Dead and Buried (23 page)

‘I didn’t know about Kathy giving Rose the phone number.’

‘I didn’t know they were going to meet.’

‘Kathy must have decided for herself . . .’

‘I’m not going to stay away tomorrow.’

‘Rose and I will be there . . .’

‘We will not stay away so there’s no point in . . .’

‘You don’t have the right to order me . . . Not now, not after everything.’

Joshua went quiet. Rose could hear the hum of the voice on the other end of the phone. She saw Joshua nodding and wondered if Brendan was taking charge, laying down the law. After what seemed like a long time Joshua ended the call and handed the phone back to Munroe.

‘Go home now. Leave it to us,’ Munroe said.

‘I’ll be nearby tomorrow,’ Joshua said.

‘Just go home.’

Rose took Joshua’s arm and led him out of the living room towards the door of the flat. Munroe didn’t follow them.

Back in the Camden flat they both sat on the sofa in the living room. It had been an almost silent journey back from Docklands. Joshua was speaking now, giving instructions about the next day. In his hands he had a Google Map of the area around the London Eye.

‘We get to the London Eye about eleven thirty. Dad says we should try and disguise ourselves.’

‘What?’

‘Just slightly. You know, wear something more formal, carry a briefcase, umbrella or wear a hat, just some small thing to alter the way we look. And we shouldn’t stay together. I thought you could stand on Hungerford Bridge, here.’ He pointed to the map. ‘I’ve got some binoculars you can use. You’ll be like a tourist looking at the Houses of Parliament or the boats on the river. I’m going to be around County Hall. There are a lot of places there where I can merge in with the crowds. Dad says we just have to stay away from him and Baranski and Mikey. And of course there might be other Baranski people there.’

‘What can we do? I mean to help?’

‘Nothing. Dad says to leave it all to them. We can just watch. There’ll be a switch at some point. Dad taking the place of Kathy. Munroe will be looking after Kathy so we should keep our eye on Dad and whoever has him. Mikey maybe. I think, if you can, you should swing from side to side with the binoculars and when you see that they’ve taken Dad you should keep the binoculars on him. Dad says he’ll wear a light blue padded jacket. You’ll be able to see which direction they take him in. I’ll call you when I go off to County Hall and we’ll keep the line open so we can be in touch. All we can do is watch from a distance. I think Munroe and Dad and maybe some others will have to handle it.’

‘Frank Richards?’ Rose said.

Joshua shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’

‘It seems so . . . theatrical. Like a movie. It seems unreal.’

‘Yeah, well . . .’

Joshua said something under his breath.

‘What?’ she said sharply.

‘It should never have come to this.’

‘How do you mean?’

‘If you hadn’t had that meeting. If you hadn’t gone behind my back . . .’

Rose bridled. ‘I didn’t intend for this to happen!’

‘’Course not. No one intends something like this to happen but it should have been obvious to you that meeting Kathy was a dangerous thing to do. Especially after what Baranski did to me!’

‘Why are you saying this?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe it just needs to be said.’

Rose stood up. ‘I’ll go back to Anna’s. I’ll see you at the London Eye in the morning.’

‘No! We said we’d stay here.’

‘You didn’t say any of this when I first told you. When we went to Munroe’s?’

‘Because it’s just beginning to dawn on me how dangerous tomorrow is going to be. If it all goes wrong Baranski will have my dad.’

‘You mean like he’s got my mum now?’

‘But Kathy put herself in danger. She took a chance . . .’

‘So she’s to blame for Baranski taking her?’ Rose said angrily. ‘Maybe if Brendan hadn’t killed Baranski’s father none of this might be happening.’

Rose walked out of the room to the hallway and put her coat on. Joshua came out after her.

‘This is not the time to argue,’ he said, laying his hand on her arm.

‘Why is it that you have to decide on every single thing that happens to us? You wanted to find them. We found them. My mother wanted to see me so she gave me her phone number secretly. What is it you’re upset about, Josh? That I went to see my mother without you knowing or that your father didn’t give you his phone number at all?’

‘Rose!’

‘I’m sick of always doing what you want when you want it. Go to Wickby, go to Two Oaks, stay in Camden, hire a car, make a website. Do it your way. I wanted to do it my way for once.’

‘And look where it’s got us! Your mum’s in Baranski’s hands now.’

Rose flinched. She turned away. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back. His other hand was on the wall preventing her from moving.

They were both wedged in the narrow hallway.

Neither of them spoke.

Then Rose leant against him, her body heavy with worry.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said.

He kissed the side of her hair and she felt her skin prickle. He put his arms around her and pulled her towards him and kissed her on her face and then her mouth. Her eyes were closed and she moved her head so that she could feel his lips on hers. His hands were moving up and down her back and she raised her arms to clasp him round the neck.

‘I’m not sure how right this is, you and me . . .’ he whispered.

‘It is right,’ she said, pressing into him.

He kissed her again for a long time. When he stopped she felt breathless.

‘It’s late – let’s go in here,’ he said.

He led her towards his bedroom door.

TWENTY-THREE

The London Eye seemed utterly still against a brilliant blue sky. Rose saw it as soon as they came out of the tube exit. They went up some steps and stood at the north end of Hungerford Bridge. It sat like a sombre fairground ride on the bank of the river.

Joshua was wearing a dark overcoat and around his neck was a red cashmere scarf that he said he’d been given by his uncle years before but never worn. The dressing was off his ear and all he had was a flesh-coloured plaster on the wound. The strangest thing of all was that he was wearing Skeggsie’s glasses. There was glass in the frames but he insisted he could still see through them. It made him seem like a different person.

Rose had on a Union Jack baseball cap of Joshua’s which had been left over from the Olympics. It covered her head and forehead. Underneath the peak she could hold the binoculars. It wasn’t much of a disguise but it was enough to make her look like a tourist. She had her hands-free earphones in, the remote hanging by her throat, most of it hidden by her hair.

It was 11.32 a.m.

‘I’m going across to the County Hall building. I’ll find a vantage point and I’ll call you. Once you get my call don’t disconnect even if you don’t hear me speak for a while,’ Joshua said.

She nodded and grabbed his sleeve suddenly fearful of what might happen.

‘Just look as though you’re a tourist and remember Dad’s wearing a light blue padded jacket.’

He gave her a hug and then walked off. She thought, fleetingly, of the night before. So much was happening between them and yet it had to be pushed to the back of her mind. This was the important thing, getting her mum back safe. There was lots of time to think about the two of them when this was all over. She took some gum out and put it into her mouth. The chewing calmed her and made her mouth less dry. She looked around. The bridge wasn’t crowded, just a few couples walking across. Parallel to the walkways was the train line which sliced through the centre of the bridge. Every now and again Rose could hear and feel the deep rumble of a train heading for Charing Cross. Looking across the water she couldn’t see any crowds at the base of the London Eye. There were trees alongside the river blocking her view.

She walked along the bridge, holding the peak of her cap down. That morning Joshua had taken a long call from Brendan giving them more information. He had told his employer that his wife, Kate, had been in London to visit her elderly father and found him fragile and rather unwell. She’d decided to stay with him for a few days and might not be available for Macon’s birthday celebrations. It meant that Brendan and her mother’s cover with Macon Parker was still intact.

As if that mattered to Rose – all she cared about was getting her mother safely back from Lev Baranski.

Halfway across the bridge she stopped and took the binoculars out and lifted them up to her eyes. She pointed them at the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. She stood looking at these historical sites for some minutes, playing her part as a tourist, panning the binoculars slowly to the left as though she was trying to take in every detail of the horizon. When she got to the London Eye she paused. She could see the queues of people in and around the trees that lined the river. There were a couple of buskers performing to the people awaiting their turn. Behind the London Eye was a green space, the size of a small park. There were some white marquees on it and a carousel. Rose let the glasses focus on one of the horses on the fairground ride. It was white and its mane was jet black. There were painted jewels on its bridle and its mouth was open slightly as if caught in a neigh. Rose let the glasses sweep past the queues to the left again and saw the concrete buildings of the Royal Festival Hall. She remembered then that Joshua was on the far side of the Eye at County Hall. She swivelled the glasses back and looked for him against the chunky grey building but she couldn’t see him. She decided to walk a bit further across the bridge. A train went chugging by, slowing down, its great weight seeming to fan out across the walkway. A group of tourists were lining up for a photograph and Rose waited so that she didn’t spoil the shot. They all headed off towards the Eye and she attached herself to the group, listening as they spoke rapidly to each other in Spanish. When she was three quarters of the way across the bridge she stood still and held the binoculars up to her eyes again.

She saw Brendan.

He was wearing the blue padded jacket. It was a light blue, like a skiing jacket, and he was standing by the front of the queue for the Eye. He was apart from it though as if he was deliberately placing himself in full view so that someone could see him. She had a squirming feeling in her stomach. Whatever Munroe and Brendan had planned had to go right. Her mum had to come back safely but Brendan too. She moved the binoculars back to the river so that it seemed as though she was looking everywhere and not focusing on the Eye.

Her phone vibrated. She put her hand in her pocket and accessed the call.

‘Keep the line open, Rosie,’ Joshua said, his voice in her ear.

‘All right,’ she said, adjusting the volume.

It was 11.48.

Now that she’d seen Brendan in his bright jacket she didn’t need the glasses so she shoved them in her pocket for a moment. She looked towards the building behind the London Eye. She knew that there was a road behind it and that that was the most likely place for Lev Baranski to get out of a car and bring her mother. Unless he changed his mind and came alone. Joshua had said that was always a possibility. He might tell Brendan to go somewhere with him, threatening her mother in some way if he did not. On the other hand he might just bring her mother out into the open and swap her for Brendan. Baranski knew that no police could be involved. There would be no sharpshooters perched on the tops of buildings watching for him.

‘Rosie?’ Joshua said, his voice scratchy.

‘Yes?

‘I’m by the corner of County Hall. I can’t see Munroe anywhere. Can you see him?’

‘I’ll look for him.’

She took the binoculars out of her pocket and scanned the area around the Eye. She pictured Munroe in his Crombie overcoat and looked for it for a few moments but then, by chance, she saw Munroe’s face. He was standing by one of the marquees. She had to look twice because he was wearing a dark, boxy jacket and light-coloured trousers. He turned to the side and she could see that on his back he had a rucksack which looked as though it had a French flag sewn on the side. He too was attempting to look like a tourist. She saw him lift the inside of his wrist up to his mouth and speak. He looked like a secret service man guarding a politician. She glanced quickly at Brendan who wasn’t speaking to anyone, just eyeing his watch and looking round.

‘Munroe’s by the marquees on the grass,’ she said quietly, angling her voice down to her neck.

A few moments later she heard his voice in her ear.

‘I see him.’

It was 11.57. Rose pulled the front of her cap down and stretched her arms, feeling her joints click. She took the chewing gum out of her mouth and wrapped it in a tissue and put it in the zip compartment of her bag. When she looked back to the green behind the Eye she saw three figures walking across the grass. Two men and a woman. Her jaw tightened. Even though she knew it was her mother she used the binoculars to see who else was there.

‘Baranski’s coming with Mum. Mikey’s there too. They’re heading towards Brendan.’