It was the passenger who set his nerve ends tingling with apprehension. The passenger was younger, apparently more languid, with rather girlie hair and designer stubble of a kind Warwick had always despised. But the eyes . . .
There was nothing behind the man’s eyes.
Warwick gripped the centre armrest as the big car lurched through another pothole, as much for comfort as to steady himself. And he wished not for the first time that he’d had the chance for a quick snort before this summons arrived. Something to bolster his confidence. Just a little.
The silent driver had turned off the road about a quarter of a mile back and since then they’d been crawling up this winding track to God-knows-where. It looked for all the world like they were taking him to his unmarked grave.
Warwick let out his breath. It emerged long and slow but shaky. He saw the front passenger’s eyes flick to his in the wide-angle rearview mirror, thought he detected a flicker of amusement there, but it was hard to be sure. Warwick swallowed, checked the knot of his tie, shot a cuff and willed himself to calm.
All it takes is nerve Steve old son, he told himself. You’ve always had plenty of balls in the past. Don’t go soft now . . .
At last the Range Rover reached more even ground, the bushes petering out into a wide expanse of lush grass that seemed to stretch for miles, offering a gently rolling view. The driver veered to the right and Warwick saw white rails and the first of a set of brushwood steeplechase fences.
Of course—the man and his damned horses!
Another Range Rover was already parked there together with an old Land Rover, its sides splattered with mud. The driver pulled up alongside them and cut the engine. He climbed out and opened Warwick’s door, indicating with a jerk of his head that he should vacate. It was not a suggestion and Warwick wasn’t foolish enough to take it as such.
Nevertheless he took his time as if not intimidated, stepping down into the wet grass. It immediately soaked through the turn-ups of his suit trousers. He growled under his breath and caught another twitch of a smile from the guy in the passenger seat.
The other Range Rover had an oversized sunroof over the rear seats. The bulky top half of Harry Grogan was visible poking out through it, a set of binoculars to his eyes. Warwick approached but was wise enough not to speak. Instead he turned and stared in the same direction shading his eyes with his hand.
Standing near the front wing was a whiskery grey-haired man with a face like old wood. He was wearing moleskins and a quilted jacket and battered flat cap. He nodded to Warwick without enthusiasm but didn’t speak. Warwick smelt horse on him and didn’t move closer.
They heard the pack before they saw them, the thrumming vibration of a dozen three-quarter-ton thoroughbreds at full stretch, each obeying the inherent instinct to get their flared nostrils in front of the others.
On the outside about halfway back was a grey horse that stood out from the rest and not just for the colour. Where the others were wholly extended, the grey horse seemed to be almost idling yet covered the ground with coordinated ease. As they came level, the grey’s jockey began to ask and the horse responded at once, accelerating effortlessly on the leaders.
They swept up a slight incline hugging the rails as they thundered past. Grogan tracked them all the way, only lowering the binoculars reluctantly when they’d disappeared from view. Even then he continued to stare after them narrow-eyed across the Downs.
“Well?” he demanded of the old man in the cap.
“He’s fit to race,” the man said shortly, surprising Warwick with his public school accent. Warwick got the impression he was no more eager to be here than him. At Grogan’s nod of dismissal the man hurried to the Land Rover keeping his gaze downcast as if to emphasise how little he’d seen and heard and bumped away down the track.
“D’you know as much about horses as your partner Mr Warwick?” Grogan asked then, offhand.
Warwick thrust his hands into his trouser pockets and glanced up, keeping his voice casual. “I know I’d save that grey colt before all the others in a fire,” he said, dismissive. “He’s got world class written all over him.”
Grogan peered down at him sharply, his expression forbidding. For a second Warwick feared he’d gone too far with his praise, that he’d been horribly misinformed about the man’s favourite animal, his weak spot.
If you’ve sold me a line, Myshka . . .
Grogan ducked back down into the car. A moment later the rear door swung open and he was beckoned inside. The privacy glass made the interior darker and the lazing engine kept the temperature even.
“Looks like you do know your horses son,” Grogan said settling back in a corner. He pressed a button on the armrest and the sunroof buzzed closed, shutting out the sky. The car was a long wheelbase with plenty of room in the back. Warwick crossed his legs negligently and forced himself to wait as if he’d time to dawdle. As if there was nothing at stake here.
“I hope you didn’t mind this little ride out into the country Mr Warwick,” Grogan said pleasantly. “I like to come and see my horses work out every week rain or shine.” He removed the stopper from a crystal decanter in the polished rack between the front seats and splashed a measure of dark amber liquid into two heavy tumblers.
“At the start of it I only bought a couple of horses just to please my Irene,” he continued in conversational tones as he handed a glass across. “You know what women are—got to have something to keep them occupied or they get up to mischief. She loved the gee-gees did my Irene.” His face betrayed a hint of wistfulness. “Not any more of course.”
“I’m sorry,” Warwick said awkwardly. “Is she . . . no longer with us?” He dipped his nose into the glass and recognised bourbon—not his tipple of choice.
“She’s in a nursing home in Southend,” Grogan said easily. “Early onset dementia so the quacks tell me. Went doolally in her fifties poor cow.”
Warwick took a slug of bourbon anyway just to fortify himself. “I’m sorry,” he said again.
“Don’t be,” Grogan said. “She’s happy as Larry out there. Away with the fairies. As long as they keep to her routine and nothing upsets her. Mind you I find as I get older I’m becoming a man less tolerant of . . . surprises myself.”
Grogan sat back, sipping his drink with satisfaction, and between one mouthful and the next his demeanour turned cold. “I don’t like changes of plan for instance—or agreements that aren’t followed to the letter. You get my meaning?”
Oh shit. Warwick took another gulp of bourbon, set the glass back in its slot. “Oh, I quite agree,” he said, unconsciously letting his voice drawl.
“That’s good,” Grogan said stonily, “because the latest shipment is on its way from St Petersburg as we speak. It’s a big shipment Mr Warwick, even by my standards. One I’ve bought and paid for up front like we agreed when you said you wanted the goods brought in. We clear so far?”