Tania Carver - The Surrogate

‘We’re exploring all avenues,’ said Phil.

Anni took a photo out of her jacket, handed it to Eades. ‘What about her?’

Eades looked at it, and there was no disguising the fact that he knew her. He sighed as he looked at her face.

Phil picked up on it straight away. ‘You know her?’

‘Has she been killed too?’ It sounded like genuine concern in his voice.

Phil ignored the question. ‘Do you know her?’

Eades looked again at the photo. ‘Yes.Yes, I remember her very well.’

‘You met more than once?’ said Phil.

‘Yes. Regularly. We met… she had a flat we went back to. I didn’t pick her up on the street. Sometimes in a hotel. Yes…’ He drifted off at the memory.

‘And would you say you developed a relationship with her?’ said Anni.

‘Well, I think so. We were together for… we used to see each other for quite a while.’

‘And you talked about… what, exactly?’ said Phil.

‘Oh, all sorts. Life, my family. Everything.’

‘So why did it end?’ asked Anni.

‘I met Erin,’ he said.

Anni folded her arms. ‘And you didn’t have to pay for it any more.’

‘That’s right.’ Eades looked up, realised what he had just said. ‘I didn’t mean it like that…’

‘That’s all right, Mr Eades,’ said Phil. He held his hand out for the photo.

Eades seemed reluctant to hand it over. He sighed, looked at it once more. ‘Oh, Sophie,’ he said.

Phil and Anni exchanged glances. They made to leave.

Graeme Eades stood up.

‘Please,’ he said, looking unsteady on his feet. ‘Please. Find my baby. My girl.’ He looked up. ‘It was a girl, you know…’ Then away again. ‘And she’s the last part of…’ He couldn’t bring himself to say his wife’s name.

He crumpled to the bed, curled up and sobbed.

They left him to his grief.

Outside, Phil shook his head, as if to dislodge Graeme Eades’ voice, the image of him lying there.

‘We have to find her,’ said Phil. ‘And fast.’

They drove back to the station.

Clayton stood outside in the car park. It was freezing, wind whipping his jacket back, promising ice and snow. He didn’t notice. He had his phone to his ear.

‘Come on,’ he said, ‘pick up…’

It switched over to answerphone. ‘Hi, this is Sophie. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you really, really soon.’ Her voice dropped, low and teasing, on the last three words, holding the promise of fun and sex. It worked. Clayton knew that.

‘Listen, Sophie, it’s me, Clayton. I need to see you. Now. It’s important. I don’t know where you are, but go back to the flat, I’ll meet you there.’ He ended the call. Sighed.

Fuck …

He put his phone away. Thought. Took it out again. He would try his flat. Maybe she was there already. In the shower or something. He dialled, waited. Heard his own voice on the answerphone.

He started to leave a message.

‘Sophie? It’s Clayton. If you’re there, pick up.’ A long pause. Then a sigh. ‘Okay. Look, I’m coming back to the flat now. I really need to talk to you. Now. I’ve left a message on your mobile. If you’re there, wait.’ Another sigh. ‘This is so fucked. I’ve… we’ve got to…’ Another sigh. ‘No. I can’t say on the phone. We have to talk it through. We have to sort it.’ The message ended.

Across the room, sitting on one of Clayton’s dark leather armchairs, Sophie Gale took another drag on her cigarette, held it, let out a long plume of smoke.

The red light on the answerphone flashed. She didn’t move. Just put the cigarette to her lips once more, took down another mouthful of smoke, slowly exhaled.

Waited.

Phil was pushing the Audi as fast as he could without breaking the speed limit down the Avenue of Remembrance on the way back to the centre of Colchester. Beside him, Anni was feeling troubled.

‘Boss,’ she said, with evident trepidation.

‘Yeah?’ he said, not taking his eyes off the road.

‘I think there’s something I should have told you.’

He risked a glance at her. Her head was angled away from him but he could clearly see the tension in her neck. ‘Go on.’

The engine seemed to roar in the silence between them. Eventually Anni spoke. ‘It’s about Clayton.’

Phil waited.

‘He’s…’ She sighed. ‘I saw him. The other night. When I was staking out Brotherton’s house.’

Phil looked at her, frowning. He said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

‘He was… he brought Sophie Gale back home. In his car.’

Phil took his eyes fully off the road. ‘He did what?’

‘And…’ She had to keep going. There was no turning back now. ‘And she gave him a blow job. In the car.’

Anni turned her face away to the window once more. She could feel Phil’s eyes on her, burning into her intensely. The road taking care of itself.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ His voice quiet, controlled.

Anni knew that wasn’t a good sign. ‘I… I didn’t know if it was my place, boss. I just thought he was being a dick. I confronted him with it.’

‘And what did he say?’

‘He said he would tell you. Sit down and tell you everything. ’

‘Everything? What’s everything?’

Anni sighed, shook her head. ‘About… Clayton used to work vice. He knew Sophie from back then. Was one of the team she used to be an informant for.’

‘Why the fuck didn’t he tell me?’ His voice seemed all the louder in contrast to its previous quiet and control. His hand left the steering wheel, began massaging his chest. Anni noticed he seemed to be having problems with his breathing.

‘You okay, boss?’

He ignored her question. ‘Why didn’t he tell me?’

‘I don’t know. He said he was going to. But he didn’t. But it made me look into her background. That’s when I came up with the whole prostitute thing.’

‘Which he wasn’t going to say anything about.’

‘I… I don’t know. Boss.’

Phil sighed and kept sighing, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps.

‘Boss…’

‘Christ…’ His hand clenched harder at his chest. Anni began to worry that he might be having a heart attack.

‘Shouldn’t… shouldn’t you pull over?’

Phil gave an angry shake of his head. ‘Call him. Phone him now. I want to know what the hell he’s playing at.’

Anni took out her mobile, speed-dialled Clayton. She waited. Looked at Phil. ‘Answerphone.’

‘Bastard… leave a message. Tell him I want to see him back at the station. Now.’

Anni did so, hung up.

‘He was in the office when we left,’ said Phil in between gasps. ‘Call them. See if he’s there. No, call Marina. Ask her.’

Anni did what she was told, spoke to Marina, listened to the reply. Rang off.

‘He’s gone. Left just after we did.’

Phil seemed to be breathing through clenched teeth. ‘Did… did she say why?’

‘She said he went to talk to Millhouse just after I did. Then left in a hurry.’

‘And you were asking Millhouse about Sophie Gale.’

‘Yeah.’ Realisation hit her. ‘Oh God…’

‘You know the way to his place?’ said Phil.

Anni nodded.

‘Direct me. Now.’

Phil put the siren on.

‘ Oh God, oh God…’

Marina stood in the toilet cubicle, the door locked. She didn’t care if anyone heard her or not.

After Anni’s phone call she had started to feel unwell. She couldn’t describe what it was exactly, just a pain in her lower stomach. Sharp, stabbing. She knew that wasn’t right. She hurried off to the toilets, locked herself in. And had her worst fears confirmed.