Poison Read online

  Chief Martin stepped towards Balantyne; she put her hand lightly on his arm. ‘Tony … wait. Are you okay? You don’t look so good … Is everything all right at home?’

  Shaking her hand off him, Balantyne nodded. ‘I’m fine, everything’s fine. And now if you don’t mind …’

  As Balantyne went to leave, she grabbed him. Her voice was gentle and quiet. ‘Don’t shut me out, Tony. Just tell me what’s happening. Talk to me. Please.’

  It wasn’t Claire’s imagination that she could hear the pain and bitterness in his voice. ‘I can’t talk to you. Strictly work, remember? We agreed … or rather you did.’

  ‘What was I supposed to do, Tony? Emma needed you.’

  Balantyne grabbed hold of Chief Martin’s arm. ‘Well, I needed you … I needed you.’

  ‘I know, but we couldn’t have carried on … Look, Emma was a mess.’

  ‘She’s always been a mess and … what happened, she did that to herself,’ growled Balantyne, shaking his head.

  Chief Martin’s blue eyes filled with tears. ‘You don’t believe that. If you did, then why are you always blaming yourself and … and why did you end up in my bed again?’

  Balantyne’s gaze darted over Claire Martin’s face. ‘Because I made a mistake … It happens … Now if you don’t mind, ma’am, I’ve got work to do.’

  ‘Fine, but don’t forget what I said. By the book, Tony – or you’re off the case.’

  Claire Martin took a deep breath and pushed her personal feelings aside, watching out of her window as Balantyne marched over to his car. She’d known him for the past ten years and instead of mellowing over time, the man had become more unpredictable, though she suspected it might have less to do with the job and more to do with Emma and what had happened the night of the accident.

  The thought of the accident made Claire feel the same familiar rising sense of guilt that had plagued her over the last two years. At the time, she’d seriously thought about quitting the force. But she hadn’t; instead she’d quit the relationship with Balantyne. Though it hadn’t brought closure – far from it: she’d been miserable and Emma’s drinking had got worse and Balantyne had hated her for it.

  They’d hardly spoken since, working on different cases and generally avoiding each other. Until about three months ago, that was, when they’d found themselves working on the night shift together. Then unsurprisingly, one thing had led to another …

  At the time she hadn’t regretted it. She’d missed him. He was a different person when he was with her: funny, warm, caring – a world away from his behaviour most of the time. And looking back, she didn’t think he’d regretted it either. But then, a couple of weeks after it’d happened, before they’d even had a chance to talk about where they were going to go from there, she’d got promoted to the job he’d been overlooked for, and he’d hated her all over again.

  She sighed loudly as she continued to watch Balantyne’s car drive out of the station car park. The problem was, he was a stubborn man, always had been, and from what she could see, he always would be. A man who didn’t want to bend an inch to the inevitable changes that were filtering their way through the force and who resented where he was in life. Though she couldn’t blame him – his life had taken a turn that he couldn’t have possibly predicted.

  As much as he was infuriating to work with, and not many of the other officers liked him, she had to admit that he was a bloody good detective. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the accident, it might’ve been his name on the door and not hers … Crap. There she went again, thinking about something she didn’t want to.

  She was angry with herself now; every time she’d anything to do with him, the same old thoughts and feelings would shoot back around. But she’d be damned if she’d let her emotions rule her head when it came to her job. Detective Balantyne would abide by her orders over the Doyle case, or he would face the consequences.

  A couple of hours later, Franny – who still had Balantyne and Vaughn firmly on her mind – lay on the hard mattress in the segregation wing. The cell was sparser than her own; it didn’t even have a window, only a flickering fluorescent light, which gave the whole place a sinister glow. The walls were a faded cream, and although they’d been scrubbed, Franny could see the remains of where a prisoner had smeared her name in blood.

  She sighed as she stared at the ceiling, but suddenly a thought came to her. She sat up, swinging her legs off the bed before going into her pocket and pulling out the piece of paper that had been stuffed in Jessie’s mouth.

  Looking up to make sure that none of the screws were peering in through the safety flap, Franny flattened out the crumpled-up paper. On it was written a set of numbers. It read like a sort code and what seemed to be a bank account number. She frowned, wondering quite why Christine and her cronies would stuff this into Jessie’s mouth. But then, there was only one way to find out …

  15

  Alfie didn’t know how long Vaughn had been sat there staring at him, but he knew it was long enough for a couple of his men to have come and fixed the front door, and it was long enough for the painkiller that Davey had roughly injected into his thigh to wear off. Not to mention, long enough for him to finally say, ‘All right, all right. For fuck’s sake, I’ll tell you what happened, I’ll tell you everything – but you got to promise me you’ll drop it after that. The last thing I need is you chewing me ear off.’

  Vaughn pulled deeply on his cigarette as he sat on the velvet couch opposite Alfie. Speaking with smoke coming out from his mouth, he shrugged. ‘I ain’t promising you anything, I just want to know the truth, Alf. I wanna know what you did for him to be so pissed off … And don’t bullshit me.’

  ‘I said I’d tell you, didn’t I?’ Weary and still in excruciating pain, Alfie paused as he gazed through his lounge window. He could see the rooftops of Soho from where he sat. It was one of his favourite sights and had always seemed so uplifting, but now he felt a sense of melancholy, like a dark cloud had come over him. Opening the box about all that had happened felt raw and painful and the memories of his own childhood abuse came flooding in whenever he thought about it.

  Taking a deep breath, Alfie began to speak again, though this time he was hesitant. ‘Do you remember when Charlie Eton’s dad, Barry, came out of prison, and Franny and I thought that he’d kidnapped Mia for his own sick fantasies?’

  Vaughn nodded but didn’t say anything as he let Alfie continue to talk.

  ‘Well as you know, at the time, I didn’t realise that Mia was my daughter. Franny was still keeping it a secret, and of course Bree was …’ He trailed off. It still hadn’t sunk in that Bree was dead and that Franny had killed her. It was hard for him to get his head around. The last few months seemed like a pack of lies, a twilight zone, and he couldn’t work out the truth.

  Impatiently, Vaughn said, ‘Dead. Bree was dead and your missus killed her.’

  ‘Oh that’s right, thanks very much for that, Mr Fucking Sensitive. For a moment there I thought I was talking to someone that actually gave a fuck.’

  ‘Look, Alf, if it hasn’t escaped your notice, neither of us are in this business to be sentimental.’

  Alfie shook his head and answered bitterly, ‘Says the man who seems to have taken over the role of looking after my … well, looking after Mia.’

  It was Vaughn’s turn to shake his head. ‘You can’t even say it, can you? You can’t even say she’s your daughter.’

  Taking a swig of a bottle of beer he’d found at the back of his fridge, Alfie leant forward on his chair, staring hard at Vaughn. ‘What I do or don’t say, ain’t got anything to do with you. And I ain’t too hard to admit that I’m cut up about Bree. I’m a bit gutted.’ Alfie stopped talking again, knowing that it was more than a bit gutting. Although he hated what Bree had done – run away and not tell him that she’d been pregnant – Bree had been someone he’d loved, fallen for when Franny had disappeared out of his life.

  Of course he hadn’t intended on fal
ling for Bree. He wouldn’t have bothered putting his feelings into her if he’d known Franny was coming back. But he hadn’t known. Franny hadn’t told him anything; she’d just picked up one day and disappeared.

  That was the problem with Franny: she was always full of secrets and lies. Even now he didn’t know the truth of what happened. He hadn’t even been to see her to find out, because what would be the point? She would only lie to him. So all he knew was that, somewhere between Bree leaving him and Bree having his baby in secret, unbeknownst to him, Franny had been in the thick of it.

  How and why, was something else he didn’t know. And he definitely couldn’t work out why Bree had kept the pregnancy from him, because he would’ve looked after her. He would’ve cared for her like there was no tomorrow. She would’ve wanted for nothing. And he would’ve loved Mia and made sure that nothing, and no one, ever hurt her.

  But now … Now, it was all fucked up. Mia didn’t feel like his. She was a stranger to him – and Bree and especially Franny were to blame for that. And it hurt. Christ, it hurt like no other pain he’d experienced before. The betrayal cut so deep it felt raw … And no matter what Vaughn thought, it did bother him. It bothered him that he couldn’t feel the way he wanted to about Mia.

  And if he were facing cold, hard facts, the truth was he couldn’t even look at Mia because she reminded him of what Bree had done, of what Franny had done; everything he was trying to run away from. So no, he didn’t want to be reminded of it all, he didn’t want to think. He just wanted to blot out the pain with a whole heap of drink and a shitload of drugs.

  ‘I’m waiting … Come on, Alfie, I haven’t got all day. I ain’t got time for you to sit there in a daze. I want to know about Huang.’

  With no other option, Alfie snapped, ‘Fine … But it ain’t pretty … When Franny and I went looking for Mia, it took us down a dark road. As you know we thought that Mia had been taken by a paedophile ring, but what you don’t know is when we were looking for her we came across a little boy who was being auctioned off by Charlie Eton’s dad.’

  ‘How, where, when? Jesus Christ, Alf. What about the kid’s parents though?’ said Vaughn, feeling sick.

  ‘The mum was nowhere to be seen, and can you believe, it was actually the kid’s own father who’d sold him to Charlie’s dad for a percentage of the profits so he could feed his crack habit.’

  Vaughn paled. He knew both Charlie Eton and his dad, Barry, had been a sick pair, but he hadn’t known how sick or that they’d been directly involved in selling kids. Alfie had spoken so very little to him since the day Franny was arrested and held on remand … In fact, most of the time Alfie had been in a stupor, so this was the first time he’d really had a sit-down chat since it’d all kicked off.

  ‘I never knew, mate. Shit, I’m sorry. And I had no idea that Charlie was involved in something so fucking evil.’

  ‘Actually he wasn’t, not really, but Barry and the whole situation was part of the reason I put a bullet in Charlie’s leg. Everything got out of hand and at one point, Charlie was covering for Barry, so you can imagine how things got very messy. Anyway, the point is there was no way I could leave the kid. I couldn’t have it on my conscience that a little boy was going to be auctioned off by some sick fucker to another even sicker fucker … Anyway, to cut a long story short, it’s sorted now. The kid’s safe and he’s doing well.’

  Vaughn shook his head. ‘But why didn’t you tell me any of this?’

  Alfie shrugged. ‘The fewer people knew the better. Anyway, I had Franny. She held her own and she had my back …’ Alfie paused then added bitterly, ‘Well I thought she did … Turns out she had her own agenda because the whole time I was trying to help her find Mia, she never once told me the truth about Mia or Bree.’

  Viciously, Vaughn growled, ‘Well she wouldn’t, would she? This is Franny we’re talking about … But how does this have anything to do with Huang?’

  Alfie stared down at the floor as he continued to recall what happened. ‘The bid for the kid was going to be a high one. He was young and innocent. Fresh … He was exactly what those sick monsters were looking for.’

  ‘So how much are we talking?’

  ‘It turned out to be nearly half a million, and I never had that kind of money to lay me hands on, not after those bad deals last year – and certainly not after Franny decided to take it upon herself to give her uncle two million quid behind our backs.’

  Vaughn clenched his teeth. The thought of what Franny did last year with the money – their money – was certainly a sore point for him, and another reason he was pleased to see Franny rot. She’d clearly thought she could do what she liked without consequences, but now things had finally caught up with her. ‘You should’ve come to me, Alf. I could’ve sorted something if you’d said.’

  Alfie shook his head, and lit another cigarette. ‘I needed it straight away. I didn’t have time to wait and I know most of your money is tied up with the clubs.’

  ‘So what I don’t get is why you didn’t ask Franny – she could’ve lent you that money.’

  ‘Apparently not. Apparently most of her money – and the house – is tied and knotted up in some complicated trust fund that her father set up in case she ever got nicked. He wanted to make sure the Old Bill couldn’t touch a penny if she was collared, wanted her to have something to come back to. But that meant she couldn’t even get a loan against the house to help.’

  Vaughn frowned. ‘But she owns it outright and it’s worth a hell of a lot more than half a mill.’

  ‘I know, but that’s just the way it is.’ Alfie shrugged.

  Vaughn sat silently for a moment, mulling over what Alfie had said. Eventually he spoke. ‘So let me get this right. You went to Huang, even though you knew what would happen if you didn’t pay him back?’

  Irritated and in chronic pain, Alfie nodded. ‘Well what fucking choice did I have? Should I have left the kid with those perverts?’

  ‘No, Jesus, of course not. I just think it’s odd that Franny couldn’t put her hands on any readies.’

  Alfie was beginning to get even more agitated. ‘What can I tell you? Her father thought the sun shone out of her fucking arse. He just wanted her to be secure in this fucked-up business we’re in.’

  Again, Vaughn didn’t say anything straight away, but after a minute or so he stared at Alfie. ‘So why aren’t you dead, Alf?’

  ‘Why aren’t I fucking dead? Oh sorry about that, Vaughnie. Am I inconveniencing you being around? Fuck me, I’ll put a gun to me head right now, should I?’

  Vaughn took a large drink from the glass of vodka he’d been nursing. ‘Don’t be such a prick. All I’m saying is, if you owe Huang all that money plus the interest – which will be going up by the day – I don’t understand why you ain’t at the bottom of the Thames or buried in Epping Forest, like all the other mugs who borrowed money from him.’

  Alfie glared at Vaughn. ‘I dunno, perhaps it’s because we go back a long way.’

  ‘Bullshit. Look what he’s done to your boat race. He don’t care. And we both know Huang hasn’t got one sentimental bone in his body. This is the same man who tied his wife up in the house before he burnt it down with her and his sister still inside it.’

  Throwing the now empty bottle of beer on the floor, Alfie shrugged. ‘At least he sorted it out himself.’

  ‘What the fuck are you talking about? You saying it’s okay for him to deep-fry his missus just cos she cheated on him and took a bit of his money?’

  ‘I never said that. What I meant is, at least he didn’t involve the Old Bill.’

  Vaughn stood up and grabbed his jacket. ‘If this is about Franny, I don’t want to hear it. It was only a couple of months ago or so that she left me for dead, remember? I’ve still got the scar to prove it. So just save your breath when it comes to her. I never want to hear her name again.’

  Alfie went to get up himself but decided against it after a sharp shooting pain rushed through his body. He
snarled, ‘Maybe you don’t, but the problem is, I ain’t got my head around a lot of things, and one of those things is that you called the Old Bill instead of letting me deal with Franny. You went against everything we stand for, every rule we’ve ever lived by. We don’t grass on our own, no matter what.’

  Heading for the door, Vaughn stared at Alfie, full of hostility. ‘I did what needed to be done. And at the end of the day all I did was call the Old Bill; it was their choice to arrest her. I only made one call. Nothing more, nothing less.’ He paused before saying, ‘I ain’t spoken to them since.’

  Alfie looked at him coolly. ‘That better be the truth, Vaughn, cos it ain’t your place to go around stirring shit, and no one in our business likes a snake. And if I find out—’

  Vaughn sniffed and his eyes darkened. ‘Don’t start threatening me, Alfie. That wouldn’t be very wise. And if I were you, I’d stop worrying about Franny and start worrying about the fact that Huang is out for you. I’d also ask yourself why you ain’t dead yet, because if you ain’t dead by now, it means he’s got other plans for you. And if that’s the case, Alf, you’ll probably end up wishing you were dead.’

  16

  ‘Where the fuck have you been, Shan? I was calling you.’ Three hours later Vaughn stared hard at Shannon as she walked into his opulent flat off Tottenham Court Road.

  Bouncing Mia in her arms, Shannon shrugged. ‘I just went for a walk.’

  Dressed in jeans and a grey Ralph Lauren shirt, Vaughn looked at her suspiciously, knowing that some of his anger was partly relief on knowing that she was safe, and partly from being pissed off with Alfie. ‘I told you just to come back here, didn’t I? How fucking hard was that to understand? You need to sort yourself out, cos I ain’t going stand for you not listening.’

  ‘I’m sorry … I was going to bring her straight back like you asked, I swear, but I saw … I … I … I saw …’ Shannon fought back the tears, though both she and Mia were exhausted from crying. She glanced timidly at Vaughn. The only thing she wanted was a hug from him, and perhaps she was feeling sorry for herself, but she couldn’t remember the last time she had one that hadn’t led to her having to give someone sex or a blow job.