Page 26 of Drift

Gray sighed heavily, already knowing the backlashthatwas going to cause.

Chapter 8

BACKLASH

Gray pulled to a stop on his courtyard and let the engine find some peace after the long ride back from Wales as he got out. He’d called in at Thames House and handed the samples over for drug and DNA testing to a trusted source who’d worked forensics on previous culler cases: Rita Blackwell. If there was a drug or witness involved, she’d find a match for either. That left his talk with Ray, and the fountain whispered a warning welcome. But beyond that, with Jack and Jan at work, his manor stayed quiet. Even the Maine stayed out of the way as he headed in.

The door to his Oval stood open, and he flicked Ray a look as he entered. “No coffee?”

Sat at Gray’s desk, Ray glanced his way. “You think we could make a decent one between us?” He flicked a look up. “And don’t ever tell Jack I told you that. He’d go nuts over sacking me for lack of a maid’s outfit I’d never fit in.”

Gray snorted and took his seat. “So why have you got me home early over Jack?”

Ray put his iPad on the table, then twisted it Gray’s way.

A list of names came up, nothing more. But it had Gray stilling.

Martin had given him the list after Gray had clipped Light’s ear with a bullet, but it had sat untouched in his desk for over a year, mostly with the hope Martin would be back to go through it with Gray because…

“A list.” As they made their way across the green, Martin gave a sniff.

Gray cocked him a brow. “You into demands now?”

“More giving you something else to focus on.” He gave Gray a wink as Gray took it. Martin carried on alone, and Gray stopped and looked it over, not catching on.

“Kids.” It drifted over a moment later. “Just in case you were curious if I had any.” Martin looked over his shoulder. “Names of the people I slept with that I can remember, female anyway…. Thing is….” He scratched at his head. “I never did really care too much about names, so they might not be accurate.”

Christ. He’d known this would come back to bite at his heels.

Uneasy, Gray started to read the list and its new details.

Among the list of women’s names written on a list, one stayed highlighted in red, and Gray opened a second file with her name on it.

He wiped a hand over his mouth. “Her? Are you absolutely sure?” he said quietly.

Ray didn’t reply for a moment, then flicked a look up and nodded. “It took six months to go through complete background checks on them all, then to find out what isn’t on paper, because, seriously, that’s where so much shit comes in around that woman.”

Hayes, Joanna. Mrs. Only the file was named Seo-ah Kim, her original name before a Deed Poll change.

Fuck.

Gray wiped at his eyes.

“That’s dangerous fucking about territory.” Ray watched him closely. “Do you think Martin knew whose daughter she was?”

Wasbeing the appropriate deictic marker. Joanna had died two years ago. Gray picked up the iPad and glanced at Ray. It didn’t need a reply. Yeah, Martin would have known who she was.

But Martin had been right: the names weren’t accurate. He hadn’t known Joanna as Hayes back then, and even her birth name of Seo-ah Kim—pronounced gim—hadn’t struck a chord in Gray. She’d used Joanna not long after her birth, then later changed to her husband’s surname, the protection order against her father ensuring she didn’t use her father’s.

But yeah… Martin would have known who Joanna’s father was. Or maybe he’d just added her name on the list to distract and make sure Gray kept away from Light back then. That had crossed Gray’s mind, up until about five minutes ago.

He flicked through Joanna’s case file again.

Marriage certificate, death, plus three registered births since she’d been married at twenty, but it was what hadn’t been put on record before she got married that kept Gray quiet.

Ray shifted uncomfortably. “The husband said he had no idea of an unregistered birth prior to knowing her, but he did give me the name of Joanna’s best friend back then: Susan Bishop. When I questioned her, Susan said Joanna went through a dark period coming up to seventeen and eventually admitted to beingpregnant and taking a trip to an adoption agency once she’d given birth. But there was never a record of such. Her first born just disappeared.” He frowned. “I matched the time period with newspaper reports both in her local and outside, and the news clipping you have there is from Bristol.”

Gray flicked through.

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