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The first few miles were the reverse of the journey Charlie had made earlier, along the wide river valley to the coast. After that it was the expressway, and then the tangle of motorways around the outskirts of Manchester. The mountains and forests were replaced by lines of high-side lorries heading to and from the Holyhead ferries to Ireland. Once they crossed the border into England, the satnav came into its own as motorways split and merged, with signposts pointing to places they didn’t want to go.
“What’s it like working with Kent?” Eddy asked, when they’d navigated their way onto a reasonably clear stretch. “I mean, he gets results, but he’s not universally popular at HQ.”
“Popularity isn’t everything. He’s a good boss.” Charlie said.
“So how come he sent you here?”
This wasn’t a conversation Charlie wanted to have, though at this point he didn’t have much left to lose.
“He sent me here to get me out of the way. I’m sure you saw my picture in the papers. Everyone else did.” Eddy looked embarrassed. Of course he’d seen.
“Let’s just say, I wouldn’t climb over you in bed to go and murder someone.” Eddy said with a grin.
Charlie shrugged, determined to ignore the comment. “I expected to have to resign, quite honestly.”
“That’s the police,” Eddy said. “Favours swapped around. The only difference between people like Kent, and my DCI and the Harrington-Bowens of this world, is that none of us are in the Masons.”
“How do you know your DCI isn’t in the Masons?”
“She’s called Freya Ravensbourne. Last I heard, women are still unwelcome.”
“Is that the only difference, though?” Charlie asked. “Because what I did was make a stupid mistake. What these guys did was deliberate.”
Eddy overtook a procession of lorries before answering.
“I’m here because DCI Ravensbourne owes Kent a favour. That’s what she told me anyway. She said he wanted someone quote sound unquote to work in Llanfair, and I drew the short straw. It seems to me that Kent is pulling all the strings, and we’re the puppets dangling on the end.”
“Sometimes we have to choose a side. I’m choosing Kent over the likes of Harrington-Bowen.”
The music had segued into Taylor Swift, and Charlie and Eddy listened without speaking for a while.
“We need to think about this Kaylan character,” Charlie said. He saw Eddy’s hands relax infinitesimally on the wheel and heard him let out a long breath. The awkwardness could be forgotten for now.
Brocklehurst was an ex-industrial town that had somehow morphed into somewhere trendy and desirable. The houses were the same narrow stone terraces as in the neighbouring, unfashionable towns, but in Brocklehurst, they’d been gussied up with window boxes, and there were bicycles chained to the railings in front of many of the houses. The high street had been pedestrianised, and independent shops and cafes were thriving alongside the Spar, Greggs, and Bargain Booze. Charlie and Eddy found the police station easily enough, and explained to the desk sergeant why they were there. He was a well-rounded figure in a uniform that didn’t fit. Charlie deduced that the man was losing weight but hadn’t yet lost enough for a smaller size.
The sergeant shook hands with both of them over the reception counter. They were not invited any further in. “You coming to take the lad back to the land of our fathers? He’s still in the hospital, but they don’t need to keep him much longer. You can pick him up from there.”
“Have you spoken to him about his friend?” Charlie asked.
“He wasn’t making a lot of sense, so not really. I told your girl, he says his friend is dead, but that was about all he did say.” Charlie winced at the man calling Mags their 'girl’.
“Has anyone informed his next of kin?” Charlie asked.
“I think the nurses were seeing to that,” the man said. He didn’t sound certain. It would be one of the things they would need to check.
“Let me get this clear,” Eddy said. “Kaylan says he was kidnapped, and his friend is dead, but you haven’t taken a statement? And you are quite happy for us to take over, even though Kaylan appeared on your patch?”
Charlie wanted answers to those questions, but he didn’t want the locals getting all defensive. He needed to channel some of Mal Kent’s charm. He put his hand on Eddy’s arm, and kicked his ankle where it couldn’t be seen.
“I think what my colleague means is that we don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. As Kaylan appeared in your area, his friend Rico could be around here too, and he might be injured, or worse.”
The desk sergeant shrugged. “Could be. And if the lad starts making sense, we’ll take his statement and start a search if it’s called for.” He pushed a card across the counter. “Give me a ring when you’ve seen him. But we close at five, mind.”
Charlie sensed Eddy was about to speak, so he kicked him again.
“Thank you,” Charlie said, and politely asked for directions to the hospital, which turned out to be back the way they had come.
As they headed to the door, The desk officer called after them. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before we need Taffys from Llanfair telling us how to do our jobs. Or poofters who fuck murderers. Now piss off.”
