‘What is it, Laura? What does it say?’

Kesey’s expression darkened. ‘It’s… it’s from the man who took Lottie Weller. The sick bastard is threatening us; he’s even threatening Edward.’

‘Oh, for God’s sake, how many times do we have to go through this kind of shit. Is any job worth all this danger?’

Kesey fought to retain her composure. ‘We’ve got to take this seriously. Am I right in thinking your brother’s still away on that computer course.’

‘Yeah, he is, for another two weeks.’

Kesey touched Janet’s arm. ‘Then I want you to take Ed to stay with your sister in Edinburgh. I want you to go today, and I want you both to stay there until the bastard’s safely in custody.’

Janet appeared close to panic. ‘Do you really think that’s necessary?’

Kesey glanced at the letter and then looked back into her partner’s troubled eyes. ‘Yes, absolutely, there’s no doubt in my mind. Book the tickets, either a plane or the train, whichever suits you best. Use my credit card and do it online. The quicker it’s sorted out, the better. And I’ll run you both to wherever you need to go to get the transport. You need to be out of here today.’

‘I can’t believe all this is happening again. How long are we going to need to be away this time? I don’t get on that well with Kim’s husband, you know that. I feel uncomfortable in his company.’

‘Do you want to read the letter?’

Janet turned her head away. ‘No, I don’t want to touch the damned thing.’

‘Then trust me when I tell you we need to do this.’

‘I’ll phone Kim and then go up and pack. Will you arrange the tickets for us? I can’t do everything myself.’

Kesey nodded once. ‘Plane or train?’

‘Train, I think, and from Cardiff, I don’t want to go anywhere near Swansea, even with you with us.’

‘Okay, that’s the least I can do. We’ll get going as soon as we can.’

42

Jamal arrived at Martin Heath’s impressive Picton Street home ten minutes early. He considered waiting, but the lure of easy money and the freedom it offered was far too great a temptation to ignore. Jamal knocked and only had to stand on the doorstep for a matter of seconds before Heath checked the street for potential witnesses and ushered him in. The house was in darkness, with only a single candle lighting a sitting room to the right of the hallway. All other internal doors were tightly shut.

‘Where’s my money?’

Heath could see that Jamal was shaking slightly as he stood facing him. He pointed at the open door, encouraging the Syrian into the room.

‘Why is it so dark?’

‘My lights have tripped. It’s a common problem. If you want the money, you’ll sit yourself down, shut up, and wait.’

‘You’ve got it?’

‘Yes, I’ve got it. But remember what I said to you. This is a one-off payment. I’ll never give you another penny. Have we got a deal?’