FORTY-EIGHT

Joshua was back in his hotel chair as the clock approached 9 a.m. With the new handset’s battery plugged into the mains socket, the touchscreen came to life. He punched in Stanton’s new number and waited for the ringtone.

A single ring. Same as always.

‘Punctual as always, Sergeant. It’s a pity you haven’t been so reliable in the rest of our dealings.’

‘As much a pity as your failure to keep me informed of the necessary details.’ Joshua would not let the barbed comment pass. ‘But that’s not helping, is it? What do you want?’

‘I want you on the next plane to Belfast. Michael Devlin and the reporter are both in the city. I want them dealt with once and for all. Do this and you have my word that our relationship is at an end.’

Joshua was surprised by the lack of any threat in Stanton’s instructions. He tried not to show it.

‘Do you have any idea where I’ll find them? It’s not that small a place.’

‘At the moment I don’t, but that will change. And you were right about Michael Devlin. He does seem to be rather more than I had realised.’

‘Why the change of heart? I thought you said he was “just a lawyer”.’

‘Not that it’s important, but events have placed things in a different light. Mr Devlin holding his own against you was one thing. That could have been luck. Or a bad day at the office.’

Joshua baulked at the insinuation. But still he held his tongue.

Stanton continued.

‘But hours later Devlin encountered two more of my people. Good men. One of them is now in intensive care with a hole where his face should be. The other is in a morgue. Any man who comes up against the three of you in twenty-four hours and walks away needs closer attention. I intend to give him that.’

Joshua processed the information. It caused a number of different emotions. First among them was relief, that his talents had not deteriorated as much as he had feared. Two other professionals had taken a beating at Devlin’s hands. One of them fatal. That lessened Joshua’s failure.

But the news also raised the stakes. Joshua could feel himself being pulled towards a final reckoning.

‘You’re clear that this is it for me? I kill Devlin and Truman, plus whatever loose ends they raise in Belfast, and I walk away?’

‘Yes.’

‘I won’t find that I have to deal with the Lawrence family too? And God knows what else?’

‘I’ve told you that you have my word, Sergeant.’

Stanton was becoming impatient. No effort was made to hide it.

‘Let me worry about what I have to deal with. You just take care of Devlin and Truman and you’re free.’

‘I won’t fail.’ Joshua spoke through gritted teeth. He hated his predicament. ‘Just get me the information I need and I’ll wait for your call in Belfast.’

‘One more thing, Sergeant.’ It was Stanton’s turn to keep the line alive. ‘You should also know that Joe Dempsey has complicated things.’

The name made the temperature of Joshua’s blood drop.

‘In what way?’

‘In that you were right about him, too. He seems to have come much closer to the truth than I’d anticipated. To the extent that he obtained my telephone number and spoke to me directly.’

If Stanton had been speaking about any other man then Joshua would have dismissed it as a lie. A manipulation. But Joe Dempsey?

Yeah. I can believe that, he thought. And it explains the panic over the phone.

‘What did he say?’

‘That’s unimportant. What matters is the fact that he reached me. It means that he has achieved much in a very short time. The man is highly motivated, uniquely talented and he intends to stop us. So you need to be prepared for his intervention.’

‘Just prepared? Wouldn’t it be safer to take the fight to him? Before he causes any more trouble?’

‘Not at this stage,’ Stanton replied. ‘The last thing we want is to bring that man any closer to us than he already is. If we can keep him at bay, we keep him at bay.’

Joshua listened to every word. He assessed both the content of what was said and the underlying message. The latter was simple. Despite the impression Stanton was trying to give, he was a frightened man.

‘Understood?’ Stanton finally asked.

‘Understood.’

Joshua disconnected the line without another word.

He lay back on the bed and considered what he had been told. The room’s panoramic window offered a stunning daytime view, but Joshua saw only his own thoughts. As his mind ran through Stanton’s words he allowed himself a wry smile.

This thing now had only one ending. Joe Dempsey was involved, which meant only one of them would finish this alive. It was impossible to tell who it would be but at least one thing was certain: regardless of which one survived, Stanton would not live to see the fruits of his endeavours.