The Price, page 19
‘Clara? How involved are you in this?’
‘George, I promise I’ll tell you everything, no more secrets, no more lies. But I can’t be seen here with you. The people I’m working for, they won’t like it if I’m seen with police.’
‘But you are the police,’
‘But right now, I’m not.’
‘Then what are you?’
‘A desperate mother,’ she replied before turning and making her way back to the wall. She didn’t look back as she scaled it and disappeared.
I stood there for a little longer before making my way back towards the front of the garage where the police car was pulling up. A young PC called Witherall got out and approached.
‘DS Goodwin? What are you doing here?’ he asked, looking me up and down, confused as to why a senior officer was standing there soaking wet and covered in mud.
‘I heard on the radio there was an alarm and as I was passing, I swung in to have a look. I’m afraid that whoever it was, they got away,’ I said, still stunned by the truth.
‘Are you hurt, sir?’
‘Nothing more than my pride.’
‘Which way did they go?’
‘Back this way, the way you just pulled in, about a minute ago. You didn’t see him?’
PC Witherall turned and dashed off in the direction I’d suggested, the opposite direction to where my wife had just made her escape.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Clara
I practically fell through the flat door and fumbled to close it behind me, the commotion causing Mum to dash from the living room into the hall. As soon as she saw me, confusion and panic flashed across her face.
‘Jesus, are you all right?’
‘Shit, Mum, shit.’
‘Clara, what’s going on?’
‘Where’s Tabatha?’
‘She’s in her cot in your room Clara, you’re scaring me.’
Ignoring Mum, I peeled off my sodden coat and went to see my daughter. She was asleep but restless, twitching and fidgeting, her little body trying to fight off the evil disease in her body. She was wrestling with it, holding on until I achieved what I needed to do, what I was failing to do. My eyes filled, and as a tear dropped onto Tabs’ bedding, Mum took me by the shoulders and guided me out.
‘Come on, love, let’s get you sorted,’ she said.
I complied, too tired, too broken to argue.
‘You need to talk to me; I want to help. Has this got something to do with Henry Mantel?’
I couldn’t speak, but I nodded and Mum took a deep breath. She led me into the bathroom and sat me on the edge of the bath, helping me to undress. I was soaked to the skin and bruises were beginning to appear from my struggle with George.
‘Jesus, Clara, what happened?’ she asked again.
I didn’t answer her.
Once stripped down to my underwear, I shivered.
‘Jesus, you’re hurt,’ Mum said, noticing my injuries.
‘I’m fine.’
I could see she didn’t buy it, but she didn’t press me on it. ‘Come on, love, swing your legs over.’
I did as she instructed, on autopilot, like when I was a child and I acted on command to my mother’s tender tones. With my feet flat on the cold bottom of the bathtub, Mum turned on the handheld shower and checking the temperature, she turned it onto my legs, washing the dirt and blood down the drain. She washed my arms, hands, hair, and I watched as my crime swirled and vanished down the drain – and with it my hope, too.
‘Clara!’ A voice came from the hallway as the front door slammed.
‘Shit, it’s George. Clara, what do I say?’ Mum asked.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ I replied.
‘He knows?’
I nodded, too exhausted to say any more.
‘Clara?’ George called out again.
‘She’s in here,’ Mum said and a moment later the bathroom door opened. George stood there; he too was covered in mud.
‘Clara, what the fuck is going on?’
‘George, calm down,’ Mum snapped.
‘Calm down? What’s going on? Jo, do you know what she’s been doing?’
‘Yes. George, I know she is working for Henry Mantel.’
‘Working for Mantel? What do you mean working for Mantel? Clara, what the fuck is going on?’ Despite the fact George sounded angry, I could see he was more afraid than pissed off.
I sighed, and inside, the candle that was my hope, that was Tabatha’s future, began to flicker once more, the flame threatening to go out. I wanted to be able to wrack my brains and come up with some other explanation as to what I had been doing, but I was too exhausted to even try.
‘Clara? Answer me. You told me you were the thief, what do you mean you’re working for Mantel? Don’t you know the amount of shit you’re in, the amount of shit we are all in.’
‘Is it any more shit than we’re already in with Tabatha?’ I asked quietly, looking him directly in the eye.
He didn’t reply, the anger in his eyes burning out at the mention of our daughter’s name.
‘I’ll explain it all, I promise. Just give me a minute. Someone put the kettle on, make us all a cuppa. Once I’m dressed, I’ll tell you everything.’
‘How can I trust you, Clara?’
‘I’m too tired to lie any more.’
George left the bathroom, Mum too, and the room fell into a silence, like the walls themselves were judging me for what I had done. I felt them pressing in, the weight crushing my already bruised and battered body. This past week, I had seen more conflict than I had done in my last year of being a detective before I went on maternity leave. My ribs ached, my head throbbed and now, thanks to George, my left arm felt dead. Not that it was his fault, of course. But the guilt, the aches and pains, they all evaporated like early morning summer mist when I snuck out of the bathroom and went in to see my daughter. I didn’t take my eyes off her until my nerves were placated and my resolve was reinforced. She was fighting for her life; I needed to match her grit and tell the truth about what I had done. It was nowhere near as hard as what she was having to do. Not even close. Leaning over, I kissed Tabs on the head.
‘I love you.’
I got dressed and hobbled my way into the kitchen. Mum had made three cups of tea, and I picked one up.
‘Thanks, Mum.’
She didn’t reply, but sipped her own as we waited for George to come back. When he appeared, he looked at me like I was a stranger, like he didn’t know who I was. I had felt that George and I were going to be okay, that despite our challenges we were going to find a way to reconcile, save our marriage. Now I knew that we would likely never recover. Not from this.
‘Well?’
‘George, take a breath.’
‘Take a breath? I should have arrested my wife at a crime scene tonight.’
‘George, please. I am going to tell you everything, but you need to listen and try to understand.’
George opened his mouth to say something and stopped himself. ‘All right, I’m listening.’
‘Mantel offered me a job, helping him to find whoever is robbing his businesses. I agreed.’
‘When?’
‘Only a few days ago.’
‘And you knew about this, Jo?’
‘Yes.’
George sighed heavily.
‘I made Mum promise to keep it a secret. She wanted me to tell you. But it was a lot of money, George.’
‘How much?’
‘Twenty-five grand.’
‘But it’s Henry Mantel.’
‘I know, George, but it’s also a lot of money, for our daughter.’
‘So Mantel has employed you to find the thief. But you told me you were … oh fuck,’ he said, working it out. ‘Clara? Surely not?’
‘I’m working for Mantel to try and find his thief, but I am also the one who has been stealing from him.’
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Clara
‘George, I never meant to get so deeply involved in anything, believe me. When we set out to raise money to help Tabs, the thought hadn’t even entered my mind,’ I pleaded.
‘No?’
‘No, George. It’s me. Of course not.’
‘And yet, here we are,’ he replied cuttingly.
‘Please, just let me explain. This is hard enough as it is.’
‘Clara, you cannot expect me to be okay with any of this,’
‘No, but we can at least listen,’ Mum interjected, silencing him.
The two of them sat dumbfounded as I tried to explain how I had simultaneously been stealing from Henry Mantel while also helping him. I could see George couldn’t comprehend how it was possible that neither he nor Mum had clocked that I was behind the crimes.
‘Clara, just slow down,’ Mum said. ‘We’re struggling to keep up.’
‘Sorry,’ I said, taking a breath. Now the truth was out, I wanted to get everything out as fast as I could, but I knew I owed them a proper explanation.
‘It began that night, at the Tesco robbery, I saw those two men get away with a lot of money. I knew they would get caught, they were sloppy, amateurish, and when I took some of the money they’d dropped—’
‘What?’ George said.
‘Let her continue,’ Mum interrupted.
‘When I took that money, a thought struck me. If I did something similar, if I stole to raise money for Tabatha, I didn’t think I would ever get caught. I have built a career on arresting criminals, I know where they go wrong. Every time. And I knew because of that, if I stole … I knew I would get away with it. The thought only lasted a moment, but the idea was there.’
‘Oh, Clara,’ Mum said taking my hand. I wished George would do the same, I wished he would reach over, hold my hand, hold me, support me. But he didn’t.
‘I didn’t think any more about it, of course. I felt guilty enough about the few hundred pounds I’d picked up off the floor.’
‘Then how …’ George started.
‘Then I overheard that recording, the one from Mantel’s office, when he stated that he needed time to process money.’
‘Yes,’ he said, in a way that made it look like I was trying to make him shoulder some of the blame.
‘George, it wasn’t your fault. None of it. In that recording, he didn’t say raise the money or move the money. He said process the money, which told me he had dirty money that he was trying to clean.’
‘I don’t understand?’ Mum said, but I could see George did. He knew exactly what I was talking about.
‘When someone is laundering money,’ I continued, ‘they need to get illicitly gained income clean. They can’t just walk into a bank with a ton of money earned in the sale of, say, drugs without anyone raising an eyebrow. If Mantel banked all of his dirty cash, the police would be onto him – and without being able to account for that money, it would be used in the case against him.’
‘So the money needs to look legal?’ Mum asked.
‘Yes.’
‘How does someone do that?’
‘By processing it through a company or business,’ George said quietly. ‘Cash-heavy trade. Like coffee shops and salons.’
‘I still don’t understand,’ Mum said.
‘Say a coffee shop sold a hundred cups of coffee in a day,’ he continued. ‘It would be hard to disprove that it didn’t sell five hundred. And if each cup is £2.50, you could take a thousand pounds of dirty money and process it as those extra cups. Then it could pass through the banking system and become clean.’
‘After that call,’ I continued,’ I knew Mantel had money somewhere waiting to go through the system. I wasn’t 100 per cent sure, but hearing him saying he needed to process the money in that recording … it meant it was worth a try.’
‘The night of the Bean Hut … how?’ George asked.
‘Tabs was asleep. Mum, you were here with me, George, you were at work. I snuck out for an hour, came back before dawn, and then worked down in the shop.’
‘You snuck out leaving me and Tabs?’
‘I figured if she woke, you would look for me downstairs, and I would either be back already and if not, there was note saying I couldn’t sleep and had gone for a walk.’
‘And the club in Stockport?’ George asked. ‘How did you do that?’
‘That time you were asleep. I moved your phone so it didn’t wake you, and then when I was back, I came to you and I woke you up as Mike had called.’
‘You woke me with messages about your own crime?’
‘Yes.’
‘You do know I went to the scene that night?’ George asked, and again I nodded.
‘I assumed you would.’
‘Fucking hell, Clara. What about the salon? How did you do that?’
‘Mantel had offered me the job to try and find the thief. I wasn’t going to do it, but then with Tabs being rushed in and taking a turn I was panicking that we were running out of time. So I agreed to meet him, to find out what he had to say. I had no intention of robbing the place.’
‘Is that why you suggested I stay at the hospital with her?’
‘Yes.’
‘So you could meet with Mantel? Jo, you said she was asleep?’
‘I told her to say that, George.’
‘How does that explain the salon robbery?’ he asked.
‘I met Mantel there, and it gave me the opportunity to scope the place. After he left, I broke in.’
‘And attacked a man,’ George added.
‘What?’ Mum said.
‘Yes, but I didn’t mean to hurt him as much as I did. I figured if I robbed it there and then, Mantel would never think it was me because in his mind, I was back at the hospital with you. I did it because I knew it would strengthen my alibi.’
‘Jesus, Clara. Do you know how dangerous this is?’
‘Yes, George, I do. But I’m trying to save our daughter,’ I replied.
George looked me in the eye, our anger meeting on a level playing field. ‘Can we have a minute, Jo? Clara and I need to be alone.’
Mum looked at me to make sure I was okay, and I nodded. George was right, he and I needed to be alone to work out what we were going to do now the truth was out.
‘Of course. I’ll go home. If you need me, just call,’ Mum replied.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Clara
Before Mum opened the door to leave, I ran after her.
‘Mum, I’m so sorry. I hated lying to you. I just didn’t want to drag you into anything.’
She nodded. ‘Just … I worry, you know.’
‘I’m okay, Mum. Please don’t be angry with me.’
‘No more secrets, though. Ever.’
‘I promise.’
She kissed me on the cheek and left, and for a while, I stood with my head pressed against the back of the door. After telling the truth, I felt more exhausted than ever. I walked back into the kitchen where George was waiting for me. He sat at the kitchen table, fiddling with his wedding ring.
‘George, I wanted to tell you—’
‘Did you?’
‘Of course.’
‘Clara, I know you’re lying.’
‘Fine, no I didn’t, is that what you want to hear?’ I said honestly. ‘I hoped you’d never find out, both you and Mum.’
‘Well that hasn’t worked.’
‘No, it hasn’t. But I didn’t want to hurt you, or jeopardize your career.’
‘I’m not sure I believe you on that either.’
‘That’s not fair.’
‘Fair? Fair? Clara, you’ve been lying to me, working for that man, stealing from that man … You’re a police officer for fuck’s sake. I’m a police officer. Don’t you realise the shit we are in?’ George said, his voice rising.
‘It’s not about us though, is it?’ I replied, matching his level. ‘Us … is that even a thing any more George?’
‘What is that supposed to mean?’
‘Since our daughter got sick, you have slowly withdrawn. You and I are barely in the same room unless we’re at hospital. Our relationship is failing. I didn’t want to have to do what I’ve been doing, but you’re not here, even when you are.’
‘So this is my fault?’
‘I’m not saying that, George, but maybe, maybe if we were stronger, we would have found a better way to make this money together.’
He didn’t reply, and I had to assume it was because deep down he knew I was right. ‘You could be arrested,’ he said eventually. ‘And now I’ve helped you, I could too. Who would be there to look after our baby then?’
‘Look after our baby? What do you think I’m trying to do? I’m not doing this to line my pockets, chase a thrill. I’m doing this for our daughter. This is about Tabatha; this is all for Tabatha.’
‘You don’t have to, though. No one is forcing you to do this. We have the NHS, we don’t have to pay a single penny to get her well. Christ, I bought into your fundraising thinking you were doing something incredible.’
‘I have been doing something incredible.’
‘You’ve been stealing, and people are getting hurt.’
‘George, Tabatha is seriously ill.’
‘Don’t say that.’
‘She is not getting any better, and she won’t, and it’s fucking well time you saw this. George, our little girl is not going to make it, unless we get her to America.’
‘You don’t know that.’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘How, how do you know?’
‘I just feel it. Our little girl is going to die.’
‘Stop, Clara.’
‘No, George! No. It’s time we said it out loud and faced facts. She won’t make it unless we do something. Our baby is going to die.’
‘You don’t know that, Clara, you don’t,’ he replied, but without much conviction.
‘When we couldn’t wake her, do you know what I thought?’
‘Clara, I don’t want to talk about that right now.’
‘I thought that was it, I thought we had run out of time – and don’t stand there and tell me you didn’t think the same, too.’
He didn’t respond.
