act of sprinkling sugar liberally on her oats and fixed him with a suspicious gaze.
‘What?’ Daniel demanded. Then as the light dawned, ‘Oh God, no! I’m not into cradle-snatching – teenagers have way too many moods and tantrums. Besides, there’s Tamzin.’
‘Is there?’ Hilary asked mildly, apparently returning her attention to her breakfast. She blew on a steaming spoonful. ‘I forgot to tell you she phoned yesterday, wanting to know if I’d seen you. She said you hadn’t answered her texts.’
Daniel felt guilty. ‘Yeah, I know. I just didn’t get round to it, what with one thing and another. I’ll see her this afternoon, anyway. I’m delivering to the stables.’
Hilary made a face. ‘And that’s going to make it all right?’
‘OK. Point taken. I’ll call her.’
Recalling the conversation later, as he sat in his cab, Daniel phoned Tamzin and left a voice message, apologizing for his silence, saying he’d missed her. Then, postponing the decision as to whether or not to ring Jo-Ji Matsuki, he climbed down from the lorry and went in search of a burger with all the trimmings, followed closely by Taz, who wasn’t about to be left out if there was food on offer.
Driving home at the end of the day, Daniel could hardly keep his eyes open. Quarry Farm Racing Stables had been his last delivery, and he’d stayed to have a coffee with Tamzin before evening stables. She had been cheerful – maybe too cheerful, Daniel reflected – and hadn’t made any reference to his lack of communication. When he brought the subject up, she’d dismissed it, saying they had probably both been busy. Daniel was grateful for her understanding.
It was half past eight when he turned the Mercedes into the weedy gravel drive that ran to one side of the former lawnmower shop and followed it round to the car park at the back. A light came on at his approach, illuminating the unlovely 1970s brick building with the paint peeling from its window frames, and the cracked concrete apron below.
He parked, nose in, and went to the back of the car, finding Taz in an apparent frenzy to get out.
‘Steady on,’ he told the dog as he lifted the tailgate. ‘What’s the matter? Desperate for a pee?’
Taz leaped out, almost knocking him aside in his eagerness, and tore across the concrete, his bark silenced now that action was on the cards. At the perimeter fence, he hardly paused before finding a place to squeeze under the wooden panels, his bushy tail the last thing Daniel saw of him as he disappeared.
Retrieving his torch from the car, Daniel followed, bending down to shine the beam through the gap Taz had found, but he could see nothing other than grass and brambles. Beyond the fence was a field of rough grazing, accessed by a gate into a narrow side road, so there was little point in trying to follow the dog, who would no doubt have put the fear of God into whoever or whatever he’d chased. Confirmation of this came seconds later, when Daniel heard a vehicle start up and move away in something of a hurry.
As the sound of the engine faded, Daniel whistled the dog and presently Taz returned and began padding up and down on the other side of the fence, snuffling excitedly.
‘Come on, lad. Good boy!’ Daniel said, and Taz obediently reappeared, panting heavily, a dead blackberry spray caught in his tail. As always, when the dog had been working, Daniel produced a tug toy from his pocket and played with him for a moment as his reward for a job well done, after which Taz trotted happily at his heels as he locked the car and made his way up to the flat.
The dog showed interest in the outside door and its handle, which suggested whoever had been there had tried it to see if it was locked. However, there was no sign that anyone had attempted to break in, and inside, the dog displayed none of the excitement Daniel would have associated with the scent of an intruder. It seemed most likely that the visitor or visitors had been disturbed by Daniel’s arrival and, having had a taste of the dog, would be unlikely to return.
Daniel fed Taz and then unwrapped the fish and chips he’d bought on the way home. Taking a can of beer from the fridge, he took his meal and settled in front of the computer to check his email.
As the machine ticked and whirred into action, Daniel’s heart sank as he saw no less than three emails from Drew among the dross the service provider failed to filter out. With a sigh, he started to read, sitting in the pool of light cast by the desk lamp, the earlier drama forgotten.
Two of them had been sent since their telephone conversation the previous night and they all followed a predictable theme, loaded with pleas backed up by childish reasoning, and Daniel was left saddened and frustrated by his inability to get Drew to understand the impossibility of his request.
Honouring his promise to ring after school, Daniel rang Drew’s mobile, bracing himself for the expected familiar argument. He was surprised and relieved to hear a very upbeat young voice answer.
‘Dad. Hi.’ It sounded as though a Grand Prix was going on in the background.
‘Hiya. I said I’d call. What are you up to?’
‘We’re go-karting and it’s fab!’
‘Who’s we?’
‘Me, Amanda and Ryan. And, Dad, Mum even had a go.’
‘Did she?’ Daniel said, impressed. She was clearly making an effort.
‘Yeah, but she was useless.’
‘So, is it Ryan’s birthday or something?’
‘No. Amanda just said it would be fun, and it is – it’s awesome!’ The sound of engines rose to a crescendo as the karts revved up. ‘Look, Dad, I’ve got to go. I’m in the race after this one. It’s the semi-final,’ he added proudly.
‘Oh, well done! OK. I’ll ring you tomorrow. Now go and win that race for me.’
Thoughtfully, Daniel rang off. Was this surprise outing an effort by Amanda to get Drew onside after upsetting him with talk of moving back to Bristol? Had she read his email’s ‘sent’ folder and been alarmed by the content of his messages to Daniel? He couldn’t imagine that go-karting had ever featured on Amanda’s wish list. Whatever the case, it obviously hadn’t been the moment to broach the subject of the proposed move with her.
Daniel brought up an online telephone directory and entered ‘Matsuki’ and ‘Bristol’. Unsurprisingly, there was only one entry, and after taking a mental deep breath, Daniel phoned the listed number.
‘Hello?’ A female, young and unmistakably oriental.
‘Hi. Um, could I speak to Joey, please?’
‘I’m sorry, Jo-Ji is not here.’
‘Oh. When would be a good time to call?’
‘Who is it speaking?’
‘Daniel Whelan. I used to work with Joey. I believe he’s got my dog Bella now …’
‘Yes, he has Bella, but Daniel, I’m sorry, Jo-Ji is in hospital. He was in a road accident three days ago and he has to stay for at least another week, they say.’
Daniel passed on his commiserations and, ringing off a minute or two later, sighed and shook his head.
‘Buggered again, Taz,’ he said. ‘So what now, huh?’
Taz looked up under his brows without lifting his head. He was more interested in Daniel’s meal than the conversation.
Had Jono known that Matsuki was out of commission when he made the suggestion? Daniel wondered, feeding Taz a chunk of fish. Probably not. It was probably just fate having a laugh again.
So what now? There were other people – ex-colleagues – he could call, but his conversation with Jono had left him wary.
Damn Naylor! If he’d been clean, the problem wouldn’t exist, but the possibility of the sergeant’s connection with Patrescu was one Daniel couldn’t afford to disregard.
The idea of blowing the whistle on Naylor was dismissed without consideration. Even supposing Daniel – with the black marks already against his name – could get anyone at Yelverton to listen to him, it would be messy. Word would spread like wildfire in a provincial station like that and Naylor would just as swiftly warn Patrescu. By the time anything was done about Moorside House – if anything were done – the Romanians, the girls and the evidence would be long gone.
If that happened, Daniel knew, Katya could kiss goodbye to her little sister for good.
SEVEN
Still wrestling with the problem of what to do next, Daniel slept badly and awakened in a less than sunny frame of mind.
Mechanically, he went through the actions of making toast and coffee and feeding Taz before setting out for Tavistock through a windblown drizzle to collect the lorry and start work.
A dreary morning wasn’t improved when he stopped for his morning break and was on the receiving end of a call from Amanda.
‘Hello?’
‘I just wanted to let you know that Drew won’t be able to come to you next weekend. He’s busy.’ She flung the statement down the phone as if it were a challenge, which, in essence, Daniel recognized, it was. He kept his own voice even.
‘Why, what’s he doing?’ Next weekend was his weekend – his and Drew’s.
‘We’re taking him to Butlins for the weekend.’
‘We?’
‘Darren and I.’
Darren. The boyfriend, presumably. He would be called Darren, Daniel thought uncharitably.
‘Does Drew know about this?’ he asked. ‘He didn’t mention it when I spoke to him yesterday.’
‘He’s eight years old,’ Amanda pointed out. ‘He’s not old enough to make his own arrangements. I do that.’
‘He’s old enough to know what he’d like to do, surely?’
‘Oh God, I might have known you’d be awkward about it! He’ll enjoy it – there’s loads to do there for kids.’
Daniel sighed. ‘All right. I’ll see him the week after instead. Can I speak to him now?’
‘What for?’ she demanded suspiciously.
‘He’s my son – do I need a particular reason?’ Daniel was struggling to keep his temper. ‘I said I’d ring him, that’s all.’
‘You’re not going to try and put him off?’
‘Oh, for God’s sake, Amanda!’
‘Well, don’t go upsetting him again. He was moody for days after he saw you last week.’
‘That wasn’t my fault.’
‘It was because of you, though,’ she retorted. ‘I sometimes think it might be better if he didn’t see you so often. It’s very disruptive for him. I don’t want his schoolwork to suffer.’
‘Don’t even go there!’ Daniel warned. ‘If he’s upset because he thinks he wants to come and live with me full-time, how is seeing me less going to help? And while we’re on the subject, what’s this about moving back to Bristol?’
‘Oh, he told you about that, did he? It’s only an idea, nothing definite.’
‘No? Drew says you’ve been viewing houses. Is this part of your plan to separate Drew and me? Because it won’t bloody work, Amanda – I’ll tell you that now!’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ she protested. ‘I wouldn’t do that.’
‘No?’ At one time, he wouldn’t have believed it of her either, but now he wasn’t sure.
‘No! I was just looking, but can you blame me? I get lonely sometimes and all my friends are back there.’
‘But Drew doesn’t want to go, does he?’
‘He’d get used to it, and maybe it would take his mind off this stupid idea he’s got. I mean, it’s all right for you – you don’t have to live with his moods. He’s like a bear with a sore head.’
‘All right for me? I’d love to live with him – moods or not. Leaving wasn’t my choice, remember?’
‘It was your choice to meddle in what didn’t concern you and mess up a perfectly good career!’ she snapped straight back. ‘You didn’t stop to think how it would affect me or Drew, did you? I mean, at least if you’d been invalided out like George Collis, you’d have got a pension and we’d still have our friends.’
‘George has to walk with elbow crutches,’ Daniel exclaimed incredulously. ‘Is that what you’d have preferred for me? Anyway, you’ve still got your friends – you made sure of that when you cut me loose. Not one to let loyalty get in the way of your social life, were you?’
‘Loyalty to what?’ Amanda retorted. ‘To a husband who was never at home? Who put work before his wife and kid? I lost count of the number of things we had to cancel because you were “needed at work”. I swear you thought more of those bloody dogs than you did of me!’
‘Well, at least they didn’t desert me when the going got tough!’ Daniel was stung to reply. ‘I was a policeman when we met, Amanda. You knew what the job was.’
‘But it wasn’t like that to start with …’
He had to admit she had a point. In the last few years, general understaffing and an increase in officers on long-term sick leave had made the idea of regular hours a joke. His spell in the Dog Unit had been the best. Dogs don’t do overtime, and his shifts had been as regular as clockwork, though he couldn’t recall that it had made much difference to the atmosphere at home.
‘Look, Amanda, I’m working. Let’s leave it, shall we? We’re never going to agree. I’ll try Drew later on his mobile.’
Daniel tossed the phone down on the seat beside him, irritated that Amanda still had the power to rattle him, although realistically it was the power she had over his relationship with Drew that bothered him the most.
Aware of his mood, Taz sat up on his blanket in the footwell, flattening his ears sheepishly.
Daniel stroked the dog’s head, pulling at one dark, velvety ear.
‘It’s all right, lad. Woman trouble, that’s all.’
Daniel wasn’t normally a big fan of parties, but when Tamzin rang to invite him to one that evening, he allowed himself to be persuaded with comparatively little protest. Whether this was due to his restless mood after Amanda’s call or his reluctance to face Katya with no plan to offer, he didn’t know. However, the thought of an evening spent in Tamzin’s agreeable company, with good wine and food and no need to tax his brain with anything but the most banal conversation was suddenly quite tempting.
In the event, the idea that the party might be fun lasted all of ten minutes after their arrival, though the tedium of the prevailing conversation about Alexander somebody’s new yacht, Abigail’s new horse or the advantages of the Maldives over the Seychelles for one’s holiday was balanced by the culinary splendour of the buffet.
Drifting to his side after a couple of hours, Tamzin extricated Daniel from the verbal clutches of a mildly flirtatious middle-aged lady and drawing him away, on the pretext of wanting to introduce him to someone, whispered, ‘You’re a fraud, Mr Whelan. Skiing in Aspen on a policeman’s pay? I don’t believe you’ve ever been there!’
‘I didn’t precisely say I’d been there – just said it was one of the best places to go. I’ve never skied anywhere more exciting than the dry slope at the leisure centre when I was a kid,’ he confessed. ‘But that wasn’t what she wanted to hear.’
