The Half Truth(49)

Tears spilled as she thought back to those dark days. If it hadn’t been for her parents and the knowledge she was carrying Sasha’s baby, she wasn’t sure she would be here today.





Chapter 24


Martin had been waiting outside in the car for John. The two men were now heading for an address a few miles away. As they joined the A259, a black 4x4 slipped into the traffic behind them.

John looked in the wing mirror.

‘They’re letting Adam drive?’ he said.

‘Yeah, he’s been nagging them so much to let him drive the Range Rover, I think he wore them down in the end.’

John looked at the road ahead of them. ‘How certain are we that this is the address for the Bolotnikov brothers?’

‘About as certain as we can be with anything in this game,’ said Martin. ‘It’s an old farm cottage on a back road which has been empty for a couple of years, apparently the owner went into a nursing home. A few weeks ago, the farmer who lives at the end of lane noticed lights on one night. He thought it was squatters or something and phoned it in.’

‘Did the local police go and have a look?’

‘Yep. All checked out, apparently. It was the nephew. Just visiting, making sure everything was okay with the house. ’

‘So, this is where you tell me how our Russian brothers are connected,’ said John.

‘The house is owned by one Alice Smith, or as she was formerly known, Natalia Muratov.’

John mulled the name over. He knew it, but was having trouble placing it. He saw the grin on Martin’s face. He was enjoying having one up on his partner. John thought hard.

‘Muratov. I’ve got it. Ivan Muratov, cousin to the Bolotnikovs’ grandfather.’

‘Yep. Now you can see where we’re coming from.’

‘Makes sense. Those boys have got to be holed up somewhere,’ said John.

‘How’s Tina?’ asked Martin as they powered east along the dual carriageway.

‘Bearing up,’ said John. ‘She’s a strong woman.’

‘Has she said any more about the attack?’

‘Only confirmed what we thought. It was Pavel who came and sorted out our two Russian guests.’

‘On his own?’

‘No. He had someone with him. Sounds like it was Sasha,’ said John, checking his mobile phone. ‘She said she thought it was Sasha at first, but that she was mistaken.’

‘And you believe her?’

‘You seem to ask me that question on a regular basis,’ said John.

Martin shrugged. ‘You’ve neatly side-stepped giving me an answer, though.’

John tapped the screen absent-mindedly with his forefinger. ‘There’s something. I don’t know what it is yet. Whether she’s waiting to tell me something or ask me something, I’m not sure.’

Martin left the dual carriageway at the next roundabout, turning left and heading north.

‘ETA two minutes,’ he said.

Both men lapsed into silence as they considered their arrival at the cottage.

They cruised to a stop a few metres short of the entrance to the dwelling.

‘I can’t see any cars in the driveway,’ said John. ‘I suppose they could be parked up in that barn at the back.’ He took out his binoculars and scanned the area, then the house itself. ‘No sign of life anywhere. Come on, let’s move in. Nice and easy, we don’t know if they are armed.’

It was a frustrating raid. The cottage was empty. There were signs that it had been occupied very recently; the bins contained discarded food and empty takeaway cartons.

John swore as they regrouped at the vehicles. ‘Looks like we were too late. They must have had the jump on us.’

‘No one outside this circle knew we were coming,’ said Martin. He kicked the tyre of his car in frustration.

‘But the Bolotnikovs did. How the hell did they know?’ said Adam. ‘What about the wife?’ His voice faded.

John’s glare was enough to stop him mid-flow.

‘Don’t even go there,’ warned John. Then, to reassure his team, he added, ‘She didn’t know about this. She couldn’t have given them the heads-up, even if she wanted to.’ He made a point of making eye contact with each man, daring them to even think Tina might have been a mole.

‘There is one way they could have known,’ said Martin. ‘If they were in Belfour Avenue watching the house.’

‘So, if we’re here and they’re there …’ said Adam.

‘Shit,’ said John. ‘Let’s go.’

The knock at the front door startled Tina. She hadn’t been expecting John back so quickly. She stopped as she saw the silhouette through the door’s glass panel. That wasn’t John. It was too short, too stocky.