Chapter Eighteen
ADAM
Of all the fucking times for this to happen. Fuck, and double fuck! I dialled the number that had sent the text.
“Yeah, bruv?”
“Now? Really fucking now?”
Whichever Bennett it was let out a chuckle.
“Was I interrupting you, Butch? Dragging you away from something more important than what we’re fucking paying you for?” Jesus, yes.
“Where?”
He snorted. “Well, that’s what Nige will fucking tell you when you ring him. Now, things are about to get really interesting. Don’t fuck it up. Remember what’s at stake.”
“Yeah, my life, I get it. I fucking get it, okay?”
The Bennett asshole snorted. “I know Nige let slip who’s most at risk if this goes wrong, bruv, and she must be protected at all costs. Understand? That means, if we have to throw you under a fucking bus to do it, we will. So why don’t you try to make sure that doesn’t have to happen?”
He rang off, and I cursed him loudly and aggressively, before I dialled Nige next.
“Yeah, take your time contacting me, Mr Teller. I’ve got nothing better to do.” He said snarkily.
“Is absolutely everyone involved with those Bennett dicks a complete asshole? Where am I going?”
Nige laughed, tapping at a keyboard. “I’m texting you a location. Don’t speak to the dad until you’ve been there yourself, otherwise he’ll know you have inside information.”
“I don’t need guidance from you on how to do my fucking job.” I snapped, because everything had started to fucking unravel.
“Yeah… I heard you were hugely experienced in hiding murders, and protecting damsels in distress.”
“Yeah, fuck you too.” I rang off, and waited for the text, which took mere seconds to come through. And then I drove towards fucking Oxford, to ‘witness’ a body being retrieved from a river.
It was a long ass drive, and probably one I shouldn’t have made, with alcohol earlier in the day, and fucking strong painkillers in my system, but I kept the window open just enough to let the icy air whip around my face, and keep me alert.
I hated having to leave Julie so unexpectedly. She needed me. Not that I was sure what she needed, or how to help her, but I wanted to. I’d wanted to curl around her, and comfort her, until she didn’t feel the urge to cry anymore. I don’t think I’d ever felt so protective over anyone.
Marco’s reaction to me, when he thought I brought trouble to Lenore, made perfect sense. More every fucking hour that I knew Julie. Didn’t mean I liked it. I looked like a fucking horror show, with the bruising darkening by the hour.
That doctor, Jeffrey, had as much of an attitude as anyone I’d met who was connected to those asshole Bennetts. He did good work though. And hey… if what I looked like now wasn’t scaring that little lady away, maybe nothing would.
Well, you know, except the fact that I was lying my ass off. To her and Jeff. That was eating me up inside. She needed to feel safe and loved, and barely a thing between us wouldn’t be tainted by lies, and deceit.
I saw a police cordon up ahead, by an entrance to a river park. Fuck… time to put my game face on.
I made sure my ID was in my pocket, and grabbed my phone, and headed for the crowd of onlookers, surrounding the blue and white police tape, quite a distance from the water’s edge.
I joined the crowd, keeping my ears open. I wasn’t sure what state the body was in, but if it had washed up in water, the chances were that it would be bad. Maybe unrecognisable. The picture that Seb had shown me had him wearing glasses, but I doubted they’d survived, or travelled with him. The question was whether they’d left any ID on him.
I edged my way through the people, listening to snippets of conversation as I went. I wasn’t sure what was already known, or who had seen anything, or even who made the grim discovery.
“… all bloated and disgusting!”
“… he’s been in the water a while, that one.”
“… wouldn’t be the first time someone fell in and drowned around here.”