Wednesday's Child (18 page)

Liam’s heart stopped and he dropped his gaze to the floor. His stomach roiled, his throat burned and his soul ached within him. “Oh.”

“It’s no good saying one thing when you’re intent on doing another. God knows what you’re thinking. And thinking it is as bad as doing it. Let God handle it.”

Liam sank to his knees by the bed. How could he have gotten it so wrong? He was dimly aware of Jacqui kneeling beside him as he prayed.

Her voice joined his.

And then like the clouds of a thunderstorm passing, he was flooded with a sense of peace. The burden he carried for so long completely fell away.

15

The doorbell rang, and Liam pushed up off his knees to answer it. He was stiffer than he realized. He opened the door to find Patrick and a uniformed officer standing there. “Hi.”

“You all right, bro? We’ve been knocking for a while.”

“Yeah, sorry. I wasn’t expecting anyone this early.”

Patrick raised an eyebrow. “It’s gone ten AM. It’s not early.”

Ten?
Where had the last few hours had gone? Last he knew, it was five something. “Sorry. Come in.” He shut the door behind them. “Go through to the kitchen, and I’ll get dressed.”

He went back to the bedroom, knocking on the door. He smiled at Jacqui as she opened it, glad she was dressed.

“I found something of yours to wear.” Jacqui held out her ruined dress. “This is beyond redemption.”

He smiled, taking in the shirt and tracksuit trousers she’d put on. “That’s fine.”

“Who was at the door?”

“It’s Patrick and the police.”

“This doesn’t look good, does it?”

He shook his head. “Apparently, we lost five hours. It’s gone ten.”

She squeezed his hand, sending an electrical charge through him. He never wanted to take that for granted. “Time spent with God is not lost. Get dressed, and I’ll go make them coffee.”

He winked. “Good thing it’s Saturday. Else we’d both be late for work.”

“Oh yeah. Although then the alarm would have gone on my phone. It’s set to go off at seven AM on a weekday.”

Liam dressed and headed back to the kitchen. Jacqui sat at the table talking to the uniformed officer, telling him the events of the previous night as she remembered them. He crossed the room, picked up the spare mug of coffee, and turned to find Patrick standing behind him. “Hey, Pi.”

“She said she spent the night here. And she’s wearing your clothes.”

“I had the couch. Not that either of us slept much. And that would be because her dress is ruined. Apparently being blown up and women’s clothes don’t go so well together.”

“I can understand that.”

Liam sipped the coffee. “How do you do this for a living?”

“Some days I wonder. Listen, once you’ve given your statement and the police leave, I need to talk to both you and Jacqui.”

“Sounds ominous.”

“It’s important, Li. I wouldn’t ask otherwise.” Patrick lowered his voice. “One more thing? Leave out the incident in the gents for now. I know Jacqui knows, and I also asked her to keep quiet. If the cop asks, you got those bruises from the bomb blast. Let’s face it; being blown across the car park probably gave you another one anyway.”

Liam gave him a long hard look and then nodded. “It definitely didn’t help any.”

Patrick nodded. “Let’s go sit down.”

Liam sat at the table next to Jacqui and gave his statement. Going through it again was almost as bad as being there, just not so terrifying. Once that was done, he saw the officer out and then went back to the kitchen. He grinned at Patrick. “So Patrick, this is Jacqui. Jacqui, this reprobate is my big brother, Patrick. Otherwise known as Pi or Special Agent Three Point One Four.”

Patrick grinned. “We met. Last night, remember? Fire, smoke, brimstone…well no brimstone, but you know what I mean.”

Liam smacked Patrick on the back of the head. “No, I forgot. Getting blown up does that to a man, but at least I’m not old and grey like you.”

Patrick laughed. “Less of the grey. It’s about five hairs worth.”

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Liam asked.

“How much do you both know about Vince Devlin?”

“Not much more than what you told me and we learnt last night over dinner.” Liam winced. He’d forgotten for a moment how much his ribs hurt. “I told Jacqui everything I know and vice versa, which isn’t much, but anyway…yeah…Mind filling in the gaps for us, bro?”

“Right, the Horatio Corporation owns the land the Endarra mission is built on. It bought the entire complex six months before the attack. They also own the mining rights to the surrounding area. We’re pretty sure that whatever Devlin wants to rebuild there isn’t an orphanage.”

Liam pushed his empty cup away. “Can’t you put someone on the inside?”

“We’ve tried doing that several times. Devlin’s too good. He’s also very good at keeping his nose clean.” Patrick looked at Liam. “I tried contacting Manu. No one has seen or heard from him for three weeks.”

“That’s strange. He doesn’t normally drop off the radar without saying something first.” He pulled the phone from his pocket. “Let me try ring—”

“Li…wait.” He slid a photo across the table. “Is this him?”

Liam recognized that smile and those eyes. Not to mention the shock of dyed blond hair which always looked strange against Manu’s dark skin. “Yeah, that’s him. Why do you ask?”

“He’s dead.” Patrick said.

Liam felt the blood drain from his face, and closed his eyes. He was aware of Jacqui gripping his hand tightly. He looked at his brother. “What about his wife and kids?”

“I’m sorry, bro.” Patrick shook his head.

Jacqui wrapped her arms around him.

He hugged her back.
Oh, Lord, is that my fault somehow? I rang him on an unsecure line that last time. Am I responsible?

“Before you go blaming yourself, don’t. It looks as if Devlin is tidying up all the loose ends out there. Anyone who had anything to do with the original mission site is gradually vanishing or turning up dead.”

Jacqui hugged Liam again. “You OK?”

“He’s in God’s hands, with his family. Manu was a believer. But it’s still a loss. He was my friend.” He looked up at Patrick. “So, what do we do now? Are you going to send someone out there? Get the African authorities to do something? It’s not just foreign nationals he’s killing now, it’s their own people.”

Patrick’s expression became more serious. “It’s not that simple.”

He sighed. “No, it wouldn’t be. It never is.”

“I need you both to help me. I’ve been asked to ask you both—that’s why we’re doing this now and not in front of the cops.”

“Oh?”

“We need to find out what’s going on in Endarra. Like I said, we’ve tried and failed several times to get someone inside the offices. The easiest way by far, is to use someone Devlin wants, and get them into the Horatio Corporation and sent out there.” Patrick looked at Jacqui.

“Me?” Jacqui caught her breath. “You want me to take the job?”

“
What?”
Liam asked, sitting bolt upright.

“Yes, Jacqui, we want you to take the job. Term finishes on Tuesday, and I understand from Liam that the school grounds will be finished then, too. At least enough for you to take a break for a week or so. That gives you the opportunity to take Devlin up on his offer and go out to see what’s happening on site.”

“Wait a minute,” Liam interrupted. “Why send Jacqui? I told you what he did to her. Why not send one of your spooks?”

“I explained that. By now Devlin knows we’re investigating the Horatio Corporation. He’ll be expecting something. What he won’t expect is for Jacqui to go in.”

Jacqui shook her head. “There has to be another way. He hurt me once. He’ll do it again given half the chance.”

Patrick looked at Jacqui. “There is no other way to do this. And you won’t be going in alone. The thing is Vince wants you, and we want you to insist Liam goes, too.”

“Me?”

“Li, you know the area. Most of the people you knew are gone, or dead. However, because you’ve been there, you can create a bond with the people, because of that familiarity. If there’s something going on, they’re more likely to talk to you than someone who doesn’t understand their customs. Don’t worry. You’ll have back up—one of the catering staff is going to need to come back to England to tend to a sick relative and one of my people will replace them—”

“Then you don’t need us. Can’t he or she snoop around and—”

Patrick sighed. “Will you just be quiet and listen? Catering staff can’t snoop around the entire site and the offices. Devlin will want to show off his operation to Jacqui. I’ll send you in with a gun.”

Liam shook his head. “I don’t want one. I have all the ammunition and protection I need in God.”

“You’ll take the gun, Li. I don’t want to lose you, too.”

“And I told you, I’m not taking one. End of debate.”

“Liam, you have no idea what you’re getting into.”

“Yes I do.” Liam grimaced. “Is this where we get the ‘Your country needs you’ speech? In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a teacher, and Jacqui’s a gardener.” He broke off as she thumped him on the arm. “Sorry, my bad. Jacqui’s a landscape architect. We’re not spies.”

“What’s changed?” Patrick asked bluntly. “Two days ago, you were screaming out for the chance for revenge.”

“God will do that. Isn’t that what you told me months ago? Jacqui said the same thing this morning. It took a while to get through this thick head of mine.”

“You mean God used a woman to get through to you when I couldn’t.”

“Something like that.”

“I want each of you to pack a bag and go away for the weekend. A taxi will pick each of you up in an hour and take you to the station. From there you take the train to Bramley. A car will meet you there and drive you to a secret location for briefing and training in what you’ll need to know.”

Liam looked at Jacqui. “Up to you. I’m just the sidekick. The Dr. Watson to your Holmes, the Spock to your Kirk, the Patrick Starr to your SpongeBob, the Rudolph—”

“All right, OK, enough. I get it.”

“So, what do you think, love? I know you don’t want that creep anywhere near you, but I promise if he touches you at all, he’ll regret it.”

“I guess they wouldn’t ask if they didn’t really need us.”

Her palm was warm and he looked down, slowly moving his thumb across the back of her hand. “It’s ironic, isn’t it? I’ve been asking God for months for this chance, and the minute I stop asking and hand it over to Him to deal with, He gives it to me on a plate. Bit like John the Baptist’s head, only slightly less messy.”

“So it’s a yes?” Patrick asked.

“You don’t actually want his head on a platter, do you?” Liam glanced at him.

“No. Thanks for the offer, bro, but no. We’d rather lock him up and throw away the key.”

“We’ll talk it over, pray it through, and get back to you.”

“I can’t give you any longer. The taxi’s coming for you in less than an hour.”

Liam took a deep breath.
Lord, show me what to do. I can’t let her go alone and as much as I want to go out there…
He paused, a sudden sense that he was doing the right thing flooding him.
All right, but You have to come, too. I’m not doing this without You by my side.

“Maybe you get to be Samson after all.” Jacqui squeezed his hand.

“Only if you be Delilah.” Liam nodded. “However, I don’t want their fates. We get to live happily ever after. Don’t want from here to Endarra turning into from here to eternity.”

“We’ll make Samson and Delilah your code names.” Patrick handed Jacqui the phone. “Make the call and put it on speaker phone. But don’t let him arrange the flights. We’ll do that.”

Jacqui nodded. Her hands shaking, she dialed Vince’s number.

“Devlin.”

“Hi, Vince. It’s Jacqui.”

“Jacqui, baby, how are you? I was worried after the fire last night. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Listen, Liam and I were talking, and we could both do with a break.”

“I assume that means you decided to take the job. That’s great, hon. The old team together again.”

“No. Actually it means that Liam and I will both come out, and you can show us what needs doing. Then I’ll make an informed decision.”

“I’ll book you a flight. It’ll be wonderful to spend some time alone with you.”

“Liam and I will book our own flights.” She looked at Patrick as he scrawled a note and handed it to her. She read it and nodded her understanding. “We’re going to a couple of places first and figured we’d add Endarra on to the end of our trip.”

“And what if I don’t want Liam to come?”

“Then I don’t come. Liam is part of my life, and he’s agreed to fit this into our holiday. So it’s both of us, or neither.”

Vince’s voice tightened. “Fine. When will you arrive?”

“I’ll let you know when we’ve booked the flight. Speak to you then.” She hung up and looked at Liam. “All right. Let’s go learn how to be spies.”

Liam reached over and kissed her. “Only so long as I can be the spy that loved you.”

She shook her head. “Your jokes get worse.” She looked at Patrick. “Can you drop me off so I can pack?”

Patrick nodded. “Of course.”

Jacqui stood and kissed Liam. “I’ll see you in an hour.”

16

Jacqui and Liam exited the plane and headed into immigration and customs hand in hand. Jacqui felt woefully unprepared despite the training she’d been given. Vince had arranged to pick them up, and she made the most of the last few moments alone with Liam. She handed over her passport and tried not to squirm as the officer fixed his steel gaze on her.

“What is the reason for your visit?”

“Vacation.” She took a deep breath, hoping she hadn’t changed too much from her photograph as he compared the two

“Where are you staying?”

“The
Matumaini
mission.”

“Are you with the Horatio Corporation?”

She nodded.

The officer handed back her papers and waved her though with no more checks.
Strange…let’s just hope Liam finds it as easy.