For Your Own Protection(68)

Is he asleep?

He typed it in again and pressed ‘Enter’.

Again, there was no answer.

Matt pulled out his mobile and dialled Sean’s number once more, willing him to pick up.

Someone answered.

‘Sean, I buzzed up, but there was no answer. I’m waiting downstairs. Is that you? Where are you?’

‘In the apartment,’ Sean said groggily. ‘Sorry. I’ll buzz you through.’

‘Are you okay?’

But the line had gone dead.

The light by the door flashed green and Matt entered. He headed for the lift and ascended to the third floor. Sean hadn’t seemed himself. Maybe he’d just woken up.

Matt exited the lift and hurried towards Sean’s front door. It was ajar. His anxiety levels rose.

Something felt wrong here.

‘Sean, are you there?’ He moved into the dark apartment and along the hallway. He could hear the television in the living room. ‘Sean?’

Sean was sitting on the sofa, lit only by the TV. He was hugging his chest, and grimaced as Matt looked on. His nose was swollen and bloody, his cheek bruised.

‘Oh my God.’

Matt dashed towards the bedrooms.

Sean called him back. ‘It’s okay. They’re not here.’

Matt stepped back into the room, breathless. ‘Where are they?’

Sean had risen from the sofa and was holding his side. ‘At a hotel. The Excalibur.’

‘A hotel? Why?’

‘Because it wasn’t safe,’ he said, grimacing again. ‘I didn’t want to risk it, in case they came looking here.’

‘Who came looking?’

Sean didn’t answer.

Matt took him by the shoulders. ‘Sean, talk to me. Who came looking? Who did this to you?’

‘Samson.’

‘You’re involved in all this, aren’t you?’ Matt exclaimed.

Sean nodded.

‘You should have told me!’

‘I know, I know.’ Sean shrugged off Matt’s hold.

Matt resisted the temptation to grab him again. ‘We need to go and get Beth and Charlie. I can’t believe you’ve left them on their own.’

Another grimace. ‘They’re safe at the hotel. I took them there myself, made sure they were settled.’

‘What did you tell Beth?’

‘I made up a story. Said I’d been having some trouble with an ex, that she’s been coming around to the apartment in the middle of the night and phoning me in the early hours.’

‘We’ve got to go and get them,’ Matt repeated.

‘That might not be a good idea.’

‘Why?’

‘Because the man who did this,’ he said, gesturing at his face, ‘he might still be around. We don’t want to risk leading him straight to them.’

‘Who is he?’

‘Joseph Deed. Nick Samson’s associate.’

The man from the casino.

‘Sean, what the hell is all this about?’

‘They were looking for James.’

‘Why?’

‘Because he has something they want.’

‘Which is?’

‘Drugs. And fifty thousand pounds in cash. We never intended things to turn out like this,’ Sean said. ‘And if I’d thought for one minute that it would put any of you in danger, I’d never have gone for it. I’ve tried my best to protect you from all of this.’

Suddenly, Matt knew.

‘It was you, wasn’t it? You paid Natalie to protect Charlie.’

Sean moved over to the kitchen area, placing a steadying hand on the granite worktop. ‘I need to explain from the beginning.’

‘I’m listening.’

Sean looked to be struggling, bent over with the pain. ‘Sorry, this is so difficult.’

‘Just tell me, Sean.’

Sean took a breath. ‘We’re in big trouble, Matt. Really big trouble. You know I’ve been a regular at Samson’s for years. We were treated like royalty. But a year or so ago things soured. James had a winning run on blackjack. And he kept on winning and winning – tens of thousands of pounds. The word was that Samson was pretty upset about it all. We had a tip-off that the club was thinking of banning James, on the pretext he’d been using some kind of system.’

‘Was James using a system?’

‘He said not.’

‘So what happened?’

‘They took away the perks – the food, drink, women. Tried to push us out. Relations really broke down. But to be honest, when you’re winning so big, you don’t really care about a lack of nibbles and nipples.’ He grimaced at his own joke. Matt frowned. ‘But then Samson found another way to get his money back.’

‘How d’you mean?’

‘Birch Grove.’

Matt made the connection immediately. ‘Samson arranged the robbery at Birch Grove as revenge for James winning big in his casino?’

‘Yes.’

‘You know that for certain?’

‘He told us straight. He was very open about the whole thing. He took delight in letting us know – firstly, that he’d done it, secondly, that there was no way he’d be caught, and thirdly, that we’d never get our money back.’