Kevin Brooks - Dance of Ghosts

‘I’m sorry, Cal,’ I whispered. ‘I’m so sorry …’

‘John?’ I heard Lisa say. ‘He needs to rest.’

I leaned in closer to Cal. ‘I have to go now … you get some sleep, OK? I’ll let Barbarella know you’re here. And I’ll see you later.’

He blinked painfully.

I gave his hand a gentle squeeze, then got to my feet and turned to Lisa.

‘It’s definitely Cal then?’ she said.

I nodded.

She stepped closer to me and lowered her voice. ‘And what about the policemen outside? What do you want me to do about them?’

‘Nothing. I just need to get out of here without them knowing, that’s all. Is that going to be possible?’

She nodded. ‘Leave it to me.’

‘Thanks.’ I glanced over at Cal, then back at Lisa. ‘Could you keep an eye on him for me?’

‘Of course.’

I passed her one of my business cards. ‘You can call me any time. If anything happens, anything at all …’

‘Don’t worry,’ she said, taking the card. ‘I’m sure he’s going to be all right.’

The door opened then, and the big PC leaned in and said, ‘Are you ready, Mr Craine?’

‘Just coming,’ I told him.

Lisa went out first, and as I followed her through the door, she said to the big PC, ‘I just need Mr Craine to sign a consent form in case of further surgery. Is that OK?’

Big PC shrugged. ‘I suppose so.’

Lisa turned to me. ‘The forms are in the admin office, Mr Craine. If you’d like to come with me.’

I followed her down the ward to a small administration office tucked away in a quiet corner. Inside the office, she took my arm and led me over to an adjoining door in the far wall.

‘There’s a lift along there,’ she said, opening the door and pointing down a narrow corridor. ‘It’s staff only, but it’s very rarely used, so you should be OK. Go to the ground floor, and it’ll bring you out just to the side of the main entrance.’ She looked at me. ‘All right?’

I nodded. ‘What will you tell the policemen?’

‘I don’t know … I’ll think of something.’

I smiled at her. ‘Thank you.’

She nodded. ‘You’d better go.’

As I headed down the corridor towards the lift, I heard her call out ‘Good luck,’ and as I turned and waved goodbye to her, I had a feeling I was going to need it.

Bridget had the radio on when I got back to the car, and as I opened the door and got in, I recognised the quiet sadness of an old Nat King Cole song.

Since you went away the days grow long,

and soon I’ll hear old winter’s song.

But I miss you most of all my darling,

when autumn leaves start to fall .

‘Nice,’ I said.

Bridget smiled. ‘Radio Two … I must be getting old.’ She leaned down and turned off the radio. ‘How’s Cal?’

‘Not too good.’

‘Did he tell you anything about what happened?’

I shook my head. ‘He’s barely conscious.’

She looked at me. ‘Any trouble in there?’

‘Not really,’ I said, glancing through the window, checking the main entrance. ‘But I think we’d better get going.’

She started the car. ‘Where to?’

‘Let’s just get out of here first.’

We drove in silence for a while — away from the hospital, back towards town — and although I kept a close eye on the road behind us, trying to make sure we weren’t being followed, I didn’t have much faith in my abilities any more. I’d got Cal mixed up in all this, and I hadn’t managed to look after him, and now — because of me — Bridget was involved. And if I couldn’t make sure that Cal didn’t get hurt …

‘What’s on your mind, John?’ Bridget asked quietly.

I looked at her. ‘I think we need to stay in a hotel tonight.’

‘What about Walter? Hotels don’t take dogs, do they?’

‘Oh, yeah …’ I turned round and patted Walter. ‘Sorry, Walt,’ I told him. ‘I forgot about you.’

He wagged his tail.

I turned back to Bridget. ‘Can you stay at Sarah’s?’

She nodded. ‘She’d be happy to put all of us up. She’s got plenty of room — ’

I shook my head. ‘I’m not putting anyone else at risk. I’ll find a hotel, you and Walter go to Sarah’s — ’

‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘I’m staying with you, John.’

I looked at her. ‘Bishop and his brother are looking for me … maybe not together, but they’re both after me. And if they find me with you … well, the least Mick Bishop’s going to do is cause you all kinds of shit. But Ray Bishop …’ I shook my head. ‘I can’t let him get anywhere near you, Bridget.’

‘All right, but you can’t just keep running away from him either, can you? You have to do something about him, tell someone what he’s done. He needs locking up.’

‘I know,’ I said. ‘And I’m working on it. I just need to think things through a bit more. And right now I’m too tired to think clearly.’

‘Why don’t we all go back to the flat over the shop?’ Bridget suggested. ‘It should be safe enough there, shouldn’t it?’

‘Yeah, maybe …’ I said, thinking about it. ‘Mick Bishop knows that we know each other, but I’d be surprised if he’s actually in contact with his brother at the moment — ’

‘So Ray Bishop won’t know about the shop.’

‘Probably not, but Mick will. He’ll have had you checked out as soon as he saw you at the house. He’ll know what you do, where you work, how much money the shop makes — ’

‘Yeah, but he won’t know there’s a flat above it, because the flat’s not officially part of the shop.’

‘Isn’t it?’

She shook her head. ‘Sarah set it up like that for tax purposes … I’ve never really understood it. All I know is that, legally, the flat has nothing to do with the shop. So, if you want, we could go back there, get something to eat, get some rest … and you’d have as much time as you need to think things through.’ She smiled at me. ‘What do you think?’

I looked at her. ‘I think that sounds pretty good.’

I told Bridget that I needed to stop off at my office on the way back, so she headed for the old market square and parked the van there.

‘I won’t be long,’ I said to her, unbuckling my seat belt. ‘I just need to pick something up.’

She looked at me. ‘Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, if Bishop is after you, he’s bound to have someone watching your office, isn’t he?’

‘Yeah, probably …’

‘Do you really need whatever it is you’re picking up?’

I nodded. ‘It’s all right, I know what I’m doing. But if I’m not back in fifteen minutes — ’

‘Yeah, I know. I’ll call Leon Mercer.’

‘And — ’

‘Keep the doors locked,’ she said, smiling at me. ‘And, yes, I’ll call you if I need you.’

I didn’t see anyone as I walked up Wyre Street towards my office. The street was deserted, the air cold and damp, and the only sound I could hear was the dull slap of my footsteps echoing into the night. But just because I didn’t see anyone, that didn’t mean that I was alone. There were plenty of hiding places along the street — shop doorways, shadowed alleys, piles of rubbish bags, extra-large wheelie bins. For all I knew, there could be dozens of Bishop’s men watching me.

It was an unnerving experience, and as I approached the office building and opened the front door, I kept expecting someone to jump out at me or something … but nothing happened. I went inside, closed the door behind me, took out my penlight, and went upstairs.

The office door was locked. I opened it up, paused for a moment, then went through into the office. I paused again, sweeping the beam of the penlight around the darkened room and listening out for any signs of life … but I neither saw nor heard anything that shouldn’t be there. I crossed over to my private office, opened the door, and made straight for the wall safe. It only took a moment to open it up. I removed the 9mm pistol, checked there was a round in the chamber, clicked off the safety, and put the gun in my pocket.