Page 98 of We Chase Shadows

‘Because you’re a criminal,’ says Amy.

‘Because I’m a semi-criminal, yes,’ says Vern. ‘Ooh, I also follow a lot of snooker-based accounts.’

‘Do you do Twitter?’ asks Steve.

‘God, no,’ says Vern.

‘Are you on the AZ6781 EncroChat subgroup?’ Amy asks.

‘Of course I am,’ says Vern. ‘I’m never off it.’

‘What’s the AZ–’ Steve begins.

‘It’s like Snapchat for criminals,’ says Amy. ‘It’s how they organize their deals.’

‘There are also memes,’ says Vern. ‘And essays about money-laundering. Honestly, once you start scrolling you can lose a whole afternoon.’

‘Just post on the subgroup,’ says Amy. ‘Nothing too obvious. And even if Connor Brooks doesn’t see it, someone he knows will. He already knows about Axley.’

‘What should I put?’ says Vern.

‘Write this,’ says Amy. ‘LOL, staying in a castle. Anyone know where to get a decent cappuccino in Dorset? Brooks will put two and two together.’

Vern nods. ‘I should say something illegal though, to make it more convincing.’

‘Anyone know where to steal a decent cappuccino in Dorset?’ suggests Steve.

Vern is thinking. ‘I could say I need five kilos of potassium chlorate. That should do it. And I do actually need some, so that’s two birds.’

He starts typing.

There is now quiet around the table. Everyone is nervous, and that’s understandable. They are playing games with a killer. Waiting for him to strike. Luring Connor Brooks and hoping they catch him before he kills Vern. It is high risk, but it is very high reward.

Steve looks around and wonders what everyone else is thinking.

Amy looks concerned, but she understands the assignment. She will make sure this plan is as safe as can be.

Rosie is drinking a Martini, without a care in the world. She will play whatever card you want to deal her. And, for some reason, she is lying about a dentist appointment. But who isn’t.

Ernesto looks ready for action. Steve realizes that, for all Ernesto’s ease and charm, this is a big case for him too. He’s primed.

Vern looks the least nervous. As he has looked throughout. But it is their job to protect him, and the best way to protect him is to catch Connor Brooks.

The last of the gang, Lee, is the hardest to read. But then he’s recently had to put two colleagues in a freezer and bury one of them twice. After years in Afghanistan, it’s understandable that he might be wary of more killings. Understandable if he is beginning to lose heart. Everyone else around this table has something personal to gain by finding Connor Brooks. Lee is just doing a job of work. Perhaps he’s seen enough death for one lifetime? Certainly there is something unknowable behind his dark eyes.

Lee claps his hand on the table. ‘Okay. Who wants to watch Rampage 8?’

49

By rights, Felicity Woollaston should be frightened. Should be terrified. But she knows what she wants, and she knows why she wants it.

‘Why you want a gun though?’ says the young man in the alley behind Sammy’s Boxing.

There are always negotiations. Felicity once had a client booked to do a pantomime at the Hexagon Theatre in Reading. The client, Barry Westover, a BBC weatherman, as you’ll probably remember, was to play Widow Twankey in Aladdin. Six weeks’ work across the Christmas holidays and joint star billing with a man who had won a bobsleigh silver medal at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics.

‘What business is that of yours?’ says Felicity to the young man. ‘I have the money, you have the gun.’

Now, at the time of this panto Barry was at the height of his powers. He had failed to predict the worst hurricane in history, and, such is the nature of British people, had become an enormously popular figure because of it. Felicity knew her client’s worth down to the last penny, that was her job. He had just been on Blankety Blank, for example, and they didn’t let just anyone on. If they wanted his Twankey, they were going to have to pay for it.