‘Don Roberts has got him,’ Jack said, as he drove too quickly through the town centre.
‘What do you mean, got him?’
‘I’ve spoken to Emma, Shane’s birth mother. She saw Don and two of his men dragging Simon Abbott away.’
‘We don’t think it’s Simon Abbott,’ she said.
‘Why not?’
‘Because I’m in Shane’s home, looking at a wardrobe filled with Abbott’s uniforms. It looked like Shane used Abbott’s name as a cover when he spoke to Emma, so that he could hear her story. But Shane worked for the police as a driver.’
‘So they’ve got Shane?’
‘He’s not here, and so I’d guess so.’
‘How long have you known about Shane?’ Jack said.
‘What do you mean?’
He stopped speaking as he came to a junction. He wasn’t really sure what he was looking for. Emma had only given him a general description, because she couldn’t remember the street, just the area. So he had driven along rows of houses, the streets lined by cars, and now the bright pub lights were in front of him, glittering beneath the brooding shadow of the viaduct in the distance, the route for the trains that snaked through the hills and connected all the old cotton towns.
‘How many people have seen him today?’ Jack said.
‘Me, and Rachel,’ she said.
‘And how long have you known the full story?’
‘Minutes ago.’
‘So Don knew before you worked it out, and I can guess that you didn’t tell Don Roberts,’ Jack said. ‘So who else could have told him?’
Laura didn’t answer for a few seconds, and then she said, ‘I’ll speak later,’ before the phone went quiet.
Jack threw his phone onto the passenger seat and carried on with his drive through the town centre again, once more on the one-way loop, trying to spot a building that was different from the pubs, clubs and takeaways, peering through the groups of short-sleeve muscle and tight white skirts. The town centre petered out eventually into industrial units and derelict back streets, the shadows filled by women who traded themselves at night, their skirts high, small glittery bags slung over their shoulders.
He had driven two circuits already, and guessed that he’d been spotted by the police who looked out for kerb crawlers, but he kept on driving. Then he saw it: David Hoyle’s car.
Jack almost missed it. It was parked in the shadows of a high brick wall, away from the streetlights, but he spotted the chrome spokes, just catching enough of a gleam. As he drove towards it, his headlights caught a sign: DR Security.
The night went quiet when he turned off the engine.
‘Don’s got him,’ Laura said to Carson. Emma saw Don take him.
‘How would Don know?’
‘Rachel.’
Carson looked over, scowling. ‘What are you saying?’
‘She got nearer than I did. Really close. How else would Don find out?’
‘You need to be absolutely sure, McGanity, before you accuse her.’
‘It fits,’ she said. ‘Shane is snatched around the same time Rachel left hospital, after all this time looking for him. Bit of a coincidence, don’t you think? Once Don had a name and an occupation, it wouldn’t take him long to find him.’
‘Let’s go ask her,’ Carson said. ‘It’s on the way to Don’s house, and I’m being sent the wrong way by some pisshead related to the killer.’
Laura followed him outside and jumped into the car, and then she gripped the door handle as Carson accelerated away.
Laura watched the houses flash by, tall Victorian rows, with stone-framed bay windows and stained glass above the front doors, most divided up into bedsits and dole flats. Carson braked hard for a speed camera, the bright yellow box catching the glare from his headlight, making a small crowd of young men clustered by a lamppost look up startled. From the way they quickly walked separate ways, their hands back in their pockets, Laura knew that a street deal had just been thwarted, although there would be a reunion as soon as Carson was out of sight. Darkness brought out the night rats. A job for someone else on a different day.
Carson turned into a steep terraced street as a short cut, the hill so sharp that the houses looked like they were leaning against each other for support, clinging onto the slope. Laura’s feet dug into the mat, phantom-braking as the car raced towards the junction at the bottom. The lights were still showing red, but they started to change just as they got closer. There was just the first flicker of a green light as Carson flew through, brightened by the orange flicker of sparks as the exhaust caught the tarmac and the hill bottomed out.
Laura knew they weren’t far away, some of the landmarks were familiar now, as the terraced strips gave way to the gentle curves and leaves of suburbia, and then Carson swung into the bright new boxes of Joe’s estate before coming to a halt behind Joe’s car.
‘You better do the talking,’ Carson said. ‘It’s time for a gentle touch.’
The front door opened before Laura could get there, Joe Kinsella blocking her way.
‘How is she?’ Laura said.
Joe shook his head. ‘Not good. And I know why you’re here. You want her to be examined for forensics, but she won’t go, and I’m not going to make her.’
‘Why won’t she go?’
‘Right now, she’s embarrassed, violated, and doesn’t want to think of her intimate examination being read by her colleagues,’ Joe said. Laura was about to say something, but Joe held up his hand. ‘I know what you’re thinking, that she has nothing to hide, but that’s how she feels right now.’
Laura nodded and sighed. ‘I understand, but that isn’t why we are here, and it’s not just a get well visit.’
Joe looked confused. ‘What do you mean?’
‘We think we know who Rachel’s attacker is,’ she said. ‘A police driver called Peter Williams, although he is really Shane.’
Joe’s mouth opened in surprise, and then he looked down, and Laura could almost see the thoughts racing through his mind. Then he looked up.
‘Of course, it makes sense,’ he said, his eyes wide. ‘Not a low-ranking police officer, but someone who floats around the police station, overhearing stuff, the person you never notice coming into the room. Mr Invisible. So have you got him?’
Laura grimaced. ‘That’s why we need to speak to Rachel.’
‘What do you mean?’
Laura reached out to Joe and placed her hand on his. ‘Joe, I’m sorry, but I think Rachel knows who her attacker is. I think she recognised him.’
Joe shook his head. ‘She would have told someone.’
‘She already has,’ Laura said. ‘Don Roberts.’
Joe looked surprised at that. ‘Why would she do that?’
‘Revenge, Joe. She knows what Don Roberts will do to him, and we think Don has already got him. I identified him from the footage when Doctor Barker came to the station, and no one could have leaked it so soon. So the only way Don could have known is if Rachel told him.’
Joe’s look darkened, and he glanced into the house. ‘She wouldn’t do that. She’s a cop, she knows the rules.’
‘She’s also hurting,’ Laura said softly. ‘Let me speak to her, just to check.’
Joe looked like he was going to object, but Laura saw in his eyes an acceptance that what she had said made some sense. He gave the door a push and then stepped to one side.
The house was in darkness when Laura went in. The curtains were drawn, and whatever light there was came from the flicker of a small candle on a table in the corner of the room.
Rachel was sleeping on the sofa, or so it seemed. She was wrapped up in a blanket, her blonde hair fanning out over the edge of the cushion.
‘Rachel? Hi, it’s me. How are you?’
Rachel turned over so that she could see Laura, and then began to sit up.
‘No, please don’t get up,’ Laura said, her voice soft and low. As Rachel’s face caught the glow of the candle, Laura thought her eyes looked swollen and puffy from crying.
Rachel settled back down and then turned to look at Laura.
‘I’m not ill or anything,’ she said. ‘I’ve just taken a shock, that’s all.’
‘It’s not a sign of weakness,’ Laura said.
‘That’s how some will see it.’
‘Not the ones that matter,’ Laura said. ‘Take some time, make yourself right.’ When Rachel didn’t respond, Laura said, ‘We know who it is.’
Rachel stayed still for a moment, and then she looked at Laura. ‘Who is it?’
‘A police driver called Peter Williams,’ Laura replied, watching Rachel carefully. There was no look of surprise, and Laura thought she saw something else. Relief? ‘But you know that already, don’t you?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘We think Don Roberts has taken him. We don’t know where, but we need to find him before he kills him.’
Rachel took a deep breath, and then said, ‘I hope you fail.’
‘You told Don, didn’t you?’ Laura said.
Rachel stared at her, but Laura didn’t blink, didn’t waver, and then Rachel looked away, drawing the blanket around her shoulders.
Laura reached out and put her hand on Rachel, but it was shrugged off.
Joe appeared in the doorway, just a silhouette against the light shining in from outside. Laura nodded at him, by way of confirmation of what she had found out, before she headed for the car. Joe didn’t look at her as she went past.
Carson followed Laura outside, and when they were in the car, Laura nodded and then looked away.
Carson banged the steering wheel in anger and then simmered for a few seconds, before he snapped, ‘We need to find Roberts.’
Laura thought she saw Joe looking out of the window as Carson sped off.