David Trevellyan 03 -More Harm Than Good (46 page)

       
“That’s right. That
whole Parliament thing was bizarre. It suited me for a while, after you all
misunderstood that snitch’s warning. Frightening MPs is never a bad thing. The
only thing they care about is
themselves
. I thought
you lot would get back on the right track eventually, but
Leckie
having the container moved made things worse. He was trying to nudge you towards
St Ambrose, but he’d forgotten the fire station serves both places. And I have
to admit – the way time was running out, I was getting a little nervous,
myself.”

       
“That’s a hell of a lot
of trouble you went to.”

       
“Actually, it wasn’t.
Leckie
did all the heavy lifting.”

       
“Did you plant him at
the hospital, specially for this?”

       
“No. I’d have planted
him in jail, but that would have aired too much dirty laundry. So I told him
I’d let him walk away, but only if he kept his head down. I made it clear. One
squeak of trouble, and he wouldn’t end up in a cage. He’d end up in a box.”

       
I could feel Melissa’s
stomach muscles working against my shoulder, now, almost as if she was trying
to wriggle further down my back.

       
“And this scheme was his
idea of a quiet retirement?”

       
“No. He was approached
by al-
Aqsaba’a
. They had some evidence about the
people of theirs who’d got on the wrong side of his demolition ball,
apparently. They offered him a deal. Procure the
caesium
,
or they’d hang him out to dry.”

       
“How did you find out?”

       
“He came to me. Offered
them to me on a plate. I’d take the glory, and in return I’d ensure the
evidence would never see the light of day.”

       
“A tidy arrangement.
Only it seems you both were trying to embellish a little.”

       
Hardwicke smiled.

       
“I’ve never been a fan
of leaving hostages to fortune,” he said.

       
“Maybe
Leckie
knew that,” I said. “Maybe that’s why he moved the
final act to the hospital?”

       
“Maybe. I honestly don’t
know. But knowing
Leckie
like I do, I bet there was
more to it. He never accepted having to leave the service. Deep down, he
thought we were weak. He thought everyone should behave like he did. So I
wouldn’t be surprised if he’d planned it that way all along. Then instead of
glory, we’d be disgraced. There’d be calls for the service to toughen up. And
he’d imagine himself being welcomed back with open arms.”

       
“Doesn’t sound too
rational.”

       
“Psychopaths seldom
are.”

       
Melissa’s hand seemed to
be clawing at my waistband, which was strange. There’d be no danger of her
slipping off if she’d only stay still.

       
“And what about the
evidence al-
Aqsaba’a
were blackmailing him with?”

       
“That’ll be what the
second stolen batch of
caesium
was for. A frame. I
bet he’d have planted it at one of their houses, or mosques even, and blackmailed
the blackmailers. I’d have liked to ask him about it, actually, but Jones’s
finger was a bit too itchy.”

       
“Jones was working for
him?”

       
“Jones was working for
both us. Only he didn’t
realise
it.”

       
“How did he get hooked
up in the first place? They never served at the same time. I checked.”

       
“That made them the
ideal combination. There were no grounds for suspicion. So I had a mutual
friend introduce them. Jones was pretty useful, for a while. You know,
Leckie
actually had him convinced they were doing the right
thing? And he certainly helped keep my blood pressure down. When that idiot
fireman damaged the vault door?
The fake burglary?
That could have been stressful, otherwise.”

       
Then the penny dropped.
I
realised
what Melissa was doing.

       
“There never was anyone
coming to collect the
caesium
from the thieves, was
there?” I said.

       
“Of course not,”
Hardwicke said. “It had to be recovered, so everyone would think none was
missing.”

       
“The thugs who jumped me
outside my building?”

       
“
Leckie’s
idea. He thought you were getting too close. Jones arranged it, though.”

       
Melissa tapped me twice
in the small of my back. She must have got what she needed.

       
“And the idiots who came
after us at Melissa’s apartment?” I said.

       
“
Leckie
again,” Hardwicke said. “He was starting to panic. And lose faith in Jones.”

       
“Why did Jones take a
beating, to protect me?”

       
“The way I heard it, he
had no choice. He didn’t know where you’d gone.”

       
I took a moment to
think, and
realised
that was true. I’d left Jones
alone so he wouldn’t overhear my phone calls, and I hadn’t told him where I was
heading because I’d had no clear idea myself.

 
      
“It was what you could call an irrevocable breakdown in their
relationship,” Hardwicke said. “Jones got scared. He
realised
Leckie
was getting ready to cut his losses. So he
decided to get his retaliation in first.”

       
“And he was prepared to
sacrifice Melissa to do that?” I said.

       
“I don’t know. Maybe
Jones snatched her from the hospital. Maybe he tricked her. But it really
doesn’t matter, now. He’s dead. And he’s just as useful to me that way. Just as
the two of you are going to be. Now, turn around.”

       
“Really?” I said. “I
thought it would be harder than that.”

       
“What would?”

       
“Doesn’t matter. You
really want me to turn around?”

       
“I do.
Because I’m going to shoot you in the back.
That way, when
your people find you, they’ll think you died running away from someone.”

       
“Well, if you’re sure,”
I said. “Everybody ready?”

       
Melissa tapped my back.
I pivoted on the spot, 180 degrees, and almost simultaneously I heard two
gunshots. It was like an old fashioned duel, I thought, bracing myself for the
impact of a bullet.

       
None came.

       
“Are you OK?” I said,
turning back to face the spot where Hardwicke had been standing.

       
“I’m fine,” Melissa said,
almost in a whisper.

       
Hardwicke was lying on
his back. His eyes were screwed shut, and he was clutching his chest and
writhing. I stepped closer and kicked the rifle well out of his reach, then
gently lowered Melissa’s feet to the ground. I kept a tight hold under her
arms, taking most of her weight, and she kicked him hard in the side of the
head. His writhing subsided, but she waited for him to open his eyes before
doing anything else.

       
“Goodbye,” she said
finally, holding his gaze. “Sir.”

       
Then she lined up the
.22 and fired two more times.

Chapter Forty-Three

Melissa dropped the gun, turned, and walked away from Hardwicke and
Jones’s bodies as if they were nothing more than rotting tree trunks. She moved
slowly at first, then picked up speed and I
realised
she was heading back towards the main building. I thought she must be making
for the wall she’d been chained to, but she didn’t get that far. Instead, she
stopped when she reached the spot where
Leckie
had
fallen. She paused there for a moment, her head tipped down like she was
praying. Then she knelt, stretched out her right hand, and placed it over the
blood-sodden hole in the back of his coat.

       
I stepped up alongside
her, and saw she was crying. She wasn’t making a sound, but large heavy tears
were cascading down her cheeks and dripping off both sides of her chin. Some
had landed on the remains of her left wrist, which she was still clutching to
her chest, diluting the blood and carrying it further down her arm.

       
“It’s my fault he’s
dead,” she said, without looking at me. “He came here to save me.”

       
“It was Jones who
brought you?” I said.

       
She nodded.

       
“How?” I said.

       
“At the hospital,” she
said. “When I went to look for the nurse, to ask about that stupid kid. Jones
was there. He pulled a gun on me.”

       
“He was lying when he
told me
Leckie
had you?”

       
“Of course. He said that
to lure you here. He wanted to kill us both, and let the blame fall on
Leckie
. Only he didn’t count on Hardwicke being here.”

       
“Hardwicke was driving
the crane?”

       
“That’s right. It was
like him forging
Leckie’s
signature. Jones wasn’t
expecting that.”

       
“But
Leckie
was here to save you?”

       
“Yes.”

       
“Not to kill anyone?”

       
“No.”

       
“So you were in on his
plan, too?”

       
“No,” she said, pulling
her right hand back and spinning round to face me. “Absolutely not.”

       
“Then why keep you
alive? The wheels were coming off his whole scheme. If you weren’t with him,
wouldn’t it have been better to put you and Jones in the frame?”

       
“Maybe. But he would
never have done that. Not to me, anyway.”

       
“Why not?”

       
“Because,”
she said, standing and moving backwards, away from me.
“He was my
father.”

       
“Stan
Leckie
was your father?” I said, rooted to the spot.

       
She nodded.

       
“Are you serious?” I
said.

       
“One hundred percent,”
she said.

       
“And you chose not to share
this with me? You didn’t think it might have been a useful thing for me to
know?”

       
She didn’t reply.

       
“Did anyone else know?”
I said, wondering why my control hadn’t briefed me.

       
“No,” she said. “They
didn’t. I’m sorry. I only found out myself four days ago.”

       
“How did you find out?”

       
“Remember the time I
told you I was following a lead in Leytonstone? Well, I wasn’t.
Leckie
had called me. He’d asked me to meet him near the
Serpentine. He claimed to have information about the case, for my ears only. But
when I got there, he dropped this bombshell on me. It was a lot to take in. I
needed time to figure out what it meant. You have a father?”

       
“Yes.”

       
“Did you know him when
you were growing up?”

       
“I did.”

       
“Then you can’t know
what it’s like to spend your whole childhood with such a void in your life. My
mother told me he was dead.”

       
“Why?”

       
“She’s a lawyer. She was
very rich, even back then. She didn’t need his support. Their paths briefly
crossed, one time, but it was never something that was meant to last. If they’d
told Box about me, there’d have been implications for
Leckie’s
work. A kid’s a liability for an undercover operative, obviously. There was
nothing between them, so they didn’t see the point of making it official. It
was easier, and safer for everyone. And just as well for me, given how his
career panned out.”