“I still think it’s tight. Gary was there for her in her hour of need. That’s the only reason he’s got your lot breathing down his neck. You weren’t there.
I wasn’t there, but he was. ”
I could see the argument coming before it even started. Kit was convinced that my plan to head to the wasteland and cast around for answers was a mistake. And Kit was equally convinced that Gary deserved to face the same consequences as Sarah, even though he wasn’t the one who actually killed Theo.
“Unless you think things have run their course,” Kit shot back. “Sarah gets 15 years, Gary gets away with it. ”
“It’s not that simple though, is it, Kit? If the jury can see that it was self-defense, then…”
“She didn’t say so at the time.
”
“Has she spoken to the solicitor? ”
“Self-defense might be a stretch. ”
“Because she covered it up? ”
“Because she went to great lengths to cover it up.
With a certain someone’s help. ”
I knew where this was heading. Kit wanted Gary to come forward, to admit that he talked Sarah into staying quiet. That he told her to hide the truth.
But without proof, without the murder weapon, what was the point? “Right, well, I know where you stand,” I said. “I don’t stand anywhere. ”
“I’m off to see if I can find a piece of scaffolding that killed Theo Silverton.
”
“You shouldn’t be going anywhere near this. ”
“Well, dob me in if you like. Tell them how I got hold of the location. But then you explain to Harry why his mum’s not coming home.
”
That shut things down. Kit knew what was at stake. Harry, Cassie’s little boy, was caught in the middle of all of this. His grandmother was dead, his mother was inside, and his uncle Gary was being dragged through the mud.
The conversation moved on. Kit brought up the favor I owed him from the other day at the match. Some woman was shaking a charity bucket and I didn’t have any money, so he put a tenner in. The deal was I’d give him half.
“All right, fine. I’ll get you a pint then. ”
“Okay, whatever. So, have you heard from him yet?
”
“Uh, no. ”
“Where’s your radar? ”
“Honestly, it’s here. Richie.
”
I walked Kit through the door. He was starting his first proper day at the prison. HMP Highfield, men’s side. Not that it would do anything for Sarah.
Different facility entirely. “Do you still get nervous on your first proper day on the job? ” I asked. “With all the baddies?
”
“Not really. A bit apprehensive maybe, but…”
“What does apprehensive mean? ”
“Nervous. ”
Richie had done his time in the system already.
Maximum security, briefly. An open prison too. A secure training center. He was an experienced officer, though he looked like he was barely old enough to grow a proper beard.
“What’s the point of open prison anyway? ” I wondered. “That’s for what they call white-collar crime. ”
“What’s white-collar crime?
”
“Well, that’s when someone rich does something bad. ”
I snorted. “That’s not true at all. What’s an STC?
”
“Secure training center. ” He looked me dead in the eye. “Make sure you don’t end up in one of those, all right? ”
It was easy to banter with Richie.
He was staying at Kevin’s spare room. He had a fresh start ahead of him, finally clean. We snarked back and forth about his housekeeping, about washing, about his sister, and about Granny Cath, who everyone was missing. “Right, you and your sister, I want you to bring all your washing down today and do the vacuuming like you promised.
”
“Yeah, good luck with that. ”
“Who else is missing Granny Cath? ”
“We’re all missing Granny Cath, love. ”
“Well, speak for yourself.
”
I wasn’t in the mood for the heavy side of all this. Not today. I had been dragged into Sarah’s mess from the moment she got out that phone and called me. She had told me what she did to Theo, and I had told her to stay quiet.
I had even gotten rid of the pole for her. That made me just as dirty as anyone. And now I had to decide whether to walk into the station and confess, or sit back and watch her go down for something that maybe wasn’t her fault. Kit pressed the point from the passenger seat.
“Okay, so basically what you’re saying is you’ve got nothing. You’re expecting Gary to walk into the police station for no good reason? ”
“A bit of manpower would find it. ”
“I have to work with Maria, you know.
And Dave came into the salon this afternoon. You should hear how excited they all are to go to Florida. ”
“I hope they bought insurance. ”
“He’s not going to come.
”
“He’ll do what I say. ”
“You don’t know Gary. ”
“I know him well enough. ”
But I didn’t.
Not really. Gary had been Sarah’s knight in shining armor when she was in trouble, but he had also been the one who convinced her to dispose of the weapon. He was the one who told her to keep her mouth shut. And now he was on his way to Florida with the whole family, the sunshine state, the Kennedy Space Center, while Sarah rotted on remand.
I called her, but the phone went to voicemail. I left a message, but I didn’t know when she’d get it. That morning I had gone on a little recce. Eastern corner of Gledhill Lane Industrial Estate.
Between the big storage facility and the carpet warehouse. There was a patch of wasteland, an old storage unit full of scrap, old mattresses, shopping trolleys. You could walk around the side of it to a bridge over the canal. I told Kit about that spot.
“You’re familiar with it? ”
“Am I? ”
“Maybe your phone went there on its own that day. ”
“What day?
”
“The day you got rid of the pole. ”
That hit the mark. Kit knew exactly what I was talking about now. His GPS had pinged near that location at the same time the weapon disappeared.
“I’ll send my crew in,” I told him. “We’ll find it. ”
“You’re off the case. Prince will be all over it.
”
“Yours, too. ”
“You reckon? She acted in the heat of the moment. I didn’t.
I could tell your mates what stunts you’ve been trying to pull. ”
“Still want to help you, Garrett. ”
“No, you’re a snake. I should punch your head off that wall.
”
“Whatever’s on that phone, you didn’t get hold of it legally, did you? ”
“No. ”
“Well, then hand your cell phone over. Tell them what you said to her.
Tell them that you convinced her not to go to the police. Then nobody has to find the weapon, legally or otherwise. ”
“So, she kills him, but I do time? Just for chucking a pole away?
”
“Not listening, Garrett. If I have to find that scaffolding pole, you’re looking at years, not months. ”
“Oh, I stay quiet and do nothing. I get nothing.
”
“With your help, the jury might believe it was self-defense. ”
“Let me get one thing straight, all right? She got rid of the murder weapon. She just did it by ringing me.
”
“Which makes you an accessory. ”
“Yeah, so what’s all this then? What are you trying to do? Bend the law to suit yourself now?
”
“No. She called me. And that’s what you can’t handle. Because if you had done for Maria what I did for Sarah, I’d be forever in your debt.
”
The air went cold. I looked him in the eye. “She’s your girlfriend, not mine. And I risked everything for her.
”
He took a step forward. “Confess. Or you’re going away for a long, long time. ”
“I’ll be in Florida.
”
“I’ll give you till 3:00 tomorrow. After that, I’ll bury you. ”
But he wouldn’t. He couldn’t.
Because if he buried me, he buried himself. Sarah had called me, not him. She trusted me to get rid of that pole.
And when it came down to it, Kit would have to choose which one of us he really wanted to protect.
