was proved against him.' Jenner yawned. The two Customs officers were working a treble shift and would be in the room for a full thirty-six hours. They took it in turns to sleep on the single bed whenever Donovan left the house, and it was Jenner's turn for a nap.
'What do you think about tagging his car?' asked Shuker, rewinding his film.
'You saw him checking it. No point if he's going to be doing that every day. We'd just be showing our hand. That's what I'm recommending, anyway.'
'He knows we're watching him. Operator like Donovan, he knows surveillance as well as we do. And that guy this morning. The nerd. He's got to be counter-surveillance, right?'
'We'll know when the registration check comes back, but yeah, he looked technical. If he is, there's no point in us wiring up the house. Not unless we just want to annoy him.'
'I'm up for it,' said Shuker
'It's not our call,' said Jenner, 'but I'm going to be suggesting laser mikes. See if they'll run to it. I think we'll be wasting our time, though: Donovan's not going to say a dickie bird in his house or on the phone.'
Donovan gave Louise directions to Robbie's school. She handled the car confidently and was a far better driver than Kris. She was quick, but whereas with Kris his heart had been in his mouth at her sudden changes of speed and direction, he was able to relax with Louise at the wheel.
'Kris told me what you did,' she said.
'Thanks.'
'It was nothing.'
She flashed him a sideways look and he saw his reflection in the black lenses.
'It was one hell of a thing, Den. You took a risk doing that.'
'Nah, he was out of condition. A middle-class wanker.'
'That's not what I meant. You weren't scared of ... repercussions. You went right ahead and did what you did. For me.'
'Repercussions? Like him wanting to get his own back? Don't worry about that. His type are cowards. That's why they hit women in the first place, to make themselves feel big.'
The traffic lights ahead of them turned amber and Louise brought the car to a smooth stop. She reached over and switched on her cassette. Oasis. Donovan smiled at the coincidence. It was the same tape he'd been playing in the Range Rover.
'I meant the police. The cops could have been called, but you weren't worried. You just went right on in.'
'Like a bull in a china shop, you mean?'
Something vibrated on Donovan's hip. He wondered if it was the car, and he shifted position, but the vibration continued.
'You weren't hot headed. You were cold. Calculating.'
Donovan reached into his pocket, figuring that it must be one of his mobile phones that was vibrating. Then he remembered that device that Knight had given him and he stiffened.
'What's wrong?' asked Louise, looking at him sideways.
'Cramp,' lied Donovan. It was the RF detector. The car was bugged. He was talking about beating a man to within an inch of his life and the car was bloody well bugged. She was setting him up. Louise was leading him on, getting him to talk about it, getting him to confess. He made a play of rubbing his side. What the hell was he going to say? What had he said already? Had he given them enough evidence already?
The Oasis track ended. The lights changed to green and Louise pulled away, but she kept looking across at him.
'Are you all right? Do you want me to pull over?'
Donovan shook his head. The next track started. Suddenly realisation dawned. He reached out and switched the tape off. The detector stopped vibrating immediately.
'Not an Oasis fan, huh? Thought you would be, both being from Manchester.'
'How do you know that?' asked Donovan. He hadn't told Kris where he was from.
'Oh, give me a break, Den,' she laughed.
'That's hardly an Oxbridge accent you've got there.'
Donovan pressed the start button again. The tape restarted. So did the vibration. He switched it off. The vibration stopped.
'Make your mind up,' she said.
Donovan smiled and relaxed back in the bucket seat.
'Sorry,' he said.
'I'm jumping at shadows at the moment.'
They arrived at Robbie's school. Robbie was waiting outside the gates, peering down the road. He didn't notice Donovan sitting in the passenger seat of the Audi.
'Won't be long,' said Donovan, climbing out of the sports car with Robbie's bag.
Robbie frowned as he saw Donovan getting out of the Audi.
'Who's that?' he said, looking through the windscreen.
'A friend,' said Donovan, holding out the sports bag.
'A girlfriend?'
'She's a friend and she's a girl, so that would make her a girlfriend, right? Now do you want this, or not?'
Robbie took the bag.
'A thank you would be nice,' said Donovan.
'Who is she?'
'She's just a friend. Okay? I helped her and she came around to the house to say thank you. Then she said she'd give me a lift to drop your gear off. You know I hate driving in the city.'
'You're a terrible driver,' Robbie mumbled.
'I'm a great driver,' Donovan protested.
'You lose your temper too easily. You keep hitting the horn. And you don't use the mirrors enough.'
Donovan stood up.
'I'll pick you up tonight, yeah? In the Range Rover.'
Robbie nodded.
'Okay.' He held up the bag.
'Thanks for bringing this.'
'You give them hell. Score lots of goals.'
'I'm a defender, Dad.'
'Defenders can score. Don't let them put you in a box. You see an opportunity to go for the goal, you take it, right?'
'It's a team game, Dad,' laughed Robbie, and he ran off.
Donovan went back to the car. He grunted as he climbed back into the passenger seat. He felt too old to be getting in and out of low-slung sports cars.
'Everything okay?' asked Louise.
'He thinks you're my new girlfriend.'
'As opposed to an old one?'
'As opposed to his mother.'
'Ah,' said Louise, putting the Audi into gear.
'Starbucks okay?'
'My favourite coffee.' He stared silently out of the window.
'Penny for them?' asked Louise, stopping to allow a pensioner drive her Toyota out of a side road.
'Robbie says I'm a crap driver.'
'And are you?'
'I don't think so, but what guy does, right?'
'Quickest way to end a relationship,' laughed Louise.
'Tell a guy he's lousy in bed or that he's crap behind the wheel of car.'
