Judas Horse

Chapter 17

Jack let himself into the house and was met by silence. He didn’t call out in case Hannah was sleeping, but as he was hanging up his coat, Hannah’s little smiley face appeared around the door frame, floating about four feet off the ground! Penny was hiding as best she could, but Hannah was heavy and so her ‘little joke’ didn’t last long. Jack rushed forwards and scooped Hannah into his arms — she beamed and gurgled and kicked her legs so hard that she pushed herself away from his body. Although Jack and Hannah saw each other on Maggie’s phone daily, he hadn’t held his daughter for days.

‘She changed, hasn’t she?’ Penny said proudly. ‘You don’t think they can change much in less than a week, but... I’ll put the kettle on. You two catch up.’

Jack followed Penny into the kitchen, as she nattered away. This was something Penny always did when there was a serious conversation to be had at some point in the immediate future. She had to work herself up to it. When she was ready,

Penny turned towards him. ‘Now then...’ Penny waited until she had Jack’s full attention. ‘Maggie is at the hospital with Regina... she left the car for you. Join them if you can but, if you don’t have time, she’ll need a lift back at least. Regina went into very early labour. The baby was breech to begin with... upside down.’ Jack nodded. ‘Now, this is no one’s fault really; well, it might have been, I don’t know, because Regina was being seen by a junior doctor and they...’ Penny looked annoyed with herself and pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. ‘I can’t remember the bloody name... Ah, right, so, the junior doctor used forceps, and doing that, they think, has caused bilateral Erb’s palsy. That’s damage to the nerves in the shoulder. So, the poor little mite is in a bit of a state at the moment. Oh, and she might be deaf, but they won’t know for a while. She’s in an incubator for the foreseeable.’ Having finally managed to deliver the terrible news about Regina’s new baby, Penny gratefully snapped back into grandma mode. ‘Bath time! You carry her up. Then I’ll put her down and you can go to the hospital if that’s your plan. Visiting starts at six.’

It took a while for Jack to trust that the little seat in the baby bath was capable of supporting Hannah without his help — and he was even more sceptical when Penny said that he could pour the water over Hannah’s face and she wouldn’t mind. But once he relaxed and realised that both he and his daughter would be fine, he began to enjoy bath time. He waved a plastic boat in front of Hannah, then he waved a fish and made a popping sound with his lips, then finally waved an octopus and made a clicking noise.

Penny suddenly howled with laughter as a memory popped into her head. ‘That’s from your dad!’ she laughed. ‘He didn’t know what noise an octopus made either, so he clicked and thought, that’ll do. I’d forgotten all about that. He could tell you anything and you’d believe him. That’s why he never lied to you about important things.’

The phone rang just in time to save Penny from another spontaneous crying session. They were far less frequent these days; but the grief still surprised her every now and then.

From the bathroom, Jack heard her tell ‘Simon’ that Jack was busy bathing Hannah, but that he’d return the call as soon as they’d finished. Jack gently chastised his mum when she returned, saying that Ridley was his boss and had every right to ask to speak to Jack during the working day, but he couldn’t help smiling nonetheless.

On the way to the hospital, Jack called Ridley back. Ridley was concerned whether Jack could safely get on the inside of De Voe’s operation in the space of a couple of days. ‘I’m going to go in as a buyer, sir,’ Jack reassured him. ‘Meet De Voe and assess the situation from there. He’s clearly a smart guy who keeps a good distance from the sharp end, so I’m going to take my lead from him.’

‘Fair enough,’ Ridley conceded. ‘Oh, and well done for sticking to your guns with Charlotte, by the way. But be careful, Jack. Stubborn self-belief can come across as insubordination with you. I can hear you smiling, but you know I’m right.’

Jack was smiling now. ‘If you’re around tomorrow morning, sir, I’d like to come in for a proper tactical briefing.’ It was quickly agreed that Jack would be in Ridley’s office by seven. Jack then disconnected the call and pulled into the hospital grounds.

Maggie had her professional doctor’s head firmly on as she sat by Regina’s bedside in the small, four-bay ward, talking her through the potential complications she might expect in the coming months. But when she saw Jack at the window, a lump immediately formed in her throat, forcing her to excuse herself and leave the room. Taking Jack by the wrist she dragged him out of sight of Regina and then she leant heavily against the wall, and exhaled. Jack pulled Maggie’s head forwards onto his chest, supporting her weight as she sagged against him. ‘I’ve got you. Don’t do too much, Mags. You’re no good to any of us if you’re worn out.’ Maggie leant back, so they could look at each other.

‘How are Regina and the baby? Mum mentioned Herb’s palsy or something,’ Jack said.

‘Erb’s. E-R-B-S. There could be the option to operate but, if not, then it’ll mean paralysis. And it’s bilateral, so it’s affecting both arms.’ Maggie put the palms of her hands flat against Jack’s chest. ‘She won’t be able to lift her arms.’ Maggie put her hands round Jack’s waist to hug him tight.

When Maggie and Jack went back onto the ward, Maggie was surprised that Jack wasn’t saying comforting words to Regina; he just hugged her. Perhaps he didn’t know what to say, or perhaps he thought actions spoke louder than words — either way, Regina seemed grateful for his kindness, as waves of worry ebbed through her mind. Jack then asked the one question that Maggie had forgotten to ask.

‘How’s Mario?’

Regina had spent the past few days talking non-stop with various people about herself and the baby, but this was the first time anyone had asked about Mario, and she immediately burst into tears.

‘He’s working all the hours God sends, because if the baby turns out to be as poorly as she could be, we’ll need money. Truth is, he can’t earn enough in one lifetime to pay for all of the treatments, and carers, and medicines. And when he’s not working, he’s researching. Yesterday, he was telling me about a new, ground-breaking treatment in the US, where Doctors re-train the brain to use areas that are damaged. I don’t even know if that’s what we need! Maggie, do you know?’

Maggie assured Regina that no one knew enough just yet. For now, Mum and baby would be watched and looked after, day by day. And so would Dad, she added.

On the way out to the car, Maggie took Jack past the neo-natal unit. It wasn’t usual for non-relatives to be allowed in, but as Jack was with Maggie, the charge nurse made an exception. There were four incubators in the one room and the one nearest to the observation window held Regina’s baby. She was tiny, Jack thought, so tiny that instead of feeling how cute she was, he just felt fear for her future. ‘Jeez, Mags.’ Jack’s mind flashed back to two hours ago when he was holding Hannah in his arms. The baby he was looking at now was half Hannah’s size, if that. There was so much equipment surrounding her, so many tubes and lights and sounds. It looked like chaos. But all of the tiny, doll-like babies in the unit seemed to be sleeping soundly, oblivious to how precarious their hold on life actually was. ‘Is she... I mean, apart from her arms and the deafness, is she OK? Will she be OK?’

Maggie linked her arm through Jack’s and rested her head on his shoulder. She didn’t have an answer.

That night, Jack just watched Hannah sleeping for over an hour. He thought about Mathew and about Regina’s new baby, and how he and Maggie were so incredibly lucky.

Ridley pulled into his parking space at six thirty and then spent thirty minutes getting ready for his meeting with Jack, who walked into the squad room bang on seven. Ridley put two freshly brewed cups of tea on his desk and they got down to work.

‘Michael De Voe. I can confirm “no criminal record” — and that’s all I can tell you about him. I hoped to have been able to prepare a file for you, but there’s nothing.’ Ridley handed Jack a map of the Chelsea Emporium. ‘This indoor space houses thirty-four high-end shops and eateries. De Voe’s Jewellers is on the second floor. Shop number twenty-one. His other shop was out Camden way, but has recently closed down. I don’t have a picture of De Voe for you: there’s no social media, no local-interest news pieces on him — he keeps below the radar. Not what you’d expect for a man who’s just been accused of masterminding the biggest burglary racket this side of the Pennines. Or maybe it’s exactly what we should expect? Did you know that the total insurance claims from the Cotswolds burglaries over three years is estimated to be £7.6 million?’

‘But I think a murder means they have to wrap up and get out,’ Jack said. ‘One more big score. If we miss them at the annual equestrian event, that’s it. They’ll disappear forever.’

Ridley nodded. ‘So, what’s your plan for getting on the inside of De Voe’s world?’ Ridley looked Jack up and down. He was wearing the boots he’d bought for wandering through muddy farmyards out in the Cotswolds, along with jeans and T-shirt.

Jack grinned. ‘I’ll look the part, sir, don’t worry.’

That afternoon, Jack sat down to a full chicken dinner, with five different vegetables, gravy and bread sauce. Even though Maggie was the one who served it up, he knew this meal was Penny’s creation, as he believed no one else on the planet still knew how to make bread sauce from scratch. Penny sat with them to eat and then took Hannah out for a walk.

‘So...’ Maggie knew her husband inside out. ‘...are you playing nicely out in the country?’

‘Well, I met the Oxford Robbery DIs. One’s arrogant, the other’s a prick and, so far, they’re both guilty of culpable manslaughter. But, apart from that, yeah, it’s going well.’ Maggie refilled Jack’s empty wine glass. She then made a gentle observation about Jack always having had problems with those above him. She reminded him of how he once described Ridley as an anally retentive jobsworth, who couldn’t exist outside of the bureaucracy of law and order. Now, he was their daughter’s godfather!

‘Ridley didn’t change, Jack. You did. You grew to respect him. And you were very lucky that he’s a patient enough man to have waited for you to do that.’ Jack loved the way Maggie could tell him off so gently. Whenever they argued about unimportant things, like dirty socks being balled up and thrown behind the washing basket instead of inside it, she could be as loud and belligerent as the next woman, but when she had something serious to say, she was quiet and calm. This made Jack listen attentively to every word she said. ‘Who do you like?’ she asked.

‘DC William Oaks; I like him. He’s honest and eager. DC Cariad Bevan is a tour de force. I’d bring them both back here in a heartbeat. And there’s a uniform, Sergeant Fiona McDermott: she knows people. I don’t mean that she knows important people; I mean she knows her community.’

Maggie knew that Jack rarely butted heads with lower-ranking officers; he was great at both teaching and learning from people who were no threat to his position. But with the higher-ups it was different. ‘It’s just egos, Jack, and I include you in that. When there are too many in one room, sparks are bound to fly.’

Jack smiled in consternation. ‘How can you be so clever one minute and, the next, you’re putting the TV remote in the dishwasher?’

Maggie mopped her gravy with a slice of bread. ‘It’s a gift.’