The Final Minute Read online

  ‘When are you going to put me under?’ he demanded.

  ‘I have done,’ said Whatret uncertainly. ‘Your memory, or at least part of it, will return. It may take a few minutes, though. It’s a lot for your mind to suddenly take on board.’

  For a long time, Sean simply sat there, his eyes closed, as if he was meditating. Tina looked at Whatret, wondering if he was playing some sort of trick, but he remained impassive, and she could see his hands were shaking.

  ‘Do you mind if I have a drink?’ he asked Tina.

  ‘In a minute. I want to see whether your little act worked or not first. Are you OK, Sean?’ she asked him.

  He didn’t answer. Then suddenly his face contorted wildly and he sat bolt upright, staring straight ahead, his breaths coming in rapid-fire bursts.

  The room fell silent. No one said anything.

  Finally Sean’s breathing slowed. He got to his feet and looked at Tina with one of the most haunted expressions she’d ever seen on a human being.

  ‘I remember it all,’ he said wearily, his words as heavy as tombstones. ‘I remember it all.’

  Having those memories come back was like a tidal wave hitting me. I’d been told for months that I’d lived one life, and now I’d found out that I’d lived another entirely. The memories were big and overwhelming: marriage, love and childbirth; arguments and infidelities; the shame of prison; the job after I’d left, and the huge and irreversible effect my fall from grace had had on my life. All hitting me one after the other. I staggered on my feet, punch drunk, not sure what to do, only vaguely aware of Tina staring at me from beneath her pulled-up red scarf, until finally the emotions passed and the sea became calm once again.

  I gave Tina a weak smile. ‘Can I have my gun back?’

  ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea, Sean,’ she said. ‘Not right now.’

  I nodded slowly, unsurprised, and then, as the full gravity of what had been done to me hit home, I jumped on Whatret, Bronson, whatever the hell his name was and grabbed him round the throat with both hands, squeezing hard. ‘You bastard. You stole my life. You stole my fucking life!’ His eyes bulged and a horrible rasp rose from his throat but still I squeezed harder.

  ‘Let him go, Sean,’ hissed Tina in my ear. ‘Do not do this. It won’t help. We need him alive to testify.’

  The anger subsided to a more controlled simmering point, and I released my grip. ‘What you did to me was unforgivable,’ I said, pointing accusingly down at him, ignoring his strangled chokes.

  ‘I know it was,’ he said when he’d recovered and could finally bring himself to look up at me. I saw then that he had tears in his eyes, and not just from where I’d half strangled him. The guy was crying. ‘I know I did wrong and I am so, so sorry.’

  It was Tina who spoke next, lifting the scarf above her lips so she could be heard clearly. ‘You can save yourself, Mr Whatret, and bring the people behind all this to justice. Mr H, the man you work for – his real name is Carl Hughie, and he’s currently on police bail in connection with the murder of one of his colleagues. He might avoid the murder charge but if you testify in court that he was the man who hired you, he’ll go down for a long time, and you might be treated far more leniently than you deserve. Sean here will say you restored his memory out of guilt, when he came to you here in your home, and you’ll conveniently forget ever seeing a gun.’ As she spoke these last words, she slipped the weapon under her jacket.

  Whatret looked at Tina with a puzzled expression. ‘Who are you? And how do you know all this?’

  ‘No questions. Just remember this. If you hire a lawyer and try to go down the ignorance route, you’ll go to prison for a lot longer than you did last time.’ She turned away. ‘Come on, Sean. Let’s get out of here.’

  ‘Wait,’ said Whatret urgently. ‘What happens if they come for me? They might kill me.’

  ‘Then go to the nearest police station, hand yourself in, and tell them exactly what I’ve just told you.’

  I took one last look at Whatret, sitting broken on the sofa with shaking hands, then turned and followed Tina back outside on to the street.

  Night was falling fast now and we didn’t speak until we were safely inside Tina’s car.

  She lit a cigarette and turned to me. ‘What happened to Lauren Donaldson?’

  I ran a hand through my hair, my fingers touching the rough contours of the scar across the top of my forehead, trying to piece together what had happened. ‘The recurring dream I’ve been having … it wasn’t a dream. Lauren, the woman you’re looking for, is dead. The other woman, Jen Jones, is also dead.’

  Tina sighed, took a thoughtful pull on the cigarette and blew a line of smoke out of her half-open window. ‘I thought as much. It’s still a shock though. And are those the bodies everyone seems to want to know the location of?’

  ‘Yes. But I still don’t know where they are. And I didn’t kill them either. I know what I was doing at that house, I know who I went there with, and I know who killed them, and why he did it.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘I can picture him but I’m not sure I ever knew his name. If I did, it’ll come to me, but everything feels incredibly strange right now. It’s like the memories are overwhelming me and I’m not entirely sure what’s real and what isn’t. There are also a lot of gaps. Still, I’m beginning to build up a picture of what happened in the months before my accident.’

  ‘Whatret mentioned three bodies,’ Tina reminded me. ‘Who did the third belong to?’

  ‘I don’t know yet. It’s still a bit of a blur.’

  ‘I think we need to make this official now, Sean. It’s not helping your case to stay on the run any longer. I’m going to call my main police contact, DCI Mike Bolt. He’s the SIO in charge of the investigation into the shooting in your hotel room. I’ll get him to meet us somewhere and then I’m going to hand you over to him. In the meantime, you can start at the beginning and tell me everything.’ She put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. ‘It’s the best way, Sean. In fact, it’s the only way.’

  She was right. I knew that. But there was something I had to do first.

  ‘I know it’s the only way, Tina,’ I said, ‘and I’ll give myself up as long as you come with me when I do it. I’ll also tell you everything. But on one condition: I want to see my wife and daughter. I want to see Claire and Milly. I remember them now.’

  ‘Sean, I don’t know how to get hold of them.’

  ‘I do.’ I grinned at her suddenly, feeling incredibly liberated. ‘I can remember Claire’s mobile number.’

  Tina shrugged. ‘OK, deal. I’m going to call Mike now and say we’re going to meet him.’

  I nodded and pulled out the phone I’d been using, feeling nervous as I turned it on. I knew it was a long time since I’d spoken with Claire. I vaguely remembered her visiting me when I’d first been held in custody but I had no memory of her coming after I’d been found guilty. But I remembered our first meeting, on a dating website of all things, and the whirlwind romance that followed. For a time we’d been happy, and then she’d got pregnant, and things had begun to change. I hadn’t been easy to live with. I hadn’t wanted a child because I’d known that it would mess up our relationship. I’d been jealous. I’d been an arsehole.

  Now I wanted to make amends. More than that, I wanted to see my daughter for the first time.

  I looked down at the screen and saw I had a new message. It read CALL THIS NUMBER IMMEDIATELY, followed by a mobile number.

  But it was what was immediately below it that caught my attention. It was an image of a woman and a young girl, both blindfolded. I recognized Claire immediately, and knew that the girl was my daughter Milly – the child I’d never seen.

  I dropped the phone in my lap and stared straight ahead. The last five days had been full of shocks to my system, but none had struck me as hard as this. It was a sledgehammer blow. In the background I could hear Tina talking, then I heard her end the call and ask me if I was all right.r />
  Finally I turned to her, my mouth dry, the fight temporarily driven out of me. When I spoke, my words were barely a croak. ‘They’ve got my family, Tina.’

  Fifty-three

  ‘That was Tina Boyd,’ said Bolt to Mo Khan as he came off the phone. ‘She’s going to bring Sean Egan here in the next hour. He wants to see his daughter first, though, so can you get someone to call the people watching his ex-wife’s place and tell them to expect Egan and Tina?’

  Mo nodded. ‘I’ll get on to it.’

  It was 7.35 p.m. For the last two hours Bolt had been in his office discussing with Mo the significance of what Bolt had found in Dylan Mackay’s phone records, and trying to piece together a combined motive for the killings in the house in Wales, Tina Boyd’s two missing women, and the murders of Sheryl Warner and DC Jeff Roubaix the previous night. Bolt had a theory that fitted the facts, but when he and Mo tried to fill in the gaps it quickly became obvious that they needed to interview Sean Egan, and now it looked as if they were going to. But Bolt’s excitement was tempered by the fact that Tina had told him that Sean had lost his memory, so there might still be a long wait for answers.

  Mo poked his head back round the open door, a concerned expression on his face. ‘We’ve got two plainclothes from local CID watching Egan’s ex-wife’s place, and neither of them are answering their phones.’

  ‘Have we got a landline number for the ex?’

  ‘Yeah. And a mobile. And she’s not answering either. I don’t like this, boss. The last contact we had with the cops on the scene was only half an hour ago to tell us that she’d arrived back home with her daughter. Apparently, they tend to stay put for the evenings.’

  ‘OK. Send a patrol car over there and get them to report back. I’ll call Tina, and get her to bring Egan in right now. He can see his family later.’

  But when he called Tina back it went straight to voicemail. He waited two minutes and called again. Still no answer. He wondered what the hell she was doing, and left a message asking her to return his call immediately. He put the phone back down on his desk and closed his eyes, experiencing an unpleasant feeling that he was somehow on the periphery of major events that were happening all around him, and yet of which he knew nothing.

  It wasn’t a situation he was prepared to tolerate for long.

  ‘Jesus, Sean. How did they get this number?’ said Tina, turning her head away from the phone’s screen.

  I was finding it hard to think straight. ‘Whoever they are, I need to call them. This message was left fifteen minutes ago.’

  ‘We can do this through the police, you know. Track that number, find out where your family are.’

  ‘I’m not prepared to trust anyone else with this. It was me who put them in danger. It’ll be me who gets them out.’

  ‘Come on, Sean, you know what’ll happen. They’ll tell you to meet them somewhere if you ever want to see your family alive again. You’ll go, and they’ll kill you. There’s not even any guarantee that it’ll save your family.’

  She was right. Of course she was. But what the hell else was I supposed to do? ‘I need to call them, Tina. Can’t you understand that?’

  She must have seen the anguish on my face because for once she didn’t argue. ‘I’ll wait here,’ she said as I opened the passenger door.

  I stepped out on to the night street. Across the other side of the road, a young couple were walking in the direction of the fast-food joint. They looked like students and they were holding hands and laughing, and I wondered at what point in each of their lives the world would come crashing down on their shoulders, like it was crashing down on mine.

  I called the number and put the phone to my ear, every nerve ending in my body on fire, waiting.

  The call was picked up before the end of the first ring by the man I was expecting. ‘I’m sorry, Sean,’ he said without preamble.

  ‘You fucking bastard, Jack,’ I hissed, shaking with rage.

  ‘I never wanted it to turn out this way.’

  ‘You kidnapped my wife and my daughter. Why, for Christ’s sake? I trusted you.’

  ‘So you remember who they are then? I was hoping you would.’

  ‘I remember enough,’ I said coldly.

  ‘Listen, they’re OK and unharmed. Your daughter thinks it’s a game.’

  ‘If you hurt them—’

  ‘No one’s going to hurt anyone, Sean. Not if you do what I say. Where are you?’

  ‘In London.’

  ‘I need a more exact location because here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to come and pick you up in my car and take you on a little drive just so we can make sure no one’s following. Then I’m going to deliver you to an associate of mine and you’re going to be exchanged for your wife and daughter. You will see them. You’ll even get a chance to say goodbye to them. I will then personally drive them back home, and you have my word on that. And that’ll be the end of it.’

  ‘What happens to me?’

  ‘It’s your life for theirs, Sean. You may not believe me but I’m really sorry it has to be like this. I’ve always liked you. You were just really unlucky that things panned out like they did.’ He sounded sorry too, but then so had Bronson. Everyone was really sorry, but it didn’t seem to stop any of them doing some pretty terrible things.

  ‘Let me tell you something, Jack. That’s not how it’s going to happen. I remember what happened at the house that night with Lauren Donaldson and Jennifer Jones. And I remember your part in it too.’

  He was silent for a few seconds as he thought this through. When he spoke again, there was a note of warning in his voice: ‘Is your life worth as much as your kid’s?’

  I wanted to kill him then, but I kept my temper under control. ‘You tell me a place to meet and I’ll come there alone.’

  ‘Have you got a car?’

  ‘I’ve just stolen one. I can get to you.’

  ‘Bullshit, Sean. You don’t call the shots here.’

  ‘I do. I’ve got enough to fuck you completely, Jack. Now I’m prepared to sacrifice myself for my family, but only if I know they’re going to be safe.’

  ‘Where are you? I’m coming to pick you up. It’s the only way we’re dealing with this.’

  I had to be strong. If he picked me up, I was dead, no question, and with no guarantee my family would be safe. ‘No,’ I said firmly. ‘Give me a location.’

  The line went dead and I was left standing alone on the street, my heart thumping in my chest, wondering if I’d just made a terrible mistake. I waited a minute, pacing the pavement, no longer caring how suspicious I looked.

  In the car, I could see Tina staring at me. She made a ‘what’s happening?’ gesture but I ignored it. Another minute passed. Still no call back from Jack. I’d played games of bluff before in my undercover days, when the stakes were incredibly high – Jesus, Jack had been with me some of those times – but nothing like this. The lives of a woman I’d once loved and a daughter I’d never met depended on me making the right decision and, as a third minute passed without a call, the doubts and fears were hitting me like well-aimed punches.

  Four minutes. I told myself to hold on. They needed me. Jack was bluffing. He had to be.

  My family. A chance to start again. To live a normal life just like everyone else. Where I was needed and valued.

  Five minutes. My heart was hammering in my chest. I stared down at the phone, counted to five, and called Jack back.

  I’d lost the game.

  Fifty-four

  Tina drummed her fingers on the dashboard and lit another cigarette as she waited for Sean to finish on the phone. During that time Mike Bolt had phoned three times, leaving two messages. Tina was tempted to talk to him but she’d promised Sean she wouldn’t do anything until he came back, even though he’d now disappeared from view. She looked in the rear-view mirror and saw him walking back towards the car, the phone no longer to his ear. He looked like he’d aged ten years.

  This
new development had changed everything. Tina had never had children but she could imagine the terror Sean must be feeling. If she’d seen a photo of her parents or nieces blindfolded like that, she’d be exactly the same.

  The passenger door opened and Sean got inside. He took a deep breath. His forehead was covered in a sheen of sweat. ‘They’re going to pick me up and take me to my wife and daughter. It’s not what I wanted, but it’s the only way.’

  This was exactly what Tina had feared. ‘They’ll kill you.’

  He nodded. ‘I know.’

  ‘So, you’re just going to your death?’

  He turned to her. ‘That tracking device I gave back to you at the layby when I went on the run. Have you still got it?’

  Tina thought for a moment. ‘It’s in the glove compartment.’ She rummaged inside until she’d found it.

  ‘If you track me, you’ll be able to see where I’m going.’

  ‘I can’t do anything on my own, Sean. I’m one person, and I’m unarmed. You need to let the professionals handle this. They’ve got the resources.’

  ‘I haven’t got time to let the professionals handle this, Tina. They’re picking me up from the end of the road. I don’t know when. They didn’t say. They just told me to wait. It might be in two minutes. It might be in an hour. It depends where they are, I suppose.’ He sighed. ‘How much influence have you got over your police contact?’

  ‘Not a lot. Why?’

  ‘Call him while you’re tracking me if you have to but I need you to do everything you can to hold them back from doing anything that puts my family in danger.’

  Tina pulled hard on her cigarette, the taste unusually acrid in her mouth. If she gave him the tracker, she was supporting his suicidal decision to go to his death. There was a selfish reason for holding back too. If Sean died, then so would any chance of finding Lauren’s body and bringing whoever had killed her to justice.

  ‘Look, Sean—’

  ‘Look what, Tina? Are you going to help me or not?’ He had a manic look in his eyes, and Tina wasn’t at all sure he wouldn’t try and take the tracker off her forcibly if he had to.