The other key on the chain opened it. Her jaw sagged in amazement when she clapped eyes on the contents. Felicity estimated she was looking at somewhere in the region of a quarter of a million bucks; she immediately transferred the bundles into her case.
Now all she had to do was make a quick phone call and get the hell out.
As she replaced the telephone, the figure of Ira Begin loomed in through the open door of his office. He was not expecting to see Felicity, but when his eyes fell on her and the open door of the safe, he quickly made the addition.
Felicity was on her feet. She hadn’t heard his car pull up.
Begin said, ‘What are you doing, Felicity? You don’t seriously think Mario will let you get away with stealing from him, do you? He’ll probably kill you this time.’
‘ Yeah, no doubt he would — if he was alive to do it.’
Begin’s face registered shock.
Felicity reached calmly into the valise and pulled out the revolver.
Begin’s hands rose instinctively. ‘Hey, if he’s dead, I don’t have any argument with you. I’ll stand aside. You can go.’
Her mind whirred. Yeah, she thought, and I’ll never get past that gate-house alive.
‘ Okay, Ira, I believe you,’ she lied, ‘but I want you to do one thing for me — phone those greasy bastards down at the gate and tell them that in a couple of minutes’ time you’ll be driving out and for them to get the gates open now, because you’re in a hurry.’
‘ But I’m not,’ he protested.
‘ Ira — that’s not the point, is it? I have a gun and I’m telling you what to do. If you don’t do it, I’ll shoot you… and don’t think for a moment I won’t. I’ve just got a taste for blood.’
He eyed her nervously and nodded.
‘ If you try or say anything stupid, I’ll put a bullet in your skull and take my chances with those no-brain wonders anyway,’ she warned him.
‘ Okay, I’ll do it.’
He crossed to the phone. Felicity circled away from him, covering him all the time, not trusting him an inch. She knew how sneaky and deceitful he was, and how violent when the need arose. At that moment in time she was feeling good, completely in control for once in her life. She had made a decision about her destiny and it put her on a high operating plane.
Begin replaced the phone. ‘Done.’
‘ Thanks, Ira — now get on your knees and put your forehead against the wall.’
He started to protest and she levelled the gun at him.
‘ Ira, don’t worry, I’m only gonna put some cuffs on you.’
Unsurely he knelt down, facing the wall.
Felicity stepped quickly up to him, placed the gun at the back of his head and shot him. She ran out of the room before he toppled over.
Begin’s car was outside the front door of the house. Unlocked, keys in the ignition, as were all cars left within the grounds. Headlights blazing, Felicity skidded down the gravel driveway and out of the gates with a loud ‘Yahoo!’ on her lips.
‘ I’d better be going.’ Tapperman indicated the wall clock. It was 2.30 a.m. He and Myrna were sitting in the living room of her house, having drunk endless cups of coffee. ‘There’ll be a black and white right outside the door twenty-four hours per day until you feel safe.’
‘ I feel pretty safe now,’ Myrna said. ‘Just tired, that’s all.’
‘ Hey, my fault. I’ve kept you talking too long.’
‘ No, it’s okay. I’ve enjoyed it.’ And she had, because the main topic of conversation had been the memories both had of Steve Kruger.
‘ Fine, see ya,’ Tapperman waved. He stood up, his head almost brushing the ceiling. His cell-phone rang. He unhooked it from his belt. ‘Tapperman.’
Myrna collected the cups and wandered wearily into the kitchen, a burnt-out case. She returned as Tapperman finished his call. His face was white, because he was suddenly remembering the familiar face he had bumped into at the airport. Now he knew who it belonged to.
‘ That was the office. An anonymous called just left a message for me.’ He gritted his teeth and found himself short of breath. ‘Patrick Orlove is on board that plane with Danny and Tracey. He’s got orders to take Tracey out and then disappear into Europe.’
Both their eyes turned to the clock.
‘ The plane’s due to land in half an hour,’ Myrna said.
‘ We need to get a message to the cops in England.’
‘ Do you know any cops in England?’
‘ No — but I know a man who does.’ She reached for her phone.
Since reading Stanway’s letter, Henry Christie had been far too excited to sleep. He had re-read the thing several times and spent the night agitatedly wandering about the house whilst upstairs his wife and two daughters slept soundly.
He must have dropped off around 3 a.m. because he awoke in a contorted position on the settee just before 6 a.m. with a stiff neck and dead arm. Then in a panic, he rushed round, brushing his teeth, grabbing a quick shower and getting into his work suit, waking the whole household as he did so, before leaping into the car and heading off towards Manchester Airport.
He arrived at the terminal building at 7.45 a.m., parked up and walked into International Arrivals. According to the screens, the flight from Miami was slightly delayed. He cursed, he was looking forward to seeing Danny.
At exactly that time, the first of three cells on the Solitary wing at Risley Remand Centre was unlocked by four prison guards. The door was pulled open and the inmate was found standing there ready prepared.
Louis Vernon Trent smiled amiably at the guards and compliantly held his hands out for the cuffs to be clamped around his wrists. His eyes watched everything that was happening, and everyone. He knew this would be his last chance to escape from custody for a while. After today his remand hearings would take place without his presence. The next time he would be at court would be for his committal hearing, and after that his trial.
This was the first of three chances to effect an escape and if the opportunity arose, he would be on his toes because he knew that, most probably, after the court appearances he would never be released for the rest of his life.
He was prodded along the landing to the next cell, opened by one of the screws. A mean-faced, impatient Charlie Gilbert was also ready and waiting. A pair of specially widened handcuffs were ratcheted onto his fat wrists.
He was dressed very well and expensively. He fully expected to walk out of court a free man, or at the very least on bail today. Bussola would see to that, he believed. And if he did leave as a free man, he would show the cops a thing or two. He would tighten up his network and continue to abuse young girls and if they were difficult, he would kill them; more and more he wanted to kill them anyway. It gave him a great sense of satisfaction. If he walked out of court on bail, he would flee the country, he had decided.
A prison guard’s hand propelled him to the next cell from which Ollie Spencer was extracted.
He was a man with no dreams or expectations. What happened, happened. He was content to take things as they came.
All three men were led out to the yard and bundled into a converted mini-bus with armoured windows and toughened body panels. The prisoners were put into an inner cage, the guards took up positions on seats outside the cage. The driver was in a protected cabin.
When they were ready the mini-bus pulled out of the remand centre.
‘ Would Henry Christie please attend the information desk to take an urgent phone call?’
Henry was standing under the Meeting Point with a cup of coffee in his hand. His mind was retracing the words of Stanway’s letter again and again. He was in deep thought. The letter was very much on his mind, everything else simply background.
I know that Charles has always loved little girls, Henry remembered reading, and he has always directed his energies to being in a position where he could meet them — or arrange to meet them. His amusement arcades were always a good place for this to happen and he frequently lured girls aged around eleven (because that’s the age group he loved the best) and then he would ultimately abuse them. Most he discarded back onto the scrap heap they came from (many were missing from homes, many never got to know his name), but some became regulars, being paid to perform the most disgusting sexual acts with him and his friend Spencer — who was always there. Some liked it. Some didn’t. Some fought him and he overpowered them. Some he could not overpower… and these he would kill.