THIRTY

We had left Charlotte airport along with the late afternoon commuter traffic and headed out into the countryside to the east of the city along Interstate 85. The built-up area had gradually fallen behind, and when we left the interstate we were soon drifting into a region of scattered housing, white clapboard churches every couple of miles, a few farms, the odd country lodge and golf course and two or three groups of commercial buildings.

It was standard scenery, with the familiar signs for Budweiser, Pepsi, Comfort Inns and Toyota pick-ups. Small-town America, with nothing to disturb the peace and quiet of the trees and pastures. Yet being even this close to the house at Cedar Point Road – and we were nearly a hundred miles away – made me feel twitchy, and I wondered why I’d agreed to come back. Anywhere in the same country as Gus Mekashnik was too close for me.

I’d hired a Toyota 4WD at the airport, using the cash Mekashnik had paid me, backed up by my driver’s licence and passport. The rental clerk had given me a funny look when I’d handed over the sheaf of notes, but on hearing my accent had shrugged me off as being foreign and therefore apt to do strange things like using real money instead of plastic.

Lilly-Mae elected to drive, which she did in what I thought of as a spirited manner. That involved speed and determination and a finger vaguely stuck up to most of the rules of the road.

The house Gus had acquired in a business deal lay at the end of a lane which twisted through a stretch of trees and small, fenced fields. An overgrown track bisected it not far from the house, where a rusted mailbox stood off to one side and a weather beaten pole blocked the way to an adjacent property. If there were any closer neighbours, they would still have needed a car to make a visit.

While not as big as the house where Frank had met his maker, it was still bigger than anything I’d ever lived in. It was ranch-style, with a stone chimney poking out of a slate roof running down almost to ground level on one side, and big picture windows looking out over a couple of acres of wild grass and trees on the other. By the look of it the previous owner hadn’t much liked gardening, leaving everything for nature to do what it did best. It had an oddly ordered wilderness appearance which went well with the house and the surrounding trees and countryside. The only concessions to modern American living were a brick-built barbecue bay to one side and an indoor swimming-pool housed in a long, narrow wood-and-glass extension at the back. It looked deserted, with the same abandoned air I’d felt about the house at Cedar Point Road. On the other hand, I reminded myself, look what I’d found there.

I hoped this was going to be different.

Lilly-Mae unlocked the door and a wave of chilled air swept out to greet us. If there was anyone waiting for us, they were keeping nice and cool while they were at it. While Lilly-Mae saw to the lights and curtains, I took a leisurely look around, peering into four large bedrooms, a den, three bathrooms and a huge kitchen. The whole place was expensively-fitted out and colour co-ordinated – and about as personal as a phone booth. The previous occupant evidently had a leaning towards leather chairs, chunky coffee tables and thick rugs, but they were merely objects in the same room, lacking any kind of harmony.

Close by the kitchen I found a pine door with a strong smell of chlorine coming through. It was unlocked and I gently eased it open with a certain amount of trepidation; the last pool I’d seen had a dead gardener floating in it.

This one was empty, the surface undisturbed, calm and inviting. The air was warm and clammy, and a thin haze of mist hovered just above the surface. It was long and narrow, the kind of pool built by people who want to indulge in some serious swimming every day rather than a lazy splash clutching a can of coke and a burger. A solid pine wall ran down one side, while the other was glassed in, with a view of the trees and the wild garden area. A couple of loungers stood along one edge of the water, while down at the end was an inflated plastic chair with a glass holder in each rounded arm. Maybe the previous owner had had a sense of humour.

I went back to the kitchen where Lilly-Mae was checking the enormous fridge-freezer. It had enough food in it to feed a small regiment for a few days, and meant we wouldn’t have to go out shopping and risk running into someone we didn’t want to meet.

I told Lilly-Mae I had to call Clayton and let him know what had happened. Apart from telling him I was still alive, I was hoping he might have some ideas about how I could get out from all this. With luck it might involve him sending someone large and scare-proof to give Gus a slapping.

The Nokia battery was dead. Lilly-Mae pointed at the phone on the kitchen wall. ‘Use that phone. Just dial out.’

It rang three times before being switched to another line, and I realised I’d called at an unreasonable time. Even Clayton couldn’t spend all his time in the office.

‘Yes?’ His voice sounded guarded.

‘It’s Jake.’

He breathed heavily with what sounded like relief. ‘Thank the Lord for that. You had me worried. Where are you?’

I brought him up to date, without giving him any details about where I was now. Actually, given the tortuous route Lilly-Mae had followed from the airport, I wasn’t sure I could have told him anyway. I was guarded about mentioning finding a dead Frank in the pool, on the grounds that I didn’t know if anyone else might be listening in, but I think he caught on.

‘And Mekashnik told you he checked with me first about you doing the drop to Palm Springs?’

‘Yes. Are you saying he didn’t?’

‘Absolutely he didn’t. I would have advised you against it.’

‘Why? You said he was kosher.’

There was a lengthy pause before he said, ‘That situation appears to have changed. I’m sorry, Jake, but I’ve only just heard some worrying rumours about Mekashnik. That’s why I’m relieved you called. I tried contacting you a short while ago.’

‘My fault,’ I said. ‘I switched off the phone while I was in the air. What kind of rumours?’

‘He’s recently made some unfortunate investments outside the normal parameters of his business after some of his deliveries failed to go according to plan. That means he’s got some bad press and heavy debts, and in his business that’s not good. I’m told he’s had to sell off a large part of his property portfolio, including his office, stock and main warehouse, to recoup his losses and get people off his back.’

‘Would these people be in Colombia?’

If he was surprised that I knew he didn’t show it. ‘Yes, like that. But it gets worse. He’s reported to have been selling black market arms on the dark web, and the Federal authorities are on to him. I’m sorry, Jake, if I’d known beforehand I wouldn’t have allowed you anywhere near him. All I can say is, I’m not the only one taken by surprise. It’s a bad business.’

The hairs on the back of my neck bristled. Federal authorities? Had they been watching the house while I was there? I mentioned it to Clayton but he said probably not.

‘My information is less than twelve hours old,’ he said. ‘They probably haven’t been given the green light yet. Still, that’s by the by. Are you in the clear or do you need help?’

While I’d been talking, Lilly-Mae had come up and slid her arm round my waist, leaning into me to listen. Her closeness suddenly made talking all the more difficult. ‘Actually,’ I lied, ‘I’m fine. I should be back soon.’

‘Good. So why are you in Charlotte with this… Lilly-Mae Breadon person?’

The Lilly-Mae Breadon person in question heard that and gave the phone a sharp look. I placed a hand on her shoulder in case she decided to tell Clayton what she thought. She responded by looking into my face and smiling, then edging closer.

This was the difficult bit. I really wasn’t trying to be heroic in coming back to have a look in the Mekashnik house; I truly did want to help Lilly-Mae. If all it took was a bit of skulking around, that would be it. After that I’d be on the first flight back to England. I explained it to him in brief detail, hinting at the need for a few days’ rest and relaxation to round it off. At that, Lilly-Mae peered at me and fluttered her eyebrows. Up close, I could see a faint pattern of laughter lines at the corner of her eyes, and a trace of wrinkles in the soft skin of her throat. The smell of her was intoxicating.

‘Good idea,’ said Clayton, bringing me back to planet Earth. ‘In fact, coming back here might not be the wisest thing to do right at the moment.’

My stomach hit bottom and bounced. ‘Why? What’s happened?’

‘I had a visit yesterday. A man wanting to know where you were. He said his employer, name of John Lyons, needed to contact you urgently. I told him I really couldn’t divulge that information.’

‘Thank you,’ I said gratefully. It had to have been Basher’s man. ‘I’m sorry, I–’

‘Unfortunately Lyons wasn’t satisfied with that and came round to see me with a friend of his. A large friend.’

Oh, buggeration. ‘Are you all right?’

‘Absolutely. Francis was able to convince them to go away. He likes to keep his hand in whenever he can. He can be very persuasive.’

Francis. The man in the front lobby. He looked capable of persuading a tank to change direction.

‘I’d better come back and sort it out,’ I said shortly. With my face, if Basher had his way. It immediately set me wondering if Marcus was in any danger. I’d better call him and explain.

‘I wouldn’t advise coming back just yet. Let me do some digging and I’ll let you know what to do.’

‘What sort of digging?’

‘Everyone has their secrets. I’m sure this… gentleman has more than a few. If so, Francis will find something to put him off course. Something to make him get over being a cuckold.’

Cuckold. Now there’s a word you don’t hear every day. It didn’t sound odd, though, coming with a plummy accent like Clayton’s, and made Lilly-Mae stifle a giggle with her hand. She also looked at me with what I read as a new appreciation.

‘That’s very kind,’ I said, ‘but it’s not your problem.’ I felt embarrassed. Clayton knowing what I’d got up to with Jane was something I could live with; getting me out of a sticky situation all of my own doing was humiliating. And now Lilly-Mae knew, too.

‘Why not?’ he countered reasonably. ‘You work for me; I need you free of encumbrances. Besides,’ There was the ghost of a chuckle, ‘you’re not the first man to have come unstuck in your situation. It happens all the time.’

‘My situation?’

‘We checked you out when you first came to me. Standard operating procedure. I probably know you better than your wife does. I’ll be in touch.’

I replaced the phone and turned to face Lilly-Mae. She was looking at me with a quizzical expression, her arm still against my waist, and I breathed in her perfume and wondered why she was smiling.

‘So,’ she asked softly. ‘Who’s been a naughty Jake, then?’

‘I can explain,’ I said. But she stopped me by leaning closer and kissing me, her tongue flicking against my lips. My mouth fizzed with static electricity and I felt my knees buckle at the warmth of her breath.

‘Explain later,’ she whispered, and pulled back, patting me on the chest before kissing me briefly again. ‘Come on. We’ll eat first. It’ll be dark by the time we get there.’

‘We’re still going?’ All I could think about was Federal authorities. Surely they’d have the place in lockdown by now.

‘You bet,’ she replied firmly. ‘I need to get my stuff.’

Damn.