‘If I stay we might do something we’d both regret.’
At the door they shared a long, wet kiss good night. Nick almost changed his mind.
‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘No need to rush things. We’ve got all the time in the world.’
25
Sarah finished canvassing at one and told the team she only had time for a quick half in the pub afterwards.
‘Family stuff?’ Tony Bax asked.
‘Constituency business.’
‘It mightn’t be your constituency after Thursday,’ Tony reminded her. He had fought this seat ten years before, got slaughtered at the polls. ‘Why not leave it for the other bugger?’
‘I don’t like loose ends,’ Sarah told him. ‘And the other bugger wouldn’t touch this one with a bargepole.’
‘Then why are you sticking your oar in?’ Tony wanted to know.
‘I don’t want my main legacy as an MP to be that I helped a guilty man go free.’
‘You’ve changed your mind about Ed Clark?’
‘I’ve said enough,’ Sarah told her constituency chairman.
She drove to Bestwood Village, on the far side of Bestwood Park. The park was partially surrounded by one of the city’s most notorious housing estates, one that, thankfully, was not in her constituency. The village itself was contrastingly smart, occupied by a combination of old money and aspirational professionals, including the ex-police officer she was here to see.
‘Jack Slater?’
‘You’d better come in.’ It had taken three phone calls to old mates for Sarah to find Slater, the one officer who had been involved in both cases against Ed Clark. He had risen to be an inspector in Traffic three years ago. Then he packed in the force and moved into home security.
‘What made you leave?’ Sarah asked him.
‘I’d done my twenty years. Thatcher looked after us pretty well but I saw how I could be a lot better off if I took my pension. Forty-one then – young enough to start all over again. Which I have.’
Sarah glanced around the knocked-through living and dining room. The furniture was IKEA and the ready-made dark blinds didn’t quite fit the large windows, but Sarah could see how Jack might consider this luxury. It was too spartan for her. There would be a wife and kids somewhere else, Sarah expected. There usually were, with policemen his age, who were top of the divorce league tables.
‘Why did you leave?’ Jack asked her. ‘Didn’t last long, from what I heard.’
‘Wrong career,’ Sarah said. ‘I had some cock and bull idea that the police were about justice, when they’re really about crowd control. I wanted to go where the power was.’
‘And have you found it?’
‘Maybe I will on Thursday. I want to talk to you about Ed Clark.’
‘Bit late now, isn’t it? You got him out.’
‘And since I did, I’ve been discovering things I didn’t know about him. Like how you and Terry Shanks bugged Terry’s sister’s bedroom to get the information that put Ed away.’
‘If an illegal bug had led to the conviction it wouldn’t have stood up in court,’ Slater said.
‘Except it wasn’t needed in court. Whose idea was it?’
‘Terry’s.’
‘But CID knew about it?’
‘Only when we took them the tapes. CID weren’t interested in a small-time thug like Clark.’
‘But Terry was, and it got him murdered.’
‘He liked his brother-in-law, Phil Bolton. Terry hated his sister cheating on him with a shit like Clark.’
‘And it got him killed.’
‘Not according to the appeal court.’
Sarah ignored this. ‘Ed Clark had been out of prison less than a week when Terry was murdered. What I don’t understand is why he killed the wife, too.’
‘I heard you thought he was innocent of that. Changed your tune?’
‘Humour me,’ Sarah said. ‘I know Ed. He’s a sharp guy. He doesn’t take unnecessary risks. His killing Liv makes no sense.’
‘Made no sense to me either,’ Jack said. ‘Not when I found out that she died up to an hour later. The way her body was left, we figured he’d raped the wife and made Terry watch. But the timing was wrong and there was no proof of sexual assault.’
‘Doesn’t mean he didn’t do it. She’d had sex earlier.’
‘Her husband had had sex recently too. The condom we found contained his sperm. Ed could be pervy enough to get off on raping the wife of a man he’s just killed in front of the dead body. Doesn’t sit right with me, though.’
‘Me neither,’ Sarah admitted.
They both thought for a few moments, found nothing new to say. Sarah changed tack.
‘Did Ed see Polly Shanks after he got out of prison but before he murdered her brother? Were they still lovers?’
‘Not according to her,’ Jack said. ‘When we spoke to her, she said she regretted ever seeing Clark, as it had cost her her marriage. Said she’d had nothing to do with him since he was sent down the first time.’
‘Did you believe her?’
‘I believed she felt guilty about bringing Clark into her brother’s life, causing so much mayhem. She wanted him put away. As to whether she saw Clark the week he got out, I don’t know if she was telling the truth. It made no difference to the case against him.’
‘Would have shown how strongly she felt about him,’ Sarah said.
‘Women’s real feelings,’ Jack said, glancing around his neat bachelor home, ‘closed book to me. Been to see her?’
‘Yes, but I think I need to go again,’ Sarah said.
Nick got to the cab office at four and waited for Bob to finish. On Friday, he’d told Joe that he would only drive for another week, taking him up to election day. Now he was, potentially at least, back with Sarah, five days was too big a risk.
‘Bob’s on an airport run,’ Nas told Nick. ‘He’ll be a while.’
She made a personal call. Nick tried to settle in to the News of the World, not taking in the stories, trying not to listen to Nas’s call. He was very curious about what was going on with her, her brothers and Joe. Maybe he should go home. He’d told Sarah he was working today, but she might be happy to see him later. The latest polls showed Labour comfortably ahead, but not enough to give Sarah a fighting chance of holding on to her seat. Nick could see how much she loved the job, how frustrated she’d be when she was forced to leave office as Labour took power. There was nothing he could do to help except pick up the pieces. A depressing way to start a relationship. He could take her on holiday. He still had most of the money from Andrew Saint. He could afford to treat her.
Where to go? He had no idea where she’d been abroad. Their one foreign holiday had been two weeks island-hopping around Greece. Did people still do that? He’d heard Caroline go on about the time she and Joe went to the Seychelles. Nick didn’t know where the Seychelles were, though they sounded like they were outside his price range. They shouldn’t go on a holiday where Sarah would have lots of time to brood. They should be on the move, keeping occupied. Maybe Eastern Europe.
Joe came in. He usually showed his face on Sundays.
‘Could you mind the switch for a few minutes? I need a word with Nas.’
Nick frowned at his brother. ‘Bob could be here any minute, Joe.’
‘This really won’t take long.’
Joe and Nas went outside. Nick wondered if Joe was giving her the push. Then he heard Joe’s car drive off.
Nas returned twenty minutes later, her long hair down and clothes crumpled.
‘Thanks,’ she said to Nick. ‘I appreciate it.’
‘S’alright. Joe gone?’
‘Back to his very pregnant wife, yes.’
‘The other day, when I found you crying, what happened? Did your husband find out what was going on with you and Joe?’