Better the Devil Read online

  “So maybe I should have left the door shut.”

  Jess said nothing.

  “I should have told her to ring up during the day like any other customer.”

  “Maybe you should,” said Jess, tossing her head the other way, “but… you didn’t Eva.”

  “Yeah. I didn’t. I was tired.”

  Jess did that thing with her eyes. They widened and narrowed without comment, but Eva knew what that little gesture meant.

  “So? I had a bit to drink and I was up late. My judgement wasn’t at its peak last night.”

  “Eva, if I had been up drinking until 2 in the morning, maybe I would have opened the door too. Then again, maybe not. It was Maggie Gillespie! Maggie Gillespie who essentially tried to kidnap you for a sex slave in the summer… Married to the man who sends fat Irish heavies to scare you and leaves you heavy breathing phone messages. Just how much had you been drinking, Eva?”

  Eva dropped her head down a moment then looked back up at her young accuser.

  “I can’t sleep at the moment. Not easily anyway. And if I’m going to function at all in this business I need to have enough sleep in the bank to think rationally.”

  “Rationally. Like last night.”

  “Last night is the epitome of why I need more sleep, Jess. Damn it, I haven’t slept a full night in two weeks.”

  “I know.”

  “You know?”

  “Yeah. Excuse me for saying this, boss, but you’ve looked like shit for the best part of that whole two weeks.”

  “Great. And you said nothing until now?”

  “Only because you just lost your man again, and to be frank…”

  “Yes?”

  “Can I be frank?”

  “Be frank.”

  “I thought it wasn’t a lack of sleep which was the problem. I thought it was the bottle.”

  There was an awkward silence. It was only a few seconds as Eva and Jess blinked at each other, but for Eva it felt like a whole minute. Eventually she blushed while Jess stayed pale.

  “Jess. Do you remember that professional line I used to mention? That boundary we discussed?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Well, you just stepped over it once again, Jess.”

  “Sorry for any offence.”

  “Apology accepted. Let’s move on. The fact is I made a mistake because I was tired and maybe a little bit tipsy. But I was thinking about us too. About the agency. You keep making that face every time you look at the accounts, and until now there hasn’t been a damn thing I could do about it apart from wear a sandwich-board and walk up and down the High Street. Besides…I didn’t say I would definitely work for the woman… but I did give that impression. I know how that sounds… it sounds so bloody dumb… but I actually felt sorry for her. Once the woman was frightening, a giant even… but last night she was looking to this blonde security woman for comfort. Think about it, Jess. She was so desperate she came to me! She came to me for help. Me of all people!”

  “Nuts is what this is. You’ve taken the case, Eva.”

  “They said fifty grand.”

  Jess shifted in her chair and made a shrug with her dark sculpted eyebrows. Yeah, fifty grand was enough to make anyone think twice. “Maybe you were drunk, maybe you were just dazzled by the numbers. The books do need a cash injection.”

  “You’ve been underplaying it, Jess. I know that. The books need an intravenous drip not a cash injection. We haven’t got any new jobs coming through. The last money we had in was from donations, for God’s sake, not even clients.”

  “So we need this? Do you think she’ll pay?”

  “I agreed part payments… payment by instalments. That way there’s no way she can double cross us on all of that money. We could just as easily quit the case and take the cash.”

  “You? You’d never double cross anyone.”

  Eva shrugged and made a faint smile. “Maybe.”

  “Tell me about the security woman.”

  “Kendra? About thirty five-ish. She’s around five foot ten, is kind of pretty has a face full of aggression too. Definitely a military type. And the way they spoke to each other, I think they have more than a professional partnership going on.”

  “I Thought so. That’s a silver lining then. At least she’s not here to get you.”

  “No, Jess. The woman is genuinely terrified, I could see it. This is real.”

  “So, the million dollar question is have you made a terrible mistake which you can withdraw from, or is this a terrible mistake which pays so well you want to run with it.”

  “Neither. This is a seriously different proposition to a standard PI case. This is a protection case. And in addition to that, Maggie needs a permanent way out so she doesn’t have to remain on the run. She didn’t ask for that, but it’s obvious she can’t run forever. Fixing a permanent solution is another thing altogether. Will that involve negotiating with Gillespie? Or does it mean locating a safe alternative? I don’t know. This is a big deal and none of it is private investigating. It’s totally out of my league and my experience.”

  “So why us then?”

  “Because she knows me and probably because she knows Gillespie hates me with a passion. And because we beat her husband in Hammersmith. I think that’s the main motivation here. She’s seen us best Old Man Gillespie once. She thinks we can do it again.”

  “But what do you think? For fifty grand. Is it worth it?”

  “It’s time for you to tell me what you think, Jess.”

  Jess hesitated while she read Eva’s face. “If you say go, we go. But let’s be honest here. We already know this woman is deadly toxic. The only good thing that can come out of this, the way I see it, are those instalment payments. We need income. She can provide it, but that’s it. This case has danger signs all over it.”

  “So does insolvency. Have you been in the job centre lately, Jess?”

  Jess carried on. “You know she’s a bad apple. The other one is what, military, you say? For fifty grand. Do you really want this?”

  “What are you actually saying, Jess?”

  “Permission to be frank?”

  Eva nodded. “Permission granted. With limits.”

  “Can you handle this right now?”

  Eva’s eyes glazed. “By myself you mean?”

  “Eva?”

  Her voice was flat when it came.

  “I’ll reject the case. It was a mistake. Something else will come along.”

  Eva walked away from the desk. She walked away into the back office before Jess could add another word. She walked into the kitchenette at the back and peered out the window over a small concrete yard. Yes, the business would have been in better shape if Dan was still around. But, she would have been in better shape herself if she didn’t have to worry about Dan. Jess was right, she was in bad shape. What the hell was she going to do now? How was the business going to cope? Eva hoped Maggie Gillespie and her new blonde sidekick would take rejection in their stride. They weren’t going to like it at all. Hope was one thing, but reality was another thing altogether.

  Three

  “I’m sorry. I could have told you this by phone, but we’d already booked this meeting. I’m sorry to waste your time.”

  Maggie Gillespie and Eva sat inside the 707 coffee shop not far from Eva’s office. It wasn’t the nearest coffee shop either, but it was a cool independent outfit and at this time of day it was quiet. Besides, Eva liked the décor. The wooden panelled walls all painted white with little dark wooden tables and odd shabby chic chairs. On better days than this, the 707 coffee shop felt like the antidote to the fudge colours of all the large coffee chain joints. But today the décor couldn’t do a thing for Eva. The meeting had just started, and it was intense and uncomfortable already. Maggie Gillespie’s big dark eyes stared at Eva from under dark Latin eyebrows. Those eyes were as glistening and threatening as ever. As she apologised Eva felt Maggie’s unrelenting eyes probing her for more than Eva was saying.
There was the same sexual hunger as before and the same savage aura, but it had been somehow tamed since the summer. Maybe Maggie had found a strange kind of happiness with this Kendra. Or maybe fear for her life had watered down the power of her lust. So she had an excuse to look away from Maggie Gillespie’s dark eyes Eva picked up her coffee cup. Eva felt the eyes of all the customers and staff were trained on their table. Even now, Maggie was a charismatic figure. A powerful and magnetic force whether you liked her or loathed her.

  “You can’t back out on me now! You heard how bad this is.”

  “With all due respect, Mrs Gillespie…”

  “I’m Maggie, now. Maggie. I insist.”

  “With all due respect, I can still remember what happened in Hammersmith.”

  “Last night, full of booze, you put that behind us.”

  “Easier said than done… um…”

  “Maggie.”

  “Did you know my office has received nuisance calls from Brian Gillespie and people who work for him ever since Hammersmith? We were also paid a visit by someone delivering threats on Mr Gillespie’s behalf. Can you blame me if I’m reluctant?”

  “Not at all. But can I hold you to your word, Eva.” The Traveller lilt kicked into her voice the more agitated she became. “I had thought better of you than this. People like Brian and myself… we never were good or reliable…but that’s our stamp, it’s what we are about. You stake your name on the moral high ground, don’t you? You do what is right. Surely you can see going back on your word here is wrong.”

  Maggie’s twisted logic astounded her.

  “But I’d be justified.”

  There was a flash of anger in the fearful woman’s dark eyes, then it vanished. Maggie Gillespie looked around the coffee shop and lowered her tone. She still hadn’t touched her latte.

  “You might be justified. But what good is that? You’d be half way to pulling the trigger on me yourself.”

  “Don’t. Don’t you dare put that on me, Mrs?”

  “Maggie, I said. Stop with the Mrs Gillespie stuff now. That era is over for me. The man who bears that name is trying to kill me!”

  Eva sipped her coffee and looked around, pushing the nosey glares of the nearest tables away.

  “I’m a private detective, Maggie. Not a hired gun.”

  “I know what you did in London. I was there. And I heard the rest of it in the gossip of Brian’s boys. You tied Marka’s men and our own boys in knots. You can do it again.”

  “My partner’s missing. I’m working alone now. I don’t have the resources.” Inside, Eva thought about her emptiness, her tiredness, her sorrow.

  “Eva. I’m going to use your first name. What you did in London you mostly did by yourself. I came for your help. No one else’s.”

  Eva hid a minute surge of pride. The compliment was badly needed right now, even from a tyrannical bitch like Maggie Gillespie. Eva shifted in her chair and hesitated. She came to this meeting to get rid of her Maggie Gillespie problem. But now she knew she was coming close to giving in all over again. The woman was right. Eva would be totally justified in giving Maggie the brush off, but Brian Gillespie was evil. How could she of all people let another woman get flushed away just because it suited Gillespie?

  “Level with me, Maggie. What is really going on here? What is this all about?”

  Maggie’s glossy lips opened into a broad white smile. For the first time she looked coy.

  “Why is Brian after me?”

  Eva nodded. “Of course that’s what I meant.” Maggie leaned forward on the table and cradled her chin in her hand. Eva waited.

  “You know, back in that car in Hammersmith, I thought you were going to kiss me.” Eva held her poise.

  “Maggie. I was being held prisoner, and I did what had to be done. I was never going to kiss you or anyone else. Now, you give me an answer or we are done.”

  “I was just teasing you, that’s all. Ease up.”

  “You’ve got no call to do anything other than answer my question.”

  “Aye. Brian has been screwing around. Hell, what do I care? He’s been working away for weeks. The firm had a big construction contract to fix up in Birmingham, but then he stayed on in London for two weeks after that. Before he went away, he’d been talking about some old bitch who was involved high up the food chain with the North London gangs. He told me he hated her. He sat for a half hour over dinner and spat and cursed her name. Joleen Riley. I can’t forget the name after that night. But a few days later he just stopped talking about her altogether. Then the working away started. I knew something was up, so I asked the boys. They were acting all dumb and fucking guilt ridden. They were so see through, but they told me nothing. Zero. Because they knew he would kill ‘em. So I asked Kendra to do some digging for me.”

  “Kendra? Your… security guard.”

  Maggie’s eyes glinted and she grinned. “Aye, and she’s more than a security guard. But you know that already.”

  “Tell me. It seems relevant to me.”

  “Why do you want me to spell it out?”

  “It may relate to your husband’s behaviour. This is a need to know situation.”

  “We’re very good friends. You figure the rest. I’ve fixed it that she gets a salary from the firm on my say so. Brian let me have access to the money so I bought myself something nice. What do you think?”

  “Tough. That’s obvious.”

  “Yes, she’s tough all right. Kendra was in the army. She served in Iraq and did one tour in Afghanistan. The civilian world hasn’t found a place for her, so she ended up working doing security work amongst other things. Now she works with me.”

  “What did she find on your husband?”

  “Brian was definitely copping off with this old-aged Peroxide tart up in Holloway Road. I saw a picture of her. The old cow looks like a slapper who forgot that bleach blonde hair finished in 1992. She’s got too many wrinkles, bad hair and terrible dress sense. She is some queen bee for a London gang. Let her have him, I say. I stopped fancying the sad old bastard over ten years back.”

  “Two questions. Do you believe what Kendra said she saw? And why does he want you dead?”

  “Kendra showed me the evidence. Photographs of their kisses. You’ll want to see them, right?”

  Eva gave a faint nod, and waited. Maggie pulled a photograph from her handbag and laid it on the table. Eva didn’t much fancy the idea of looking at two old goats French kissing, but it was part of the job. She looked. Brian and a woman with a very dated short blonde hair cut, a-la Roxette, from the 1980s. Their faces were close, Brian’s mouth open wide and his leather lips plastered over the pale blonde woman’s mouth. There was a strange and desperate look on his face. It was hardly sexy. His mouth was wide open, pressing across the woman’s mouth and cheek. The kiss was passionate and ugly. So the story was real. “Do you mind?” said Eva, and withdrew her phone to take a copy of the picture for her own records.

  Maggie looked at Kendra. Kendra glanced at Eva’s phone and then shrugged. Eva took a quick snap of the photo as it laid down on the table top then slid the picture back across the table. While Kendra slid the original away, Eva thumb tapped a text to Jess. She attached the image. “Print and file,” were the only words in her text.

  “Kendra’s done most of the leg work a PI would do,” said Eva. “Once I get this kind of evidence my case is usually over.”

  “Not this one. This is where your work starts. I need your help if I’m going to stay alive, and I plan to do that. You’re wondering why he wants me dead, right? Easy. Murder is cheaper than a divorce, Eva darling. And it’s far less messy. He wants to clear the decks so he can have a marriage of convenience with that old London whore. I’ll make sure the bastard pays for this. In fact he’s paying right now. Look.”

  Maggie opened her green handbag and pulled out a brown envelope with a rectangular bulge in it. She gently pressed the envelope down on the surface in front of Eva.

  Conscious of th
e eyes around her, Eva peeled back the envelope to see a neat stack of currency.

  “A thousand. It’s just a down payment for your expenses. You think I’m going to rip you off, Eva, but I need you too much for that. Take the down payment. If you help me you’ll get another fifty just like I promised.”

  Maggie’s pitch was over and relaxed in her seat. Eva looked at the envelope and then at Maggie. Back in her queenly posture, her dark shining eyes once again settled into dominance and analysis, the predator studying her prey. Eva wasn’t going to lose the battle of assertiveness. She let the money sit a while. But before any time had passed, the café doorbell chimed, the door swung hard and clattered against the frame and made the windows shake. Kendra stormed into the coffee shop. The wind bustled in with her.

  “Maggie. Come on,” she called. “We must get out of here right now. NOW!”

  Maggie leapt out of her seat, her eyes wide and panicked. She looked down as she moved away. “Sorry. I’m a private detective, not a hired gun.”

  “You’ve gotten yourself out of worse. Get me out of this. I know you can.” Maggie left the envelope on the table

  Kendra seized Maggie’s arm. “Now!” The blonde looked at Eva with momentary contempt. Maybe it was Kendra’s contempt that tipped the balance.

  “Maggie?” called Eva. Maggie looked back as she reached the door. “I’ll do what I can.”

  With a pained smile Maggie Gillespie nodded and was gone. As the door shut, Eva got out of her seat and strode up to the window and peered out. She saw Maggie open the door of a big dark blue Audi. A muscular man was driving. Maggie got in the back, Kendra in the front passenger seat. The car made a screech as it took off. A few seconds later a motorbike sped past in the same direction. Both were breaking the speed limit by a big margin. Eva turned to see the café faces watching her. She picked up the envelope and took a ten pound note from the pack inside to pay the bill. She had taken the cash. That was it. Eva was up to her neck in a dangerous situation she didn’t understand. She failed to say no because of weakness and pride. She’d given in to the need for cash, and sacrificed her standards to keep the business going. She was beginning to remind herself of Dan and she didn’t like it. She had to keep Maggie alive. She had to convince Jess to help her. Eva didn’t know which was going to be harder…