A Family Divided (Dividing Line #3) (11 page)

“
Ruby kicked off just as we were leaving, took us ages to calm her down,” explained Jez.

“
Is she alright?”

“
Fine, my mum’s looking after her tonight, so we can have a bit of fun. I love Poker,” enthused Cathy.

“
I didn’t know you played,” said Ryan.

“
She can’t she’s crap,” chimed in Jez.

“
Oy you,” she said, tapping his arm. “I’m okay.”

“
No you’re not,” he laughed.

Jez was saved from being admonished by his furious-looking wife by Rachel approaching and kissing them both on the cheek, then the two women launched into baby talk.

“Seriously, what’s up?” Jez asked his brother quietly while the women chatted.

“
Strang,” he said, spitting out the man’s name as though it disgusted him.

“
What’s the arsehole done now?”

“
Setting up spies in my camp.”

“
Who?”

“
No one important.”

“
What are you going to do?”

“
I haven’t decided yet, this could be turned to our advantage. I need to discuss it was Rachel first.”

“
She doesn’t know?”

He shook his head negatively.
“I’ll tell her tomorrow. No need to spoil her evening.”

“
How do you know?”

“
Alex told me. He’s been meeting with Strang apparently to cultivate a contact in the planning department.”

“
Do you believe him?”

“
I don’t know. He’s been very odd lately.”

“
Tell me about it, he’s becoming a nightmare to work with.”

“
So it’s not just us?”

“
No, it’s everybody. He and Mikey have been falling out a lot lately.”

“
What about?”

“
Everything. Mikey’s supposed to be his second but he’s not listening to him anymore, just does what he wants.”

“
The power’s going to his head?”

“
Big style. He’s turning into a bit of an arse.”

Ryan nodded in agreement.
“I’m wondering if Alex telling me about Strang’s spy isn’t as altruistic as he made it out to be.”

“
Maybe it is, he’s nothing to gain from it.”

“
Or perhaps he wants our trust again?” Ryan said thoughtfully, glancing in Alex’s direction, who was talking to Franco Cipriani.

Alex saw him looking and gave him a nod. Ryan nodded back, apprehension creeping over him.

The opening night of City 3107 was, as everything the Laws did, a roaring success and business only increased. Ryan kept quiet about Strang
’s mole until the next morning, when he and Rachel were back at the casino overseeing the tidy up before opening for the day. He’d decided to set a little trap for the sneaky bastard, leaving the office door open and paperwork strewn over the desk, just begging to be read. After telling Rachel all about his plan the pair of them waited in a small room down the hall, watching the live feed on Ryan’s phone from the camera he’d hidden on the desk.

“
Typical, it would have to be the lad I was thinking of promoting,” sighed Rachel. “If he’d given us some loyalty he’d have been set.”

“
Clearly he’s undeserving of it and better we find out now rather than after he’s given access to more sensitive information.”

“
True. Why would Strang even tell Alex who his mole is?”

“
He said he got him drunk.”

“
Just like you were planning on doing to Alex?”

“
It’s a well known tactic.”

“
What are we going to do if we catch him in the act?”

“
I don’t know about you but I’m in favour of feeding him through the shredder.”

“
Messy. We could either sack him or use him to get our own back on Strang.”

“
I’m still in favour of the shredder, for Strang as well as the mole,” he said, eyes never leaving his phone. He saw plenty of people passing the open door, one girl he recognised as the barmaid from the VIP lounge even popped her head inside but it appeared she was looking for someone and just left when she saw the room was empty.

“
We could be here all day. Neil’s busy today, he might not even notice the office has been left open,” she suggested.

“
Course he will, sneaky bastards always notice things like that. Here we go,” he said when a figure in black entered the office, quietly closing the door behind him.

The pair of them got to their feet and hurried down the corridor, Ryan
’s eyes never leaving the screen as he watched the figure rifle through the papers, opening drawers. Ryan’s blood positively boiled when he saw the creep pull out a mobile phone and start taking pictures of the documents.

Neil just had time to stuff the phone back into his pocket when the door swung open to reveal a glowering Ryan Law.

“Ah there you are, I was looking for you,” said Neil, perfectly calm.

“
Here we are,” said Ryan, Rachel following him in and closing the door. Her husband was speaking quietly but his was body tense, telling Rachel he was on the verge of ripping Neil apart with his bare hands. As Neil didn’t know him he took his cool demeanour to mean he didn’t know a thing. “What can we do for you?”

“
I wondered if I could have next Friday off?”

“
Why are you asking us? Surely that’s a question for your bar manager?” said Rachel, unable to believe how calmly he was behaving, standing there behind the desk, hands in pockets, the picture of innocence.

“
I couldn’t find her.”

“
She‘s behind the bar,” replied Rachel.

Neil was a little non-plussed when her eyes turned jet black, her voice harsh with rage.

“Could you be lying to us?” she pressed.

“
What are you talking about?”

“
Don’t look so innocent,” said Ryan. “I want to see your phone.”

“
You’ve no right…”

“
Show me,” he repeated, harder and louder.

“
I don’t have to and there’s nothing you can do,” he retorted smugly.

“
In that case, let me show you mine,” he said, turning the phone so Neil could see the image of himself rummaging through papers and taking photos. “Care to explain?”

Neil
’s mouth opened and closed.

“
We know Strang put you up to it,” said Rachel. “You’ve got two choices. Work for us and keep your job or you can lose you job and we’ll make sure you never find another one in this city.”

“
You missed the third option Rachel. I put his head through the shredder.”

“
Ah yes, I forgot that one.” Her black gaze settled on Neil, causing him to squirm. “Don’t for one moment think he doesn’t mean it.”

“
Look, Strang’s an arsehole, I only did it because I need the cash. I’m still paying off my bloody debts from university, I got desperate…”

He was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Go away,” called Ryan, his furious eyes locked on Neil.

“
I’m afraid that’s not possible. It’s me, DCI Taylor,” called a deep voice.

“
Taylor? What does he want?” frowned Ryan.

“
Must be about the attack at Martina’s Bar,” said Rachel.

She opened the door and in strode Taylor followed by half a dozen uniforms and the big strapping detective sergeant. Her first thought was that they were here for her and Ryan.

“What the hell is going on?” she demanded.

Taylor
’s eyes moved past her to the shuffling figure behind them. “Mr Neil Bartholomew, you’re under arrest for…”

They didn
’t get to find out what he’d done because before anyone could react, Neil had wrapped an arm around Rachel’s neck and dragged her backwards, pressing a Stanley knife to her throat.

“
Stay back or I’ll cut her,” he cried, eyes bulging with panic.

“
Get off her,” snarled Ryan, advancing on him.

“
Stop or I’ll slit her throat, I swear.”

“
No you won’t you little bastard,” she hissed, furious, before bringing her high heel down on the top of his foot and jamming her elbow into his ribs.

Ryan grabbed his arm from Rachel
’s neck, freeing her and slammed his forehead into his face. Neil sank to the floor, the Stanley knife clattering from his hand. Ryan pulled Rachel to him as the police piled into the room, threw Neil onto his front and cuffed him.

“
Are you alright?” said Ryan, stroking his wife’s face, checking her neck for any cuts but there were none.

“
Fine,” she replied sweetly.

He smiled down at her and kissed her. Despite her brave words he could feel her trembling.

“Sorry about that,” said an embarrassed Taylor. “We wanted to speak to you before searching the premises, we didn’t know he was in here.”

“
You put my wife in danger.”

“
I can only apologise but no one could have foreseen that.”

“
He could have cut her throat,” Ryan said, furious.

“
To be honest Mr Law, I don’t think he ever really stood a chance,” said Taylor, gesturing to Neil who was being hauled to his feet, blood trickling down his shirtfront and groaning in pain.

“
Judging by the Stanley knife, I’m guessing he’s The Slasher?” said Rachel.

“
Yes.”

“
And he always works Friday nights, that’s why he struck on Saturdays,” said Rachel.

“
Precisely. Hopefully we’ll soon have more answers. Was he working the night he supposedly struck at Martina’s Bar? He could have had a day off?”

“
I can check for you.”

“
Thank your Mrs Law. Here’s my card. Please let me know as soon as you find out.”

“
I will.”

“
I’ll be consulting my solicitor about this debacle,” said Ryan.

“
That’s your right Sir,” replied Taylor before following his men out.

“
There’s no need for that Ryan, I’m fine,” she said after they’d all gone.

“
He could have killed you.”

“
But he didn’t. Suing the Police isn’t going to help anyone. Please let it go, we’ve got enough on our plates.”

“
Alright, if that’s what you want.”

“
It is. You protected me from The Slasher, you took down the city’s most wanted criminal. You’re a hero,” she smiled as she smoothed down the collar of his shirt. “Who would have thought it, Ryan Law fighting criminals? You’ll be wearing your undies on the outside next.”

“
My reputation will be in tatters.”

She kissed him.
“My hero.”

“
Come on, I think we’ve earned a drink.”

They walked back out to find the staff standing about in groups eagerly chatting.

“Alright, the excitement’s over. Get back to work,” called Ryan.

They returned to their duties while Rachel and Ryan slumped into a seat at the VIP bar and ordered a scotch each.

“Maybe at some point in the future people will stop wanting to kill us?” said Ryan, making Rachel chuckle.

“
Wishful thinking Sweetheart,” she replied taking a deep drink, the scorching liquid soothing her nerves and she savoured the taste of peat smoke it left behind. “We seem to attract trouble. Can we help you?” she said when she noticed the barmaid hanging around, eavesdropping.

“
I take it Neil isn’t coming back?”

“
You got that right,” replied Rachel, draining her glass and sliding it across the bar. The barmaid refilled it and pushed it back. “Thanks.”

“
It leaves us a bit short staffed.”

“
I’ll get someone in to cover.”

“
We open in an hour, I don’t have time to train them up.”

“
Who I’ve got in mind won’t need training, she was working bars before you were born,” said Rachel, pulling out her phone and calling Dolores.

Rachel was proved right. Her most trusted member of staff and her right hand not only moved about the bar as though she
’d worked there for years, but she charmed all the staff and customers alike, proving to Rachel and Ryan their instinct was right. When they offered her the position of General Manager at the end of her shift Dolores nearly fainted and protested that, although she was a damn fine poker player, she’d never run a casino before. Rachel countered by telling her no one could spot a cheat like she could and stopping people fleecing their business was her most important role. Dolores agreed she was more than up to that task and threw herself into her duties enthusiastically.