Clark looked as if she was about to say something, then she obviously changed her mind. Instead, she shrugged.
‘Very well,’ she said. ‘But all I ask is you consider it as an option. Keep an open mind.’
‘No,’ replied Jake firmly, shaking his head.
Clark shrugged again.
‘OK,’ she said. ‘Anyway, right now Mr Munro wants to see you.’
‘Mr Munro?’
‘He’s the man who hired me to get you out of jail.’
Chapter 20
They returned to the Merc in the underground car park. This time, Clark didn’t get in. ‘You and Mr Munro won’t need me for this meeting,’ she said. She indicated the uniformed chauffeur, standing with the rear door of the car open. ‘Keith will take you to Mr Munro and bring you back afterwards. I’ll call and pick you up at eight forty-five tomorrow morning.’
‘Don’t we need to discuss what we’re going to say tomorrow?’ asked Jake.
‘You won’t say anything,’ said Clark. ‘I’ll do the talking.’ She handed him a plastic card. On it were printed sequences of numbers. ‘The code at the top is the key to get into the apartment. The one at the bottom is to get into the building.’ She shrugged. ‘Not that you’ll need that one. Once Keith brings you back, I think you’ll be ready to go to bed. My advice would be to get a good night’s sleep so we’re ready for the police tomorrow.’ She turned to the chauffeur. ‘Take him to Mr Munro’s,’ she said. ‘And bring him back safely.’
‘Yes, Ms Clark.’ Keith nodded.
There was something about Keith, the way he held himself, his build, that suggested to Jake he was more than just a chauffeur. A bodyguard, thought Jake. Former SAS, I bet. Just like those two men who grabbed me in Marsham Street.
Clark headed towards another car in a nearby parking bay, this one a low-slung silver sports car. How the other half live, thought Jake. Luxury apartments. Mercs. Silver sports cars. They never have to worry about battling to get on to a crowded tube train, or be concerned about increases in their electricity bills. Nothing but the best for them. Expense no object. Even when one of them is arrested for murder, they have the clout to walk them out of police custody and away to somewhere safe. Money and power.
Once again, Jake settled into the luxury of the leather seats in the rear of the Merc, and let Keith do the work. His thoughts were full of Lauren and Parsons. What had happened? It had to be the same sort of thugs who’d been after him, only they’d caught up with Lauren and Parsons, and Parsons had been killed and Lauren framed for his murder. But who was behind it?
Jake glanced at the back of Keith’s head through the glass partition. Yes, definitely a military man. Ex-special forces, he was sure. Just like the dead man in his flat. Jake felt a sudden jolt of fear at the thought of being driven by this military man to see the mysterious Mr Munro. Was this Munro the person behind all that had happened? He certainly had the sort of power to make things happen, if the apartment and what had happened with Detective Inspector Edgar was anything to go by. Was he being taken unsuspectingly into some kind of spider’s lair?
You’ve seen too many James Bond films, Jake warned himself. Too many films where the villain is some super-rich man, pulling the strings, above any law. He wondered what this Munro character would be like. A James Bond super-villain? Sitting in a magnificent luxury apartment, like the one they’d just left? Maybe stroking a white cat with a jewelled necklace round its neck?
For heaven’s sake, stop letting your imagination run away with you, Jake told himself. This is real life, not some thriller! But someone had tried to kill him. Someone had killed Carl Parsons. Someone had killed the dead man in Jake’s flat.
He noticed the car slowing down, and realised they’d pulled into yet another underground car park. The car stopped, and Keith got out and opened the rear door for him.
‘Number three lift, sir,’ he said, gesturing to a row of lift doors. ‘It will take you straight to the company’s offices.’
‘Which company is that?’ asked Jake.
Keith seemed surprised by the question.
‘Pierce Randall, of course, sir,’ he said.
‘Of course.’ Jake nodded.
‘I’ll be waiting for you when you’ve finished,’ said Keith.
Jake nodded, and went to the lift. As he approached the doors, they opened. Automatic sensors, registered Jake. More luxury. He stepped in, and the doors closed, and the lift shot up at speed. If Munro is a real villain, I’m trapped, thought Jake. There’s no way out. Keith is guarding the only way out, and he could kill me with one hand.