Secrets Read online

  Gregory seemed to sense her anxiety. ‘It’s all right,’ he said. ‘Nothing more is going to happen, it’s going to stop, right here and now.’

  She could feel Liz’s curiosity, sense the frisson of excitement.

  ‘Where’s the inspector?’ Gregory asked.

  ‘Had to go. He’s gone to the crash site. I told him I’d be all right. Someone’s supposed to be coming, but—’

  ‘Well you don’t need them, now. I’m here,’ Liz told her. ‘I’m going nowhere.’

  ‘Any news?’

  Naomi shook her head. ‘Not really. They’ve stopped the bleeding but Alec’s still in surgery. Molly’s showed signs of waking up, but that’s all.’

  ‘And that’s all good,’ Liz told her. Naomi nodded and tried to believe it was.

  ‘The nurses said they’ll need stuff. They’ll be in here for a while. I know it’s not immediate, but, I’m not sure what to do.’

  ‘Let me,’ Gregory said unexpectedly. ‘I can go to Molly’s place, bring back what she needs.’

  Naomi frowned. ‘I’m not sure I’d feel right—’ she began.

  ‘No, I mean, I don’t think I’d want a strange man going through my underwear drawers,’ Liz agreed, though Naomi got the distinct impression she might make an exception for Gregory.

  ‘Naomi.’ Gregory’s voice was gently insistent. ‘There may be other things that Molly needs taken care of, other than just fetching her toothbrush and dressing gown. I think we should make sure, don’t you?’

  Taken aback, Naomi found herself nodding. What other things? What did Molly have there that shouldn’t be? Naomi wasn’t sure she wanted to know. But Gregory was right, probably.

  ‘I don’t know if the house is alarmed and I don’t know about keys or anything.’

  ‘Don’t worry. I think I can manage all of that,’ he said. ‘Now, what sort of things is Molly going to need?’

  Liz took over, making him a list and Naomi was oddly relieved to be able to focus momentarily on the purely practical. Gregory left, taking Liz’s list.

  ‘Man of mystery,’ Liz said. ‘Where did you meet him, anyway?’

  Naomi thought about it for a moment and managed a slight laugh. ‘On a beach in Wales,’ she said. ‘But believe me, it wasn’t nearly as romantic as it sounds.’

  Word had spread. Soon everyone that mattered was in the loop. Nathan had sent a message to Adam, hoping he would respond; figuring he probably would. And to Annie, telling her that the time to act was now. Annie had been in touch with Tariq, only to find that he’d set his own wheels in motion. Clay, it seemed was already ahead of the game. Annie just hoped he’d be assured enough not to notice as they trailed behind.

  She was about to leave when Bob came down the stairs. It was just after midnight.

  ‘Annie?’

  ‘I left you a note. I have to leave for a day or so.’

  ‘A day or so. Annie, I thought. I hoped.’

  She dropped her bag and came over to him, held him tight. ‘I will be back for the opening night,’ she said. ‘I’ve not missed one yet.’

  ‘And where are you going? I know I promised not to ask, but. Annie.’

  ‘Listen, there are so many things you don’t know. So many things I don’t want you to know, but you’ve got to trust me this one last time. I’ll be back for the exhibition and I’ll wear my posh frock.’ She smiled. ‘I wouldn’t miss it, Bob, and I’ll tell you something else. This will be the last time I go. I promise that. I won’t have to leave ever again after this.’

  ‘Annie?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Don’t make promises you can’t keep.’

  She stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. ‘I never have,’ she said. ‘And I promise, I never will.’

  Adam was in a quandary. Finally he spoke to Nathan and then made up his mind. This was it, then; either they worked together and eliminated their collective past, or it reached out and destroyed them. There was nothing more to be said.

  He drove home, collected a few things he wanted, then drove out to the shop and spent a half-hour putting together a kit he thought might be useful. After that, he called Billie.

  ‘Billie, love, do me a favour and take yourself on holiday for a few days. Don’t tell me where, just go.’

  ‘Adam? I don’t think I understand.’

  ‘I think you do. Please, Billie. I don’t have time to explain just now. Just go.’

  She was silent for a moment and he thought she might be about to argue. ‘The last time you told me to leave, was in Beirut in ’87,’ she said.

  ‘I know. I remember. I’ll see you soon, Billie. If you need cash, use the business Visa.’

  He rang off. Beirut in 1987. The Druze militia had moved back into the city, and another round of bombings and kidnappings led to a final evacuation on non-essential personnel. Billie had stayed, right up until that moment when Adam knew he was to be reassigned. She had stayed for him.

  He put the thought aside, knowing her well enough to trust that she would go, tonight, that she would hide herself away and all would be well.

  If they did not succeed now, then none of it mattered anyway.

  Gregory had no trouble with Molly’s house. He moved slowly through the rooms, closing curtains and putting on only the smallest lights. He knew from experience that people took little notice of closed curtains and normal lights whereas shining a flashlight would always attract attention. The high hedges surrounding Molly’s home also added security and he was not worried about being disturbed.

  He stood on the landing and examined the floor and Molly’s attempts to scrub and sand the floorboards. She’d made a right pig’s ear of it, Gregory thought. He moved through into the front bedroom, obviously hers. A dressing gown hung behind the door and a blue nightdress lay on the pillow. He folded both and lay them on the bed, finding a pair of slippers tucked beneath the beside cabinet. Bending to pick them up, Gregory glanced beneath the bed. He reached under it and dragged Molly’s travelling box out. It was an old tin box, Victorian probably, the sort of thing that would have contained all the worldly goods of some poor sod, back then, Gregory thought.

  Not that he owned so very much more now.

  He opened it, riffled carefully through the letters and photographs and cards she kept inside and he realized at once that he’d struck gold. Pictures of Molly and Edward and Clay, others too. Of his friend, Arthur Fields. Notebooks and memoranda, memos that by rights Molly should never have had, all layered with dance invitations and menus from Ambassadorial dinners, postcards and little notes from Edward that Gregory quickly set aside.

  Some things were too obviously personal and did not need his great paws laid on them.

  ‘Oh, Molly,’ he said. ‘You are one dangerous lady. But how did you dispose of Clay’s boy, I wonder?’

  He stood, looked back towards the landing. Molly would have had so very little time. Whatever she did, it had to be quick, easily accessible. He fumbled through the bedside table, found nothing but hand cream and tissues, a pen, notepad and a paperback book. Nothing beneath the pillow. Would she have kept whatever weapon she had used? Probably not. Molly was a professional after all. Yes, he argued with himself, but she’s not going to find it easy to replace anything is she? The house had not been searched, would she willingly cast a weapon aside?

  He looked again at the drawer and took out the pen, unscrewed the cap. Had his answer.

  ‘Clever girl, Molly.’ Gregory smiled.

  A half-hour later, the house searched and a little hoard of finds stowed in the tin box, Gregory left the house with it and a bag containing the things on the list. He stowed the box in the boot of his car and drove back to the hospital. He arrived to the news that Molly was awake and Liz and Naomi were with her.

  ‘She’s tougher than she looks,’ the nurse told him. ‘Are you family?’

  ‘A nephew,’ Gregory told her, figuring if Alec could be an honorary family member, so could he. ‘And yes, she most defin
itely is.’

  Annie collected Tariq from a motorway services. He sat looking out of the window, drinking coffee. And looking thoroughly miserable. Annie’s heart went out to him. Tariq was, in her opinion, a pure academic. He should have been ensconced in some safe research post somewhere, with nothing more challenging going on than a little professional jealousy, not stuck out on a limb like this.

  She slid into the seat opposite. ‘You OK?’

  He nodded.

  ‘Your dad all right?’

  He nodded again. ‘Upset, though. We all thought we’d stopped running a long time ago, didn’t we?’

  ‘Hopefully we have. Tariq, we’ll get through this. We’ve just got to pull together.’

  ‘I don’t know what I can do. I’m just a geek.’

  ‘There’s no just about it. You can do what we can’t. Tariq, have you heard of a man called Adam Carmodie?’

  Tariq frowned, then nodded. Annie could almost see him accessing the memory. ‘He worked with Clay in the Congo and in Bosnia, and Venezuela. He was a communications expert, electronics and surveillance, that sort of thing. What about him?’

  ‘Think you and he can pool resources? I know it’s a big ask, but you and Adam both have skills we need right now.’

  Tariq hesitated and then nodded. ‘You know we can’t break into Clay’s computer from the outside, don’t you? We have to go in there. He’ll have things in his private files that aren’t on any server. He doesn’t like to share. Not Clay.’

  ‘I know,’ Annie said. ‘And I know we won’t have much time. Tariq, are you all right with this? If we get you and Adam inside, can you take it from there?’

  ‘Inside his house? Annie, I—’

  ‘I’m scared too,’ she said.

  ‘You? You’re scared of nothing.’

  ‘I’m scared of not going home to my husband. I’m scared of not keeping a promise to him. I’m scared of a lot of things, Tariq. I always have been. I’m not so different.’

  He stared at her and then nodded briefly. ‘I worshipped him, you know that? We’d be dead if it wasn’t for him. I feel like I’m a traitor. Like I’m—’

  ‘I know,’ Annie said ‘But Tariq, he—’

  ‘He killed my friend, or had him killed. Herbert didn’t do anything to deserve that. He was just … he just … he …’

  ‘He knew too much, Tariq. We all know too much and Clay isn’t Clay any more. I’m not sure he ever was.’

  Gregory had asked for a moment alone with Molly, and Liz had taken Naomi to get yet more coffee. ‘Five minutes,’ the nurse told him, ‘and definitely no more.’

  He wouldn’t need any more, Gregory thought. He sat down in the seat Naomi had vacated and Molly turned her head painfully to look at him.

  ‘She says you are a friend.’

  ‘I try to be. I went to your house, Molly. I think I found everything, your box, the zip guns. The Taser. Molly, what do you want with a Taser?’

  She almost laughed, but it was too painful. ‘Edward thought it was a good idea,’ she said. ‘We can’t keep guns in this blasted country. I’ve never been without a weapon. I felt naked.’

  ‘Molly, I found three of the damn zip guns in your house. I don’t know where you got them from, but they’re beautifully made. Especially the pen. I can understand why you didn’t get rid of it afterwards.’

  ‘Single shot,’ she said. ‘I’ve never needed more than one. You need to take more than one shot you should find another occupation.’

  Gregory chuckled softly. ‘Clay underestimated you, didn’t he?’

  ‘Bloody did too.’ She closed her eyes and looked set to drift off to sleep.

  ‘Molly, I think I know what you did. Indulge me, stay awake long enough to tell me I’m right.’

  She sighed. ‘I almost died today,’ she said. ‘I want to sleep now.’

  ‘Sleep can wait. I’m curious.’

  ‘You’re a pain in the nethers.’ She shifted uncomfortably and then opened her eyes again. ‘He almost killed Alec,’ she said. ‘He might not make it.’

  ‘He’ll pull though. I’m sure he will. And Clay will pay. I promise you.’

  She studied him coldly for a moment. Then she said, ‘Edward had them made for me. The pen, the cigarette lighter and the walking cane. It amused him, I think, but they had a practical use too for those times when we couldn’t easily defend ourselves. The pen sat in the drawer beside my bed for years. Whichever bed I slept in. I never thought I’d use it. Then he came to my house. I recognized the tattoo on his arm and I recognized that blasted gun, a Soviet SP-3. And I knew him too. It shocked me a bit that Clay should send family after me but that was Clay all over. Thought it would shake me, I suppose.’

  ‘It did, briefly, I’m guessing,’ Gregory said.

  ‘I knew there would be only seconds. I heard him come up the stairs. I took the chance that the woman taking my call would only hear the one shot. I dropped the phone and kicked it under the bed and I fired. I didn’t know if it would kill him, but it didn’t have to … I just needed a moment more. I shot upward. Up beneath the chin, through the soft palate, into the brain. I took his gun and I finished him. I used a pillow to muffle what little sound there was and I screamed like hell. I hoped the only shot they heard would be mine. You know the SP-3 it makes so little sound. Just the click of the firing pin.’

  ‘Internally suppressed,’ Gregory nodded. ‘I’ve never owned one. Rare as rocking horse … as hen’s teeth.’

  ‘I did the best I could, under the circumstances, but I’d rather Alec didn’t know.’

  Gregory smiled. She was proud of what she’d done, he thought. It must have irked, on some level, not to be able to tell anyone, until now. ‘You did a good job,’ he said.

  ‘My box. Did you find my box? It’s under the bed.’

  ‘I have it and I’ll keep it safe, until you’re home.’

  The nurse came back into the room, indicating time and Gregory nodded.

  ‘You rest up. I’m sure everything will be all right.’

  Molly had already closed her eyes.

  Gregory returned to the corridor. Liz and Naomi were talking to a doctor. Gregory stood a little apart until he had gone. He could see from Naomi’s face that the news was good.

  ‘He’s out of surgery and Naomi can go and visit in about a half-hour, when they’ve got him settled,’ Liz said. She beamed at Gregory. ‘That’s good news, isn’t it?’

  ‘Very good,’ Gregory said. ‘Naomi, I have to go now. You’ll be all right?’

  ‘I’ll be staying,’ Liz told him.

  ‘I’ll be fine. Thank you for all you’ve done. Alec’s parents will be here in a couple of hours. Liz has booked them into the hotel for me.’

  She looked so much well, he thought.

  ‘And Gregory? When he’s well, we’re going to go back home. Find a place and just settle again.’

  ‘Good,’ he said. ‘I’m pleased.’

  He was aware of Liz’s gaze on his back as he left.

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  The clock in the hall struck four. Tariq wasn’t exactly sure what hall it was in, what house. It didn’t seem to belong to any of the people present, but they all seemed very familiar with the place.

  Annie was drawing sketch maps. Plans of the house in which Clay now lived.

  Nathan outlining the security, the alarms, who might be there. Adam, the man asking the most questions. Running through radio protocol, mainly, Tariq knew, for his benefit.

  Another man had arrived a few minutes before. He’d been introduced as Gregory. He now stood in the doorway, a steaming mug of tea in a very large fist. Tariq knew he had seen the man somewhere else. Or his picture at least. Probably in a security file.

  The memory would solidify if he left it alone, so for now, he left it alone.

  ‘We’ll be on a very tight schedule,’ Nathan said. ‘Once we’re in the house we’ll have maybe seven minutes before the police arrive. There’s a direct alarm, if any of
the security is breached.’

  ‘Seven minutes?’ Tariq was horrified. ‘I can’t do anything in seven minutes.’

  ‘We can do plenty in seven minutes,’ Adam Carmodie said. ‘Actually, it’ll be closer to four, we need time to get out.’

  ‘What!’

  ‘Tariq, what we’ll be doing is harm minimization, We take the hard drives, any backups we can find, any files, hard copies. The aim is to get as much clear as we can. That’s our part in this. We can find out what we have later on, but Clay is a magpie. He’ll have kept anything he ever had that might have been of value. We just have to make sure we get as much as possible.’

  ‘There’s a safe,’ Nathan said. ‘I’ve never seen anything in it apart from money, deeds to the house, that sort of thing. I don’t think we can count on getting into that, not in the time we have.’

  ‘You don’t have any idea about the combination?’ Adam asked.

  ‘Electronic, changed at random intervals.’

  Adam nodded. ‘I’ve got equipment that could do it, but you’re right about the time.’

  ‘How many in the house?’ Gregory asked.

  ‘Could be four, could be more. Could be just Clay. The dogs will be there, but Clay is unpredictable, that’s the thing. Annie and I, we come and go pretty much as we please, but he’ll be on his guard. He may well not trust even us.’

  ‘But he’ll still let you in,’ Gregory said. ‘If only out of curiosity.’

  Nathan nodded slowly. ‘It could buy us more time,’ he said.

  ‘Dogs?’ Tariq said. ‘I’m not good with—’

  ‘Pets.’ Annie assured him. ‘Two great lumps of Irish wolfhound. Soft as tripe.’

  ‘He’ll be wondering why you left your husband,’ Gregory said to Annie. ‘Nathan’s watchers won’t be the only ones around I don’t reckon.’

  He saw the look of panic cross Annie’s face. Nathan took hold of her arms and turned her towards him. ‘I’ve got men on the ground, Annie, enough to take care of him. I promise you.’ He cast a look in Gregory’s direction that was at once thoughtful and reproving.

  ‘But Gregory is right. We walk up to the front door, just like normal. Once inside we assess the risk and Tariq and Adam make their way round to the rear. We’ll get you in, one way or another right.’