Page 81 of Ink's Devil

“Will they be able to tell it’s mine?”

Yes. “Look, Beth. Try not to worry. If they examine the bag, all they can tell is that you touched it, but not the drugs, okay? Let me take this back to Demon.”

“Try not to worry?” Beth huffs, her incredulity coming down the line.

“I, or someone, will call you back.”

Returning to the meeting, I don’t waste time, knowing Beth and probably by now her mom, will be worrying themselves silly now they realise there’s something that links Beth to the crime.

After I deliver the bad news, the prez and VP seem to have a conversation without words. Incongruously, it strikes me how well they’ve adjusted to working as a team, almost as smoothly as Hellfire and Demon used to. Thunder, while a great sergeant-at-arms never wore the VP hat so comfortably, whereas Beef seems a natural.

At last Demon speaks, his forefinger touching his nose. “We could hide Beth and her mom which would scream their guilt, or they could stay home, and Beth could continue to go about her daily routine. She already knows she’s got to deny she had a relationship with Ink.”

“How good an actor is she?” Hellfire asks. “If she can act normally, she could get away with it. There’s nothing for the cops to find if they search the house. And nothing to link her or Patsy to any wrongdoing.”

“Except for the rucksack that would take them there in the first place,” I point out.

“They threw it out? Good enough story, nothing to disprove? Or lost it?” Sparky suggests.

Beef nods. “Yeah. Weak, but might throw them off the scent. I can’t see how they can charge a civilian with no record, no obvious need of money, nor signs of a habit with being in possession of heroin.”

“She could say she gave the rucksack to Connor. Drop her brother in it?” Cad suggests.

I purse my lips and shake my head. “If she’s telling the truth, she got into this as she thought her brother was in trouble. Doubt she’d want to offer him up, unless she has proof he set her up.”

“We’ll deal with Connor,” Demon says tersely. “Don’t like any man, family or not, setting up females. Doesn’t matter if he had an excuse.”

“Which leaves us with the problem of what happens when Connor finds the rest of his drugs are missing,” I observe. “Or whoever else is looking. Just how are we going to provide protection for Beth and her mom when the cops may turn up any moment, and we’re trying to deny there’s any relationship between them and the club?”

Demon again does that characteristic thing where he’s thinking, then suddenly raises his chin. “I told them we’d send them protection, but I don’t like using any of us. Cops find a Devil in the house, it links her straight back.”

“You’ve already got something cooking, haven’t you, Prez.” Beef leans back on his chair and waits.

“Yeah. The new hangarounds.”

“Dirt and Nails?” The VP waits for Demon’s nod. “Hmm. Early days, Prez. But Cad’s looked into them, seem pretty legit. Very intent on joining, even after Karl told them what they could expect. He laid it on pretty thick as well. I like your thinking. The benefit is, so far there’s nothing to link them to the club.”

Thunder gives the Prez an ‘are you mad?’ look. “We haven’t been able to test them.”

But Hellfire’s looking interested. “Dirt’s actually a plumber. A blocked sink gives him an excuse to be at that house if the cops turn up. All they need to do is be on-site to alert us to anything suspicious, and we’ll muster up support. And Beef’s right. Currently, they’ve nothing at all to do with us.”

Prez thinks for a moment. “I can’t see anything else for it. Ink’s asked us to protect them, but we can’t give visible support. I want the records correct though. Get Patsy to place a call to Dirt’s business number asking for a plumber. Nails can go as his assistant. I want one of them there around the clock. Cops take their time to come? The excuse is that they’ve just arrived back with a part or something. Let them know, Beef, if they screw this up, there’s no chance of them wearing the Prospect rocker.”

“Heaven help us if one of them is another Skull.” Thunder shakes his head.

Cad waggles his hand. “Learned lessons from Skull. Dug deeper. That I couldn’t turn anything up doesn’t mean there was nothing to find, but I’m satisfied I’ve done what I can.”

“Pyro can go visit with Mel. That wouldn’t look suspicious. Mel and Beth are best friends.”

“I’m going to Denver,” Ro points out. “Not having Mel go there on her own, not when there could be someone searching for their stash.”

No, he wouldn’t. Mel’s pregnant and he’s rightfully treating her like she could break. He wouldn’t risk this baby.

“You’re right, Ro. Point taken.” Demon stands. “Let’s get all our pieces in place. Those of you going to the warehouse, get ready to roll. You’ve got a two-hour ride ahead.”

But before any of us can get a chance to put our plans into action, there’s a commotion outside the door. Glances are quickly exchanged. You wouldn’t need to be a genius to gather from the yelling and shouting that as we expected, the cops have turned up.

Demon takes a moment to let his best prez expression slide into place and then steps purposefully out. The rest of us follow.

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