Will concentrated on his breathing, fighting to stay calm.
He’d pulled DCI Lake’s business card from his pocket as soon as he’d returned to the motel and told Erin his plan, and now he sat on the end of the bed while the dial tone buzzed in his ear.
‘He’ll be asleep,’ said Erin, who had perched on the edge of the desk, her hands gripping the surface.
‘I know.’
‘What are you going to tell him?’
‘Enough that he’ll know I’m serious,’ said Will. ‘Is the email ready?’
‘Yes.’
She moved out of the way so that Will could see the laptop computer and the email that they’d drafted together over the past half an hour, with a single file attached.
‘Okay. Here goes.’
Will hit the ‘send’ button on the phone and it chirped in his ear as it dialled the number and then began to ring.
He was hoping the policeman would keep his mobile phone next to his bed during such a high profile case, and he wasn’t disappointed when a sleepy voice answered.
‘DCI Lake. Speak.’
‘It’s Will Fletcher.’
‘Will?’ There was a moment’s pause, a shuffling at the other end of the line, and then the policeman’s voice returned, a little clearer. ‘It’s three o’clock in the morning. What do you want?’
Will’s insides twisted as he wondered whether it had been a good idea to phone the detective at home. The man didn’t sound like he had had much sleep.
‘Do you have access to a computer there?’
‘Yes. Why?’
‘Go and switch it on.’
Will waited while the detective cursed under his breath, and then heard him mumble something to his wife.
Her reply was muffled, but her tone terse.
Will heard the other man walking through his house, before a door squeaked on its hinges and a light switch was pressed.
‘All right, Will,’ said Lake. He exhaled as a chair creaked under his weight and a computer beeped to life. ‘It’s three in the morning. I haven’t even had time for a coffee. You’ve been impossible to contact, and then you phone me in the middle of the night? What do you want? What the hell’s going on?’
‘Check your emails.’
Will turned and nodded to Erin, who reached over and tapped the ‘send’ button on the screen.
At the other end of the line, Lake started up his email programme, the light touch of his fingers on the keys filtering down the line.
‘I presume you want me to open this?’
‘Yes. Tell me when you’ve downloaded the attachment, too.’
‘Okay. Done.’
‘All right. Bear with me. This is going to take a bit of time.’
‘This had better be good,’ the detective growled.
Will took a deep breath, and then began.
When he had finished, the detective remained silent, until Will could bear it no more.
‘Are you still there?’
‘Shut up a minute. I’m taking some notes.’
Will bit his lip and waited while the silence dragged out. Erin held up her hands, her head tilted to one side. He shrugged, and then held up his hand as the detective returned to the phone.
‘It’ll take me some time to look into this,’ he said. ‘I need to corroborate the evidence before I can do anything else.’
Will glanced at his watch. ‘You’ve got three hours,’ he said.
The policeman hissed through his teeth. ‘You’re not in a position to make demands,’ he said.
‘In three hours, Amy’s editor is going to print this story,’ said Will. ‘He has the original photograph.’
He heard a loud bang at the other end of the line and realised Lake had kicked a filing cabinet.
‘What the hell?’
‘I needed some insurance. In case you didn’t take me seriously.’
‘You put me in a difficult position.’
‘That was the idea.’
‘I could have you arrested.’
‘I’m aware of that.’
‘Stay near the phone.’
The line went dead, and Will lowered his mobile to his lap.
‘What did he say?’ asked Erin, her voice breathless. ‘Is he going to help us?’
‘I hope so,’ said Will. ‘Otherwise we’re really in the shit.’