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CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE

T o say Ana was frightened would have been an understatement. She’d already made one mistake with Luke, but she had to do this alone. There was no one she could tell. Not yet. This was her revenge and hers alone. It was personal. The physical signs of fear were manifesting themselves on her body. She could smell the sweat from under her armpits. Her breath was bursting in and out of her chest like that of an asthmatic. Fuck. It was too warm to wear a police uniform, but she wanted as much equipment on her as possible.

What if he didn’t show? What the hell would she do then? She pulled her phone from her pocket. It was 6.45. He should be on the playing field or close to it.

Then, to her horror, she saw she had no phone signal. How could she have overlooked something so important? Damn it. She checked and double-checked everything, but it wasn’t easy because her hands shook so much. She needed to calm down. One mistake, and it could be the end for her.

A terrible thought entered her head. Should anything go wrong, Tim was bound to get the blame. Eventually, they’d discover he was The Vigilante, and he’d go down for everything. Oh God , she thought, her breath catching in her throat. If anything happens to me, he may well hand himself in. She should have told Jonny the whole truth. At least he could have saved Tim.

A slight crackle reached her ears, and Ana froze. The sound of footsteps trampling on the leaves drew closer.

Oh. My. God. He’s come.

Sajid just wanted to escape from Tim, but Tim was chattering about how pleased they were that Luke Carpenter had been arrested and that his mother had finally got justice for what had happened to her.

‘If it hadn’t been for Constable Rawlins…’ Tim said. ‘I can’t praise her enough. That’s the police doing their job properly. Of course, we know now why Carpenter didn’t do his properly.’

‘Yeah.’ Sajid nodded. ‘But most coppers are honest, aren’t they?’ He fidgeted on his feet. How much longer was Tim going to take to fix his puncture?

Tim smiled. ‘They sure are. There you go. I’ve patched it up. You’re ready to go.’

‘Thanks,’ said Sajid, almost snatching the handlebars from Tim. ‘See yer,’ he called over his shoulder and cycled home as fast as his legs could pedal. The only safe person he thought he could talk to was Jassy. Surely, she’d know what to do. They could go to the police together, but Needles would never forgive him. Weren’t they blood brothers now?

If only it had been anyone else but Tim. But why? Why would Tim kill Laine? What reason would he have had? It didn’t make sense. Could it have been revenge for what Needles and the Vipers did to Imran’s shop? Tim’s hand was severely injured, but surely Tim wouldn’t kill someone because of that and certainly not Laine. It didn’t make sense. But there was no doubt Tim had everything that would make him The Vigilante.

What if they got it wrong and it wasn’t Tim? Getting him arrested on suspicion of being the murderer would make the village turn against him, even if it was untrue, and there was Vanessa to think about.

‘Oh, Laine,’ he pleaded. ‘Tell me what to do.’

Jonny tried Ana again. This time, it went straight to her voicemail. He then sent her a WhatsApp.

Are we okay? Message when you can.

It wasn’t like Ana not to respond. He’d give her a bit longer and then try the station.

‘She just lies on her bed, looking at the photos on her phone,’ said Jassy’s mum. ‘I’m really worried about her. She misses Laine so much. We need the funeral.’

‘Is it all right to go up?’

‘Of course.’ She smiled. ‘I think the company will do her a world of good.’

Jassy barely looked up when her bedroom door opened.

‘Hi,’ said Sajid, standing on the threshold. He’d never been in Jassy’s house, let alone her bedroom.

Jassy lifted her eyes. ‘Hi,’ she said. ‘Come in.’

He stepped into her room. On the dressing table, he saw a photo of her with Laine at a birthday party. They were both carefree and laughing into the camera. He turned his eyes away. He would cry if he looked at it for too long. Posters of her favourite celebrities adorned the walls.

‘What’s up?’ asked Jassy, seeing his worried expression.

‘I think I know who The Vigilante is,’ he said quietly.

‘What?’ Jassy sat upright, her eyes widening in surprise. ‘Who?’

Sajid hesitated. ‘I think it’s Tim.’

Jassy stared at him, disbelief written across her face. ‘Shut up,’ she said finally. ‘Why would Tim want to be The Vigilante? That’s mad.’

‘Think about it,’ said Sajid.

It then clicked in Jassy’s brain. ‘OMG,’ she whispered. ‘His mum?’

Sajid nodded. ‘They let him down, the cops. It turned out they were covering it up, even.’

‘Only one officer,’ Jassy corrected him. ‘It’s not Tim. I don’t believe it.’

Sajid took a deep breath. ‘I saw the combats, the rucksack and the machete in his garage.’

Jassy’s face turned white, and for one awful moment, Sajid thought she would be sick.

‘Tim wouldn’t kill Laine. I know he wouldn’t. Why would he?’

‘I don’t know. I don’t understand it, either. Maybe she learnt the truth about him and was blackmailing him.’

Jassy got up and paced the room, shaking her head. ‘No, it’s too crazy.’ A thought crossed her mind, and she turned fearfully to Sajid. ‘You haven’t told Needles?’

Sajid shook his head and Jassy sighed with relief.

‘Anyway, Tim doesn’t have the kind of money that Laine was spending. I think we should phone Sergeant Rawlins. I’ve got her number. She’s all right, she is.’

Sajid shook his head. ‘We need to think about it.’