Maggie pushed him away. ‘No, Jack, we need to talk. I have virtually had to tape my eyelids open as I am so tired. I don’t want any update on your cases, or sex, I just want you to listen to me. I have real concerns about your mum.’
Jack lay back beside her with his eyes closed.
‘Are you listening to me?’
‘Yes, Maggie, and as you said earlier, she has virtually been running the house whilst we’ve both been working 24/7. We need to give her a break.’
‘Jack, she took Hannah out this evening; they weren’t home when I came back and that was after eight. She was very flushed and apologetic when she found me home and said that she had been visiting friends. What friends, Jack? She didn’t explain to me where she had been, and it may not seem late to you, but it was way past Hannah’s bedtime.’
Jack sat up.
‘OK, let me talk to her tomorrow; maybe it’s these new people she goes to bingo with.’
‘She hasn’t been honest, Jack, because I phoned the church and asked about the bingo sessions, and they haven’t been happening since before the lockdown. Apparently, they’re hoping to resume next month because the man who organised them passed away, so they have been recruiting someone to take over.’
‘What?’
‘She’s lied to us, Jack.’
He frowned. ‘Shit, that’s unlike Mum.’
‘Yes, I know. So tomorrow you need to have it out with her. Will you do that?’
‘Yes... yes, of course,’ he said.
Maggie turned off her bedside light and the electric blanket and snuggled down under the duvet. Jack rested back on his pillow, concerned about his mother’s odd behaviour. He switched off his bedside light, rolled onto his side and spooned his body around Maggie’s. He loved the way they fitted together. He had a moment’s thought about pulling up her nightdress but felt the rhythm of her breathing and knew she was asleep. Even with so much on his mind, just being beside her filled him with peace, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Maggie’s alarm went off at five thirty the following morning. As usual she jumped out of bed and hurried into the bathroom. Jack was jolted awake by the noise. He had slept so soundly that he was confused when Maggie wasn’t beside him, then he heard the shower running and flopped back on his pillow. He turned to look at the time, and after a few moments decided it would be a good move on his part if he got up and made coffee for her.
He was inserting four slices of bread into the lurid yellow toaster when Maggie came in, dressed and ready to leave for work. He handed her a portable flask of coffee, as he knew she liked to take one to sip on the way to the hospital. She declined his offer to butter her some toast, saying she would grab a bite to eat in the canteen. She gave him a big hug and a kiss, then paused on her way out of the door.
‘You will talk to Penny, as you promised last night, won’t you?’
‘I will. You have a good day. I’ll go back to bed for a while, then help with getting Hannah ready for nursery. I also think it’s time you and me went out for dinner — just the two of us.’
She smiled. ‘That would be nice. Bye, then.’
Jack waited for the front door to close before he buttered two slices of toast for himself and poured a mug of coffee. He was eager to get into his office and look over the things he had brought back from the Pimlico flat. Still wearing his boxer shorts and a dressing gown, he sat down at his desk and opened Lorna Elliot’s laptop. It was dead, but fortunately his own laptop charger fitted, so he plugged it in to charge the battery. He then took out the two memory sticks and inserted them into his old laptop.
The first didn’t seem to be working, not allowing him access to the contents. He pulled it out and inserted it into a different USB port. A folder then came up with lists of dates and locations. He scrolled through the contents whilst he ate his toast. The name Gazprom featured numerous times with dates beside it. He googled it and discovered that it was one of Russia’s biggest energy companies. The dates were also linked to Rossiya Bank, which Jack discovered was based in St Petersburg and heavily associated with the corrupt practices of Putin’s regime.
As he continued to scroll, Jack had no notion of exactly what he was looking at. He paused at the mention of a website called Proekt Media, which seemed to be a Russian investigative company specialising in in-depth journalism. The dates listed were associated with huge sums of money, millions and then billions. Jack took out the memory stick and inserted the second one. The name Dmitry Skigin immediately came up, alongside a company called Petersburg Oil Terminal (POT) which was part of the consortium that won a contract to manage the city’s seaport. Putin’s name also cropped up again, first as head of the FSB, the Russian domestic secret service, and then as president.
Jack sighed. The data was from before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and it all meant nothing to him. He sat staring at the screen, his attention wavering as he continued to scroll. The name Skigin came up again, with a note that he had been traced to Monaco, but in 2000 he was expelled for money-laundering.
Skigin had died three years later, of cancer. He had left a fortune and a personal estate said to be valued at £560 million.
Jack checked the time. It was already gone 7 a.m. so he removed the memory stick and put it back in the envelope with the other one. He checked to see if the other laptop had charged yet and the home screen came up. He had no idea what the password was. He tried ‘Sandra’ then ‘Lorna’, then ‘Elliot’, then ‘Raynor’ but none of them worked. He picked up the briefcase and took out the passport in Lorna Elliot’s name. Flicking through it he could see stamps reflecting the many trips she had made, to Moscow, St Petersburg and more recently to Monaco, the latter frequently, until two years ago.
He went back to the laptop to try some more passwords. This time he tried ‘Russia’, then ‘Monaco’ and as a last attempt ‘Anton’, the Christian name of her partner. There was a satisfying ‘ping’ and the home screen opened up. He was about to start looking through the files when his mobile rang. It was Ridley. Before Ridley could give him the details of a new meet, Jack interrupted.
‘Listen, I am not coming to the ruddy John Lewis car park, or the river. If you and your ankle bracelet can make it, then you can come to me. I will be at home for another hour, then I have to go to work. It’s in your best interests to meet me. I found her for you.’
There was silence on the other end of the phone, then Ridley said he would be there. Jack ended the call and tossed his mobile onto his desk, just as Penny knocked on the door.
‘Long time no see... you’re quite the stranger these days. Do you want some breakfast?’ she asked.
‘No thanks, Mum... er, I have to get dressed quickly as I’m expecting someone. I’ll go in and see Hannah first though.’
‘She’s in the kitchen, in her highchair.’
‘Right, let me get dressed and I’ll be right down.’
Jack hurried back to his bedroom, had a quick shower, then shaved and dressed. He was heading down the stairs when he saw a figure through the stained-glass window in the front door. He opened the door to find Ridley, wearing a black tracksuit with the hood covering his head and part of his face.
‘Go upstairs into my office and wait for me, second-floor landing, door on the right. I just need to go and see my mum and Hannah in the kitchen,’ Jack told him.
Ridley nodded and moved towards the stairs as Jack went into the kitchen. He played with Hannah for a few minutes and helped her to eat her cereal as Penny prepared orange juice and biscuits for her morning break.