Steel and Captains Andrew Tavish and Edwina Wells arrived at the south side of the Dorrington property just before noon. Wells had asked the local authorities to stand down for the first blush and let them determine if the Tatums were there or not. The last thing they wanted was for Tatum to flee before they could get to him or, worse, have gunfire to conclude the chase with the Tatums’ death, playing right into Heaton’s hands. Radios keyed, guns at the ready, they proceeded on foot onto the estate, using the thick line of woods for cover as they scrambled from tree to tree toward the main house.
Steel wondered if Georgia was aware of the present operation. She fought the urge to break from the pack in order to call her, tell her everything. She wanted to impress her, energize her, titillate her with news of the final siege, but she knew a break in ranks would only put Georgia in an awkward position. She understood it would be the wrong thing to do and quickly tried to find another reason to call and to hear her voice—some pertinent excuse to engage in a quick conversation. She wondered, as they passed through the woods, what Georgia was up to right at that moment. What could the minute by minute in her daily life possibly be, a life with so much responsibility, with so much at stake? She tried to think about what she was wearing, what kind of mood she would be in. With each step through the musty forest, she thought deeper about where the road ahead led for herself and that beautiful chancellor.
* * *
AS GEORGIA’S WEEKLY meeting at Treasury ended, Jack Early took her quietly aside in the hallway and told her of a phone call that had come in. It made her heart beat quickly, like a drum. She hustled the whispering Early over to Number 10 and into her new perch in Lassiter’s office, where she quietly closed the door.
“Tell me everything, Early. When did the call come in?”
“Just now, ma’am. He said he needs to speak with you. Says it’s urgent.” Her face flushed. She knew now that every personal or private call she had with Heaton without consent of Darling or the home secretary was a mistake. She knew Heaton well. He would be calling to draw her in, to position her as cover.
“If you do make the call, ma’am, I’d suggest that you record it.” Early seemed to come alive with the tension. Georgia was of an opposite state.
“I don’t know if I can do that, Jack. Surreptitiously recording a call from Heaton—I don’t know if I have it in me. Where will it lead?” She turned to him, sincerely searching for an answer. Early stood mindlessly, scratching at his forehead as he ruminated on a proper reply.
“No, I suppose not. I suppose if we do record it, it’s there to hang in the wind, isn’t it?”
“I should call him back, though. Return the call quickly. If I don’t, he knows full up that Darling and Steel are spikes into him. Do we want him to have that information?” Early agreed. It needed to remain business as usual. She collapsed into Lassiter’s chair as Early dialed.
* * *
“I REALLY JUST wanted to see how you’re holding up, Georgia. None of this could be easy on you. In your position.”
“No, no, thank you for calling, then. It’s all a nightmare, isn’t it? I wake up every morning and still can’t believe it’s the truth.”
“Do you think he’ll make it? In your heart of hearts? Do you, Georgie?” He teased her with a schoolboy’s nickname, reminding her in one snap how deeply the ties between them were laid: all the wins they’d had, the losses, the two silly stabs at sorry sex, the arguments over well-prepared meals. There had been years and miles of motion and emotion between them, and now this, too, all recalled with the simple use of a friendly moniker.
“I don’t know. I really don’t know if he’ll survive. I’m not a doctor, am I?” And with that, she took all hope for a warm call off the table. “What can I do for you, David?” Heaton chuckled. He knew her well enough to discern her hidden meaning.
“You can take it all slow. That’s what you can do, love. Take it all slow. There’s much at stake. Right? Let’s let cooler heads prevail. That’s all I’m asking. Don’t charge anyone up, not until you have a strong handle on how much there is to lose. For everyone.” It wasn’t even a veiled threat. It was an order he was giving her now. She wanted to lash out but knew there was no upside. Let him talk, she thought. Let him keep talking, she decided as she swallowed air, let him be David-charming, David in control. Sly David. Chess player David.
“Someone will hang for this, there’s no doubt, Georgia. The dust will settle. You needn’t worry. Just know this, if it’s me, if I’m to hang, there will be a smile in my heart. I’ll know I was looking out for England, for my country. Do you see? I’ll know I did what was right. Will you be able to say the same?” She let it all rumble on the line, the threat, the intonation, the cocky cackle. She didn’t have it in her to respond to the level of gamesmanship that Heaton wanted to play at.
“I have to go, David. I think it’s best for you not to call again.” She hung up and stared across the desk at Early, who did everything he could not to meet her eye.
* * *
STEEL, TAVISH, AND Wells walked behind the pen and small feed house that comprised the dog compound. The animals thrashed violently at the fence as they passed. Steel felt her knees wobble.
“I hate dogs. Always have,” she confessed to Wells, a known dog lover.
“How could you hate dogs, Davina? What’s there to hate? Look at them, poor things, they’re just hungry.” Tavish wasn’t as sympathetic.
“Those are vicious dogs. Cane Corsos. And they do look hungry. And angry. They’re actually very rare in Britain. They have the most bite force of any breed. Jaws like sharks.” He looked gravely at Steel before a sly grin pulled at the corner of his mouth.
“Seriously, Davina, if any dogs were to give you the willies, these are the ones to get them from. They are trouble. Just look at them.” He tossed a stone at the fence. The dogs charged and gnashed, hatefully barking at them all. Tavish, in his early thirties, a tall, lean ginger with a handsome baby face, had a good flirty laugh at Davina’s expense.
They tucked behind a nearby tree when they heard a car roll from behind the main house. A new Mercedes parked on the other side of a grassy hill and its occupants disembarked. Harris and Peet, the latter still with his arm slung and shoulder bandaged. Two younger men accompanied them. Steel hadn’t seen them before. They seemed to have the same affectless disposition common to all of Heaton’s paid guns. Under cover of the cacophony of canine howls, the four men headed past the manor home into another clump of trees, sneaking to the lower area of the estate. It was obvious they weren’t making a social call.
The three investigators decided to split up, hoping to flank and contain Heaton’s team. Steel tried to ignore the baying dogs and stay focused. She flipped off her gun’s safety and chambered a round. She sensed in her bones that things were about to go from bad to rotten.