Ruby allowed the engine of the car to tick over as she parked up underneath the bridge. A quick text to Lenny Crosby had secured a meeting time and place. She had hoped that by meeting at Charlotte’s murder site she would be gifted with a flash of insight. If the killer had been able to escape unseen after mowing the woman down in cold blood, then Ruby’s liaison with Lenny should surely go unnoticed too. She watched as a well-fed rat scuttled under the bridge, disappearing around the corner. Just what had Charlotte been thinking, arranging to meet Emily here in the dark?
It had turned out that Charlotte Lockwood was no stranger to London. Despite the façade of rich living, police investigations had uncovered that she had come from modest means: originating not far from here, in an area of East London that had yet to benefit from restructure. They had managed to track down Charlotte’s first husband, but he had an ample alibi for the night of her death. Her post-mortem results were disappointing; the only evidence on her ravaged body being the deep grooves of the tyres which had punctured her organs and shattered her bones. It was believed that the driver of the vehicle ran over her three times. What kind of anger and hatred would someone have to carry inside to do that to another human being? And why? But Ruby knew it was a question that would never grant a satisfactory answer. She didn’t believe in evil before she joined the police. She thought by then that she had seen all that the darker side of human nature had to offer. But she had barely touched the surface, and evil was as plausible an explanation as anything else these days. Some people had villainy ground into the marrow of their bones.
Ruby checked her rear-view mirror as a black BMW pulled up behind. Tinted windows barely afforded her a view of Lenny Crosby’s thick-necked driver. Waiting for him to show had made her nervous; not because of who he was, but because she was about to pass on precious information. Her stomach churned. If her colleagues knew what she was doing, they would call her a bent copper and turn their backs on her for good. She would lose her job, maybe even go to prison. She rested her fingers on the keys of the ignition before switching the engine off.
She had bent the rules before, but never like this. And the last thing she wanted was to be in Lenny Crosby’s pocket. But at night when she closed her eyes she saw the final moments of terror ingrained on Emily Edmonds’s face. Such a killer did not come from nowhere and return to nowhere. They were likely to strike again. And if it really was her daughter, Ruby had a personal responsibility to sort it out. She would turn her in if she had to, but she would do it her way.
Dressed in a black suit and shades, Lenny exited the vehicle behind her. Ruby froze as her passenger door was pulled open, allowing a blast of street air to invade her space. She gave him the once-over, checking his hands for weapons. His expression gave nothing away. Stony faced, he slid into the seat beside her.
‘I’ve got something for you; a birthday card,’ she said, keen to have their meeting disposed with. She dipped her hand into the door panel compartment. ‘But before I pass it over I want to make it quite clear that I won’t be remembering your birthday again.’ She delivered an intense stare as the words left her mouth, watching Lenny’s grin spread as she spoke behind guarded words. She did not trust him any more than he trusted her. Any verbal admission of wrongdoing could end her in a lot of trouble, if he were recording their meeting. ‘Are we clear on that?’ she said as he reached out to take it.
‘Don’t fret,’ he said, his eyes roaming her body.
The spice of his aftershave rose between them. He was groomed to perfection; smart suit, shoes shined, and a crisp white shirt with two buttons opened at the neck. But, unlike his brother, he was a wolf in disguise, and it would take more than an expensive suit to hide the violence within. Ruby wanted to ask if he was going somewhere, but there was no point in trying to obtain information when she was handing over intelligence to the most vicious man she knew.
‘Don’t you have something for me in return?’
Lenny tutted, his eyes dancing as he revelled in the game. ‘Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you don’t give to receive?’
He snatched the envelope from her grasp, tearing it open before her. Ruby watched his eyes dart from left to right as he greedily scanned the information. It seemed to confirm his suspicions, and he slowly nodded as he absorbed the text.
The heat of anger rose inside her. He was not going to have one over on her. She wouldn’t allow it. Her fists clenched, ready to snatch the information from his hand.
Lenny glanced up to see her glowering next to him, and a laugh escaped his lips. ‘For fuck’s sake, relax will you? I haven’t forgotten.’
Sliding his hand into his jacket pocket he pulled out a piece of folded notepaper, touching the palm of Ruby’s hands as he handed it over. His fingertips were cold, and Ruby suppressed a shudder. She was making a deal with the devil and hoped it would be worth the inevitable repercussions. Ruby glanced at the writing. It simply gave an address and the name ‘Goldie’ and a time: 2.30 p.m. The name was familiar. It was someone Ruby had dealt with before.
‘What’s this?’ Ruby said, forgetting her earlier caution.
Lenny curled his fingers around the door handle to leave. ‘It’s a lead. You’re the detective, you work it out.’
‘And if it doesn’t pan out?’ Ruby said, folding up the paper and shoving it in her breast pocket.
‘I told you I’d find her and I will. Goldie’s just a gesture of goodwill; something to keep you out of trouble. And thanks for this, by the way. If you ever want to do business again… ’
Ruby shook her head, swallowing back the bile induced by her betrayal. ‘We’re both getting what we want. Let’s just leave it at that,’ she retorted.
She felt sick in Lenny’s company, and there was no way there was going to be a repeat performance. Ruby pulled away from the kerb as Lenny returned to his car. But she could still smell his scent in the air. It clung to her senses, along with a growing sense of disloyalty. Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel as she drove to the police station. Back to the people she betrayed. But she knew she would get over it. It was collateral damage; the price she had to pay. She could live with her treachery, if it meant catching the killer before they struck again.