Jonathan’s eyes were welling up with tears as he lowered the gun another couple of inches. Langton realized his words were getting through to the boy, but suspected he had known the truth all along.
‘Come on, Jonathan, you must have seen boxes of fentanyl before?’
‘It’s medicine he sold,’ Jonathan said, raising the gun upwards, pointing it directly at Langton.
‘Okay, it’s medicine, but did you ever see him with any doctors or visiting hospitals?’ Langton asked, now inching closer to the frightened, confused boy.
‘My father was a good man.’
‘I know that, Jonathan, and he always wanted what was best for you. He loved you and your mother very much. They both want you to be the best at whatever you choose to do.’
Suddenly Jonathan’s head slumped forward and he dropped the gun to the ground as sobs shook his body and he wept uncontrollably. Langton picked up the gun, threw it behind him and then embraced the boy as if he were his own son, squeezing him tightly and stroking his head to comfort him.
Finally, Deans edged forward, picked up the gun and whispered to Langton, ‘What on earth do you think you were doing. My men-’
Langton cut him off abruptly: ‘I’m doing my fucking job. Policing is about saving life, not taking it!’ He got to his feet and stood to one side as the boy was taken from him, catching someone muttering ‘asshole’ under their breath. Maybe he had sounded like one to the rest of the team, but watching as the boy threw a pitiful look towards the blood-soaked figure of his father, his attention was brutally brought back to the reason he was there. It was finally over and he could return to London with the case closed. He couldn’t resist one last look at the dead man who had made such a fool of him. In death, Fitzpatrick’s chiselled face remained unmarked, his blank eyes wide open, and whether the smirk on his face was out of fear or surprise, it would be remembered for a very, very long time.
After a hot relaxing bath, Anna slept for a couple of hours. When she woke, the cabin was in near darkness, lit only by the flames of the log fire. The shadows from the flames had a seductive quality, accompanied by the sound of crackling wood. She got out of bed, still feeling snug and cosy, as the cabin was toasty warm. From the indoor balcony, she could look below into the living area but Don was not there. Glancing out of the window, she saw him walking up from the river’s edge, rod in one hand and a large freshly caught fish in the other.
Unobtrusively, Anna stepped back, as she wanted to watch him going about his business. As he put the fish in the sink she could see that he had already peeled some potatoes and greens, which were in pots on the stove. But before he could attend to them his mobile rang.
‘Hi, Carl, what can I do for you?’ Blane asked quietly.
Anna started to tiptoe back towards the bedroom, trying not to eavesdrop on the conversation.
‘I arranged for her to speak with the Andersons, but I wasn’t aware she met Jack,’ she overheard him say, and instantly knew the call was about her.
‘I know she has no lawful powers over here. She’s very experienced and I simply asked her to look over the case file,’ he continued calmly and politely.
‘Look, Carl, I think Jack may have been exaggerating a little bit, Anna is not an aggressive person and-’
It became evident that Don was having difficulty in conveying his point of view to Carl, whoever he was.
‘Telling the Academy Director will benefit no one, Carl, me included. Leave it with me. I will deal with the matter, okay?’ Blane said, and there was a short pause.
‘Thank you, and I promise it won’t happen again.’ He sighed as he finished the call, and shook his head. Then he proceeded to gut the fish.
Anna wondered if it was Jack Brennan’s father on the phone or a senior FBI agent who was chastizing Blane. She waited twenty minutes before getting dressed into tracksuit bottoms and a T-shirt, worrying all the while that she had let Blane down. As she went downstairs to join him she contemplated asking him what the call was about, but dreaded him thinking that she had been listening in. In the event she decided it was best to say nothing and wait to see if he raised the subject during the evening.
Blane gave Anna a big smile as he greeted her and asked if she had slept well, with no obvious annoyance in his tone.
‘That bed is so comfortable, I feel much better and my headache is gone. Now, can I please help with something?’ Anna stepped in closer.
‘Just relax, sit by the fireplace. I hope you don’t mind seafood again. I’m going to oven-bake a freshly hooked striper. Anna giggled as she said a ‘stripper’ was fine. Realizing what had amused her, Blane explained that the fish was a striped bass.
All the while they waited the half hour or so before dinner was ready Blane never mentioned the phone call from ‘Carl’ or anything about the Mandy Anderson case. Anna was still concerned about the car accident but he reassured her she really had nothing to worry about except maybe a few harsh words from Dewar. Anna insisted that she would pay for the damage to both cars and once the Mustang was repaired she would call Dewar and explain what had happened.
Blane served the striper with vegetables and a sauce made from roasted garlic, lemon pepper, sweet basil, lime juice and butter. Anna thought it tasted delicious and complimented him on his cooking, even as she was desperate to talk about Mandy Anderson, and hoping to find out more about the phone call he had received.
‘I think I may have found a new bit of evidence today,’ Anna eventually said.
Blane swallowed his mouthful of food and wiped his mouth on his napkin. ‘Tell me about it.’
‘I met a girl called Julie Collins – she was with Mandy just before she left the mall.’
‘Yeah, they were best friends. She’s turned out to be a bit of a madam, total opposite of Mandy. So what did she have to say for herself?’ he asked and took a sip of wine.
Anna repeated her conversation with Julie, mentioning the birthday card and the possibility that Mandy had bought a camera key ring. Blane shook his head, put his knife and fork down and sat back in his chair.
‘Why on earth did Julie withhold this vital information in her original statement?’
‘In fairness she was never specifically asked what happened before she and Mandy parted company.’
Anna could see that he was upset by the missed opportunity.
‘Have you spoken with Peter and Sally Anderson about Mandy going to the mall to buy a birthday present for someone?’ he asked.
‘No, but I think if Mandy had told her parents about it, they would have mentioned it by now.’
‘I agree, but it would still be worth asking the Andersons and checking Mandy’s diary for any entries that refer to birthdays.’
‘I’ve got her diary and already looked through it,’ Anna told him. ‘The only birthday reminders are for family and girlfriends – her mother and father’s were months away and there’s definitely nothing for May or June.’ She paused for some wine. ‘I’ve also left a message for Father O’Reilly at the church. I’d really like to speak to him about the old choir practice records to see if they match up with the diary, but he hasn’t got back to me yet.’
Anna was keen to raise her conversation with Jack Brennan, but hesitated; it didn’t immediately add anything to the investigation but she was desperate to know who ‘Carl’ was. She decided to broach the subject from a different angle.
‘I also met a Jack Brennan at the church – he was very pleasant.’
‘He’s a nice lad, suffers from ADHD,’ Blane observed. ‘When he was younger, the other kids bullied him and made him the butt of their jokes, but they just tend to leave him alone now. He spends all his spare time at the church, doing odd jobs and playing the piano. Did he say anything useful about Mandy?’