LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

chances out of desperation, when other criminals wouldn’t risk it. Your man chanced his luck, John—he wanted anything of value that he could carry easily and he would hit anyone in his way. And they don’t bother to wait for darkness any more. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Put it out of your mind.’

      He spoke as if he knew what he was talking about, but John, who had grown up knowing that Rees owned Sentinel, had never been interested enough to ask what Sentinel did.

      Tollis was a man of the same height as Rees but was much heavier, dark in colouring and entirely different in nature.

      He was a man of few words who had none of Rees’s charm; a loner who seemed to shun close friendships, and although it had registered, John hadn’t given much thought to why he’d never heard the man’s first name, not even from Rees. It was always just Tollis.

      And as if to prove that he couldn’t waste time on something that only the police could solve, Tollis was impatient to get back to work.

      ‘We’ve got a bit of an emergency on and I must be there when the men come in.’

      Rees’s head jerked up at that, but Tollis laid a restraining hand on his partner’s shoulder.

      ‘Nothing for you to bother about, Rees,’ he said bluntly.

      ‘And I think I should get on the road,’ John said. ‘The food has helped shift the headache and I don’t want to get caught up in rush-hour traffic.’

      ‘That reminds me,’ Rees said, reaching down to pick up his briefcase. ‘I want you to take a look at some clients’ files—you could entertain them over the next few weeks, perhaps. If you’ve time over the weekend … ?’

      He opened the case and handed John some slim folders as they left the pub. The one on top said Mr H. Carrick.

      ‘Carrick?’ John had heard Rees mention the name but he couldn’t connect it with any land deal.

      Rees looked annoyed for a moment. ‘I told the girl to take that one out … there’s some sort of hold-up and it’s not likely to go ahead.’

      John had never seen Rees so uncomfortable, so he flipped through the other files, recognizing some of the names. It was one of the perks of having a wealthy uncle that sometimes he got to entertain the clients because Rees hated one-to-one contact over a dinner table—another of his foibles.

      They were walking three abreast along the pavement when Trollis paused, his brow puckered with a frown.

      ‘Carrick … didn’t he get the Sinclair estate by marrying the widow?’

      ‘That’s him,’ Rees agreed dourly. ‘John won’t remember the weekends I used to spend there when Graham Sinclair was alive …’

      Tollis interrupted again as he remembered something. ‘I got one of the men to collect your car, by the way, John. It’s round the back.’

      It wasn’t really John’s car because he didn’t own one, but simply used any of the Kramer cars that was free. He made his way around the rear of the building to collect it and he didn’t notice the two men in the car parked across the street who had been watching and were now ready to follow him when he left.

CHAPTER 2

      Rees walked to the Sentinel office with Tollis. ‘John seems to have taken all that very well,’ he murmured with a slight frown. ‘Surprising, really.’

      Tollis shrugged, his mind already on other things.

      ‘What’s the emergency?’ Rees went on, and Tollis turned and shook his head.

      ‘You can’t keep away, can you, Rees? Retired my foot!’ He hesitated and then jerked his head. ‘Well, maybe you should hear what I have to say at that. Some of the men will be in by now.’

      It was not Tollis’s office that they entered, but the long narrow room where the men were assigned their work each day. The room wasn’t large, and was crowded now with eight men sitting in any available seat and others perched on desks or leaning against the walls. A couple wore the blue uniform with the Sentinel flash over the breast pocket, others were in dark suits.

      Most of them had come from the police force or the services and the discipline was still stamped on them, like an invisible uniform of a different kind.

      The majority were young and fit, with the short haircuts that they had grown used to and were encouraged to keep. They followed Tollis with their eyes as he made his way through them to the desk at the top, their expressions alert. It was obvious from the smokey atmosphere that they had been waiting for some time, fidgeting with impatience. Rees joined Tollis but stayed behind him, and he noticed that one of the older men, Mike Cairns, was in the front row. Mike was an old hand and a personal friend but now he seemed unaware of Rees and kept his eyes fixed on Tollis.

      He was bent forward, resting his elbows on his thighs and his large hands were clasped so tightly that the flesh of his fingers was white. Rees looked uneasy. He recognized the signs of anxiety and turned to watch as Tollis leaned across the desk and murmured softly to Mike, who seemed to be insisting that he intended to stay. Tollis shrugged and glanced through the papers on his desk before starting to speak.

      ‘As you’ve probably heard, we have lost touch with Mike’s young son, Toby,’ he said slowly. Tollis never revealed any emotion and his tone was flat. Rees glanced at Mike Cairns with alarm as Tollis went on.

      ‘Toby is a new employee, a bit uncertain of the need to keep in touch, perhaps, but Mike is concerned so I want everyone to ask around. Use any contacts you have and let us know if you hear anything.’ There was no mistaking that he meant exactly what he said and all those listening knew that Tollis was understating his anxiety.

      For a few moments no one moved and then they slowly began to file out, but Mike remained and he looked angry.

      ‘Is that it? That’s all you’ve got to say to them?’ He turned and appealed to Rees, but Rees said nothing.

      Tollis sighed. ‘Go home, Mike—Toby may phone you.’

      ‘If he does it’ll be here. He knows I’ll be at work.’

      ‘OK. You can co-ordinate any information that comes in but let’s not start imagining things yet.’

      Mike jumped to his feet and his face was red with anger. ‘I didn’t imagine his phone call. I said I’d keep quiet about the job he was on, but surely the men should have been told what he was doing?’

      Tollis looked startled and puzzled. ‘But he wasn’t, Mike. I would never send someone as raw as Toby out on his own.’

      Mike pointed an accusing finger at Rees. ‘Well, he did. He sent Toby to Gumley’s house.’

      ‘What?’ The word was an angry hiss, and Tollis too turned to stare at Rees. ‘Is that true?’

      Rees’s face was set but he nodded.

      ‘There was no danger. I simply wanted to keep an eye on the place and report any comings and goings.’

      Mike was looking from one to the other. ‘You did this off your own bat, Rees? What the hell’s going on here?’

      Tollis sensed that Mike was about to explode and he tried to calm the situation. He laid a hand on Mike’s arm and spoke quietly to him.

      ‘I’ll talk to Rees and get the full story—there’s just been a cock-up in orders. I’ll get back to you when Rees and I have sorted it all out—you take incoming calls in the meantime.’ He was edging Mike towards the door as he spoke and the discipline that was part of the man took over and he did as Tollis asked, but before he went out he shot a glance in Rees’s direction that was both angry and disgusted.

      Tollis marched past Rees into his own office and once Rees was inside he slammed the door. ‘Now perhaps you’ll tell me

Скачать книгу