Clark almost smiled.
‘You’re not our only client, Mr Wells. At any one moment we are juggling many cases.’ She pointed at some magazines in a compartment in the door next to him. ‘You’ll find some reading material there, if you get bored.’
But he didn’t feel like reading anything at the moment. He was still getting used to being trapped as a suspected murderer one moment, and then riding to freedom in this luxury car the next.
The car was silent and smooth; he hardly noticed it was moving. He sat and watched the world go by, while beside him Sue Clark’s fingers were busy with her state-of-the art mobile, reading and replying to messages. Where are we going? he wondered. From the street signs it looked as if they were heading south-east, towards Docklands. Sure enough, soon he saw the new high-rise luxury apartment blocks of Docklands ahead. The new City money. The Merc turned through some side streets, and then pulled up in front of an enormous pair of steel gates. The driver pressed something on the dashboard, and the gates slowly rumbled open. The driver let the car roll through and down a slope. The gates moved slowly shut again after them.
‘Secure parking,’ explained Clark, putting her mobile phone away. ‘It goes with the apartment.’
‘Whose apartment?’ asked Jake.
‘Yours, for the moment,’ said Clark. ‘Remember what the detective said: your own flat is a crime scene. So you’ll be staying here for the moment, until we can get that changed. It should only be for a short while. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get it sorted at tomorrow morning’s meeting.’
The car pulled up into a parking bay. Clark got out.
‘Wait here,’ she instructed the chauffeur. ‘We’ll be back shortly.’
She set off for the lifts. Jake hurried after her.
‘Are we in a hurry?’ he asked, impressed by the fast pace at which she walked.
‘Life is a hurry,’ she said. ‘Every minute that passes we’re one minute nearer to dying. Life is too short to waste it by dawdling.’
She pressed the call button, and the lift doors opened. Again, Jake was met with luxury: the voice-activation which asked for the required floor level; the carpets, the décor. As with the car, Jake reflected he’d lived in worse places than this lift.
They got out of the lift at the twenty-third floor. Once again, Clark set off at a fast pace along a quiet corridor, then stopped at the door of an apartment and keyed in a security code beside it.
‘I’ll give you the codes later,’ she said. ‘It’s a lot more secure than keys.’
Inside, the apartment was everything that Jake expected, after the Merc and the lift: luxury and money, but in a minimalist style. In the living room were tables and chairs made of steel, chrome and glass. The cupboards were hidden in the walls, painted black. The walls were also black, but with large paintings and mirrors hanging to give the apartment colour.
‘Bedroom through there,’ said Clark, pointing. ‘Bathroom. Separate wet room. Kitchen. It’s simple, but it serves.’
Simple, thought Jake. If she thinks this is simple, what would she make of my flat?
‘You’ll be perfectly safe here,’ Clark told Jake. ‘Later, we’ll get some things sorted out ahead of tomorrow morning, but right now I suggest you get yourself freshened up; then my principal wishes to see you. I’ll just let him know we’re back.’
She was walking towards the landline phone on the table, when her mobile rang.
‘Sue Clark,’ she said briskly. Then her tone changed: ‘Mr Munro. I was just about to call you. I have Mr Wells with me . . .’
The caller didn’t allow her to finish. He had obviously told her to switch on the TV, because she picked up a remote control, clicked it, and a TV news channel appeared on the screen. There was a picture of Carl Parsons on the screen.
‘I’ve got it,’ she said.
She increased the volume, and Jake heard the newsreader say: ‘The body has been identified as that of Carl Parsons, a student.’ As Jake watched, his mouth open in shock, the picture of Parsons was replaced by one of Lauren. ‘Police are looking for a woman, Lauren Graham, also a student. They have urged the public not to confront this woman, but to contact the police immediately if they see her. Full details have not yet been disclosed, but we will be giving an update as soon as we know more. In other news . . .’
Clark switched to mute, and the sound vanished, leaving the newsreader mouthing silently. Jake stared at the screen, still stunned by what he just had seen and heard. Parsons dead! The police looking for Lauren! It couldn’t be true! Clark was talking into her mobile.