Ray took a drag on his cigarette and drank some more whisky. ‘Then I’ll try to carry on as normal,’ he said, nodding his head as if in agreement with some inner decision. ‘Get on with my work. Right? Just wait for her to come back. It’s what she would want.’ He tapped his glass. ‘And cut back on the drinking a bit.’
‘That’s the best plan. You’ve got to stop stressing yourself out. It’ll make you ill.’
‘What about these people who are after her?’
‘They’re dead, Ray. I told you. Don’t worry about them.’
‘Who killed them? Not... no?’
‘No,’ said Banks. ‘Not Zelda. We think they went for each other. A falling-out among thieves.’
‘You’re sure she got away, got out of there?’
‘Yes, Ray. Zelda saved my life. I was tied up. She cut me free. That’s when she told me to tell you she’d be back. After that, the fire was starting to spread fast, so she pushed me towards the exit. She went out by another door and drove off. Their car must have been parked there. I heard her go. Simple as that. The CSIs found two burned bodies in the place, both male. They can tell by the bones.’
‘Are they chasing her?’
‘Who?’
‘Anyone. The police. The other bad guys. There must have been more than two. She’ll be terrified if she’s on the run.’
‘She’s had plenty of time to get far enough away,’ said Banks. ‘Sure, the police would like to talk to her in connection with the fire, as they’ve been talking to me. But she didn’t start it. Phil Keane did that. And I’ll make it clear to anyone who questions me that Zelda and I were victims, that she didn’t kill anyone. They’ll come to their senses. And I told you, the bad guys are dead. Maybe there are more, but without their leaders, they’ll scatter to the four winds. Zelda’s safe, Ray. I’m sure of it.’
If Zelda had half the brains Banks credited her with, she would have dumped the car in a long-term airport car park, then taken a train or shuttle to another nearby airport and flown out. She might even have risked the Eurostar. If he were to guess, Paris would be her first choice of destination. It was the last place she had lived for any length of time before coming to England and meeting Ray, and she probably still had friends and contacts there. She would need money, transportation, an escape plan.
Ray stood up and attempted a sloppy embrace, then said, ‘I’d better be off now. Thanks, mate.’ He held up his tumbler. ‘And for the whisky.’
‘Off where?’
‘Home, of course.’
‘You’re not driving anywhere, the shape you’re in. You can either sleep it off in my spare room or I’ll drive you home myself.’ Banks still hadn’t finished his first glass of wine. ‘Or I’ll call you a taxi.’
‘Whatever,’ said Ray. ‘Though I think I should be at home, shouldn’t I, just in case she comes back? I mean, as you said, she might come home any time. I wouldn’t want her to get back to an empty house. But a taxi will take for ever.’
‘I suppose you’re right,’ Banks said, getting up. ‘I’ll drive you. You can leave your car here. Get a taxi here and pick it up tomorrow.’
As he drove back home after dropping Ray off, Banks thought he would try to find out something about Zelda’s life in Paris; maybe knowing more about her time there would help him find her. He didn’t want to find her for the police, but for himself, and for Ray. He wanted what he had told his friend this evening to be true. He locked and bolted the front door and went back to his chair in the conservatory, put the Tim Buckley back on where he had paused it, at ‘Blue Melody.’
As he sat and thought, he realised that already in his mind he was separating himself from the police, almost as if he were no longer one of them. Planning escape routes for fugitives was hardly something the old Banks would have done. What was happening to him? After all these years, had it come to this? In some ways it was as if a great weight had been lifted off him, but in another it was like dipping a toe into uncharted waters, not knowing where they would lead or what lay beneath their murky depths.
17
It was the first time Banks had been on the other side of the interview table since his training days at Hendon. They had sent a car for him that afternoon, shortly after Ray had been back to pick up his car. Opposite him sat Superintendent Newry and beside Newry a female DI he introduced as Heidi Dunne. As far as Banks could gather, DI Dunne’s role was to hand sheets of paper to Newry and to look disapproving, both of which she did very well. The conversation was between Banks and Newry, and even the solicitor sitting next to Banks kept out of it. Reg Courtenay was an old veteran of police affairs, and Banks wanted him there as a precaution. There were no charges against him, nor was he suspended, though this interview was being recorded, he wasn’t under caution and was still being treated as a witness only.
‘I understand you have regained your memory of the night in question,’ Newry began, the sneer of disbelief clear in his tone, as if what he really meant to say was, ‘Now you’ve got your story clear.’
‘Bit by bit. It’s still a bit blurry in parts, but yes, I remember most of what happened.’
‘Perhaps you can help us, then?’
‘I’ll try.’
‘I think you should know before we begin that my main concern, and that of DI Dunne here, who will be forming part of the active investigation team into this matter, is the discovery of two bodies in the burned-out water treatment plant on the eastern outskirts of Eastvale.’
‘As I said, I’ll help as much as I can.’
‘Excellent.’ DI Dunne shuffled some papers and Newry said, ‘Perhaps you can begin by telling us about the events leading up to your abduction?’
‘I was on my way home from a concert at the Sage in Gateshead. My son plays in a band and this was a part of their farewell tour.’
‘I know about the Blue Lamps,’ said Newry.
‘That evening, they had played one of my favourite songs, Bob Dylan’s “Visions of Johanna,” at my son’s instigation, and on my way home I listened to the original album, Blonde on Blonde.’
‘I don’t give a fuck what music you were listening to.’
If he hadn’t guessed before, Banks knew at that moment there was no way he and Newry would ever get along. ‘It helps if I pick up the threads,’ Banks replied. ‘If I jump in the story much later, it’s far fuzzier in my memory for some reason. And you did ask for the events leading up to my abduction.’
Newry grunted. DI Dunne looked disapproving, not to mention disbelieving. ‘Carry on,’ Newry said.
‘Thank you. Blonde on Blonde. Terrific album, by the way. You should try it some time. When I turned into my driveway and pulled up in front of my cottage, I noticed that the outside light wasn’t working.’
‘Someone had removed the bulb,’ Newry said. ‘There were fingerprints around the socket, but they’re not on our files anywhere.’
‘Probably Tadić or one of his minions,’ Banks said.
‘And another possible suspect,’ Newry added. ‘Minions have been known to murder their bosses from time to time.’
‘I should imagine so,’ Banks said. ‘I used the light on my mobile, opened the door — or got the key in the lock, at least — and that’s the last thing I remember before a sharp pain at the back of my head, then waking up in the plant. But even that was very hazy for the first couple of days.’
‘Did you have any idea where you were?’ Newry asked.
‘Not at first, no. I’m no expert on water treatment, so I didn’t recognise the purpose of the abandoned machinery, the pumps and pipes and so on. And it was dark. Not completely, but certainly not well-lit enough to recognise where I was. Only later, when I ran outside, did it become clear. But I get ahead of myself.’