‘I don’t believe it,’ Ben said as he dived into the front of the car. ‘I guess God really does answer prayers.’
Alice hadn’t taken her eyes from the rear-view mirror, urging the police officer in the high-vis vest not to notice that she’d pulled over on the slip road to allow Ben to leap in.
‘What are the two of you doing here?’ Ben asked, as he struggled to wrap the seatbelt around him.
Alice didn’t respond, allowing the next car to pass before pulling back onto the slip road. Her eyes didn’t leave the high-vis jacket until they’d rejoined the carriageway.
‘Babe?’ Ben said, remaining low in the seat. ‘I’ve never been so relieved to see anyone in my life. You’re a lifesaver, you truly are.’
Alice allowed herself to breathe again as the slip road and police officer disappeared from view. ‘What the bloody hell is going on, Ben? Don’t give me any of your usual bullsh—’ but she stopped herself from swearing just in time. ‘Don’t lie to me. I know you were with Dave and I saw his car back at those services. You’d better give me a bloody good explanation, or I’m turning around and driving you back there myself!’
Checking the services were now out of sight, Ben pulled out his mobile phone and a set of headphones and passed them back to Isabella. ‘You like Disney films?’
The little girl nodded nervously.
Ben smiled to put her at ease. ‘Me too! My favourite is The Jungle Book, and I’ve got a copy on my phone. You want to watch it?’
Isabella’s eyes widened with excitement and she pushed the buds into her ears as Ben started the video. He waited until bright colours filled the screen before facing Alice. ‘I had no idea the police would be there. Did you see Dave? Do you know if he managed to get away?’
She glared harder. ‘Away from what?’
Ben lifted his hands in surrender. ‘Okay, okay, I’ll tell you everything, but just bear in mind, I didn’t know about any of this until Dave rocked up at the house this afternoon. If I’d known, I’d have done something to stop it. I swear on my life I had no idea what Dave and Scott had been up to.’
She shuddered at the mention of her stepbrother’s name. ‘What exactly have Scott and Dave been up to?’
‘Obviously, you know why Scott was arrested at the airport,’ he said, studying a bloody gash in his hand, presumably from when he’d been climbing through the trees to reach the slip road. ‘It has something to do with a bit of business he and Dave were conducting behind our backs.’
‘My brother isn’t a druggie,’ she fired back dismissively. ‘Whatever your best mate has got him mixed up in is not his fault.’
‘That’s precisely where you’re wrong, babe – it’s all Scott’s fault.’ He paused, clearly searching for a way to soften the blow. ‘Scott has been taking performance-enhancing drugs since his last accident. I knew nothing about it, but apparently he’s become quite the addict – according to Dave anyway. With this big race coming up, Scott approached Dave and asked him to help find a new supplier. Apparently the regular guy he’d dealt with was arrested last month, and Scott couldn’t handle going cold turkey with such a vital race on the horizon.
‘Dave is the sort of person who knows people, and after some discussion, Dave agreed to set up a meeting between Scott and someone based near Ringwood. Scott was planning to meet with him the night of the stag do. According to Dave, Scott leaving the party had little to do with him wanting to get home and rest. I never realized it at the time, but looking back on it, he was quite jumpy, and knocking back energy drinks like they were going out of fashion.’
Alice watched Ben’s eyes, allowing him to speak without interruption, all the time searching his face for any sign of deceit, but there was nothing. He was staring at her eyes, and didn’t once look away or make any unnatural movements. He couldn’t be telling the truth, but she had no doubt that he meant every word he said.
‘So apparently, Dave had set up the meeting, and Scott left in order to meet the guy and hand over the cash for whatever it was he was after. Because the new supplier didn’t know Scott’s face, he got a bit jumpy, questioning whether Scott was an undercover narc. Turns out, Scott was pretty jumpy too, and pulled out a gun. Now God only knows where he laid his hands on the weapon – Dave swears it was nothing to do with him – but a melee broke out between Scott and this dealer and ended with the gun going off. The bullet grazed the dealer and in blind panic, Scott raced away from the scene and phoned Dave to help him. While the others chained me to that lamppost, Dave snuck away to meet with Scott and told him to go home and let him sort out the mess.’
Alice glanced at Isabella’s reflection, relieved that her attention was focused on the talking animals on screen.
‘Anyway,’ Ben continued, ‘Dave returned with the others and a fresh supply of booze, and they eventually untied me. I was fast asleep by this point, absolutely wasted, and I had no idea what had gone on between Scott and Dave. The following morning Dave went and met with the dealer to try and smooth things over. Scott was really struggling at this point, barely able to walk straight apparently, and Dave tried to do what he could to sort out a supply for him. The dealer was angry about what had happened and the only way he would help out Scott was if he did something in return to prove he wasn’t police. Which is how the block of coke wound up in Scott’s bag. The trade-off was for Scott to take the package to one of the dealer’s contacts in Zurich. When that all went tits up this morning, Dave came over in a panic, convinced Scott would break his silence and tell the Swiss police everything. If he did that, it would then implicate Dave and the rest of the stag party who never told the local cops that Dave’s whereabouts were unknown for the best part of an hour that night.’
Alice knew how badly Scott had taken his last injury layoff, and had been so proud to see how well he’d managed to recover, but now she felt sick to know that he’d cheated his way back into contention. Why hadn’t he reached out to her?
‘Why did Dave drag you to Ringwood, and why were you running from the police?’
‘As far as that dealer was concerned – the one Scott grazed – he’d now lost his bag of coke and wouldn’t get his money, which meant he would seek any means of getting the money back, including threatening your life. Dave was heading to meet him to settle the payment, and everything seemed fine. We initially drove way past the services, looking for any sign of police, and then we headed back, pulling in and parking up. We must have been there for five minutes when the dealer arrived. Dave got out of the car to meet him, while I stayed put. I saw them head away from the restaurant towards the petrol station, but as Dave handed over the bag of money, the whole place erupted with cops. Blue lights raced in from all directions, and officers armed with weapons swarmed the car park. I panicked, and after what happened the other day, I jumped out of the car and ran anywhere I could to get away from them. Given my recent run-in with the law I knew they’d hold me and accuse me of collaborating and I couldn’t stand the thought of phoning you to say I’d been arrested again. Especially when it had nothing to do with me. I was hidden in those trees for what felt like a lifetime, half‑expecting one of them to find me. Then when I spotted your car I thought I was hallucinating or something. I mean, if you hadn’t come along I’d probably be in the back of one of their vans now.’
He broke off, and thick lines penetrated his brow. ‘Speaking of which, you still haven’t told me what the two of you were doing at Burley services. When I left, you were both in the pool.’
She wasn’t prepared to give him the satisfaction of the truth. ‘Just be grateful that I was passing.’
He knew better than to challenge her when she was in this kind of mood, and she was glad of the silence as they continued the journey home. Was that what Scott had wanted to tell her over the phone? Nearing the exit, she couldn’t ignore the growing list of questions.
‘How did the police know Dave would be at Burley services?’
Ben shrugged. ‘I can only assume they were following the dealer. I think we were unfortunate to get caught in the crossfire.’
‘Did anyone see you in Dave’s car before you made it to the trees?’
‘I don’t think so, but I guess time will tell. Hopefully not.’
‘If Dave is arrested, will he drop you in it?’
‘Dave’s not a grass. He has my back, I have no doubt.’
Alice could only hope Ben’s faith in his best friend wasn’t misplaced. As the next services loomed, Alice pulled off the road, heading for the drive-thru.