Take Two (A psychological thriller) (25 page)

He closed his eyes and tried to think about something else but the same images kept coming back. Carolyn, bent over in the chest, gasping and choking as it filled with sea water. He knew that’s not what had happened, that she’d been unconscious when the chest went into the sea, but knowing that didn’t change the images that flashed through his mind. He slammed his hand hard against the tiles, relishing the pain, and then he bunched his hands into fists and punched the wall, left and right, until his knuckles were bloody and bruised.

CHAPTER 60

Richards fell asleep on the sofa in front of the television. He slept fitfully, plagued by dreams of Carolyn and the chest filling with water. His mobile rang at two o’clock in the afternoon and he retrieved it from the floor. It was Halpin. ‘You okay, boss?’ he asked.

‘Fine and dandy,’ said Richards, ‘considering all the booze I put away last night. The boat’s back at St Katherine’s Dock?’

‘All good,’ said Halpin. ‘And Parker’s squared away.’

Richards took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Every time he thought of sea water pouring into the trunk he felt as if he was about to throw up.

‘You going to the club tonight, boss?’

‘I’m not sure. It’s Sunday, it’ll be a quiet night.’

‘There’s something I need to talk to you about, boss.’

‘I’m all ears.’

Face to face, boss. It can wait until this evening.’

‘This evening?’

‘The Mint, boss. You’re seeing him at nine tonight, remember? I’ll pick you up at eight.’

Richards ran a hand through his hair. He’d forgotten all about his meeting with The Mint. He was supposed to see him at the Mayfair Bar in the West End to discuss the deals he was putting together. As usual The Mint was reluctant to say anything over the phone and on Monday he was leaving for Spain.

Richards ended the call. He went to the kitchen and looked in his fridge but there was nothing he wanted to eat. He called up a local Indian that did decent takeaways and an hour later he tucked into a chicken tikka masala and a lamb biryani. The food helped to get rid of his headache.  He opened a bottle of Cristal and polished off half of it.

The more he drank the less he thought about Carolyn. He finished the bottle and watched football on Sky Sports until he fell asleep.

CHAPTER 61

Carolyn ran a hand through his hair and pulled him towards her, her mouth opening. Richards kissed her, his tongue slipping easily between her lips, and she moaned softly, grinding herself against him as she returned the kiss. He reached up and cupped her breast and she moaned again, louder this time. He felt her nipple stiffen and he caressed her breast, softly at first and then harder.  He heard a buzzing sound but he ignored it and continued to kiss her, his lips pressed hard against hers.

He broke away, his heart pounding.  ‘God, I’ve missed you,’ he said.

‘I’ve missed you too,’ she said.

‘I’ll never let you go again,’ he said. He could smell her perfume. Coco Mademoiselle. The buzzing was louder, more insistent.

‘You didn’t let me go, Warwick,’ she said, looking deep into her eyes. ‘You killed me, remember?’

The buzzer went again and Richards woke up. He was lying on the sofa and the television was still showing football. He wiped his face and sat up. The door entry phone buzzed again. He looked at his wristwatch. It was just before seven-thirty. He tried to work out if it was morning or evening. It was evening, he realised. He’d slept away most of the day.

He stood up and walked over to the entry phone, wondering why Halpin had turned up half an hour early.  There were four buttons on the unit at street level but only the top one was connected.  He reached for the handset but he froze when he saw the face on the monitor. A woman, her face soaking wet, her hair drenched, her eyes wide and staring. It was Carolyn.

CHAPTER 62

Richards raced down the stairs, figuring that would be quicker than the lumbering lift.  He hadn’t picked up the handset, he’d just grabbed his keys and run out of the flat. His heart was pounding and it wasn’t from the physical exertion of running down the stairs. Carolyn? How could Carolyn be at his front door when she was in a trunk at the bottom of the North Sea?

He reached the second floor, grabbed the metal rail that ran the full length of the onside wall and swung himself around.  There was a fire door at the very bottom of the stairwell that led into a small tiled lobby. The front door was to the left and he fumbled with the lock before yanking it open. It was pouring with rain and, as he stepped outside, there was a menacing roll of thunder off in the distance. The pavement was deserted. A black cab drove by with its yellow FOR HIRE light on.

He whirled around but there was no sign of her.  A young couple sheltering under an umbrella walked by him. ‘He’s got no shoes on, did you see that?’ he heard the woman say in a strangled Essex accent. ‘What sort of idiot goes out at night in the rain without shoes?’

Richards looked across the road. The rain was blinding him and he put his hands up to shield his eyes. There was a man holding a newspaper over his head and a teenage girl with a Spaniel on a leash sheltering in a doorway. Richards did a slow three-sixty as the rain drenched him. There was no sign of her.

He ran his hands through his soaking wet hair, wondering if he was going crazy. Had he imagined it?  Was it the booze? Or was his guilty conscience playing tricks on him? He turned and went back into the building.

CHAPTER 63

Richards changed out of his wet clothes and then showered again and put on a suit and tie. He was slipping on his shoes when the door entry phone buzzed again. He hurried over to the handset. It was Halpin.  Richards said he’d be right down.

Halpin had parked his Lexus in the road and Richards climbed in. The wipers swished back and forth across the windscreen,

‘You okay boss?’ asked Halpin. ‘You look like shit.’

‘I didn’t sleep much,’ said Richards.

Halpin pulled away from the kerb and headed for West London.

‘Everything went okay, yesterday?’ asked Richards.

‘Sure.’

‘No problems at all?’

Halpin shook his head. ‘Took the boat out, dumped the chest in the water, headed back.’

‘And you saw it go into the water?’

‘Boss, I did it myself. Me and Sonny.’ He looked across at Richards. ‘Something wrong?’

‘Just want to make sure it was done right.’

‘It was, boss. As right as rain.’

Richards took his cigar case out of his jacket pocket and lit one. ‘Never thought I’d kill a woman,’ he said quietly.

‘It had to be done, boss,’ said Halpin. ‘You had no choice. If she’d grassed you up it’d be life behind bars. For you and for me. And she hired Dunbar. She wouldn’t have done that if she wasn’t on your case.’

‘Yeah, you’re right.’ He puffed on his cigar. ‘I just wish there’d been another way.’

‘You could have married her,’ said Halpin.

Richards looked over at him. ‘What?’

‘I’m just saying, wives can’t testify against their husbands. So if you’d married her…’  He shrugged. ‘Just saying.’

‘Yeah, well just don’t say,’ said Richards.

 They drove in silence for a while. ‘How’s it going with the truck driver,’ asked Richards, eventually.

‘I’m on the case,’ said Halpin. ‘It’ll be easy enough. He sleeps in the cab when he’s away from home. I think I can get a look at his roster to see when he’s away and I could do him miles from London.’

‘You okay with that?’

‘Boss, my name’s in the frame for all of this. I’m covering my own arse.’

‘Then cover away, Mick.’

‘It’ll mean I’ll be away for a day or two.’

‘No sweat, I’ve nothing major coming up. I’ll be okay. I’ll let you know when it’s a good time.’

Richards took a long pull on his cigar. ‘You’re okay with the way it went down?’ he asked.

‘What do you mean?’

Richards shrugged.  ‘Getting rid of her the way we did.’

‘We didn’t have a choice, boss. It was her or us. And I don’t know about you but I’m not going to do a twenty stretch for anyone.  She brought it on herself by hiring Dunbar. If she’d just kept quiet she’d have been fine.’

Richards nodded. ‘Yeah,’ he said.

‘Look at this way, boss. That bastard, Cohen, was stealing from you and you did him without a second thought. She would have done you more damage than he did, no doubt about it. We did what had to be done. End of.’

‘You’re right,’ Richards said quietly.

‘Damn right I’m right,’ said Halpin.

Richards settled back in his seat and tried to get his head straight for when he met The Mint.  The rain was heavier now and, even at full speed, the wipers were finding it hard to cope with the deluge.

They reached a set of red traffic lights and Halpin brought his Lexus to a halt. Richards stared through the windscreen with unseeing eyes, his mind on the money that he was getting ready to transfer to one of The Mint’s offshore accounts. The swish-swish of the wipers was almost hypnotic. There was a white Audi TT stopped at the lights on the other side of the junction.  There was a woman at the wheel.  Richards narrowed his eyes as he tried to focus. He took the cigar out of his mouth and leaned forward. ‘What the fuck…?’

‘What boss?’

The lights changed to green and the Audi leapt across the junction. Richards turned to watch the car speed by. ‘Turn the car around!’ he shouted.

‘What?’ said Halpin.

‘Turn the fucking car around!’ shouted Richards, twisting around in his seat. ‘Just fucking do it!’

Halpin hit the turn indicator but there was a bus coming towards him. The bus driver sounded his horn and accelerated.

‘Come on, come on!’ shouted Richards.

Halpin stepped on the accelerator and twisted the steering wheel. The bus driver slammed on his brakes and pounded on the horn as Halpin made the turn.

Richards pointed down the road. ‘That Audi,’ he said. ‘Follow that Audi.’

‘I don’t see an Audi, boss,’ said Halpin, accelerating down the street. The bus driver was continuing to pound on his horn behind them.

‘There, she’s turning. See?’

Ahead of them the white car turned into a side street. ‘She? Who is it, boss?’

‘Carolyn Castle. She was driving.’

‘Boss?’ He took his foot off the accelerator and the car slowed.

Richards pointed ahead. ‘Don’t fucking stop, get after her!’

Halpin did as he was told.

‘It was her. I swear to God it was her!’ hissed Richards.

‘Boss, it can’t be.’

‘Don’t tell me what can’t be. I fucking saw her!’

‘She’s dead, boss. You know she’s dead.’

‘Just fucking follow her!’

Halpin sighed and nodded. ‘Okay, okay.’ They reached the turn that the Audi had taken and as they went around the corner Richards leaned forward. There was no sign of it. ‘I don’t see it, boss,’ said Halpin.

‘Faster, she must be ahead of us.’

Halpin accelerated but even in the heavy rain he could see the road ahead was clear. ‘Boss…’ he said. ‘It’s not here.’

‘She must have gone down a side street,’ said Richards. ‘Turn around. Let’s go back.’

‘Boss, if she did, we’ve lost her. She could be anywhere by now.’

‘If? What do you mean? You think I’m fucking making this up?’

‘I’m just saying, boss, I didn’t see her.’

‘You saw the Audi?’

‘I guess.’

‘You guess? You fucking guess? What the fuck are you saying? You think I’m making this up?’

‘Boss, look, I saw the car but I didn’t see who was driving. How could I, what with all this rain and all? And you’re starting to spook me carrying on like this.  She’s dead. She’s at the bottom of the North Sea.’

‘Unless you fucked me over.’

‘Fucked you over? What do you mean?’

‘How the fuck do I know that you did what I told you to do? Maybe you let her out. Maybe she paid you off. How else do you explain the fact she’s alive and well and driving around?’

‘Come on, boss, you only caught a glimpse of the driver as she went by. It could have been anyone.’

‘Yeah? And who was ringing my bell? Answer me that?’

Halpin said nothing.

‘Just drive around for a bit. Keep looking.’

‘Sure. Whatever you want, boss.’  Halpin turned left into a side street lined with parked cars and they scanned left and right, looking for a white Audi. Fifteen minutes later they were still looking.  Eventually Halpin looked at his watch pointedly.

‘Okay, let’s leave it,’ said Richards. ‘We’d better not keep The Mint waiting.’

CHAPTER 64

Richards shared a bottle of Cristal with The Mint as they sat in a window seat surveying the models, footballers wives and minor television stars who made up the female clientele of The Mayfair.  There were some stunning women decked out in all their finery, but all Richards could think about was Carolyn and her watery death.

A couple of times The Mint had asked him if there was something wrong but Richards had forced a smile and said everything was fine.  Halpin sat with them, nursing a tonic and water.  The reason for the meeting was simple enough.   The Mint was brokering a major cannabis shipment for an Irish consortium and they had come up four hundred grand short. If Richards was interested, The Mint could get him in. The downside was Richards would only have enough for two runs which would make it slightly riskier.

‘But it’s a good ‘un, Warwick,’ The Mint had said, patting his leg. ‘We’re talking about a training yacht that has been completely rebuilt, they could put a team of dogs on it and they’d come up with nothing. They could drill a hundred holes and come up empty. And most of the crew are kids from broken families.  It’s the closest thing I’ve seen to a sure thing for a long time.’

Richards had agreed and they’d sealed the deal with a second bottle of Cristal.

They had left the bar at eleven. Halpin left first to collect the car, then called Richards once he was outside.  Richards hugged The Mint, blew kisses at the two Eurasian girls who were sitting either side of him, and headed outside. There were two photographers standing on the pavement but they paid no attention to him as he climbed into the Lexus. It had finally stopped raining but the roads and pavements were still soaking wet.