come clean. “Nothing serious, I hope.”
Jim shook his head. “A dislocated elbow.” He looked at Harlan as if trying to recollect a face he hadn’t seen for a long time. “What’s going on with you Harlan? Intimidation was never your bag.”
“Who says it is now? Who says I had anything to do with what happened to Jones? Maybe I was at the flat all night, like I told Garrett.”
“And maybe I was having dinner on the moon.” Jim sighed. “How did this happen? I mean, what made you do this? Just the other day Eve phoned to tell me how well you were doing. She sounded happier than she had in a very long time. She said the two of you were really making a go of things.”
A familiar bite of guilt gnawed at Harlan. “Yeah well she was wrong. I was wrong too. I allowed myself to think I could be with her. But I can’t be. Not now. Maybe not ever.”
“That’s just crazy talk, Harlan,” snapped Jim, a sudden anger flaring in his eyes. “Do you want to know something? That woman’s worth ten of you. I’d give up my job in a second for someone like her. And you’re gonna let the chance to be with her go by for what? So you can go on some insane hunt for a boy who’s already dead.”
“You don’t know that. You don’t know for sure that he’s dead.”
“Yes I do. And you do too, only you won’t admit it to yourself.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t really matter if he’s alive or dead — at least, not in the way you mean. This isn’t just about Ethan. It’s about the people who love him. One way or another, they need closure.”
“And what makes you think you can give it to them? Come on, Harlan, you know how it is with cases like this. We might get a lucky break and catch the fucker who took Ethan or-”
“Or you might never catch him,” interrupted Harlan. “Yeah, Jim, I know how it is.”
“But that doesn’t make any difference to you, does it? You’re gonna keep at this until you’re in jail or dead, aren’t you?”
Again, Harlan said nothing, but the fixed set of his jaw and the way he stared unflinchingly at Jim told his ex-partner all he needed to know. Jim heaved another sigh. “Okay, Harlan. You win. Look, I’ll tell you what, if you keep me in your loop, I’ll do the same.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because if I can’t talk you out of this, I might as well use you. Besides, I’d rather you come to me than pull another stunt like last night.”
“What about Garrett?”
Jim smiled. “You know what Garrett can go do.”
A thin smile played on Harlan’s lips too. “Okay. Maybe between us we can solve this thing.”
“Maybe.” Jim sounded unconvinced. He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the police station. “Listen, we’ll be seen if we talk here much longer. Let’s go somewhere where we can pick each other’s brains.”
Harlan was about to say okay, but his thoughts returned with a falling sensation to Susan Reed. “Some other time. There’s something I need to do.”
“Just do me a favour and try to keep a low profile for a few days. Garrett’s spitting blood about what happened to Jones. He knows he fucked up releasing Jones’s name to the press, and he’s desperate to make an example of someone.”
“I’ll try.” Harlan held his hand out, and when Jim took it, he said, “Thanks.”
“No problem,” Jim paused a breath, before adding meaningfully, “partner.”
Harlan smiled again at the word. “I’ll see you.” His hunger forgotten for now, he made his way along the street until he saw a phone-box. He called Susan Reed. She picked up instantly, as if she’d been waiting by the phone.
“I heard what happened. Mr Garrett sent a couple of his detectives to see me. Don’t worry, I stayed right here all night with Kane, just like you told me to.” Susan’s tone was breathless with eager inquiry. “What did you find out?”
There wasn’t much to tell, but what there was Harlan was unwilling to say over the phone. “Let’s meet and I’ll tell you.”
“Okay. Where?”
Harlan thought for a moment, then said, “Tom’s Cafe.” It was a grotty little backstreet greasy-spoon where he used to meet his informants. He’d used the place because of its privacy and because its name was a reminder of something that was innocent and worth preserving, worth fighting for. He hadn’t been there since Tom’s death. “Do you know it?”
“No.”
Harlan described where the cafe was. “Do you think you can find it?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll find it.”
“I’ll see you there in half-an-hour or so.”
Harlan headed to the cafe. He watched carefully for any sign that he was being followed, but there was none. Just in case, he went into a busy indoor market, weaved his way quickly between the stalls and dodged out of a side entrance. When he got to the cafe, he ordered a fried breakfast and wolfed it down while he waited for Susan. As usual, the place was empty except for a few shady-looking characters and a craggy-faced old guy behind the counter who’d been a permanent fixture as long as Harlan had been going there.
Harlan had just finished eating when Susan turned up. To his dismay, she wasn’t alone. Her boyfriend, Neil Price, was with her. Harlan took in Price’s cheap, baggy clothing and even cheaper haircut as, holding hands like teenage lovers, the two of them sat down opposite him. Up close, Price looked both younger and older than he had done on the television. The watery blue of his eyes, which blinked nervously at Harlan from behind thick lenses, was lined with red. And the surrounding flesh was tired, grey and marked with crow’s feet — no doubt, the result of years spent working nights. But the awkward way he held himself and the ratty fuzz of hair on his chin and upper lip gave Harlan the impression of an adolescent desperately trying to be an adult.
Frowning hard, Harlan shifted his attention to Susan. “I told you to come alone.”
“You can trust Neil,” she assured him.
“I don’t give a toss if I can trust him. He shouldn’t be here. I thought you understood, this was supposed to be between just you and me.” Harlan released an angry breath. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t get up and walk out of here right now.”
Susan’s eyes swelled with alarm. “Please don’t.”
“I’m here because Susan needs support,” said Neil, his voice reedy and tremulous. He tried to hold Harlan’s gaze, but his eyes dropped to the table after a few seconds.
Harlan scrutinised Neil, wondering what Susan saw in him. He didn’t seem her type at all — his nervy demeanour and thin, gangly frame were about as dissimilar from her husband as could be. Maybe that was it, he reflected. Maybe, consciously or unconsciously, she’d gone for someone who wouldn’t stir up bad memories every time she looked at him. Harlan sighed, his anger fading a little in the face of Neil’s timidity. “Wait outside.”
“There’s no point.” Neil worked up enough courage to look briefly at Harlan. “We don’t keep any secrets from each other.”
Harlan shifted his gaze to Susan. “Either he leaves or I do.”
“Do as he says, Neil,” she said.
A look of hurt flashed over Neil’s face, but he removed his hand from hers and obediently headed for the door. Harlan let out a long breath through his nose. “I hope you’re right about him.”
“I am.” Susan bent forward, her voice dropping. “So what happened with Jones?” Her mouth twisted as if the name had a bitter taste that made her want to spit.
“We’ll get to that in a moment. First I want ask you a couple of question about Neil.”
Susan made an impatient gesture. “The coppers have already asked me a thousand questions about him, and I’ll tell you what I told them — Neil hasn’t got anything to do with any of this.”
“You realise he fits the classic profile of a potential abductor — white male, early thirties, unskilled-”
“Yeah, I know,” cut in Susan. “But I also know that he’s the kindest, sweetest man I’ve ever met. He couldn’t hurt a fly.” Susan glanced at Neil, who was leant with his back to the window, hands thrust in his pockets, staring at the pavement. “I mean, for Christ’s sake, look at him. He jumps at his own shadow. Do you really think he could’ve taken my Ethan?”
