Thorn In My Side (26 page)

He tore his
eyes away from her, knowing in the state she was in there was
nothing he could do. She would take the pill with great joy, and
probably claw his eyes out if he attempted to stop her. Looking at
the new girl, he hissed again. This time she looked up. He used his
eyes to get her attention to what the monk and the gunman were
doing. She stared at them, puzzled, for a moment then, noticing the
delight on the workers' faces as each was handed a tablet, froze in
fear.

His heart
pounding, anxious not to be heard, Danny hissed again, knowing it
was probably the last time he would be able to make such a noise
without drawing attention to himself, as the monk and the gunman
came closer.

She swung her
head towards him. Danny opened his mouth and lifted his tongue up.
Keeping his hand on the table, he turned it palm up and pointed
with his middle finger towards his mouth.

Misreading his
intentions, Cassie stared at him in horror.

Seeing her
expression, and understanding what she was thinking, the look on
Danny’s bright red face was no less horrified.

My God, she
thinks I’m a perve!

No no,
no,
he mouthed, slowly shaking his head.
Don’t swallow
the tablet… Do… not… swallow… the tablet.

He looked
furtively round. The gunman and the monk were two tables behind,
with their backs to him. Swinging his head back to face Cassie, he
did the same mime again, raising his hand to his mouth this time
and putting his finger under his tongue.

To Danny’s
immense relief, a moment later she gave a quick nod before dropping
her head and getting on with her work.

Thank
God,
Danny thought, as the monk reached his side.

The monk handed
Danny a pill. 'Oh, thank you so much.' He beamed at the monk, then
switched his smile to the gunman, who rolled his eyes as he walked
away.

Cassie was
handed her pill, and did what Danny had said. Both of them took the
pills out of their mouths as soon as the monk and the gunman
disappeared through the door.

Quickly, Danny
opened one of the plastic bags they were packing and dropped the
pill inside. Watching him, Cassie did the same. He nodded
encouragingly at her, and received a wan smile in return.

Danny risked a
quick smile, then mimed,
look dopey.

She got it
right this time, and looked at the other girl. She tried a few
faces out on Danny, who chose number two. Catching sight of the
door opening again, he put his head down and got on with his
work.

Mike and
Kristina walked into the station, to be told Mike had a visitor
waiting in his office. He was about to ask who when the desk
sergeant, a small, pretty, heavily-pregnant Asian woman, who Mike
had never seen before, ducked out of sight and bobbed up again a
moment later. Throwing a large brown handbag strap over her
shoulder, she said quickly, 'Sorry, got to go… Ante-natal class
this afternoon.' She ran round the counter, stopped at the door and
gave them a wave.

Mike threw
Kristina a look of total disbelief as the regular desk sergeant
walked through the door behind the counter.

'Jenna gone
then, has she?'

'Oh yeah,' Mike
replied with a smile.

'She’s a canny
enough kid. Been here about a year or so. A bit excitable at the
moment, but that’s to be expected.' He laughed. 'If you’ll pardon
the pun.'

'God help us,'
Kristina murmured, as she turned and headed down the corridor,
followed a moment later by Mike.

As she reached
the door, Mike caught up with her. Stretching his arm, he got the
handle just before she did. She looked up at his face as the door
swung open. For a few brief seconds, they looked into each other’s
eyes. Then they were disturbed by a low cough.

They both
looked to see where the sound had come from. Kristina smiled while
Mike, for a brief moment, was shocked.

'Hello, Tony.'
Kristina moved first. 'It’s been a good few years. When did you get
here?'

Tony stood up
to greet Kristina with a kiss on her cheek. 'An hour or so ago. You
look really well, Kristina. You certainly suit your hair like that.
If you want my opinion, girl, you shouldn’t ever get it cut
again.'

Kristina looked
at Mike with one raised eyebrow. Mike rolled his eyes. Over his
shock, he walked over and clasped Tony’s hand. 'Why didn’t you tell
me you were coming? I would have met you at the station.'

'It’s good to
see you, too.'

Mike tutted.
'You know what I mean. Aunt May will be thrilled you’re home.'

Kristina didn’t
see the slight change in Tony’s face, but Mike did. He knew him too
well not to notice.

Suddenly the
room was filled with tension. Kristina felt it, but didn't know the
reason -- four years was a long time to be out of someone’s life,
anything could have happened between them. Feeling that they needed
some space, she said. 'I’ve got some phone calls to make, OK? See
youse guys in a mo, right?' With a sideways wink at Mike, she
walked back out the door.

Gently closing
the door behind her, Mike turned to face Tony. 'OK, what is
it?'

'Look, Mike,
I’m only here for a day, two at the most. There won’t be any time.
I’d rather you not tell her that I’m up here than have her upset
that I don’t visit.'

Mike stared at
him. He knew there was something wrong, but he couldn’t quite put a
finger on it. He also knew if he pushed too hard, Tony would close
his shell. Tony could be as stubborn as hell when it suited him.
Shrugging, Mike said, 'OK, if it’s that important.'

Tony was about
to thank him when, unable to resist, Mike went on, 'She was very
upset that you didn’t make Christmas, and what? A couple of phone
calls since? Nearly half a year later.'

Tony held his
hands up. 'Guilty as charged, but I will make it up to her, I
promise. As soon as this business is finished.'

Grudgingly,
Mike nodded. 'OK. So what really brings you back home?'

'Sorry, that’s
classified.'

'For fuck’s
sake, Tony! Has it anything to do with what I was working on down
there?' Mike’s exasperation showed as he frowned at Tony.

'Mike, you know
how it works. Let’s just forget it, eh? A flying visit, that’s all.
And please don’t tell Aunt May I was here. I feel guilty enough as
it is.'

Mike relented.
'OK.'

Relieved, Tony
went on, 'I’ve heard about the two murders you have on your hands.
Any progress?'

Shaking his
head, Mike moved to the window. He needed space to think. There was
something odd about Tony, something in his eyes. Something that
perhaps only two other people in the world would pick up. He’d
noticed it in London, but had been unable to put his finger on the
problem.

Instead of
answering him, Mike turned and asked a question of his own. 'Have
you heard from Dave lately?'

There was a
tiny breath of a pause before Tony answered.
There it is
again
, Mike thought. As well as noting the pause, he registered
the faint haze over his eyes, as Tony replied, 'Er, yeah, a few
weeks ago. Not quite a month. He said he was well… Have you heard
from him? He usually writes to us at the same time.'

Mike gave a
flat, 'No.'

'Oh. Right
then. This business of the march to bring the Gospels back home.
Tell Aunt May to keep away.'

'Why?' Mike
frowned at the swift change of subject.

Tony sighed.
'That’s all I can say, don’t let her get involved. And now I have
to leave.'

'Talk about a
flying visit.'

'Sorry, Mike,
it’s work. I only took time out to see you, and warn you to keep
her away from that lot.'

'But why?'

With a sigh,
Tony stood up. 'Later, Mike, OK? All I can say – and believe me, I
shouldn’t even say this -- they aren’t what they seem. Just keep
her away, will you?'

Mike moved to
stand in front of the door. Physically, Tony was no match for Mike.
He never had been. He’d tried, once, when they had only known each
other for a few weeks. Mike had beaten the shit out of him. Again
when they were teenagers, Aunt May had forced her way between them,
stopping a second beating just by her very presence. They had
settled their differences, with Dave as the peacemaker, and six
months later they had become inseparable.

Mike folded his
arms across his chest, a gesture Tony knew well. 'If something’s
happening on my patch, I want to know about it. And I want to know
now.'

Tony had the
lie ready. It spilled quickly from his lips. 'All right, but you
must keep it to yourself.' He raised his eyebrows in a
question.

Mike gave a
quick nod.

'It’s all a
cover-up. The lot in charge are using the march to get most of the
people off the island----'

'Why?' Mike
snapped.

'They’re
staying at the castle, and plan to rob the place during the two
hours everyone’s at the meeting. And you know Aunt May, if she
takes a dislike to them… Well, I’m worried in case she stands in
their way. Anything could happen to her. This particular bunch of
art thieves have killed before.'

'She already
has.'

'What?'

'Taken a
dislike to them.'

Tony’s face
dropped, and Mike started to believe that his main concern was Aunt
May.

'She hasn’t
been making her mouth go about them, has she?'

'Just to me and
Smiler. And,' Mike shrugged, 'probably a few friends of hers. So
just how bad are these creeps?'

'We’ve been
chasing them for a good few years. They’ve pulled quite a few
scams, but this time I think we have them. It’s cleared with the
powers that be. We have temporary jurisdiction over the
island.'

Mike was quiet
for a moment. Seeing the stubborn set of his chin Tony said
quickly. 'It just came through about an hour ago, if you’re
wondering why you haven’t been informed.'

Why don’t I
believe him?
Mike wondered, but said, 'OK, I’ll do my best to
keep her away.'

'And you’ve got
to promise me you’ll keep out of it. The whole business is cleared
by the big guys. It may be on your patch, but trust me -- it’s
sorted.'

'Right,
whatever.' Clearly unhappy about it, Mike held his hands up.

Tony sighed his
relief. 'Right, gotta go, Mike. Take care.' He gave Mike a hug,
something he hadn’t done for a long time. Surprised, Mike hugged
him back. But his mind was working overtime. Far from allaying his
suspicions, the hug had intensified them.

As they walked
to the outer doors, Tony in front, Mike stared at the back of his
head, wondering if Tony was in some kind of trouble. The bit about
classified information he didn’t buy, not one little bit. Tony was
a good cop and hot on protocol. No way would he let slip
information like that.

Mike was
rummaging around his desk when Kristina came in, followed by
Smiler. She motioned with her thumb over her shoulder. 'Found your
mate here, sitting outside.'

'Mike, I have
to talk to you.' Smiler stepped to the side of Kristina so that he
could be seen.

Frowning, Mike
looked up, his hands still amongst the rubbish on his desk.

'What are you
looking for?' Kristina asked.

'That scrap of
paper.'

'For God’s
sake, Mike. I put it right there.' Kristina poked the middle of his
desk with her finger. 'How could you miss it?'

'Mike,' Smiler
said, watching Kristina having a rummage of her own.

'Just a minute,
sunshine.'

Both Smiler and
the paper were forgotten a moment later, when the phone rang.
Snatching it up, Mike gave his usual prologue. He nearly dropped
the phone a moment later, shouting, 'What? How?'

Kristina
stopped rummaging. She and Smiler stared at Mike, as he went on.
'OK, Jill, calm down. I’m sure there’ll be a good reason.' He
listened again, then said, 'Give me Billy’s address, and I’ll send
a car for you.'

Kristina handed
him a pen and a sheet of paper. He threw her a grateful smile, then
listened intently as he scribbled the address down. 'Right, Jill,
now that’s only about four or five minutes away. See you in a
bit.'

He strode out
of the room. Kristina and Smiler frowned their puzzlement at each
other. A minute later he was back.

'What the
hell’s going on?' Kristina demanded, as he came back through the
door.

'Jill’s
youngest girl. She’s gone missing.'

Before Kristina
could say anything, both she and Mike were startled by a loud thud.
Smiler had fainted.

'Jesus Christ,'
Mike said, rushing to pick him up.

Together they
got him into a chair, then Kristina went for water as Mike tried to
bring him round. Gently he patted his face. Smiler blinked. A
moment later, his eyes shot wide open. 'You’ve got to help her,
Mike.'

'Help who?'
Kristina asked, holding the glass of water to Smiler’s lips.

Smiler shook
his head. 'I don’t know, it’s all confusing.' He took a sip of
water and looked up at Mike. 'It’s gone. But I think they, she…
They are in a castle, or something like one.'

'Something like
one, eh?' Mike tutted. 'Have you any idea how many castles there
are in Northumberland? Or even how many buildings that look like a
castle?' Answering his own question, he went on. 'Bloody
twenty-five of them, that’s how many. And that’s not even counting
the look-alikes, nor the ones in Durham, for God’s sake.'

Smiler was
about to say just how many there were of either description, when
Jill came rushing in. Mike gave Smiler a look that plainly said,
not a word about this.

Looking
sheepish, Smiler nodded.

Jill was
totally distraught. Kristina jumped up from her chair by the
computer and coaxed her to sit down.