Better the Devil Read online

  Better

  The

  Devil

  Long Time Dying 7

  Solomon Carter

  Great Leap

  Better The Devil – Long Time Dying 7

  First published in Great Britain in 2015 by Great Leap

  Kindle Edition March 2015

  Copyright © Solomon Carter 2015

  Edited by OnlineBookServices.com

  Solomon Carter has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction and except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this e-book publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review, without the prior written permission of the author.

  Want more Long Time Dying? Sign up for the mailing list and receive the “inside story” of Eva and Dan’s adventures at www.solomoncarter.net

  The Long Time Dying series

  By Solomon Carter

  Thrilling adventures featuring Eva Roberts & Dan Bradley, private detectives

  Series list - in reading order

  Out With A Bang

  One Mile Deep

  Long Time Dying

  Never Back Down

  Crossing The Line

  Divide and Rule

  Better The Devil

  On Borrowed Time – coming soon!

  For more information about the author visit www.solomoncarter.net

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  THE RECORD

  Police Hunt Violent Vigilante on Southend Streets

  By Gemma Cassidy - crime reporter

  Thursday 7 Nov-- Southend Police issued a public warning yesterday advising residents to be on the lookout for a violent vigilante who has attacked at least twice in recent weeks. The vigilante is a man believed to be thin and aged in his late thirties or early forties with cropped brown hair. The description was given by Detective Inspector Gary Rowntree after a spate of recent attacks on men suspected by police of being involved in local petty crime. Last week, Arnold Mason, 22, of Bournes Green was attacked in Shoebury an hour after a burglary was reported in the same vicinity, and two days later Myron Steele, 29, of Southchurch was attacked in a serious assault, leaving him hospitalised with broken legs and a fractured jaw.

  “In both recent cases separate crimes were reported within an hour of these brutal reprisal attacks. Both the victims are suspected of crimes which took place very near to the locations of each attack. Both men are suspects in each of those crimes. In the last few weeks there have been at least three other similar assaults, though these are the most serious attacks so far. The person carrying out these attacks is brutal and violent, and sometimes uses weapons. Whether this person believes he is helping his town or not, violence of this nature is illegal, and unacceptable. No one is above the law. Southend Police are committed to locating the culprit and will throw the book at him for all of the violent crimes he has committed. We do not condone or tolerate people taking the law into their own hands. Crime and punishment is a matter for the police and the judicial system. My message to this supposed vigilante is to stop these attacks right now - if you care about justice at all you will come forward and hand yourself in.”

  DI Rowntree also had a message for the general public. “To all local people, please watch out for the man fitting the description issued today. This person is violent, calculating and extremely dangerous. Should you see anyone meeting this description, do not hesitate to call the police. If you know someone who is acting suspiciously, who may be involved in any kind of violent activity, call the police immediately. Our message to this supposed vigilante could not be clearer. You are a violent thug and we will not rest until you are safely off our streets.”

  Members of the public are asked to call 111 with any information which they believe could lead to the suspect’s arrest.

  One

  The flat was uncomfortably quiet in spite of the television noise. The canned laughter from the small flat screen served only to make Eva Roberts feel more isolated and remote from the world. The fake laughter was the only variety Eva had been experienced for at least two weeks now. Eva cradled her wine glass, and swilled it again, the cool liquid and refreshing taste distracting her from herself for a second or two. Jess spent half the working day saying Eva should take a holiday, but Eva knew that was only rhetoric. How could she take a holiday? Jess handled the books now, and would know better than anyone that Eva couldn’t afford a daytrip let alone a holiday. Eva’s private detective agency was a reflection of the director – empty, failing and devoid of inner resources. She shook her head at her own self-pity and swigged from the glass again. The pipeline of old jobs was still running, but those paper chasing jobs would finish soon. Most of them already had. It began to fall apart soon before her ex-business-partner and ex-lover Dan left her again on a bleak windy night in October. A fortnight ago Dan had been the broken one. Publicly Eva was defiant that she was still A-Okay, still in the game, but all the evidence said otherwise. Tonight was Wednesday night. A half empty bottle of Pinot Grigio sat on the side table next to the sofa, and another bottle was waiting for her in the fridge. Eva honestly hoped she would stop at one bottle tonight. The bottle in the fridge was for tomorrow... but she’d bought it tonight. It was pathetic, she knew and she didn’t want to think about it. Not yet. Sobriety and honesty could come when she had the strength to face them. Right now she needed a drink to lift the gloom of the onset of late autumn loneliness.

  As she put the glass to her lips for the third time in quick succession, a violent noise broke the spell. She shifted bolt upright in her seat as the front door downstairs was hammered by an urgent knocking, Eva wasn’t alone any more. She was scared. Besides scared she was excited. The knocking downstairs might - just might - have been the answer to an unspoken prayer. In spite of fear and reason Eva opened the door of her first floor flat and ran down the stairs into the office in her baggy bedtime jumper and her tartan pyjama bottoms. Her cosy clothes. Clothes which only singletons wore. Clothes which even Dan had barely seen her in. And in the moment she flicked on the office light, only then did she realise how bad things had become. She looked into the shadow obscured face of the tall silhouette through the slatted door blind and recognised a face she hoped she would never see ever again. Maggie Gillespie was back. Mad Maggie. Eva’s heart made a sonic boom and started racing ever faster. Eva shook her head as vigorously as she could. Automatically her body stiffened to look tough and determined – the way she used to be. She boldly walked into the centre ground of her office, behind the protective wall of Jess’s reception desk. It was almost two in the morning now, and Jess was asleep at home. But Mad Maggie was at the door. It was not a dream. It was a nightmare.

  “Let me in… You need to open the door,” said Maggie, her face pressed against the glass, steam filling the space around her mouth. It was the same sex laden voice Eva would never forget, husky like she had smoked sixty a day, commanding and expecting nothing less than complete compliance. Eva stood her ground.

  “You’ve got to open the door, you’ve got to.” There was urgency in her voice. This was new. She looked different too. Maggie was covered in darkness and clothed in a long winter coat to keep out the early winter chill. Eva saw a speck of light in those big black eyes. It was shocking to see it there. Maggie Gillespie’s eyes contained fear. Eva saw it but didn’t yet believe it. She was intrigued. She hesitated. Maybe Maggie saw her hesitation. Th
e woman shifted and pushed at the door frame then she looked back over her shoulder, at the street behind her, which was studded with orange pools of light from the street lamps. There was no other person in sight. Who was she looking for? Who was she afraid of?

  “You’ve got to let me in.”

  Eva raised her voice. “I can’t do that, Maggie. You of all people should know why.”

  Eva’s fear was leaving her. She’d almost forgotten it now, in a vengeful surge of adrenaline and alcohol haze.

  “Please...”

  “What?” said Eva, turning her ear ever towards the door. It was a subconscious gesture. Had Maggie Gillespie actually said please?

  “Please! They’re trying to kill me. I’m in real danger.”

  Eva Roberts took a deep long breath and took five seconds to apply her logical mind to the situation. Maggie Gillespie was a dangerous gangster’s moll, a horrible piece of work.... But she was also a human being. There was 40 centilitres of Pinot Grigio swirling around Eva’s blood and the decision seemed too clean-cut even then, but she took it anyway. She swore and moved quickly to open the door. Maggie Gillespie walked in, relaxing visibly with every step. She moved to the centre of the office where Eva had been standing. Her dark eyes sparkled as she looked around and took in the room, and then settled on Eva. Inside, Eva wilted just a little under her familiar devouring gaze. Dressed in her top and pyjamas Eva felt ridiculous before a woman dressed in an expensive winter coat. But this was her home, her life and it had been invaded. Eva got ready for a verbal battle. Finally, Maggie spoke.

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me. You told me you were in danger.”

  “Miss Roberts, have you been drinking?”

  “No.”

  “Of course you have. I can smell it a mile off.”

  Eva was near the front of the office, her back to the front door. Behind Eva the door chimed again, and she span round, ready to fight. There was a stern blonde woman standing close behind her. She was wearing black. She moved around Eva into the office, looking at her the whole time. They appraised one another. The blonde woman had her hair tied back. There was a hard edge to her eyes and mouth and lines which looked formidable alongside her beauty. This one was a fighter. Eva turned her shoulder, ready for self-defence, when Maggie called her attention.

  “At ease, Miss Roberts. Kendra is with me. She is my assistant.”

  “You said you were in danger, and alone, Mrs Gillespie. You got in here on false pretences. I think you’d better leave.”

  “No false pretences, here, Miss Roberts. No matter how many Kendras I have in my service, when a man like my husband swears to kill you, without the right kind of help, it is only a matter of time before he does.”

  She looked for lies in Kendra’s and Maggie Gillespie’s faces. This was madness. All of it. But they were here and it had to be dealt with now. The woman called Kendra stood by the door like a security guard in a convenience store. Eva sighed and stuck her hands on her hips.

  “Okay. But I don’t want any more visitors tonight. Lock the bloody door will you.”

  Maggie nodded. The blonde locked and bolted the door and drew the slatted blind tight shut. Eva didn’t like that part.

  “Miss Roberts fetch me a glass of whatever you’re drinking.”

  “I don’t take orders from you, Mrs Gillespie. Not after our last meeting. It’s two in the morning. This is my office and my home, and you are uninvited guests. Don’t you ever tell me what to do ever again. Is that clear?”

  “Crystal. Now you’ve got that off your chest would you mind fetching a drink for your newest client, or do bad manners as part of the service too…?”

  “Client? What?”

  “Yes. I’m going to be your client. Now please don’t ever call me Mrs Gillespie again. I won’t use that bastard’s name any more.”

  Eva took a sideward glance at the tough blonde, pondering her status. The woman returned the look with an emotionless glare.

  “Please can you fetch that booze? It’s been a long bloody night already. You really don’t know how much I need a drink…”

  Maggie slumped onto an office chair. She was overdressed as usual, wearing an emerald dress and a necklace with a green jewel pendant hanging low against her cleavage. Eva looked away before either woman got the wrong idea. Eva gave them each a look of suspicion before she walked upstairs to fetch tomorrow’s wine. Before she went to the fridge she went to her bedroom.

  She took the little Browning pistol from her dressing table and slid it into the deep pocket of her tartan slouchy pyjama bottoms. The gun was cold and weighed a ton, but the trousers and slouchy top did a good job of hiding it. She walked carefully down the stairs back into the office. Holding a bottle of Pinot Grigio in her hand, Eva looked at the two women with the most confidence she had felt since they arrived. It was amazing what alcohol and a gun could do for a girl.

  Kendra, the tough blonde maintained her on-duty look, but now leaned close by the desk. They had clearly been conversing while Eva was away. Their silence was conspiratorial. Eva didn’t like it. This was her territory. The gun counted for something.

  “So, tell me.”

  “Pour me a drink, and I will tell you.”

  Eva shook her head. “This isn’t a bar. You get your drink when I know what the hell is going on.”

  The blonde stared her down but Eva was cool. She didn’t budge a millimetre. Finally, Maggie tutted and swished her long dark hair.

  “My husband, Brian… he’s trying to kill me. And I want you to stop him. I know you can stop him because you’ve done it before. And if you stop him, I’ll pay you fifty-thousand pounds.”

  Eva’s brain did a somersault in her skull, but she stayed cool. Those were the biggest numbers she had ever been offered. But this was Maggie Gillespie, a double-crossing Gangster’s moll with a penchant for devouring women. Eva stood her ground and processed from every angle. It didn’t hurt to let them think she was a poker-faced negotiator.

  Maggie gave Kendra another nod. Kendra stood tall, and began to speak in a military tone. Eva wondered whether the military act was for her or for Maggie. “An unknown assailant attempted to get access to Fenbrook Manor – Maggie’s residence – when Brian Gillespie was away doing business in the North. The security guards had been - coincidentally - stood down for the weekend, with the excuse of a reward for hard work. The assailant made a professional class break-in at Fenbrook Manor on Saturday night. He was quiet and unseen. If it were not for my presence on site, I am certain Maggie would have been killed. There was evidence of a break in around the house, and her bedroom door had been tampered with from the outside. The lock was damaged but had not been broken. What do you make of that, detective?”

  There was a challenge in the word detective. There were morsels of information in the brief which Eva found instructive. Kendra had been present and seen off the attacker. She was a tough cookie, probably a security guard or ex-soldier. Maybe Maggie had hired her as an insurance policy, sensing her husband was about to try something. But the close familiarity between Maggie and Kendra told Eva all she needed to know. Kendra and Maggie had been at home alone. The bedroom door had been locked, tampered with but not broken. The report only made sense if Kendra had been in the bedroom with Maggie. Eva nodded to herself. Then she replied, “I see. Brian Gillespie couldn’t have known about your presence there Kendra… could he?”

  Maggie smiled. “He had no reason to know anything about Kendra. I am sure you understand. I am sensible about my arrangements.”

  Eva nodded, and looked back to Kendra. There was nothing on her face. No embarrassment. Nothing. She was the perfect soldier.

  Eva shrugged, and picked up two clean mugs from the shelf by the coffee machine. She laid them on the desk and emptied the rest of the wine into the mugs, handed them over while she drank from her glass. Maggie raised her mug and Kendra followed suit carefully, evaluating Eva as Eva had been studying her. Two predators, tw
o fighters looking at strengths and prying for weaknesses. “Drink,” said Eva, by way of ending the silent battle. Maggie nodded. She took a gulp from the mug. “So, will you help me to win your fifty grand?”

  “I never win my fee, Mrs Gillespie. A fee is agreed and it is paid.”

  “Semantics, Miss Roberts. Will you do it?”

  Eva thought about the break she needed from work. She thought about Jess’s pained face when she looked up from the accounts spreadsheets and the online banking.

  “I’ve never liked injustice, Mrs Gillespie. Even when unjust people are the target.”

  Maggie turned to Kendra. “We have a history…”

  “So I gathered,” said Kendra.

  “A history of Mrs Gillespie double crossing me, that’s all,” said Eva.

  “History, like I said. I need your help. Miss Roberts… Eva… he’s trying to kill me.”

  “Why do you need me? You have Kendra here, I’m a private investigator, not a bodyguard.”

  “I told her that myself,” said the blonde.

  “Kendra does the bodyguarding. But I need someone who can outwit Brian. With you on hand I’ve got a chance.”

  A chance. Yes and that was all she would have.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Maggie’s face lit up. And just like that, Eva had made one of the riskiest decisions of her entire life.

  Two

  Jess sat opposite Eva on her window facing the reception chair. Jess was twenty two, but had the hard bitten cynicism of a recently divorced housewife and the bitchy humour of an early Jo Brand. Right now she looked at Eva with just a little tilt of her head. The look could have easily been completed by chewing a little gum and eyeballing her finger nails. Eva knew the girl was doing her best for the team, especially since Dan went AWOL again, but right now Eva knew the girl was only just managing to conceal her irritation. Right there and then, Eva knew the girl was justified to be angry. Eva was in self-disgust mode. After her brief experiment in trying Eva’s austere dress sense Jess was dressing more like herself again, back in zany colours and flouncy skirts. Whatever her look was, it reminded Eva of the fifties. The look suited Jess, but would have made Eva look utterly ridiculous. Eva heard herself start to speak. She sounded awkward. She gulped. She started again.