Between Two Thieves Page 16

  “It’s good to hear you’ll be here if he needs you,” said Eva. “We’ll get back out there looking for what was stolen. And for Carl too.”

  “Thank you,” said Joe. “I’d like to apologise to him face to face for everything I said. I know he was trying to help me, just like he always did.”

  Eva nodded. “We’ll do our best.” They turned to leave.

  “And thank you,” said Georgie, as she followed them to the door.

  “For what?” said Eva.

  “For not judging Joe, or me. He’s only like this because his dad made him that way.”

  Dan raised an eyebrow but Eva nodded. “I know. Take care, Georgie.”

  The door closed behind them, and they walked down the driveway towards Dan’s Crossfire convertible parked right across the street.

  “That’s one messed up family,” said Dan. “Maybe we’d better not start messing up one of our own just yet.”

  Eva raised her eyebrow.

  “You changed your mind fast enough,” she said.

  “This job. It teaches me new lessons every hour of the day.”

  “That’s for certain,” said Eva.

  Nine

  Saturday morning.

  Dan slumped to rest over Eva’s soft warm body, collapsing with a moan, pressing his lips against her shoulder as he succumbed, entirely spent. Eva smiled and closed her eyes. She held him close, the warm and hazy feeling still flowing through her senses, making her feel as though everything else could wait, that everything would be alright just so long as they could stay like this and forget about the world. How long had they been together now? Most of that same twenty years Eva had thrown in Lauren Jaeger’s face when they spoke on the phone. Twenty years?! and still no children to show for it. No child apart from their business, the neediest child of all. But then children would never work anyway... would they? There was childcare responsibilities, finances, and upbringing to think of, let alone the danger they would continue to bring into their lives, day in and day out, just to bring home the bacon. So... maybe they would have to change careers too. Get something safer. Something which still paid enough to hold everything together. A nine to five job – one each – paying enough cash for the money-suck of childcare too. That alternative version of life sounded so safe, so ordinary, so boring. Eva knew it wasn’t for her at all. As the slow glow of passion started to fade, reality sank in once more. Eva was a private investigator and life had made her that way. The years had shaped her, sculpted her into what she was, and for all the trouble it brought her, she loved the job too. Leaving the investigation business would be like having a limb cut off, maybe two. Thoughts sailed on through her mind as Dan rolled away from her and blinked as she started to get up. He admired her body as Eva stood up to gather his discarded T-shirt from the floor. Dan looked at Eva’s eyes and frowned for a moment. But then the penny dropped.

  “You thought about it, didn’t you?” said Dan. “You did.”

  “Thought about what?” she said, looking sheepish.

  She pulled his T-shirt down over her head and body and cast a knowing, sleepy eye down at him.

  “Kids,” he said.

  “You need to put that idea back in Pandora’s box right now, Dan.”

  “But you still thought about it.”

  “As if you could read anyone’s mind,” she said.

  Dan rolled his head back onto his folded arms. “Not anyone’s... but I can read yours.”

  “Fine,” said Eva. “Maybe I might have thought about it for a second. But it wouldn’t work. And I know you. The minute life got hard, you’d run off and re-join The Company so you could set off on another crazy mission just to avoid changing a nappy.”

  Dan frowned but Eva stared down at him and maintained her grin.

  “You got me there,” said Dan.

  “I have, haven’t I? The truth is I already have the only child I’ll ever need.”

  Before she reached the door Eva glanced at her phone on the bedside chest of drawers and saw it was lit up with a fresh missed call.

  “You’re right there,” said Dan. Eva walked over to the drawers and picked up her phone. Dan reached out from the bed and tried to snatch her wrists, but she pulled away.

  “What’s up? No time left for a little more fun with your favourite PI?”

  “Afraid not,” said Eva. “That ship has already sailed.” Eva dabbed her phone screen and started to read the message.

  “Does that have anything to do with all this talk about nappies and children?”

  “Possibly. But it’s more to do with Lauren. She called again before.”

  “And we didn’t hear it? The earth really must have been moving.”

  “Don’t flatter yourself,” said Eva. “My phone is on silent.”

  Eva turned away for the door.

  “Where are you going now?” said Dan.

  “To try again. To make the phone call you said I should make. Then I want a shower.”

  “It’s still early, Eva. And it’s the weekend. Take it easy.”

  “It is the weekend, yes. But the clock is ticking on the Clancy job. The longer Carl Renton is missing, the worse it gets. Same applies to Clancy’s treasures too. Tell you what, why don’t you do something useful like get the coffee started?”

  As the door shut and Eva disappeared, Dan dropped his head back on the pillow and shut his sleepy eyes. “Something useful? Come on...”

  Eva walked into their lounge-cum-dining room and pulled up a chair at the dining table. She tweaked the blind to distract herself, peering out through the slats at the street below. But there was nothing to see apart from a paperboy cycling along with his neon orange satchel, and a late staggering drunk meandering his way home. Eva breathed to calm herself, and then she hit dial. This time, Lauren picked up the call inside two rings.

  “Lauren,” said Eva.

  “Eva,” she replied. Her voice flat and defensive.

  “Look...” said Eva.

  “Eva, you really don’t need to explain... or apologise. Everything you said before was justified. I just didn’t expect you to come out and say it so quickly.”

  “To be honest, neither did I,” said Eva.

  They both took a breath. “Well, listen to us talking to each other like we’re both thirty-something women,” said Lauren.

  “Ridiculous. Don’t say it. It’ll never happen,” said Eva.

  “No. I thought it wouldn’t, either. But when I look at the face in the mirror, you know, I really think it might be true.”

  “Never look at a mirror too long, Lauren. That’s my tip for success and happiness.”

  “So you’re a guru as well as a private investigator now?” said Lauren, adding in a defensive laugh.

  “I could never be a guru, Lauren. All I do is help people get solutions to their problems. Sometimes it’s closure on a missing person case, or a lost possession, say.” Their current case was both, but Lauren didn’t need to know the details.

  “What about helping someone when they think they might be beyond help.”

  “Nobody’s beyond help, Lauren. And you wouldn’t have called me unless you thought I could do something.”

  Lauren sighed and attempted a laugh. It still wasn’t convincing. “You know, even after all these years you seem to be able to cut straight to the point.”

  “In this profession you have to,” said Eva. “Anyway, what did you end up doing for a job? You were supposed to hit the catwalk, remember?”

  “Another arrogant pipedream that went up in smoke, I’m afraid. Nope. I never did make it to any catwalk. I did end up working in fashion for a while, I worked for a trade publication. That was hard work, with the merest hint of glamour, but nothing like the real thing. Then I grew up and realised I needed to make some actual money to pay a mortgage and buy a car. I was twenty-nine but still living like a nineteen year old.”

  “So what happened after the trade press?”

  “I turned my hand to recru
itment. In other words, I sold out. But hey, I was good at it. So good I became Blane’s top agent in the South East for twenty fourteen and twenty fifteen, and then I started dating Mr Blane Junior himself.”

  “As in Blane – the high street recruitment agency?”

  “The one and only.”

  “Wow,” said Eva.

  “Yes,” said Lauren. “Back then life finally looked like it was going to work out well, and I could wave goodbye to all those other fashionista wannabes. And the years between twenty fifteen and seventeen were a really great time. I worked hard and played hard and fell in love with a totally remarkable guy.”

  “Blane Junior. Why can I hear the but coming, Lauren?” said Eva.

  “Because fairy tales aren’t real, are they? Not even when they last for two years or more, you don’t always get your happy ending.”

  “I’ve never even been close to living the fairy tale, Lauren. In fact, I’ve lived through everything but.”

  “Being a PI, huh?”

  “And being with Dan too. But it’s been an adventure, at least.”

  “After twenty seventeen I can’t call my life an adventure. It’s something closer to a horror movie. You see, my original happiness came from Jamie Blane’s tragedy. I didn’t think about it until later but I guess I should have seen trouble coming right at the start. Jamie never grieved. It had to come out somehow, didn’t it?”

  “You’ve lost me, Lauren.”

  “Jamie Blane is the son and heir of Blane Recruitment. I was their best earner. It was a match made in heaven, except that Jamie was married when we first met, and when we first started taking lunch together. I think I already knew there was a thing between us then. We both knew. But so long as neither of us said anything, didn’t admit it to each other, those cosy lunches were able to go on. So they did. And then in late twenty fifteen, Suzanna Blane died. It was a car accident. She was involved in a crash with a drunk driver on the A12; it was horrible. Jamie and I waited a little while, but maybe not long enough. I’m pretty sure tongues were wagging. But it didn’t matter. We lived together in a kind of insular cocoon for about two years. We were happy, but I guess, deep down, Jamie wasn’t. I thought he was finally grieving when it first started happening. The mood swings. The fiery tempers. They were brand new to me. I guessed he’d supressed his grief for me, and then, bang, there it was, coming out in one big ugly hit. But really I was just making excuses for him. Jamie turned controlling overnight. Monstrously controlling.

  I went along with it for a few weeks but he didn’t get better. He got worse. His anger turned to threats, and not long after that, became violence.”

  “Did you get help? Did you leave him?” said Eva.

  “Oh yeah, I tried all of that. But that only works if the man realises it’s over. It requires acceptance. Or if you disappear, and I tried that too, believe me. But when Jamie found me he told me these words. I’ll never forget what he said. It went like this... If you ever bail on me ever again, I’ll ensure you lose every penny you’ve ever earned from me. We’ll find a way to do it. We’ll cook up a fraud. I’ll prove you embezzled money from the firm, and you’ll never work again. And that’s just the start. If you try it again, I won’t just come for you. I’ll come for your family. First, I’ll come for your sister. And if I can’t find her, I’ll come for your mother too.”

  Eva took in a sharp breath.

  “He actually said those words? Your boyfriend?”

  “He didn’t just say the words, Eva. He meant it. Every single word. After two years in paradise I ended up living with the man from hell, and how I endured it, I just don’t know. But seriously, I can’t take it anymore. I want out, but Jamie’s smart and he’s dangerous. I’m frightened of what he might do if I went to the police or the women’s refuge. Eva... I’ve thought about this for so long, but I just can’t see a way out. I even thought about killing myself – that’s how bad it got. But then I remembered you. You always had a solution and I heard what you do for a living. It made sense to call you. You’re my last roll of the dice, Eva. I can’t try all the usual routes because they’re not just a dead end, for me they’re dangerous. And he will follow through on those threats, I know he will. You always knew what to do. And there’s no one else in the world who understands me like you. And with the skills you’ve got...”

  “Lauren, there are plenty of people with my skills, I assure you.”

  “But, Eva, I can trust you. Who else could I turn to? You will help me, won’t you...?”

  Eva blinked and closed her eyes tight shut. She remembered Lauren as she was before the acrimony and the years of silence. She remembered spring schooldays, the long summers, riding bikes around Basildon’s Victoria Park, kicking around talking about music and boys.

  Eva took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

  “Of course I’ll help you, Lauren. What else are friends for?”

  “You will? You will!”

  “Yes, but you have to hold on – not long – just another day or two, that’s all. Can you do that?”

  “Hold on?”

  “Yes, I’m in the middle of a missing persons case, and we’ve just uncovered a dead body. This investigation looks set to take a turn for the worse. I have to get this done.”

  “Just a couple of days?” said Lauren.

  “Two, maybe three tops,” said Eva.

  “Okay, Eva. I’ve held on this long, I don’t see a couple more days being too much. You won’t change your mind, will you? Jamie is really scaring me, Eva. I think he’s lost it, I really do.”

  “Be strong, don’t let him break you, and please, don’t you dare do anything stupid. I’ll be there for you as soon as I can.”

  “Like I should have been there for you all along. Thank you, Eva. You’ve given me some hope.”

  The call ended and Eva put the tip of her mobile to her lips. Shaking her head, she stood up, stretched and set off in search of coffee.

  “Eva,” she muttered. “I hope you just made the right call...”

  Only time would tell.

  But time told all too soon.

  By the time Eva had drunk her second coffee of the day, her phone started buzzing again.. Instead of watching Saturday Kitchen with the rest of the world, they were downstairs in the office, scanning the local news sites to see if any of Clancy’s other missing treasures had been found. In the time it took to read Lauren’s name on the screen Eva’s newfound peace with the world was all but gone. She picked up the phone and stood up from her chair. At that very moment, Mark and Joanne walked into the office. Eva saw their breezy weekend smiles and abruptly turned away. She stalked into the kitchen and slid the door shut.

  Joanne’s face dropped. She looked at Dan.

  “What’s the matter? Did we do anything wrong?”

  But all Dan could do was shrug and wait until the call was over.

  “Lauren? What’s happened?”

  Eva leaned over the sink and stared out into their neglected backyard. A large fat ginger tabby cat stared down at her from the side wall.

  “It’s Jamie. He knows I’ve spoken to someone about him. I don’t know how, but I’m telling you, he knows. He totally lost his shit at me again. Eva, I can’t deal with this. I’ve told him I need a break. I have to go out for a few hours to calm down. He made me swear all oaths and all other kinds of other crazy things, and then he threatened me again, but I have to get out of here. I know you can’t help me yet, but I really need to talk to you. Can I come down and see you?”

  “Lauren... it’s not a good time, like I told you before...”

  “Eva, Please. I don’t have a choice. I have to get out of here just for an hour or two. Let me meet you. I’ll buy you lunch. I told him I was going out for a walk, which means I can’t take the car, because then he’ll know I was lying.”

  “What? But that’s crazy,” said Eva.

  “I know it is. Which means I’ll be coming to Southend by train. I’ll be at Southend Central a
t around eleven. Do you think you can meet me?”

  Eva frowned and stared back at the cat until he looked away.

  “I’ll meet you,” she said. “But it’ll have to be lunch on the go. We need to keep pushing before we lose any hope of finding our missing person.”

  “I understand, Eva. I’m sorry to do this to you. I owe you one.”

  “Okay, Lauren. I’ll see you at eleven,” said Eva. She ended the call, blew out a deep breath and looked at the clock on her mobile phone.

  Eleven am gave her no more than one hour. Factoring in getting ready and driving time, Eva saw she barely had any time at all. She rubbed a hand across her forehead. Unless something broke on Clancy’s missing artefacts and Carl Renton, Eva reckoned they would be empty handed by the time the weekend was up. Surely Clancy wouldn’t want to pay a bean if they had nothing to show him for their work. But they would have to roll with it and hope for the best. Eva walked out of the kitchen and grabbed her tweed jacket from the back of her chair.

  “Morning,” said Eva, shooting a glance at Joanne and Mark. They lingered near the shop doorway, like party guests who didn’t feel entirely welcome.

  “Is everything okay? We just popped in to help. Seeing as Mark knows Joe, we thought you could do with our help.”

  “And we probably could,” said Eva. “Especially since I’ve just been landed with an unwanted meeting with my ex-friend Lauren. She kicked me to the kerb like a dirty old can, but now she’s in trouble she can’t wait to meet up. As much as I am all for peace and love, I’m thinking this meet-up might be more than awkward.”

  “You’re meeting with her?” said Joanne.

  “If I want a clean conscience I have to. The woman’s in some fix with a trashy, violent partner.”

  “Can’t you put her off?” said Dan.

  “Tried that, and the answer’s no. Hopefully meeting her will put her off for a few days until we finish up with Clancy.”

  “Where are you meeting her?” said Joanne.

  “Southend Central. In about an hour.”

  “You’re going now?” said Joanne.