Collision Course Page 17

  ‘That’s why we’re going back to Bangor. I need to convince Hayley Cameron it’s in her best interest to keep us out of it.’

  ‘Use the boy’s death to terrify her into silence,’ said Blake. ‘Warn her that’s what will happen to her and everyone she loves if she opens her fat mouth.’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Sampson, with absolutely no intention of going down that route, ‘I’ll speak with her, make her understand.’

  ‘Good. Keep me informed with what happens. If it’s necessary I’ll have Dominick come to Bangor, and he can meet you there.’

  ‘There’s no need, we won’t have to take anyone to the warehouse this time.’

  ‘You’re confident of that? Well I’m not, Arlen. If it comes to it, you will take them to Rockland, if I damn well tell you to take them there. Do you hear me?’

  ‘Yes, Blake, I hear you.’ Sampson clenched his jaw. ‘But we won’t need Dom. We’re almost at Madison’s apartment, and I don’t want to waste time waiting for Dom getting here. I need to speak with Hayley before she hears about Jacob from somebody else.’

  ‘I’m beginning to think this deal with the Toners is more trouble than it’s worth,’ said Blake.

  Sampson was astute enough to read between the lines. Under no illusion, he knew Blake wasn’t suggesting they back off and leave Maddie and Mike Toner to their little scam; whenever something proved troublesome to Blake his answer was to make it disappear – more rightly he’d have his henchmen do the dirty work for him. Sometimes, it had been hinted by Kelly, some of those henchmen had disappeared when necessary too.

  ‘Allow me to try to smooth things over first,’ said Sampson. ‘I think I opened a rapport with them earlier and can keep them quiet. From what I witnessed Hayley didn’t have any real affection for the kid, and was only using him for her own ends’ – the way you use me, you bastard! – ‘I’m sure I can convince her to forget about him, and that it’s best to keep our arrangement secret.’

  ‘You’re right about not waiting. We can’t drag our heels on this, Arlen. If there’s any doubt whatsoever we can trust them, I want them all taken to the warehouse.’

  Sampson closed his eyes, said, ‘Yes, Blake.’

  After a moment of silence, he ended the call, as Blake’s instruction was absolute. Alongside him Temperance chewed her lips in an uncommon display of worry.

  She looked across at him. ‘He can’t be suggesting killing them all?’

  The volume on his phone was high enough that even through the noise of the downpour she’d followed the conversation.

  ‘You’d commit murder for him?’ Sampson asked.

  ‘If it came to it, I’d have to whether I wanted to or not.’

  ‘What has Blake got hanging over you, Temperance?’

  She neglected to answer.

  ‘Is it worse than what’s being asked of us now?’

  ‘I found my mother’s rapist,’ she said, and didn’t need to expound.

  ‘One revenge killing is forgivable, the cold-blooded murder of three innocents is something else entirely.’

  ‘Maybe. But I’d rather nobody ever learns I was the person that cut off my own father’s dick and watched him bleed to death.’ She held his gaze a few beats before being forced to concentrate on the road ahead. She directed a glance at him and asked, ‘What about you, Arlen? What skeleton did they find hidden in your closet?’

  His crime wasn’t as graphic as Temperance’s but a woman had died nevertheless. While Temperance’s revenge on her bio-logical father had been premeditated, Mary Rhodes had died through a moment of Sampson’s madness. He’d left her bloody, after gasping her last breaths at the edge of a lonely road. In a panic, Sampson had gone to the most powerful friends he knew and thrown himself at their mercy, begging them to save him from imprisonment and his wife Caroline from a life of hardship and heartbreak. Back then he’d no idea the type of people the Ambrose couple really were: he’d thought that they’d connect him with the best legal team to help him avoid culpability in Mary’s death, but instead they’d taken steps to cover up his involvement with the woman, period. Their help came with a demand for repayment; for ending Mary Rhodes’s life he’d had to give his own in years of servitude to them. Sampson deeply loved his wife, and would do anything to protect her, but he was also a man whose moral center had easily been tested back then; he was not immune to temptation and in such close proximity to her he’d succumbed to Mary’s advances, more than once, as he had to those of his friend’s wife, Kelly, both before and after he had become her veritable sex slave. On top of the sin of Mary’s death, he’d loaded more, and his burden was beginning to drag him down. It was beginning to show in his revulsion for Kelly and in his resistance to Blake’s demands.

  After a few illicit dalliances with Sampson, Mary Rhodes had suffered an attack of conscience and had wanted to come clean to Caroline; after all she was struggling with the guilt of sleeping with her sister’s husband. First she’d met with Sampson, in the hope that they could speak together to Caroline, a united front, to both beg her forgiveness and swear they’d never betray her again. Sampson had only foreseen the ruination of his marriage, and he’d at first begged that she kept their secret between them, next he’d pleaded, and when Mary was still intent on informing Caroline of their infidelity, he’d panicked and resorted to force. He hadn’t meant to hurt her, but his hands had found her throat, and he’d squeezed until she could no longer breathe, and then he’d cast her down and stood over her, screaming how he’d finish the job if ever she opened her damn mouth to her sister: Mary never heard his threat, she was already beyond it. As she landed, her skull had cracked on a curbstone. Sampson had fled the scene of Mary’s ‘accidental’ death, and to this day her case remained unsolved. Sampson’s fake alibi – that evening he’d supposedly escorted Blake Ambrose on a business trip to Boston – remained firm, and until now unquestioned. As far as the world, and especially Caroline knew, her sister had died at the hands of a mysterious drifter who’d passed through Maine, and Sampson would have it no other way. He wasn’t about to take Temperance into his confidence.

  ‘Who says I’ve any skeletons to uncover?’

  She clucked her tongue. ‘Quit the bullshit, man. We both know this isn’t you, Arlen. There’s something hanging over your head as much there is over the rest of us.’

  ‘If that’s the case, then it’s for me to worry about. I’m not sharing.’

  ‘I shared with you, don’t tell me you’re gonna hold my secret over me now.’

  He shrugged off her concern. ‘There’s nothing I want from you, Tempe, except for you to watch my back if and when the shit hits the fan.’

  ‘If?’ she intoned, because she was as certain as he was that following Blake’s path would guarantee it.

  TWENTY-NINE

  In the wake of no fewer than three invasions of her apartment in less than twenty-four hours, Madison had finally gotten wise and locked the first-floor entrance door. Tess pressed the button on the intercom. She waited for what felt like an age before pressing the button a second time, this time keeping on the pressure until she was certain anyone inside must have heard. A shaky voice answered.

  ‘Yes? Who is it?’

  ‘Madison? Is that you?’

  ‘What do you want?’

  ‘It’s Tess Grey, the private investigator. Again. I need to see Hayley. It’s important.’

  ‘Go away. You’re not wanted here.’

  ‘Madison, please, it’s very important that I speak with her.’

  ‘Just go away.’ Madison must have ended the connection because the hollow hiss emanating from the speaker stopped.

  Tess pressed the buzzer again.

  A male voice came on. Mike Toner.

  ‘For god’s sakes, there must be somebody else you can harass? Why can’t you just leave us be?’

  ‘Mr Toner … Mike, please listen to me. Something terrible has happened. It involves Jacob.’ It could be hours before the police got around
to informing his next of kin, and from there, the bad news filtering down to Hayley. Despite her earlier resolution to leave delivering the death message to the police, there was little else for it. Only, she thought it should be given in person to Hayley, not impersonally over an intercom like this.

  ‘The kid’s got nothing to do with us now. Hayley broke up with him … he was sent home.’

  ‘Mike, is Hayley in hearing distance? I don’t want her hearing like this … it’s, well, it’s pretty bad.’

  ‘Uh, no, she’s in the bathroom.’ Suddenly Mike Toner understood the gravity in Tess’s voice. ‘What has happened, Tess?’

  ‘I really need to speak in person with Hayley …’

  ‘He’s been hurt hasn’t he?’ Toner’s voice had raised several octaves. In the background, there was a corresponding yelp of concern from Maddie who was in earshot. Maybe the girl was less concerned with Jacob’s welfare than that the news confirmed another fear to her, that the threats of violence directed at them were being followed through.

  ‘His car might’ve been forced off the road,’ Tess said, ‘by the same people we chased from here yesterday.’

  ‘I asked if he’s been hurt? You wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t. How bad is he?’

  She didn’t answer, and her silence said everything. Toner groaned in dismay, and Maddie could be heard squawking for Hayley. Tess said, ‘Please, Mr Toner. Let me come up and speak with Hayley. I’d rather she hear in person than like this.’

  ‘Yes, uh, you’re right. You should come up.’ There was a faint buzz, followed by a click as a lock disengaged, and Tess pushed the entrance door inward.

  Throughout the conversation Po had lurked silently behind her. They’d already agreed she would go up alone if they were granted access to the apartment. He’d guard the entrance. Thankfully they were the first of many people that might arrive, and it was best if Po was in position to deter anyone else from entering. ‘If you need me, holler,’ he whispered.

  Tess nodded, chewed her bottom lip, then set off up the stairs. She dragged her heels for the first few steps, before deciding the sooner this was done the better. She reached the second floor slightly out of breath, her pulse beating in her ears. There was no time for gathering herself; Toner was already in the open doorway, Maddie slightly behind him, her hands cupped over her mouth. Tess had formed the impression that Maddie was a cold-hearted bitch who cared only for lining her pockets, but she wasn’t immune to grief after all. Tears tracked down her cheeks, and she dropped her hands to clench her shirt in both fists. Hayley stood mid-way down the hall, and whatever Maddie had told her had already bleached the color from her features. On seeing the apprehension on Tess’s face, Hayley wailed and crumpled at the knees. She sat down hard on the floor. Mike Toner practically ushered Tess in, until she was crouching alongside the girl in the hallway. Tess reached and took the girl’s shaking hands in hers.

  ‘No, no, no,’ Hayley moaned, ‘don’t say it’s true.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Hayley,’ Tess said, allowing the weight of her words to impart the truth.

  Hayley wailed louder. Maddie and Toner crowded in, each offering their sympathy. A spark of anger ignited in Tess; if it weren’t for them and their damn criminal scam, Jacob wouldn’t have been sucked into their sphere and would still be alive. She scowled briefly at them, but it was as pointless as aiming her anger at the puddle that’d spun Jacob’s Chrysler off the highway.

  ‘Wh … what happened to him?’ Hayley sobbed.

  ‘He lost control of his car,’ Tess began.

  ‘He was forced off the road?’

  ‘It’s unclear. But the police think he was driving too fast for the conditions and skidded on water. I’m sorry, Hayley, Jacob was beyond help. If it’s any comfort, I think he died instantly and didn’t suffer.’

  ‘I … I sent him home,’ she croaked. ‘He wanted to be with me, but I sent him home.’ Hayley’s eyes grew huge as she stared up at Tess. ‘You’ve got to believe me, I sent him away because I didn’t want to involve him in this anymore. I … I liked Jacob a lot, and well … he didn’t deserve to be hurt. He didn’t deserve to be killed!’

  Toner and Maddie had backed off a few feet, huddled together in urgent debate. Tess again scowled at them. She raised her voice so they heard. ‘None of you deserve to be hurt, but can’t you see where this is headed?’

  Toner hushed his daughter as he moved towards Tess. She dragged on his elbow but he shook loose. ‘You said his car was forced off the road by the ones who were here yesterday. Now you’re saying Jacob hit a puddle and skidded … which is it?’

  ‘He was driving too fast because they were following him,’ she said. Her words were pure conjecture, but she wanted Toner to realize that none of them were safe from a similar fate as Jacob’s. ‘He might’ve panicked and lost control—’

  ‘He was upset when he left, angry at us, angry at Hayley for sending him away,’ said Toner, reaching for another – possibly correct – explanation for the crash.

  ‘That’s why I can only say that he might’ve been forced off the road. But it’s a possibility, isn’t it? That Dom guy wasn’t playing around here, he’s definitely capable of doing somebody harm, right?’

  ‘Except Dom wasn’t here when Jacob left,’ Maddie butted in, ‘it was that other guy, the more reasonable one.’

  Toner grimaced at her for speaking out of turn. She’d just fallen into Tess’s trap of offering information she hadn’t previously known. Tess monopolized on it, again offering supposition as hard truth. ‘We know Temperance was driving the van when Jacob crashed, but not who her male passenger was. He was here when Jacob left?’

  ‘He came to make peace between us, after the way Dom and Temperance acted yesterday,’ Toner explained. He was conscious of saying too much though, reddening by the second, now he was beyond the initial shock of Jacob’s demise.

  ‘He have a name?’ Tess demanded.

  Toner was reluctant to admit anything more; fear had loosened his daughter’s tongue though. ‘He’s called Arlen,’ said Maddie to an answering groan from Toner.

  ‘Arlen?’ Tess echoed, looking directly at Toner for more.

  ‘I don’t know his second name,’ he said, and Tess believed him. She thought back to the list of employees and associates of Blake and Kelly Ambrose she’d compiled for later checking, and one in particular who’d featured prominently: Arlen Sampson.

  Tess didn’t leave Hayley’s side, but she concentrated on Maddie. ‘You said this Arlen guy was reasonable? Do you still think the same way about him now that Jacob’s dead?’

  Maddie said nothing. Her blanched features had a greenish tinge to them. Tess aimed a finger. ‘It isn’t too late to stop this going further. You have to stop whatever it is you’re doing and come clean to the cops. Otherwise you’ll never be safe from these people, or their kind again.’ Tess shook her head, as if tamping down disbelief. ‘What on earth have you got going that it’s worth an innocent life, Maddie? What if the next to die is Hayley, or your dad, or you? Will your dirty little scam still be worth it?’

  ‘Whoa, whoa,’ said Toner, hands raised pleadingly. ‘No one else is going to die. Jacob’s death was probably an accident; from what you’ve said he wasn’t rammed off the highway or nothing.’

  Tess stood. She ensured she was staring directly at the wound on his cheek. He’d cleaned it up since last she was there, but the cut was still undressed, a puckered gash, alongside his swollen nose. His left eye had grown bloodshot. She looked him up and down. He was wearing a clean shirt and jeans, his third change of clothing in quick succession. ‘Twice you’ve been beaten by those thugs that I know of,’ Tess said. ‘How can you stand there and try to play things down? You’re not helping either of these girls by pretending they’re not in genuine danger. Mr Toner … Mike … do you love your daughter? No, don’t answer, because it’s obvious that you do. Whatever you’re involved in, it has to end. You’re a decent guy, I can tell. This has never sat happ
ily with you, but you’ve gone along with it for Maddie’s sake. Well, even more for Maddie’s sake, you have to be the one that stops it now. You must tell the police everything; those people have to be stopped from hurting you, your daughter or anyone else. If they’re arrested they can’t hurt anybody, can they?’

  ‘Can’t they?’ Toner glanced around in mild panic. ‘What about us? We’ll also be arrested, we’ll go to prison just the same and what’s to stop them getting at us then?’

  ‘It’s unlikely any of you will be imprisoned. I can’t promise you anything, but I’ll speak on your behalf, and I’ve connections with the District Attorney’s office in Portland. Maybe a deal can be arranged, your testimony in exchange for bringing down a criminal gang.’

  Toner wasn’t buying it. Neither was Maddie. Truthfully, Tess would promise anything that might get them to see the light. In all likelihood they would all face prosecution whether they gave evidence against the extortionists or not, their only hope of lighter punishment would be to work with the state against their persecutors. She changed tactics. ‘When I promised earlier to leave you be, to keep quiet about what was going on, that was on the understanding that Hayley and Jacob went home safely. Things have changed now and so has my promise.’

  ‘Jakey’s dead,’ Hayley intoned, as if punctuating Tess’s unspoken warning.

  ‘If I have my way, I won’t allow those people to hurt anyone else,’ Tess said firmly, ‘and if that means having you all arrested and placed in protective custody, then that’s the way I’ll do things.’

  Two important points struck Tess almost simultaneously. In Jacob’s phone contacts he’d listed INS, and she’d taken it as an acronym under which Hayley’s details had been hidden, but now she realized it was an abbreviation, and Pinky had hit the mark when suggesting it could simply mean ‘insurance.’ At the scene of Jacob’s crash, the deputy had stated that there had been some initial confusion regarding the identity of the driver due to conflicting vehicle ownership information. Maddie’s scam involved using bogus details in order to obtain cheaper driver’s insurance, she’d bet, and Jacob had been the recipient of one of those fake policies. She said, ‘Even if I say nothing to the cops, or you say nothing, it won’t matter because you’ll be arrested. Now that the police are investigating a fatality, they’ll follow every lead. Jacob holds a fake insurance policy’ – she nodded at the look of surprise on Maddie’s face – ‘and it won’t be long till it leads them back via Hayley to you. Whichever way you look at things, your scam’s finished, and it’ll be far better for you all if you take the initiative and assist the police with their investigation. Help them to take down the real bad guys and I’ll bet the cops will look on you all more favorably.’