Authors: Sharon Bolton
Now You See Me (22 page)
I stared at him until he made eye contact again. Only for a second though. Then his eyes were back on Southwark Bridge.
âThis is no time to get an attack of the vapours, Flint,' he said. âYou're needed on the team.'
He was lying. Knowing that our killer was still at large, all his old suspicions about me had come back. He'd found my note, guessed I was planning to run and was deliberately getting in the way. All this talk of getting me back in the saddle had been so much crap. He'd be watching me non-stop from now on.
I turned from him to the beach. It was covered with rocks of various sizes. All I had to do was distract him, pick one up, hold it high and then bring it down very fast. In his car, I could be in Portsmouth before midnight.
âHere comes our lift,' he said.
A
POLICE MOTOR LAUNCH WAS HEADING TOWARDS US, THE waves from its bow already sweeping over the low pier. It drew up alongside us and a middle-aged, uniformed sergeant threw a rope.
POLICE MOTOR LAUNCH WAS HEADING TOWARDS US, THE waves from its bow already sweeping over the low pier. It drew up alongside us and a middle-aged, uniformed sergeant threw a rope.
âTide's fast,' he muttered to Joesbury, who'd wrapped the rope around a rusty iron cleat. The sergeant held out a large, wrinkled hand to me. âUp you come, love.'
I'd run out of arguments. I gave the officer my hand, looked into eyes that seemed familiar and got pulled aboard. As well as the sergeant, there were two other officers on the boat, both in a sort of raised cockpit. The boat went into reverse and, at the last moment, Joesbury slipped the line off the cleat, reached for the boat rail and swung himself on board as though he'd been doing it all his life.
We were off, heading for the centre of the river, the engine loud and the rain battling spray to see which could wet us the most. A stray wave came bouncing over the bow and its tail end caught me full in the face. I could taste salt and something bitter and oily.
âDC Flint, I'd like you to meet Sergeant Wilson of the Marine Policing Unit,' said Joesbury. âUncle Fred, this is Lacey.'
The officer who'd helped us on board nodded to me, threw a lifejacket to Joesbury and helped me pass one over my head and adjust the waist strap. Then he gestured for us to go inside the small, windowed cabin at the front of the boat.
âMark tells me you need to get your river legs back,' he said to me,
when he'd closed the door and the noise of the engine had faded a little.
when he'd closed the door and the noise of the engine had faded a little.
âNot sure I had any in the first place,' I replied. The cabin was surprisingly plush, with padded seats, an instrument panel and a small kitchen area. It had a faint smell of plastic and diesel fuel.
The two men exchanged a glance, then Sergeant Wilson took a long look at my face. âFrom what I hear, you were about as lucky as they get,' he said. âWell, should be a nice quiet trip,' he went on. âWe're due to go down as far as the barrier, one or two stops on the way, should have you both back by ten. Are you OK if I get back to the flybridge?'
Wilson left the cabin and we heard him walk along the deck and climb the steps to join the other two above us in the cockpit.
âCome on,' said Joesbury, steering me forwards and using the sleeve of his jacket to wipe the condensation from the window, âyou can't beat the river at night.' He glanced down, saw the look on my face. âCourse, it does help to be on it rather than in it,' he admitted.
We were almost at Southwark Bridge. I hadn't seen it from the river before and had to admit â but only to myself â that Joesbury had a point. Hidden lights had turned the stone arches of the bridge turquoise, whilst the surrounding buildings, both old and new, glowed in warm shades of gold and honey. Behind the bridge, its lights gleaming like diamonds, rose the City of London.
âUnce Fred?' I queried.
âMum's younger brother,' said Joesbury. âFollowed his father into the Marine Unit shortly after he joined the Met. Where do you stand on the Lloyd's building, love it or hate it?'
Across the rooftops, an elongated, futuristic construction of steel and glass was radiating violet light into the sky. I'd seen few buildings more compelling. âHate it,' I lied.
âMy grandfather was still in the force when I was a kid,' said Joesbury. âHe used to take me and my brother out on patrol with him at weekends.'
The lights of the river were both reflected in the rainfall and distorted by the cabin's windows. Deep azure blue shimmered around the top of the Nat West Tower and droplets of the same colour seemed to fall all around us. Along the embankment, lantern lights
glowed like a chain of fire. I had a sense, for a moment, of being in an enchanted craft.
glowed like a chain of fire. I had a sense, for a moment, of being in an enchanted craft.
âHe liked to tell us stories about the river,' Joesbury was saying. âKnew it better than anyone. When he retired he got a job as a guide on one of the pleasure boats.'
As Tower Bridge loomed ahead of us like a cold, grey fortress, I had a sudden picture in my mind of two little boys playing policemen on a river launch, and it occurred to me that twenty-four hours ago, it might have been quite nice to be spending time alone with Joesbury, hearing him talk about his family. A lot can change in twenty-four hours.
âLook to your left,' said Joesbury.
âWapping,' I said, âWhere Uncle Fred and his colleagues are based.' Wapping police station was also where Samuel Cooper's body had been taken after it had been lifted from the river. Where mine would have been.
âYeah,' said Joesbury. âAlso, the site of Execution Dock, where they used to hang murderers and pirates and other assorted villains. Pirates were hanged on short ropes so they suffocated slowly and then three tides had to wash over them before they pulled the bodies down. I tell you, police work's not what it used to be.'
The river had changed. Beyond Tower Bridge it becomes commercial, the buildings, black as soot against the skyline, are functional rather than beautiful. As we travelled on, all the colour in the world seemed to be seeping away.
âThat's a very sweet story,' I said.
Joesbury gave a short laugh. âThey had something called dirty money back in Grandad's day.'
The embankment lights we were passing now were stronger and colder than the touristy ones we'd left behind. They cut through the dark water like needles. âYou're going to tell me what that is, whether I want to hear it or not, aren't you?' I said.
âIt was the bit of extra pay the river men would get for retrieving a body from the water,' said Joesbury. âMade quite a difference to pay packets back then, so finding a floater was always a bit of an event.'
Not much more than a week ago, I'd come very close to being a floater. Was this about punishing me, as well as keeping me from running?
âAs you can imagine, it all got a bit competitive,' Joesbury went on.âAnd there was the added complication that if they found a body towards the end of the shift, they might not have time to get it all the way downriver to Wapping.'
âI'm not going to ask,' I said.
I didn't need to. Joesbury was on a roll. âSo rather than let the next shift get the extra cash, they'd hide it somewhere. Tie it up out of sight and then collect it next day.'
By this time, it felt like the boat was travelling through a black and white film. On the south bank, the lights were a cold white, their reach hardly penetrating the gloom around them, their reflections just teardrops on the black river.
âI have heard few stories more gross than that,' I said.
âI think it just goes to prove that, given time, you'll get used to anything. How are you feeling?'
âFine,' I said automatically and, a second later, realized I was. I was absolutely fine. I still had a pressing need to get off the boat and head for the English Channel, but otherwise, being on the river hadn't been nearly as bad as I'd expected.
Joesbury stepped away and faced me. âYou look fine to me,' he said, with a half-smile. âIt takes a lot to throw you off kilter, doesn't it?'
âYep,' I said, turning back to the river, thinking the events of the past few hours might just qualify. âYou could say that.'
Without warning, the engine fired up and the boat surged forward. Joesbury and I both staggered backwards before getting our balance. We looked at each other and he told me to stay put. Before he could reach the door, Uncle Fred poked his head inside.
âWe've just had a call about a small craft heading for the Royal Docks,' he said. âBloody suicide in these conditions. We're picking up speed to try and find them. Now do I need to tell you two to stay in here and keep out of the way?'
âNo, sir,' said Joesbury. I shook my head.
We were skimming along the water now, the searchlights on the front of the boat turned up to maximum, and I caught sight of Greenwich on the south bank. Joesbury moved behind me and opened one of the cupboards that ran along the back of the cabin. He took two coiled yellow straps from inside. Both had metal clips at either end. Lifelines.
âI was a real pain in the arse as a kid,' he said, unwrapping one and clipping the end of it to my lifejacket. âNever did what I was told.' He passed the line over my head and then fastened the second clip to the first at my waist. He did the same on his own jacket and then reached for a pair of binoculars from the cabin wall.
âFeel free to stay in here,' he said, opening the door that led to the port deck. âIn fact, I'm giving you a direct order to do exactly that.'
âI was a pain in the arse as a kid too,' I said, following him to the door.
âWhy am I not surprised,' he replied. âAs soon as we're outside, find something solid and clip yourself to it.'
Leaving the warm, if diesel-rich air of the cabin was like getting out of a hot bath. Once on deck, the wind hit us full on. The rain had picked up in the short time we'd been on the river and was bouncing off the water like bullets. We were speeding against the tide and the double effect of tide and wind was creating angry waves all around us.
âWho'd take a small boat out on a night like this?' I shouted into Joesbury's ear.
He had binoculars clamped to his eyes and was looking downstream. âNobody up to any good,' he said. âSmugglers of some sort, possibly. Although my guess would be illegal immigrants. Are you clipped on?'
âTo the rail,' I said, glancing down to make sure. âImmigrants? Coming up the Thames?'
âIt's not uncommon,' he told me. âContainer ships bring them across the North Sea. They get off a mile or so downriver, usually at Tilbury, and then head up in smaller crafts. Fred's right though, it is bloody suicidal.'
âWe'll be lucky to even see them in this weather,' I said.
âThere they are,' said Joesbury, reaching out and taking hold of my shoulder. âTen o'clock. About two hundred metres away.'
He passed over the binoculars and guided them in the right direction. After a second or so, I could just about make out a medium-sized inflatable dinghy with a small outboard engine and no lights. Three people on board.
âThis is the Marine Policing Unit, switch off your engine and remain exactly where you are!' Sergeant Wilson called out over the
loudspeaker, making me jump. I handed the binoculars back to Joesbury. I didn't have a good feeling about this and I really didn't want to watch someone else go in the water. When Cooper and I had fallen in, the weather had been fine and the surface of the river smooth. In these conditions, it would be close to hopeless.
loudspeaker, making me jump. I handed the binoculars back to Joesbury. I didn't have a good feeling about this and I really didn't want to watch someone else go in the water. When Cooper and I had fallen in, the weather had been fine and the surface of the river smooth. In these conditions, it would be close to hopeless.
âShit,' muttered Joesbury.
âWhat's happening?' I asked.
âThey're making a run for it,' he replied.
The launch veered round in the direction of the north bank. We were flying across the water now. The small craft couldn't hope to match the speed we were travelling at. Above my head I could hear someone on the radio. They'd be requesting back-up on the bank. Even if the dinghy made it the fifty metres or so to the side, there'd be police waiting for them. They were stupid to try to escape. But desperate people do stupid things, desperate people panic. I knew that better than anyone.
The launch veered round again and I half fell against Joesbury. âIf I tell you to go back inside and get your head down, I expect you to do it,' he said. âThese twats could be armed.'
We were getting much closer now and our boat cut its speed. Joesbury lowered his binoculars and replaced them in the cabin just as our searchlight picked out the dinghy. Its occupants stared at us like startled wildlife.
We were less than forty metres away. Joesbury had positioned himself directly in front of me and I had to look round his shoulder. Two of the dinghy's occupants were men. The other looked smaller and I could see hair blowing around a pale face.
The dinghy swerved to the left and I thought I heard someone crying out. Thirty metres away. When our searchlight found it again, I could see white hands clutching the rope that ran around the rim of the boat.
The dinghy swung round again as Fred repeated his warning. This time the small boat went head-on into a large wave. It seemed to hover on top of it for a second then went racing down the other side, just as a second line of wash hit it. When I saw it again, it looked lower in the water.
The sound of a second large engine told me another boat was heading towards us. Taking my eyes off the dinghy for a second, I
spotted the flashing lights of another police launch just a short distance away. It cut its engines about thirty metres downstream of the dinghy. We were just upstream. Surely now they'd give up?
spotted the flashing lights of another police launch just a short distance away. It cut its engines about thirty metres downstream of the dinghy. We were just upstream. Surely now they'd give up?
The people in the dinghy weren't wearing lifejackets, I could see all three of them quite clearly now. They all looked soaked to the skin. The men had dark hair and heavy brows. The girl didn't look much more than eighteen.
Then one of the men in the dinghy stood and raised his hands above his head, just as wash from both motor launches hit the small boat head on. It rocked one way, then the other, before tipping completely. Immediately, our boat went into reverse, backing away, positioning itself to be able to spot people in the water.
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