The Surrogate

Anni shook her head. ‘Not yet.’ She took a mouthful of bottled water. ‘Right. Let’s go again. Connections.’ She looked down at the list she had made in front of her. ‘Lisa King. Killed in an empty house. Had shown properties to Ryan Brotherton. Susie Evans. Prostitute. Ryan Brotherton one of her customers.’

‘And Sophie Gale,’ said Marina. ‘Where he met her.’

Anni nodded. ‘And she informed for the police. In return for certain leniencies. Right. Claire Fielding. Julie Simpson. Girlfriend of Brotherton and her best friend. Then Caroline Eades.’ She looked through the piles of paper on her desk. ‘No connection. None.’

‘Caroline Eades. Never worked?’

‘Her husband’s an area manager for a recruitment agency. She was a stay-at-home mum. No connection with any of the others.’

Marina sat back, thoughtful. Sucked one of the arms of her reading glasses. ‘What do we know about Sophie Gale?’

Anni rifled through her pile of papers, brought one out. ‘Born Gail Johnson. First known address is in New Town.

Pulled in on a raid, let go, works for us. Changes her name to Sophie Gale.’

‘Reinvents herself.’

‘Up to a point. Then appears with Ryan Brotherton.’

‘So we have to assume they’ve known each other for a number of years. And in a number of capacities.’

Anni nodded. ‘We’ll never know now. She’s gone.’

‘Won’t she turn up again?’

Anni gave a small smile. ‘Probably. One way or another. They usually do. And usually attached to a man.’

Marina got a quick mental image of Erin O’Connor then. Sitting in her little New Town house, looking like she wouldn’t be there too much longer. Erin O’Connor. Sophie Gale. Both sounded like made-up names. Manufactured girlie names. Names a man might enjoy saying, especially at certain times and in certain situations…

‘Marina? You all right?’

Marina blinked. Anni was looking at her, concerned. ‘Sorry?’

‘You’d gone for a few seconds.’

She shook her head. ‘Yes… miles away…’ She was still thinking, grasping for something…

Something Erin O’Connor had said: At least I don’t have to pay for it any more…

‘Phil and I went to talk to Graeme Eades’ girlfriend. Erin O’Connor.’

‘His alibi.’

‘Have you checked to see if she’s got a record?’

Anni sat upright. It looked like electricity had been run through her already spiky hair. ‘What kind of a record?’

‘Prostitution.’

‘I’ll check.’

‘I may be wrong,’ said Marina, thinking how disgusted the woman had looked when she had said the phrase, but wondering if that could have been an act put on for their benefit. ‘I may be doing her a great disservice, but I just get the feeling there might be a connection.’

‘Go with your gut instincts. That’s how it works.’ Anni stood up. ‘I’ll go and check.’

She walked across the office. Marina watched her go.

So did Clayton.

Anni asked Millhouse to run a check on Erin O’Connor. While she waited, she looked round the office. Clayton was sweating like it was midsummer. And shaking like he had Parkinson’s. She hadn’t told anyone about his involvement with Sophie. Not yet. And if he didn’t give her cause to, she wouldn’t. But he didn’t know that. She bit back a smile. Good. Let him suffer.

‘Urm… yeah…’ Millhouse was staring at his screen. ‘Here… No, er… nothing…’

Eloquent as ever, thought Anni.

‘Okay,’ she said, ‘what about Graeme Eades?’

‘The victim’s husband?’

‘The very same.’

‘Right…’ He started pressing buttons, scrolling through information.

Anni waited. As patiently as she could.

‘Uh…’ said Millhouse eventually, ‘here. Yeah, here. God… wow…’

Anni bent down to see what he was looking at. And there it was.

‘Graeme Eades, picked up, cautioned,’ she said. ‘Four years ago. Was anyone picked up with him? Either buying or selling?’

‘Uh, yeah, I’ll see…’

Millhouse worked away on the screen. Anni felt excitement rising within her. She tried not to let it show. So many times in similar situations she had allowed herself to hope, only to have those hopes dashed by reality. So when Millhouse asked her to look at the screen, she tried not to harbour too much hope.

‘Here…’

She smiled. Felt her toes curling. For once, her hope hadn’t been misplaced.

‘Fantastic, Millhouse. I could kiss you.’

‘Erm…’

She smiled. She could almost see the phrase ‘does not compute’ running through his mind. She all but ran back to Marina.

Clayton watched her go. He didn’t know what it was she had discovered, but he doubted it was good news. Anni didn’t even sit back down next to Marina, just leaned over the desk and spoke hurriedly to her. Marina then got up, and in a similar hurry to Anni, rushed over to Phil’s desk.

Oh God, oh fuck… She’s found something. There must have been a record left of his connection with Sophie. She had discovered it. That must be it. He was breathing so hard he thought his heart would develop an arrhythmic problem. Like having too much coke.

He tried to calm down. Think straight. Maybe it wasn’t him. Maybe they had discovered something that would further the investigation. A breakthrough. That was it. It might not be about him after all.

He forced his heart rate down, his breathing to steady. There was only one way to find out. He stood up from his desk, crossed the office to where Millhouse was sitting.

‘Hi,’ he said, aiming for nonchalance, but missing by several miles.

Millhouse barely grunted in response.

‘What was, er… what was Anni looking for just now?’

‘Graeme Eades,’ said Millhouse, clearly upset at being disturbed from whatever he had been doing. Obviously Clayton didn’t hold the same appeal that Anni did for him.

‘Can I have a quick look?’

‘You’re off the case.’

Clayton gave a smile that he hoped said they were all mates together but somehow just died on his face. ‘Come on, Millhouse.You know what it’s like. Please. Just for me.’

Millhouse sighed, went into the system. ‘There,’ he said. ‘That’s what she wanted to see first.’

Clayton swallowed hard. ‘Right. First? What did she look at next?’

Another grunt and a sigh, as if Millhouse was being asked to move a mountain with only a teaspoon. ‘This.’

He put the screen up, sat back. Clayton looked. And felt the shakes returning. Big time.

He stood up. Walked slowly back to his desk, as if in a trance.

‘Don’t mention it,’ said Millhouse after him.

But Clayton didn’t hear. He sat down before the screen. Oh God, oh fuck…

The door to Phil’s office opened. Phil came out, shrugging into his jacket, Anni following. They both made their way to the front door.

Clayton sat there, watching them go. He had to do something, but he was too stunned to move. He had to be careful. Whatever he did next was important. Very important. His future career depended on it. He had to think. Find a way to make this work, come out of it clean.