And then she waited, her heart thudding every time someone walked past.
“I hear you’ve got yourself a boyfriend now.” The familiar voice behind her made her jump. “A famous one at that.”
Helen shifted along the bench to make room for DC Almira Nazir and the woman who’d come with her—Redhead!She’d given Helen makeup in the hotel toilets all those weeks ago, and stalled her exit with chat about Sebastian and how hot he was.
“So you did set my placement up!”
“Yes, there was no other feasible way of keeping tabs on you.” Nazir sat on the bench, her thick, dark hair falling loosely around her shoulders as she took off her sunglasses and introduced DI Layla Drake. “We had to think quickly that day. Our team ran checks on Sebastian while you were with him at the hotel. When we discovered the Get Living charity had a community placement scheme, we decided to switch things around.”
“You’ve been watching us all this time?”
“No, just during your placement, and your privacy has never been compromised. Our surveillance concentrated only on whether or not Bates would seek refuge with you at your home,” Nazir said. “When Clarke moved in, we left you to it, and I must say, he’s a vast improvement on Jaxon Bates.”
“I told you Jaxon and I were never lovers, but you were right about one thing.” Helen handed Jaxon’s postcard to Nazir. “He did make contact.”
Nazir read Jaxon’s note and handed it to Drake.
“Jaxon also sent me this.” Helen opened her bag, showing the wad of money. “It’s exactly the amount he owes me. I’m assuming it’s a teaser of what else is to come.”
Nazir studied the card, her expression thoughtful. “Besides your name, our intelligence picked up on another. Karsan. Does it mean anything to you?”
Helen shook her head. “Could it be someone else he had working for him? You said he groomed me. Could he have groomed others?”
“Yes, he did. What we want to know is if any of these people networked with each other.” Nazir leaned back on the bench. “Our investigations indicate that Bates is getting ready to leave the country. You’re not the first one of his team he’s contacted.”
“Jaxon has a team?”
Nazir nodded. “But you’re the only one who’s come forward. Do you want to help us catch him and the people he’s working for?”
“I want to do what’s right.” For several moments after opening Jaxon’s package, Helen had been tempted.So bloody tempted. But she couldn’t do it to Tom and Emma—or Sebastian. She’d never betray their trust and risk her future by doing anything stupid.
“If Bates finds out you’ve met with us, he could turn nasty.”
“Jaxon wouldn’t hurt me.” Helen had told Tom the same thing. “He’s not a violent man.”
“You might want to rethink that.” Drake reached into the messenger bag on her lap, pulled out her phone and tapped the screen. “This is Divyesh Karsan. Twenty-eight years old. Lives in London with his mum.”
Helen stared at the image of a man whose face was covered in blood, eyes black and swollen.
“He turned up in A & E after what was reported to be a fight outside a pub. It later transpired that he’d been working for Bates for a number of years. Just like you.”
“Jaxon did that to him?”
“Yes, we have CCTV footage identifying him.”
“Oh, god.”
“We’re showing you these pictures so you fully understand why Jaxon Bates needs to be stopped. Will you help us, Helen?”
“But what if he comes after me?”
“We’ve known for some time where Jaxon is, we’re aware of his every movement and we have personnel in place to protect you,” Nazir said. “We need to catch Jaxon in action, but more importantly, we need to track down who he’s working for. We have our suspicions but we need proof and right now, you’re the only person who can help us get it.”
Helen dropped her head in her hands.
Bloody hell.
What had she got herself into now?
