I helped Mr Baker up and sat him down on the pit lane crash barrier.
‘Why’d you do it?’
‘For my daughter.’
‘For me?’ Alison screamed. ‘I loved Alex.’
‘I had to protect you.’
‘From whom?’ Alison demanded.
‘From the world,’ I answered. ‘This is all about a father’s love for his daughter. But this isn’t just about you, Alison. It has more to do with Jennifer, doesn’t it, Mr Baker? She fell for the wrong man and couldn’t see it even when it was hurting her. Eventually, it killed her. You couldn’t let that happen again, could you?’
‘No,’ Mr Baker sobbed, misery distorting the word. ‘Nick Jensen killed her. He got her addicted. I tried to help get her off the dope, but she didn’t want to know. She cared more for him than her family.’
‘But Alex wasn’t like Nick,’ Alison said.
‘He was. He was going to break your heart. He would have ended up hurting you, even killing you. Racing is dangerous and destroys lives. Look at the financial damage it causes. I’ve walked the paddocks of a dozen tracks. How many of these guys have pissed their financial future away and for what? Pointless bragging rights.’
It was hard to argue this point. For every driver who made it to the top, hundreds crashed on the rocks of financial ruin. ‘That’s not enough to kill for.’
‘No, but I wasn’t going to risk my daughter’s life. Drivers are selfish adrenaline junkies. Their addiction infects every part of their lives and those around them. How many drivers have died taking others with them? Graham Hill died at the controls of his aeroplane, killing five other people. Mike Hailwood crashed his car, killing himself and his daughter. Colin McRae crashed his helicopter killing three people including his son. If you need any further proof, just look at him.’ Mr Baker pointed an accusing finger at me. ‘His father’s negligence killed his mother.’
A flush of embarrassment coursed through me. I looked over at Steve and saw sorrow in his eyes.
‘I didn’t want you to know the misery of having your family destroyed by a drug whether it’s called heroin or motor racing.’
‘You don’t know that would have happened,’ Alison said.
‘I do. Probabilities dictated it. I just didn’t know when it would happen. I talked with Alex. He wouldn’t have given up racing. He would have carried on until it killed him. It was better this happened before you were married and had kids.’
‘You were wrong,’ I said. ‘He was giving up racing for Alison.’
‘You don’t know that,’ Mr Baker said.
‘I do. He told me he was retiring at the end of the season. It was supposed to be a surprise wedding gift.’
Alison sagged in Steve’s arms and wept fresh tears.
‘You’re lying,’ Mr Baker said with panic in his voice.
I shook my head. The colour bled from his face.
‘Oh, God, no. Tell me you’re lying, please,’ he said to me. When I couldn’t tell him what he wanted to hear, he turned to Alison. ‘I just wanted you to be happy, love. I couldn’t lose another daughter.’
‘Well, you have,’ she said.
Steve pulled out his mobile and punched in a number. ‘Detective, we need you.’
Final Lap
‘You did well,’ Steve said hanging my wreath on the workshop wall. He placed it alongside one of my dad’s. It looked good up there.
I’d come third in the Festival thanks to some good driving and a healthy slice of luck. The knockout format of the races led to the usual desperate driving, which sent drivers crashing out. Several of the favourites crashed in the earlier rounds. I kept a cool head and never finished lower than seventh in any of the preliminary rounds then went for it in the final.
But Steve wasn’t referring to the Festival. He was talking about catching Alex’s killer. Today was an important day. We were crushing Alex’s car.
‘C’mon, we’ve got work to do,’ he said.
The Festival had been a week ago. I’d reached the post-ball part of my Cinderella moment where everything went back to normal. The Mygale wasn’t going to turn into a pumpkin, but the lease was up. The engine had to come out and go back to Armstrong’s and the car had to go back to Mygale. There was no chance of this car becoming a permanent addition to my racing future.
I’d met Hancock’s challenge and then some by reaching the final of the Festival, so he owed me a season in next year’s national championship, but that offer was dead now that he was safely hidden away in Brennan’s custody. His lawyers were working out a deal for him, but Hancock Salvage wasn’t long for this world. Sale rumours were rife. It looked as if Hancock’s competition would benefit and buy up the company, none of which helped me. I still had my existing sponsors but they weren’t going to get me to the next level. Luckily, my third place finish at the Festival made for a great advertisement of my abilities. I’d already received calls for driver tryouts in Formula Ford, Formula Renault and the European Saloon Car Championship. I just hoped one of my tryouts turned into something.
Steve and I carefully peeled the decals and racing numbers off the bodywork before getting down to the hard part of removing the engine.
A knock at the door drew our attention. Alison stood in the doorway.
I’d been calling since they’d arrested her dad, but she hadn’t returned any of my calls. I’d finally given up after the Festival.
‘Could I have a word?’ she asked.
‘Sure. Come in.’
‘I’d prefer to talk outside.’
‘Oh. OK.’
Steve patted me on the back. ‘I’ve got this covered, son.’
I followed her outside. It was cold under the arches and I wished she’d come inside.
‘How’s your dad?’ I asked.
‘Do you care?’
‘Alison, please.’
‘Sorry. He’s doing as well as can be expected.’
I’d heard from Brennan that they had him on suicide watch. ‘I wish things had turned out differently.’
‘Everybody does.’
I hadn’t felt this awkward around Alison since we’d first met.
‘We’re leaving soon for the salvage yard to crush Alex’s car. I know you wanted to be there. You’re welcome to come with us.’
‘No, it’s not important. I just came by to explain.’
‘You don’t have to do that.’
‘I know, but I want to. My father tried to kill you and Steve. You deserve an explanation.’
I’d gotten my explanation from Brennan after Mr Baker had made a full confession. With Alison and Alex’s wedding looming and all previous attempts to break up the engagement failing, Mr Baker latched onto Derek’s death threat. He crippled Alex’s car in the hopes that Derek would play the part of the scapegoat. When I began nosing around, he had to tie up all the loose ends. He mugged Paul for his camcorder recording, attempted to burn down Archway to destroy any evidence on Alex’s car with the petrol can he’d taken from Alex’s garage, and ransacked Steve’s house for the phantom videotape I proclaimed to possess. He decided to kill me when he saw history repeating itself as my bond with Alison developed. My burgeoning relationship with Alison explained how he’d been aware of my every move. Every time I shared a development with her, she told her father. But these weren’t the details Alison wanted to convey.
‘My father was loving and caring. He took Jennifer’s rejection of our family hard and her death even harder. He was never the same after that. I don’t know if someone’s heart can break, but something broke inside him. Since I was his only remaining child, he focused all his attention on me. He became obsessive, checking up on every one of my boyfriends.’