Nick Oldham - The Last Big Job

Davison uttered a short laugh and moved his wet hands underneath one of the hot air dryers. Henry stepped in and blocked his way before he had a chance to turn it on. ‘Did you tip them off about me?’ he demanded coldly.

Davison and Henry stood face to face for a few tense seconds. ‘What do you think, Henry?’ Davison said without admitting anything. He shouldered Henry out of the way to get to the machine. ‘I’ve got wet hands.’

Henry drew back, repulsed. He stormed out of the toilets and went back to the MIR where FB and Danny were waiting for him. He ripped the miniature tape-recorder out from the small of his back and shoved it into FB’s hands. ‘Here,’ he said, ‘hang the bastard out to dry.’

Their lovemaking took place on the deep pile rug in front of Danny’s living-room gas-fire. It lasted a long time and both experienced a prolonged, satisfying orgasm, leaving them feeling tired and mellow. Henry lay on his back, Danny tucked up on her side next to him, her fingertips tracing lazy circles around his nipples, chest and stomach.

‘ Before we were rudely interrupted by FB, you were going to say something to me — remember?’

He took a deep breath. ‘The only reason I took that under cover job was to get away from you.’

‘ Me — why?’

‘ All that stuff we went through with Jack Sands, all the time I spent with you… I was falling in love with you, Danny. It was doing my skull in. Life at home was getting unbearable because all I could think of was you and wanting to be with you — even though we hadn’t actually done anything like this.’ He indicated their nakedness. ‘I took the U/C job to get away from it all, take a break, get things into perspective. I thought I’d find it was just a silly infatuation, that I was just kidding myself. Wrong! All I could do was think about you — and when I got the chance to come home, what happens? Before going home to Kate, I go into Blackpool nick and see you instead.’

‘ And ask me how to win your wife back — and I suggested shagging her! I really wanted you to shag me.’

He laughed a little. ‘I needed to be sure how I felt about you. I’ve done some crackpot things in my life with other women, Danny, on the pretence of being in love, but I wasn’t. I was just having my ego fuelled. You are different.’ He paused. ‘I love you.’ He waited for a reply.

‘ This could get very complicated,’ Danny said cautiously, but feeling wonderful having heard Henry say the words.

‘ Don’t I know it.’

‘ And unpleasant.’

‘ Yep.’

‘ And costly.’

‘ Oh don’t, now you’re digging a knife into me.’

‘ And people will get hurt.’

‘ I know.’

‘ And we will suffer professionally.’

‘ Yeah.’ He pushed himself up on to one elbow and faced her. ‘You’re talking future tense.’

‘ Yes… all those things will happen. If you want to go for it, then so do I because I love you very much, Henry. I’ve fancied you for years and now I want you for ever, whatever it costs. I love you.’

Henry touched her cheek. They kissed tenderly.

‘ You will have a lot of difficult things to do, Henry, but I promise you I’ll be here for you, however tough it gets. I won’t let you down.’

His pager rang out shrilly from the settee where his trousers had been dumped. He rolled away, glancing at his watch as he did so — it was 10 p.m. — and checked the message. He picked up Danny’s phone and called Control Room, talked to the Duty Inspector, lying back as he conversed. Danny sensuously rubbed her breasts along his rib cage. ‘Thanks,’ he said and hung up. ‘Interesting… we need to get back in. There’s been a development. Crimestoppers have had a call from a male who says he has urgent information about the M6 robbery and that he wants to speak to me — now.’

They dressed quickly and were out of the house minutes later, jumping into their respective cars. Before setting off, Henry leapt out of his and trotted round to Danny in her unrepaired MX-5. ‘Sorry about this,’ he said awkwardly, ‘but I should just phone Kate and let her know.’

‘ Sure.’ She gave him her house keys and waited while he went back in and made the call. ‘Did you dial 141 before dialling your number — you know, so my number is untraceable?’ Danny asked when he gave her the keys back.

‘ No. Oh, shit — no, it’ll be all right.’

‘ Don’t get upset.’ Henry attempted to calm Danny. ‘This guy could be our key to cracking this job.’

‘ And he’s also the one who attacked me on the beach in Los Cristianos,’ Danny spluttered angrily. Her wild eyes glared at Henry. ‘He indecently assaulted me. He would have raped me if I hadn’t kicked six shades out of him.’

‘ Danny, please,’ Henry cooed. ‘I think I know how you’re feeling.’

‘ How the hell could you..?’ she started to demand. Her voice trailed off and she wound her neck in with a remorseful, ‘Sorry.’

‘ Forget it.’

‘ It’s just I’m so tired. There’s so much gone on recently.’

‘ Forget it,’ he said again. ‘Let’s just hear what he has to say and if it’s all crap, then we’ll beat him up together, shall we?’

She managed a smile and nodded compliantly.

It was twenty-four hours later, the day after Henry had met and questioned Alexandr Drozdov. Henry and Danny were standing in an interview room in the main police station in Santa de la Cruz, Tenerife, having landed from England only a couple of hours previously. Two Spanish detectives sat behind them, looking bored, observing their heated exchange with indifference. On the other side of a huge, two-way plate-glass mirror sat the lone figure of the man who had phoned Crimestoppers and demanded to speak urgently to DI Henry Christie.

The mystery caller had claimed, ‘I have information for you that will lead you straight to the man who planned and pulled the M6 robbery and who also killed those three people in Blackpool. I know him personally and I know where you can find him. I live in Tenerife and I want you, Mr Christie, to come out here personally and talk to me — now. And I want the reward money, because I know that the information I give will lead you to his arrest and conviction. But you must give me protection.’

Henry had taken a deep breath and said, ‘How can I believe you? I’ve had hundreds of calls claiming the same since the robbery happened. I can’t afford to go off on a wild-goose, chase.’ Henry had to be cagey without losing the man because, somehow, he sensed this was the big break, and it needed to be handled correctly.

‘ Here’s a titbit for you. If you are any sort of detective, you should have found this out by now — and it’s not something you’re likely to reveal to the press just yet. One of the security guards was in on the job. His name was Colin Hodge.’

Henry looked quickly at Danny and winked. The strong suspicion that Hodge was the inside man had not been revealed to anyone outside a very privileged few.

‘ I take it from that pause I’ve hit the nail on the head,’ the man said.

‘ Tapped it, perhaps,’ Henry said, trying to contain his excitement. ‘Can you give me any further details?’

‘ He came out to the island before the robbery and had a planning session with the man who is behind it all. I might have been able to guess the first bit, but not that — so, are you coming out here?’

‘ Yes, I think so.’

‘ I want three grand up front — and I also want you to remember that because I’ve made this call, my life isn’t worth shit now. If he finds out, he’ll do me in, guaranteed.’

Henry was thinking fast. ‘The up-front money is no problem. Ring me back in an hour and I’ll tell you what’s happening, unless you want to give me your number.’