For the Sake of the Children: The first Chloe Webster thriller (Chloe Webster Thrillers Book 1) (7 page)

Chloe had been back at her desk for a while as lunchtime approached. She tried to work on a couple of other files but found it hard to concentrate and knew that it was essential that she should speak to someone. She looked over at Drake’s office and through the glass she could see him at his desk, working but alone and not on the phone either. She took a deep breath and hurried over, knocking just a little too hard on the door, which she put down to nerves.

‘Yes?’ came the rather weary reply.

Chloe walked in somewhat more confidently than she felt and didn’t sit down.

‘Mr Drake, have you got a minute?’

‘What is it Chloe?’

‘There’s something I need to talk to you about. It follows on from a meeting I had this morning with Mr Crawford. He’s a client of ours…’

‘Yes I’m aware of Mr Crawford thank you Chloe. He’s been a client here for some time now. What is it?’

‘Well, he tried to give me a large sum of cash and I refused to take it…’

‘Oh he’s done that before. I’m not keen on it but we’ve known him a long time. I suggest you have a word with Ray about it. He tends to deal with Mr Crawford.’

‘It was one hundred thousand pounds.’ She expected this to get his full attention.

‘That sounds about right.’ He really didn’t sound that bothered at all.

‘Mr Drake, I’m sure you know the rules as well as I…’

‘Chloe, please, I’ve got a stack of calls to get through here. Talk to Ray, he’ll be able to put your mind at rest I’m sure.’

Talk to Ray, that’s all I ever hear.

She had no option but to leave his office and once outside she looked around for Ray, catching sight of him over the far side of the office where he was chatting to a secretary. As she approached she could see the secretary laughing and flicking her hair in what Chloe thought was a rather obvious manner.

Really? Ray Fuller?

‘Ray, can I have a word please? It’s urgent.’ Chloe wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries and gave Ray a look which left him in no doubt of that fact.

‘Sounds important,’ said Ray and pulled a face at the secretary as if he was in trouble. He looked back at Chloe but she had already marched off to the side of the office out of earshot of those working in the area. Ray strolled over as if he had all the time on the world.

‘Listen, Ray, I saw that client of yours this morning, Mr Crawford. I have to say, he gave me the creeps. But more importantly he tried to give me a bundle of cash - one hundred thousand pounds, according to him. Now as far as I’m concerned that screams money laundering and I’m not prepared to take that kind of risk with my career…’

‘So what have you done with the cash?’ interrupted Ray.

‘What do you mean, what have I done with the cash? I didn’t accept it of course. He took it away with him.’

‘He did what?’ Ray’s voice was louder than before, and he seemed agitated all of a sudden. His face turned noticeably pale.

‘He took it away with him. I refused to take it, in accordance with all the guidance, training and advice I’ve ever received on the issue.’

Ray loosened his collar as if he needed more air. ‘Mr Crawford’s an important client. He and his colleagues provide many thousands of pounds of work to the trust department downstairs. He’s involved with a lot of overseas business.’

‘I bet he is…’

‘Chloe, you’ve possibly just lost us one of our best clients. I suggest you go and get on with some work. I’ll give him a call and try to smooth things over.’

‘I’m amazed at how relaxed everyone seems to be with this. Are you not the slightest bit concerned by how he conducts his business?’

Ray broke eye contact with her for the first time. For a moment, he seemed lost for words.

‘Just leave it Chloe.’

‘But...’

‘I said, leave it.’ Again his voice was louder than it needed to be and several people looked up from desks nearby.

‘Well just don’t ask me to see him again.’

Chloe walked off back to her desk. She sat down and tried to put things out of her mind.

Leave it to Ray. Let him take responsibility, and the blame.

The ringtone from the mobile phone that the firm had provided was still unfamiliar to her, and it took a few seconds for Chloe to realise it was her phone that was ringing. She checked the screen - it was an external call displaying an unknown caller. Her heart skipped a beat as she pressed the green button and placed it to her ear.

‘Hello, Chloe Webster speaking.’ She knew she sounded less sure of herself than she would like.

‘Chloe, it’s Chelsie.’

She breathed a small sigh of relief.

‘Oh hello Chelsie, what can I do for you? Is everything okay?’

‘No it’s not. It couldn’t be much worse. They’ve only let him out.’

‘Who, Mark? When?’

‘This morning. Apparently the court granted bail and so he’s back at home. Can you believe that?’

‘Has he been in contact with you?’ Chloe grabbed a pen and started to make a note of their conversation for the file.

‘No, not yet. I won’t let him in if he comes round. Anyway, George is still at mum’s house. He doesn’t know that.’ Chelsie sounded scared, but also assertive and determined.

‘Okay. Thanks for letting me know Chelsie. I’ll give the local authority a call and also try to speak to the police officer dealing with it to see what went wrong.’

‘Thanks Chloe.’

‘No problem. I’ll be in touch soon.’

Chloe hung up. She couldn’t believe that bail had been granted. There must have been a complication somewhere along the line. There’s no way the court would let him out knowing what he had done to George.

‘Hi Chloe.’ It was Ben, smiling widely. ‘How’re things?’

‘They’ve been better to be honest, Ben. I’ve had a bit of an issue with one of Ray’s clients this morning and I’ve got a worrying child abuse case on my hands too. Plenty to think about shall we say.’

‘Which of Ray’s clients is it?’ He seemed genuinely interested.

‘Mr Crawford. I assume you’ve heard of him?’

Ben winced. ‘Oh dear, he’s important. I know Ray has been advising him for a while now on various matters. What happened?’

‘He tried to give me a hundred thousand pounds in cash and I refused to take it for obvious reasons.’

‘Sounds reasonable.’ He straightened his tie and fiddled with his cuff.

‘I can feel a but coming on…’

‘I guess he’s a regular client who we know well. I think we’ve let him do it before. It’s a tricky one I suppose.’

Chloe sighed. ‘Especially on your second day. I wish Ray had just come to the meeting with me.’

‘Don’t worry; I’m sure he’ll sort it out. Listen, do you like the theatre?’

‘I do yes. Not that I go that often, but if something good comes along…’ It suddenly occurred to her what he was about to ask and she was surprised that her heart seemed to trip over itself for a moment.

‘I’ve got a couple of tickets for tonight. There’s a great comedy on at the Crucible if you fancy it? No strings, I just thought it might cheer you up.’

Chloe hadn’t expected this and she was lost for words for what seemed like an age. Ben sensed her hesitation and he spoke again.

‘No problem if you don’t want to. As I say, no strings…’

‘Sorry Ben, you took me by surprise that’s all. Yes, of course, why not? That’d be fun. I could do with getting my mind off of this place for a while. Shall I meet you in town?’

‘No, I’ll pick you up,’ offered Ben, enthusiastically. ‘I live out on the west side so it’s no trouble for me to drive out to Derbyshire. Just text me the post code and I’ll find it. About seven?’

‘That’s very kind of you, Ben. See you later.’

Ben walked back to his desk, his grin not visible from where Chloe was sitting.

Nathan held on to his daughter’s hand tightly as they made their way through the busy, unfamiliar streets of Amsterdam. Although he’d been here once before, he was just a child himself at the time, and so far nothing he had seen of the place brought back any clear memories. Of course, he remembered the water, and the bridges and the tall narrow houses that looked like they should be in a jigsaw puzzle vista, but nothing specific jogged his memory.

‘I wish mummy could’ve come with us,’ said the girl who skipped along by his side, her blonde hair streaming out behind her in the breeze.

He looked down at her and a pair of blue eyes glinted back at him in the sunlight. He never ceased to be amazed at the startling brightness of his daughter’s eyes. Even strangers had been known to comment on their mesmerising beauty. He knew one day they would serve her well in this world.

‘Daddy wishes that too Francesca, but she’s busy. We know mummy has to work whilst we’re here, but it’s still better than being back at school in London isn’t it?’

‘Yes!’

He smiled and knelt down in front of her, pulling her red duffle coat back up onto her shoulders and buttoning it securely against the cool air. He loved spending time with his daughter, and cherished the opportunity to have her to himself for a few hours. His wife worked for an international marketing company which had its head office in Amsterdam. She was on a business trip and they’d come with her. And why not? An all-expenses paid trip to a great city, staying in a top hotel with plenty of time on their hands. What could be better than that?

‘Can we go on a boat daddy?’ asked Francesca looking out over the canal which was now running alongside them.

‘Maybe at the weekend, when mummy’s with us. I think she’d really like to do that too don’t you?’

‘Yes, she would. Can we get an ice cream?’

‘Good idea.’

They wandered over to a café and came out with two huge cones piled high with double chocolate ice cream. They were probably too large in all honesty but his inability to speak the native language meant that the café owner had taken the chance to serve him the most expensive ice cream they had. But nothing was too good for his little angel and he didn’t feel cheated at all.

Nathan breathed in the fresh afternoon air and took a mouthful of the creamy chocolate.

‘Now this really
is
better than being at school. Right?’

‘Right!’ she agreed, and grabbed his hand again as they set off down the street. Leaving a row of shops behind them they approached the river Amstel which ran through the heart of the city. The river was busy, and they sat on a bench and finished their ice creams, whilst Francesca pointed out all the different kinds of boats which glided gently by.

‘I’d like to go on one like
that
,’ she said, as an impressive pleasure cruiser slipped by, leaving a wide V-shaped wave behind it.

‘We’ll see what we can do. You and mummy can decide which boat you want to go on.’

They continued on down the path next to the river and as it wound away to the right, they parted with the water’s edge, crossing a road that ran alongside it. Nathan hoped they were heading towards the town centre, but he wasn’t convinced this was the right way. He’d forgotten to bring a map with him, but he wasn’t concerned. He knew they could jump in a taxi at any point and head back to the hotel if necessary.

‘Look, daddy, there’s a park over there. And it’s got a great big slide in it. Can we go in daddy? Please!’ Francesca was hopping up and down and she started to pull him towards the gate which led into the park.

‘Yes of course we can. Let’s go and have some fun in the park.’

It turned out to be a really bad idea.

Nathan sat down on a bench and smiled to himself as his daughter ran off to play on the slide. Before long she was making new friends despite the language barrier. No one could ever accuse Francesca of lacking in self-confidence; she was one of those children who would talk to anyone at any time.  And in his opinion that was no bad thing.

He closed his eyes as the late afternoon sun began to sink towards the horizon. Not exactly warm, but certainly not cold, he felt himself relax to the cheerful sound of children enjoying themselves. He wondered what his wife was doing. No doubt she was in some high-powered meeting or other, planning the latest marketing strategies.

A sudden scream caused him to open his eyes in alarm. He saw that a boy had fallen over and a pang of guilt accompanied the relief that he felt at seeing his own daughter happily climbing back up the steps to the slide. The boy’s mother was already dashing over to provide the necessary reassurance. He closed his eyes again with contentment.

‘Weet u misschien hoe laat het is?’ A large man appeared in front of him, dressed in a long black coat with a scarf pulled up over the bottom half of his face. Nathan was sure he had asked for the time, but certainly wasn’t well enough versed in Dutch to reply.

‘I’m sorry I’m English,’ said Nathan. ‘Do you speak English?’

The man seemed taken aback at his reply. He turned away and stared across at the busy play area as if he was looking for someone, then turned back to Nathan.

‘You’re from England?’ He sounded English himself, and he had what Nathan recognised as a northern accent. He loomed over Nathan, who was still sat on the low wooden bench. Nathan didn’t really want to chat but he also wasn’t the type to be unnecessarily rude. The bright red of his daughter’s coat flashed into view and then disappeared behind the frame of the man standing before him.

‘Yeah, London. What about you?’

‘Oh you know, up north, as they say. I don’t suppose you’re overly familiar with that part of the country.’

‘No, I have to admit, I’ve never really ventured up there. I’ve been to north Wales though. Beautiful place.’ Nathan shuffled along the bench in order to get a better view of the play area. Francesca had moved to the swings which were beyond the slide, but he could still see her red coat darting around in the distance, despite the busy scene before him.

‘I’ve never had much time for the place myself, to be honest.’ The man stepped across in front of Nathan again. ‘You here on holiday?’

Beginning to feel the first spikes of irritation, Nathan wanted to cut the conversation short. ‘Sort of. Anyway, I should be getting on, so if you’ll excuse me.’ He stood up to leave, but the man persevered.

‘I don’t suppose you know of any decent hotels around here do you?’

‘I don’t I’m afraid. This is my first time here for many years. I’m sure you’ll be able to find one back up towards the river. I think there are a few overlooking the water.’

‘Sounds perfect, thanks.’ The man checked his watch, looked around and then hurried off towards the park gate. Only then it occurred to Nathan that the man was wearing a watch. He’d started the conversation by asking the time. Something didn’t feel quite right and his first instinct was to check on his daughter. Not for the first time he was thankful for the bright red coat they’d bought her at the beginning of the winter. The splash of colour moved back and forth as she enjoyed the swings.

Nathan began to stroll over towards the climbing frame. The sun was just beginning to touch the skyline and it was time to make their way back to the hotel to meet up with his wife for dinner. Now he just needed to persuade Francesca to get off the swings.

As soon as he passed the slide the doubts began to surface in his mind. Francesca looked different somehow. She was sat facing away from him, pulling on the chains as she swung higher, blonde hair blowing in the wind, bright red coat glowing like a beacon.

But the hair was longer and the coat was cheap.

My God, it’s not her.

The realisation struck him in an instant. This girl with blonde hair and a red coat that he’d been watching so carefully wasn’t Francesca. The panic was intense and immediate. His heart pounded and the pressure in his head was already clouding his thoughts.

‘Francesca!’ he shouted, and then again as loudly as he could. People stopped and stared at him; children looked at their parents with uncertainty.

‘Francesca! Where are you?’

Desperation took hold so quickly. He knew she wasn’t here. There was nowhere to hide; only the slide and swings stood in the playground. An expanse of grass surrounded that and railings enclosed the whole space.

She must be here. There’s no way out.

Then he noticed another small gate in the metal fence and his heart sank to depths he didn’t know existed.