‘Shit,’ Roy growls. ‘The bastard’s betrayed us.’
He follows Neal’s car at a safe distance. I switch to another channel.
‘Neal’s gone rogue,’ I tell Dario. ‘Shadow him, but stay well back.’
I glance at my phone. Damn it. Neal has turned his off.
‘He’s turned off tracking,’ I inform Burrow, bracing for the fallout.
‘Son of a bitch,’ he snaps. ‘Is he trying to get his wife killed?’
‘No, sir. He thinks we will.’
‘Christ, he just ran a red light.’
We weave through the traffic, trying to keep up, but Neal’s already pulling ahead. The lights change too quickly, and we barely make it through the next set.
‘Siren?’ I suggest.
Roy shakes his head. ‘Too risky. We can’t alert the kidnapper, not until we know what the hell’s happening.’
I squint through the windscreen.
‘We’ve lost him,’ I say quietly.
‘Fuck, fuck!’ Roy shouts.
I radio in an APB on Neal’s vehicle. ‘If spotted, follow only. Do not engage. No sirens, repeat, no sirens.’
Twenty minutes drag by with no word from Neal and no sighting of his car. Finally, Burrow gives the order to abort the operation. As we approach the station, my phone pings. ‘He’s back online,’ I say, pulling up the location. ‘He’s on the A40, heading back.’
‘Damn him,’ mutters Burrow.
But I’m not surprised. Daniel Neal has never wanted the police involved.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Daniel
Irun the red light without hesitation. They are breathing down my neck, so I have no choice but to shake them off. My heart hammers against my ribs as I weave through the narrow streets. Never before have I pushed the accelerator this hard. I dodge the other cars like bullets and pray I won’t crash. The tyres squeal as I take a sharp left, and in my rear-view mirror, I see another driver give me the finger. I race to Waterperry Gardens.
In that moment, I know I’ve made a blunder. I’ve had everything under my control until now. Telling Gil was a fatal error. I should have lied to her, like I did to Nicola. Then we would have had Jo back, and everything would have been fine, and no one would ever have known. Now it’s a bloody mess.
I check the rear-view mirror, but Burrow is nowhere to be seen. I glance at the clock on the dashboard. I’m on time. I screech into Waterperry Gardens, make the drop and within minutes, I’m making my way back. I park in a lay-by and call Donald.
‘When will they let her go?’ he demands.
‘I don’t know. He cut the call before I could ask, but we’ll find out soon, I’m sure of it.’
‘We’re calling the police if we don’t hear anything in the next few hours, Donald,’ I hear Julia say sternly.
‘I’ll keep you posted as soon as I hear anything.’
On the way back, I ignore calls from Gil and DI Burrow. The office is buzzing when I arrive, and no one pays any attention to me. I walk to my office, fill a cup from the water dispenser and take two painkillers. Then my office door opens, and Nic walks in.
‘How did it go?’
I rack my brain to recall what I have told him. I must look puzzled. ‘The client?’ he prompts. Then it all comes back to me.
