‘Aren’t you going to have any, Em?’
Emily shook her head. She didn’t feel thirsty and she vaguely wondered, why not? Although it didn’t matter because this way she could keep it for Lisa.
Despite Emily’s best efforts, Lisa had noticed the red splodges on Emily’s tummy and she’d been scared. It was a good job Lisa hadn’t seen the patches on Emily’s arm where the skin was turning purple. If she saw those, Emily felt sure her little sister would panic. The dark blotches were weird. They looked like spilled paint and they didn’t rub away.
Emily closed her eyes.
‘Are you cold?’ Lisa said. ‘Shall I give you a hug to get you warm?’
‘Yes please. I’m not feeling well.’
Lisa snuggled up. ‘I hope Mummy comes soon and then she can make you better, just like she always does.’
40
When Grant received Ruby’s call, he was on his way to Brighton. They’d uncovered intelligence about Nick Riley’s mother owning an apartment. With a search warrant already secured, Grant and Chief Inspector Billingham would be raiding the property as soon as equipment and personnel were in place.
‘You have a lead on Riley, sir?’ Ruby asked.
‘Going there now. Riley’s mother died while he was in prison and she left her apartment to him. I don’t know the situation on the ground yet. Billingham and I are on our way. Has something happened at your end?’
‘It’s McGowan.’ Ruby hesitated. Was she being silly and wasting Grant’s time at a crucial moment?
‘If you’ve got something to say then spit it out.’
‘He was hanging around in the cubbyhole after you left and I thought it odd.’
‘McGowan is joining me. He left after with Diane. What of it?’
‘I saw him talking to Assistant Chief Constable Treadgold.’ Ruby blurted it out. ‘It was a private chat on the stairwell and then McGowan realised I was listening. I got the impression it was clandestine, the way they were talking and where they were talking.’
There was a small silence down the line.
‘Have you mentioned this to anyone else?’
‘No.’
‘McGowan knows you saw him?’
‘Yes.’
‘And he realises you know who he was talking to?’
‘I’m not sure. He can’t know for certain. He came after me except he was interrupted by DCS Fox. Do you think there’s anything in it?’
‘I don’t know, and you’re right to flag it up. I’ll have to get back to you on this.’
‘Everything all right, sir?’ the uniformed driver asked Grant.
‘Fine. Let’s get there as quick as we can.’
Grant stared out the window. Maybe the choice between Ruby and McGowan had been made for him. Grant already suspected McGowan as the source of the leak within his team. Leaking information had caused a problem on their previous case in which ACC Treadgold had come under suspicion.
Though why would McGowan be speaking to Treadgold now? Grant quickly pulled up the police files on Riley. He scanned the information. Before being arrested for the Pearson case, Nick Riley did a term in prison in connection with the heist on the jewellery shop. In the heist, the shop assistant had been killed and Riley had been outside the premises acting as lookout which meant he got a lighter sentence than the rest of the gang. Some items of jewellery had never been recovered. And the officer in charge of the investigation? As he was then, DCI Treadgold. Very interesting.
It was possible McGowan was keeping Treadgold informed about the Glover case. It was also possible that if McGowan leaked information to Treadgold in the past to help Treadgold cover his tracks he was doing it again. Did this mean there was a link between Riley and Treadgold? Had the jewellery heist been another case in which Treadgold had been corrupt? It was possible.
Keep your eye on the ball, Grant told himself. Emily and Lisa are the priority. But if he got a shot at Treadgold afterwards, he’d definitely be taking it.
41
Waiting for Nick to come back after the handover was torture for her. They had taken the precaution of moving across town, leaving the children to their fate. When he finally came in with the money, he swaggered like a gunslinger from a Western movie. He thumped the bag on the floor and stood with his legs astride.
She ran into Nick’s arms and kissed him. She was relieved to see him. Things were going okay between them but there had always been a chance Nick would scarper with the loot and leave her behind. He swung her off her feet and they both whooped.
She recovered her breath. ‘Can I see it?’
‘Sure, get an eyeful.’
Unzipping the bag, she thrust in her hands. ‘Oh. My. God.’
This was what one million looked and felt like. Holding a bunch of notes to her face, she smelled them. ‘You’re a genius.’
He strutted with pride and she kept her grin to the maximum. It wasn’t all fake. The money made her genuinely delirious. Nick she felt much less enthusiastic about. Still, she wouldn’t need to be with him for much longer.
Taking a handful, she threw it in the air and it rained down like confetti. She could tell Nick still liked her and it was her job to make sure he stayed liking her. Her share in the million was her reward.
Nick was on a high. The look on Jack Glover’s face as he pushed in the knife had been worth the wait. Jack was too arrogant for his own good. At last, Nick had the pay-off he deserved because Jack Glover had been a stingy bastard in the past. He’d paid Nick a measly five thousand for the break-in at Pearson’s and that break-in had cost Nick six years of his life.
But there was more
