“Yes.” Jason didn’t pass her the photo. Instead, he put it back in the envelope and stuffed it into his jacket pocket. Was it so bad he couldn’t show it to her? She dropped her arm. “Note?”
“The letter asks for another thousand, next week. To be left in a bin by a park bench.”
Another thousand! What if she’d been Gemma Marshall? What would she do now?
Martinson laughed. “Somebody has been watching too many TV shows. This is all very unprofessional. Amateurish blackmailing.”
His laidback response didn’t reassure her. Somebody keenly sought her money, and she couldn’t believe it was Emily. “The woman in the cafe?” she pondered aloud.
“Possibly her lover,” suggested Jason. “This other woman must have quite a hold on Emily to make her do illegal activities, or maybe they’re both working for somebody else.”
Martinson touched his earpiece. “Stay with them, Dave.” He twisted around in his seat, catching Gemma’s eye. “The older woman has been joined by a teenage girl. The girl’s been in a dance class, and they’re on the way out.”
A child. Her stomach knotted with tension. “A mother, then. That’s why she is here. Teenager? It can’t be Emily’s daughter. She definitely didn’t have a young child eight years ago. This is getting unpleasant, don’t you think—”
Martinson cursed under his breath. “Sorry, sir. Emma reports the female Mrs Lucas identified as Emily has hailed a cab and gone off. She couldn’t pursue.”
Jason sighed with frustration, fl
icking a piece of lint off his trousers. “Keep tabs on the other.”
“They’re exiting the building,” reported Martinson.
She swivelled around for a second time and watched as Johnson walked down the steps. Not far in front of him walked a couple. An elegantly dressed woman with short black hair, possibly taller than Gemma, with voluptuous hips and a plump waist. Dressed in a trouser suit, the style of clothing implied the raven-haired woman had come straight from the workplace to collect the schoolgirl. The teenager, equally dark haired, chatted animatedly to the woman, clutching a school bag as she walked. They looked a happy pairing, and Gemma assumed the woman was the girl’s mother.
“Do you recognise her?” Jason tapped her shoulder.
Nothing. Not one feature registered in her store of memories. “No. Definitely not. I’ve never seen her before.”
The couple crossed the road and headed down a side street. Johnson followed. Just as the woman disappeared, she patted her pocket as if to check something was still there: the extortion money, safely deposited in her pocket? She swung her hips as she walked—a cheerful gait. Gemma watched as her husband’s face hardened into an obvious glower of discontent.
Chapter 23. Birthday Present
Shortly after Raven—the name they’d subsequently adopted for the mysterious woman—disappeared from view, Martinson drove Jason and Gemma home. While she fed Joshua his tea, Jason and Martinson discussed tactics, ensconced in Jason’s study. She found out later Johnson had seen the schoolgirl collected by a man, probably her father. The pair drove off while Raven set off at a brisk pace to an Underground station, from where she hailed a cab. She vanished into the morass of London traffic with no indication where she might live.
Jason refused to show her the second blackmail note. He told her the language was similar to the first, the same amount of money demanded, and the maiden name remained. Her marital status hadn’t been discovered, which gave her some comfort. The photograph he did show her later in the evening, after Martinson and Clara had both gone home and she curled up next to Jason on the sitting-room sofa. In the second image, Gemma was playing at furniture—kneeling on all fours, wearing a frilly maid’s costume, and with a wine glass precariously balanced on her back. Gemma covered her mouth with a hand. How embarrassing! She’d forgotten how gregarious she’d once been at parties. The image showed her laughing. She’d been happy, and it helped her go back in time.
“I remember the party. Emily would have been there. A spirited event. I mainly waited on others. Nothing sexual. I don’t recall meeting any particular Dominants or anything special. A nice, fun evening with good company.”
An unremarkable party. Occasionally, she did go further. She’d arrange to meet the Dom in a public place, a pub or restaurant, to discuss possibilities. A successful interview would invariably lead to a liaison and sometimes sexual encounters.
“Martinson is following up Emily. Frankly, without a surname it’s difficult. He’s going to enquire at some photography studios. The other woman, Raven, as you call her”—he smirked for a second—“is an enigma. The schoolgirl is out of bounds. I’m not allowing anyone to be involved in the surveillance of a minor. The park drop makes life easier. Gibson will approach the Emily when you do the drop. See if she is willing to talk.”
“What?” Wouldn’t that blow everything apart? She stared at the photograph in her hands, wondering how something so seemingly inconsequential at one time in her life had become a major issue.
His arm coiled around her, drawing her closer. “Don’t worry, babe. This is not for you to trouble yourself over.”
“What do I do?”
“Make the drop. Hide the money in the waste bin and scarper.” He repossessed the photograph. Another confiscation. The matter was entirely in his hands.
Thursday morning arrived, and Gemma woke up in a positive frame of mind—her twenty-ninth birthday. For her special day, she dismissed the blackmail investigation.
Gemma lunched with Clara, her heavily pregnant sister-in-law, Andrea, and her best friend, Trudy. Gemma’s childhood friend had returned to work with no sign of a sibling for her son, Thomas.
“We rather rushed with the first, didn’t have a chance to consolidate our relationship. We’re taking the time this time round. Plus, we need my income.” Vivacious Trudy, once her sex-goddess friend, now rarely bothered with nightclubs, her life devoted to her policeman partner. “Greg is up for promotion to sergeant. Then we can afford to think about sprog number two and the extra nursery fees.”
Gemma felt guilty, listening to Andrea and Trudy discuss childcare issues, money, and mortgages, while her nanny entertained Joshua in his high chair. She wished sometimes she could be ordinary and able to join in with mundane debates about the cheapest pushchairs and bargains on nappies. With a hug and a kiss, Trudy went back to work. Determined to be generous, Gemma spoilt Andrea in Mothercare, buying her maternity clothes, a steriliser, and a top-of-the-range baby monitor.