He smiled. ‘That’s your prescription?’

  ‘I’m a doctor. You can trust me.’

  ‘I do, baby.’

  ‘So you’ll take your medicine?’ Her hand found its way between his legs.

  ‘I’d be crazy not to.’ She moved down and his hands stroked her soft hair as she went to work on him.

  CHAPTER 12

  Gabe ate the same thing the morning of every match. Coco Puffs cereal and two bananas. Laura called it the breakfast of champions. She had toast and marmalade, Ollie had two hard boiled eggs. Kick-off was at three and Gabe was supposed to be at the ground by ten for a warm-up and a pre-match briefing. After breakfast, Gabe took Ollie out for a kickabout in the back garden, another pre-match tradition. They kicked the ball back and forth, then Gabe watched as Ollie practised juggling the ball with his feet and knees. He realised Laura was watching him from the kitchen window and he waved. She blew him a kiss back.

  Ollie wanted to be in goal and have Gabe kick penalties, but Gabe shook his head. ‘You can take the penalties and I’ll go in goal,’ he said. He knew it was crazy but at the back of his mind was the conviction that if he failed to get a shot past his son, he’d repeat the failure on the pitch.

  Ollie beat Gabe with his first two shots but Gabe managed to grab the third. Ollie was about to kick again when Laura appeared at the kitchen door, waving his mobile. ‘It’s Joe!’ she shouted.

  Gabe jogged over to her and took the phone. ‘Hey, Joe.’

  ‘Have you seen Eric?’ asked McNamara.

  ‘Eric? No?’

  ‘Or heard from him?’

  ‘Joe, like I said before, we’re not joined at the hip. I haven’t seen him since training on Thursday and he seemed fine then. What’s wrong?’

  ‘He’s still not answering his phone. I called him half a dozen times last night and it keeps going straight through to voicemail. Same this morning. Gabe, just between the two of us, he’s not gone off the rails again, has he?’

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘You don’t think so?’

  Gabe sighed. ‘Joe, I’m not his best mate, not by a long way. If he’s started drinking and gambling and God knows what, I doubt he’d tell me. Look, I’m ready to leave, why don’t I swing by his place?’

  ‘You don’t mind?’

  ‘No problem, I’ll just leave a few minutes earlier. His place is on my way. I’ll ring his bell, see if he’s overslept.’

  ‘Please, Gabe. And call me as soon as you find out what’s going on.’

  McNamara ended the call and Gabe called over to Ollie. ‘I’ve got to go, I’ll see you at the stadium, yeah?’ Ollie and Laura would be watching from the family box with the rest of the team’s families and friends.

  ‘See you, dad!’ shouted Ollie.

  ‘Is there something wrong?’ Laura asked as he went back into the kitchen.

  ‘Eric’s gone walkabout, by the sound of it.’

  ‘Is he drinking again?’

  ‘I hope not, but he’s not answering his phone.’

  ‘He’s got a self-destructive streak,’ said Laura. ‘He drove away his wife, lost his kids, lost his house. He’s got an addictive personality, there’s no doubt about that. And his addictions feed off each other – he drinks, then he gambles, then he loses so he drinks even more.’

  ‘Easy come, easy go,’ said Gabe. ‘The money means nothing to him. He doesn’t seem to care whether he wins or loses when he gambles. If anything, he seems to want to lose.’

  ‘That’s what I mean. Self-destructive.’

  ‘I told Joe I’d drop by, see if he’s at home.’

  ‘Why you, baby?’

  ‘It’s on the way.’

  ‘He’s not your responsibility.’ She laughed. ‘Hell, he’s the captain. He’s supposed to be the responsible one.’

  ‘It’s no biggie,’ said Gabe. ‘I’ll just knock on his door, see if he’s home.’

  ‘Do you want me to come with you?’

  Gabe shook his head. ‘I can handle it, baby. He’s probably in bed with a hangover. I’ll throw a bucket of water over him and drive him in.’

  Laura kissed him on the cheek. ‘I’d tell you to break a leg, but under the circumstances.’

  He laughed, grabbed her, and kissed her on the lips.

  Ten minutes later he drove away from the house. He didn’t notice the two vans parked at the side of the road. One had the name of a Chinese wholesale food company on the side. The other belonged to a cable TV company. Both drivers were Chinese and both were wearing dark glasses, but Gabe didn’t notice that, either.

  CHAPTER 13

  Laura was pouring orange juice for Ollie when the doorbell rang. She put down the carton and headed down the hallway. She opened the door and frowned when she saw the two men standing there. They were Chinese, both wearing blue overalls and one of them carrying a clipboard. The one with the clipboard blinked at her from behind wire-framed spectacles. ‘Mrs Savage?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘You have a problem with your cable TV?’

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  He looked at the clipboard. ‘Your husband phoned us, he said there was a problem with the sports subscription channels.’

  ‘He didn’t mention it to me.’

  ‘It’ll only take us a few minutes to check the signal.’

  ‘What company are you with?’

  ‘Our company is Tele-Service,’ he said. ‘We carry out technical repairs for most of the cable companies.’ He tapped the logo on the breast pocket of his overalls. ‘We’re everywhere.’

  ‘Well, I don’t think we have a problem, so thank you…’ said Laura, starting to close the door.

  The man without the clipboard put his foot inside the door. ‘We should take a look, just to be sure,’ he said. Laura looked down at his foot. His shoes were black and white with a buckle on them, not the sort of shoe she would expect a cable repairman to be wearing. She was still staring at the shoe when the man pushed the door, hard. It banged against her head and she staggered back.

  The two men rushed towards her. The one who had pushed the door had something in his hand. At first she thought it was a phone but then he pressed a button and blue sparks crackled between two metal prongs. ‘No!’ she shouted and flailed her arms but the man pushed her in the chest and she staggered backwards. She lost her balance, slipped and fell, banging her head on the wooden floor.

  ‘Mummy!’ She heard Ollie shout and she heard him run from the kitchen.

  ‘Ollie, no!’ she shouted but then the man was on top of her and had the stun gun against her neck. He pressed the button and her body went into spasm and then everything went black.

  CHAPTER 14

  Gabe drove slowly through Wapping looking for the warehouse conversion where Eric LeBrun lived. LeBrun had been living in the riverside apartment in Wapping for just over a year; he’d moved in not long after his divorce had been finalised. His wife had taken the house in Sussex, the cottage outside Nice and the apartment in Paris with its view of the Eiffel Tower. LeBrun hadn’t contested any of her demands, much to the chagrin of his lawyer. LeBrun never cared much for money, or for possessions, all he’d really cared about was his children and his wife had been happy enough for him to see them whenever he wanted. He’d rented a three-bedroom apartment so that his son and daughter could have their own rooms when they visited, and he’d stocked it with all the latest electronic gadgets to keep them amused. Gabe had only been once when LeBrun had thrown a moving-in party, and while the booze and models had flowed, LeBrun had been morose throughout.

  The apartment was on the top floor of a warehouse conversion and there were double yellow lines along the street outside but Gabe managed to find a parking space down a side road. He walked back to the entrance to the building. LeBrun lived on the top floor and Gabe pushed the button on a stainless steel console to the left of the door. There was no answer so he pushed again. And again. When there was still no answer he walked along to the car park entrance, two massive wrought iron gates with another keypad set into the wall. He peered through the gates but couldn’t see LeBrun’s car so he went back to the main entrance and tried the bell again.

  ‘Can I help you?’ said a voice behind him and Gabe turned to look at a blonde woman in her mid-thirties, wearing a purple track suit and gleaming white trainers. She was jogging on the spot as she smiled at him and Gabe couldn’t help but notice how her breasts bobbed up and down. ‘I’m looking for Eric, he lives on the top floor.’

  She stopped jogging. ‘He’s not answering?’

  ‘No. I can’t get him on the phone, either.’

  ‘You’re a friend?’

  Gabe nodded. ‘Sure.’

  ‘He was there yesterday. I heard him. His flat’s above mine.’

  ‘Did you see him?’

  She shook her head. ‘No. But I heard him banging around at about nine.’

  ‘At night?’

  ‘Nine in the morning.’

  ‘Banging around, you said?’

  She nodded. ‘Like furniture being moved. And the TV was on loud.’

  ‘What was he watching?’

  ‘I don’t know but there was shouting.’ She frowned quizzically. ‘Oh, maybe it wasn’t the TV. Is that what you mean? You think something happened?’

  ‘I don’t know. Look, I know this is a lot to ask, but can we go downstairs and see if his car is there? I can’t get into the car park.’

  ‘Sure, I can let you in.’ She unzipped a waistpack and pulled out a small pink wallet, then went over to a square sensor set in the wall below the keypad. She pressed the wallet against it and there was a loud click and the gates began to open inwards.

  She followed him into the car park. There were a couple of dozen cars parked, and as many empty bays. Each parking bay had the number of the flat it had been assigned to, painted in white on the Tarmac but Gabe didn’t need the number to recognise LeBrun’s car. Gabe pointed over at a gleaming red Porsche. ‘That’s his,’ said Gabe. He pursed his lips and sighed.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘If his car is here, where the hell is he?’

  ‘He could have taken a taxi.’

  ‘Eric liked to drive.’ He nodded at the Porsche. ‘No point in having a Porsche if you don’t show it off, that’s what he always said.’

  ‘Do you think something’s happened to him?’

  ‘I hope not. But I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this.’

  ‘Have you spoken to Bill?’

  ‘Bill?’

  ‘Bill O’Hara. He lives in the flat opposite. He’ll be home. Come on, I’ll let you in.’

  The gates had closed behind them so she had to touch another sensor in the wall to let them out. ‘Oh my God, you’re Gabe Savage, aren’t you?’ she asked as the gates opened.

  ‘That’s me.’

  She laughed. ‘I’m sorry, I should have recognised you straight away. It’s just you look different in a suit.’

  ‘The manager makes us wear them on match days,’ he said. ‘We get fined if we don’t.’

  ‘Are you serious?’

  ‘Says it builds team spirit. He’s probably right.’

  ‘Well to be fair to him, you do look good in a suit.’ She smiled and held out her hand. ‘Lisa.’

  ‘Nice to meet you, Lisa,’ said Gabe. ‘And thanks for your help.’

  ‘My nephews will be made up when they hear I met you,’ she said. ‘They’re huge fans.’ She grinned. ‘Listen to me babbling away,’ she said. ‘I’ll let you in and you can go up and talk to Bill.’

  She tapped a four-digit code into the key pad and pushed the door open. It led into a small reception area where there was an unmanned desk and a bank of mailboxes.

  ‘There’s no security guard or receptionist?’ asked Gabe.

  ‘There used to be, but there hasn’t been for a few months,’ said Lisa. She pointed to the left. ‘The lifts are that way.’ She headed for the mailboxes as Gabe went around the corner and took one of the two lifts up to the top floor. He rang the doorbell to LeBrun’s flat and knocked on the door just to satisfy himself that there was no one at home, then rang the bell of the flat opposite. The door opened after a few seconds and a bald man with a bushy beard peered out. He was in his late forties and wearing a brightly-coloured kaftan. The sweet smell of marijuana oozed through the door and by the glazed look on the man’s face he was clearly under the influence. ‘Bill?’

  ‘You’d better not be trying to sell me something,’ said O’Hara. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, then his jaw dropped as he looked again at Gabe. ‘Fuck me, you’re Gabe Savage.’

  Gabe grinned. ‘Guilty as charged.’

  ‘You’re playing today, right?’

  ‘Hopefully,’ said Gabe. He pointed at the door to LeBrun’s flat. ‘Have you seen Eric recently?’

  ‘Sure. Yesterday.’

  ‘He was okay?’

  O’Hara frowned. ‘Sure. Is there a problem?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ said Gabe. ‘He missed training yesterday and he’s not answering his phone. But his car is in the car park.’

  ‘He was fine yesterday. He was checking his mail box.’

  ‘What time would that have been?’

  ‘Nine. Nine thirty.’ O’Hara grinned. ‘He was wearing his dressing gown. Never was an early riser, Eric.’

  ‘Do you think he was hung-over?’

  O’Hara grinned. ‘Come on, you know Eric. He likes his drink.’ He frowned. ‘You think something’s wrong?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Gabe. ‘But I’m wondering if I should call the police and get them to check the flat.’

  ‘No need,’ said O’Hara. ‘I’ve got a key. Eric and I swapped spare keys a few months back after he locked himself out one night.’

  ‘Do you mind?’

  ‘Of course not.’ O’Hara disappeared back into his apartment and reappeared thirty seconds later with a key on a chain with a plastic football. They crossed the corridor to LeBrun’s flat and Gabe knocked on the door. When there was no response he stepped to the side and let O’Hara unlock the door. O’Hara pushed the door open. ‘Eric. Are you there? It’s Bill. Are you OK?”

  When there was no reply he pushed the door fully open and motioned for Gabe to go in first. ‘Eric, are you there?’ shouted Gabe as he walked slowly along the hall.

  The two men walked into the main room with its spectacular views over the Thames. Gabe saw a half-empty bottle of brandy on the floor by the sofa and he cursed under his breath. Then he saw the broken chair by the open plan kitchen, and a shattered coffee mug on the floor behind the front door.

  ‘He’s not here,’ said O’Hara, stating the obvious.

  Gabe picked up the brandy bottle. LeBrun was a champagne drinker, or vintage red wine, the spirits were usually for visitors. He put the bottle on a sideboard. The coffee had pooled on the varnished wood floor, some had dried which suggested it had been spilled hours earlier. ‘That doesn’t look good,’ said O’Hara, nodding at the broken coffee mug.

  ‘You didn’t hear anything?’ asked Gabe.

  O’Hara shook his head. ‘No, but I was out most of the day. I didn’t get back until about eight. Want do you think? He had an accident? Fell over?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Gabe. ‘It’s possible. Maybe. He might have fallen and gone to hospital. Maybe an ambulance came. Shit.’

  ‘He might be fine. You can wait forever in A&E these days.’

  ‘So why isn’t he answering his phone?’

  O’Hara looked around and then pointed at a sideboard. ‘Because it’s there,’ he said. There was an iPhone next to a bowl of fruit. Gabe went over and picked it up. There were several dozen missed calls, mainly from Joe McNamara, and as many text messages. ‘That doesn’t make sense,’ said Gabe. ‘Why didn’t he take his phone with him?’

  CHAPTER 15

  When Laura came to she was lying on her side and everything was dark. She blinked her eyes several times and then realised there was something over her face. She tried to take off whatever it was but she couldn’t move her hands. They were bound behind her back. ‘Ollie!’ she shouted. ‘Ollie where are you?’

  Something clipped the side of her head. ‘Be quiet!’ snarled a man.

  ‘Where is my son?’ she asked. ‘Where’s Ollie?’

  ‘He’s here. He’s fine. Now shut up.’

  ‘I want to see my son!’ There was no answer. She realised she was in a vehicle, she could hear the sound of traffic and there was the vibration of an engine. ‘I demand that I see my son!’ she said. There was a crackling sound and something pressed against her neck and her whole body went into spasm and she passed out.

  When she awoke a second time the vehicle had stopped moving and she heard a door opening. Her head was throbbing and she felt awful. Hands grabbed at her, at least four, and they pulled her out and she was thrown over someone's shoulder. She tried to speak but this time her mouth was so dry she couldn’t do anything other than cough.

  She heard male voices, guttural and talking a language she didn’t recognise, then the crunch of feet on gravel, then the thud of feet on something harder. Her head banged against something and then she could tell she was inside. She heard more voices, then she felt herself being carried up a flight of stairs, then her head banged against a wall and she was taken to the left. They stopped, she heard a door being opened, and she was carried again and then suddenly she gasped as she was thrown through the air. She hit something soft. A bed, she realised.

  ‘Hello?’ she croaked.

  There was no answer. She heard a thud on the other side of the room. ‘Is there someone there?’ she said.

  She strained to listen. Whatever had been pulled over head was muffling most of the sounds around her, but then she heard a door being closed.

  ‘Hello?’ she said again. She tried to sit up but with her hands tied behind her and her legs also bound, that was impossible. She lay back, gasping for breath, her face bathed in sweat. ‘Ollie, are you there?’ she said. There was no answer, and she began to cry.

 

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