he hadn’t contacted her in years. She had thought he would reappear when she was in the papers following the Creeper incident, but no. Nothing. Maybe he had died too. She hoped so.
She stood up once more, made her way to the shower. Thought of going for a run, channelling some of that anger, that energy. Decided against it. She would channel it another way.
Real police work. Visit the mortuary, take a look at Faith Luscombe’s body. Check the CCTV cameras for New Town and roads leading out to Wakes Colne.
Then pay a return visit to Donna Warren.
Show her she wasn’t a fucking idiot.
The water hit her, nice and hot.
But it could never be hot enough for Rose.
49
‘Hold your nerve. That’s all. Just hold your nerve.’ The voice on the other end of the phone sighed. Tried to keep its temper, not let its exasperation show.
‘But… ’ The Portreeve wasn’t happy.
Another sigh.
‘You’ve got the easy bit,’ said the Lawmaker. ‘You’re doing nothing. Even the Teacher is doing more than you.’
Silence from the Portreeve.
‘Bet you wished you hadn’t phoned me now.’
No reply. The Lawmaker took that as a yes.
‘You didn’t tell me,’ said the Portreeve. ‘You sanctioned… what happened, and you didn’t tell me about it. Did you tell anyone else?’
‘The Teacher knew.’
‘And why didn’t the Teacher tell me?’
‘Because I said not to. I said I would talk to you. I knew what your reaction would be. And this is it.’
‘But this is a step too far. This is… implicating us too much.’
‘It isn’t. Weaver was becoming a liability. Unpredictable. We didn’t know what he was going to do next. He needed to be taken care of. What better way than this? Misdirection. No one will care about our shipment arriving now. Pressure’s off.’
‘And what about… There should be four of us. Who’s going to be the new Missionary?’
‘I would have thought that was an easy one. Our foreign friend is perfectly situated.’
‘But what if he… refuses?’
‘Refuses? Why would he do that?’
Silence again from the Portreeve. ‘Look,’ said the Lawmaker, ‘you just keep doing what you’re supposed to be doing. Keep organising. I’m taking care of things here and the Teacher’s part comes in soon. Everything will go ahead as planned.’
‘And the boy? What’s happening with the boy?’
The Lawmaker gave a laugh. It wasn’t pleasant. ‘All taken care of. It’s a beautiful plan. And we won’t be implicated in the slightest.’
‘Should I know about it?’
‘Do you want to?’
The Portreeve didn’t reply.
‘Thought not.’
Silence.
‘Look. Hold your nerve. You know what you have to do. Weaver will take the blame for everything. We’ll ensure that. And once that’s done, we’ll get the Gardener taken care of too.’
‘Should I not ask about that either?’
‘Up to you. But let’s be honest here. We don’t need him any more. Not with what’s happening. Or with what’s happened. He’s just… an irritant. He’ll be dealt with too.’
‘Be careful,’ said the Portreeve. ‘He’s dangerous.’
The Lawmaker laughed. ‘So am I. Keep the faith. We’ll talk soon.’
The phone went dead.
The Portreeve sat staring at it. Wondering how such a mundane piece of plastic, metal and glass could have such a powerful effect on him.
He stood up. Took a deep breath. Another. Hands flexing, expanding. And again. Another breath.
Decided what to do.
Another breath. Held, let out slowly.
Decided there was no choice.
There was no turning back.
The Portreeve was ready.
50
The hotel stood in its own grounds. Sixteenth-century or thereabouts, Phil reckoned. A one-time country house for the landed gentry turned country retreat for the moneyed classes. It looked warm, seductive, nestled in amongst the trees, curving gravel drive before it. The kind of place that flattered a customer’s good taste for choosing it. The kind of place he would take Marina for a weekend.
So why did it give him the same feeling he got when he had first looked at the house with the bone cage?
He pulled the Audi up to the front, feeling and hearing the gravel beneath the wheels. He switched off the engine, silencing Band of Horses singing about monsters, and stared. It was like he had driven on to a film set. The hotel itself looked like some costume-drama backdrop, the police presence shifting the genre.
The hotel unsettled him the more he looked at it. He replayed the meeting he had just had with Glass. That had been unsettling in its own way too.
At first, Phil had just been relieved to get into Glass’s office, avoid Marina’s questions. But once inside, the look on the DCI’s face showed he had been called in for a specific reason. And he didn’t get the feeling it was an altogether good one.
‘Sit down, please, Phil,’ Glass had said, looking up from his computer screen.
Phil had done so.
‘Right… ’ Glass stared at a file on the desk in front of him. Avoiding eye contact, Phil thought. Not a good start. He looked up. ‘I’m seeing the Super today. In Chelmsford.’
Glass paused. Phil felt he was expected to say something.
‘Yeah?’
‘Yes.’ Glass continued. ‘I think he’s going to tell me officially that this job is mine. Full time.’ He leaned back in the chair. Phil could still see his predecessor sitting there.
‘Congratulations,’ said Phil.
Glass gave a tiny smile, a slight nod of the head, as if accepting his due. ‘Thank you.’ The smile disappeared. ‘That being the case, I thought we should have a little chat.’
Phil thought he was expected to say something else, but decided against it. Waited in silence instead.
Taking Phil’s silence for deference, Glass continued. ‘It seems like we’re going to have to work together, Phil. And I feel it only fair to warn you that I’ll be running things very differently from my predecessor.’
Here we go, thought Phil. He tried for lightness in his response. ‘Anything I should be concerned about?’ he said.
