Last Gasp (24 page)

‘Jamie?’ Erik said. ‘What is it?’

Carver took out his mobile. ‘Just a minute.’ He began
navigating.

Franky and Erik waited. After a few moments, Carver found
what he was looking for. It was a PDF file of a magazine article that had come
attached to an email one time and which he’d downloaded for no reason other
than he could. He brought it up and scrolled through it. One of the pages
showed two photographs, both men. He zoomed in, turned the phone to show it to
Franky. She leaned forward.

‘You look younger.’

‘It’s a few years old.’

She squinted, focusing in on the other picture.

‘Imagine him with a beard,’ he said.

She took her time. ‘Hmm… It was a long time ago but, yes, it
could be him.’

Carver stared at her. Something cold started crawling
through his gut.

Holy mother of God.

Carver pressed the phone to his ear
as the group that had followed him outside to smoke erupted in laughter again.
Turning away, he moved to the edge of the dock, stood looking out across the
black water, the lights of Amsterdam reflecting in its stillness.

‘Sorry John, I missed that. Say again.’

‘I said, ‘Was she certain’?’ The Duke sounded sceptical.
Carver didn’t blame him.

‘Not a hundred per cent, but close enough.’

‘Fffuuuck,’ The Duke said. Carver waited while he digested
it. ‘So what does it mean? What can it mean? And where does it leave us with
friend Cosworth?’

‘I’m not sure yet. I’m still trying to get my head around
it. Could be he and Hart got together after the shoot. Maybe he’s the missing
accomplice some said never existed.’

‘Jesus, that would shake a few up.’ He let out a frustrated
sigh. ‘Hellfire, Jamie, how much weirder can all this get?’

But Carver was still thinking it through. ‘There’s the
blonde to think about it as well. Remember the CCTV Alec turned up? Plus the
hairs from the scene. It could all fit.’

They batted it back and forth for a couple more minutes,
then The Duke switched tack.

‘Whatever it means, wherever it takes us, I need you on the
first flight back tomorrow.’

Carver sensed something. ‘Why what’s happened?’

‘Gary Shepherd’s missing.’

The Duke slid the copy of Tony
Turner’s Observations Log towards Carver so he could read the entry.

‘Two fifteen in the morning?’ Carver said. ‘What the hell
was he doing there ‘til that time?’

The Duke raised a quizzical eyebrow. The inference was
clear.

No way.
Even so…

The Duke spread his huge hands. ‘She
says
he wanted
to go through her statement with her.’

Carver checked the log again. ‘It doesn’t take five hours to
go through a statement.’

‘I’m only telling you what she said. She says he went
through it paragraph by paragraph, almost like he thought she was making it all
up. He kept challenging her on the details. Go see her. Ask her yourself.’

‘Don’t worry, I intend to.’

‘Good. Either way, she was the last person to see him, apart
from Tony and his mate clocking him out. After that-’ He blew on his fingers,
the way a magician does when he makes something disappear.

'Cosworth?' Carver asked, though doubtfully.

The Duke shrugged. 'We can’t rule it out. But I can’t see
him taking Gary. Not on his own. Why would he?'

Carver crossed to the window, looked out onto Arpley Street.
He had his own ideas as to why Shepherd might have called on Megan Crane as
soon as his back was turned. They didn’t include going over statements. But he
could think of nothing that would account for him disappearing soon after. Like
he couldn’t account for the long-dead Edmund Hart being the originator of the
Worshipper Scenario.
What the hell’s going on?
He remembered his last
conversation with Shepherd. Time to get another monkey off his back.

'There’s something I need to tell you.'

 The Duke’s hand came up. 'If it’s about this NCA informant
thing, I already know.'

Carver’s surprise turned quickly to guilt.

'Danny Roberts came to see me.’

Carver waited. Roberts was a Superintendent with
Professional Standards.

‘He had a bloke from the NCA with him. The NCA have
suspended one of their DIs for passing information to Gary about this source of
yours, Angela Kendrick? Carver nodded. ‘Turns out he and Gary were old mates.
We found a printout when we searched Gary’s office.'

'I’m sorry John. I should’ve-.'

The hand again. 'I know. You wanted to wait until you had
the evidence. I can live with it. But just so you know. If you’d told me? I’d
have sat on it.'

Carver nodded, feeling even guiltier. The Duke deserved
better. Another lesson learned. But it prompted a thought.

'Maybe that’s something to do with him dis-.' But the Duke
was already shaking his head.

'It didn’t break until the day after he disappeared. He
couldn’t have known.'

Carver fell silent again. Shepherd disappearing just didn’t
make sense.

'It’s with Professional Standards now,' The Duke said.
‘They’ll want a statement.’ Then he added, ‘Which reminds me. Danny rang me
yesterday. They’re trying to get hold of this Angela, but she’s not at home and
isn’t returning calls. He thinks she’s gone to ground and wants you to ring
him. He wants your help to get her to cooperate.’

Carver nodded. ‘Right.’ He chided himself for not thinking
of Angie sooner. The discipline enquiry that would now kick in would involve
her, big time. He needed to speak with her before he contacted Roberts, let her
know what to expect. She wouldn’t be happy. But The Duke was still talking.

'…also mentioned something about some log-in failures under
your user-name on their Intelligence Database a few days ago. They wanted to
know if it could have been Gary. I said I couldn’t see you giving Gary your
user-name and that it was probably just you forgetting your password.’

Carver’s mind raced. He nodded. 'It’s been a while since I
logged in. Took me a few goes to remember.'

The Duke tutted. 'Bloody computers. They do my head in.'

Carver’s gave a sympathetic smile. But behind it he thanked
God that The Duke’s renowned technophobia meant he wouldn’t dwell on how an
ex-NCA Intelligence Officer could ‘forget’ a Personal Source File password. He
was already moving on.

'I’ve spoken to the ACC about a replacement for Gary. He’s
seeing what he can do. But it’ll take a few days.'

'I’ll manage,' Carver said. 'What else has been happening?'

He thought he should ask, but
his mind was already elsewhere.

Carver had to wait to see Jess. She
was out helping Alec gather statements over CCTV recordings. In the meantime he
tried Angie, but the message said the number was unavailable. He made a mental
note to try again later, then went and left a note on Jess’s desk.

It was late in the afternoon when she appeared in his
doorway. He beckoned her in. She looked puzzled when he came round his desk,
pointed to a chair, and closed the door behind her.

'How was Amsterdam?' she said as he returned to his seat.

'I’ll tell you about it. First, what’s everyone saying about
Gary?'

She shrugged. 'There’re all sorts of rumours. Something
about Professional Standards being involved? The Duke’s been keeping it tight.
Do you know what’s happening?'

Carver sighed. 'He’s got himself in some trouble.'

'How so?'

'Remember I told you about our little fall out?' She nodded.
As he told her about Shepherd approaching an old informant of his, a woman
called Angie, she listened in silence. When he got to the part about Shepherd
accessing Angie’s Source Record, she started to redden. She reddened further
when he told her that an NCA DI had been suspended, and Professional Standards
had launched an investigation.

'So he’s going to be in the shit when he surfaces?' Her
voice was a little croaky.

He nodded. 'But there’s something I can’t work out,' he
said.

‘What’s that?’ she said, innocently.

'Remember that day I took a call and had to leave. The day I
asked you to phone Rosanna?’

‘Yes?’

‘The call came from Angie. After I left, someone accessed
her Source File Record from my computer. I can’t understand how Gary-.'

'Alright.' She dropped her head so that her hair fell
forward, a cascade of guilt. ‘No need to piss about.' She looked up, met his
stare.

'Tell me.'

She told him how, after speaking to Rosanna, she remembered
seeing Angie’s name in Megan’s file and that it was she who hacked his
computer.

'How did you know the password?'

She lifted a finger, pointing to the corner of his white
board.

He turned to look. ‘Ah.’

But he was beginning to understand. He’d sensed something
was different when he’d got home from Amsterdam the night before. He and
Rosanna hadn’t had long together, but she’d seemed more… patient. But Angie’s
NCIS record was fairly bland, so how would she know-. He looked at Jess. The
look on her face told him.
There’s more
. He felt a panic stirring, deep
in his gut.

'After you left, Rosanna came to see me. She said she was
worried about you.’ She bit her lip. 'I went to see Angie.'

Jess’s admission came like a hammer
blow to Carver’s stomach. He stared at her. 'You did what?'

‘I went to see Angie.’

For seconds he couldn’t move. While waiting for her to get
back, he’d worked out most of it. She was the only one who knew his user-logon.
The hacker had to be her. After thinking on it, he’d come to accept that her
snooping was probably well-intentioned. His plan when he saw her was, to get
her to cough, give her suitable ‘words of advice’, and leave it at that. The
thought she may have taken things further, as far as actually going to see
Angie, never entered his head. His defence mechanisms kicked in.

'What the FUCK are you doing Jess? These are things that
don’t concern you. Christ, I thought we were supposed to be working together.'

Her eyes took on a glassiness, but when she spoke it wasn’t
to apologise.

'Yes, we are supposed to be working together, but that cuts
both ways. You haven’t been prepared to tell Rosanna, or me, what’s wrong, so
we… I, had to find out for myself.'

Carver fought to stay calm. 'Did Rosanna go with you?'

'No.'

Thank Christ.
'What did you talk about? What did she
tell you?'

She hesitated, then began. To begin with, Angie had refused
to see her. It was only when Jess spoke of her and Rosanna’s worries she agreed
to her calling round. Jess had told her about the Kerry enquiry, more than he
had it seemed. And about Megan Crane, and how she’d had come close to becoming
a victim. She described Angie’s horror on hearing of it. But it got her
talking.

Carver nodded. ‘It would. So what did she say?’ He was
resigned to the inevitable, like a candidate at an election who knows he’s lost
his seat, but has to stay to hear the result.

'She told me about how she met you during the Ancoats case,
then again during the Escort Murders enquiry and you became close. That a
stake-out went wrong and Hart attacked her. How you blamed yourself. The
trouble you had with it after.’

She didn’t mention about the counselling, but he assumed she
knew. If Angie had told her so much, she’d have mentioned that as well.

Jess continued. ‘She told me about Shepherd coming to see
her. What he said to her. What he wanted her to do. Like you, I was mad as
hell, but she said you were sorting it. She didn’t know how but it didn’t
matter. It was enough to give me some idea of what you’ve probably been going
through.’

Carver felt the blood rushing into his face. He’d never felt
so exposed in his life.

'Have you spoken to Rosanna since?'

She nodded.

‘You told her?’

'Most of it.'

He turned away, ‘Fucking JESUS.'

From nowhere, Carver’s worst fear had become reality. He
wondered what the effect would be, especially on Rosanna. It didn’t matter how
much Angie had told her. It had started and it would all come out. Everything.
He let out a heavy sigh.

'Thanks, Jess.'

She rounded on him again, her stare fierce. 'Don’t be going
all self-righteous on me.’ She jabbed a finger. ‘It was
you
kept things
hidden. Rosanna at least deserved to know. You should have faced up to it
before now. You’re supposed to know about these things. Work it out, but don’t
blame me for asking questions. I’m on your side, remember?'

Carver stared at her. Up to now, he’d only ever seen Jess as
his DS, their relationship defined in terms of their rank difference. Now,
suddenly, she was no longer his junior, but a determined woman with a point to
make. Not criticising, nor judging, just saying it the way she saw it. But he
was still angry. The root of it, of course, was shame. And embarrassment.
Knowing that didn’t help.

As if sensing it, she softened her tone. ‘It doesn’t matter,
you know? It’s in the past. Rosanna just wants you back. You and Angie were in
a crazy situation, even she realises that.' Then she added, 'Angie said you
shouldn’t let it ruin things.’

He could see the sense in what she was saying. But it didn’t
excuse anything.

'What I… What we did was...' He groped for the words,
struggling to express what he’d never talked about before, to anyone. He was
even finding it hard to look at her. ‘It was unprofessional.’

'Rubbish. It was just two people caught up in the situation
they were in. Simple as that. If you ask her, Rosanna will tell you the same.
Don’t dwell on it Jamie. We’ve both seen some crazy stuff the past few weeks.
You’ve heard what Megan Crane says. It doesn’t make you a bad person.'

He gave a deprecating snort. He’d said it himself, many
times, but had never really believed it. But this time it was Jess saying it.
Sensible, rock-steady, Jess. Had he been wrong all this time?

He sighed. 'Maybe. If you say so.'

‘I do.’

He nodded. It was time to move on. Other matters demanded
his attention. But she had one last question.

'I suppose Professional Standards will want to see me?' She
sounded resigned.

For the first time, he realised. She would be worrying about
her job. Prosecution even. He shook his head.

'They don’t know it wasn’t me who accessed Angie’s file.'

'But won’t it come out if-'

'Don’t worry about it. It won’t. Trust me.'

She gave a wan smile, stole his line. ‘If you say so.’

'I do,' he said, likewise.

For a long while they said nothing, letting the silence draw
a line under the subject. She asked what he’d discovered on his trip.

'Just a minute.' He pulled his bottom drawer, moved a couple
of manila folders, took out the bottle of Macallan. There was dust on it. From
another drawer he produced two glasses. He passed them across to her and she
ran a tissue round them. He poured a measure in each, offered one to her. To
his surprise, she took it, more so when she knocked it back in one. He couldn’t
remember the last time he’d shared a drink in his office before dark. Those
days were long gone. He showed her the bottle again but she shook her head, the
sensible one back on. He re-ran the briefing he’d given The Duke, telling her
about what he’d learned from Franky.

Her eyes widened as the surprises kept coming.

The Worshipper scenario wasn’t Cosworth’s
?

Two others present?

A blond woman? And a man called Eddie?

Edmund Hart?

‘Oh. My. God.’

She threw him the same questions as The Duke. How could it
be? What does it mean? What then about Cosworth? As before, he had no answers.
He fell silent, giving her time to get used to it – whatever ‘it’ was. Then her
face changed. ‘Tell me again about this woman. What did Franky say her name
was?’

‘Trish, or Tricia, or something like that. She wore a mask
so there’s no way we’re going to be able to- Jess?’ As he’d talked, her
attention had shifted, eyes glazing over.

'What? I’m sorry, I was just thinking of… something….'

She’s going again
. 'What is it?'

She hesitated for a moment, checking herself. 'You’re
probably going to hate me for this. Especially after the Angie thing.'

He made a wry face.
What could be worse than Angie?

'There’s something I never told you. I didn’t think it was
important because… well it just didn’t seem to matter. But… this thing about a
blonde woman, and the hairs? And now there’s a blond whose name could be Trish
or Tricia? And we’ve talked about maybe looking for someone who presents as
sub, but may actually be dom?’

'Christ Jess, just tell me will you?'

She focused. And told him about the night Megan had
introduced her to her house-slave, Tracy. Tracy with the blond ponytail. Tracy
whose name isn’t so far away from Trish, or Tricia.

Not for the first time since they’d started talking, Carver
found himself speechless. He’d known she and Megan had grown close, but never
that
close. He stared at her, trying to grasp it.

'Nah, it would be too much of a coincidence.’

'Not if Tracy is targeting Doms. Don’t forget,
we
chose Megan because she fits the victim profile.'

'That’s true….' He wondered if the twists and turns in the
case were making them see shadows. Whether his scepticism about Cosworth being
a lone killer was making him susceptible to fanciful theories. He weighed it,
decided it wasn’t.

'Who is she? What do you know about her?'

Jess shook her head. 'All I know is, she sees her fairly
regularly.'

Carver cast his mind back. Once, Megan had given them a list
of occasional ‘acquaintances’ - as a ‘just in case’ contingency. He tried to
remember a Tracy. He mentioned it to Jess. 'Was she on it?’

Jess looked abashed. 'She said it was one relationship she
absolutely had to keep private, for Tracy’s sake. We weren’t interested in
women then and were still in the game of building trust, so I gave her some
slack. She left her off it.'

Carver bit his lip. But after not telling The Duke about
Shepherd, he was in no position to criticise. He was already feeling the rush
that comes when an unexpected but potentially promising lead presents itself.
In his head, he began running what-ifs.

After a couple of minutes he stood up so suddenly Jess
jumped. She had gone back into herself. She looked up at him. She seemed
confused, mouth hanging open. His keys lay on the side of the desk. He snatched
them up.

‘Where are you going?’

'To see Megan.'

‘Do you want me to come with you?’

‘Not this time. I think she and I need a private chat.’