Chapter 39
‘Why don’t you take some time off work?’ It’s Sunday night and Jamie’s doing the washing up, his back to Nadeeka.
Things between them are still strained, but when he got back from the King’s Arms two nights ago he’d found she’d left a plate of cottage pie out for him. A peace offering, he thought. Hoped.
‘Sooner, though.’ Jamie scrubs at an already clean plate. ‘Maybe the week after next, or better still the one after that? We could go away.’
Nadeeka laughs. ‘I can’t go away a week before Christmas! Besides, there’s the job fair.’
‘Can’t someone else handle it?’
‘Are you joking? I’ve asked my own recruits to staff the stalls – some of whom don’t speak much English – and we’re expecting well over a hundred prospective employees. There’s a coachload coming with an asylum charity. I can’t just wash my hands of it because I fancy a few days off.’
‘You could work remotely.’ Jamie shakes the soapy water from his hands and wipes them on his jeans. ‘From here.’ He takes out his phone and shows her the screenshot he’d taken earlier. His heart is pounding. Please say yes. Let’s take the girls and get out of here . . .
‘Lapland?’ Nadeeka looks at him, incredulity on her face.
‘The girls would love it.’
‘I’m sure they would, but we can’t afford to—’
‘I’ll pay. It’s a great deal. A once-in-a-lifetime trip. Five nights, and you get to go sledding with huskies, and meet Santa, and—’
‘The girls have got school!’ She’s still half-laughing, as though Jamie has gone mad; as though this were simply a crazy whim, instead of a desperate attempt to keep Nadeeka and her daughters out of harm’s way.
‘They’d miss the school show, and there’s parents’ evening and Christmas shopping night .
. .’ Nadeeka takes the phone from him and puts it firmly on the counter.
‘And that’s on top of the job fair.’ She loops her arms around Jamie’s waist and looks up at him.
‘I love you for wanting to do this, but it’s too short notice. I’m sorry.’
‘I’m sorry too,’ Jamie says fervently.
Nadeeka rests her head on his chest. ‘Next year, yeah?’
Jamie stares into the window at the reflection of his pale, drawn face. Next year will be too late.
The following morning, Jamie leaves home at the usual time, waits until he’s sure Nadeeka will have left for work, then doubles back and lets himself into the house.
He’s relieved that Cedar Walk, although friendly enough, isn’t one of those streets where everyone knows everyone else’s business.
Even if one of the neighbours has seen Jamie return, it would be unlikely to arouse suspicion.
He sits at the kitchen table and opens his laptop. He registers as sick via ATP’s employee portal, then gets to work. Time to tell the police everything.
He downloads last night’s recording from his phone to his laptop.
The sound is muffled, but it’s possible to make out almost everything.
Then, in a fresh Word document, Jamie begins to document what he knows.
He describes everyone he can think of: ‘the boss’, the moustached spokesman, the thug on the door, Alan, Chris, Carrie.
He lists all the meeting venues, and rough-counts the attendees he’s seen at each.
He records New Dawn’s battle cry, his blood running cold as he types the words.
Step into the light.
Jamie is just detailing what he knows of the forthcoming operation when the doorbell rings.
He wants to ignore it, but there is a constant stream of deliveries in the run-up to Christmas, and it will be a matter of seconds to sign for it then get back to his .
. . He walks into the hall, trying to think of the right word for it.
Exposé, he decides. An exposé that will not only bring down New Dawn, but will also provide some small mitigation for his own horrific act.
He checks his watch. By midday, he’ll be able to present his dossier to a police officer.
He’ll be putting his fate in their hands, but at least it will be over.
Everyone he loves will be safe, and he can finally come clean to Nadeeka.
He opens the door.
‘All right, Jamie?’ Alan stares at him, unsmiling. ‘A little bird told me you weren’t feeling so good.’ Carrie and Chris stand either side of him, their expressions unreadable.
Jamie starts to run through his options. A highly contagious infection, perhaps? Anything that will allow him to close the door and—
But Alan is already taking a step forward.
Jamie watches helplessly as the three members of New Dawn shoulder their way past him and into the house.