The captain was waiting for them. Face calm but looking warmer than the night air would have suggested.
May explained who he was, why he was there. ‘We have reason to believe two of my officers have been kidnapped and are being held on this ship. We’d like your permission to search.’
‘You need a warrant for that.’
‘Or your co-operation. Probable cause.’
The captain shrugged. ‘We’re preparing to sail on the morning tide. Get a warrant.’ His voice displaying studied disinterest.
May was about to speak, but Mickey stepped in. ‘Listen, mate,’ he said, ‘it’s the middle of the night and we can’t get a warrant until morning, as well you know. During which time you’ll have sailed away and left us to it. Well, we can’t let you do that. We’ll make sure you’re delayed here for as long as necessary. Could take us days to get a warrant. And all the while you’re going nowhere. And losing money. You want that?’
That got his attention. ‘You don’t know who owns this ship.’
‘I do know who owns this ship. And we’re not leaving until we’ve searched it.’
The police officers stood their ground. The captain had no choice but to allow them access. He gave a small, defeated wave.
‘Thank you,’ said May. ‘Now let me see the ship’s manifest.’
The captain reluctantly handed it over.
‘Right.’ May looked at Mickey. ‘You and DC Hepburn take the stern.’
‘That’s the back, right?’ said Anni.
‘Correct.’ He divided up the rest of his team into port and starboard.
‘All the terms,’ said Anni, impressed.
‘Grew up on a narrowboat outside Harlow,’ said May. ‘Right. I’ll take the pointy end. Let’s go.’
Mickey and Anni made their way towards the back of the ship. It was quite bright due to the overhead pier lights, but Mickey still swung a torch left and right. They stood before a stack of containers and looked up. He held the torch on them. They were piled so high, the beam died.
‘Great,’ said Anni. She put her hand on the first one. ‘Let’s start here, shall we?’
She worked the handle, swung the door open. Mickey shone the torch inside. The beam picked out stacked cardboard boxes.
‘Something going outbound,’ he said, then turned to her. ‘Hey, that’s a thought.’
‘What?’
‘Well, it might be worth checking that list—’
‘The manifest,’ said Anni.
‘Yeah,’ said Mickey. ‘I’m betting most of these are going out empty.’
‘Why?’
‘Because we hardly make anything any more. We import. So we check the empty ones first.’
‘Good idea.’
‘Right, let’s—’
A noise from the other side of the container stack. Like someone had been listening, was trying to get away.
Mickey and Anni shared a glance. Mickey gestured with his eyes; Anni nodded. They divided up either side of the container, began to creep round.
Another sound before they had got halfway. Someone moving away quickly.
Mickey sprinted to the corner. A figure was running towards the middle of the ship. Male, tall, well dressed. Suede jacket. He turned back to face them. Mickey recognised him. He had last seen him sitting in the back of a police car in Aldeburgh.
Calling himself Stuart Milton.
‘Come on,’ he shouted to Anni, and gave chase.
110
‘No. Definitely not.’
Marina stopped walking, not believing what she had just heard. ‘No? What d’you mean, no?’
Franks stopped walking also, turned, came back to her. ‘I mean no.’
They were in the corridor outside the interview room. Stuart Milton had been left to sleep while they went about putting the circus together to ride on Wrabness. Or at least Marina had thought that was what they were doing.
‘But that’s not fair. After what I’ve just done … Gary, that’s my daughter out there. I’ve got to come. No question.’
‘I’m sorry, Marina, but you’re not. It’s my decision. I listened to your arguments and let you in there and you did a damned good job. But you’re a psychologist. Your presence on a police field operation could be detrimental to its success. So I’m sorry, but no.’
Marina didn’t know what to say, how to reply.
Franks’s features softened. ‘I’m sorry, Marina, I really am. If there was a way you could be there, I would let you.’
She said nothing.
‘You can stay here. Or you can go home. But you can’t come with us. I’m sorry. We’ll call you as soon as we can.’ He gave a tight smile. ‘With good news, I hope.’
She felt like she was about to explode. ‘I’m not some fucking grieving relative, Gary. I’m one of the team. A valued member. Or I thought I was.’
Franks’s eyes widened. Clearly unhappy with women swearing. ‘You are,’ he said. ‘Of course you are.’
‘Yeah,’ said Marina. ‘Right.’ She turned away from him, strode off down the corridor towards the reception area. Keyed in the pass code, slammed through the door. To find her brother sitting in reception. She stopped walking, looked at him.
‘What are you doing here?’ she asked.
‘Waiting for you,’ he said. ‘Fuckers let me go. Couldn’t hold me.’
She looked at him. He looked like she felt. Dirty, dishevelled. His sweats and trainers filthy.
‘What’s happened?’ he asked.
Marina opened her mouth to tell him, closed it again. She looked round. Checked no one was in earshot.
‘Where’s your car?’
‘Outside. They brought it here. Why?’
She thought. ‘Got anything planned for the rest of the night?’
Sandro, his face lined and tired, gave her a suspicious look. ‘I have a feelin’ the right answer isn’t “Goin’ home to bed”.’
‘Dead right,’ she said. ‘We’re going to Wrabness. To get my daughter back.’
111
A my kept trying to squeeze the trigger, but her hand was shaking too much to complete the action. Dee could see how unhinged she was, so she tried to play for time until the Golem arrived. Kept talking. ‘What exactly did you think you were going to achieve?’ she said. ‘With all this.’
‘You know what I was going to achieve,’ said Amy. ‘Get what was mine. What’s owed to me. It’s what I deserve.’
‘So why haven’t you tried to do it before? Why now?’
She lowered the gun slightly, concentrating on her words, focusing her anger. ‘I did try. A few times. But it costs money, doesn’t it? And when you’re a non-person, when you don’t exist, you don’t have any, do you? Not that you would know.’
Dee said nothing. Her previous life flashed through her mind. She ignored it.
‘Who would believe a madwoman? No one. That’s who.’
‘But a madwoman with a convicted murderer — that’d work … ’ Dee almost smiled at her own words, knowing they would just enrage Amy further.
‘Shut up! Shut up! You know that’s not true … And we could have proved it. Graham and me. That was the plan. That’s why he fell out with Michael. Over me. Graham hated what Michael had done to me. Hated it. Oh, he was all for it at first. He was with us. One of us. He helped put the blame on Stuart, get him sent down for the killings. But he hated what Michael had done to me. And then when you came along … ’
‘He left.’
Amy smiled. ‘Yes. He hated you as much as he hated Michael. And when Michael wouldn’t give him or me any money, we came up with the plan.’
‘This plan.’
‘Yes. Graham had kept a copy of the will, after all these years. The one my father made just before he died. The one that included Stuart. All we had to do was wait until Stuart was released, have him declared sane, show that he didn’t do the killings and him and me could be cut in. Michael wouldn’t let that happen, of course. Came after us.’