Page 5 of Bay of Plenty

Waiting for the famously surly Mikey to take our order, we debated whether Declan’s wording was compelling or creepy. The thought of calling him sent an unnerving coil of embarrassment through me. Still, I was intrigued.

*

As we strolled toward Kensington Gardens after breakfast, Shay finally came down on the side of “creepy and don’t engage.” But Shay was an actuary, trained to be cautious and risk-averse, and as a longtime journo, my curiosity was piqued. Was he a reader of my news stories? I’d sourced some of my most successful stories from readers who were on the edge of society. I thought about turning up to my filing job tomorrow morning, the vast emptiness that was my future.

“Let’s head home where it’s private, and I’ll call him,” I said.

Back in our living room, Declan answered on the first ring. I put him on speaker.

“Hi, Declan, this is Isla Joyson. I got your text. What’s this important thing you want to speak to me about?”

“Hi, Isla, thanks for calling me back.” He cleared his throat. “Look, this is going to sound unbelievable.” Beside me, Shay shook her head, distraught. “Wait… is someone else there?”

I turned to her and put a hush finger to my lips. “No, no, I have you on speaker because I’m feeding Teddy.”

He paused. “My full name is Declan McDermott. I’m a detective chief inspector with the National Crime Agency.”

A DCI at his age? Hard to tell with all that hair, but he didn’t seem much older than me. Shay quickly googled his name and rank and showed me her phone. No results. As if he knew I’d do this, Declan continued, “You won’t find anything about me on the internet because I’m undercover. I’ve been watching you for some time because I thought you might be a person of interest. Your parents in New Zealand have funded an illegal activity.”

I froze.What the fuck?I mouthed to Shay. She grabbed my arm protectively. “What illegal activity?”

“I can’t expand until you agree to work with us.”

“Are you sure you have the right people?” I heard my voice crack. “This does not sound like my parents.At all.”

He answered with a list of facts about me and my parents, our names, ages, addresses, careers, and even the names and ages of our dogs. I scooped Teddy closer. My neck prickled, and my breathing went sharp and shallow at the thought of our lives being probed and picked over.

“It does appear you are, er, not estranged from your parents exactly, but not close to them? You haven’t been home in fifteen years?”

My whole body bristled. “Estranged?No. I don’t have time to go home, so I pay for us to meet halfway once or twice a year in LA or Singapore, destinations like that. Or they come to London—your research must show that.” I huffed, annoyed, then calmed myself. “Okay, otherwise you’ve described us adequately. But what is this illegal activity you say they’re funding?” I pressed my fingers against my pounding temples. “My parents don’t have money to fund anything, let alone something dodgy.”

“But it seems they have,” Declan said firmly. “We thought you might be working at the London end of things, but after following you around—”

“You followed me around?” My voice squeezed higher. “You watched me at my birthday drinks? You made friends with me, came home with me, slept in my bed? Th-that feels”—I shivered and rubbed my arms—“like such a violation.” My stomach churned with the thought of his eyes trained on me, being judged during my weakest and most vulnerable moments.

“I’m sorry. But that’s my job. Honestly, it’s not personal, and I’m not being glib. And, as I said, I stayed in your room because I thought you were not safe.” He took a deep breath. “The good news is, after meeting you, I’ve ruled you out.”

So, my drunken table dancing cleared me of a crime? God.

“Could we meet? I want to discuss how you can help us.”

Her eyes wide, Shay sliced a hand across her neck to hang up. But even in his urgency, something calm and authoritative about Declan gave me pause. What he said sounded wild, but wild first statements often led to shocking but legitimate stories.

“I have to know what this is first,” I said.

A pause. “Okay. It’s drugs. Drug trafficking.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Drugs?Drug trafficking?” My raised voice startled Teddy, and he barked furiously. Shay soothed him.My skin burned hot and painful, like it was bubbling off my flesh. “My parents? No. How are they involved? What drugs?”

“Sorry, I’ve said more than I should. We can’t reveal more without you signing a contract to work with me and my team, including a nondisclosure clause.”

“I have to call my parents first.” My stomach tightened. That conversation was going to be tough. We talked on the phone, but I hadn’t been home for a long time, and the truth was, we had a surface, quite strained relationship.

Shay nodded, relieved.

Declan let out a breath. “I can see why you’d want to do that, but please don’t.” His voice was steady. “Your parents will almost certainly tell others, which will completely blow our investigation. We will be forced to prematurely alert Interpol and the New Zealand Police to coordinate arrests of those we know are involved so far, including your parents, and bring them in for questioning.” He paused. “That would pretty much shut down the whole operation, and believe me, it won’t help your parents’ case or their safety. I reached out to you because you’re a journalist, and I hoped you’d understand how these things operate.”

“But your goal is not to clear my parents of any wrongdoing. Why would I help you arrest my parents?”

---