He put in a call to Esther to see when Sofie would be returning, only for it to go through to voicemail. He’d been pacing up anddown the corridor for a few minutes, anxious to return to Lewes as soon as possible, when there was a buzz on his holopad.
“The eagle has landed,” a familiar voice said.
“Elsie,” he whispered, shutting himself in a meeting room so he wouldn’t be overheard. He switched to visual, and she popped up in front of him, looking happy and relaxed, wearing a loose green dress with a pair of big fluffy slippers on her feet.
“I’m here, Joe, and I swear Liz’s children have grown a foot since I last saw them. Little Peter is so grown up. I wish you were here to see them.”
“One day,” he promised. “I’m so glad you’re safe, Elsie. That’s one thing off my plate, at least.”
“Are things kicking off back there?” she asked in a quieter tone.
“Yup. You got out just in time.”
“And the young man whose sister called?”
“That situation is all fine.”
“Good. I hated the idea of turning that poor woman down. Now, I know you’re at work and have to go. I just wanted to let you know I’m okay.”
“That’s a huge relief. You stay safe, Elsie. I’ll call you when I can.” He smiled at the thought of her hanging out with Liz and the kids. Her many years of risking her health and safety for the Kathleen Line were over. He’d never put her in that kind of danger again. She’d earned her retirement.
Esther returned half an hour later with Sofie, who was looking much more relaxed now that her ordeal was over. Mr Ryland, on the other hand, looked annoyed. He’d obviously been convinced he’d find Sofie harbouring her brother.
“If he shows up, please contact me immediately,” he told Esther stiffly, handing her a card. “He injured my foreman andis clearly a very dangerous man. I’ll report this to the IS agency, and the police, of course. I’m sure a bounty hunter will bring him in – if he’s still alive,” he added darkly.
Sofie stared at him, stricken. It obviously hadn’t occurred to her that bounty hunters might come looking for her brother.
“Are we done?” Josiah snapped. “Can Dr Baumann get on with her damn job now?”
Esther cast a pitying look at Sofie, at the mercy of his irritable beck and call all day. He strode to his duck with Sofie jogging along after him, trying to keep up with his long strides. Only once they were in his duck and safely under way did she make a shaky sound that was halfway between a laugh and a cry.
“Did it go okay?” he asked her gently. “I know you’re not used to this kind of subterfuge.”
“It was fine. I did exactly as you said. I told Ryland I didn’t approve of Sem’s actions and would report him if he came looking for me. He seemed convinced. There wasn’t much he could say as Esther was there and she’s very protective of me.” She glanced at him fearfully. “But what Ryland said about bounty hunters… Supposing someone saw us that night? Supposing they come to your house? I can’t put you in that kind of danger.”
“Oh, I’ve been in far worse danger.” Josiah grinned. “Look, your brother is a low-value IS. I doubt any bounty hunters will bother with him. I’ve shut down all my safe houses, but I think that, right now, he’s probably safer at my place than moving him around – at least until his injury heals.”
“Thank you,” she said sincerely.
“Now, I need your head in this game, not elsewhere,” he told her firmly. “Can you do that?”
“Of course.” She squared her shoulders. “Let’s just hope they find something for me to work on.”
It was not to be. The divers spent another fruitless day searching. Josiah put in a call to Reed from the command post to see if he’d had any more breakthroughs in the Dacre case, but that was a negative, too. Then he filled him in on the latest news from Lewes.
“You’re really sure she’s down there, aren’t you, boss?” Reed said.
“Yup.” Josiah took a swig of his fifth cup of tea. He reached into his pocket for his little silver box and wasn’t remotely surprised to see two fresh dark chocolates nestled inside. Alex really was very good at sneaking them in when he wasn’t looking. It was becoming quite the game between them.
“I hope you’re right. I want to nail that bastard after seeing that recording of him in your house. I can’t believe he just barged in there and threw his weight around like that, with you of all people.”
“You might get your chance. If we find the body, I can get a warrant to search his premises. Alex says he’s got blackmail material on any number of people who’ve been useful to him over the years. I’m assuming he keeps it to dangle it over them, and I’m also assuming that it’s in a heavily encrypted format. That’s where you’ll really come into your own, Cam. If we get our hands on those files, I’ll need you to crack them open.”
“I’ll try, sir,” Reed said dubiously. “But Tyler must have the most expensive data security in the country, and I’m just… well, me. A lowly data tech.”
“Nonsense. I’ve seen your CV. You could have had your pick of jobs, including working for someone like Tyler. You chose Inquisitus because making a difference was more important to you than making money. I have absolute confidence in your abilities.”
Reed looked startled and not a little touched. “Thank you, sir. Although, you think that anyone who can so much as set upan ancient dog-cam is a technological genius, so…” He shrugged ruefully, making Josiah laugh.
