The journey to the marina didn’t take long, the town-centre traffic gone. They were in Jayne’s car, the rattle of her exhaust loud as they pulled into the garden centre car park. It was deserted. There was a lone floodlight over the marina.
Dan leaned forward to look through the windscreen. ‘I can’t see Bill’s car.’
She pulled alongside the fence and they both got out to peer through. The marina was empty, apart from an old man working on a boat further away. Jayne banged on the gate to get the man’s attention.
He looked up before going back to whatever he’d been doing.
‘Hey! Hey!’ The gate clanged as Jayne pulled on it.
The old man ignored her for a few seconds, so Jayne said, ‘We haven’t got time to wait,’ and began to clamber up it, trying to get her foot onto the security lock so that she could hoist herself over it, despite the roll of razor wire at the top.
‘Jayne, what the hell?’
‘You’ve been buttoned up in your suit for too long.’
She was about to try to haul herself upwards when the old man shouted, ‘Get down.’
‘Let me in. It’s urgent.’
The old man put down whatever he’d been holding and started a slow walk to the gate.
Jayne banged it again. ‘Hurry up, come on.’
‘Calm down. I’m slower than I used to be.’
Jayne hopped off the gate and paced.
As he reached the gate, he glared at both of them. ‘What’s so urgent?’
‘I’m looking for a man who was watching this place earlier this evening?’
‘Why would anyone be watching it?’
‘He just was. Older guy, tall, thin, in a silver Fiesta.’
The man looked to the car park. ‘I remember him, but I don’t see a silver car. He must have left.’
Dan stepped forward. ‘Have you been here all night?’
‘Most of it. I had to go for some more paint, and I went home for some food, so I’ve been away a couple of hours.’
‘Is Sean Martin’s boat here?’
‘Now, what kind of interest would you have in his boat?’
‘I need to know, that’s all. Can’t you tell me? Please.’
The old man looked around the marina before shaking his head. ‘Looks like it’s gone out, but people like to go sailing at night. It’s peaceful.’
Dan and Jayne turned away.
Jayne put her hands on her hips and shook her head. ‘I’m worried. I know what you’ll say but I can’t help it.’
She tried Bill’s number again. It went straight to voicemail.
Bill roared in pain as someone grabbed the rope that bound his wrists. It was Sean, he could tell from his grunts of exertion as he dragged him along the floor. His shirt rode up and loose dirt rubbed against his back.
Sean shoved him into the corner of the cellar. Bill tried to put his head against the floor, to somehow take away the pain, but Sean yanked him up by his shirt collar. He cried out, the agony blinding, as if he’d jarred and banged every part of his body on the way down the stairs.
His mouth hung open as he sucked in air. There was someone in front of him. At first, he thought it was Sean, but the breaths against his face were fresher, the grip lighter.
‘Just let me go. Please.’ The words came between gulps.
Before anyone could respond, the cellar was filled with light.
Bill looked away, squinting. It was a spotlight or a bright torch.
Trudy was kneeling in front of him. Sean was pacing on the other side of the beam, his footsteps loud crunches in the dirt, but Trudy was more poised. ‘I hope you’re not going to do anything stupid.’
‘I just want you to let me go.’
Trudy turned towards where Sean had been pacing. ‘What shall we do?’
Sean stepped away from the lamp. ‘Kill him, of course.’
Trudy considered that for a moment, and then she shook her head. ‘No, not yet.’
‘Why? What purpose does he serve?’
‘We’ve no idea what we’re walking into when we go to court tomorrow.’
‘There’s no we in this.’
‘What the hell do you mean by that? They’ll expect me there too.’
‘And they’ll separate us and pick holes in our stories. If I go there on my own, there will be no inconsistencies, and if the jury believes me, you’re in the clear too.’
Trudy thought about that. ‘That might not stop the police. We need a bargaining chip.’ She pointed to Bill. ‘That’s him.’
‘A hostage? The police won’t let us go just because he’s locked up in here.’
‘I’m not thinking of the police. Who’s behind all of this? It isn’t the police. It’s Dan Grant. If we threaten Dan, it might stop him from having a go at you in court. If he pulls his punches, he’ll lose his argument and we can go back to living our lives.’
‘He’ll know about us though, and he won’t let us carry on. He’ll keep coming after us.’
‘Do you really think he’ll say anything if it works?’ Trudy said. ‘The lawyer who sold his client out? The lawyer who didn’t tell the police about someone being kidnapped? No, like most lawyers, he’ll look at ways to weasel out of it, because it’s what lawyers do, and pretending he didn’t know is the easiest way.’
‘If you’re sure it’ll work.’
‘We’re a bit short on options right now. We’ll deal with tomorrow and then work out the next move. For now, though, he’s better alive than dead.’
‘We could use him as a distraction. Let the police look for him and we might be able to run.’
‘Where to?’
‘Does it matter? I’m not going back to prison. I don’t care where we go, as long as we’re together.’
‘We’re not Bonnie and Clyde.’
‘And we’re not Brady and Hindley either. We need a plan though. We’ve always planned. We’re good together, a team, but this time you’ve messed up. This is too rushed.’
Trudy’s voice lowered. ‘I’ve messed up?’
‘You could have let him leave. You didn’t have to hit him.’
‘What’s done is done. We’ve got to deal with tomorrow. We’re not going to prison. No one will ever separate us again.’
Bill coughed and gasped. ‘They’ll discover you. I’ve got things at home, research through the years. I told people I was going to the marina. They’ll start looking if you don’t let me go.’
Trudy’s jaw clenched as she turned to Sean. ‘What did you do with his car keys?’
‘I threw them. I didn’t want to be caught with them.’
Trudy stood in front of Bill and slapped him across the cheek. The crack was loud in the bare space. ‘What do you know about tomorrow?’
Bill let his head hang down, exhausted. ‘That’s up to Dan Grant, you know that.’
‘But you know what Dan knows. What can Sean expect from the witness box?’
Bill took a deep breath and braced himself for another blow. ‘I’m not telling you.’
Sean stepped forwards, hands on hips. ‘What Peter says and what can be proved are two different things.’
‘We need to know first.’
Bill grimaced. He thought about what he could say, because all that mattered was staying alive. ‘He’s blaming you. Don’t you know that?’
Sean and Trudy exchanged glances before Sean said, ‘We know that much.’
Bill tried to clear his mind. Staying alert was the key to getting through this. ‘He’s going to link a number of missing people to you. Claire Watkins for one. Rosie too. Whatever Peter knows, he said it in court today.’
Sean put his hands out. ‘Were you there?’
Bill shook his head. ‘I helped Dan though. He’s got all the information I’ve gleaned over the years.’
‘And that’s it?’
He nodded.
‘Why were you at the marina then, if that’s all there is?’
‘Because I had to know. My son was killed by the canal. This thing has eaten me up!’
‘What have you found out?’
‘Just a list of names. People who’ve been murdered near or by the canal. I had no suspects. I spoke to Dan Grant and he was interested. This was all his idea, not mine, I just want to know what happened to my son.’ Tears ran down his cheeks. ‘Just let me go, please. I won’t say anything.’
Trudy bent down in front of Bill. ‘That’s why you’ve messed up,’ she said. ‘We had nothing to worry about. But now? Now we have everything to worry about because of you.’ She swung out wildly, hitting Bill’s face again with a loud smack. She turned to Sean. ‘He’s going to die. Just not yet. I want to know more about what he knows, and what Dan Grant thinks he can prove. Get it from him.’
Sean nodded his agreement and went past Trudy. As he looked down at Bill, he grinned.