Lies of the Dead Read online

  Mickey rubbed his hands together, and Tom felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck.

  ‘You can’t be serious about this. It’s not legal.’

  Dave raised his eyebrows. ‘I hope you don’t mean the police. That wouldn’t be a good idea. Your brother borrowed money. He knew the conditions and accepted them.’

  ‘How much did Liam owe? I don’t have a lot of money, which your boss will know if he’s checked me out.’

  ‘We’ll get to details later. Tonight is just to let you know there’s a debt that needs to be paid. And will be collected.’ Dave looked at a painting on the wall to his left. ‘Nice picture. I like that.’ The tone was conversational, as if they’d just spent a pleasant few hours together.

  He faced Tom again. ‘We’ll leave you to get on with your evening, but Mickey and I will see you again. I’ll remind you of my good advice. Don’t even think about talking to the police. The boss has lots of contacts, and it would be a shame if your sister met with an accident, or something terrible happened to her lovely daughters. And there’s also your friend here to think about. I’m sure you’d never forgive yourself.’

  For two large men, Dave and Mickey left quietly and quickly. It was probably their specialty – and the threat of violence.

  Janine couldn’t stop shaking, and Tom put his arm around her. He wasn’t sure how to ask the question, and for once just voiced his thoughts. ‘Do you know them?’

  She pulled away. ‘People like that? What do you take me for?’

  ‘You did have Andi followed.’

  Her shoulders drooped, and she sighed. ‘I couldn’t believe Liam would kill himself, not over the amount I’d asked him for. I thought maybe he’d contrived the suicide story. A private investigator was the only way I could think of to find out. I don’t know anything about them.’ She pointed to where Dave had stood, as if he were still there.

  ‘Did you know Liam gambled?’

  She shook her head. ‘I never saw him socially. I don’t get involved with anyone I’m auditing.’

  ‘This whole situation has made me realise how little I know about his life.’

  ‘What will you do about those men?’

  ‘I don’t know. I wanted to know why Liam killed himself, but it’s turned into something I can’t believe. Andi and the twins.’ He shuddered.

  ‘Could you… would you stay tonight? They might come back.’ Her eyes seemed large in the dim light.

  ‘I think it’s me they were following.’

  ‘But it’s my home they were in, and you heard what they said. They threatened me as well. Please.’

  ‘I’ll stay tonight, but I’m not sure what good I’d be against the two of them.’ He saw the relief in her eyes.

  ‘Thank you.’

  He stayed in Janine’s spare bedroom, but barely slept, even though he didn’t expect Dave and Mickey to come back that night. He couldn’t get the image of Mickey out of his mind, or the threat Dave made about Andi and the twins. He got out of bed and paced around the small bedroom. Four strides from the door to the window, and four back. Either Janine didn’t have many visitors, or she preferred the minimalist look. Other than the bed and bedside table, there was just a bookcase. He picked books off the shelves and replaced them, but couldn’t have named any of them. The hours passed slowly, but finally the sky lightened and Janine got up.

  She sat at the kitchen table.

  ‘What time do you leave for work?’ he asked.

  ‘I won’t go in today. After last night I still feel shaky. Thanks for staying, I really appreciate it.’

  ‘If they followed me, then I guess it’s my fault you were involved. Liam causes problems even when he’s not here.’ Tom saw a look of sympathy flash across her face.

  ‘I wasn’t very pleasant to you when we met at Liam’s apartment,’ she said. ‘It can’t have been easy for you or your sister, and I didn’t make it any better that day, or since. I was so worked up about Liam; I never stopped to think how it would be for you.’

  ‘Why should you, you didn’t know us.’

  ‘What will you do now?’

  Tom shrugged. ‘I came to London to find you, to find out what you and Liam were up to. I guess I’ve done that, but now it seems to be the least of my worries.’

  ‘What about those men?’

  Tom pulled a face. ‘By the looks of them, I don’t imagine I’ll get much of a choice.’

  ‘Will you call the police?’

  ‘I don’t know. Dave and Mickey are no better than loan sharks, and I never thought I’d be mixed up with people like that, but you heard what he threatened. Besides, what the hell do we know about them? If the police did believe us and managed to find them, we don’t have a clue who they work for, and I can’t believe the police would be able to protect you or Andi while they looked for them.’

  ‘I’m not sure you realise how much trouble this could be. Liam took a lot of money. If he lost it all gambling and then borrowed from them, the amount could be huge.’

  Her words didn’t make him feel any better – Liam had never done anything in a small way. He had found Janine and a lot more than he expected, and now the situation was far worse. ‘Does anyone else know what you found out?’ he asked.

  ‘I don’t think so. No one at Thornley Trust appeared to have any idea. All they cared about was the money Liam made for the company and their clients.’ She stood up and switched the kettle on. ‘You’re the only person I’ve told about the conversation with Liam.’

  He’d guessed that part. ‘So if it wasn’t for the gambling, he could have got out of it with a lot of money?’

  ‘I suppose so.’

  Janine pulled two mugs out of a cupboard. ‘It fits if you look at it realistically.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘His job is a form of gambling, and he was good at it. He probably thought he would always win, at work and at cards. Then he started losing, and I came along. It all crashed at once.’

  ‘You did your job. He was the one in the wrong, and what you’ve said sounds exactly like Liam.’

  ‘I am sorry, for you, not for him.’

  The story of his life.

  She made coffee, and they went into the living room. It seemed as though Mickey and Dave still lurked there, and he guessed Janine felt the same. It was her home. He looked at the painting Dave had mentioned. It showed a clear blue sky melding into the white tops of waves. On the left side of the canvas was a partial view of a white, flat-roofed house, with two empty chairs on the veranda facing the sea. The setting was perhaps a Greek island, but certainly somewhere in the Mediterranean.

  ‘Did you paint that?’

  ‘Yes. A holiday a few years ago.’

  ‘Will you be okay?’

  She raised her eyebrows, which caused faint lines along her forehead. ‘They only talked about the gambling debts and the money Liam borrowed. I doubt they know how he got the money, but I don’t feel safe here anymore.’

  Tom pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen, and wrote down his phone number. ‘I know it probably won’t help you much.’

  She looked at what he’d written. ‘I’ll text you, so you’ve got my number.’

  ‘When you said it could be huge, did you mean thousands?’

  ‘It would have to be an amount he couldn’t pay off quickly.’

  That wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

  As he left, she spoke again. ‘I never got the private investigator to follow you, only Andi.’

  He wasn’t sure why, but it made a difference.

  *

  Tom had to tell Andi about Dave and Mickey, but he hated the thought of what the threats to Kristen and Sophie might do to her. He rang Andi before he left London, and arranged to meet her in Bristol during her lunch break. They met at a small café, not far from Andi’s office. Tom told her what he’d found out from Janine, and then about Dave and Mickey, and Liam’s gambling debts.

  ‘What did the police say they would d
o,’ she demanded.

  ‘I didn’t call them.’

  Andi stared at him, her face a picture of disbelief.

  ‘Tom, I know you always want to protect Liam, but this is different. The police have to know. This is extortion or blackmail. Yes, sure, Thornley Trust will find out about Liam, but he’s dead. You can’t be serious about paying these people.’

  He didn’t want to tell her what Dave said, but she needed to know.

  Her olive complexion turned pale and waxy. ‘Bloody hell, I never thought it would be this bad. How could Liam do this to us?’

  He had no answer to that.

  ‘What should we do?’

  Tom shifted uneasily in his seat. ‘You need to tell Steven, best he’s prepared.’ He pulled back his shoulders. ‘But maybe the threats are just that, and they won’t follow through.’

  Andi gave a shaky laugh. ‘You don’t believe that any more than I do. Do you know how much Liam actually owes?’

  His phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket. The number of the person was blocked.

  ‘Afternoon Tom, I see Andi knows about the little problem Liam left you.’ Dave’s voice sounded relaxed, as if he were talking about the weather.

  Tom jerked around, but couldn’t see either Dave or Mickey anywhere.

  ‘Don’t bother trying to find me. I’m a lot better than the joker that followed your sister. I haven’t seen him round for a while, but I could sort him out if you wanted.’

  ‘No.’ The word exploded out of him, and Andi jumped in surprise. ‘What do you want?’

  ‘This is a friendly reminder to keep it in the family. You don’t need to involve the police. Get your sister to ask her daughters about the nice man that asked them for directions today. You don’t need to worry, he only spoke to them. This is just to let you know we’re around, and to advise you not to be stupid.’

  Tom gulped and tried to speak, but Dave carried on.

  ‘Your brother owed my boss eight hundred big ones. You’d better work out how to pay it. I’ll be in touch soon with the payment date.’

  The phone went dead. Tom stared at the screen, unable to take in what he’d just heard.

  Eight hundred thousand! How would he find that kind of money?

  ‘Tom, speak to me. Who was it? What did they say?’

  He put the phone in his pocket, trying to find words to make some sense of this.

  ‘They’re watching us.’

  Andi spun around. ‘Where?’

  ‘I’ve no idea, but he knew we were together, and that you had been followed by the private investigator.’ Should he tell Andi what Dave said about the twins?

  ‘What did he want?’

  ‘To remind me not to go to the police, and that Liam owes them eight hundred thousand pounds.’

  Andi’s mouth fell open, and it was a minute or so before she spoke. ‘How the hell can we find that?’ She rubbed her forehead, her face a mix of fear and anger. ‘We’ll never be able to pay them.’

  Tom couldn’t even begin to pull his thoughts together. He shivered, though the day was still relatively warm.

  ‘Let’s get out of here. I don’t know if they’re still watching, but I can’t sit here any longer.’

  They walked along the road together.

  ‘What are we going to do, Tom?’

  ‘We need to show them we’re trying to raise the money.’

  ‘And how can we do that?’

  ‘As soon as I get back to Poldrayth, I’ll see Jack and start the process to have Liam declared dead.’

  ‘Why?’

  Tom carried on as if he hadn’t heard her. ‘But I don’t know how long that will take. I guess it won’t be quick. If I can’t sell Liam’s place, it will have to be mine. It’s the only thing I’ve got that’s worth any money.’

  ‘Sell your house?’

  ‘You didn’t see those men. Dave has a veneer of consideration, but I don’t think it would stop him if he were told to do something. And Mickey, he looks as though he enjoys hurting people. Honestly Andi, I don’t want to scare you, but he’s the stuff of nightmares. These people are not like the man that followed you.’

  He saw tears in her eyes, and squeezed her hand.

  ‘I can’t believe this. One minute it’s a normal day, and then you tell me Liam owes this incredible amount of money and talk about selling your house. All you’ve worked for.’

  Tom shrugged helplessly. ‘I never thought I’d say it. I’ve always believed the police could sort anything out.’ He gazed past her.

  ‘Your house won’t fetch the amount that Liam owes.’

  ‘Even both of them might not be enough. It’s not a good time, and we need to get rid of them fast.’ He shook his head. ‘He threatened you Andi, you and the girls.’

  ‘Should I tell Sophie and Kristen?’

  ‘I don’t know, you can probably gauge that better than me, but at the very least make them take care. Tell them not to talk to anyone they don’t know. Dave said one of their men spoke to the girls today. He didn’t do anything, just talked to them, asked directions.’

  ‘If they want to frighten us, then they’ve succeeded.’

  Tom drove straight to the estate agents when he reached Poldrayth. He didn’t want time to second-guess his decision. It was just a house. He should have sold it when Jo left, but it was easier to extend the mortgage and pay her out. He couldn’t live in the house now.

  After the estate agent, Tom saw Jack and told him to start the process to have Liam declared dead. Jack looked surprised, but didn’t ask why he had made the decision now.

  His final visits were to Karen, and then Jane in the information office. He needed work. There were two couples in the office. They wanted a trip to Falmouth the following day, and Tom said he would take them.

  Tom couldn’t settle when he arrived home, and packed what he needed for Liam’s house. Hopefully his place would sell quickly. Colin arrived as he put the last few things into the car.

  ‘I was surprised when Karen told me you’d decided to sell the house. You hadn’t mentioned it before. I thought you might have sold when Jo left.’

  ‘I should have, but never got around to it.’

  ‘I can bring the trailer round at the weekend, and help you move your furniture.’

  ‘Thanks. That would be good.’ A fist seemed to turn in his stomach. Would these changes be enough, and would they happen in time? Dave had been civil in the flat, but Tom was under no illusions that they meant business.

  ‘Will you live in Liam’s permanently?’

  ‘Not sure,’ said Tom.

  Fortunately Colin was as short on conversation as Tom. ‘Give me a call when you’re ready for the trailer.’

  After he put his few things away, Tom sat on the couch in Liam’s lounge, but it felt strange. He’d visited numerous times before, but it wasn’t his home. He felt too sick to eat, and was pleased when Andi rang. She wanted to know if Dave had been in touch again. He told her he hadn’t heard from them, and he had put his house up for sale and moved to Liam’s.

  ‘With all this, surely they’ll give us time.’

  Tom didn’t think it worked like that, but kept quiet. He didn’t want to add to her worries about Sophie and Kristen.

  Around midnight he put clean sheets on the bed, but his brain wouldn’t let him rest. He lay awake for hours.

  *

  The following day was cloudy, but warm. Tom felt sluggish with the lack of sleep. Fortunately, the group of people on the trip knew each other well, and appeared happy to talk amongst themselves. The men fished, and Tom kept them all supplied with food and drink. They asked him a few questions about birdlife and coastal views, but mostly left him to his thoughts.

  How had Liam felt those last few days? Had he wandered around his London apartment, the walls closing in with no answer other than suicide? More than ever, Tom felt certain Liam had never worried about anything or anyone in his life.

  After he dropped off his pass
engers, he cleaned up Kalina and then drove back to his house. He screeched to a halt when he saw the new For Sale sign in the middle of his lawn. He looked at it for several minutes, before he turned and went to Liam’s.

  When he checked his phone, he saw a text from Janine. For the first time that day, there was something other than the sick clenching in his stomach. He remembered how she felt when he held her.

  He stared at the screen for several minutes, before he finally pressed the phone icon. She sounded pleased to hear him. He stumbled through some comments about seeing Andi in Bristol and that his house was now for sale, but he didn’t mention the phone call from Dave.

  He asked her about the papers in Liam’s apartment.

  ‘I was frantic to know what Liam was doing,’ she said. ‘He didn’t answer my calls, and I’d gone to the apartment the day before, so I was surprised to find the door open. Then I saw the papers. I only managed to look at the top page when Andi came in, so I took a chance and put them in my bag to look at later.’

  ‘What was in them?’

  ‘Not what I’d hoped for. I thought there might be something that incriminated Liam, but I should have guessed he was too clever for that. If I had given my evidence to Thornley Trust before I saw Liam, he could have come up with a plausible reason for some of the movements, but it would have been a warning for them. They’d have watched him more closely after that.’

  Tom briefly considered if this was the truth, then he brushed the thought aside. He needed to trust someone. Janine was still talking, and he’d missed some of what she said.

  ‘Of course, that was before we saw Dave and Mickey.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ He needed to concentrate.

  ‘I’m trying to work it out. What Liam did was a bit like find the lady.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘The old magic trick. You put a coin underneath one of three identical cups, move them around, and someone guesses which one is hiding the coin. It’s all sleight of hand. That was Liam. He made trades and deals with clients’ money legitimately, but also did the same for himself with their money. In addition, he moved money through different accounts and used the company error accounts. It’s like catching mist.’