Page 63 of Into the Fire

‘So … did you see him?’DC Malik now offered encouragingly.

‘Can’t say I did.Get all sorts drifting through here and he hardly has a memorable face, does he?Kind of bloke you walk past on the street every day of the week.’

Charlie regarded him curiously, intrigued as to why he was so determined to impede their enquiry.

‘So if we look through your till roll, your accounts, we won’t find any payments from Davies?’DC Malik persisted.

‘You’re welcome to look,’ the manager replied, smiling.‘Most folk pay in cash, though, so I wouldn’t fancy your chances.’

‘What else do they buy in here with cash?’Charlie said, an edge to her voice now.

‘Excuse me?’

‘Well, it’s not just the beer and music people come for, is it?There’s a good trade in amphetamines too, right?Speed, MDMA, ketamine …’

‘Now, hold on a minute, you’ve got no proof of that.’

‘Come off it, mate, we busted two of your pals less than a month ago for doing exactly that,’ Charlie retorted angrily.‘Now I guess you get a cut for turning a blind eye, or maybe it’s just loyalty to the low-rent crooks who frequent this place that’s making you so reluctant to assist us, but let me be clear.Clint Davies was in this establishment two days ago and I want to know who he met.My colleague and I are prepared to stayall day if necessary, chatting to your punters, talking about the current state of our investigation, explaining our policing priorities.I’ve got nothing on tonight, so we could stay all evening.I’m suresomeonewould be able to help us.’

Her adversary started at her blankly, suddenly looking deeply uncomfortable.

‘Not sure it’s really my kind of music, but a change is as good as a rest, right?’Charlie continued brightly.‘Or you can cut the crap, tell us what we need to know and we’ll be on our way.The choice is yours.’

There was no choice of course, the prospect of the two police officers clearing the bar by their presence an intolerable imposition.

‘OK, he was here on Friday morning, but only briefly …’

‘Who did he meet?’DC Malik demanded.

‘Middle-aged guy, tanned, muscular.Don’t know him, though he sounded foreign.’

‘Catch any of what they said to each other?’

‘No, they kept themselves to themselves.I can give you a full description of the guy though, if you’d like …’

He was looking at Charlie earnestly, desperately trying to be helpful now, but her attention had drifted to the blinking camera high up on the wall.

‘Or you could just give me your CCTV footage from that day?’

The manager looked nervously up at the camera, suddenly reluctant, but the battle was lost and he knew it.

‘We’ll wait here while you get it for us, shall we?’

Chapter 67

She strode along the corridor, deep in thought.The last few hours had been some of the most stressful of Rachel Firth’s life.First the phone call from that bloody journalist, then the damning headlines on theEvening Newsdigital feed, then the endless emails from the shareholders.Firth had worked hard to dampen the fires, claiming to some that it was simply a mistake, to others that it would not come back on Regus, but the damage was done, the company she’d spent fifteen years building from scratch now tainted, appearing grubby, heartless and grasping in the public’s imagination.Her rear-guard action had been hard-fought, determined, but ultimately fruitless, the major shareholder groups demanding an Emergency General Meeting.

She had less than an hour to prepare for it and made her way swiftly to the boardroom, which would shortly be the scene of argument, accusation and recrimination.Firth knew her position as CEO was in jeopardy, perhaps even her shareholding too, if the others united to force her out of the company that had been her creation, her baby.She understood that there would be no place for sentiment in their discussions, the investors simply wanting to protect both the share price and the bottom line.If the cost of that was her expulsion, so be it.No, the only way she could survive this was to bat back the accusation, challengingthe so-called evidence and distancing the company from her sub-contractors in a concerted show of strength.A bold, public move, such as the instigation of legal proceedings against Emilia Garanita and her newspaper would also help, alongside a very strongly worded statement lambasting lazy journalism and baseless innuendo.Rachel Firth had already summoned the lawyers, but she knew time was tight if they were to get all their pawns in place by the time of the EGM this afternoon.

Stepping into the boardroom, she was surprised to see that one of the lawyers had already arrived, taking a moment to enjoy the commanding views of Southampton offered by the floor-to-ceiling windows.Firth’s relief at seeing the cavalry palled, however, as the statuesque figure turned to face her.

‘What the hell are you doing here?’she demanded, her face blanching as she stared at Helen Grace.‘This is a private company.You can’t just waltz in here when you want to.’

Furious, Firth marched to the phone, snatching up the handset.

‘No need to get excited,’ her adversary responded harshly.‘I just wanted a quick word.’

Helen’s angry assurance sent a shiver down her spine, Firth’s voice shaking as she summoned security, alerting them to the presence of a trespasser, before slamming the phone down.

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