“But how are you going to get it started? What about the alarm?”
“An old banger like that? Piece of cake.”
And it was. They scrambled down the streambed, Jaff only falling and cursing once, and approached the van. There was no one around. Jaff got the back doors open easily with one of the keys he carried in his pocket, and once inside, it took him no time at all to hot wire the ignition. The inside of the van smelled of paint thinner and sawdust.
“I can see you’ve done this before,” Tracy said.
Jaff grinned. “You could say that. Put it down to a misspent youth. I used to work for a bloke who collected luxury cars for shipment overseas. Know what I mean? Years ago. I was just a kid. Fresh out of uni. Some of the newer models are really tough because of all those computerized keys and alarm systems, but these things are a doddle. And it’s perfect. Everyone’ll think it’s a builder’s van. No one takes any notice of crappy white vans.” He drummed his hands on the steering wheel and whooped, “All right! London, here we come!” Then they set off toward the A1.
“YOU LOOK terrible, Alan,” said Gervaise as they sipped tea in her office later that afternoon.
“Nothing that a good night’s sleep won’t cure,” Banks said. “Only somehow I don’t think I’ll be getting one for a while.”
“I’m sorry about the cottage, but I’m sure you understand. We have no choice. We can arrange for alternate accommodation, if you like?”
“Not a problem,” said Banks. “It’s sorted. I could use a car, though.
Mine’s in the garage. At least I assume it’s still there?”
“It’s there,” said Gervaise. “Don’t worry. You can sign one out from the pool in the meantime. How are you doing, Alan? Seriously. I feel I should welcome you back, but I’m afraid it’s not much of a welcome.”
“I feel about as bad as I look,” Banks said. “You’re right about the homecoming. Seeing Annie there in the hospital, I…” He shook his head and turned away as his eyes filled with tears. Then he took a deep breath, felt his anger stir, and sipped some tea. “But I’ve got to hold it together somehow. It won’t do anyone any good if I go to pieces.”
“It’s not your responsibility to hold everything together. Perhaps you should go and catch up on sleep.”
“I really don’t think I could do that. Not with Annie at death’s door and Tracy out there with some homicidal creep. Could you?”
“Perhaps not. How was the holiday?”
“It was great. Really. Just what the doctor ordered. I’m sure it did me the world of good. A bit of a distant memory now, though.” It was hard to believe that only yesterday he had woken up beside Teresa in San Francisco, had breakfasted with her at the Monaco and waved good-bye as she left for the airport in her taxi. He had had time for one last walk around Union Square and a quick lunch at Scala’s Bistro, beside the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, before packing, checking out and heading for the airport himself. It had been a beautiful, fresh day. The blue skies, fluffy clouds and sweet, gentle Pacific breeze were no harbingers of what lay ahead.
“I assume you’re up to speed with what’s been going on?” Gervaise asked.
“Most of it.”
“This is a very delicate situation,” she went on, making a steeple of her hands. “We’re understaffed and overworked and, as you saw, we’ve got Superintendent Chambers breathing down our necks.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about him.”
“But I do. It’s very important that you don’t go charging in like a…a…”
“Bull in a china shop?”
Gervaise smiled. “I was trying to think of something less crude than the usual cliché, but that’ll do for the moment. Yes.”
“Softly, softly catchee monkey.”
“Good God, give it a rest. Look, you were out of the country when the shit hit the fan,” Gervaise went on, “so you might think there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t work on this. But there are three reasons.”
“Annie and Tracy, for starters?”
“Yes. You’re emotionally involved, and that should disqualify you from any active roll in these investigations. You also know the Doyles, don’t you?”
“Yes. Our kids more or less grew up together. Pat was a good mate, though I hadn’t seen him in a while. I’m gutted to hear what happened to him.”
“It’s a terrible business. You’re also very close to Annie, and we don’t know how deeply Tracy’s involved yet.”
“Surely the main thing right now is that she’s in danger, and that we need to find her?”
“Yes. Yes, of course it is. And we’re sparing nothing. Our budget’s already gone to hell in a handbasket. The local air search and rescue team is involved, and they’re sending the helicopter out again as we speak. But what I’m saying is that there might be some surprises ahead, and I don’t want you on a short fuse. I also don’t want you to give Chambers or anybody else even the slightest impression that you’ve been in a position to tamper in any way.”
“Tamper with what?”
“You know damn well what I mean. Fix things if it turns out your daughter is in this nasty business up to her eyeballs.”
“I appreciate your plain speaking on this, but I don’t think you know either me or my daughter as well as you think you do.”
“Don’t go all defensive on me, Alan. I don’t need that.”
“What do you expect? You accuse my daughter of being a criminal and me of being corrupt enough to tamper with evidence. Just what the bloody hell do you expect me to say?”
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. Perhaps I went a bit too far. Put it down to pressure. These last few days have got everyone’s nerves in a tizzy. I was simply trying to stress that Superintendent Chambers is already dead set against you having any involvement at all in this. I’m going out on a limb here. I know damn well what you’re like. If I warned you off, you’d do it anyway, and that could cause problems for everyone. We can hardly lock you in a cell until it’s all over, and if you go off on your own half-cocked, God only knows how much damage you could end up doing. Now, I’ve talked to ACC McLaughlin, he’s talked to the Deputy Chief Constable, and we all agree that there are good reasons you should be brought in, assuming you want to be, but that you have to play down the personal angle. You have to toe the line. You can’t let your personal feelings drive you. Objectivity, Alan; that’s what we want from you. Your brain, not your brawn. Do you think you can manage that? We’ll all be keeping a sharp eye on you. And you have to stay away from the Taser business altogether. You must be aware of the risk we’re taking in doing this? Superintendent Chambers-”
“Chambers can go back to his kennel and lick his balls as far as I’m concerned.”
“An interesting image, but not one I care to dwell on. Look, I know there’s no love lost between the two of you, but he’s not without influence with the DCC, or even the chief constable.”
“People like him never are.”
“Alan, I’m trying to help you here!”
“I know. I know,” said Banks. “And I’m grateful. Yes, I want in. Yes, I’ll keep my personal feelings under control. I’ll behave myself. I’ll stay away from the Taser business, and I’ll try not to throttle the toe rag that’s got my daughter when I find him. No, I won’t tamper with any evidence. And I’ll try to keep out of Chambers’s way. Good enough?”
“It’ll have to be, won’t it? Shall we get down to business?”
“Absolutely. Anything more on the gun?”
“Yes. Naomi Worthing from Forensic Science Services rang me from Leeds a short while ago. She got the bullets that killed Marlon Kincaid from West Yorkshire Homicide and Major Enquiries. SIO was a Detective Superintendent Quisling. Retired now. Lives in Shipley. Better still, our killer also left the spent casings at the scene, so she’s got them, too. That should provide an exact match of gun and cartridges used in the crime when she gets back to the lab.”