Sorry this has taken a while, but my new laptop and I are very slowly getting to know each other …. With thanks to Feebee, Firebird & Shell.
-ooOoo-
"Grace?" his voice punched into the tense atmosphere.
"Oh! Right, er ... yes of course," she mumbled, nervously eying the stony expressions of Max and Millie to her left. Her heart beat a little faster, she wondered why he had chosen her. Of course they worked so well together, she told herself, that was all. A purely professional decision, he was hardly likely to choose Tommy, too much Max's man for Neil's liking she knew. Yet she couldn't stop feeling it was also because they could be so in tune with what the other was thinking. Hadn't that been proven years ago? But that was before he had disappeared without a word to SOCA. She swallowed hard, damping down sparks of romantic elation. This was about catching a killer, possibly the lynchpin of an organised crime syndicate, not her own personal wants and wishes. Suzie interrupted her thoughts, shoving the file at her. Grace took it, grimacing a little as she flipped open the cover to find a photograph of Carly Fleischmann, or rather her battered body. If Carly hadn't ever been exactly pretty before, she certainly wasn't now. Was this Manson's tactic, to go in hard and fast, sparing none of the gruesome details they had discovered thus far? Neil nodded a silent confirmation and she flipped the file shut once again.
Max and Tommy exchanged glances as Neil and Grace headed into the interview room and after Ben made his exit with evident relief, the door closed with a dull clunk.
"Right," Tommy drawled, shooting a scathing look at Suzie next to him, who attempted to square her shoulders defiantly. Her effort went ignored as Tommy immediately turned back to Max. "If I'm not needed here, I'll check on how our friend in St Hugh's is getting on. I'll let you know when he's ready to talk."
"Yeah, thanks," Max replied, aiming for an air of confident authority, as Tommy turned and strode briskly along the corridor. Suzie appeared to hesitate for a moment before following, finally catching up with him as he disappeared around the corner. Despite Max's best efforts, Manson had outmanoeuvred him by taking Grace into the interview room. On any other occasion that would sting, but this time it was less about pride and more about coping. At least if he was in that room, facing Hammond, he'd be doing something, dragging information out of him by any means necessary. He'd probably enjoy it. Even if it was Tommy, his proxy, he'd be happier. But Grace? She was so firmly in Manson's pocket, the two of them forever shooting meaningful glances at the other, there was no way she'd do anything but follow his lead. And the question remained, just how far was Manson prepared to push Hammond over this if his bigger picture was more important?
He turned to Millie, her expression bland, far too calm. "Don't you dare try to send me off for coffee," she murmured quietly, brushing past him and into the darkened observation room next to the interview room and with his head bowed, his mind on not only what might come from Hammond's lips but also Millie's reaction to it, he followed.
-oo-
"A solicitor? What do I want one of them for, Mr Manson?" Hammond sat back in his seat. His demeanour altered since he had realised that Mr Manson was to be looking after him. The smooth charm that came with his easy self-assurance oozed from every pore. Grace's eyes narrowed as he directed his attention towards her. "I've got nothing to hide."
"Hmm, now that's not entirely true, is it?" countered Neil.
"We know that a vehicle, registered to your company, was used to transport the body of Carly Fleischmann," Grace informed him calmly.
"I don't know anything about-"
"Let's end the pretence here shall we?" Neil cut in curtly, preventing Grace from continuing. Her brow furrowed slightly but otherwise she managed to keep her expression impenetrable. "I'm not interested in what your dealings are with Kiril Barsukov, I'm not interested in anything you might be involved in. All I want to do is find Sondra Brown before she ends up like this!" he whisked the file away from beneath Grace's fingers and spun it round to Charlie, opening it to show the photograph. "Like this, Charlie! You knew Carly, didn't you?" All colour drained from the older man's face as he stared down at the picture of the dead woman, his temporary ebullience once again deserting him. "This is what she looks like now and it is what Sondra Brown will look like if we don't find her quickly."
Charlie shook his head jerkily. "No, no he ... he won't ... not to her."
"He? He who?"
Charlie raised a shaky hand to his lips, as if to stop any further words from escaping.
"Who, Charlie? Nikolai Antonov? Is that who?" Neil stared hard at the man who refused to meet his eyes. "You know what happened to her before she died?" he continued sharply. "Her hair was hacked off and sent to her father. Then her fingers," Neil pulled out another picture, "also sent to her father. She was tortured, Charlie, then murdered. And you think it won't happen to Sondra?" The question hung in the air between them for a few seconds, watching as the horror sank into Hammond's mind. "Look, all we want is information," his voice softened to a more amiable tone. I'm prepared to accept that you have had no part in any of this but you've got to give me something to prove me right."
"Such as ...?"
"The whereabouts of Antonov would be a start."
"Look I-" he began, recoiling evasively.
"Start at the beginning, Charlie," ordered Neil briskly.
Hammond appeared to weigh up the options, twisting the cygnet ring on his finger nervously, his brow creased with thought. Grace watched the interaction between the two men and realised that she might just as well not be present. This was all about Neil and Charlie's private arrangements. It occurred to her that this was why she was in the room instead of Tommy, Neil wanted a silent partner. She swallowed away the bad taste it left in her mouth and did her best to believe in Neil's strategy.
"I didn't know it was him. Not until much later. It was Kiril who approached me at the casino one night, said we had a mutual friend in need of help and that he needed a local contact. I was curious, it was all like in a film, and you know I do love my films." Hammond chuckled and then stopped for a moment, aware that his hobby was irrelevant. "I got carried away I suppose," he admitted. "Anyway, Kiril said that our mutual friend had asked him to help settle some scores and take back what belonged to him. I didn't know it was Niko ... I thought he was dead."
"You knew Nikolai Antonov?"
"Yeah. Didn't you know that? I thought you did. Him, me, Georgie and Dickie. We all met at my first casino, there was a party every week, sometimes every night, back then. Niko and me were like brothers almost straightaway. We had so much fun, he was real geezer underneath all the Soviet shit. That wasn't him at all. He liked the high life too much for all that doom and gloom. Champagne, girls and lots of cash, that's what he was after. Trouble was, he got a bit too greedy for the cash. And as I told Mr Carter, greed is no good."
"What happened?"
"You know what happened! Georgie grassed him up! Said he had no choice, but there's always choices and he grassed up a mate and got him sent back to Russia. I never heard from him again ... not until ..."
"Barsukov?"
"Yeah."
"And?"
"He said that Fleischmann owed our friend. Big. I suppose I liked the sound of that. Me and Georgie, well, I've never forgiven him for what he did. Kiril never said nothing about Dickie though! Me and Dickie lost touch, he went a bit too straight for me, too straight for Georgie really but them two were always like this," he held up two crossed fingers, "never understood why."
"Go on," Manson waved aside Hammond's musings.
"So, I told Kiril how to get in with Georgie, what weaknesses to exploit. Greed and vanity mainly. It didn't take long. He was in almost immediately and then I didn't hear anything from Kiril until-" he stopped, suddenly pensive for a moment. "Until two days ago when I heard that Carly had gone missing. I called him and asked if he was involved. I threatened to come to you when he wouldn't tell me anything. That's when he finally told me who he was working for. I couldn't let Niko down, not again. I though Georgie deserved a scare and that Carly, well she always was a hard girl. Was."
"So, what? Did Barsukov ask for the van?"
"I didn't know what he was going to do with it," pleaded Hammond passionately. "I didn't know he was going to take Sondra. If I'd known ..."
"Well, that doesn't really matter now, does it?" stated Neil so matter-of-factly that Grace flinched. There was hardness in his voice that she didn't recognise.
"He won't hurt her! He loved her and she cared about him, I know she did. But she loved Dickie more. Niko understood that. He wished her well."
Neil stayed silent, letting Hammond feel the full weight of what he had become complicit in. The seconds stretched out, the silence becoming almost unbearable for Grace, so far there had been no opportunity for her to make any contribution but now was her chance. "So you've given us enough to bring in Barsukov-"
"You won't find him," shot back Charlie.
"What do you mean?" Neil asked harshly.
"He was leaving London late last night, said he'd completed the job and was heading home." Neil glared at Charlie. "I know," Charlie shook his head, "I can't tell you how much I regret all this."
"Where's Antonov?" demanded Neil angrily, his patience now exhausted and his pride badly dented.
"I don't know, I really don't know." Panic now entered Hammond's voice, sweat breaking out across is forehead. "But last time I spoke to Kiril he did say Niko would be in touch and as soon as he does-"
"I'd better be the first person you tell, or so help me, Charlie I'll cut you loose and leave you to fend for yourself."
"I will! I promise."
"Good. Because you wouldn't want certain people to find out you've been talking to me, would you?"
-oo-
"Nothing," she muttered, more to herself than Max. He didn't need to be told what was blatantly obvious. "He hasn't given us a bloody thing. "Not Antonov. Not even Barsukov." Millie's voice was hushed, each word spoken only to make sense of the chaos in her head that she would rather deny. She hadn't realised until this point just how much hope and faith she had invested in Manson gaining something from this interview, despite her disgust for him. His failure only intensified her loathing. "What's he here for?" she demanded as she spun to face Max, suddenly suffused with a violent energy that almost knocked him back a step and fixing him with a wide-eyed stare, no less penetrating for the darkness of the room. "Why, Max?"
Max found he had no answer to either satisfy or succour.
"What has he done since her got here, except make a few pointless suggestions and drink tea with Meadows?" her hysteria was rising, the light from the room beyond catching her hair and lighting her eyes as she jerked her head back towards the subject of her anger. "He's only interested in Georgie, isn't he? He couldn't give a shit about Mum or Carly. It's all about his bigger picture," she finished sarcastically.
"Millie, that's not true," but even Max could put little belief in his defence of the superior officer.
"Isn't it? He was already in contact with Hammond before this started. Was Manson talking to you as well?"
"No!" Max retorted forcefully, then rubbed his forehead wearily. "But I'm getting the feeling that I've been manipulated. I didn't know Hammond was on the payroll," he admitted regretfully. "It wouldn't surprise me if Manson knew I was talking to him about Georgie." Max looked away, tutting in disgust at how pleased he had been in recruiting Hammond. Angry to have been such an easy pawn in Manson's game. "If only I'd figured that out, I might … I might have found the connection between Hammond and Barsukov and if I got that then I might have stopped …" he stopped, aware that it was only useless self-pity talking.
Millie felt her own fury subside in the face of Max's admission. "No, no you wouldn't. Antonov has been too far ahead of us from the beginning." They were in this together, there was no longer any doubt in her mind about that. She reached up to his cheek, smoothing her fingertips down and along his jaw. Her touch brought his gaze back to her and without a sound he gently pulled her forward to rest against him, her cheek against his shoulder and pressing his lips to her hair. They both watched as in the room beyond Neil and Grace rose from their chairs, having only been successful in filling in some of the blanks in the story so far, their expressions acutely displaying their own frustrations at having achieved so little. Millie took particular notice of Grace, having little concern for Manson. It was clear in her mind that his sole reason for returning to Sun Hill was to cynically gain another feather in his cap at the expense of her family. No, it was Grace who seemed most frustrated, her expression was tightly held together, her shoulders tense. She'd been sidelined in the interview, played nothing more than the role of silent sidekick and for a woman of Grace's intellect, it could only be humiliating. Yet as they left the room, Manson changed tack, gallantly holding the door open for Grace to go first, offering a nod of appreciation, perhaps as a reward for her compliance. It made Millie feel sick, even more so when Grace appeared to gratefully lap it up, unaware that as soon as she passed him, Manson turned back to Hammond, who seemed to accept the same gesture with similar gratitude.
However, her thoughts on the scene in front of her were interrupted when the door flew open, instantly threatening the small haven of safety they had created.
"Guv?" called Tommy into the darkness. "Our Russian is awake, not quite ready to talk, but should be soon.
Millie's phone rang as Tommy took a few steps into the room. Pulling the phone from her back pocket she frowned at the name of the screen, quickly angling it away from Max's view, although he was now entirely focussed on what Tommy had to say. She pulled away, giving him the opportunity to meet Tommy halfway, no doubt both wanted to take the opportunity of Manson being occupied elsewhere.
"Hello," she spoke quietly, "just a moment."
Max looked after her as she scurried past Tommy and out into the light of the corridor beyond. His instinct was to follow, to not let her out of his sight. But he needed to talk to Tommy and after all, she was safe within the walls of Sun Hill, the only danger coming from loose tongues. He let her go, certain that it wouldn't take long before he caught up with her.