Read Online The Ultimate Truth by Kevin Brooks - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kevin Brooks
Ads: Link
make us a cup of tea?’
I left her to it and went into the kitchen area at the back of the office. The cupboards had been emptied, the kettle was smashed, and all the teabags and coffee and stuff was scattered all over
the floor. I crunched my way through the mess and went into the little bathroom at the back of the kitchen. The door had been kicked in, but everything else was still intact.
By the time I’d come out and gone back into the main office, Courtney had finished her phone call and was looking troubled about something.
‘What’s the matter?’ I said.
She sighed heavily. ‘That number you just gave me. The silver Audi . . .’
‘What about it?’
‘The registration record is restricted.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘All sorts of things, unfortunately.’
‘Like what?’
She blew out her cheeks. ‘Well, firstly, it means that the Audi isn’t registered on any of the normal databases, so it’s virtually impossible to find out who owns it. And the
most likely reason for that is that it’s either a special operations police vehicle or it belongs to one of the security services.’
‘Like MI5, you mean?’
‘MI5, MI6, Special Branch, a Counter-Terrorism Unit . . . it could be any of them.’
‘So just before he went missing, Bashir was seen talking to two men who could be some kind of spies.’
‘Well, possibly, yes. But we’ve only got your friend Evie’s word for it that she saw him in the car. We’ve also only got her word for it that she’s got an
incredible memory. And even if she
has
, and she
did
see him with the two men in the car, we don’t know for sure that they’re spooks.’ She sighed again. ‘The
trouble is, if they
are
spooks, they’re going to know that someone’s been checking out their car.’
‘How are they going to know?’
‘They monitor everything. If someone’s trying to trace one of their vehicles, an alarm’s going to go off somewhere, and it’s not going to take them long to find out
who’s been snooping around. And then they’re going to start asking questions.’ She looked at me. ‘The person I called will do his best to bluff his way out of it, but even
if he doesn’t give up my name, it’s possible they’ll track me down through the phone records. And then . . . well, I don’t know what’ll happen then.’
‘At least we’ll know they’re spooks,’ I said.
‘How’s that going to help us?’
‘Knowledge is power.’
‘Yeah, but it can also get you into a whole load of trouble.’
I almost didn’t bother asking Courtney if she wanted to go and see Bashir’s parents with me. I suppose I just assumed that she’d tell me not to be so stupid,
that we’d already got ourselves into enough trouble as it was, and that the only sensible thing to do was leave things alone and forget all about Bashir. But I was wrong. She didn’t say
anything like that. All she said, after I’d finally summoned up the courage to ask her, was, ‘Yeah, why not?’
‘You think it’s a good idea?’ I said, surprised.
‘Probably not. But if we’re going to do this – and it looks like we are – we might as well do it properly. And besides, whatever I say or do, you’re going to go and
see them anyway, aren’t you?’
‘Not necessarily.’
‘Liar,’ she said, smiling. She picked up the preliminary report file, opened it up, and found Bashir’s home address. ‘They live at Beacon Fields. We’ll have to go
in my car.’
Beacon Fields is a housing estate at the west end of Slade Lane. It’s not quite as big as the Slade Lane estate, and not quite as rough, but you still wouldn’t want to go there on
your own.
‘Ready then?’ Courtney said. ‘We’ll lock up here and walk over to my place to get my car. You can leave your bike at my house.’ She looked at me. ‘Is
something the matter?’
‘No,’ I said hesitantly. ‘It’s just . . . well, I was just thinking . . .’
‘About what?’
‘Bashir’s
I left her to it and went into the kitchen area at the back of the office. The cupboards had been emptied, the kettle was smashed, and all the teabags and coffee and stuff was scattered all over
the floor. I crunched my way through the mess and went into the little bathroom at the back of the kitchen. The door had been kicked in, but everything else was still intact.
By the time I’d come out and gone back into the main office, Courtney had finished her phone call and was looking troubled about something.
‘What’s the matter?’ I said.
She sighed heavily. ‘That number you just gave me. The silver Audi . . .’
‘What about it?’
‘The registration record is restricted.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘All sorts of things, unfortunately.’
‘Like what?’
She blew out her cheeks. ‘Well, firstly, it means that the Audi isn’t registered on any of the normal databases, so it’s virtually impossible to find out who owns it. And the
most likely reason for that is that it’s either a special operations police vehicle or it belongs to one of the security services.’
‘Like MI5, you mean?’
‘MI5, MI6, Special Branch, a Counter-Terrorism Unit . . . it could be any of them.’
‘So just before he went missing, Bashir was seen talking to two men who could be some kind of spies.’
‘Well, possibly, yes. But we’ve only got your friend Evie’s word for it that she saw him in the car. We’ve also only got her word for it that she’s got an
incredible memory. And even if she
has
, and she
did
see him with the two men in the car, we don’t know for sure that they’re spooks.’ She sighed again. ‘The
trouble is, if they
are
spooks, they’re going to know that someone’s been checking out their car.’
‘How are they going to know?’
‘They monitor everything. If someone’s trying to trace one of their vehicles, an alarm’s going to go off somewhere, and it’s not going to take them long to find out
who’s been snooping around. And then they’re going to start asking questions.’ She looked at me. ‘The person I called will do his best to bluff his way out of it, but even
if he doesn’t give up my name, it’s possible they’ll track me down through the phone records. And then . . . well, I don’t know what’ll happen then.’
‘At least we’ll know they’re spooks,’ I said.
‘How’s that going to help us?’
‘Knowledge is power.’
‘Yeah, but it can also get you into a whole load of trouble.’
I almost didn’t bother asking Courtney if she wanted to go and see Bashir’s parents with me. I suppose I just assumed that she’d tell me not to be so stupid,
that we’d already got ourselves into enough trouble as it was, and that the only sensible thing to do was leave things alone and forget all about Bashir. But I was wrong. She didn’t say
anything like that. All she said, after I’d finally summoned up the courage to ask her, was, ‘Yeah, why not?’
‘You think it’s a good idea?’ I said, surprised.
‘Probably not. But if we’re going to do this – and it looks like we are – we might as well do it properly. And besides, whatever I say or do, you’re going to go and
see them anyway, aren’t you?’
‘Not necessarily.’
‘Liar,’ she said, smiling. She picked up the preliminary report file, opened it up, and found Bashir’s home address. ‘They live at Beacon Fields. We’ll have to go
in my car.’
Beacon Fields is a housing estate at the west end of Slade Lane. It’s not quite as big as the Slade Lane estate, and not quite as rough, but you still wouldn’t want to go there on
your own.
‘Ready then?’ Courtney said. ‘We’ll lock up here and walk over to my place to get my car. You can leave your bike at my house.’ She looked at me. ‘Is
something the matter?’
‘No,’ I said hesitantly. ‘It’s just . . . well, I was just thinking . . .’
‘About what?’
‘Bashir’s
Similar Books
