seeing you here.’ He smiled and opened the door.
‘I’m not staying.’ She stood steadfast in the doorway, hands in her jacket pockets.
He shrugged. ‘Fair enough. How did you get my address?’ Had he brought her back here last time? His brain hurt every time he tried to remember their previous encounter.
She pointed at her chest. ‘Investigative journalist – remember?’
‘Right.’
‘I googled you. After all that business with the newsagents near your house, it wasn’t hard to find. I just hung around a while until you turned up. To be honest I didn’t expect you to be up this early.’
‘I see. And what can I do for you?’
‘I found out the name of your missing man.’
‘You did?’
‘The homeless man that usually sleeps in the signal box, the one they call Bricks.’
‘How did you find out – no wait, don’t tell me … did you google him?’ Adrian smiled at her sarcastically.
‘No, although sometimes that does work. I have a few connections on the street, they know homelessness is an issue close to my heart, which means people that wouldn’t speak to you might speak to me. I’ve spent a few months working with these people in order to write this exposé, and they’re grateful that someone gives a shit, I guess. I spoke to Claire Johnson, the lady whose number I gave you, and she told me who you were looking for. I asked around and there were a few people who knew your guy, so I got his real name. Thought it might help you out.’
‘So, what’s his name then?’
‘His name is Theodore Ramsey – or Teddy Ramsey – or, you know – Bricks.’
Adrian nodded, making a mental note of the name. ‘Well, thank you for letting me know. Are you sure you don’t want a drink or anything?’ He was hoping she would say yes, there was something about her. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t remember her properly; she had rich brown hair that tumbled from her head, haphazard but perfect at the same time. Her eyes were so bright, especially with the thick black liner she wore deliberately smudged around the rims. She seemed impossible to forget. Yet somehow he had.
‘No thanks, I have a blog post to write.’ She winked as she backed away.
‘Sounds important. Am I in it?’
‘Not until you do something interesting …’ she called behind her.
He watched her until she disappeared around the corner. She seemed to be quite dismissive of him on purpose, which meant she had the measure of him. There wasn’t much that turned Adrian on more than an attractive woman with no interest in him whatsoever. What had he done to piss her off so much the first time they met?
Adrian closed the door with a big smile on his face. He walked back into the house and as he passed the threshold of the lounge door his skin prickled. Without looking in, he knew someone else was there.
‘Don’t worry, I’ve just come for a chat.’
Adrian pushed open the lounge door to see Dominic sitting on his sofa, smack in the middle, arms either side of him as though he had sat there a million times and this was perfectly normal.
Anger surged through him. ‘You can’t just let yourself in here whenever you want.’
‘Obviously I can.’ He shrugged. The fact that Adrian was a police officer obviously didn’t scare Dominic, and that scared Adrian.
‘What do you want, Dominic?’
‘Just checking in, seeing what you were up to.’
Adrian glanced over to the dining table; the bag of paperwork he and Gary had been working from was tucked safely to the side of it, undisturbed. It was in a reusable carrier bag so he guessed it probably didn’t look all that important.
‘Why?’
‘I just wanted to make sure you were behaving yourself.’
‘Get out before I call for back-up.’
‘Come off it Adrian, you don’t frighten me and you know it.’ He smiled. ‘Actually, this visit is about Tom.’
‘What about Tom?’ Adrian felt sick whenever Dominic said his son’s name.
‘He’s not been very cooperative at home lately, I think maybe he needs a little stability at the moment, so you won’t be seeing him for a while.’
‘You can’t do that.’
‘According to the court, we need your signature to take Tom out of the country. He’s had a tough year, I think you’ll agree, and he needs a treat.’
‘What are you talking about? Take him where?’
‘Undecided at present, but he’s going to be missing some weekends with you, I’m afraid. I have discussed it with Andrea and we both agree that these visits with you are unsettling for him.’
‘I have a custody agreement.’
‘Of course, this is a courtesy. I am asking nicely.’
‘Well, I’m saying no nicely.’
‘You know, I could make sure you never see either of them again. I can make them disappear.’
There was a pause. Adrian wasn’t sure exactly what he was saying. Was he threatening to kill them? Knowing that he had contacts in human-trafficking added a certain gravitas to Dominic’s threats, it had to be said. Adrian didn’t have anything now, no concrete evidence to pull Dominic in. His instinct was telling him to kill him, but that wouldn’t help anyone.
‘Why are you doing this? Why are you fucking with me?’
‘I don’t like you.’
‘I’ve made it clear that I’m not interested in Andrea anymore, so what threat am I to you exactly?’
‘No threat at all.’ Dominic stood up and dusted his coat as though he had just fallen in mud. ‘But, Adrian?’
‘What?’
‘If I find out you have been sticking your nose where you shouldn’t, you’ll be sorry. You’ll never see your son again.’
Adrian tried to ignore the sound of his own heart pounding in anger; he mustn’t submit to it even though all he wanted to do was drive his fist through Dominic’s expensive porcelain smile. Instead he stood to the side, waiting for Dominic to pass. Dominic didn’t move for a few moments, just stared at Adrian. A cold stare, a stare that turned Adrian’s stomach, like the dead black eyes of a shark. The beginning of a smile adorned his face as he passed Adrian and walked to the front door. Adrian followed behind him, making sure he stepped onto the pavement. He didn’t turn to look back at all, just started walking away. Adrian closed the door behind him. He wanted to look out of the window and watch him
