Neil White - Beyond Evil

‘What do you mean?’

‘We didn’t know it, but during his previous undercover posting his wife changed the locks, said that she’d had enough. John was doing test purchases, living the life of some junkie on an estate, wired up with button cameras. He went home one day and there was another man in there. So he had no home anymore, and the only life he had was his undercover post. That’s why we think he volunteered for this one, because it gave him a different life again, where he didn’t have to think about the man fucking his wife every night, or making breakfast for his kids. It was a refuge, not an assignment.’

‘So what happened when he got invited into Henry’s gang?’ Sheldon said.

‘He went native, we think, pretty much straight away. He was supposed to seek us out three times a week to fill us in. It seemed a pretty loose set-up at Henry’s farm, and so we didn’t think it would be a problem for him to get away, but he didn’t even turn up for the first meet. One minute he was here, in this house, waiting to be invited into Henry’s circle, and then he was gone.’

Sheldon thought about that. He knew it made some sense. Undercover officers lived lives of deprivation, but it was exciting too, being at the heart of it all, like some kind of adventure story, except that it took a toll on those you were close to. And it was too easy to be sucked into the scene you infiltrate, because you end up making friends, build up new loyalties, create some kind of fake world that you start to like. What happens if you fall in love with someone when undercover? It has happened, and not everyone realises the risks and pulls out.

‘So why are you here now?’ Sheldon said.

Horne grimaced. ‘This is the part where it gets difficult.’

Sheldon tilted his head. ‘I’m listening.’

Chapter Fifty-One

Charlie and Ted headed towards Jackson Heights, an area of fields and valleys a few miles from Oulton. The route took them on a steep drive, towards the dark shadows of the hills, brooding shoulders that blotted out the stars, just the occasional dim light from hillside farmhouses and barn conversions. They lost the streetlights as they climbed out of Oulton, and then turned onto a road that narrowed and rose and curved, the way ahead never visible for more than fifty yards, the car echoing between drystone walls.

Charlie was quiet, just trying to get his thoughts in the right order, but they only ever went back to Donia. He remembered how she had looked at him, part-disappointment, part-wonder. He was the father she’d never known, and all he had been was drunk, complaining, throwing up outside the court.

He had to find her, had to make it right. Perhaps it was for selfish reasons; if he could rescue Donia, then maybe he could make his own life better. The reason didn’t matter, provided that he found her.

Ted spoke up.

‘I thought you were a bit harsh in there,’ he said. When Charlie glanced over, he added, ‘That thing you said about dirty conscience.’

‘They knew about Alice but didn’t say anything.’

‘And perhaps they have lost their daughter too.’

Charlie gripped the wheel a bit tighter but didn’t respond. There were too many thoughts swirling around in his head to give a proper answer.

They drove in silence for a bit longer, until Ted said, ‘What do we do when we get there?’

‘We see what’s going on.’

‘Shouldn’t we call the police when we find them?’

‘Yes, we should, but I’m not going to wait around for them. At least we can relay what’s happening.’

‘Pull over,’ Ted said.

Charlie looked at him. ‘Why?’

‘You are breaking all the rules and taking gambles. It doesn’t seem right. You’re a lawyer. You fight with paper and words, not this.’

Charlie took a deep breath and put his head back. He thought of all he’d found out that day, and of how things would never be the same again. Because of Billy Privett. Because of Donia.

He saw a space ahead, next to an old wooden gate, and pulled in. He sat there for a few seconds, just staring out of the windscreen, and then turned to look at Ted.

‘The work experience girl, Donia,’ Charlie said. He closed his eyes for a moment as he thought about how his life had somersaulted during the last hour. ‘She’s my daughter.’

Ted’s eyes widened, and then he frowned. ‘Why didn’t you say something?’

‘Because I’ve only known since I called her mother.’

‘What, the phone call at my house?’

Charlie nodded. ‘I thought she was involved with them, because she got me to where she was staying, and then the group turned up. I wouldn’t have run if I’d known the truth.’ He realised that his voice sounded desperate, but he didn’t know how to deal with what he had just found out. ‘Donia had sought me out to get to know me, but she hadn’t told me yet.’

Ted nodded to himself. ‘I didn’t have the chance to save Alice,’ he said, determination in his voice. ‘We’ll save Donia.’ He peered through the windscreen. ‘We need to work out where they are. We can’t just keep driving around.’ He reached for the door handle and stepped out of the car.

The night air came into the car, cold and sharp, and it reminded Charlie that he was only in a suit. He joined Ted outside. Charlie fastened his jacket and pulled the lapels to his neck. He looked up at the stars, and they were bright spots of light.

They were high on the side of the valley. The land fell away in front of them, sheep clinging to the slope further down, their wool reflecting the moonlight. The orange clusters of towns and villages broke up the darkness, the lights more concentrated further away, as the fringes of the Pennines turned into the larger towns nearer the coast.

As he looked around, there was no sound. No cars or pub shouts. Just the rustle of their clothes as they got used to the chill.

Charlie scoured the hillsides, looking for anything, a chink of light from a barn or a fire burning, anything that hinted of something out of the ordinary.

Ted blew into his hands. ‘Let’s just keep going,’ he said. ‘We are looking for something unusual. We’ll go with our instincts.’

It sounded like a plan.

As they jumped back into the car, Charlie shivered. Except that this time it wasn’t from the cold. This time it was fear of what lay ahead, and whether he would ever get to see the sunrise.

Chapter Fifty-Two

John turned round when he heard footsteps on the stairs.

It was Henry, pulling on his shirt, his trouser belt still undone. He was dishevelled, his hair sticking up, two scratch marks down his cheek.

‘How’s Dawn?’ John said.

Henry took a breath and then scowled. ‘Against us.’

‘So what now?’

As Henry passed John, he glanced outside to where the hole had been dug. ‘Our mission is the important thing. We can’t be distracted. Dawn was going to betray us. If we let her go, we’re finished, all of us.’

John turned to follow Henry into the living room. When he got there, Lucy looked up.

‘We need to deal with the problem,’ Henry said. ‘She needs to join her sisters.’

The mood in the room improved. Jennifer smiled. Gemma jumped to her feet, and Lucy grinned. She held out her hand, and Henry grabbed it and helped her to her feet.

Arni banged his stick on the floor. When everyone turned to him, he said, ‘Let’s do it. John, go get her.’

John ran upstairs. As he got higher, he heard soft cries coming from Henry’s room. When he opened the door, Dawn was curled up in a corner. She had put her clothes back on, but her top was ripped, so that she had to hold it over her chest. Her trousers weren’t fastened properly. As John got closer, he saw swelling around her eye and a trickle of blood from her nose.