Double Cross (24 page)

'Damn! Now she tells me.' I grinned – then my smile
faded. 'What about your brothers?'

'What about them? They're not invited,' Rebecca
replied.

'What're they going to say about the two of us going
out together?'

We both knew what I was asking.

'It doesn't matter what my brothers think, because it's
my life and I'm the one going out with you, not them,'
Rebecca said.

Question answered, but I decided to keep pushing.

'What would your brothers say if they could see us
now?' I asked.

Rebecca took a deep breath. 'Quite frankly, it's none of
Gideon's business and Owen couldn't care less if I dated
the head of the Liberation Militia.'

'I'm sure Owen does care about you, in his own way.'
Even I winced at that platitude.

Rebecca's brown eyes twinkled, though she did her
best to hide the smile on her lips.

'OK, work with me here. I wasn't sure what else to say,'
I said dryly.

Rebecca smiled. 'I appreciate the gesture. But Owen
cares about Owen, no one else. He does love me and I
love him; it's just that we don't like each other very much.
Or at all. And as for Gideon, he's like Mum. He likes to
run things, including my life.'

I nodded, without saying anything else.

'Tobey, you don't strike me as the kind of person who'd
let anyone stop you from getting or doing what you really
want. But if being with me is going to make you uncomfortable,
just say and we'll forget all about it.'

'No, it's not that,' I rushed to reassure her. 'I'd like to
go out with you. In fact, I'm glad I had the idea.'

Rebecca laughed and this time I joined in.

'So what would you like to see?' I said.

'Tell you what. Why don't we go to one of those multiplexes
where they're showing lots of films and then we
can decide.'

'OK. Sunday or Monday?' I asked.

'How about both?' Rebecca winked at me.

'Both it is,' I agreed with a grin.

I asked for her mobile number and she gave it to me
without hesitation. I actually had Rebecca Dowd's digits!
After one final kiss which lasted a bit longer this time, I got
out of the car. I waved at her as she drove off, but the
moment I turned to my front door, my smile vanished.

Hi, Callie.

I bought these for you. Sorry they're a bit squashed and
some of the petals have fallen off . . . well, a lot of the petals
have fallen off, but I had them under my jacket. It's not
that I'm ashamed of bringing you flowers or anything. It's
just . . . I was keeping them safe inside my jacket in case the
wind caught them before I could get to the hospital.
Anyway, enough of the flowers. I'll leave them at your
bedside and I'll ask one of the nurses to put them in a vase
just before I leave. I know how much you like flowers.

So how are you today?

You're looking better. I know I always say that, but you
really are. Was that a flicker of a smile I saw just then? Callie,
I must admit, I sort of envy you. Nothing that's happening
in the outside world can touch you now. You're above and
beyond all that. I know when you wake up, it'll all be here
waiting for you, but at least for now you don't have to
worry about the world and everything going on in it.

Sometimes I look around and I wonder, 'Is this it? Is
this all there is?'

But then I think of you. I remember the way you smile
at me.

And my question is answered.

'Rebecca, why don't you just come out and tell your
mum that you want to be a teacher?'

'Because it wouldn't do any good,' Rebecca sighed.

She took a sip of her fizzy mineral water and looked
around the Mexican restaurant. It was a bit on the loud
side and probably not as upmarket as she was used to, but
if I was paying half the bill for our meal – which I'd
insisted on – then it'd have to do. We'd decided to dine
today and go to the cinema the following day instead. And
in all fairness, Rebecca had been enthusiastic about eating
at Los Amigos. I was the one with doubts, which had
proved to be unfounded. The restaurant was about onethird
full. Not bad for a Sunday night.

'If you did go to university, what would you study?' I
asked.

'History. Or maybe History and Politics. But what's the
point of talking about it? It's never going to happen.'

'Why not?'

'Mum won't hear of it. As far as she's concerned, she
and my brothers are working hard so that I'll never have
to. She reckons I should – quote – find a good man, get
married, produce grandchildren and enjoy myself –
unquote. What d'you think of that?'

'Sounds like hell!' I replied truthfully.

Rebecca laughed. 'My sentiments exactly. Mum thinks
that having money and having ambition are somehow
mutually exclusive.'

'Have you tried to tell her otherwise?'

'Until I'm blue in the face,' she said. She took another
sip of her mineral water, then sighed. 'I would've made a
good teacher.'

'So you're going to give up? Just like that?'

'You don't know my mum.'

Was she kidding? Vanessa Dowd was a formidable
woman and an implacable enemy. Everyone knew that.
And her sons Gideon and especially Owen were cut from
the same cloth. If you got in their way, they'd run you
over and never spare you a first thought, never mind a
second one.

'My mum always says that this life isn't a dress rehearsal,'
I began carefully. 'Mum says that regret is an underestimated
emotion that can eat away at you just as much
as jealousy or anger.'

'Your mum says a lot,' Rebecca said ruefully.

'Ain't that the truth!'

'You want something so you just . . .' She made a
gesture with her hand like a rocket zooming upwards.
'You just go for it. It's that simple?'

'Yes, it is – if you want it to be,' I replied. 'I mean, look
at you and me. To some people this is complicated. But
not to me. What could be more simple than the two of us
sitting here, enjoying a meal together? Mind you . . .
Never mind.'

'Go on,' Rebecca prompted.

'I can't help wondering why you agreed to have
dinner,' I admitted. 'After all, I am younger than you. Isn't
that the kiss of death?'

'You're only younger by a few weeks. That's not much,'
said Rebecca. 'Besides, you look much older than me.'

'Thanks,' I said dryly.

'No, I meant that as a compliment,' she rushed to
explain. 'Some guys look younger than their age or they
act all juvenile and silly, but you're much more mature.
And I look younger than I really am, so you looking so
much older than me works, don't you think?'

'Thanks. I think.'

'Oh hell, that didn't come out the way I wanted at all.
What I mean is—'

'Tell you what,' I broke in. 'How about we change the
subject?'

'I'd like that,' Rebecca agreed gratefully.

We grinned at each other. My smile faded first.

'Tobey, tell me more about your friends at—'

But she was interrupted by our first course arriving – a
large bowl of guacamole sitting on a plate surrounded by
mountains of nachos which we'd decided to share. I was
so busy concentrating on the food being carefully placed
between us that I almost missed Rebecca's gasp. I looked
up immediately. She looked down, but not before I
caught the expression on her face.

'What's wrong?' I frowned.

'Nothing.' The reply was terse, verging on a snap.

I looked around. There were people at the bar,
Noughts and Crosses, mostly couples or small groups,
but one or two people were drinking alone. More
people were sitting down at tables, eating. No one
was even looking at us. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
I turned back to Rebecca. Something was still
troubling her.

'Becks, I'm not a complete idiot, only half of one! So
what's going on?'

'I'm so sorry, Tobey. This wasn't my idea, I promise
you.'

'What?'

'We're being watched,' Rebecca admitted.

I only just managed to stop myself from spinning round.
I took a deep breath, then another.

'Who's watching us?' I asked when I trusted myself to
sound relatively calm.

'It doesn't matter,' she said, her head bowed.

'It does to me.'

'The man at the bar, the one wearing glasses. He works
for my brother.'

'Which one?' I said sharply.

'I told you, the man wearing glasses . . .' Rebecca
frowned.

'No, which brother does he work for?'

'Gideon. But what difference does it make?'

All the difference in the world.

'Why is your brother having us followed?'

'I don't know. I . . . I may have mentioned you, once or
twice.' Rebecca was staring at her nachos like they were
sprouting wings. 'Maybe more than twice. But I never
thought he'd stoop so low as to have us followed.'

'What does he think I'm going to do to you?
Kidnap you?'

'Look, I'm really sorry.' Rebecca still couldn't look me
in the eye. 'If you want to bail on me, I'll understand. I
would, in your shoes.'

Her expression was a cocktail of various emotions. Her
lips kept twisting in a parody of a smile and she was
blinking an awful lot. I realized with a start that she was
on the verge of tears.

I forced a smile. 'I'm not going to bail, Rebecca. I like
you. But this has to be the most original date I've ever
been on.'

Rebecca's smile was more genuine than my own. 'Wait
here. I'll be right back.'

She practically bounded from her chair and marched
across to the bar. I swivelled in my chair and watched as
she tapped the Cross guy wearing glasses on the shoulder.
He turned, polite query on his face. Nice try! Rebecca's
voice was too low for me to make out what she was
saying, but her expressive face conveyed the conversation
just as well as any words. Her words were flowing
thick and fast, her expression thunderous. The guy tried
to act innocent, but soon gave up on that when it
became clear that Rebecca wasn't buying it. They had a
heated discussion for a couple of minutes. Had this guy
been following me when I met Byron? If it was him,
then what had he seen? I'd lost him before reaching
Adam Eisner's house, I was sure of it. And he couldn't've
seen much through Byron's tinted car windows, but
even so.

I stood up, wondering if I should join them. I dithered
about for a few moments before making up my mind, but
the moment I set foot in their direction, the guy headed
for the exit. Rebecca walked back to me, her lips pursed
together.

'Everything OK?' I asked as we both sat down again.

'It is now,' she replied.

'Does your brother do this every time you're on a date?'
I asked.

'Not after today he won't. I'll make certain of that.'

'Can I ask you a question about your family?' I began
tentatively.

'Go on then.'

'Now that your family are . . . successful, wouldn't it
make more sense for them to give up all the . . . less legal
stuff and go legit?'

'I regularly ask Mum that same question,' sighed
Rebecca.

'And what does she say?'

'There's no guarantee that a legitimate business will
succeed – too many external, uncontrollable variables. But
there will always be a market for the illegal. That's as
predictable as the sun rising each morning, plus it's a faster
way to make money.'

'Is that you or your mum talking?' I frowned.

'My mum, of course,' said Rebecca sharply. 'With a bit
of Gideon thrown in.'

A faster way to make money? For the likes of the
Dowds and McAuley maybe. For the ones who worked
for them, it was a faster way to end up rotting in prison –
or rotting in a cemetery, more like.

'Besides, Mum's got some high-up Meadowview cop
in her pocket, so we don't get troubled too much,'
Rebecca added.

'You do stay away from that world, though, don't you?'
I asked, anxiously.

'Of course. Nothing to do with me,' Rebecca said,
suddenly looking concerned as though she realized she
was saying too much. 'Besides, Mum wouldn't let me get
involved, even if I wanted to.'

I could only admire the way Rebecca brushed off her
family's business. Nothing to do with her – except that she
dressed in it and drove it and ate it and slept on it and
under it and every jewel she wore was paid for by it. I had
to find out a few things before this went any further.

'How is Gideon going to react to you going out with
one of his employees?' I asked, deliberately changing the
subject.

'If it doesn't interfere with your work at TFTM, what
difference does it make?' Rebecca frowned.

'The quality of my work will be irrelevant,' I pointed
out. 'Your brother isn't going to like this.'

'Does that bother you?' Rebecca asked.

I shook my head. 'Not if it doesn't bother you.'

'It doesn't. I really like you, Tobey – in case you hadn't
already noticed. And you're the first guy to treat me like
Rebecca instead of Rebecca Dowd.'

'That means a lot to you, doesn't it?'

Rebecca nodded. 'Yes, it does.'

I lowered my gaze and bit into another nacho. She was
with me because she thought her surname didn't matter to
me. I was beginning to realize just how lonely Rebecca
truly was.

'We should make this a regular thing,' I ventured. 'Our
Sunday night dinner together.'

'I'd like that.' Rebecca grinned.

I grinned back. 'D'you wanna swap email and IM
addresses?'

'Fine with me,' she said. 'If you give me your phone,
I'll key in all my details.'

Once we'd swapped info, I checked my phone to make
sure that all the information was saved. Rebecca had given
me all her details, including her home address. I put my
phone back in my inside jacket pocket.

I dipped a nacho into the guacamole and held it out to
Rebecca. She grinned at me before opening her mouth.
We fed each other until the guacamole bowl was empty.
This dinner date had been more successful than I could've
dared to imagine. The Dowds owned a copper – and not
just a constable or a sergeant by the sound of it. I'd rapidly
changed the subject when Rebecca mentioned it, especially
as she looked so worried about what she'd revealed.
The last thing I wanted was for her to think I'd latched
onto what she'd said. But I'd taken it in and filed it away.
My inner euphoria was fading somewhat, though. OK, so
I knew at least one Meadowview copper was corrupt.
One slight problem: I didn't know who. And until I did,
I couldn't use the information to my advantage. And I sure
as hell couldn't trust any of them. Should I risk trying to
get a bit more information from Rebecca? Then I realized
what I was contemplating and the direction of my
thoughts startled me.

Don't do it, Tobey.

I needed the information, but part of me – a big part of
me – was loath to use Rebecca like that. I didn't want her
to think I was just like every other guy she knew.

I looked around the room, forcing myself to think of
something else.

So Gideon was having us followed, was he?

Let him do his worst. I had plenty to hide, but neither
Gideon nor any of his employees would ever find it.