Chapter 115
Poe called Towler and told him that the Red Chamber had moved the goalposts.
‘We knew it was possible, mate,’ Towler said. ‘Even the most incompetent OCG would have had eyes on Cowie House. They’ll have seen you return empty-handed and wondered why. They asked for proof?’
‘I sent that photograph.’
‘OK. Well, we’re ready at this end. Go into your office and put your mobile on speakerphone. I want to ask that corrupt cop a few things.’
Poe moved into his office and set his phone up near Susan Hawksworth. She looked at it as if it were radioactive. Even on the other end of a telephone, she was terrified of Towler.
‘Tell me how they do this,’ Towler said. ‘I assume we’re about to be sent on a wild goose chase. A succession of cut-outs and checkpoints. Probably circling the actual location?’
Susan nodded.
‘She nodded, Matt,’ Estelle said.
‘This isn’t a video conference, you fucking pinhead,’ Towler said. ‘I ask a question, you answer that question with words, not mime.’
‘They won’t give you the actual location until the last possible moment,’ Susan said.
‘How many checkpoints will we need to go through?’
‘On an operation of this importance, they’ll want at least three. They’ll confirm you still have Océane Blue, that you haven’t ditched her somewhere safe along the route, and that you’re alone.’
‘The final checkpoint will be a matter of yards from the exchange location?’
‘That’s usually how they do it, yes.’
Poe noted the use of ‘usually’ and again wondered just how deep Susan was with these guys.
‘What type of location will they use?’
Susan shrugged, realised what she’d done and said, ‘I don’t know. These things have always happened in cities. Warehouses, abandoned factories, that kind of thing. Somewhere easy to defend, with plenty of exits if things go wrong. This is the first rural exchange I’ve been involved with.’
Towler didn’t bother asking her to guess.
He could do the maths by himself. The Red Chamber’s needs hadn’t changed just because they were in Cumbria.
They would still want somewhere they could control.
Somewhere isolated, with plenty of escape routes.
Poe thought it would be somewhere near the M6 but with easy access to one of the bigger A roads.
The A66, A69 or A595. If they could get to one of them, they could disappear into the wilds within seconds.
‘How many men at the exchange?’ Towler asked.
‘A lot. All battle-hardened. You won’t be able to overpower them.’
Towler grunted. It sounded derisive. ‘After we pass a checkpoint, what happens?’
‘You’ll go to the next location.’
‘I meant, what do the fuckwits we’ve just spoken to do?’
‘Oh, I see,’ Susan said. ‘They’ll report in, then tighten up and form a perimeter.’
‘They’ll be behind us?’
‘Yes.’
Someone knocked on the door. An uncertain knock.
Like it was an unfamiliar concept. As though they usually punched their way through.
Poe checked his watch. Bang on time. He walked across his office and opened the door.
A bald man stood in front of him. He looked like a poster child for an Eastern European war criminal.
He had scars on his face and scars on his hands.
His nose was flat and he was missing half an ear.
He was taller than Towler and bigger than the Incredible Hulk.
Poe resisted the temptation to check him for neck bolts.
His eyes were sharp, though, like a hawk’s.
Poe thought he was the scariest-looking man he’d ever seen.
‘Name’s Tick-Tock,’ he grunted. ‘Boss sent me.’
Poe stepped aside. ‘Come in, Tick-Tock,’ he said.
Tick-Tock moved gracefully, the way a professional dancer might. Poe watched as he took in the room at a single glance. He went to the window, pulled a gadget from his pocket and pressed a button. He turned round and said, ‘I’ll stay here until this is over.’
‘You’re on your own?’
‘No.’
Poe waited for more information, but it was clear he wasn’t getting any.
‘Boss-man said that if this thing goes pear-shaped, the woman cuffed to the radiator disappears.’
No one said anything, not even Susan.
‘Good,’ Tick-Tock continued. ‘Because this isn’t a Disney film.’
‘If we don’t get Esmerée back, I’ll stuff her into the body bag myself,’ Estelle said.
No one laughed. No one was meant to.
Poe had forgotten all about Towler. Over the speakerphone Towler said, ‘Now Tick-Tock has arrived, we’re good to go.’ He paused for a fraction of a beat. ‘And don’t worry, Estelle, we’ll get Wednesday Addams back and we’ll get her back in one piece.’
Poe wasn’t so sure.
There were still things about this he didn’t understand.