The two men nodded and headed towards the door. “We’ll keep in touch, boss.”
“Do that,” she called after them. “Karen, I need you to remain here to man the phones.”
“Not a problem, boss.”
“That leaves four of us to cover the main targets.”
“I’ll tag along with you,” Roberts was quick to suggest.
Katy stared at Charlie and grimaced. She turned to face Roberts and smiled. “It’ll be a pleasure, sir. We’ll take Anderton. Charlie and Patrick, I need you to track down Thatcham’s partner, Dan Williams’ address, just in case he has a part to play in this. Uniform can keep the other members of the gang in their sights. Karen, have you got their names from the research you’ve gathered?”
“All here, boss.”
Roberts took a few paces to his right to collect the information. “Leave this with me, I’ll pass the details on to Mick, get him to arrange his team. Do you want them to set off now?”
“Yep, within the next ten minutes, if they can.” Katy smiled at Charlie and Patrick. “Any movement from Williams, ring me straight away.”
“Want us to get on our way?” Charlie asked, jumping out of her chair.
“Why not? Stay safe, guys. Patrick, keep an eye on her.”
Charlie screwed her nose up. “Don’t you think that should be the other way around?”
Patrick playfully punched Charlie in the arm. “Cheeky mare. How about we look out for each other?”
Charlie held out her hand for him to shake. “That’s a deal.”
They left the incident room.
Roberts finished his call and then rubbed his hands together. “That’s all organised. I’m quite excited about this. The last time I got involved in a case was when my goddaughter went missing.”
“Yep, I remember it well. How is she?”
“Fine and dandy, none the worse for her ordeal. Thanks for asking. I’m eager to get on. Shall we?”
12
“I’m ringing up to see if everything is on course for this evening,” Anderton queried.
“It is, boss. All in hand. I told you not to worry.”
“I won’t stop worrying until those cars are in the middle of the bloody sea. Make sure everything stays on track. Any hint of a derailment and you call me, got that?”
“Of course, boss.”
Anderton jabbed a finger at his phone to end the call. He eyed himself in the full-length gold-plated hall mirror and straightened the contrasting white dicky bow to go with his black evening jacket and trousers. Tonight, he hoped, would go down as a special one in his history. He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. He was ready. The driver was outside, waiting for him. And Paula was expecting him to show up at her door in fifteen minutes.
He left the house, locked it and set the alarm behind him and then entered the limousine.
The driver touched his cap. “Evening, sir.”
“Evening, James. Let’s get there promptly tonight. I have a table booked at my usual restaurant for seven-forty-five.”
“Leave it to me, sir. You just sit back and relax.”
James closed the door and got behind the wheel. Celine Dion’s dulcet tones escaped the speakers. He knew she was Paula’s favourite artist; he was quite partial to the singer himself after seeing her at Caesar’s Palace in the States. He rested his head back against the seat, all thoughts of the job about to take place later on that evening pushed to the back of his mind. He’d deal with the intricacies of the job later. Now, though, he needed to concentrate solely on Paula and making her feel special during their dinner.
James pulled up outside the Thatchams’ mansion. Anderton’s envy gene twitched. Maybe I could persuade her to…
Paula was a vision of elegant beauty as she stepped out of the house. Her dress glinted under the lights surrounding the drive to the house.
He hopped out of the car and with the lightest of feet, danced his way towards her. He held out the single red rose, bowed, and then kissed her gently on both cheeks. “You look…well, good enough to eat.”
She giggled and slapped his upper arm. “Get away with you. I’m starving. Where are you taking me tonight? And don’t disappoint me by saying we’re going to the drive-through at Maccies.”
“As if I’d dare say that. Don’t worry, I have somewhere special lined up for this evening. Come, our table awaits, fair maiden.”
“Get out of here,” she chided him.
They entered the back of the car as Celine began belting out the theme to Titanic. Paula’s face lit up. “You remembered.”
He slid in beside her, picked up her right hand and kissed the back of it. “Of course I did, was there really any doubt? You’ve been in my thoughts for days. How are you, my precious lady?”
“Much better now that bastard is no longer in my life. I have a lot to thank you for, Robert.”
“Nonsense, I killed him off for both our benefits. He was starting to become a risk to the business. Full of his own self-importance. Thought he could mess me around, he did. Well, I showed him. Now, this time is about us getting to know each other.”
“I’m looking forward to that. Of course, I’ll still have to make the funeral arrangements and put up a front for that when it finally comes around.”
“No news on the pathologist releasing his body yet, then?”
“Not yet. The detective told me they wouldn’t do that until they’ve solved the case.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s not likely to happen anytime soon.”
She placed her head against his neck. “Enough talk about him. Let’s listen to the music and enjoy our evening. I’ve been looking forward to this all day.”
He squeezed her hand and kissed the top of her head. “So have I.” This dinner would be the distraction he needed to keep his mind off the exchange later. He had plans to be there, at the port, ready to take
