Hello My Angel - Sue Brown Page 0,52

sale. Josh had a fleeting thought about Waterslea. Would Cal sell it now Sir Gideon was dead? How did you sell a property like that? He couldn’t envisage a board stuck at the end of the driveway.

“We could just sit here or we could go and find out,” Rick pointed out.

Josh widened his eyes and gave Rick his most vacant expression. “What a great idea. I’d never have thought of that. You Brits are so clever.” He yelped as Gil cuffed him around the head. “What did you do that for?”

“For being a smart-ass.”

Gil and Rick hi-fived each other, while Josh pouted.

“Never mind, Angel, I still love you,” Cal said, kissing Josh’s cheek.

“Someone has to,” Gil muttered.

Josh flipped him off and got out of the car. “How are we going to play this?”

“Josh and I’ll go around the back. Rick and Gil, you knock at the front door. Be prepared for the worst.”

They both rolled their eyes at him and headed to the front of the bungalow. Josh heard the doorbell sound inside as he and Cal slipped down the side passage. White splattered tins of paint littered the edges, as did garden tools. If it was a professional maintenance company, they weren’t very tidy.

“Do you think Chyna’s taken up painting and decorating for a living?” Josh whispered and Cal grinned, but he didn’t reply as he slid around the side of the house.

The hair on the back of Josh’s neck prickled. He felt they were being watched but the garden appeared to be empty. It had the same half-tamed look of the front, like whoever was taking care of the place couldn’t focus on one project at a time.

“Cal—”

“I know. They’re in the trees at the back of the garden.”

Josh squinted and then he spotted movement behind two old apple trees. “What do you want to do?”

“Wait.” Cal seemed to relax, but Josh knew he was ready to act.

It seemed an eternity, but eventually a man emerged from the shadow of the larger tree, dressed in jeans, a dark sweater and a beanie.

He wished he could say he was surprised at Billy’s reappearance, but he wasn’t, not really.

Billy looked as pleased to see them as Josh was to see him. “Ross. Cooper. I wish I could say it was good to see you.”

Josh felt Cal stiffen as he studied the man he thought had committed suicide in front of him. Although Cal had watched him jump into the river, Billy’s body was never found. Josh’s lingering suspicion that the whole thing had just been a set up to get away from the awful situation he’d found himself in had just been confirmed. No, he wasn’t surprised, but he was angry. Billy had tried, and almost succeeded, in murdering Josh by pushing him in front of an oncoming tube train. Cal still had nightmares about Billy’s ‘death’, only in his dreams Josh was the one jumping.

Billy looked tired, but without the crazed edge of grief he’d shown after the murder of his wife.

“Wilde.” Cal’s voice was cool. Josh knew that tone of voice. He wasn’t happy at Billy’s reappearance.

“How did you find me?” Billy asked.

Josh noticed white paint on the beanie. He was doing the work on the house.

“We weren’t looking for you,” Cal said. “We’re hunting for Ileana Ramirez and Weatherly.”

Billy didn’t blink at Chyna’s real name. If Josh had any lingering suspicions about Chyna’s identity, Billy had just cleared that up.

“You won’t find her here,” Billy growled. “She doesn’t know about this place.”

“When did you realize it was Moles?” Cal asked. “You didn’t know before.”

“I’ve still got contacts in the agency.”

That was what Josh was afraid of. How many contacts did he have? Were they all dirty like him? “Why come here? Why not get away?”

“It was Erica’s aunt’s place. She used to come here for holidays as a kid. After she died Erica was going to sell the house.” His face twisted in grief before he regained control. “How did you find me? No one knew about this place.”

“Moles did. She had this address in a list of contacts.” Cal had obviously decided not to go for the subtle approach.

Billy looked startled, then fear showed in his expression. “Fuck, I’ve got to get away now.” He frowned. “What are you doing with Moles’s contacts?” Cal exchanged a look with Josh which Billy caught. “What’s happened?”

“Mullins is dead. He was fished out of the Thames with a bullet in his brain.”

“You think it was me?”

Cal shrugged. “He’s dead,