The afternoon dragged by. As the second hand ticked to five o’clock, Lucy rang Jon Banks.
‘Any news?’
‘They’ve gone.’
‘Gone?’ she repeated stupidly.
‘Cleared the office and buggered off. Same for the mansion. The dog’s gone too. Your… Adam Mason is nowhere to be found either.’
She sank straight down to the floor. ‘Shit.’
‘Yeah.’
‘I didn’t tip him off, I swear it.’
‘Don’t worry, Lucy. I don’t think you did. But someone did.’
She recalled Amina Amari shouting at her father. His grim expression. What had he said to her? Had he mentioned her, Lucy? That she was a cop?
‘We’ve got an all ports out for them. We’ll get them, Lucy.’
When her mother got home, Lucy told her the lot. Her mother fetched a bottle of Chardonnay but Lucy couldn’t drink. She was too anxious, too wired. Plus, she wanted a clear head in case she was needed.
‘This is what I was worried about,’ her mother said. Her shoulders sagged. She looked every one of her forty-eight years. ‘Carl dragging you into something horrible.’
Lucy wanted to say that if she’d known the whole story from the start, she might have been better prepared, but she held her tongue. As the SIO said, We are where we are. No point in backtracking.
Her mother made a simple Gujarati sweet potato curry that Lucy pushed around her plate. They watched The Ten O’Clock News followed by A Question of Sport but Lucy didn’t take anything in.
When her phone pinged with an incoming text message from the SIO, she leaped on it.
Still nothing. Sit tight.
Midnight ticked past. Finally, despite her tension, she yawned.
‘Darling,’ her mother said. ‘Go to bed. You can’t do anything tonight.’
While her mother turned out the lights, Lucy reluctantly headed upstairs. Brushed her teeth. Climbed into bed. She didn’t expect to sleep but she hadn’t taken into account the emotional rollercoaster of the day and before she knew it, she was out like a light.
Lucy was in a deep sleep – no dreams – when her phone rang. She fumbled for it, knocking over the glass of water she’d brought to bed and making her curse.
‘’Lo?’ she answered. Her mouth was thick and furred, her head muzzy.
‘Lucy.’
One word and she snapped awake.
‘Dan?’
‘Yeah. S’me.’
He sounded drunk.
‘Are you okay?’
Silence.
‘Dan!’ Alarm rose. ‘Where are you?’
‘Dark. Bashe-ment. It’s–’
His voice vanished. She heard sounds of his phone being moved about.
‘DC Davies.’ A woman’s voice. Lucy’s senses went into freefall.
Amina Amari.
56
‘What have you done to Dan?’
‘Nothing that he doesn’t deserve. But you should know that although he’s strong, he’s in a lot of pain. So you’d better listen up.’
Lucy swung her feet to the floor. Fumbled for the bedside light, switched it on. Her mouth had gone dry.
‘I want to exchange your friend here for your father.’
It was so far from what she’d imagined, Lucy said, ‘What?’
‘You heard.’
‘I don’t have a father.’
‘Don’t lie. You were creeping outside my house on Tuesday evening. Or didn’t you see the CCTV cameras? And there was I thinking you were a reasonably smart policewoman but you’re not. You’re like the rest of them. Thick as shit.’
Lucy opened and closed her mouth.
‘I bet you thought I didn’t recognise you when you came to the factory, but I did. I saw you on TV, you see. Clever cop Lucy Davies joining the team to try and find Kaitlyn Rogers’ killer. And then you come waltzing up to Wolverhampton.’ Her tone turned puzzled. ‘I still don’t know what brought you here.’
‘Thick as shit cop finds clue all on her own,’ Lucy said. She had no intention of dobbing Tomas in.
‘I’d like to know.’
Lucy didn’t think it wise to tell the woman to fuck off and remained silent.
Amari gave a dramatic sigh. ‘Well, if you’re going to be like that…’
Dan gave a terrible groan. It was the drawn-out, agonised sound a wounded animal might make.
Lucy went light-headed.
‘Stop! For God’s sake, stop!’
‘Well?’
Sweat sprang all over her skin as Dan continued his tortured groan.
‘Paperwork,’ Lucy lied. ‘I found a holding company in Ricky’s paperwork that connected to BreatheZero.’
‘Fucking Ricky,’ she snapped. ‘I wish he’d died.’
At least Lucy now knew why Amari had tried to kill him. It was as she’d guessed. He knew too much.
‘Did you kill Kaitlyn?’ Lucy asked.
‘Whatever for?’ The woman sounded surprised.
‘She was on your trail.’
‘I doubt that very much since she didn’t even know I existed. Now, get on to your beloved Papa, would you? I’m struggling to make contact with him because he seems to have gone rogue. All thanks to you, his darling daughter. Whatever did you say to him?’
Since Lucy didn’t have a clue, she remained quiet.
‘Or was it because we had a fight over you?’ she mused. ‘I had plans for you that he disagreed with. I had no idea he felt so strongly but there you are. Blood will out, I suppose.
‘Now.’ Her tone turned brisk. ‘I shall ring you on the hour, every hour until you’re both primed to do the swap. You should know that it’ll be near London, okay? So wherever he is, he’ll have to get his fucking backside to the capital pronto. But I wouldn’t be too long. Your friend’s feeling rather poorly. And no police. I don’t want all those plods cluttering up what should be a simple exchange.’
‘Okay,’ Lucy agreed.
‘I’m already in place and patrolling the area with drones,’ she warned. ‘If you don’t keep your word I’ll vanish and you’ll never see your friend again.’
Amari hung up.
Lucy redialled the number immediately but it rang out. She guessed the woman would have discarded the phone.
Fingers trembling, Lucy rang her father but he didn’t answer. She left a message that started reasonably coherently but soon degenerated into a panic-stricken monologue. ‘Ring me, Dad. Just bloody ring me!’
Next, she rang Jon Banks, the SIO. Amari had said No police but even with a hundred drones at her disposal, who was she kidding? Lucy
