The Doll's House - [70]

But she didn’t believe it. Never had. And life had taught her not to expect happy endings. Ruby knew in her heart that she would go on suffering until the bitter end. There would be no escape for her and this place – this strange doll’s house – would be her tomb.

113

Lloyd walked to his car, a hundred thoughts tumbling round his head. Anti-Corruption’s investigation into Helen was ongoing and yet there she was – still in charge of the investigation and leading it with confidence and vigour. Ceri Harwood meanwhile was nowhere to be seen, having called in sick. Lloyd had thought about calling her, but then sense prevailed. While things were up in the air, the best thing he could do was keep his distance. Still, the lack of clarity made him deeply uneasy. Had he backed the wrong horse? Shaking his doubts away, Lloyd pulled the car door open – there was important work to be done on the Ruby Sprackling case.

He slammed the door shut and turned the key in the ignition. Before he could move off, the passenger door flew open and a woman climbed inside. Lloyd turned and was more than a little surprised to see Charlie making herself comfortable, pulling the door quietly shut behind her.

‘Shall we go for a drive, Lloyd?’

She waited until they were well clear of the station before she began. In the heavy silence that preceded this, Lloyd tried to work out if she could know – and if she did, how – but had drawn a blank. Despite this he knew with absolute certainty that she was here to begin the counterattack. She was a loyal ally of Helen Grace’s – always had been – and her sudden appearance could only mean the beginning of a new and potentially decisive phase in this secret war.

‘I don’t think you’re a bad person, Lloyd. At least I hope you’re not. But what you’ve done demeans you and the job.’

Lloyd said nothing but shot a glance sideways at her. Could she be wearing a wire – is that what this was all about?

‘Nobody knows I’m here,’ Charlie continued, reading his mind. ‘And I’m not recording this. I think this is better handled off the record, don’t you?’

Lloyd paused, then nodded. She sounded genuine, but could he trust her?

‘I don’t know whether she offered you money or promotion or anything else and to be honest I don’t really care. But sometime soon this thing is going to break – and break big – so everybody needs to get their story straight. It’s customary in these situations for those lower down the ladder to carry the can for the incompetence or corruption of those above them. But I don’t want that to happen here. I know who set this in motion. I’m only interested in her.’

‘Ok,’ Lloyd replied cautiously.

‘I won’t lie to you, Lloyd, you’re on pretty shaky ground here. But there is a way you can save yourself and perhaps keep your badge. You may view it as an act of disloyalty, but it’s the only play there is. You have to turn her over to Anti-Corruption and tell them everything you know. Say you were pressured into it, say she threatened to sack you if you didn’t play ball. If you have to embellish a little to save your own skin, so be it, but you have to tell them the truth about her. When she first came to you, what she asked you to do, when you first contacted DI Marsh.’

There it was. The first piece of solid evidence. It was tossed in casually by Charlie but had a devastating effect on Lloyd.

‘I’ve spoken to Tom Marsh. Went up to his home in Bugbrooke. Met his wife too – Rose, nice lady. He’s going to cooperate to save his neck and I would strongly advise you to do the same. You’ve got until the end of the day to decide. You can drop me off here.’

Lloyd slowed the car quickly, bringing it to a halt in the bus lane. As Charlie exited, she said:

‘Oh and this conversation never happened.’

She slammed the door and hurried round the car to join the queue for the bus. Lloyd drove away quickly, his eyes scanning the street for CCTV cameras that might have picked up their exchange. Normally so cool under pressure, Lloyd was surprised to find now that his shirt was damp with sweat.

As he drove, he played out different situations in his head, each as bad as the last. Harwood had threatened to break him if he didn’t play ball. Now Charlie would throw him to the lions if he didn’t expose her. It was a lose-lose situation but Charlie had forced the issue now and he would have to choose sides.

It was decision time.

114

This was usually a space he dominated. A place where he was in complete control. Which was why it felt so strange to be on the back foot now, to be standing, embarrassed and cowed, in front of her.

On hearing the familiar three rings of the buzzer, Jake had raced to open the door. He had expected Helen to avoid him for a while, to punish him with her absence, but here she was the very next morning. As she entered, her mood had been hard to read – she stared at the floor – but her first concern seemed to be for his well-being, which cheered him. She asked him about his injuries and he filled her in on his late-night trip to A&E. He’d had to have a few stitches above his eye, but the wound would heal quickly and there would be no permanent damage.