‘And that’s it? Nothing else?’
She was about to speak, but stopped herself. She shook her head. ‘No.’ Her voice tiny, curled in on itself.
Glass studied her. ‘You’re lying. Tell me.’
Fenton leaned across the table. ‘Don’t talk to her like that… ’
Glass looked up quickly, his eyes flashing at Fenton. ‘Be quiet.’
Fenton caught the look. Was silenced.
‘What else did he say?’
Another sigh that carried the weight of the world. ‘He… he… called me… Teacher… ’
The other two sat back.
‘Oh my God… ’ Fenton’s hand went to his mouth.
‘Said… said… he knew about the Elders… ’
Glass felt the room zoom in and out of focus, like he was at both ends of a telescope simultaneously. He tried to blink everything else away. Concentrate. Focus.
‘That’s it,’ Fenton was saying. ‘It’s all over. Might as well make a run for it now.’ He made to stand up.
‘No.’ Glass leaned across the table, grabbed his wrist. Pulled him down again. ‘We stick together. We work this out.’
‘But they’re on to us… ’
‘No they’re not.’ Glass shook his head. ‘No they’re not. They can’t be. I’d have heard something. I’d know. And I’ve heard nothing.’
‘But he knew… ’
‘Yes, he knew,’ said Glass. ‘But that doesn’t mean he knows everything.’ He looked back at Lynn. Lifted her head up by the chin, made eye contact. ‘Did he mention the shipment? Tonight? Did he say anything about that?’
It took her a few seconds to focus. She shook her head. ‘No… ’
‘You sure?’ Searching her face for lies.
She shook her head once more. ‘No… he didn’t say… ’
‘Good.’ Glass let her head go. It flopped back down. ‘Good.’ He sat back, thinking. Then leaned forward. ‘Here’s what we do. We stick to the plan.’
‘But… ’
‘Listen. We stick to the plan. All of it. Where’s the Gardener? At the farmhouse?’
‘Probably,’ said Fenton. ‘That’s his other place.’
‘So he’ll be doing the sacrifice there. Good. Right.’ He slowly nodded his head. ‘This is what’ll happen. I’ll announce to the squad that I’ve received some information. That the Gardener is at the farmhouse. I’ll arrange for an armed response unit to accompany me. We’ll break into the place, stop him.’
‘But… isn’t that dangerous?’
Glass gave a grim smile. ‘For him, maybe. I’ll be armed too. I’ll make sure he doesn’t get out alive. We rescue the boy, come back to town, everybody’s happy. In the meantime, the shipment comes in at Harwich and everybody’s happy there, too. Perfect diversionary tactic. And an impressive collar for Essex Police too. Perfect.’
Fenton rubbed his chin. ‘It’s risky. The farmhouse is where clients pick up and drop off. What if they see the place on the news? What if they come forward?’
Glass laughed. ‘Come forward? After what they’ve done? I doubt it.’
‘Is there anything there that links the place to us?’
Glass thought. ‘It’s where I took Faith Luscombe. Intending to move her back to the Garden. So I may have left some DNA traces there, but only small ones. And this way is better. I’ll have a legitimate reason for being there. And I’ll be in charge of the investigation. I’ll be controlling everything. Don’t worry. Just keep calm, play your part and everything will be fine.’
Lynn’s head came up slowly. ‘This information… ’
Glass frowned. ‘What information?’
‘This information… about the Gardener… where did you get it from?’
‘Nowhere. There is no information.’
‘Did you… get it from me?’
He saw what she meant. Was she guilty, had she told them anything? What were the repercussions going to be for her? He thought. Came to a decision. Smiled at her.
‘It’ll be fine,’ he said. ‘You’ve got your solicitor with you, you’ll be free to leave here on your own recognisance. You’ll not be charged with anything. I’ll just say the information came from… an informant. Don’t worry. You won’t be implicated.’
She nodded her head, grateful to hear what she wanted to hear. She wasn’t aware of the silent exchange that passed between Fenton and Glass. Fenton’s look said that he understood perfectly what Glass was doing. Glass’s look asked whether Fenton wanted to challenge it. The way Fenton broke eye contact and looked away told him the answer was no.
Glass sat back. Looked at the other two. ‘So that’s it. Everything will go ahead as planned. Leave the Gardener to me. And hold your nerve. Everything will be fine if we all hold our nerve. Right?’
Fenton nodded.
Glass stood up, opened the door for them to leave. Fenton helped Lynn to her feet. As they passed the DCI on their way out, Glass whispered to Fenton, ‘Look after her. She’s very fragile. She may not last the night.’
Fenton, knowing exactly what he meant and wanting no part of it, hurried Lynn away down the corridor. Glass watched them go.
Smiling.
108
‘Can I have your attention, please.’
Glass stood before the team, knocking on the window of the office behind him to get everyone listening. Mickey and Marina were at the back of the room, having received a text while they were out of the building having coffee. Marina had filled him in on Phil’s phone call. Mickey had sat there. Jaw dropping further with each statement she made. He was so angry, felt so used and betrayed, that he hadn’t wanted to return to the station. Marina had insisted.
‘Let’s see what he has to say,’ she had said. ‘So we know what he’s doing and what we’re dealing with.’ Knowing she was right, Mickey had reluctantly agreed.
Now they stood there while Glass spoke. There was a gleam of triumphalism in his eyes.
‘I’ve received new information,’ he announced to the room, ‘about the abductor of the boy Finn from the hospital. I know where he’s taken him. If we’re in time, we can stop him.’
Marina and Mickey exchanged looks. This wasn’t what they had expected to hear.
‘He’s taken the boy to an abandoned farmhouse out near Wakes Colne on the way to Halstead. He intends to kill him. We have to make sure he doesn’t.
‘An armed response unit have been contacted and are on their way. I will personally be taking charge of this. I will lead the unit. This man is armed and dangerous. We’re taking no chances. Any questions?’
Mickey put his hand up. ‘Where did this information come from?’ Then adding, ‘Sir.’
Glass looked irritated by the question. ‘A confidential informant, DS Philips. I’m not at liberty to disclose that information.’
But Mickey kept going. ‘Was it the one I’ve just had in the interview room?’
‘Steady,’ Marina whispered to him.
Glass was clearly annoyed now but couldn’t show it with the whole room watching him. ‘As I said, DS Philips, I’m not at liberty to say.’
‘Will there be anybody from here on this team with you?’ Mickey asked. ‘We are MIS after all.’
‘No,’ said Glass. ‘I’m the only one here who is firearm-trained. I’m the logical choice. I also don’t want to give
