Good as Dead

FIFTY-THREE

Thorne called Donnelly on his way to Barndale.

He told him about the empty flat in Hounslow and about the forensic evidence linking Jonathan Bridges to the murder of Peter Allen. He told him that when Bridges had been in the hospital wing he was almost certainly responsible for giving Amin Akhtar the drugs that had killed him. He told him about the photograph on Jaffer’s phone.

Donnelly was keen to know why Thorne was not on his way back to the RVP. Was this not the information that Javed Akhtar had been demanding? Thorne explained that there was no point until he had all the answers that were needed, until he could name names. That he could not go back to Akhtar again and say that while he still had a fairly good idea why his son had been murdered and was almost certain who had actually done it, he could not yet be sure who was ultimately responsible. He told Donnelly that until he was in a position to give Akhtar the whole story, it was not worth giving him anything. The man had not reacted particularly well to Thorne’s previous progress report and getting him worked up still further was definitely not what Helen Weeks needed.

‘It’s your shout,’ Donnelly said. ‘But the sooner you get the rest of it, the better.’

Thorne said, ‘It’s got to be all or nothing.’

He called Holland, told him who he was on his way to see.

Holland asked if Thorne was planning on making an arrest and Thorne said he was not planning on anything, that he would be in there making it up as he went along. The last thing he needed was that kind of formality, the time-suck of the process and the paperwork. Then, of course, there was the small matter of grounds, the absence of anything but circumstantial evidence, however damning it appeared. Holland apologised for being overly pessimistic then asked Thorne what he intended to do if the man he was going to talk to did not immediately feel like confessing. Thorne said he would have to beat it out of him. Holland said nothing for a few seconds and Thorne laughed and told him he was joking.

‘Do you want me to come with you?’ Holland asked. ‘I can be there in forty minutes.’

Thorne said, ‘I was joking, Dave. Half joking at any rate… ’

He called Helen Weeks.

They spoke for less than half a minute, but the strain was clear enough in her voice. She was hesitant suddenly, all but monosyllabic. She sounded oddly disconnected from events, as if the call had just woken her and she was not yet sure if she was still having a bad dream. Thorne could hear voices in the background and Helen told him she and Akhtar were watching the television. She and Akhtar and Mitchell. Thorne told her it was good to take her mind off things, that it made the time go faster. She was tired, she told him, but beyond sleep. She kept zoning out, but it worried her because she knew she had to keep her wits about her.

‘Don’t want to drift,’ Helen said. ‘Need to stay sharp.’

Thorne said, ‘Think about Alfie.’