No Sleep for the Dead

Chapter 36

They waited for a cab outside the main entrance. After the stifling atmosphere of the wards and the heavy aura surrounding the late Lottie Grossman, the fresh air was a blessed relief.

‘What are you going to do now?’ Mitcheson asked.

‘I have to meet Palmer. There are some things to check about Radnor and his operation. What about you?’ She felt guilty, knowing the question implied that whatever she was going to do did not include him. But Mitcheson appeared not to notice.

‘I’m going back to the States tomorrow.’ He raised a hand as Riley began to protest. ‘It’s only for a few days, maybe a week, so I can tie up some loose ends. Then I’ll be back — I promise.’ He smiled and touched her face. ‘You don’t think I could give up being around you for too long, do you? Life’s too boring otherwise.’

‘All right. But stay in touch.’

‘I will.’

They said their goodbyes, then Mitcheson saw an empty cab about to leave and pulled away reluctantly. Riley waved him off, then rang Palmer.

‘Can you pick me up?’ she said, and gave him the address. Suddenly, without Mitcheson by her side, she felt surprisingly vulnerable.

Palmer must have sensed something in her voice. ‘You okay?’ he asked.

‘I’m fine,’ she lied. ‘Just hurry, will you?’

Fifteen minutes later, she and Palmer were on their way to Hayes. She related the scene with Lottie Grossman, after which Palmer gave a pragmatic shrug.

‘She’d have killed us, given the chance,’ he reminded her, steering skilfully round an indecisive learner-driver. ‘You shouldn’t feel anything but relief. But,’ he turned and gave her a knowing smile, ‘you know that.’

Riley decided to call Jimmy Gough and check the current situation at the office block. He agreed to call her back. When he did so five minutes later, it was with surprising news.

‘There are men in suits all over the place,’ he reported. ‘Most of them are on the first floor. Nobby says Azimtec have cleared out. Seems like they might have had a tip-off.’

Riley relayed the information to Palmer, who said, ‘Does he know where Radnor lives?’

‘The cops have been asking the same thing,’ said Jimmy in reply. Nobby says there’s no record.’

Riley thanked him for his help and switched off. She said to Palmer, ‘the watchers Charlie told us about jumped too late.’

Palmer nodded. ‘Or one of them gave Radnor the nod. He’s probably still got contacts on the inside. I doubt we’ll find anything at the VTS place, either, but it’s all we’ve got.’

‘Do you really think Radnor’s still around?’

‘Possibly. If he’s been bringing in arms, he’ll have prepared for the eventuality of something going wrong. It’s standard procedure: always have a fall-back situation, even if it means going to ground and abandoning everything.’

‘And?’

‘He’ll keep his head down long enough to gather his resources, then he’ll disappear. With his training, they’ll never find him.’

As they approached the VTS building, Palmer suddenly snapped his fingers. ‘Hang on. The taxi firm Radnor used. What was the name?’

She shook her head. ‘I didn’t notice.’ She rang Jimmy Gough and asked him.

‘Easy,’ he replied cheerfully. ‘We always used the same firm — White Tower Cabs. They’re just round the corner.’ He reeled off the number from memory. ‘Ask for Poppy — she’s the owner. She owes me for all the business I put her way. If she get difficult, threaten her with a visit from the VAT people.’

Riley made the call, then got out of the car to join Palmer, who was surveying the commercial estate. They were parked just along the road from VTS, behind a large canvas-covered trailer. The area was quiet, with the same mix of cars, trucks and skips as before. The space in front of VTS was deserted and strewn with litter.

The roller shutter under the VTS sign was up, revealing an empty space with just a few scraps of paper and straw packaging gusting around the inside. Sparrows flew in and out, darting up to the steel roof beams and perching on the workbench to preen, already colonising the space while it was free of movement.

Palmer and Riley walked cautiously through the building and out the rear door to the back yard, where the drum that had held the papers Palmer had rescued was now cold and lifeless, still lying on its side. They checked the offices, but other than a mess of discarded documents, and the usual array of admin paperwork, now abandoned, there was nothing useful to be found.

‘SkyPrint?’ suggested Riley.

Palmer nodded and led the way to the SkyPrint unit, where he pushed through the front door into a small reception area with a counter across the back wall, and a single door. In the background was the hum of machinery. Clearly it was business as usual, whatever may have happened along the road. Riley rang a bell and they waited for someone to appear.

‘Can I help?’ A man in a blue shirt and jeans stepped through the door behind the counter. He had thinning hair and a double chin, and was wiping his hands on a cloth.

‘Is Mr Perric in?’ said Riley.

The man shook his head. ‘Mr Perric doesn’t work here anymore. What can I do for you?’ He looked from Riley to Palmer with a touch of impatience, and pointed to a printed sign on the wall. ‘We only see reps by appointment.’

‘Do we look like sales reps?’ said Palmer. When the man said nothing, he continued, ‘What happened to Perric? I thought he was the boss.’

‘He was. But no longer. Who wants to know?’

Palmer ignored the question and gave the man a hard stare. ‘We’re investigating certain allegations about Mr Perric. We’d like to speak to him.’

‘Are you the police? I want to see some ID.’

‘Do yourself a favour,’ muttered Palmer tiredly. He took out his wallet and flashed a card, and Riley recognised the Ministry of Defence logo. ‘I’d say you’ve got about an hour before this place is crawling with every kind of official suit you can imagine, so why not make it easier?’

The man looked taken aback for a moment, licking his lips and looking at them each in turn. He eventually nodded. ‘Perric was let go yesterday morning. His contract was terminated.’

‘There must have been a reason.’

‘He was involved in activities outside the business which the directors didn’t know about. He was in violation of his contract.’

‘Who are the directors?’ Palmer asked.

But the man folded his hands together defensively, and merely repeated what he had said. ‘Like I said, he was in violation of his contract.’

‘Are you referring to VTS?’ Palmer queried. ‘According to our sources, the two businesses were working in tandem. Are you saying he wasn’t the overall boss?’

‘All our divisions are legitimate businesses,’ the man replied eventually. ‘Perric was a manager of this one, but whatever he was doing elsewhere was contrary to our rules. That’s why he was let go.’

‘What’s your position in the company?’ Riley pressed him.

But the man had clearly had enough questions, and drew himself up. ‘That’s all I’m saying.’ He slapped his hands on the counter to reinforce the statement and stepped back, putting more space between them. ‘I don’t care who you are. I am asking you to leave. Now.’

Back outside, Palmer lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. ‘Well, that went swimmingly,’ he murmured dryly. ‘But no more than I expected.’

Riley nodded and kicked at a plastic bottle, which skittered away to bounce off a rubbish skip. ‘They were tipped off and got rid of the problem.’ She felt the burn of frustration at knowing that Perric was probably somewhere out of reach, where he couldn’t be got at. Like Palmer, she knew that calling here had been a long shot, and that any vestiges of the VTS business or its people would have long gone. But sometimes even long shots pay off.

‘Radnor must have ordered Perric to clear out. Blue eyes in there will be the legitimate face of the company, rolled out whenever things get sticky. He’ll be as clean as the driven snow.’ Palmer flicked the cigarette away and watched it bounce along the ground in a shower of small sparks. ‘Never mind. We’ll let the powers that be worry about him. In the meantime, let’s go see if Radnor’s up to receiving visitors.’

Riley paused in unlocking her car. ‘It might be better to leave them to Charlie’s friends. They’re probably out of the country by now.’

Palmer looked unusually grim. ‘I’ll believe that when I see their names on a passenger list. Anyway, I owe Radnor for Reg Paris. And Rubinov for Cecile.’

Riley gave him with a worried frown. ‘I never thought of you as the Great Avenger, Palmer.’

‘I’m not.’ Palmer grinned, his old self again. ‘Only when there’s a full moon, anyway.’