The Silent Pool

He tried to scream but he couldn't produce a sound. He passed out.

He had no idea how long he was out. When he awoke he was woozy, his vision blurry. But then he recognised where he was, the corridor outside his office. There was an agonising pain from his neck where it had been crushed by the rope. He tried to move and then quickly realised his hands were bound to the arms of the chair with rolls of sticky tape and his legs were tied together with a plastic tie. He could taste blood in his mouth. He could hear breathing behind him and then closer until there was hot breath on his ear.

‘Do you believe?’

‘Listen,’ said Malcolm. ‘Whatever you want I'll give it to you. Money? I've got money, I won't say a word.’

The man laughed.

‘Are my children OK?’

‘First the money and only now you ask about your children. You'll never know whether they are alive or dead.’

‘You bastard. If you've touched them I'll…’ He began to sob.

The man spun the chair round so Malcolm was looking directly into his eyes.

‘You'll do what, Malcolm Ford, kill me?’

Malcolm's chair was spun again and then pushed, accelerating hard down the corridor towards the window and then the hands pushing the chair pulled away as the chair gained speed.

But Malcolm knew he would just bounce off, these windows were made of toughened safety glass. He might break his nose though. He steeled himself for the blow.

The sound of the gun was dampened by the silencer fitted on the muzzle. However, the sound of the bullet was deafening as it tore through the air above Malcolm's head, breaking the sound barrier with a crack. It slammed into the window causing a starfish pattern of cracks to splinter across its surface.

In the split second before he hit the window, Malcolm knew he was going to die and the realisation caused him to howl like a beast, a sound cut off as the glass tore open his cheeks from jaw to ear as he hit the window.

The glass gave way as it shredded his body and then Malcolm Ford, father, husband, lawyer and deal-maker plunged twenty-three stories in 4 seconds before hitting the concrete below and ceasing to exist.

CHAPTER 11

Monday morning had never sat well with Erasmus. Even during his time in the Army when the days of the week were made redundant by the all-encompassing military routine, he reserved a special loathing for Monday morning and reckoned that it always brought with it that extra little dose of fear and loathing.

He had read that suicides and heart attacks peaked at around 9.30 a.m. on a Monday morning, something to do with the release of the stress hormone cortisol. Erasmus thought that Mondays were just plain evil and today was just proving the point.

The problem today was that the strikes had been called off and the teachers and other council workers were back in work. The city was in funds and the school runs were back on, clogging up the roads and making him late for work.

His office was two rooms, an office and an antechamber in an old shipping building off Water Street. Back before the war, the building had housed the headquarters of one of the world's largest mineral and ore shippers. Now the grand offices were carved up with stud walls, and microbusinesses operated from the cells formed.

Next door to Erasmus’ office was a tooth whitening operation run by Katy, a fortysomething ex-stripper with a permanent tan and eyebrows as thick as carpet swatches. Through the thin walls Erasmus could hear the low hum of the infrared lamps she had purchased off eBay as they bleached her seemingly never-ending queue of customers.

Sandy, his admin assistant, was sitting outside. Sandy was looking, as ever, immaculate in a crisp white blouse and perfect hair and make-up. Sandy was thirty-three and a single mum to ten-year-old Max. She was everything he wasn't: organised, tactful and professional.

‘Dan's already here, I sent him in.’ She shook her head. ‘Late again, Erasmus. You need to set that alarm clock earlier.’

Erasmus considered a witty riposte. They'd all sound petulant given that Sandy had, as she did every morning, got up, fed, dressed and got her little boy to school and still had time to make herself look like a million dollars.

‘As usually, Sandy, you are right. Good weekend?’

‘I took Max to see his father. You?’

Max's father was currently doing a ten-year stretch for armed robbery in Strangeways.

‘I had a gun pressed to my head by a homicidal Islamic loan shark.’

‘Nice. So still no girlfriend then?’

Erasmus harrumphed and walked into his office.

Dan, looking relaxed, pointed at two Styrofoam cups of coffee on the desk. ‘Breakfast!’ he declared.

‘Thanks and sorry I'm late,’

Dan waved the apology away. ‘Always like to see how the other half is getting on and I come bearing more gifts than just the coffee. But first tell me all about Jenna, she's hot stuff, isn't she?’

Erasmus was forced to agree and he told Dan about his meeting with Jenna and the subsequent introduction to Purple Ahmed. He didn't tell Dan about Rachel and her theory about the Third Wave. In the cold light of day it seemed a little too much like paranoia.

‘Well, looks like you've made some progress and more importantly you're keeping Mrs Francis happy. And we want her happy so we can get the uncle's account. I've just been in with the Bean talking about this, among other things – more of which in a minute – and he is really grateful. There could be a training contract on offer if you play your cards well here.’

A training contract in a law firm for a thirty-eight-year-old dishonourably discharged ex-Army officer was all but unthinkable without the right connections. Dan represented that connection.

Erasmus’ experiences at his own military trial had given him an appetite to become a lawyer but he couldn't deny that part of it was about proving to Miranda that he could hold down a real job and that the demons of the past could be caged. Erasmus had been studying part-time for his legal practice qualification for two years now but getting the training contract was always going to be the stumbling block.

‘That's great, when will this be available, I don't take my final exams for another six months?’

‘Well, given I'm moving on, there's going to be the need for another dogsbody fairly soon.’

Erasmus stared back at Dan. ‘They've made you a partner?’

Dan smiled and nodded. ‘Correctemondo! It seems that three years running of being the highest billing associate counts for something after all. So as of 1st January you are looking at the youngest equity partner at the firm.’

Erasmus shook Dan's hand. ‘Congratulations, you deserve it.’

‘Never a truer word spoken. Now listen to me when I tell you that the Bean is going to be looking to get another trainee on board if he bumps up Erik to my role. If you can keep Mrs Francis sweet and maybe bring in the uncle as a client your days of sitting in this cupboard are over.’

‘OK, that's great news. You heard the teachers’ strike is over?’

‘Finger on the pulse, eh Raz? That was news last week. It does mean I can do the school run again and get a chance to bump into those yummy mummies. Maybe I'll see you down there? But only after you find Stephen Francis. Make Jenna a happy woman, yeah?’

Dan left him with that thought. He might not have the perfect marriage, thought Erasmus, but Dan did get to spend time with his kids. Erasmus decided he would call Miranda later that evening and see if they could work something out, maybe Abby could stay over in the week for a couple of days and he could drop her off at school. He might even drop some reference to the training contract into the conversation but then he remembered Jeff and his mood darkened. Work, the habitual dampner of emotions beckoned and Erasmus happily followed.

The rest of the morning Erasmus ploughed through his large caseload of small time personal injury work and drug crimes. At 1 o'clock he got up and went outside to grab a sandwich from Philpotts, his favourite deli, which was situated in a large square behind the town hall. The square was filled with the usual mix of business people sitting on benches enjoying some cold, November sunshine while they ate their lunch and a gang of young skateboarders that were there every day performing tricks on the steps of the derelict offices that fronted the square.

Erasmus recognised one of the skateboarders. Her name was Heather, and Erasmus had helped her get off a charge of damaging public property by obtaining CCTV footage showing that the benches she was alleged to have broken by landing her skateboard on them had already been damaged by drunks the night before. Erasmus raised his hand and gave Heather a wave. She grinned and waved back. Even from fifty yards away Erasmus could see that Heather was smoking a large spliff.

With a shake of the head Erasmus walked into Philpotts and placed his order for the king of sandwiches: cheese and salad cream. It was what his elder brother Paul used to call the dum dum sandwich because when it hit your stomach it exploded with joy. As he waited for his sandwich he wondered what Paul's advice would be regarding Miranda and Abby. He would probably have told him to just kidnap Abby and let down the tires on Miranda's car on the way out. Paul had always had a direct approach to matters. Erasmus missed his advice.

Before the sandwich was ready his mobile rang.

‘Hey Erasmus. How are you doing? I got your message.’

Erasmus felt a tingle down his spine.

‘Hello Mrs Francis.’ He paused to allow her to say, ‘I told you, it's Jenna,’ and she obliged.

‘Look, Jenna, I've got something I need to discuss with you. Can we meet today?’

‘Sure, have you got a pen?’ asked Jenna.

Erasmus fumbled about in his suit pockets and pulled out a small blue bookies’ pen.

‘Oi, love, your butty's arrived,’ said the generously sized woman in the queue behind Erasmus.

And indeed there it was on the counter, and Sharon, the bored looking sandwich technician as her name badge informed him, was holding out her hand waiting for his money.

Suddenly, there was a screech of tires from outside, followed by shouting and the sounds of a scuffle. Everyone in the shop turned and looked towards the direction of the sound. Unfortunately the door didn't open directly onto the square. It was set off at a slight angle meaning the patrons couldn't rubberneck properly and no one was prepared to give up their place in the queue to walk to the door and see what was happening outside.

‘Hey love, your sandwich!’ It was the fat woman again. She gave Erasmus a dig in the ribs.

‘Are you OK?’ said Jenna.

Sharon was shaking her head. ‘That's four pound la. Come on I haven't got all day, there are other customers.’

And then from outside came the unmistakable sound of Heather's voice. ‘Erasmus help!’

‘Yeah, I'm fine. OK, give me the address!’ Erasmus hurriedly wrote down Jenna's address on a Philpotts napkin. ‘I'll see you late this evening. Got to go.’ And he hung up.

‘Yer butty, lazy arse. I'm starving!’ The woman dug the knuckles of her right hand into Erasmus’ ribs.

Erasmus ran out the door of Philpotts.

In the middle of the square there was a police wagon and a policeman was attempting to bundle Heather into the back of the van while another threatened her friends with a TASER as they crowded round and shouted at the cops.

Heather was struggling on the floor and she kicked out and caught the policeman square on the shin. He gave a yelp of pain. Heather saw Erasmus and started shouting for him. The cop who had been kicked pulled out his baton. Erasmus could see he was bleeding from the nose where Heather's foot had connected. The cop lifted the baton as though he was about to strike Heather.

‘Stop that right now!’ shouted Erasmus at the top of his voice.

The bloodied policeman turned his head in Erasmus’ direction. He had a name badge: PC Cooper.

‘Who the fucking hell are you then you beardy streak of piss?’

Nice of the policeman to remind him that he hadn't had a shave that morning.

Heather who was still laying on the floor gave Erasmus an elaborate wink. Luckily for her none of the officers saw because as Erasmus was daily reminded of by the pain in his right knee, policemen the world over didn't like people laughing at them. Erasmus decided to go full pompous.

‘I, Officer Cooper, work on behalf of Dakins solicitors and that,’ Erasmus pointed at Heather, ‘is my client you are assaulting.’

‘Resisting arrest,’ said Officer Cooper. ‘She kicked me in da nose.’

‘I saw a policeman holding down a sixteen-year-old girl and dragging her into a van. What's the charge?’

Erasmus knew what the charges would be and, sure as eggs is eggs, Officer Cooper obliged.

‘Possession of a Class B drug namely GM Skunk and resisting arrest, of course,’ he smirked and waved a Ziploc® bag containing a roach smudged with black lipstick.

Erasmus presumed that Heather had managed to ditch her stash somewhere or had it concealed in a place that would require a female officer to search.

‘Officer Cooper, I am guessing that now the strikes are over and you are back on performance related pay per arrest that you have targeted my client, who, by the way, has a prescription for her medical marijuana use, and in the rush for hitting your daily quota have inadvertently arrested a disabled young girl, confiscated her medicine and beaten her, and all in front of her representative.’

Cooper glowered at Erasmus. ‘Show me her prescription.’

Erasmus suddenly realised that without thinking about it he had put his whole career in jeopardy. Lying to a police officer and impersonating a solicitor probably wouldn't sit well with Dan's law firm. He gave an inner curse. And all he had done was pop out for a sandwich.

‘That's sensitive personal information under the Data Protection Act, do you have a court order for such disclosure?’

PC Cooper glared at him. ‘I've got this,’ he said, swinging his baton into his fist.

The other police officer, Erasmus could see his name badge said Higgs, let go of Heather and put his hand on Cooper's shoulder. Cooper didn't take his eyes from Erasmus.

‘Easy, Coops,’ said PC Higgs.

Erasmus realised that now Cooper was also putting his career on the line and in doing so had yielded all his advantage.

‘Are you threatening an officer of the court, PC Cooper?’

There was a crackle from the radio that PC Higgs carried on his belt. He pulled it out and Erasmus caught a crackly voice mention a 187. Erasmus knew what that one meant, a homicide.

Higgs pulled Cooper aside. ‘There's another one,’ he whispered to Cooper.

Cooper pulled away and turned back to Erasmus. ‘You got lucky, we got to go so I'll leave you and your jailbait but I won't forget you.’

‘Which is funny, PC Cooper, because I think I've already forgotten about you.’

Erasmus helped Heather off the floor.

‘Are you OK?’ he asked her.

Heather was smiling as she moved towards Erasmus and tried to give him a hug. Erasmus tried to dodge the hug but Heather was nothing if not nimble and she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

‘Raz, if you weren't such an old dude I tell you you'd be my man, ha ha!’

Erasmus managed to put Heather down. Her friends had started to drift off, skateboarding to friendlier pastures.

‘Look Heather, you've got to take care. I can recognise an evil streak and that cop has one a mile wide. With the end of the strike they are looking for busts and with your record next time you get convicted you are going down.’

Heather's smile dropped. Maybe he was getting through to her, thought Erasmus.

‘Listen Raz, if I've told you once I've told you a million times it's “H” not Heather and you could be right but you are making some big assumptions about what life is about. I owe you one. Catch you around!’ And with that she dropped her board and skated after her friends.

Erasmus stood there for a second and then noticed he was being watched. It was the fat woman from Philpotts. She was eating a sandwich. His sandwich.

She saw Erasmus staring at her.

‘Whaaa?’ she said through a mouthful of cheese and salad cream.

CHAPTER 12

The address Jenna had given him was in Aigburth. It was a part of the city that he was not familiar with. It seemed like he wasn't the only one as the cab driver drove around narrow streets looking for a road that didn't seem to show up on his sat nav. Eventually, it was Erasmus who spotted a set of stone gateposts set back from the road that marked the entrance to a private road. Just beyond the posts, Erasmus could see an old black street sign with grey lettering spelling out Grasmere Road. The cabbie performed a quick U-turn and took them through the gates.

The change once through the gates was clear. Redbrick Victorian terraces gave way to grand Georgian mansions partially hidden by oak and beech trees.

The road ran down towards the river. Erasmus ticked off the numbers eventually stopping at the last house before the road ran out, just before the railings that marked the division between land and sea.

The house overlooked the black strip of the Mersey and across to the Wirral. It was a large Georgian house, white stucco and columns that spoke of merchants, slaves and molasses.

Erasmus paid the cabbie and stepped out into the cold early evening. It was already getting dark, old-fashioned wrought-iron lamps casting little puddles of light in the gloom. Erasmus imagined not much had changed on this road in the last hundred years.

A curtain flicked at one of the large downstairs windows and then a coach light came on above the shiny black front door. A few moments later, the door opened and Jenna appeared under the pale light, beckoning him in. She was wearing skin-tight jeans with leather boots and a fitted mohair jumper. Erasmus felt his heart quicken. He briefly thought of the sirens that lured sailors to their doom. Instinctively, he felt for the phone in his jacket pocket: Molly was a call away.

‘Hi,’ she said as he approached. Her eyes were twinkling with an amusement that Erasmus had seen before. It was the knowledge of charms worked.

‘Bet you weren't expecting this place, were you?’

Erasmus shook the proffered hand. ‘Well, no not really. I thought Stephen worked for the council. And you…’ He floundered.

Jenna laughed

‘Yes, I'm a housewife and it's a noble profession so you don't need to feel embarrassed. I made my choices and am happy with them. Anyway, come and let me fix you a drink.’

Erasmus followed her inside.

She led Erasmus through the large hallway towards a reception room. They passed a corridor that led to the kitchen and as they did so Erasmus noticed a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye, a dark shape moving quickly, as though to get out of sight.

Erasmus paused and looked towards where he had seen the movement.

Jenna turned around.

‘You OK?’

‘I thought we were alone?’

‘Ever the investigator, eh? As you may have guessed this is not mine and Stephen's house. It's Stephen's uncle Theodore's house. Come on, you can't tell me you don't know about him. I know why Dan's firm have taken my “case”. He's kindly agreed to put me up for a few days until, well, until Stephen comes back. And yes we are alone. I think you may have just seen Theo's Labrador though. ’

She held open a door.

The reception room was different from the hall. Instead of white walls and oak floors this room was an explosion of primary colours and soft furnishings. Jenna gestured towards a sofa and Erasmus sat down. Jenna took a seat on the same couch, turning to face him. She was so close her thigh was brushing the top of Erasmus’ leg.

He took a deep breath. He was here to give her bad news and he would do it professionally and then leave, he told himself.

‘What can I get you?’

Erasmus declined the offer of a drink. The truth was he didn't want Jenna to move from right where she was sat. She, however, got up anyway and went across to a drinks cabinet in the corner of the room. She fixed herself a long slug of neat Absolut over ice and then sat back down next to him. There was an awkward silence for a moment.

Erasmus tried to focus on something else. On the coffee table there was a large book. Erasmus picked it up and looked at the cover: Architecture – the Masterworks by Will Pryce.

‘Is Theo into architecture?’

‘It's mine actually. First a housewife and now assuming this must be Theo's? Shame on you.’

Erasmus started to blush but then he saw that Jenna's lips were upturned and a mischievous glint was in her eye.

She took the book from Erasmus’ hands and flicked through its pages. Then she shut it sharply and placed it back on the table.

‘A housewife doesn't have much use for architecture,’ she said, and for the first time there was a hint of frustration in her tone.

‘You sound resentful.’

She sipped her drink and looked away from him into middle distance.

‘I was Stephen's first girlfriend and he married me. It sounds so old-fashioned in this day and age but that is the way Stephen has always been. He loved me from the first moment he saw me. He has always been sure and free of doubt.’

‘And you? Are you the same?’

‘Not at all. I am full of doubt, always have been. Stephen wasn't my first real boyfriend either.’

‘Where did you two meet?’

‘I met him at university, Manchester Met.’

‘Let me guess, your eyes met over a pint of snakebite?’

Jenna picked up the book again and placed it on her knees.

‘Not quite. I was a third-year Architecture student and he was a first-year Theology major. We were oil and water.’

‘So how did you meet?’

She sighed.

‘He rescued me.’

‘From what?’

‘From myself. I enjoyed University. I grew up five miles from here in a dirt-poor part of this city and education was the only way out for me. I knew this from an early age so I ignored everything and concentrated on learning. I played by the rules and I was rewarded. I got my A-levels and I went to university.’

‘So, what happened? Why did you need rescuing?’

Jenna looked away, when she turned back to face Erasmus any hint of playfulness had disappeared.

‘I fell in love.’

‘With Stephen?’

Jenna flipped open the book that was resting on her lap.

‘No, not with Stephen, with Dietrich. He was a visiting professor, he drank coffee not lager and smoked Turkish cigarettes, he talked passionately of ideas and not the latest indie pop band sensation. He was, as I imagined, all that university would be. I felt like I had finally met someone who understood what life was about.’

She was smiling now.

‘But you ended up with Stephen?’

Her fingers played with a small St Christopher that hung around her neck.

‘Dietrich was always honest with me. He told me that we were “lovers” and not tied to each other. I agreed but of course I had fallen head over heels in love with him.’

‘Did you tell him that?’

‘God no! He would have been off like a shot. “Love” to Dietrich was a materialist invention of the decadent bourgeoisie.’

‘So, how did it end?’

‘I got pregnant. When I told Dietrich he was very serious, but businesslike, as though this were an occupational hazard. I don't think it was the first time for him. He told me he would get it fixed. The next day he met me at the Student Union bar. I thought – and looking back, I just want to hold the young girl who could have believed this – I thought, he was going to ask me to marry him. Instead, he handed me an envelope with £750 inside and a card for an abortion clinic. And that was the end of my dreaming days.’