A borough in the north-east of London, Hackney’s southern tip touched down just a mile away from the Thames. The Slum Clearance of 1931 had impacted heavily on business, so that by the 1980s, the borough population hit an all-time low. The later de-urbanisation and proximity to some of London’s finest had worked its magic since, Hackney now having one of the more dense populations. The likes of Hackney Empire theatre had a fine record of appearances: Charlie Chaplin... Stan Laurel... and the Broadway Market that ran every weekend attracted some of the finest food-lovers.
Growing up in the 80s and beyond, it would have been a good place to be.
Oswald Street itself offered complete conflict to the space of the nearby marshes, cramming rows of flats on the one side that crowded and curved into a dead-end street, whilst the other was packed full of two and three bedroom houses. The latter would fetch a humble £295,000 on the market, and for London, that was incredibly humble. It left the street just as chaotic when it came to parking, and it took several mumbled apologies off Jan before Gray managed to weave his way into a space.
Jan lived at number six, just past Meandor Court. He hadn’t always lived here; some of his childhood was spent on a council street, and this was a definitive step up from the spit and sawdust homes that the government had owned back in the 80s. Gray had been here before when he’d questioned Mrs Richards whilst both Jan and Jack had been in hospital. But he let Jan lead, Jack loitering behind with him as they passed a wall to their left that would take them to Jan’s. An L-shaped half-wall helped guide them into the 4x4 concrete yard and the offer of a pencil-thin two-bedroom home.
Jack offered a secret grin when Jan used the door chime, then his key, a polite knock, then a call of “Hey, Mom, just us,” following close behind.
“Soft lad,” coughed Jack behind his hand and Jan glanced back as he pushed the door open.
“You arranged to go around for dinner with your dad yet, Jack?” Jan whispered just as quickly.
“Yeah, stop, the pair of you. It’s only—Mrs Richards, good to meet you again.”
“Kate,” said the woman peering out from the kitchen. Jan carried her dark-brown eye colouring, its warmth too as Kate came down the hall, wiping her hands on a towel. “Jan said you were coming and I’ve put some tea on,” she added in between getting on tiptoes to kiss at Jan’s cheek. “You—” She stopped when she saw Jan. “What?” The lines on her face changed shape so many times. “What’s wrong, luv? You look... look—”
“Bad few nights’ sleep.” Jan kissed at her cheek. “Few nightmares, faced realities, and something I shouldn’t have been taking.”
Kate pushed Jan away. “What?”
“Long story, Mom.” Jan pulled her back. “I’ll tell you over a coffee, just not now, okay?”
Kate’s look was on Gray as she tiptoed and returned Jan’s hold. “You know I’m here, luv.”
“Always.” Jan made his hold a little tighter and Kate relaxed. Jan hadn’t been doing that a lot lately. Jack and Gray hadn’t been the only ones to notice.
“Mr Raoul.” She held out a hand when she let Jan go.
“Gray,” he said gently, welcoming the offering, and Kate burned a blush, enough to take a step back and—
“Oh, Gray. Yes. Jan keeps mentioning you. And this—” She cleared her throat. “This must be....”
“Jack.”
“Jack.” Kate frowned for a moment, but it was lost as Jack went all in and kissed her cheek. “Tea’s this way, right? Although I like coffee better.”
Kate laughed and gave a graceful shift of hand towards the kitchen. “Jan already warned me. Coffee’s on too, Jack.”
“Jan say much about me? Only whatever it was, he did it.”
Jan pushed at Jack’s shoulder and Kate smiled as they headed for the kitchen. Gray had been in the lounge last time. An offer of tea had come then but Gray hadn’t felt comfortable accepting it, not whilst he was doing background checks on Jan after Jan had been raped. He didn’t know how much Jan had told Kate since then, but they were close in general, and he hoped Jan had her to talk to whilst Jack had been sectioned. From her frown at Jack when they’d been introduced, something had been mentioned.
“You’ve just missed Lacey,” said Kate as she busied herself by the peculator. Four mugs sat beside each other and she added sugars without asking. No doubt Jan had already warned in advance.
Jack and Gray pulled out seats at the dining table. It sat next to the one wall, whilst the other had a run of matching units. Almost seemed a quiet acceptance between the two, that I’ll eat whatever you cook, comfortable feel. Gray had grown up with a formal dining room set aside from the kitchen. It’s why he had made sure there was a table given pride of place in his kitchen now. He loved the anticipation of a meal almost as much as tasting it.
Jack smiled over at him, and Gray gave that a second thought. Maybe it wasn’t so much the where, but the who. He loved how the foods and spices always seeped into Jack’s skin.
“How’s she doing?” said Jan, drawing his and Jack’s attention. Jan was by the patio doors, looking out. “Megan’s first term at nursery, right?”
“Oh God, yes.” Kate brought their drinks over, then handed Jan his. “She hasn’t stopped crying yet.”
Jan took the coffee. “Megan?”
“Lacey.”
Jan laughed. “So her and Steph are haunting you through the day?”
“Just for a few hours before I go to work.”
“Apologies,” said Gray, looking at the time. Kate was due at the supermarket in an hour. She’d been moved up to manager, but he doubted her area manager would appreciate her flouting office hours.
“No rush,” she said gently, now coming over and taking a seat next to him. She’d bypassed the one by Jack, but it meant she could no doubt keep an eye on Jan. Smart, tight-fitting black trousers shaped her legs, and a snug waistcoat with name tag complemented her white shirt.
“So, you’ve been seeing my son for a year, Jack,” she said, that frown back on her face. “Why has it taken you this long to come and say hi?”
Jack nearly choked on his coffee, then managed to wipe his mouth and rest his mug down before doing more damage. “I... I—”
“Leave him alone, Mom,” Jan was grinning behind his cup. “She knows about your OCD and social issues, Jack. Take no notice.”
Jack managed a weak smile, then thumbed back at Jan. “He tell you any good stuff?”
“Yes,” she said, winking over at Jan. “Mostly about this other man that he’s seeing too.”
Gray blushed, almost, but it didn’t go unnoticed by Jack.
“Well, he didn’t mention Gray’s name, per se,” said Kate, “but I think I know who now.”
“Stripped down in two seconds flat,” said Jack. “Oh you’re good,” he said to Kate.
There was that avoidance to look at Jack again. “Jan said you had some more questions for me, Gray. Can I save you by getting back to business?”
“Oh most definitely.” He liked her, and he hoped with every instinct she was one of the good guys. He’d hate to have to interrogate her. But he would. “You had a substantial payout from your husband’s death,” he said eventually. “From a government insurance company.”
She looked at Jan, then briefly at Jack, then frowned again at Jan. “Yes.” Voice was a little different too. More guarded, slower, flatter in tonicity with only one word snapped out.
“Recent investigations show that the company who dealt with you doesn’t exist.”
“Oh...” She held Gray’s gaze. “Oh. Then why—”
“The money came from an offshore account belonging to a man who doesn’t exist either.”
She cast a look at Jan. “I know. I did it.”
“Sorry?” said Gray. Jack kept focus on his coffee.
“I mean, I know,” Kate said gently. “It came from my husband’s... funds.” She frowned again, this time dropping her gaze. “I set the account up with funds from that. It wouldn’t—”
“Mom—”
“So it wouldn’t look suspicious.”
“Mom.”
“Jan, Jan, it’s okay, honey. And I’m sorry.” She nodded, wiping away a tear. “I’m sorry, okay.”
Gray sighed and wiped a hand over his face. “I’m going to ask another question, Kate, and understanding how I know it was Jan that set up the offshore account, I’ll give you one chance to answer honestly. If you do, I’ll forget about any misinformation you’ve just given me.”
Kate tried to stand, to go to Jan, but Gray’s gentle touch kept her where he needed her to stay.
“How did you know about your husband’s money, and, from the look of it, Jan’s fraud?”
Kate wiped at her cheek again, once, twice, her other hand gripping her mug hard enough to break it. “Twelve years ago, I was told about the money.” She let out a snort. “By his... so-called friends.”
Jan came over and pulled the chair close to Kate. “Mom?”
She looked at him. “After I was... told, I found the paperwork to his first accounts here. It was... was a lot of money, Jan. How we used to struggle... that was so much money.”
“You took over it?” asked Gray.
“I couldn’t risk withdrawing any.” The fear in her eyes said just that. “So I kept it secret, thinking a good few years out of mind and sight would give me the safety I needed. So I didn’t touch it. I waited. Then...” She shrugged. “When I thought it was safe, the money was gone.”
Jan couldn’t hold her gaze, but then neither could she hold his.
“You knew it was me?”
“Such a clever lad with numbers, Jan.” A tear fell as she touched his leg. “But the insurance company was the biggest giveaway. Neil... he wasn’t worth that much. They wouldn’t pay out that much compensation to a guilty man. He died where he should have done.”
“But you knew?”
“Yeah, I knew.” She gave a smile. “You managed to take care of us, and after missing meals and fighting rats sometimes for scraps, you deserved to look after yourself too. Jan...” She rested her head in the curve of his throat. “I did a lousy job of standing up to him when it mattered, so you deserved that money more than me.”
“Bollocks.” He shifted his shoulder, getting Kate to look at him. “I heard you fight him often enough. You needed that money more than anyone.”
She shook her head and stroked the back of her hand against his cheek. “I should have walked long before you heard any of that, baby.”
“How far would you have got when you didn’t have the money for a bus ticket?”
Jack frowned between them, perhaps not realising just how tough Jan’s life had been. But then Jack missed a lot of things, and it was there in Jack’s eyes too as he looked at Gray.
“You say “friends” mentioned this account,” said Gray, watching Kate. “Yet there’s a lot of fear surrounding the mention of them.”
Kate’s gaze flittered between Gray and Jack, never really resting until Gray touched her shoulder.
“Something wrong,” he asked gently.
“Just...” She was back with Jack. “I remember your eyes.”
“Huh?” said Jack, his coffee mug finding the table.
“You’ve met Jack before?” Gray leaned forward slightly, curious now.
“I...” She seemed to falter. “Not sure. You’re a lot older now.”
“Now?” Jack pushed away from the table slightly, looking a little panicked, and Kate shuddered.
“I didn’t know about the money back then,” she said, confused as she looked at Gray, then Jack. “I told them that; they wouldn’t listen. Remember?”
“You’re... you’ve lost me completely here.” Jack’s hands gripped the table, arms looking stiff.
“When I saw you just, I thought Jan had got the name wrong. A Martin was mentioned.”
Jack got to his feet about the same time Jan did. “No offence, but I’ve never met you, lady.”
“Someone... someone else, then,” she said gently, trying to calm. But Jan was already there, a hand on Jack’s shoulder, whispering something that tried to calm too.
“Jack, sit down,” said Gray. He did and Jan stayed by his side. Gray focused on Kate. “You met someone like Jack, and he called himself Martin. When?”
“Jan couldn’t have been fifteen... sixteen. I’d gone out shopping that night to get a cake mix for Lacey’s birthday.” She glanced up at Jan. “Honey, it was that time you were down with that bad case of tonsillitis. Lacey and Steph were around friends, and you... I’d left you in bed.”
“I remember. My throat had swollen badly, even my gums were swollen.”
Kate nodded. “I didn’t make it to the shop.” Her face paled. “Someone came at me from behind in the street, and the next thing I remembered, I was on the floor of a dusty office.”
Jan shifted a look in Gray’s direction.
“A dusty office?”
Kate nodded. “I was a cleaner back then, and, well, it’s something you notice, where the dust is the thickest, and this office, the floor was concrete, painted black, and an empty wastepaper basket was next to a table that had... I don’t know, rat droppings stuck to a leg by a web. And men, there were two men in there.” Knuckles were white around the mug. “I was dragged up by the table and they said if I didn’t tell them where the money was, they’d make a call. They said somebody was at home with Jan.” Tears came freely. “I could stand losing my husband, but not one of my kids.”
“I don’t remember anyone being with me,” said Jan, and his mother nodded.
“I couldn’t take that chance.”
“Only you didn’t know about any money at that point?” said Gray.
“I tried to tell them that, pleading that I didn’t know, but they weren’t interested.”
“And you met someone who looked like Jack, who must have been, what?”
“Seventeen, maybe eighteen,” said Kate, although Gray had worked it out, he just needed to see if she could place the difference in ages. “He looked about as startled as me to start with, then....”
“Then?”
“He seemed curious, wired.”
Jack’s eyes widened a touch. “And he did what?”
Kate only shrugged. “I don’t know. The two men didn’t like being interrupted and I was knocked to the floor. Next thing I knew, I was back on my sofa with Jan upstairs in bed. A note warned me to shut up and not go to the police, but the car that stayed outside of my home for two weeks ensured it.”
“They kept tabs on you,” said Gray.
“Yes. But like I said, I didn’t know about any money back then, or why your dad would have any, Jan.”
“About the office.” Gray kept an eye on Jack. “Do you remember anything else about it? Perhaps any scents? Anything else on the table?”
Kate’s gaze distanced. “Smelled like oil. Engine oil and cold steel,” she said. “Like a garage. And there was a notepad on the table.”
“Garage...”
Gray was more interested in the notepad. “The date, can you remember what it was?”
She seemed to search for it. “Summer. June 15th—”
“Fuh—” Jack’s hands went to his head as the year was then mentioned, and he found his feet again. Gray followed his every move.
“Mase. The night with Mase. Other people were there?” Jack was ready to bolt, or to grab onto Jan, or just crawl up into a corner and cry no more, and Gray got to his feet.
“What do you mean... there?” Kate pulled a face. “Were you there?” She was up on her feet now.
“No,” said Jan. “Jack wasn’t.” And the hardness to voice and eyes said just that. “You’d have known if it was Jack there.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“Sorry?”
“Martin. Did he fuck with you?” said Jack. He looked mortified.
“No... it was one of the men who hit me. I don’t know what happened after that.”
“The notepad.” Gray got a look off Jack. “Was it open or closed?”
Kate wasn’t with it now. “Closed, I think. I can’t remember.”
Gray buried the rush of sickness as realisation started to creep in. “Okay. Thank you. We need to go now.”
Jan nodded, but Jack bypassed them all and was already reaching for the door.
“Thank you,” said Gray to Kate, and he gave her an easy smile despite the hollow pit that hit his stomach. “Jan and Jack—”
Kate looked distressed as Jan passed by, giving her a kiss on the head. “I know, I know. Bloody look after my son, though, please?”
Gray left her there and headed out after them. He’d be getting a text soon, and he now knew why.