The Prodigal Son Read online

  Rob shook his head. He knew his brother could sink pretty low to serve his own ends, but to be involved in the trafficking of young girls—to be party to ending their lives in the manner Tom Parker had just described—was way beyond the depths to which he’d considered Bruce capable of sinking. Disgusted, angry, he punched the table. “This has to be stopped.”

  “No time like the present,” Tom affirmed.

  “We believe that boat at the jetty near the castle has brought another ‘consignment’ of girls. It arrived this morning. Interpol has been watching the group, and when the boat departed, we tracked its position. When it was obvious it wasn’t heading for Lowestoft, we were ordered here.” Chris looked from Rob to Tom and back again, his expression set. “We didn’t notice any movement in or out today, except for three men who arrived with four large cardboard boxes. They dumped them in the warehouse and left.”

  “Two big guys in security uniforms and a little fat bastard in a white Land Cruiser?” Rob asked flatly.

  “Yes. You know them?”

  “I had a run in with a couple of the bears last night … the little fat bastard is my brother.”

  Chris nearly choked on his coffee. “Your what?”

  The others sat upright and stared in disbelief.

  “Please tell me you’re joking. This puts a whole new perspective on everything. Does Tony Urquhart know this?”

  “He knows my story,” Rob shrugged. “He’ll know it’s no coincidence that I’m involved in this.”

  “Involved in what way?” Tom asked worriedly

  He related his family history and the more recent events.

  His brow furrowed, Chris drew a long steadying breath. “I need to brief my boss and see if he’s still comfortable with the situation.”

  “Call me on this number once you’ve cleared it with Tony. He’ll be fine with it, but I understand where you’re coming from.” Rob handed Chris a Bob Chapman business card and rose. “I’ve arranged to meet someone at the Red Lion at seven-thirty tonight. After, I’m going to have a look at the warehouse again, so make sure your guys know I’ll be snooping around.”

  “Let me call Urquhart. This needs to be done in a coordinated manner. I can’t let anything, or anybody, screw this up for us after working on this so long.” With a dry smile, Chris slapped Rob’s back and left.

  18

  Five minutes after the agreed-to time, Rob entered the Red Lion, dressed in black jeans, a dark grey T-shirt and black hoodie. The story of his intervention the previous night had made the rounds of bar-room gossip. Silence descended. Patrons watched “Bob Chapman” stroll across the bar … the man who’d beaten off attackers and done them serious injury.

  Lorna was by the bar, taking drinks from a characteristically ebullient Hamish, who winked when he finished pouring a pint. ”Ah, the conquering hero returns to the scene of triumph.”

  “Oh, shut up and pour me a glass of that cheap Rioja you serve,” Rob laughed.

  He hugged Lorna and kissed her lightly on the cheek as he waited for Hamish to fill a glass. “Do you want to grab that table over in the corner?” he asked, sampling the wine and finding it surprisingly good. Aware of someone standing close behind, he made to turn around, but felt something sharp press into his lower back.

  “Move very slowly out the door, my friend,” a deep, heavily accented voice said quietly. “We have some unfinished business.”

  Rob was certain he could easily have taken out the man there and then, but didn’t want to attack a knife-wielding thug in the crowded bar. He did as the man ordered and, upon stepping out, was shoved toward the carpark. Five of the Bosnian security guards were standing before two Land Cruisers.

  “As I said, my friend, we have unfinished business.” The man held the knife close to Rob’s chin. His round face was scarred and his nose had been broken on more than one occasion. “You hurt two of our friends and we need to balance things a bit, so we are going to break your arms and legs, and maybe cut you up here and there. Maybe you should prepare to die.”

  One of the men, the largest of the lot, opened the tailgate of one of the Land Cruisers. “Get in. We are going to see pretty sights on the island and get to know each other better.” He guffawed at his attempt at humour.

  Rob was madly trying to find a way out of the situation: one of him versus five of them. No way was he getting into that vehicle. He’d just figured out how to reach his Heckler & Koch, when he heard a shout from behind.

  “Rob, darling!” A tall blond woman yelled as she ran towards him. She threw her arms around his neck, knocking him away from the man with the knife.

  A shadowy figure hit the man hard on the back of the head and he dropped like a sack of potatoes; his accomplices were too stunned to immediately react.

  Rob grabbed the man who’d opened the tailgate and, as he spun him round, pulled the weapon from his waistband and jammed the barrel into the man’s right ear. As he did so, he noticed a few patrons moving towards them. “Everybody keep well back,” Rob said loudly. “You too, Lorna.”

  Lorna did as he requested, her gaze on the gun. Surprised, she looked up and caught the set expression on his face and hard cold glare in his eyes.

  “Right, you lot,” he growled and turned to the Bosnians. “Get lost. All of you!”

  They didn’t need to be told a second time and hastily lifted their unconscious colleague as Rob pushed the man he had his gun trained on into the nearest Land Cruiser.

  The two vehicles squealed out of the carpark, leaving Rob gaping at Justine and Joe as they stepped closer.

  “Wh-where the hell did you come from? Jesus. Tina, you could’ve been killed. Don’t pull a stunt like that again, do you hear me,” Rob admonished, feeling his face flush with fury. “What were you thinking?” he asked Joe angrily. “She might have been killed for Chrissakes!”

  “Excuse me Mr Robbie MacLaine, but from what I just saw, this woman may have saved your life,” Lorna said dryly, crossing her arms. “She doesn’t deserve to be spoken to like that—and would you stop waving that gun around before you kill someone!”

  Rob tucked the Heckler & Koch into the waistband of his jeans and gazed, perplexed, from Justine to Joe. “What the hell are you guys doing here?”

  “Excuse me, us,” Joe said sarcastically. “I drive the length of the country to make sure you’re all right, because Justine was worried about you … and not without cause, it appears. We got here just in time to save your sorry arse and the best you can offer is “What the hell are you doing here .” He shook his head, then smiled. “From what I heard of the conversation you two had today, the least you could do is give the lady a bit of cuddle.”

  “What do you mean from what you heard?” Rob eyed him suspiciously. “You were in the same car.” He turned to Justine, “Did you hear what I said?”

  “About making babies?” she chuckled. “Uh-huh.”

  “Oh God … sorry.” Rob felt a blush creep across his cheeks.

  “Are you going to buy me a drink now?”

  “Yeah, but first I want you to meet a woman who means the world to me.” He steered Justine over to Lorna.

  “You say the sweetest things to a girl, MacLaine.” Justine took his hand in hers.

  “Tina, Lorna Cameron. Lorna. Justine—Tina—Fellows.”

  With an embarrassed smile, Lorna said, “I’ve heard a lot about you over the past couple of days.”

  “ I’ve heard about you, too. Nice to meet you. Helluva way to meet though.”

  “You’re pretty much the way Rob described you,” said Lorna, scanning her face. “He thinks the world of you, you should know.”

  “How did he describe me?”

  Lorna looked mischievously at Rob. “What was it you said? Leggy blond … good tits, nice arse … your words, not his?”

  He looked embarrassed. “She did ask and I couldn’t think of a better description than yours. Sorry.”

  “I was pretty mad at him when I said that” Just
ine said with a laugh. “And would you stop saying sorry.”

  “Sorry,” he shrugged and the trio laughed.

  “Are we getting a drink or not?” Joe enquired impatiently.

  “Follow me, folks.”

  Inside, Rob gestured Hamish upon reaching the bar.

  “Are you okay, son? I heard what happened. These boys are going to scare you away from my pub. Who do I sell my cheap Rioja to then?” he joked.

  “Can we use the wee back room for a while?” Lorna asked.

  “Aye, sure. Lizzie’ll bring drinks through if you tell me what you want.”

  Rob ordered a round and led the way to a small snug bar.

  About to take seats, Justine asked Lorna where the ladies room was; Lorna said she’d show her.

  “What happened that you came up here?” Rob asked Joe across the small round table.

  “Justine happened. She was very worried about you, and so was I. We could see trouble brewing from what you’d said on the phone. When you didn’t call Justine yesterday, and I didn’t hear from you, she persuaded me to come looking for you. Just as well as it turns out; these guys weren’t fooling around. They would have done you serious damage. Who are they anyway? What’s the story?”

  Rob gave Joe a quick rundown on the events of the past couple of days. The ladies returned and Lorna added a bit of local knowledge. He then told them about his meeting the NCA team and described what they’d shared about their investigations.

  Rob’s mobile rang just as he finished.

  19

  “Rob, it’s Chris Hall. I’ve spoken with Tony Urquhart and he’s still of the mind that we should work together. He says that under the circumstances, you can operate without the rulebook, if need be. He also says you’re a hard sod who gets the job done, no matter what the job is, and not to get on the wrong side of you.”

  “Tony taught me most of what I know and he was one of the best I ever came across … and if I’m a hard sod, it’s because life and Tony made me that way,” he chuckled. “What’s your view on things?”

  Without hesitation, Chris answered, “We need to find out what’s in that warehouse—tonight. It may not be there tomorrow. The downside of that is that the crew from the boat are still here … four of them … plus we reckon there are six guys here already. That’s a total of ten. Four of us plus you aren’t the best of odds.”

  “There were seven of them, that’s corroborated, but I put two out of action last night … that leaves five plus the four from the boat, which makes nine. My partner arrived tonight, so that makes six of us. If we watch our backs, we should be okay; that’s less than two each.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “Red Lion in Achravie.”

  “Where do you want to meet?”

  “Back at yours, if that’s okay,” Rob replied, glancing at a clock on the wall. “Let’s say one hour from now.”

  “See you then.” Chris cut the call.

  Rob turned back to the others, his expression solemn. “We’re going to check out the warehouse tonight with the NCA team.” He looked at Joe. “Did you bring any kit with you by any chance?”

  “Does a bear crap in the woods? This is me you’re talking to. Of course, I brought kit. In fact, I brought a couple of M27s and a couple of Heckler & Koch SFP9-SF pistols, and I know you already have your ‘Boy Scout stuff’. In addition, I brought radios, a night-vision kit, and a few other useful bits and pieces,” he winked.

  Rob gave him a thumb’s up and turned to Lorna. “Would Stella mind if you took Justine back to Uncle Charlie’s and stayed there?”

  “She’ll be okay with that; I’ll call and let her know,” Lorna replied

  “Stella is my partner” she added.

  “Can the girls take your car?” Rob asked Joe.

  He nodded.

  “All’s settled then,” said Rob with a sigh of relief.

  After the two men transferred Joe’s bags, which were hidden in the back of his silver Audi RS4 Estate, into Big Mac’s Land Rover, the women drove off in the Audi.

  Rob and Joe proceeded to the NCA team’s cottage, a fifteen-minute drive from the Red Lion car park.

  “So, this is home, is it?” Joe gazed at the hills and beaches as they drove. “It all looks very tranquil on the surface, but from what you said earlier, looks are pretty deceptive once again.”

  “Yeah. If Chris Hall and his guys have got it right, and I’ve no reason to doubt them, then it’s a lot bigger than just what’s going on here, Joe. God knows what my brother’s got himself mixed up in.”

  “Do you think your father knows what’s going down?”

  Rob thought about it. “I don’t see it. Nobody’s mentioned him in all this. I don’t know if that’s because they think I might not want to hear it. Not even Lorna spoke about him.” He shrugged. “Dad was always gullible when it came to Bruce. He’d always take his side when it came to disagreements and arguments. Not sure why. But he was never stupid … nor was he a bad person.” Another shrug. “I don’t see him as someone who would tolerate, never mind get involved in, something like this. I really need to talk to him.”

  “How would you feel about meeting him again after what went down?”

  “Jeez, I don’t know, to be honest. I’ve thought a lot about that in the last few days. I’ll never forgive him for what he did, I know that, but meeting him, talking to him … I just don’t know.”

  “What about these NCA guys, Rob? Do you know any of them?”

  “I don’t, but I know a man who does. Do you remember Tony Urquhart, Captain in the regiment?”

  “Yeah, you pulled him out of a spot of bother in Afghanistan, if I remember rightly.”

  “They work for Tony and I spoke to him earlier. He rates them highly, particularly Chris Hall.”

  “That can’t be bad, then.”

  “What about your friend Lorna? She seems a bit of all right. You go back a long way from what you’ve said … bit of history there maybe, something for the future perhaps. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Not that I’m prying, my old son—just curious, having spent a good few hours with Justine in the last day or so.”

  “Lorna and I go back to when we were kids. We were almost joined at the hip till the accident. She and I were never anything other than best friends, though, and that’s way it will always be. I won’t let anything come between us ever again.” He glanced at Joe and smiled. “Besides, Lorna’s in a relationship with Stella; they’re very much together, so even if I did want something other than friendship, it ain’t goin’ to happen.”

  “Where does that leave Justine?”

  “I’m not sure how she feels about it. I hope she’s all right about Lorna. She seemed cool about their relationship. Lorna isn’t a threat to what I want Justine and me to have.”

  Joe grinned. “And what do you want you and Justine to have?”

  “A relationship. A man-woman relationship, and who knows after that? I really like her. For the first time ever, I’ve met a woman I really care about,” Rob said quietly. “And I think she feels the same way.”

  “If she didn’t care about you, she wouldn’t be here. God knows what she spun Andy Savage, but here she is, and just as well for you. She saved your bacon tonight and didn’t think twice about it.”

  “You really like her, don’t you?” Rob asked curiously.

  “I do. I think she’d be good for you … you’d be good for each other … although there is one thing you should know.”

  “Go on,” he urged when Joe paused.

  “You mentioned having babies with her, albeit a bit flippantly when we were in the car. She heard you, ‘cause you were on speaker, and she started to cry. She didn’t think I noticed at first but, me being me, two feet and all that, I asked what was wrong. She confided that she can’t have kids. She was truly heartbroken … said you wouldn’t want to know her when you found out.”

  Rob glanced at Joe, exhaled loudly, and shook his head. “Oh God, why do have a big m
outh?”

  “So that both your feet fit in?” he asked drolly.

  “It’s really not that important. I just want Justine—she’s what’s important.”

  “You better tell her that, not me. Whatever you think, she’ll be feeling insecure about you with a beautiful woman like Lorna. You need to reassure her, Rob.”

  “By the time we leave here, she’ll have no doubt about how I feel,” promised Rob. He slowed and pulled up to the cottage.

  Inside, seated at the kitchen table, Rob quickly introduced Joe to the NCA team members.

  “Now that we all know one another, let’s plan our next steps,” Chris started, grabbing a bottle of cool water from the centre of the table. “Experience tells us that if there are girls in the warehouse, they won’t be there long. They’ll move them as soon as practical, so we need to move quickly.” He gazed from one face to the next, his tone firm, his expression resolute. “I spoke to Ally a little while ago and he said that there’s been some coming and going at the warehouse, which started when it was getting dark. No movement of people as yet, so they may be getting ready to ship out the girls. Ally will brief us on further activity.”

  “Sounds good,” said Rob and Joe nodded.

  “Tom’s made one of his legendary chicken casseroles, so I suggest we grab a bite to eat now. That way it will be dark by the time we leave here and who knows when we’ll get the chance to eat again,” Chris suggested and Tom went about serving plates of fragrant hot food and crusty bread.

  Over the meal, the group discussed plans for the evening, what they expected, what they knew and didn’t, and shaped a Plan B in case things went badly wrong.

  Rob and Joe related earlier events and said that they still didn’t think that anyone at Achravie Estate had recognised Rob, but that they should be ready for any eventualities.

  As they prepared to leave, Rob announced that he had a couple of calls to make and that would meet them at the vehicles when they were ready to go. He stepped outside and dialled Justine’s number. Six rings later, her phone went to voicemail.