Page 95 of Between the Lies

‘And he’s clearly passed her something in that envelope,’ Finn grumbled. ‘Or he’s asked her to send that envelope along to someone else.’

Still, Dickheadson’s actions didn’t link him directly to their case. Nina leaned in. ‘Candace, did you see him do anything else, anything to do with?—?’

‘How I came into this country? No, not really. But Daisy and Robert told me what you’re doing, and I… I… Back in 2016, an official came to my dance class scouting for talent. He picked me and my two best pals. We were booked into a few jobs initially, within the country. A year later, they told us we’d been selected for a big theatre production in London. They had photographs, letters, first-draft pamphlets for the show… Excited, I moved with my pals.’

A tear streaked down her cheek, and her lips trembled with the effort of holding her emotions in. ‘We came here on a plane. Back then, we didn’t need a visa – or that’s what we were told. Just scan the passport and that was it. Only, the moment we crossed the border, they took our passports for “safe-keeping”.

‘We were a bunch of eighteen-year-olds in a new country, so we listened. Only, instead of the glamour they promised, we were driven to a creepy place and separated. I haven’t seen my pals since.’

Nina’s previous informants had told her something similar. ‘So they took your passports and you couldn’t escape.’

‘The lawyers at Malcolm and Associates gave me an English surname and a British passport. They said it was all above board. They also gave me a job, but I never earned enough, and the accommodations they placed me in were barely legal. Then one day they told me I had to get married to a foreigner.’

Oh fuck! Nina gripped her chair, fighting the urge to wrap the girl in a warm hug. Even a fool could guess what had happened next.

Candace powered on. ‘I’d never seen the man before, so I refused. Later, I heard most of these marriages ended up being abusive. Good riddance, I thought, but they didn’t take no for an answer. They said I had no choice. Back then, I couldn’t speak a lick of English, but I told him I’d go to the authorities if they threatened me. They… laughed, told me I wasn’t a citizen, let alone a legal immigrant. The real Candace Matthews had died aged twenty. If I went to the police, apart from being here illegally, they could also arrest me for identity theft and fraud.’

‘Fuck,’ Finn muttered.

Robert leaned forward in his chair. ‘So you never reached out?’

Candace’s lower lip wobbled. ‘I ran away. I had to make ends meet, but I couldn’t get any decent employment where they’d check my background… Daisy’s been teaching me English, but being illegal, I’m still stuck.’

Aye, the girl had enough reasons to be scared.

Nina stood and pulled up an image of Shah on her phone.

Candace’s eyes widened, and she dropped her glass and shut her eyes tight. ‘H-He was there! I heard him talking to Felicity and that policeman. He’s second in command to the boss.’

Robert’s words were a whisper, but he gave voice to the question in everyone’s head. ‘Who’s the boss, Candace?’

‘The vilest person who ever lived.’

CHAPTERFORTY-SIX

Robert shut the door behind him and reached for Nina. She slipped out of his grip, choosing instead to go plop on the sofa. She hadn’t said a word on their way back. In fact, she hadn’t spoken much since Candace and Daisy had left for the night.

He’d taken her to the chippie, hoping to spark her appetite, but she hadn’t touched her fish supper on their way back and showed no interest in it now either, though the aroma tugged at his stomach; he hadn’t eaten anything in ages. Setting their takeaways on the kitchen counter, Robert sighed. ‘Nina, I need to check the flat. Please follow me?’

She looked up, shaking her head. ‘There’s no one here. If they were, they’d have got to us already.’

Robert removed his jacket, then went over to Nina. Aye, the entire thing was frustrating. Candace couldn’t name the mastermind behind it all. Still, she had identified Shah and Dickheadson, and confirmed Nina’s findings. ‘We’ll find them sooner or later. There’s something that’ll lead us to the person behind it all.’

‘When will that be?’ Nina flapped her arms. ‘When I’m rotting in prison?’

He sat down beside her, placed his arms around her and pulled her close. ‘You said you trust me.’

Nina burrowed her face in his neck and sniffled, her palm resting against his chest. ‘I believe you, and I trust you, Robert. No way would I have involved so many people otherwise. But that’s not our issue anymore; it’s a lack of evidence pointing us to the right person. We have too much information – and a suspect list that includes dead people. How can we ever find the real’ – she circled her finger – ‘CEO?’

‘Look, I’ll go through everything we have once more. Maybe after a good night’s rest?—’

‘No.’ Nina looked up at him, a determination lurking in her eyes. ‘I’m sick of this. I’ve been at it for months – months! I need to move on from this now. If we can’t track them, we’ll have to get them to come to us.’

Hell no! Robert tightened his grip on her. ‘That’s dangerous. These aren’t your average thieves. These people want you dead.’

But she wasn’t listening. She shifted out of his arms, pulled the backpack towards her and brought out the camera. ‘Whoever is the mastermind behind all this wants the camera. And they know we have it. All we need to do is tempt them to come get it.’

‘No, Nina. I didn’t ask you to stop after Shah was killed. You saw someone shoot his brains out. That has to be traumatic. Why don’t we leave it at that? Why not be a little more patient?’

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